Two days after resting comfortably at the Duke’s residence, Yuric returned to the Lombardo household’s villa.
The news that the Golden Dragon Mercenary Corps and the Duke’s knights had defeated the Earth Dragon Alaldur had spread throughout the city. Naturally, Sir Lombardo congratulated Yuric on his safe return upon hearing the news.
“I heard you played a decisive role in finding the dragon’s lair.”
“Luck was on our side.”
“Luck is also part of skill. Thanks to your efforts, my judgment has been praised. You placed such a talented person as a tutor in our home.”
“Haha, you flatter me.”
After exchanging light conversation, Yuric left the study and had a reunion with young master Geoffrey. He held Geoffrey’s hand and asked him anxiously to tell him about the expedition.
“Alright, I’ll tell you everything later. Have you diligently read the books I assigned?”
“Yes, I’ve read all the places you designated. Even twice!”
“Very well done.”
Yuric smiled and gently stroked Geoffrey’s head, expressing his pride.
After enjoying the pleasure of the reunion, Yuric returned to the guesthouse and unpacked his luggage. Despite having only stayed for a few months, he felt a sense of comfort and ease as if returning to his home.
Of course, he couldn’t relax yet. There were still many tasks to be done.
The first priority was to secure a laboratory. Since the medicine he needed to prepare was no ordinary one, Yuric intended to find a good place even if it meant spending more money.
Fortunately, there was a room he liked on the outskirts of the city. As expected, the rent was quite high.
Though small enough that two people could reach both walls when stretching their arms, it was fully equipped.
“Of course, security must be thorough.”
Although he received a key, Yuric was not satisfied with it alone. He placed a mana barrier and set up a warding spell. He planned to buy more mana barriers later to add another layer of protection.
For now, he stopped here and returned to the guesthouse. He then started designing the circuit.
Mana Blockage Disease couldn’t be cured just by medication. It was necessary to adjust the density and flow of mana throughout the body. This circuit was designed for that purpose.
Since this circuit was already partially completed, once he finished the final touches, he intended to give it to Cecilia. She should practice with it before taking the medicine.
After dinner, Yuric went to the same room with Geoffrey. He told him about the experiences from the expedition.
In particular, the story of meeting the Earth Dragon Alaldur in a dream seemed to inspire Geoffrey.
“A dragon conversed with you! That’s amazing, Teacher!”
“The Earth Dragon Alaldur was not evil. On the contrary, he was friendly towards humans.”
“But aren’t dragon tribes allied with demons?”
“The Earth Dragons were different. They did not align themselves with the demons. However, humans rejected all dragons. Thus, Alaldur had no choice but to leave his home.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“Yet, Alaldur did not blame humans. He blamed the era. And he believed that one day, dragons and humans would live together again.”
Dragons were once slaves to demons. However, dragons sought submission while humans desired freedom.
Their journey ended with finding scales in the nest.
“It’s time for bed. I should return to the guesthouse now.”
“Yes, Teacher. The story was really interesting.”
Yuric returned to his quarters in the guesthouse. Although it was a dark night, he didn’t go to sleep until he finished completing the circuit.
Early the next morning, as soon as the sun rose, he headed straight for the inn where the Golden Dragon Mercenary Corps were staying.
In the hall, several Golden Dragon mercenaries were sprawled out, drunk. Having earned extra money from their mission, they seemed busy exchanging it for alcohol and women.
Yuric made his way directly to the second-floor room where the captain was staying. Of course, she always maintained her composed appearance, whether during missions or not.
“Ah, Yuric. Come in.”
“I wanted to deliver this quickly, so I came a bit early.”
Yuric handed Cecilia a piece of paper. It was a circuit diagram he had spent a long time devising. The complexity of this circuit was surprising considering he had conceptualized and created it alone.
“You must memorize this thoroughly.”
“…This?”
“I believe the captain can memorize it in three days.”
Three days… Cecilia lightly touched her forehead with her hand. While grateful for the compliment, she thought this was an overstatement.
“Three days… Alright, I’ll give it a try. What kind of magic is this?”
“It’s a spell to control the density and flow of mana throughout the body.”
“Like what you’re doing now?”
“Not exactly the same, but similar. It’s best to do it whenever you have free time.”
“It’s like a training method.”
“That’s how you can think of it.”
She nodded slightly with a faint smile.
“Thank you.”
That single word was enough motivation for Yuric.
“Would you like to have some tea before you go?”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
They chatted over a bitter cup of tea. They talked about recent missions, dreams of dragons, magic, and childhood memories.
“You have a great older brother.”
“Yes, he is truly generous to me.”
“…I had a younger brother too. Of course, a half-brother. We often met because we were in similar situations. But after leaving the palace, we never met again. Hearing your story reminded me of those times.”
Cecilia reminisced with a wistful smile, remembering her carefree childhood when her mother was still alive.
“Captain, I should get going now.”
“Oh, I kept you for too long.”
“No, it was enjoyable. Can we do this sometimes?”
“Of course, anytime is welcome.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll go now.”
Yuric left the inn and returned to the guesthouse. After briefly discussing politics with Geoffrey, who had just finished his morning lessons, he began history class.
From noon onwards, Yuric had free time. He carried a bag and headed to the laboratory outside the city.
Upon arriving, he started by cleaning thoroughly. He then covered the windows with blackout curtains to prevent any external light from entering, and placed glowing mana barriers inside to create the right lighting conditions.
“First, I’ll start processing the scales.”
Yuric took out two small scale fragments, one for himself and one for Cecilia.
Naturally, failure was not an option. Therefore, he had to be extra careful and focused.
The scales were hard, making them difficult to crush manually, so he used a grinder. He placed the scales between two vertical grinding stones and turned the handle. Due to the hardness of the scales, turning the handle required immense strength.
He ground one scale fragment late into the night. He sifted through larger particles to make finer powder.
However, there might be small rock fragments mixed in, so he mixed all the powder with water to separate the scale powder from the stone powder. He utilized the property that scales float in water while stones do not.
The next step continued the following midday.
Before coming to the laboratory, Yuric walked around town to purchase the necessary herbs. He brought them back and ground them into powder in a mortar.
Then, he added small pinches of the herb powder to boiling water in sequence. After cooking for a while, he added the extract of the herb Paratullium, fresh cow blood, and most importantly, dragon scale powder.
The key was evenly distributing mana while mixing.
“The rhythm of stirring is crucial. Do you know why alchemists sing a lot? To match the rhythm of stirring.”
Recalling the words of the Great Witch Adrian, Yuric stirred vigorously while humming songs, mainly “Norah killed it” and “Ganel the Mage killed it.”
He distributed mana evenly among the ingredients and stirred through the night. Although his arm ached, he persevered, thinking of the precious materials.
After extinguishing the fire and cooling the potion, he filtered out the sediment. He then tasted the potion with his little finger.
Ugh—As expected, the taste was terrible, but he immediately felt a subtle effect spreading through his body.
“It’s well-made.”
He carefully filled a green potion into a vial. In total, he made ten bottles of the potion.
After finishing and leaving the laboratory, he noticed the sun rising.
With a tired body, Yuric headed back to the guesthouse. Though he wanted to immediately fall asleep on his bed, he first stored the potion in the cool basement. He couldn’t risk ruining the potion he had worked so hard to make.
Next, he went to Sir Lombardo’s study to explain his situation and inform him that he wouldn’t be able to teach today. The lord accepted his request.
Returning to his quarters, Yuric fell asleep instantly. When he woke up, it was early dawn the next day. Although he had effectively lost a whole day, he felt refreshed after resting.
After a proper bath and meal, Yuric conducted Geoffrey’s history lesson. After the lesson, he retrieved a potion from the guesthouse basement and went to see Cecilia.
Fortunately, she had almost memorized the circuit. Memorizing the circuit without runes was not easy, but since she could refer to the paper when she forgot, it wasn’t too problematic.
“Is this it?”
“Yes, Captain.”
Cecilia looked at the bottle containing the green potion. She wondered how much effort Yuric had put into it. Of course, she couldn’t imagine.
“I wonder if I can drink this for free.”
“You said it yourself; it’s a research subject. Don’t hesitate and drink it. Have you been practicing magic?”
“As you said, it’s incredibly complex. My head nearly exploded.”
She ordered her adjutant not to let anyone enter the room until she called for it herself.
The adjutant, unaware of her true intentions, gave a sly smile while looking at Yuric with a peculiar gaze.
“Yes, don’t worry. No one will enter. Have a good day, Captain.”
Cecilia wanted to say that they misunderstood, but she remained silent.
The adjutant went downstairs and loudly announced to the two people below:
“Nobody can come up today, brats!”
“What if creaking sounds come from upstairs?”
“If we shake it hard, it’s beyond our control!”
Laughter erupted. They celebrated the milestone day by drinking.
Cecilia’s ears turned slightly red.
“Don’t mind it.”
She sat cross-legged in the center of the room with only a thin robe on.
During the process of drinking the potion and activating the circuit, he planned to observe her from beside. It was necessary to monitor the flow of mana and protect her while she was vulnerable.
“How long will the treatment take?”
“At least half a year.”
“It won’t be easy.”
“It’s not an ordinary illness.”
Indeed, it’s not an ordinary illness—Cecilia agreed.
After receiving the potion from him, she stared intently into his eyes. She took a deep breath and swallowed it in one gulp.
Ugh—Even she, who usually tried not to show displeasure, couldn’t help but wrinkle her brow at the terrible taste.
“…It feels like it needs to be cured.”
“Medicine is supposed to be bitter, as my teacher said.”
Cecilia felt the bitterness in her mouth as she began moving mana through the circuit.
Yuric watched her closely, observing the flow of mana throughout her body.
The potion spread rapidly throughout her body. She immediately broke into a sweat due to the intense heat. Hot breaths escaped her mouth.
The channels through which mana flowed became fluid due to the potion. Narrowed channels expanded slightly due to the flow of mana, but if not controlled properly, it could result in adverse effects. He placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered softly.
“Concentrate. Feel the flow of mana. Neither too much nor too little. The captain surely knows the appropriate density and flow. Use magic to control it.”
This process continued for a long time. After struggling for a while, she finally relaxed.
However, the treatment ended here. The fluid channels returned to their narrow state.
The effect of the potion lasted for half a day. If prolonged beyond that, the channels could collapse.
Therefore, the treatment needed to be repeated steadily at an appropriate level.
The treatment started at noon and ended by evening. Cecilia stood up, drenched in sweat. Nevertheless, her expression was calmer.
“Shall we eat?”
“Yes, let’s.”
The mercenaries watching them descend the stairs with lecherous eyes commented.
“Our captain looks completely exhausted.”
“Yuric is fine though!”
Cecilia simply said that they were just researching magic together, but the mercenaries interpreted it differently.
“So, it’s a kind of magic too. Yes, understood, Captain!”
“Making babies could be seen as a form of magic too.”
“I wish I had become a mage.”
“Then, you’d be able to use magic like passing dogs.”
Cecilia asked Yuric to understand the misunderstanding. He had experienced this before and was prepared for it. In fact, he could now laugh off such jokes easily.
