Episode 362

When Yoner arrived at the workshop after being summoned, Lee Han was still frowning and glaring at the flask.

“Still not done.”

“Lee Han, let’s do it after lunch.”

“No. There are still impurities left.”

“A little impurity doesn’t matter. Just hand it over.”

“You have to boil it as much as it needs, then it’s done—not before.”

“If the client says it’s fine, then what’s the problem…!”

Yoner was exasperated, but Lee Han didn’t budge and kept staring at the flask.

With nothing else to do, Yoner just sat and watched Lee Han’s stubborn process.

Lee Han shook the flask, tilted it this way and that, even exposed it to the flame slightly, focusing with his usual stubborn attention.

Watching this, Yoner remembered how her sister Yoanen once assessed Lee Han’s work.

She had made a big fuss about how cleanly and well he worked, saying he was many times better than previous assistants.

These days, alchemists tended to be impatient and lacked perseverance, so even for identical extractions, the results fell short, Yoanen had said.

If you used the flame too fiercely, undissolved dregs made the liquid cloudy; if it was too weak, the nature of the substance changed during the process, and meeting someone who handled it just right was rare.

Recalling that, Yoner felt a little more understanding and reflected on her own attitude toward Lee Han…

…but only for a moment. She stood up and forcibly dragged Lee Han away.

Yoner had absolutely no intention of getting dragged into the rhythm of perfectionist maniacs like her sister and Lee Han.

“Enough already. Do it after lunch.”

“No! Yoner! Just one more! If I do it just once more…!”

“This is the Meikin Family workshop, not the Wardanaz Family workshop.”

Yoner took the workshop key from by the furnace, pocketed it, and pushed Lee Han out the door.

• * *

“By the way, Lord Wardanaz, I have a question.”

Not only Yoanen but also other alchemists working elsewhere in the workshop were curious about Lee Han.

Seeing her subordinates ask curious questions of their own accord, Yoanen smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

As expected of her subordinates, their skills were remarkable.

“Oh. I have a question too.”

“Ask me anything.”

“We’re preparing ingredients for Dobruk’s Dream Jade Potion, but we’re stuck on dissolving Mokryeong Silver into a solution. The impurities just won’t go away…”

“That’s very possible. Dream Jade Potion is a very tricky one. Even when you dissolve the silver, does the solution stay a muddy brown? There’s a limit to even a wizard’s magic, so you need to change the nature of the flame. Sprinkle workshop ochre powder to change the fire’s property.”

“Thank you. Oh, but it’s not brown, it’s silver.”

The alchemist seemed flustered at Lee Han’s response.

“Really? Then it’s properly dissolved.”

“There are a few granules left, though…”

“That’s fine.”

“No. If you compromise like that, the potion could have problems, and it’d be hard to fix.”

“……”

“……”

The workshop alchemists stared at Yoanen.

Though unspoken, their looks quietly accused, ‘Didn’t you just ruin a promising young wizard, Lady Meikin?’

But Yoanen wasn’t swayed by looks like that.

If she could be shaken by that, she could never have run such a workshop with mania and obsession in the first place.

‘I clearly taught not to get too obsessed with perfection, but Wardanaz is just naturally perfectionistic.’

If Yoner had heard, she would’ve rolled her eyes.

Thinking this, Yoanen opened her mouth.

“On another note, about those professors fighting in the street…”

“By the way, Lady Meikin, may I ask about the magic you used when making the trial solution earlier? It seemed similar to the liquid rotation spell but felt different.”

“The spell I used was not the liquid rotation spell, but one that inverts up and down…”

While explaining, Yoanen realized the conversation had once again gotten off track.

Before they could circle back, Lee Han already had another alchemist cornered with questions.

“Um… It’s about this.”

“How can you be asking while devouring all the food? Yes, what is it?”

After about three more questions from Lee Han, all the dishes on the table were empty, and lunch was over.

The alchemists stood and stretched.

“Already this late…”

“Let’s skip the walk and start right away today.”

“Let’s go, Lady Meikin. We have to finish what we didn’t get to this morning.”

With a slightly pouty face, Yoanen followed after them.

• * *

With work piling up, Yoanen set aside her questions and focused on work as usual.

Seeing Yoanen driving everyone on like a madwoman, Yoner was terrified.

Even at Einrogard, Yoner’s friend was the sort anyone could trust implicitly.

Yoner flinched, worried her friend might grab her by the collar and summon a water orb at any moment.

But Lee Han solved every quibble without the slightest complaint, as if he was used to it.

“Good work.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, we should start getting ready to return to school soon. Is there any potion you want to learn?”

Potion recipes were not easy to come by.

The basic, easy potions widespread across the empire could be found in any city bookstore.

-Low-Grade Stamina Recovery Potion- and so on.

But for potions like -Dobruk’s Dream Jade Potion-, which had a personal alchemist’s research behind it, you couldn’t get the recipe even with gold unless the alchemist approved.

Alchemist guilds and workshops were even stricter.

These potion recipes were a more closely guarded secret than life, and copying or tampering could get you assassinated immediately.

So the fact that Yoanen would teach Lee Han any potion recipe at the Meikin Family workshop was definitely an act of kindness.

It didn’t really feel like kindness, but…

As a student returning to Einrogard for the second semester, Yoanen suggested Lee Han pick a potion he wanted to learn.

Once school started, things would surely get busy, so it would be helpful to know a useful potion recipe in advance.

Lee Han cautiously asked again.

“Are you sure it’s all right?”

The gift was so generous, it actually made him wary.

‘Don’t tell me she’s not paying me since she’s giving me the recipe instead.’

“You’re Yoner’s friend, so I can at least give you this much. And you did good work, too.”

Yoanen meant what she said.

Compared to other assistants, Lee Han deserved such a gift.

“Yoner, what potion do you think would be good?”

“Um… Well… Big sister doesn’t hand stuff like this out to me, either.”

No matter how much she cared for her sister, she didn’t reveal all her workshop secrets.

Business is business.

“You probably don’t need an invisibility potion. You already have magic and artifacts.”

“How about a thought-acceleration potion?”

“That’s not bad. Jot that down. Potions to block or confuse tracking might also be worthwhile.”

“A magic enhancement potion wouldn’t be bad either.”

“Should I write down a smokescreen potion you can throw at pursuers?”

“…Lee Han, aren’t you only listing potions for very specific situations?”

“Am I?”

Lee Han was puzzled.

Seemed like standard-use potions to him…

“Can’t you just recommend one, Sis?”

“You’re leaving it up to me?”

Though a bit incredulous, Yoanen seemed pleased with her sister’s plea and thought it over.

“Mana enhancement potio—”

“No thanks.”

“Me neither.”

“…Okay. If not that, then maybe this is better.”

Yoanen picked up her quill and started writing out the ingredients and recipe in neat handwriting.

In no time, the white paper was filled with orderly script.

“Here. Take it.”

“What potion is this?”

“You’ll find out when you make it. It uses fairly easy-to-find ingredients, so it shouldn’t be hard.”

“Thank you, Lady Meikin.”

Lee Han accepted the paper and mused.

‘What is it? Feels like an enhancement category… but not mana enhancement…’

“By the way, can you tell me about that rumor of professors fighting in the street? Since work’s over, you can tell us in detail…”

“Oh, that’s what you wanted to ask?”

Yoanen had seemed to want to ask something all along, so it had been this.

Lee Han readied himself to share stories of mad professors.

“Lady Meikin! You’re needed, urgently!! Cauldron Seven is boiling over completely!! If this keeps up, we’ll lose all the ingredients!”

“……Let’s talk next time, then. Go!”

Yoanen quickly bade farewell and hurried into the workshop with the other alchemist.

Lee Han couldn’t help but feel there was a great deal of anger radiating from her retreating figure.

“Is she mad at you?”

“Yeah. But you don’t need to worry, Lee Han. She brought it on herself.”

• * *

“Uuuggh… uuuuughh…”

Nillia groaned with a pain that sounded like it came from deep within her body.

Gainando asked in concern.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Why did I have to get first place… Sorry, I was lost in thought and didn’t hear. What did you say?”

But by then, Gainando had already turned away, glaring with a look of disgust.

‘Trying to fool me just to show off!’

“Was everyone here studying?”

Returning from work at Puyo’s magical staff workshop, Lee Han looked quizzically at his friends sprawled about the spacious sitting room.

Gainando hid his face behind a textbook and a magazine, saying,

“Yeah.”

“Why is it always open to page one?”

“……”

“Well… have a snack. By the way, what’s with Nillia?”

“She says first place is stressful. Geez. What’s that all about.”

Gainando grumbled, biting into a cream puff.

“Oh. Did that thing we talked about at the mansion move forward?”

Lee Han said, as if he understood now.

Nillia’s suggestion had been excellent, so it only made sense for it to go forward past just ending at first place.

“Knew it… was sure that would—”

“What do you mean, ‘was sure it would’? What’s going on?”

Yoner, who’d come in late, tilted her head and asked.

“Are they actually trying Nillia’s proposal?”

“Oh, that? Yeah. Seems like they’ll give it a shot.”

“Wow…”

“Impressive, right?”

“Pretty impressive.”

Lee Han, Yoner, and Ratford looked at Nillia with eyes full of respect.

Of course, Nillia was so anxious she was barely sleeping.

“What if I fail! What am I supposed to do!?”

“The Meikin Family is rich; they won’t care, right…?”

“Yeah. They won’t care about a small failure. Really.”

“What about if Yoner gets in trouble!”

“No way. Even if we fail, it’s the people who followed her decision who’re at fault.”

Lee Han nodded, agreeing with Yoner.

“If it works out, shouldn’t the Meikin Family give you some special thanks as well?”

“Yeah, I should mention that.”

“…Both of you stop before I shoot you.”

Nillia’s stomach twisted at her friends assuming success before even starting.

Of course, the Meikin Family wasn’t so rude as to demand Nillia take full responsibility.

They would just accept her suggestion and have a Meikin Family staff member carry it out personally.

There was no reason to really feel burdened, but unfortunately, her anxiety wouldn’t go away.

‘If it fails, it’s because of my idea… If it fails, it’s because of my idea…’

Seeing Nillia so anxious, Lee Han asked Yoner,

“Honestly, wouldn’t the Meikin Family handle it just fine on their own… right?”

“Yeah. Oh—there was even talk about inviting an Einrogard professor to help.”

“See, Nillia? An Einrogard professor…”

“Huh? Then can I skip a lecture next semester?”

“No way.”

Hearing Gainando and Yoner’s conversation, Lee Han paused.

‘Wait. Even if they start preparing now, things will actually get going during the term. Can I just go off as I please? Will the bone principal even allow it?’