Chapter 49 – Glug Glug
by spirapiraChapter 49 – Glug Glug
The target little sorceresses had all taken their seats at the table. Mo Lan first poured each of them a cup of freshly made Breadfruit juice.
“Try it and see if you notice any difference from before.”
Lilith, who was in need of replenishing her Magic Power, gulped it down: “Glug glug… tastes about the same… glug glug… the Magic Power recovery effect is about the same too.”
“Exactly, it’s completely identical! But with the automatic juicer Card, this entire full pot only takes five medium-sized Breadfruits to make!” Mo Lan said.
Previously, when juicing by hand, it took five large Breadfruits, or six medium-sized ones, to produce a pot of juice with the right level of acidity.
“The Card is more efficient?” Sylph asked.
That was great news! They wouldn’t need to pick Breadfruits as often.
A single Breadfruit was quite heavy too, so carrying them back to the Dormitory wasn’t easy either.
“Yep!” Mo Lan nodded. “The juicer can extract ninety-nine percent of the juice from a Breadfruit. And I discovered that the leftover pulp can be used directly to make Breadfruit Cake, or even cooked into dishes. When heated, it only gives a gentle little ‘pop’—you don’t even need to press down hard on the lid.
Everything made from it has the same strong satiating effect as Breadfruit Cake.”
Mo Lan also showed them the automatic juicer in both its manifested form and its Card state.
{automatic juicer}
【Version: Card Storage Rechargeable 2-Mana Energy Reserve Edition】
【Function: Can manifest an automatic juicer that separates juice from pulp. Can be returned to Card form for recharging after use. Can also be stored in Card form when not in use. The Card can store up to 2 Mana of Magic Power or an equivalent amount of other energy.】
“Alright, alright! Out with it! How much?” Lilith was already tempted.
Mo Lan gave a light cough. “The version I have here is the deluxe model, priced at 2.5 Mana in one-time Magic Power.”
“Wait wait wait wait!” Lilith caught something off. “Didn’t you say ultra-low price, 0.05 Mana?”
“Starting from 0.05 Mana!” Mo Lan said. “The hand-crank juicer, no recharging needed, cannot be returned to Card form once taken out—only 0.05 Mana.”
Lilith: “…”
Damn it! This was definitely her junior’s scheme!
“Moira! What versions are there? What are the specific differences and prices?” Vasida asked curiously.
Mo Lan produced a sheet of parchment—it was all written there:
“1. Hand-Crank Juicer:
(1) Basic Edition: 0.05 Mana one-time Magic Power;
(2) Card Storage Edition: 0.55 Mana one-time Magic Power.
2. Automatic Juicer:
(1) Direct Recharge, No Energy Reserve Edition: 0.75 Mana one-time Magic Power.
(2) Direct Recharge, 1-Mana Energy Reserve Edition: 1.25 Mana one-time Magic Power.
(3) Card Storage Rechargeable, No Energy Reserve Edition: 1.5 Mana one-time Magic Power.
(4) Card Storage Rechargeable, 1-Mana Energy Reserve Edition: 2 Mana one-time Magic Power.
For each additional 1 Mana of energy reserve capacity above, the price increases by 0.5 Mana one-time Magic Power. Maximum energy reserve capacity is 5 Mana.”
The pricing was simple—same as the Status Cards, a five-times markup over production cost.
“Give me the Card Storage Rechargeable 5-Mana Energy Reserve Edition.” Vasida waved her little hand and picked the most expensive option.
She had abundant Magic Power. Replenishing it was just a matter of picking a few Breadfruits—she spent it without a second thought.
Besides, the most expensive one was only 4 Mana. To her, that was pocket change.
“Coming right up!” Mo Lan swiftly drew up a contract using the Golden Pen Technique.
Creation and delivery of the Card were completed in one smooth sequence.
Sylph also quickly made her decision. “I want the Card Storage Rechargeable 2-Mana Energy Reserve Edition!”
“Done!” Mo Lan had a ready-made one of this version and handed it over directly. Another 2.5 Mana in the books.
Now only senior Lilith remained undecided.
“Make it cheaper, or I’m not buying. Once I’ve mastered the technique for juicing Breadfruits, I can just use Culinary Magic instead. I won’t need this thing.”
For Lilith, buying something without haggling was worse than death—especially when buying from her profiteering little junior.
Based on her understanding of Mo Lan, this thing had at least a five-times profit margin on Magic Power!
She’d already been squeezed dry this morning, then sat through a full day of classes. Even a lord’s household was running out of surplus grain!
“Don’t say that, senior! The juicer has really low energy consumption! One Mana can power dozens of uses! And with the energy reserve function, you can store unused Magic Power in it and use it for ages.
Isn’t that more economical than Culinary Magic, which draws from your active Magic Power every single time?
Besides, you’re still a ways off from mastering Breadfruit juicing, aren’t you? The time you save in between—that’s Magic Power! The sooner you can juice efficiently, the sooner you’ll have Breadfruit juice on demand to restore your Magic Power!”
After laying out her reasoning, Mo Lan saw that Lilith still wouldn’t budge, so she added:
“It’s not that I don’t want to sell it cheaper—it’s just that every time I design and create a Card, it costs Magic Power! Setting aside the production costs, just designing all these Cards cost me 27 Mana! Selling to you girls won’t even recoup that.”
This wasn’t her making things up. Every adjustment to a Card design consumed 1 Mana of Magic Power.
Though she’d created the juicer mostly for her own convenience, earning back even a little was still something!
These words truly struck a chord with Lilith. Developing a Manifested Gift really did require investing heaps of Magic Power.
Why else would she be so stingy? It was all because her Magic Power was never enough!
If only her Bloodthirst Needle could be shared with others like Mo Lan’s Book of Cards—without needing to be codified into a spell first—she’d sell it even more expensively than her junior!
Thinking it over, she relented. “Fine, fine! I’ll take the 1-Mana Energy Reserve Edition—the one that’s 2 Mana one-time Magic Power total!”
“You got it!” Mo Lan signed another contract with her senior.
Knowing her junior was still operating at a loss on this Card, Lilith even consoled her:
“The Headmistress won’t let you sell this Card to little witches below fourth year.
When you think about it, you can only sell these Cards to fourth and fifth-year seniors.
Although most fourth and fifth-year seniors spend the majority of their time outside the core area, so they’re hard to run into—but take it slow and you’ll eventually recoup the costs.”
“Why wouldn’t the Headmistress let Moira sell the automatic juicer Card? Juicing Breadfruits isn’t exactly an essential skill to learn. And the juice isn’t something you absolutely have to drink, is it?”
Vasida didn’t understand.
Her stomach was a bottomless pit, which made her the most interested in Culinary Magic.
Earlier today, while copying books in the library, she had briefly flipped through the required reading, 《Learning Culinary Magic from Scratch》.
The contents had left her thoroughly disappointed.
In summary, the book only taught little witches how to fill their bellies—not how to become master chefs.
Clearly, the Academy had no intention of training them all into culinary experts. It merely wanted them to know how to cook using Culinary Magic.
(End of Chapter)