#121 - The stingy little witch
When Moon returned on Sunday evening.
The Thistle was sailing on the rough sea.
As soon as Moon opened his eyes, he saw Zalan securing the swaying hammock with both hands.
"How was it? Was your magic learning trip smooth?"
"Of course, it was wonderful."
After a brief chat, Zalan went to bed, but Moon couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
The journey of studying at Hogwarts was quite smooth.
However, on Slin's side, although far from the war, the question of how everyone would live next was still unresolved.
This problem plagued Moon until dawn.
The next morning, Zalan went out early, and Moon waited in the room.
Today was the day the little witch hiding in the cabin would brew potions, and it was also Moon's first time witnessing the birth of potions in this world.
After a simple breakfast brought by the sailors, Chris knocked on Moon's door, accompanied by Granny Whitney.
"Is this where you'll be staying all the time?"
Chris was slightly surprised when she saw Moon opening the door.
She had been worried that the sailors might have ill intentions, so she had called Granny Whitney along.
But she didn't expect that the one who would be staying in the room all the time was a little boy younger than her.
"Yes, please come in."
Moon smiled and opened the doorway.
"Okay."
Chris walked in unceremoniously, while Granny Whitney stood at the door.
"Since there won't be any danger, I'll just stay outside. I really don't want to see those things of yours."
Whitney sized up Moon and, feeling that this little boy wouldn't pose any harm to Chris, stood by the wall outside the door.
"Alright, suit yourself."
Chris didn't stop her when she saw this.
After Moon closed the door, he sat back in his original position, quietly waiting for her to start brewing the potion.
But the little witch was obviously not in a hurry.
After entering the room, Chris kept staring at the bread, fried fish, and thin porridge that Moon had left over.
"Does the ship doctor eat so well?"
Moon noticed Chris's throat involuntarily moving when she asked the question.
A ship doctor was almost a standard staff member on every ocean-going ship.
However, because real doctors couldn't stand being at sea, the position was mostly held by sailors.
And Moon's diet was naturally not the ship doctor's breakfast.
According to Gold, all of Moon's meals were on par with the captain's.
White bread with fresh fried fish, oatmeal, and the berries that Zalan had just finished eating.
Moon could hardly eat such food in Slin.
"Well, if you don't mind..."
"Of course!"
Before Moon could finish speaking, the little witch Chris had already happily sat down opposite Moon, picking up the bread and fried fish to enjoy.
"You don't know, I've been eating black bread these past two days, without any meat or vegetables."
Chris spoke as she ate, and Moon sat beside her, quietly observing her.
The little witch had short, gray-white hair that reached her ears, with a burn mark on the right end.
Her eyes were big, with blue pupils like Moon's.
The skin on her face was very white, but her hands were even whiter, as if soaked in some kind of potion.
She was about the same height as Moon, but her figure was clearly more slender.
"Alright, I'm going to start making the potion now. Could you please take these things away?"
After quickly finishing the remaining breakfast, Chris unceremoniously ordered the "ship doctor" Moon around. Hearing the little witch's commanding tone, Moon was only stunned for a moment, then took the entire plate away.
"Little ship doctor, is the salary on the ship very high? Actually, if you want to learn how to make potions, I can teach you, for only 5 gold coins."
"Thank you, no need."
Hearing what the little witch said, Moon now doubted whether she could really brew potions.
Ordinary people simply couldn't brew magical potions, even if a magician taught them personally.
This was something almost every magician knew.
But the little witch actually wanted to teach a ship doctor how to make potions, and charge five gold coins.
In Moon's opinion, either the magic she had learned was problematic, or her living conditions were extremely poor.
Recalling how the little witch had eaten breakfast, Moon felt that the latter was more likely.
"Whatever!"
Seeing that Moon had cleaned up and was just standing quietly on the side, Chris replied unhappily, then took out various tools from her satchel.
Metal frames and trays, a brass stirring rod, white charcoal briquettes, a low cauldron, and four small packets of different powders.
Moon was very familiar with the tools for brewing potions.
Although the little witch's set of tools was similar, Moon was still drawn to two of them. In Potions class at Hogwarts, first-year wizards used special alcohol lamps to heat the cauldrons.
These alcohol lamps also had a valve on the outer wall specifically for adjusting the flame size.
But the little witch had prepared charcoal briquettes.
And a kind of white charcoal briquette that Moon had never seen before.
This made Moon couldn't help but take a few more curious glances.
The other thing that caught Moon's attention was the cauldron.
The little witch's double-eared cauldron was not only much shorter than the ones Moon had seen at Hogwarts.
It also seemed to have been deliberately painted with a layer of black paint on the outside.
"Remember not to make any noise later. I don't have many materials prepared, and I can't afford to fail even a little."
Moon noticed that Chris deliberately rotated the cauldron when she spoke.
It was also this small action that allowed Moon to see that there was a small patch of peeling on the cauldron, revealing a golden color inside.
[Golden Cauldron!]
After discovering the material of the cauldron, Moon's expression became even stranger when he looked at the little witch.
Moon had actually seen this kind of expensive cauldron in the shop windows of cauldron shops in Diagon Alley.
300 Galleons, a very expensive price!
But the little witch in front of him ate black bread and used a golden cauldron.
This made Moon even more curious about the potion she was about to brew.
Moon had seen introductions about cauldrons in the Hogwarts library.
Different types of cauldrons are matched with different potions.
Hogwarts designates pewter cauldrons for first-year students.
This type of cauldron does not easily change the form of the potion, and it does not require high temperatures, which can prevent the potion ingredients from being affected by improper cooking.
Some experienced potion masters will choose to use brass cauldrons.
Because it conducts heat faster, it can cut the potion-making time in half, so it requires the magician to be efficient in potion making.
There are also silver cauldrons, which are relatively expensive and are mainly used to brew potions related to the lunar cycle.
As for the more expensive golden cauldrons, because they are easy to clean and not easily corroded, they can ensure the purity and quality of the potion, so they are generally used by potion masters.
[Could this little witch be a potion master!]
After recalling the introduction of different cauldrons, a thought that he couldn't be sure of flashed through Moon's mind.
However, a subsequent action by the little witch completely dispelled Moon's idea.
Click!
Click!
This little witch was actually using a flint to light those white bone charcoal.
[This is too unmagical!]
