When the World Turned to Stone

It had been three weeks since they set aside the wine to mature. Now, the moment of truth had arrived.

Taiju carefully transferred the liquid into a smaller clay pot, using a cloth on top to filter out any impurities. He watched the deep, rich color of the wine as it flowed through, his face lighting up with excitement.

"It should be about ready," he said, handing Senku a share of it.

Senku took the clay pot and swirled its contents thoughtfully before taking a sip. 

His expression didn't change at first, but then, with a smirk, he declared, "Oooh! It actually came out way better than I expected. It's only about 10,000,000,000 times worse than what you'd find in a store."

Taiju took a sip himself, eyes widening in astonishment. 

"You can make wine this easily?! Just with grapes?! I had no idea!" he exclaimed, looking between the pot and Senku in disbelief.

Senku set his drink down and brushed his left hand through his hair, his usual confident smirk still in place. "One step at a time down the path forward! We're gonna have to break some bones to keep up from here on in!"

His eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Let's begin... wine distillation! How to make brandy!"

Just then, Hanako peeked into the lab, her head tilting slightly. "Senku, the fire's already set," she informed him, her voice calm but curious.

Senku nodded. 

"Perfect. Come on, big oaf, we need to bring this outside," he said, lifting the clay pot with both hands.

"D-Did you just say distillation?!" Taiju asked, blinking in confusion as he followed behind. 

"I actually don't know what that means at all." Senku let out an exasperated sigh. 

"By heating it up, cooling it down, and dripping it off... we extract the alcohol. I thought I told you already." He adjusted his grip on the pot as they stepped outside.

"Dripping? How?" Taiju questioned, still puzzled.

"If you hadn't noticed, this clay pot has a spout on the side," Senku pointed out, nodding toward the small but well-crafted spout attached to the pot's surface.

Taiju leaned in, eyes widening in amazement. "Oh wow! I never even noticed that before! When did you make it?"

Before Senku could respond, he smirked slightly and glanced toward Hanako, who was tending to the fire nearby. "Our dear Hanako made this. Since she has experience making wine before, she took care of it."

Hanako, who had been quietly stoking the flames, paused for a moment at the unexpected compliment. She looked up, her cheeks flushing slightly, but she managed to offer a small smile. 

"Well, I had to make sure it was done right," she said, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear before returning her attention to the fire.

Senku smirked at her response but didn't say anything further. Instead, he carefully set the clay pot down onto the firepit, making sure the small spout near the side was positioned correctly.

His eyes gleamed with anticipation as he adjusted the pot. 

"This is nothing! Even the Mesopotamians, way back in 3000 B.C., were already distilling alcohol using earthenware," Senku declared with excitement. His voice carried an almost reverent admiration for the ancient scientific process. "Now this is what gets me excited."