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“Kal-seonbae!”
“Hello.”
Upon exiting his personal workshop, Kal saw Juen and Luke who had come looking for him and greeted them with a friendly expression.
“Ooh! Juen, Luke. What brings you here?”
“I came because I wanted to have dinner with Kal-seonbae after such a long time. Please treat us!”
Juen said with shining eyes and a coquettish tone.
Kal smiled brightly at Juen.
“Shall we?”
Kal’s laughter drew a smirk from Eliza, who was sitting in the dormitory garden and trimming her nails.
“So oblivious to being taken advantage of, yet so pleased with himself.”
Eliza looked down on Kal with her characteristic scornful gaze.
“You must find it quite the challenge to take care of a mentee who is entirely undeserving of your attention, Kal Thomas.”
“What did you say?”
Eliza glanced at Juen, who bristled in response to her mockery.
“Did I say something incorrect? Juen Thorbina.”
Eliza’s icy voice made Juen and Luke shudder.
True, Leo overshadowed many, but Eliza was originally a strong candidate for the first-year representative.
A golden generation in Lumeran history.
Had she been in any other year, her strength would have been enough not only to secure the title of first-year representative but also the position of Student Council President.
The freshmen, still green, would often be intimidated just by a glance or a gaze from Eliza.
“Why is the dorm supervisor in such a bad mood and behaving like a bad senior who exploits underclassmen?”
Kal interjected slyly.
“Are you referring to the heir of the Hergin family as a delinquent?”
“You’re the delinquent. You exploit your peers and don’t even pay attention in class. That’s what makes you a delinquent.”
Eliza ignited.
“Would you stop threatening my mentee if you don’t want to be called that?”
Kal stood in front of Juen and Luke and said.
“Ka, Kal-seonbae.”
Juen looked at Kal’s back with an expression of slight admiration.
“You are indeed an undue mentor to me.”
“No! Kal-seonbae, you’re an excellent mentor!”
“Thank you. And I’ve never thought of myself as someone being taken advantage of.”
Eliza watched Kal amusingly.
‘Putting on a front in front of your juniors to play the role of the senior, aren’t you?’
“Because Juen pays for the costly things!”
“…”
“She’s the daughter of the southern mage tower’s lord! A girl from an incredibly wealthy household. She’s a wonderful junior who knows how to treat her impoverished senior.”
Juen’s face turned cold, and Eliza sighed deeply.
“Listening to this, I feel foolish for thinking you showed any semblance of seniority.”
“On top of that, she’s generous enough to be satisfied with cafeteria food! Right? Ju… Ugh!”
Juen didn’t hesitate to punch Kal in the ribs.
“Let’s go! Luke!”
Juen stormed off with her face flushed red, while Luke looked flustered and helped Kal up.
“Seonbae-nim, are you alright?”
“I-I’m fine, but could you help me steady myself?”
“Yes.”
Luke lifted Kal and chased after Juen.
“You’re pretty strong.”
Kal complimented, and Luke gave a nervous laugh.
“Are you mad? You are upset?”
“I don’t know!”
“Come on, cheer up.”
Kal chuckled.
“It was because I thought it might make your school life tough if you upset Eliza. Ideally, I’d protect you as your mentor, but even I can’t control Eliza. What you just saw was my best shot.”
Kal gave a wistful smile.
“No matter what, don’t demean yourself. I believe, among all mentors, that you’re the best.”
Juen frowned.
“I won’t tolerate my chosen mentor belittling himself.”
“Thank you. But you’re the only one who thinks that way. For that reason, I’ll treat you to some good food today!”
From afar, Eliza overheard the conversation, blew on her nails, and muttered.
“Seeing this, I feel having a mentee might not have been too bad.”
It was the first time she regretted or felt the absence of a mentee.
Eliza gave a faint wistful smile.
“And don’t hate Eliza too much. If you give her due senior respect, she will treat you well. She’s not one to hold grudges either.”
“Hmph.”
Eliza scoffed but felt good inside.
“And he’s kind of pitiable. As you know, not a single first-year wanted Eliza as their mentor. Not that I would have chosen her either, but. Hahaha!”
Pak!
Eliza pulled out a whip from her sleeve and tightened it firmly.
Her eyes glinted with lethal intent.
“You’re dead.”
Soon afterward, Kal’s gut-wrenching scream echoed throughout.
“A love potion?!”
After dinner, while heading back to the dormitory, Juen was startled by something Kal said.
“Come on, such potions only exist in the imagination. There’s no possible way it exists!”
Kal smirked at Juen’s bewildered expression.
“It’s a potion recorded in Lord Dwenno’s alchemy book. There’s no way it’s false, right?”
“Lord Dwenno’s alchemy book?”
Kal’s statement made Juen widen her eyes.
‘Ah, now I remember, Kal-seonbae obtained Lord Dwenno’s alchemy book before.’
“That’s a huge deal.”
“Exactly, it’s a real big deal.”
“Huh?”
The voices on the side startled Juen and Luke.
“Hi, Chelsea.”
As Kal greeted, Juen and Luke quickly followed suit.
“Hello, Chelsea-seonbae.”
“Yeah. Hi.”
After waving to Juen and Luke, Chelsea crossed her arms and spoke to Kal.
“You ended up in trouble with the Student Council once before for making some strange potion, right? Are you making another odd thing?”
“Hey, it’s the legendary elixir made by Lord Dwenno, it was truly extraordinary.”
Kal shrugged.
“The effect only lasts for at most a day.”
“A day?”
Chelsea tilted her head.
“That’s right. And, as you know, I endured some rough treatment from the Student Council before. Why would I make some foolish move to sell it?”
“And?”
“Publicity. Think about it. An alchemist who creates a legendary potion of love! Cool, right? It means my future after graduation will be solid!”
“If you graduate.”
“Can you stop digging into my wounds? Anyway!”
Kal beamed proudly.
“I’m submitting the love potion to the Student Council tomorrow. They wouldn’t allow it for sale. I just need the title that I made the love potion! So, you two! Spread the rumor that I made the love potion!”
As Kal laughed, Chelsea crossed her arms and showed an indifferent expression.
“Pathetic.”
‘Love potion…’
Chelsea felt a peculiar sensation despite her dismissive reaction.
It was, after all, a very stimulating word for a teenage girl.
The next day was a weekend.
As Kal opened his room door to have breakfast, he flinched for a moment.
In front of Kal’s door stood female students from Noble.
“What, what is this? First thing in the morning.”
“Kal.”
A Noble female student from the Department of Magic spoke with a serious face.
“Sell me the love potion.”
“What?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected request, Kal stood frozen.
The story about the love potion had spread throughout the second year students.
“No! Sell it to me!”
“I won’t complain even if it proves less effective!”
“How much does it cost?”
“Please don’t sell it to her!”
Encouraged by the female student’s words, others rushed forward and began reaching for Kal.
Seeing that, Kal panicked and quickly retreated back inside his room, shutting the door.
Even while closing the door, he had to struggle to close it due to the female students trying to force their way in.
Click! Click!
“Kal! Open the door!”
“Sell it, I’m telling you!”
Bang bang bang!
The female students of Noble started pounding on the door.
Kal’s face turned white.
“Hey! You all are going to get arrested by the Student Council if you buy this thing and feed it to someone else!”
“Anyway, you said the effect only lasts a day, right?”
“A bit of trouble isn’t that bad, right?”
“Hey! I’ll get in trouble, too!”
Kal shouted, but the girls ignored him.
Kal’s face went pale as he realized the charm the words “love potion” held over teenagers.
Especially in Lumeran, where male and female students of the same age gathered to study, it was only natural for romantic feelings to blossom.
Of course, where peers of both genders gather, couples in Lumeran were also not a rare sight.
The issue was, in Lumeran, there was always someone untouchable, someone who stood at a height unattainable.
“Even in our dormitory, there are two of them! Abad and Duran!”
Family? Family.
Skill? Skill.
Not to mention, their looks too.
Two most popular figures of the sophomore year who consistently received letters and gifts from female students day after day!
Yet, there had never been any story of Abad or Duran receiving confessions.
On the surface, it seemed logical.
Why engage in a fight with an obvious outcome?
They might’ve simply abandoned love and kept nurturing their feelings.
But what if there’s a “love potion” that could be used?
Even for just a day, it might be possible to dream a sweet dream!
Ordinarily, one might scoff at such a thing.
After all, students of Lumeran were no fools.
“However, what if it’s the legendary love potion, recorded in the alchemy book of the Great Hero, Lord Dwenno?”
Even with the risk of punishment, it wasn’t hard to imagine a student willing to take the chance!
“I… may have caused an accident?”
If it actually worked, not only the user but also the creator could face possible punishment.
Kal recalled the time he was dragged to the Student Council.
“If I’m caught again making and selling strange potions, I should be prepared.”
Remembering the chilling looks of his seniors, Kal shivered.
“Let’s break it down.”
“Yeah, it belongs to whoever gets their hands on it first.”
Fierce voices came from beyond the door.
Kal’s face paled as he stuffed the vial of golden liquid on his desk into his chest.
“Let’s escape.”
He proceeded to escape through the window, ignoring the penalties for not using the door.
“Better than getting dragged to the Student Council!”
Certainly, if the professor on duty hears the commotion, they might come.
If he could avoid capture until then, it would be fine.
“Who’s on duty today?”
“A love potion?”
The rumor that spread among the second-year students quickly reached the ears of the on-duty professor.
Weekends were times when professors took their own time and left Lumeran, but some remained on standby just in case.
In emergencies, they had the authority to summon other professors to the school.
Normally, even if a commotion arose, it would be resolved swiftly.
“A love potion.”
Leaning his chin, Professor Ren, the on-duty professor, chuckled.
“Kal has indeed created something remarkable!”
As Rent’s eyes lit up, Anna sighed.
“The students may try doing something reckless, so I’ll quickly confiscate the potion from Kal.”
Just as Anna was about to leave the faculty office,
“Wait a moment. Department Head Professor Anna.”
“Yes?”
The elf professor Tina Tingel, with her gray hair and prominent dark circles, stopped Anna.
“This seems like a rather intriguing experiment, doesn’t it?”
As Tina spoke, Anna covered her face.
Tina Tingel, the visiting professor of Lumeran.
Anna knew far too well about her personality.
A mad scientist.
An elf who would dissect and experiment until her curiosity was satisfied.
To her, those who took and created the love potion were undoubtedly fascinating research subjects.
‘And this man isn’t far off!’
Seeing Rent making a similar expression, Anna sighed heavily.
Watching the two professors obsessed with magic, Anna protested,
“If confiscated, the experiment on the effects could still be conducted!”
“Under such constraints, the experiment would be restricted!”
Rent shouted.
“A love potion! Something so absurd that only exists in stories, made by my own disciple! It’s truly a miracle! We must thoroughly test its effects, isn’t that right!”
“Hey, you insane fool! Do professors experiment on students like this?”
Overcome by anger, Assistant Professor Anna shouted.
But here, Anna had no allies.
“I also agree with Professor Rent.”
“Yes, I see eye-to-eye with you, Professor Tina.”
‘When sending Leo as an exchange student to Seirun, didn’t this man call Professor Tina a wicked quarrelsome woman who couldn’t walk the same path?’
Watching the two professors blinded by the desire for magical experiments, Anna could only look at the ceiling and lament.
Even if she went alone to stop them, Rent would surely restrain her.
‘Again, it’s going to be me writing official reports.’
As always, she was the only one suffering.
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
