A week has passed since the spy incident involving Senior Joan and Mr. Wallace.
Despite everything that happened, life has returned to normal.
There has been no summons from either the Dark Side or the Principal.
The only change is that I heard from Frank and Cedric that Senior Andy is taking a break and isn’t at the dormitory.
He’s probably busy with the aftermath of the incident.
I finished my usual week and decided to visit Sharl’s house on Sunday.
Actually, I met Sharl on Saturday as well for martial arts training and study sessions, but yesterday we were at a family restaurant.
When I arrived at Sharl’s house and pressed the intercom, Chloe in a maid’s uniform appeared promptly with a smile.
“Good morning, Master Tsukasa. Welcome.”
Chloe bowed from the entrance to the gate.
“Morning.”
“Master Tsukasa, thank you for your hard work this morning. Today’s ordeal is to endure the Young Lady’s boring alchemy, but on the bright side, it’s a day of cozy moments with a lovely girl in the room. Please enjoy it.”
I doubt it’ll be like that…
“Chloe, you’re really too worldly-minded.”
“Not at all, it really is an ordeal… I think you’ll get bored in five minutes.”
Chloe’s face seemed somewhat gloomy, likely recalling a similar experience.
“Really that bad?”
“The Young Lady enjoys it, the Young Lady does…”
“Y-yeah, I see.”
To be honest, I planned to come around noon.
But Sharl said she’d start in the morning.
Does it really take that long?
“Please, this way.”
Prompted by Chloe, I entered the house.
Once in the living room, Sharl was seated gracefully, sipping coffee.
“Morning.”
“Good morning. What a beautiful day.”
“Yeah…”
When I arrived, I looked up at the sky to see a cloudless, clear summer day.
Even though it was morning, it was already hot since we were already in July.
“On such a wonderful day, we lock ourselves indoors to practice alchemy, staying cool with the air conditioning.”
“That’s how it is, huh…”
There’s no doubt that Sharl is an indoor person.
“Alright, let’s head upstairs, shall we?”
Sharl finished her coffee and stood up.
“Miss, please, do control yourself. Remember, explaining something too enthusiastically to someone uninterested can be very painful.”
Chloe reprimanded Sharl.
“I know, Tsukasa, let’s go.”
Sharl said and we both left the living room, heading upstairs.
It was, of course, my first time going to the second floor.
On the second floor, there was a hallway, with two rooms on each side.
“Four rooms?”
“At our place, it’s just me and Toko.”
Of course, both Toko and I also have separate rooms at the dormitory.
“Cloé’s room and my rooms make three.”
“Three rooms?”
“Bedroom, study, and storage. Though the storage room is technically shared, it’s virtually mine. It’s filled with potions and such.”
It seems she really has an excessive amount of potions.
“Which one is the study?”
“This one.”
Sharl pointed at the door on the right and opened it. We entered, so I followed.
“Wow.”
The room was about 10 tatami mats in size and contained various equipment.
Furthermore, the bookshelves were packed with thick books.
“Thanks to Chloe, it’s quite tidy now. Originally, it was cluttered and messy.”
She didn’t have to tell me that—she’s certainly honest.
“Amazing.”
“Well, take a seat.”
At Sharl’s instruction, I sat on one of the two chairs in front of the workbench. Sharl then took a thick book from the bookshelf and sat on the other chair beside me.
“Actually, I thought we should’ve studied a little first, but Chloe advised against it.”
“Right. I dislike studying.”
“That’s harsh… anyway, this is different from the academy’s lessons, more practical.”
Saying this, Sharl opened the book. It contained hand-drawn illustrations with explanations, focusing on recovery potions.
“Handwritten?”
“It’s mine.”
My handwriting…?
Wait. Is this person writing her own alchemy books?
I took the book Sharl opened and looked at its spine. It was blue with a lattice pattern drawn on it.
“Hmm…”
I then turned to the bookshelf. Naturally, there was an empty space where this particular book had been. The problem, however, was that next to it stood more than ten books with the same color and pattern.
“Wait, so those are all…?”
“Yes.”
“Are you saying…”
“Does it not exceed the bounds of a hobby? You’re practically a writer.”
“It’s research output. Researchers in this field leave behind such achievements.”
Like the archives down in the academy…
“You call yourself a researcher?”
“It’s a hobby, a hobby. My main business is to be the next head of my warrior family.”
Her family’s warrior background is missing here.
“Anyway, we were supposed to teach using all the books lined up there?”
“Yeah. Chloe asked me about that lesson plan and just said, ‘Are you stupid?'”
Rude as it was, Chloe did the right thing.
“I dislike studying.”
“I know. Thus, let’s go straight to the demonstration. Let’s make a potion, shall we?”
Saying this, Sharl took a triangular flask, a four-legged mesh, and an alcohol lamp.
“Science experiment?”
“It’s the same. Old-style potions are made this way.”
“Old-style?”
“Because now, we use magical tools for mass production. As a result, the quality and taste are not always the best. High-quality ones are handcrafted by alchemists this way.”
Mass production is the way of the future, huh?
“How is it made?”
“First, we add an extract from the leaves of herbs here.”
Sharl took out a small bottle and a pipette, adding a few drops to the flask.
“Sciency.”
“Do you want to watch the extraction process from the herb leaves? It’ll take three hours though.”
“No need.”
An ordeal indeed…
“It would have been fun.”
Definitely someone who likes to stay in a room observing chemicals.
“I want to see the potion.”
“Alright then, let’s continue here. The next step is simple—add the magical water.”
Sharl poured water from a flask.
“Magical water?”
“Exactly as it sounds. Water imbued with magic. Since Astral has magic in the air, water can become magical as well. Don’t worry, it’s safe for the body. Moreover, magical water has a magical concentration that affects the quality of potions. This one is about eight percent.”
“Okay… ”
“And what next?”
“Heating.”
Sharl placed the flask onto the mesh and lit the alcohol lamp, starting to heat it.
“Hmm? That’s it?”
“This makes a low-grade potion. The horrible-tasting one.”
“I feel like I could do it.”
“If you have the materials. Extracting the effective essence from the herbs is tricky though.”
That’s the part then.
“You always make potions like this?”
“Yes. This is the basics. Now, while we wait, how about we make your favorite—cola-flavored potion?”
Saying this, Sharl took out another triangular flask, wire mesh, and alcohol lamp.
“How many sets do you have?”
“Plenty. I can make up to ten at once.”
Although I couldn’t say it, you could probably live off that already…
Thank you for reading.
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