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Not only that, but he had also brought Hedy several peculiar gifts, including a bag full of wild fruits.
If the vegetables and fruits she had were unable to produce quick-fermenting moss, should she try these strange wild fruits instead?
Hedy happily accepted the gifts and gave him a big hug in return.
It might have been the warmer weather, or maybe there was something unusual about these wild fruits.
She had indeed found something that resembled a melon.
It appeared to be about the size of a modern tomato, and when it was brought back, it was already covered in mold.
But once the mold was scraped off and placed into the culture medium, it grew at a rate over thirty times faster than other types of fungi. The speed was so rapid that it made her wonder if she had made some mistake.
However, in comparison with golden staphylococcus, the mold happily devoured almost all of the bacteria, multiplying at a rate similar to rabbits and field mice.
—This was nothing short of a miracle!
Such an incredible capacity for consumption, and such astonishing growth speed.
With this, the production of penicillin should advance by leaps and bounds.
Hedy took Da Vinci directly to see the latest progress in the beef broth jar—the mycelium was even, dense, and far superior to anything they'd achieved before.
They both crouched down to observe it for a long time, laughing like children.
Finally, Easter arrived, and the city's theaters began to stage the usual mythological stories, with the traitor Judas always portrayed awkwardly, like a clown.
As was customary, their group made their way to the FlorenceCathedral to participate in the prayers and the Holy Kiss ceremony.
It was an old tradition—two or three hundred years ago, it was the practice for the congregation to kiss each other to bestow peace upon one another.
However, because kisses between opposite sexes could provoke accusations of heresy and defamation, the Church later decreed that people were only allowed to kiss someone of the same sex.
Eventually, it was changed to kissing metal plates and holy images.
Their group stood in a long line, passing the metal plates to one another under the watchful gaze of the bishop.
"Peace be with you, my brother."
Lorenzo placed the silver plate down, and people began to bow their heads and kiss the plates as they passed them along.
"—And with the Holy Church."
Hedy took the silver plate, absentmindedly giving it a kiss.
She had had a restless night due to menstrual cramps and hadn't slept well.
Da Vinci took the plate from her hands and suddenly remembered the romantic novels of ancient Greece, Ovid's poetry, and Merodach's line, "I told the maiden she was beautiful, and then I kissed the holy image."
He paused, realizing the bishop was watching him, so he quickly lowered his head and kissed the plate too.
It just happened to be the same spot she had kissed.
There was a slight warmth and a faint citrus scent lingering on it.
Hedy...
He snapped back to reality, realizing he had unconsciously taken a deep breath.
