kscans

Chapter 280 - Buying Catalysts 5. The Offering Sake Debate

The morning after Yuri bought up the medicinal liquors he planned to use as catalysts for enchanting, a rare guest arrived at Adon’s mansion.

That guest was none other than Priest Naudo, who for some reason seemed rather hurried and had requested a meeting with Yuri. The name "Naudo" didn’t immediately ring a bell for Yuri, but when told it was "the priest from the church," he remembered. It was the priest who had delivered the blessed tidings from the goddess Anatea. Once he realized this, Yuri had no reason to refuse and immediately agreed to meet him. But what he heard next was entirely unexpected.

"Huh? The offering sake for Lady Anatea?"

"Yes. It’s embarrassing to admit, but we’ve unfortunately run out of our stock. When I went to the liquor store to buy more…"

"I see. So I, unaware of the situation, bought it all up for my catalysts."

It seemed that among the medicinal liquors Yuri had purchased yesterday was one used as offering sake to the goddess Anatea. Yuri, knowing nothing of this, had simply bought it thinking it was a normal medicinal liquor. It wasn’t that the liquor store owner hadn’t noticed, but he apparently didn’t think the usually meticulous Priest Naudo would forget to restock their supply. He had also figured it would be fine since a new shipment was due next month.

"Of course, I’ll give it to you. Which brand is it?"

"Ah, I’m sorry about this. Let’s see, I believe there was a medicinal liquor infused with mistletoe."

"Mistletoe?"

Now that he mentioned it, there certainly was. He had never seen or heard of Mistletoe Wine, in this life or his previous one, so it had left a strong impression. Come to think of it, hadn't he heard that the goddess Anatea favored things of ambiguous affiliation? Wasn’t mistletoe given as an example? To think that he, a follower of Lady Anatea, had failed to recognize it when he saw it. This was the blunder of a lifetime for Yuri.

"N, no, there’s no need for you to blame yourself so much, Yuri-kun. If anything, I am the sinner for forgetting to restock the offering sake, despite my position as a priest."

Priest Naudo chose the poor tactic of blaming himself to console Yuri, and with the roles reversed, the priest’s expression now grew increasingly dark. Seeing this, Yuri hastily recovered from his dejection. "To lift a person from despair, words of comfort are not needed. You need only show them a greater despair before their very eyes." It seemed that adage was true.

Whether this was an act by the worldly-wise Priest Naudo or not, Yuri crawled back from his despondency. Leaving the priest where he was, he dashed to the place where the delivery from the liquor store had been left. He found the wine he was looking for, grabbed the bottles, and returned to the reception room.

"Sorry for the wait. I believe this is all of it. Please, take it."

"Oh, no, no. I only need one bottle for the time being. Don’t you need it as well, Yuri-kun?"

"Ah, no, I just…"

He was about to say, "I’m only using it as a catalyst for enchanting," when he realized something.

He had just set up a shrine to the goddess Anatea at his home on Salt-Sour Mountain. If it was an offering for Lady Anatea, he would need it there, too. In that case, he had to bring at least one bottle back to the village.

Just as he thought this, another revelation struck him.

"I’ve never heard of Mistletoe Wine, but Mom used to make all sorts of things, didn’t she? Plum Wine, Apple Wine, Lemon Wine, Coffee Wine…"

His mother in his previous life had made fruit liqueurs every year, which his father would then drink. As a child, Yuri, then Yuuri, had even been allowed to have the plums from the Plum Wine. He didn’t remember the exact measurements, but he was sure the ingredients were just white liquor, fruit, and rock sugar. He had never seen rock sugar here, but wood honey was available as a sweetener, and he was planning to start refining sugar from sugar beets soon. Turnip Shochu could probably substitute for the white liquor.

"Which means… I might be able to make it if I have mistletoe? But it would be rude to offer something that tastes bad. And considering I’ll need a sample to follow, I want to secure at least one bottle."

To begin with, he wasn’t even sure if mistletoe grew year-round. He vaguely remembered hearing that in his past life in Europe, mistletoe was revered as the "Golden Bough" because it didn’t lose its golden color in winter when other trees lost their leaves. But he didn’t know if the mistletoe here was the same, or if there were any specific rituals involved in making Mistletoe Wine.

"I should probably check, just in case."

And so, Yuri asked the priest various questions about the mistletoe used for offerings and, in return, presented him with one bottle of Mistletoe Wine. Yuri, for his part, would not have hesitated to offer more, but Priest Naudo rightly insisted, "You should keep it, Yuri-kun, since you have no other way of getting it." Yuri ended up yielding.