Three days passed very quickly. André was sitting at his desk drinking a cup of tea prepared by Rose.
He had already resigned himself to the fact that there was no coffee in this world. At the beginning, when he took charge of the viscounty, he described what coffee looked like and asked the servants to search for it, but reality hit him hard: there was no coffee in this world, or at least not in this region. So he settled for tea.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
"Excuse me, my lord." Mario entered followed by five elderly men wearing white robes.
"My lord, these are the alchemists you requested." Mario introduced them one by one.
"My lord, my name is Antonio. I am an alchemist in Solomon City. Whatever your request may be, I am confident I can achieve it."
Another alchemist spoke immediately afterward:
"I am Julián, my lord, just like Antonio, an alchemist."
"These are Mark, José, and Tony, advanced alchemists in Solomon City," Mario introduced the rest, who bowed and greeted him.
André smiled amicably and then said:
"Gentlemen, I have something to show you. Let's go to the back garden. Mario, lead the way."
"Yes, my lord. Gentlemen, please follow me."
In the garden, André took a box from Rose's hands; she had been waiting there on his orders.
"Gentlemen, I want you to look at this," André said, showing a black powder. He brought a lighter close to it and then said:
"Please step back."
Then André lit the lighter, stepped back, and said:
"Cover your ears."
**BOOOMMMMM!**
A loud explosion echoed throughout the entire mansion, startling everyone.
Antonio thought he was going to die; his chest was still pounding hard. Then he became excited and said:
"My lord, what a marvelous thing this black powder is. It sounds like thunder, as if the sky is falling."
"This is called black powder. This is what I want you to make for me. As you can see, it is very dangerous, which is why I wanted to show you its power so that you will be careful during its production."
André took a parchment on which the entire process for making the powder was detailed. He handed it to Julián, who was standing beside him, and said:
"This is the formula. You may work on it after signing a confidentiality contract. You must know that if you leak this information, only death awaits you," André said in a serious tone.
Julián read it, a little incredulous. He had not expected that this combination of elements would have such great power.
Chemically, the exact proportion for black powder is: 75% potassium nitrate, 13% carbon, and 12% sulfur.
André had it all very clear—everything and much more was in his mind. All that was missing were the right people to use all this information. He knew very well that he alone would not finish everything in this lifetime, so he would concentrate on finding allies to unravel and understand this entire sea of knowledge.
Julián said, completely excited:
"My lord, rest assured that we will fulfill your request. But I believe I alone am enough for this; I see no need for another alchemist, my lord." Then he looked toward Antonio with a condescending gaze.
"In that case, I believe Alchemist Julián will not be necessary for this work, my lord," Antonio replied in turn.
"Very well, I am going to need both of you. I need the largest possible quantity of powder. I will even require you to recruit many apprentices."
"I still have many formulas waiting for you to study. If you know any other alchemists, I want you to try to recruit them."
Upon hearing from André that there were many formulas waiting to be studied, none of them could hide their excitement.
"For confidentiality reasons, you will have to move your alchemy workshop to the forest, at the back of the mansion."
"Rest assured, my lord, that we will meet your requirements," Julián was the first to speak.
"I hope so. I have high hopes for you."
"Mario, you will be in charge of the necessary materials."
"Yes, my lord. With your permission, we take our leave."
"You may leave."
Sitting at his desk, thinking about his next step, André noticed Rose's questioning gaze. Then he said:
"Ask whatever you want."
The years they had spent together had not been in vain. André trusted Rose completely.
"What is that thing for, besides being very loud and destructive?"
"Hahahaha, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you. It will be better if you see it in a few days," André smiled cheerfully, leaving Rose even more confused.
"Alright, Rose. I need one of your wonderful massages. I have worked a lot these days."
"Yes, André." Rose blushed and stood behind him to give him a massage.
André took her hand and said softly:
"Soon you will be the lady of Solomon, my lovely Rose, hahaha."
Even though he was only eleven years old, he had made his intentions regarding her very clear to Rose.
Rose blushed even more and lowered her head without saying a word.
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