Chapter 67

Chapter 67. The Elixir (3)

The silence that fell in the room.

In the suffocating silence where even death would seem noisy.

Yuren opened his mouth softly.

“So…”

His cold, icy gaze turned toward me.

“You’re saying there’s an orphanage you volunteer at on weekends, and you were practicing a play to show the kids?”

“Exactly.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“No, I’m serious! Right, Iris?!”

I turned to Iris with desperate eyes.

“Y-yes! It was just a play, a play!”

Standing beside me, Iris nodded desperately, her face red as if it would burst at the slightest touch.

“Hmm.”

Yuren, still suspicious, narrowed his eyes and stared at me and Iris.

“By the way, you seem really close with the Saintess. Inviting her to your dorm room and all.”

Yuren made a displeased expression, as if something didn’t sit right with him.

“Well…”

“Of course. Dale and I are very close.”

Before I could answer, Iris smiled brightly and spoke up.

“Once, Dale even cooked ramen for me here!”

“Ramen…?”

“It’s a popular dish in the Republic. You wouldn’t believe how good Dale is at making ramen… Ah, those who haven’t tried it wouldn’t understand the taste.”

“……”

As Iris continued to boast, Yuren’s expression hardened.

“…He’s never made that for me.”

Yuren muttered in a small voice, his head lowered.

“Yuren, you said you’re friends with Dale, right?”

“Ah… yes, Saintess.”

“Please, just call me Iris. We’re in the same year, after all.”

“…Okay, got it.”

“By the way, how did you two become friends?”

Iris asked with sparkling eyes.

Yuren glanced at me and answered.

“I approached Dale first, wanting to spar with him.”

“…You approached him first?”

“I saw Dale sparring with Instructor Vincent.”

“Ah.”

Iris let out a soft gasp and nodded.

“True, Dale was really impressive back then. He took down the instructor in one strike, something no one had done before!”

Iris exclaimed with an excited voice, like a proud mother bragging about her child.

“Yeah. So I ended up sparring with Dale… and naturally, we became friends.”

“Ah~ I see. I’ve heard that Warrior Department candidates often become friends through sparring.”

“And well… Dale’s personality is just really good.”

“Ah! You know it too! Hehe. That’s right. Dale might look a bit intimidating at first, but he’s actually so kind and considerate.”

“Yeah, totally. First impressions can be so misleading.”

Hey.

What’s wrong with how I look?

“Fufu. Anyway, it’s nice to meet Dale’s friend. Dale… honestly, he doesn’t have many friends, does he?”

“Ah, no. I have friends, why are you saying that?”

“Hmm. Other than Yuren, who else is there?”

“Well, there’s Juliet…”

Juliet.

Juliet.

Juliet… Damn it.

“See?”

Iris patted my back as if to comfort me.

“Hmm…”

Yuren, who had been quietly observing, narrowed his eyes and spoke.

“Dale doesn’t have many friends? I don’t think so.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve never heard of this Juliet person, but besides Juliet and me, you have other friends, right?”

“Oh, Dale has other friends too?”

Iris’s eyes widened in surprise.

Yuren nodded softly and pointed at Iris.

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“…Huh?”

“From what I heard from Dale, you two aren’t dating or anything, right?”

“Ah… yes. That’s true.”

Iris looked visibly flustered.

Yuren, like a predator who had found its prey’s weakness, sharpened his gaze and continued.

“If you’re not dating, then you and Dale are just ‘friends,’ right?”

“Well…”

“Ah, don’t worry. I’m not going to say something old-fashioned like ‘men and women can’t be friends.’”

Yuren smiled and delivered the final blow.

“I believe that men and women can have a purely platonic ‘friendship.’ Like the relationship between you and Dale.”

“……”

Silence fell once again.

Yuren and Iris’s gazes crossed in the air.

“Oh my… we seem to have different opinions. I don’t think a purely platonic friendship between men and women is possible.”

“Really? That’s surprising. From what I see, Dale and Iris seem like great friends.”

“Hohoho.”

“Hahaha.”

A tense atmosphere filled the room, as if a single touch could cut through it.

‘What’s going on?’

Why did the atmosphere suddenly turn like this?

‘Weren’t they meeting for the first time today?’

I wondered if there was some past history between them that I didn’t know about, but as far as I knew, Iris and Yuren hadn’t had much interaction during their candidate days.

‘Then why are they acting like they’re about to tear each other apart the moment they meet?’

As I was lost in confusion.

“Dale, what do you think?”

“Yeah. I’m curious too. What do you think, Dale?”

Suddenly, the spotlight was on me.

“W-what…?”

“Do you think a purely platonic friendship between men and women is possible?”

“These days, people use the term ‘girl friend’ a lot, right? Isn’t that exactly the kind of relationship you and Iris have?”

“……”

Iris and Yuren’s gazes focused on my mouth.

A chilling sensation ran down my spine, and a lightning-like premonition flashed through my mind.

‘If I answer, I’m dead.’

Holding the purified magic stone in one hand, I turned around without hesitation.

“Sorry. I just remembered I have an appointment with Professor Jade.”

“What?”

“W-wait! Dale?!”

“I think I need to go right now, so let’s talk later!!!”

Leaving the two behind in the room, I rushed out of the dorm and sprinted toward Professor Jade’s lab.

* * *

In the most remote corner of Reynaldo Hero School’s vast grounds.

In front of a building that looked like a crumbling ruin, there was an old sign that read, “Holy Mark Magic Research Lab.”

Bang!

The rusty lab door swung open violently.

“Haa, haa.”

“…Dale? What’s going on?”

Professor Jade looked at me, panting heavily, with a puzzled expression.

I shook my head as I tried to catch my breath.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I just finished training, so I’m a bit out of breath.”

“Hmm.”

Professor Jade stroked his beard, looking suspicious.

I looked around the lab, which I hadn’t visited in a while.

True to its ruined exterior, the lab was a mess, with research materials and reagents scattered everywhere, covered in dust.

“Didn’t you clean this up just a while ago? How is it already a mess again?”

“Ah… *cough* *cough*. I’ve been too busy with research lately to clean.”

Professor Jade avoided my gaze, looking embarrassed.

I let out a deep sigh and started cleaning the lab.

“By the way, it’s been a while since you’ve been here.”

“I’ve been busy too.”

“Haha. Well, the mid-term evaluations just ended, so I guess that makes sense.”

“……”

“How did the exams go?”

“Ugh.”

At the mention of exams, a groan escaped my lips.

“…Hmm?”

Perhaps sensing my reaction was off.

Professor Jade turned on his Hero Watch and checked the mid-term evaluation report.

“Huh. You got a zero?”

“…There were circumstances.”

“Hmm. I don’t know what those circumstances are, but why would someone with such incredible skills deliberately fail the exam?”

“……”

If I had failed on purpose, I wouldn’t feel so wronged.

I was seriously aiming for first place.

“…Let’s talk about that later.”

I didn’t have the time to explain the whole story.

“By the way, what brings you to the lab?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

I pulled out a small pill the size of two finger joints from my pocket.

“This is…”

“It’s an elixir that increases magic power.”

“Hmm. I know that, but isn’t this the elixir given to the top-performing candidate last year?”

His eyes were filled with doubt, wondering how I, the lowest-ranked student, had gotten my hands on it.

“A friend gave it to me as a gift.”

“…A friend?”

Professor Jade tilted his head, then his eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me this friend is… Yuren Helios?”

“Yes, Yuren.”

“Huh.”

Professor Jade let out a disbelieving laugh.

“The top student and the lowest-ranked student being friends…”

“Is there a rule that says friends have to be based on grades?”

“*Chuckle* *chuckle*. No, but it’s just surprising. Honestly, seeing Yuren and you together isn’t exactly a picture-perfect match.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Even though the Helios family’s influence wasn’t what it used to be, no one could deny that they were still one of the top three noble families in the Empire.

Yuren, who grew up as an elite from such a prestigious family, and me, who grew up in a Republic orphanage without even knowing my parents’ names.

Even without the grades, we weren’t exactly a matching pair.

“But don’t worry.”

“What do you mean?”

“With a professor’s recommendation, you can become an instructor regardless of your background or grades!”

“……”

This guy still hasn’t given up.

“Sigh. Anyway, let’s talk about that later.”

I placed the elixir on the table and then pulled out a magic stone I had been carrying in my pocket.

“Is this… a magic stone?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. The amount and purity of magic in this… it’s at least high-grade, if not top-grade.”

Professor Jade, without even touching the stone, accurately guessed its grade.

‘No wonder he’s the descendant of the Great Sage.’

Even for a skilled appraiser, determining the grade of a magic stone just by its appearance without infusing any magic is no easy feat.

“I’d like you to mix this elixir and magic stone to amplify the effects of the existing elixir.”

“To increase magic power?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Professor Jade stroked his beard as he looked at the elixir and magic stone on the table.

After a moment of thought, he nodded softly.

“Alright. I’ll give it a try.”

“As for payment…”

“No, payment isn’t necessary.”

Professor Jade swallowed hard as he touched the elixir and magic stone.

“An opportunity to mix such a high-quality elixir with a top-grade magic stone is rare even for royal alchemists.”

His eyes sparkled like stars as he chuckled.

‘…All mages are the same, huh.’

Even in my past life, Senior Sophia would always get excited and her eyes would light up whenever she found rare magical materials.

“*Chuckle* *chuckle*. Well, shall I show off my skills for the first time in a while?”

Jade Bastian.

The descendant of Julius Bastian, one of the Five Great Heroes from 500 years ago, known as the “Great Sage,” was about to show his true abilities.

* * *

Three days after entrusting Professor Jade with the elixir.

I received a call from him and headed to his lab.

“Haa, haa. It’s done. Hehehe. It’s done.”

When I opened the lab door, I saw Professor Jade with dark circles under his eyes, grinning eerily.

“…Did you not sleep at all for three days?”

“*Chuckle* *chuckle*. How could I sleep during such a joyful task?”

“……”

This only solidified my resolve.

‘I will never become Professor Jade’s assistant.’

With that firm decision etched in my heart, I accepted the elixir he handed me.

The elixir, emitting a faint blue light, radiated an otherworldly aura.

“*Groan*. I think I’ll go get some sleep now.”

Perhaps the fatigue of three sleepless nights hit him all at once, as Professor Jade handed me the elixir and immediately went inside the lab.

I returned to my dorm room with the elixir.

“Phew.”

I placed the elixir on my palm and tried to calm my racing heart.

“…I don’t think I’ve ever taken an elixir of this level, even in my past life.”

A precious elixir given only to the top student of the year.

A magic stone purified by the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom using the power of the “Seven Eyes.”

And the alchemy of the “Great Sage’s” descendant used to combine the two.

The result of these three elements coming together was something even I, who had regressed from the future, couldn’t predict.

“Well, I’ll find out once I take it.”

I swallowed the elixir placed on my palm.