"Let's quickly go grab a bucket and steel circle and come back here to collect some sap to experiment with."
Becca ended up confused by my request. "Steel circle?"
I put my hand on my chin as I thought of how to explain the sap extracting process. "Well, to get all the sap out of a tree, you need to cut through the outer layer of bark and get near the inside of the tree. In my world, they have a specific metal part to do the job. I think it's called a tree tap or something. All it is, is a metal cylinder that one edge goes into the tree and the other side is positioned to have all the accumulative sap drip into a bucket on the floor.
Technically, we could just knock down a tree and get the sap by cutting deep into it, but with something similar to a tree tap, we can take the sap without damaging the tree and it can be used to get sap again next year. I would prefer doing it that way because I don't want to ruin this beautiful trail that holds memories for you."
Another reason I was against knocking down a tree unnecessarily was because of my modern sensibilities. I lived my whole life aware of climate change and global warming, so I want to save as many trees as we can. I didn't bring this part up to Becca because it was a little too complicated for me to explain and this world was far from the technological advancement level where they needed to start worrying about global warming. Plus, this is a completely different world from my own. For all I know, intermediate water mages could use their ice control to find a solution to rising temperatures with no problem. I just wanted to do it out of habit.
"Ok Nick, if we stop by my house real quick, we should be able to find a bucket and something similar to the tap you are talking about. Even if it doesn't work, knocking down one tree won't ruin the look and feel of this trail. There are so many trees here, so don't feel bad if we have to get rid of one for a backup plan."
"Ok, sounds like a plan."
Once we got back to the manor, Becca ran ahead of me excitedly and told me, "you stay here, I'll grab the bucket and some type of circle real fast and we can head back!"
"Alright, come back if you need my help with anything."
"Haha, I know my own house enough to handle a small request like this." Becca ran off with smile on her face while waving bye to me.
After she left my line of sight, I sat down at the bench nearby to wait for her return. Within a few minutes, I noticed a pair of eyes staring at me from behind one of the pillars of the manor. I craned my neck to try to get a better view of the person trying to hide. They were still hard to see, so I called out, "hello?"
The person behind the pillar flinched at my sudden call out, but did not reveal themselves. "I know you are hiding behind the pillar. Show yourself before I get angry…"
I wasn't really mad and was saying it more as a joke. However, the person behind the pillar seemed to be truly scared of me because they quickly jump out at my light hearted threat.
Looking at the maid that appeared from behind the pillar, I realized she was Helen, the maid who Becca said she was close to. I tried to speak as upbeat as possible to dispel some of her fear. "Hi Helen, what are you up to?"
Helen started to cower, but still growled as if she wanted to be threatening. "What kind of sinister plans do you have for our Rebecca? I don't believe your act for one second!"
The juxtaposition between her fearful appearance and angry words was too absurd to take her seriously. "It's really not an act, Helen. I plan to prove myself to Becca's family and all of you servants too in this week I am staying here. Becca told me that you two are close, I'm sure you were a good friend to her all these years. I hope to get your bless and her families blessing someday…"
Helen's knees were shaking, but she still sneered, "as if that will ever happen. You already forced Rebecca to go do the work while you sit here and relax!"
I explained the situation to her to clear up her misunderstanding, "We were just having a walk at the nearby trail when we saw some tree sap. I learned from a far away nation that they use tree sap as the main ingredient to a sweet sauce called syrup, so we are planning to bring some to the kitchen and try to experiment with some ways to get it tasting like syrup. We only need a bucket and a metal part to cut the bark of the tree, so Becca told me to say here, since she will be faster going herself. Of course I would have gone to help if I think she needed it, but Becca is a strong person, she doesn't need me to watch her like she is as fragile as glass."
Helen's scowling eyes soften when hearing my explaining. She asked curiously, "you both will be going to the kitchen personally to try to make this syrup?"
"Yes, I have a few guesses on how it's made, so we will give it a shot. If it works out well, maybe Becca and I will make some pancakes for the whole family and put the syrup on top."
Helen quickly went back to being angry. "Becca doesn't know how to cook! Let one of the chefs do it. Don't overwork your wife!"
I waved my hand to let her know that she misunderstood me again. "I'm the one that knows how to cook. I've made pancakes for Becca before and she asked me to let her join next time I made them so we could have fun together."
"A noble man cooking? That sounds absurd."
"Well, I have absurd hobbies I guess. It going to be fun figuring out how to make syrup, you can come along if you want to watch over me. However, for the making of the actual pancakes, I want Becca and I to share that moment alone…"
Helen started to think carefully about my suggestion. "I am still busy with some work things. I'll meet you both at the kitchen when you come back with the tree sap. There, I can see how you and Becca act naturally."
I was happy that Helen was giving us a chance. "Alright! It's going to be a lot of fun making our own creation."