LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 83
Episode 83: Silver Tongue Over Silver Scalpel (3)
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Mint was staring out the window, holding a cold lemonade in one hand. I was sitting next to her again as usual.
“Since we’re here at the palace, let’s just have some tea before leaving.” We didn’t have any special schedule.
“Will it be hot outside?”
“It does look a bit hotter.”
Though the indoor atmosphere was relatively pleasant, a fan floated beside Mint, gently blowing air toward her. She looked at me.
“I was meaning to ask you about this.”
“Yes? What would that be?”
She didn’t seem upset or annoyed—just genuinely curious.
“Honestly, I still don’t get it. Why didn’t you talk to me first? I could’ve helped.”
“You mean about the company thing?”
“Yeah.”
It would’ve been easiest to consult Mint first, but I didn’t go that route for various reasons.
“Well, it wasn’t heading in a great direction anyway.”
Trying to persuade someone younger and less experienced than me felt off, almost like exploiting our friendship.
“Using connections with powerful people isn’t always the best approach. Convincing bureaucrats is also necessary. If we relied solely on getting approval from the Imperial Princess, would we have gone through that process?”
“Hmm… Is it because you didn’t want to rely on others?”
“I didn’t want to burden you.”
“That wouldn’t have been a burden.”
Mint shook her head.
“To be honest, I never intended to produce medicine this way. Initially, I wanted to openly share my research findings to help as many people as possible…”
“Doesn’t seem feasible anymore?”
“No.”
Even Istina, who I trusted, couldn’t understand the purification process, and the alchemy professor I visited was completely uninterested.
“I thought sharing the Penicillin strain was enough for my part.”
Mint fiddled with her hair for a while, deep in thought.
“If you were giving away the germ strain for free, why bother helping others? I probably would’ve discouraged it.”
She was referring to the Symposium.
“The conclusion was clear. It seemed unlikely anyone else would make progress if I released it publicly…”
“Then just focus on making the medicine yourself.”
She learned not to depend on others in academia. Everyone turned out to be surprisingly incompetent, so doing things personally seemed right.
The sunlight outside the window was blinding.
“Selling medicine has kind of become synonymous with scamming, hasn’t it? There are skeptics too.”
“Yes… The world seems full of strange people. Those we once thought were crazy might actually be normal compared to others.”
Take Violet for example—lazy, gambler, trying to embezzle workplace funds—but there are far worse people out there.
“Finally, you’re seeing the world through my eyes.”
A small chuckle escaped her lips.
“No. Didn’t you notice at the conference earlier? Nobody even asked about the medicine. They only talked about money and power structures.”
“All that preparation and those graduate students went to waste. Mint smiled softly then shook her head.
“What’s the point of discussing medicine with them when they know less than you? That’s their attitude.”
“That’s true…”
“The banker only talks about money because that’s all he knows. And your cousin only cares about power structures.”
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
“Hmm.”
“People like you, teachers who focus on their expertise, should be supported by administrative types. Don’t worry too much.”
“Understood.”
Mint tilted her head.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you complain.”
“My plans didn’t work out this time.”
“Maybe this way is better in the long run?”
Definitely made more money this way.
“If everything had gone according to the original plan, you wouldn’t have earned such a big payout. I thought about it, and Mint placed her hand on my shoulder.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You should’ve planned it this way from the start, dummy.”
Looking back, she might be right. I sighed softly.
“Do you really see it that way?”
“You thought releasing your research would lead others to find solutions, right? You imagined being remembered as the savior who published the life-saving paper. But after seeing how things played out, you realized that wasn’t going to happen.”
“Yes, something like that.”
“I’m not as smart as you, but I’ve learned it’s best not to expect anything from strangers—whether it’s ability or consideration. You’re lucky if they don’t cause harm.”
“Right.”
“There’s some saying in Royal Studies… If the recipient doesn’t express gratitude, it’s not really charity!”
That statement has two interpretations.
Literal meaning: Unwanted charity can sometimes do more harm than good. Cynically speaking: Don’t offer charity if you won’t receive thanks.
“Surprisingly profound insight.”
“Isn’t it?”
Mint suddenly leaned closer, and I instinctively backed away. She returned to her seat with an awkward smile.
What kind of reaction is she expecting?
“Teacher, are you really planning to quit the Academy? Or was that just talk to persuade me? I didn’t think you’d agree.”
“With the current situation, after finishing what I need to say, I’m considering moving on to bigger opportunities.”
“Surprising. Alright, noted.”
Mint seemed lost in thought again.
“How about returning to the Imperial Palace full-time?”
“No thank you.”
“Eh, no luck there either.”
We still have years left to consider, and Mint appears to have no immediate plans until graduation.
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The method of producing Penicillin.
Step one is obviously cultivating the blue mold. Just grow it well in large containers, though easier said than done—you need to carefully control temperature and nutrients.
Next step is purification.
Purification has multiple stages.
You must filter out insoluble materials from the soup-like culture medium, convert the filtered solution into a weakly acidic solution, and finally mix ammonium sulfate to extract penicillin as a precipitate.
Technically, there are three major steps in this world. Adjusting these processes will improve yield.
Lastly, packaging. Transforming penicillin into pill form shouldn’t be difficult since the technology already exists.
It’ll be tough, but mass-producing penicillin is not impossible if the system is established.
I still had tasks for today. The fastest way to handle government-related issues is through the prince currently working in the administration—Prince Manfred.
I looked at Manfred.
“Thank you for granting me a private audience.”
“Don’t mention it. Time is precious when working.”
He brushed off formalities casually. Perfect, I nodded.
“How long will it take?”
“Don’t know. The goal is within this year, but your assistance is required. It won’t be easy.”
“Understood.”
“First, write down the exact method of making the medicine. Include detailed lists of necessities.”
“Got it.”
“Is the production process very complicated?”
“It is.”
This isn’t something achievable by accident or trial-and-error—from preparing buffer solutions to separating precipitates.
Manfred glanced at the distant mountains.
“We’ll need to decide on the location first.”
“A large facility isn’t necessary, but we’ll need quite a few workers.”
True, I hadn’t considered that. Last time, we used goldfish to measure acidity, but we can’t keep doing that.
If we need specific pH values rather than just determining acid or base, litmus paper won’t suffice—we need the yellow test strips. I forgot the exact name, but you know which ones.
The easiest way to create a pH indicator solution would probably be using cabbage. Purple cabbage water can be used to make pH testing solution.
After pondering further…
“I’d appreciate it if you could gather a team of alchemists.”
“Should they be intelligent?”
“Not necessarily. Average intelligence is fine. Even students would work.”
Recruiting from the Alchemy Department at the Academy proved ineffective last time, so hiring under Prince Manfred’s influence seems better.
Here’s what the alchemists need to do:
Find methods to produce ammonium sulfate, acetic acid, and sodium acetate.
Having production limited by something other than blue mold feels uneasy.
“Anything else special needed?”
“Not at the moment. Let’s focus on making the medicine first, and we’ll consider other things later.”
Despite many twists and turns, we’ve gathered everything needed to solve the problem! Now we just need to push forward to success!