The little witches gathered around the dining table, excitement buzzing in the air. Lyra, eager to impress, poured each of them a glass of freshly made bread juice.
"Give it a taste and let me know how it compares to the last batch!" she urged, a sparkle of anticipation in her eyes.
Lilith, focused on replenishing her magic, took a hearty sip. "Gulp, gulp… the flavor's pretty much the same… gulp… and the magic restoration feels similar too."
"Exactly!" Lyra exclaimed, beaming. "With the automatic juicer card, you can get a whole pot from just five medium breadfruits!"
In the past, they had to squeeze five large or six medium breadfruits manually to get the right acidity. Sylph chimed in, her curiosity piqued, "So, cards make it more efficient?"
"Absolutely! We won't have to lug those heavy breadfruits back to the dorm anymore," Lyra replied, her enthusiasm infectious.
"Right?!" she continued. "This juicer extracts 99% of the juice, and the leftover pulp is perfect for making fruit cakes or even cooking. When heated, it just makes a soft 'bang' no heavy pressing required. It's like breadcake, super filling!"
Lyra then revealed the automatic juicer in both its material form and as a card.
{Automatic Juicer}
[Version: Card Storage and Charging 2 Mana Charging Version]
[Function: Turns into an automatic juicer to separate juice from pulp. Rechargeable after use and storable when not in use, holding up to 2 mana or an equivalent energy.]
"Okay, spill the details! How much does it cost?" Lilith asked, her interest evident.
Lyra cleared her throat, "The deluxe version I have costs 2.5 mana per use."
"Wait a second!" Lilith's brow furrowed. "Didn't they say it was only 0.05 mana?"
"It starts at 0.05 mana for a hand-cranked version," Lyra explained. "No charging required, but once you take a card out, it's stuck until you use it."
Lilith crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. "Seriously? This feels like a scam from my schoolmate!"
"Lyra, what versions do we have? What's the breakdown?" Vasida chimed in, intrigued.
Lyra quickly unfurled a piece of parchment and scribbled down the details:
"1. Hand-cranked juicer:
(1) Basic version: 0.05 mana per use;
(2) Card storage version: 0.55 mana per use.
2. Automatic Juicer:
(1) Direct charging version: 0.75 mana per use.
(2) 1 mana energy storage version: 1.25 mana per use.
(3) Card storage without energy: 1.5 mana per use.
(4) Card storage with 1 mana: 2 mana per use.
Each additional mana storage increases the price by 0.5 mana, maxing out at 5 mana."
Vasida's eyes lit up. "I'll take the card storage version with 5 mana energy!" she declared, waving her hand dismissively. For her, this was a minor expense.
"Great choice!" Lyra quickly set to work, using her golden pen technique to draft the contract, ready to make and deliver the card in one swift motion.
Sylph wasted no time in making her choice. "I'll take the card storage and charging version with 2 mana capacity!" she announced confidently.
Lyra, always prepared, smiled and handed over the card. "Great choice! Here you go." With that, another 2.5 mana was added to her earnings.
Now, only Senior Lilith remained undecided, her brow furrowed as she weighed her options. "You better lower the price, or I'm not buying it," Lilith said, crossing her arms. "Once I master the technique for squeezing breadfruit juice, I'll just use my cooking magic instead. Then I won't need this at all."
Lilith had a reputation for haggling. Not bargaining felt like a betrayal to her nature; especially when dealing with a junior who, in her mind, always found a way to profit. She suspected Lyra was making a massive magic profit on this juicer, at least five times the cost!
"After what she did this morning," Lilith thought, glancing at the stack of breadfruits from earlier, "we're going to be out of food before the weekend if this keeps up."
Lyra saw her hesitation and jumped in, eager to keep the sale. "Senior, you've got it wrong! The juicer uses hardly any energy at all! One mana can get you dozens of uses. Plus, with the energy storage, you can keep any leftover mana and use it later. It's much more efficient than casting cooking magic every time. And, let's be honest, you're still far from mastering the breadfruit juice technique. The time you save with this juicer is magic in itself!"
Lilith frowned, not yet convinced. Lyra leaned in, trying a new angle.
"Look, it's not that I don't want to sell it at a lower price, but designing these cards isn't cheap. Each time I create or adjust a design, it costs me mana. Just putting this together set me back 27 mana! Honestly, I'm not even breaking even selling it at this price."
Lilith paused, her sharp gaze softening. She knew what Lyra said wasn't entirely untrue. Crafting and refining magical tools like this demanded significant magical power, something she herself struggled with. Lilith's own magical resources were stretched thin, which was why she was so tightfisted in the first place.
She thought of her Bloodthirsty Needle spell; if only she could sell it like Lyra sold these cards, she'd be raking in far more mana than Lyra ever could with her juicers. The thought made her relent a little. "Fine. I'll take the version with 1 mana energy storage for 2 mana."
Lyra's face lit up. "Deal!" She quickly scribbled another contract using her enchanted quill, sealing the transaction.
As Lilith signed the contract, she offered a rare bit of sympathy. "Look, I know the school is limiting who you can sell these to; only fourth and fifth-year witches. It's going to be tough to meet many of them since they're rarely in the core area, but you'll make back your costs eventually. Don't worry."
Vasida, overhearing the conversation, was confused. "Why wouldn't the dean let Lyra sell the automatic juicer to younger witches? Juicing breadfruit isn't some secret skill, and drinking juice isn't exactly forbidden."
Lyra chuckled while Vasida, always one with an appetite, looked genuinely puzzled. Cooking magic was her favorite subject, and she couldn't understand why something so simple would be restricted.
"I mean, what's the harm in learning to juice?" Vasida continued, her mind wandering back to the library where she'd spent the day flipping through a required book, Learning the Magic of Cooking from Scratch. She had hoped to uncover some amazing culinary secrets but had been utterly disappointed. The book taught nothing more than the basics needed to fill a witch's stomach; not how to be a true chef.
Clearly, the academy wasn't interested in turning its students into culinary experts. The goal was just to ensure they could use cooking magic for survival, nothing more.
"Well, it's not exactly about the juicing itself," Lyra explained. "The school doesn't want us to rely too much on magical tools. They want us to master the magic behind it. But hey, sometimes convenience has its perks, right?" She winked, earning a laugh from Vasida.
Lilith, finally holding her new juicer card, sighed. "Convenience might be nice, but only when it doesn't drain my mana… or my wallet."