The Unconventional Catalyst

The fire in the study’s hearth danced, dispelling the chill that seeped in through the stone cracks.

Rachel had already shed her “Gray Goose” disguise, her silver hair and grey eyes restored to their original state.

Seated behind her desk, she had several rough drafts spread before her, depicting sketches of Heatstones, alongside a few dusty Dusk Crystals and some crudely cut iron pieces.

Vera cautiously entered, carrying a cup of hot tea.

Noticing Rachel’s intense concentration, she gently set the cup down, then, after a moment of hesitation, could not help but speak.

“My Lady… are you alright? Today at the market, I heard… you encountered Miss Miriam. Are you truly unharmed?”

“Ah, it seems Ruby has already told you.”

Rachel lifted her gaze.

Her silver-grey eyes held none of the anger or dejection Vera had anticipated; instead, they gleamed with an almost feverish focus.

“It’s fine, Vera. She didn’t recognize me.”

As she spoke, Rachel picked up a Dusk Crystal, weighing it in her hand.

“Furthermore, she offered me some… exceptionally valuable advice.”

“Valuable advice?” Vera’s expression was etched with confusion.

Rachel’s fingers traced the rough surface of the Dusk Crystal, her gaze momentarily complex.

“She mistook me for… a newcomer to the trade, and, acting as a senior, she imparted quite a bit of useful counsel.”

Deliberately omitting any mention of Gina, Rachel set the Dusk Crystal aside and picked up a rough paper, on which Miriam’s identified issues were listed: pricing, presentation, and product singularity.

“Miriam was right; I had been far too complacent before.”

Rachel pointed to the paper.

“Five copper coins are a burden for commoners, yet too cheap for respectable folk.

Coupled with a singular product and poor presentation, it’s no wonder they didn’t sell.”

“Then… what should we do?”

“Two paths.”

Rachel held up two fingers.

“Either we take the high-end route, packaging the Heatstones exquisitely and selling them to the wealthy who value appearances.

Or, we take the low-end route, further lowering the price and selling them to the underprivileged commoners who genuinely need them for warmth.”

Rachel paused, her gaze sweeping over the crude materials on the table and the small pile of Dusk Crystals in the corner.

“The high-end approach demands time, along with additional packaging costs.

Yet, what we currently lack most are both time and money.”

Rachel picked up a Heatstone made from a rough-edged iron piece, her finger tracing the cold metal.

“Therefore, I choose the second path.

Small profits, quick turnover.

Our target customers are miners and peddlers, those who must earn their living outdoors even in winter.

They don’t need fancy appearances; they simply need genuine warmth.”

“What about the price, then?”

Vera pressed.

“Lower it again! Drop it to two copper coins per piece!”

Rachel declared with unwavering conviction.

“Two copper coins?!” Vera gasped, aghast.

“My Lady, this… can we still make any money?”

“Our initial costs are negligible,” Rachel stated, picking up an engraving needle.

“These small iron pieces are inherently worthless, and the crucial Dusk Crystals are practically free to us.

Our greatest expense is merely my time and effort.”

“Thus, even if we sell them for only two copper coins, as long as we sell a great many, those small amounts will accumulate!”

Vera nodded, seemingly grasping the concept, but then her brow furrowed once more.

“But, My Lady, cost isn’t the issue. It’s the Dusk Crystals… Naiya, she…”

As Vera spoke, she cast a worried glance towards the fireplace.

Naiya was currently curled up on a small blanket, her face a pale shade.

Following Rachel’s instructions, she had created several Dusk Crystals in advance and was still recovering from the exertion.

This, indeed, was the most significant bottleneck in Rachel’s plan.

“Naiya.”

Rachel called softly.

The little girl lifted her head, her right eye fixed on Rachel, a hint of weariness in her gaze.

Rachel walked over, knelt before Naiya, and picked up a Dusk Crystal.

“Naiya, can you create more of these stones? We need so, so many.”

Naiya looked at the Dusk Crystal, then at Rachel’s expectant eyes, and nodded with innocent understanding.

She extended her small hand, and faint greyish-white specks of light began to coalesce in her palm.

The specks converged, solidified… one piece, then two… the pace noticeably slower than before.

By the sixth piece, Naiya’s small hand had begun to tremble slightly, and fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

As she created the seventh, her small face crumpled, and her body swayed.

“Naiya!” Vera cried out, her voice laced with distress.

Rachel immediately steadied Naiya’s tiny shoulders.

“That’s enough, please stop.”

Naiya leaned limply into Rachel’s embrace, her small mouth slightly ajar, emitting faint yet clear syllables.

“Hungry… so hungry…”

Vera hurried to the kitchen to fetch food.

Holding the featherlight Naiya, Rachel’s brows drew together in a deep frown.

At this rate, Naiya could produce at most about fifteen Dusk Crystals in a single session; that was her absolute limit.

Even if she rested fully before creating more, she could manage no more than twenty or so pieces a day.

However, adopting a strategy of small profits and quick turnover demanded a vast quantity of Heatstones!

At two copper coins per piece, hundreds would need to be sold to see a substantial profit.

Naiya’s current production capacity simply could not keep up with sales demands!

Should they wait ten days to half a month, accumulating a batch of goods before going out to sell?

Yet, with the Grand Tour drawing nearer each day and their coffers still empty, Rachel could not afford to wait!

‘The production… it can’t keep up…’

Rachel murmured to herself, gazing at the drowsy Naiya in her arms, overcome by a profound sense of powerlessness.

The solution to their problem was within reach, yet they were choked by the lack of raw materials.

Vera soon returned with warm milk and bread, which Rachel carefully fed to Naiya.

Naiya swallowed in small sips and bites, her spirits seemingly recovering a fraction, yet she remained listless, leaning against Rachel, her tiny hand unconsciously clutching Rachel’s lapel.

As Rachel fed her, she pondered countermeasures, her fingers unconsciously stroking Naiya’s soft hair.

Just then, Naiya, nestled in Rachel’s arms, seemed to sense something.

Her intact right eye fluttered open into a hazy slit, her small head turned slightly, and then, before either Rachel or Vera could react, she suddenly extended her pink, tender tongue and swiftly licked the finger Rachel was stroking her hair with!

The sensation was cold, wet, accompanied by a strange, tingling itch.

“Ah!”

Rachel started, instinctively wanting to pull her finger back.

However, something even more astonishing occurred!

The listless Naiya, who had been eating bread so feebly just moments before, suddenly trembled violently after licking Rachel’s finger!

Her pale little face visibly regained a hint of color, and even her breathing became much steadier and stronger!

Naiya herself seemed startled by this sudden transformation.

She blinked her right eye in confusion, then licked her own lips.

Then, as if she had tasted something incredibly delicious, or perhaps found the source of relief from her discomfort, Naiya’s small hand gripped Rachel’s finger tightly.

She leaned in again, extended her tiny tongue, and began to lick it with earnest concentration, stroke after meticulous stroke!

“M-My Lady!”

Vera watched the scene, utterly dumbfounded, completely at a loss as to what was happening.

Rachel, too, was frozen in place.

For a moment, she forgot to withdraw her hand, simply staring in shock at Naiya’s transformation.

She could distinctly feel a faint yet clear warmth radiating from the licked fingertip as Naiya continued.

And Naiya’s condition was recovering at an astonishing pace!

Minutes later, when Naiya finally released Rachel’s finger with a contented sigh, her small face had regained its rosy hue, her eyes were bright, and the profound exhaustion from creating Dusk Crystals had vanished without a trace!

She even actively sprang from Rachel’s embrace, curiously examining her own small hands, then looking up at Rachel with eyes full of dependence and… longing?

“Hungry… not hungry anymore?”

Naiya expressed her most immediate feelings in her somewhat indistinct voice.

Then, as if recalling something, she pointed her small finger towards Rachel’s lips, adding in a slightly clearer voice.

“Lick there… it’ll be even better…”

An absolute silence descended upon the study, broken only by the crackling of the logs in the hearth.

Vera clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as saucers.

Rachel’s heart pounded wildly in her chest.

She looked at the Dusk Crystals in Naiya’s palm (the ones previously created), then at her own licked, damp finger, and finally, her gaze fell upon Naiya’s small hand pointing towards her lips.

Yet, beyond the sheer shock, an ineffable mix of complex emotions surged within her.

Rachel roughly surmised what was happening.

For some unknown reason, her own bodily fluids seemed capable of alleviating Naiya’s intense hunger after creating Dusk Crystals.

When Naiya had licked her finger, it was most likely for the sweat on it, and her lips, naturally, would offer saliva… also a bodily fluid.

Rachel had finally discovered a solution to the production bottleneck, though she had never imagined that solution would be herself!

“My Lady… this… what exactly…”

Rachel’s voice was a touch dry as she forced herself to regain her composure.

“Naiya said…”

She paused, collecting her thoughts.

“Licking my finger allows her to recover quickly… and the mouth’s effect is even better. This implies…”

“My bodily fluids, it seems, can rapidly replenish the energy she expends.

The effect is remarkably potent.

A mere lick of my finger can bring her back from profound exhaustion to full recovery in minutes, instantly restoring her ability to create.

If it were direct contact with saliva…”

Rachel pressed her lips together, leaving the sentence unfinished, but the implication was clear.

Having her finger licked repeatedly by a small girl was strange enough, but to directly offer saliva… that was simply…!

Rachel looked at Naiya’s right eye, brimming with expectation and dependence.

Those eyes were clear and innocent, as if merely stating a simple truth, devoid of any ulterior motives.

Rachel took a deep breath, suppressing the intense wave of shame that threatened to overwhelm her, and made her decision.

“Naiya, from now on, if you create many, many of these stones, and you feel very, very hungry, and very, very tired, you can lick my finger, just like before.”

She extended that finger.

“But, you can only lick my finger, understand?”

Naiya looked at Rachel with a semblance of understanding, then at the finger, before nodding innocently.

She extended her small hand, carefully grasping Rachel’s index finger as if holding a precious treasure.

She seemed a little disappointed that she couldn’t lick the mouth, but being able to lick the finger also brought her much satisfaction.

Watching Naiya’s dependent demeanor, Rachel felt a measure of her intense awkwardness subside.

After all, for the sake of survival, for the sake of earning money, this small sacrifice… seemed to become acceptable.

“Vera.”

Rachel stood, her eyes once again sharp and brimming with resolve.

“Prepare the materials immediately! The iron pieces, and the engraving needles!

Naiya, let’s begin! This time, we shall make many, many Heatstones!”

The firelight from the hearth illuminated Rachel’s resolute profile, and also Naiya’s spirited little face.

In the study, the clanging of hammers and the subtle scraping of engraving needles against metal resumed, their rhythm faster and more hopeful than ever before.