A very fast shadow could be seen racing through the corridors of the Sungley mansion, with short legs and clumsy but determined movements. It was Kael, moving at full speed, clearly energized by this new challenge. His footsteps echoed against the polished marble as his small figure disappeared and reappeared between columns and doors, like an unstoppable whirlwind.

  // -- hey, idiot, what are you planning? Are you going to dedicate yourself to dermatology? -- //

  Kael thought: No, it will help me train! As you must have noticed, a large part of daily life and the materials or objects in this world are the same as in ours. There are only a few specific cases with different species. That gives us the chance to use the best materials for a good cream… and the final ingredient will have magic!

  While Jacki was cleaning the kitchen and Lasan was preparing products to be consumed at later dinners, the kitchen doors burst open almost at the same time.

  —AUNT JACKI!! —Kael shouted, barging in like a bullet.

  —Oh!… young master Kael —Jacki replied, placing a hand on her chest—. What’s going on?

  —I NEED YOUR HELP!! —he exclaimed, his eyes shining and his body trembling with excitement.

  Behind Kael appeared Enta, clearly impressed by the speed that a child barely two years old had reached.

  —Remember, young master… no strange things that cause any trouble —Enta warned, crossing his arms.

  —No problem —Kael replied with complete confidence—. I have retained absolutely all the formulas and characteristics of the things Jacki brings from the Indomitable Forest.

  Lasan, who had been listening from the worktable, raised his head with curiosity.

  —…Hey, what is the young master planning now?

  —Apparently he says he will create a skin ointment… —Enta replied, still skeptical.

  —Jacki! —Kael said, turning toward her with exaggerated solemnity—. I request access to the ingredients in the kitchen and the storage room.

  Jacki blinked a couple of times, surprised, but then smiled warmly.

  —Of course, young master. Tell me what you need and we’ll look for it.

  Then Kael began to list, with a memory almost absurd for his age, all the possible or optional products he remembered, moving his fingers as he spoke, as if mentally reviewing an ancient recipe.

  REQUESTED INGREDIENTS

  Butterfat

  Vegetable oil

  Honey / Sweet sap

  Beeswax

  (Optional) Egg yolk

  Soothing herb infusion (moonlight flower)

  (Optional) Dried petals / Resin / Sap

  Jacki, completely baffled, listened to every ingredient, unable to imagine how on earth all of that together could help the skin. Even so, she did not interrupt him even once; she had learned that when Kael spoke that way, something interesting —or dangerous— was about to happen.

  Once the materials were gathered and placed on the kitchen table, Kael observed them carefully and then declared, his eyes burning with excitement:

  —Time to prepare this masterpiece! Thanks to everything my teacher Jacki taught me, I will create something truly good.

  Jacki, fighting the almost physical urge to melt and hug him with kisses, took a deep breath and tried to stay focused on assisting him, reminding herself that despite his appearance, he was still the young master of the house.

  Before starting the preparation, Kael raised a finger, as if he had just remembered something crucial.

  —Something’s missing! We need the essential oil.

  He took a moonlight flower and was about to use magic, but Enta reacted immediately and stopped him on the spot.

  —NO, NO, YOUNG MASTER! —he exclaimed, almost panicking—. Remember that for this kind of thing, you must first speak with Lady Freya!

  Kael froze for a second… then lowered his hand, a bit embarrassed.

  —Ah, sorry, I got carried away! You’re right!

  Without wasting time, he grabbed a large bunch of moonlight flowers and an empty bottle and ran toward the garden, leaving behind a faint floral scent.

  —Oh, my young master… so much energy —Enta murmured with a sigh—. We’re coming, Jacki!

  In the garden, Caria watched the scene with a frown, visibly confused, not fully understanding Kael’s request, while Freya stood beside her, trying to convey calm through her mere presence.

  —Relax, Caria… —Freya said in a calm voice—. He will prove that he is someone responsible.

  She had barely finished saying those words when a disordered mass of moonlight flowers moving at full speed approached them directly. Between loose petals and twisted stems, Kael appeared, breathing lightly, with the bottle firmly held in his hands.

  —Teacher Freya! —he exclaimed—. I request permission to use magic on these flowers!

  Freya tilted her head, interested, observing the child’s enthusiasm.

  —Interesting… what is the objective?

  —I want to extract the essential oil from these flowers —Kael answered without hesitation.

  —Essential oil? —Freya repeated, raising an eyebrow.

  —Yes —he affirmed—. It’s like the plant’s blood, but that’s where its most important properties are concentrated.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Freya crossed her arms, thoughtful.

  —And how difficult is it to extract that oil?

  —Not very difficult… —Kael replied confidently—. It’s like removing impurities from nadu tree sap.

  Freya observed him for a few more seconds before nodding slowly.

  —Alright. I will supervise the process here. If I see that something is going wrong, I will stop you.

  —Yes, teacher! —Kael replied with a wide smile.

  Kael carefully separated the flowers from their stems and gathered them into a small pile on the grass. Then he placed one hand over them and, with the index finger of his other hand, pointed directly at the bottle.

  He closed his eyes and began to channel magic slowly and in a controlled manner, as if following a procedure he already knew by heart.

  —Essential oil is the blood of the plant —he explained as he worked—. This is where its attributes and properties are concentrated. With this oil, you can prepare much more effective infusions and concentrates.

  Little by little, small, thick, shiny drops began to form at the tip of his finger and fall into the bottle. Each drop glimmered with a soft, almost ethereal light.

  From all those flowers, he managed to extract only about fifty drops, not even reaching ten grams.

  —Ha! —Kael exclaimed proudly—. We’ll even have essential oil left over!

  Freya stepped closer and observed the bottle carefully, tilting it slightly to see how the liquid moved inside.

  —So this is the essential oil?

  —Yes —Kael replied—. Look, smell it.

  Kael put a drop on the tip of his finger and offered it to her. Freya smelled it… and opened her eyes, clearly surprised.

  —Impressive… —she murmured—. It’s as if the aroma of all those flowers were concentrated here. It’s very strong.

  Upon hearing that, everyone wanted to smell it. One by one, they approached the bottle.

  They all reached the same conclusion: it smelled delicious, but it was so intense that it was almost overwhelming.

  —Is that your ointment, little Kael? —Isadora asked, curious.

  —No —Kael replied immediately—. This is just one ingredient. I’ll prepare the rest in the kitchen.

  Having said that, he ran off again with the bottle in his hand, leaving behind a small mess of dried flowers scattered across the ground.

  —Oh… my young master… —Tana sighed, looking at the mess—. Why do you always leave me more work?

  PREPARATION OF THE OINTMENT

  1) OILY PHASE

  In a small pot over very low heat, Kael began with full concentration:

  Melt the butterfat.

  Add the vegetable oil.

  Add the beeswax and stir carefully until it fully melted.

  Add one teaspoon of honey and slowly incorporate it.

  → Objective: obtain a homogeneous, clear liquid with a light sweet aroma that began to fill the kitchen as soon as it started to warm.

  2) AQUEOUS PHASE

  While the above melted, Kael did not waste time.

  He prepared a very concentrated infusion of moonlight flower, using freshly boiled hot water.

  He let it rest for exactly five minutes, watching as the color of the liquid became more intense.

  Then he filtered it carefully, making sure no solid remains were left.

  → Objective: strong, clean medicinal water, still hot, ready to be combined with the oily phase.

  3) EMULSION (JOINING THE PHASES)

  Kael removed the pot from the heat while the oily phase was still completely liquid.

  With great patience, he began adding the hot infusion drop by drop, without stopping stirring. His movements were clumsy because of his size, but incredibly steady.

  The wax and honey helped both phases slowly bind together.

  (Optional) Kael added an egg yolk, seeking a smoother, creamier texture.

  When the mixture began to thicken, Kael added one or two drops of the essential oil he had extracted using magic.

  At that moment, the mixture changed color, turning into a bright ivory tone. A sweet and warm fragrance filled the entire kitchen, instantly wrapping the space.

  Jacki and Lasan watched the result in amazement. It looked like thick butter, but its aroma was soft and pleasant, and its texture promised something special.

  —To work! —Kael exclaimed, laughing—. We got a lot of cream, hahaha!

  // -- the important thing is that the most critical phase, the magical extraction, worked quite well… that was a key step -- //

  Jacki stepped a little closer, still surprised.

  —So, my lord… is this a skin ointment? What does it help with?

  Kael lifted his chin, clearly proud, and explained enthusiastically:

  —Yes, Aunt Jacki… it’s a skin ointment.

  It helps when the skin is dry, rough, or damaged by the cold.

  The butterfat and oil make it soft…

  the honey helps retain water…

  the wax keeps everything together…

  and the infusion calms irritation.

  And the essential oil makes it smell good and work faster.

  It’s like a protective layer so the skin doesn’t get damaged again.

  Jacki was impressed by the explanation. She knew that all the ingredients Kael mentioned were things she herself had talked about more than once while cooking, but she never imagined he would combine them in that way.

  —Aunt Jacki, do you want to try it? —Kael asked, holding the jar toward her.

  —Of course, my young master… —she replied—. Let’s see how it is.

  Jacki took a bit of the cream with her finger and rubbed it on her hands. The change was immediate.

  —Incredible… —she murmured—. It feels soft and pleasant… my skin is moisturized instantly.

  My young master, this is wonderful.

  Kael clenched his fists and raised his arms to the sky.

  —YES! I did it!

  With the jar of ointment firmly held in his hands, Kael ran off again toward the garden, as fast as his small legs allowed him.

  —Here we go again… —Enta murmured, resigned, before following him.

  The women sitting on the garden terrace barely had time to react when they saw, like a projectile, a small panting dwarf arrive with a shiny jar in his hands.

  Kael stopped abruptly, took several deep breaths, and, still agitated, spoke:

  —Huff, huff… Aunt Isadora, here it is! My special ointment!

  Isadora looked at him, impressed. In just one hour, that child had managed to create something completely new. With some caution, she asked:

  —I imagine you worked very hard on this… may I see it?

  —Of course —Kael replied, handing her the jar—. And smell it too, I’m sure you’ll like it.

  The women gathered on the terrace took turns smelling the product, and all of them were impressed. It was as if the fragrance of a huge amount of moonlight flowers had been concentrated into a single cream.

  To be sure, Freya took a bit of the ointment.

  —I’ll try it first —she said firmly—. That way we can be sure. It’s my responsibility.

  Freya applied the cream to both hands and almost immediately noticed the effects.

  —It feels very good —she commented—. It left my skin very soft and hydrated… it’s impressive.

  Tana and Caria, upon hearing her approval, quickly followed her example.

  —It’s true —Caria said—. It feels very good, my skin is warm and hydrated.

  —And it smells really nice —Tana added—. It’s very pleasant.

  Holley and Elara also took advantage of the opportunity and reached exactly the same conclusion.

  After observing all those reactions, Isadora nodded slowly.

  —Seeing the results and all the effort you made to help me… I will try it.

  When she applied the ointment to both arms, Isadora immediately felt her skin become softer and more hydrated. A light, cool sensation ran across her skin, making the itching disappear and leaving behind a pleasant feeling of relief.

  —Incredible… —she whispered—. My skin feels wonderful… if it were possible, I would bathe in this ointment… it’s marvelous.

  Isadora leaned toward Kael, hugged him tightly, and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

  —Thank you very much, little Kael. Now I love you even more than before —she said emotionally—. I will treasure this ointment. I have never felt so much relief on my skin before.

  Kael nodded enthusiastically and, stepping back slightly, raised one hand to the sky with dramatic flair.

  —You’re welcome, my queen. I am at your service!

  Then he added proudly:

  —And I will name this new ointment… PLANT SNOT!

  Ken, who had been listening in silence, could not hold back his laughter.

  —Hahaha… without a doubt, my lord, the best name. He’s a genius.

  Tana appeared behind the young master, caught him without warning, and began showering him with kisses.

  —MY YOUNG MASTER! —she exclaimed—. Leave the names to the adults. You made a great product, so you deserve all our affection and love. (>*3*)> kiss, kiss.

  —HELP, ENTA, SAVE ME! —Kael shouted, between laughter and desperation.

  Enta watched them, completely exhausted.

  —I’m sorry, my lord… you made me run too much. I have no strength left…

  // -- ufff, insert disappointment meme… what a betrayal, friend! -- //