Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Potion Partners and Runes
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77
6
How wonderful it would be if worldly affairs could be resolved just by making up one's mind.
I had boldly declared my intent to bring Noel over and place him by Leon's side, but I still hadn't figured out how to do it.
The alchemy lecture had ended, but most of the students hadn't left their seats yet.
That's because the majority of them were heading straight to the adjacent lab for the alchemy practical session.
They all seemed to plan on resting a bit before moving over, and Noel was no exception.
Today's Noel was... sitting in his chair with his legs crossed.
He was trying to look delinquent, sort of, but honestly, I wasn't sure if he pulled it off.
It just made me worry about his back health instead.
"You're the transfer student, right?"
"Where'd you come from?"
"A transfer student? That's wild."
"G-Get lost...!"
His pitiful threat had little effect, as students gathered around Noel in groups of twos and threes.
What could I say—it was like they were gawking at a red panda trying to look threatening.
No matter how much he menaced, no one was scared.
Well, in Esterro Academy, where each grade has only about fifty students, a transfer student showing up was bound to draw all the attention.
Hardly anyone even thought transfers were possible in the first place, so it was natural for all the aggro to focus on the actual transfer student who appeared.
Thanks to that, the flunking student who had survived up to the second semester—no longer drew the stares like before.
Thanks, Noel! Taking the heat for me like a champ!
...Anyway, that's that.
Getting close to Noel right now would be tough.
Since the practical was done in pairs anyway, I headed to the lab first.
And I casually stepped up to pair with Noel.
"We haven't met before, right? I'm Theo Agrit. Nice to work with you."
"W-Whatever... If you're asking nicely, I guess I can't say no!"
Hmm, is this his idea of acting tough?
It felt a bit off, but we got the greetings out of the way.
I sat down and checked the tools neatly arranged on the desk.
Vials of reagents, a small lamp, all sorts of materials—everything needed for potion-making.
"Don't touch anything carelessly. It's dangerous."
Professor Derhrit, standing at the front of the room, adjusted his large round glasses.
Dark circles under his eyes, hollow brown irises, dry and ashen skin.
No matter how you looked at him, he resembled an exhausted assistant more than a professor.
Ignoring all the stares, he scratched at his olive-green hair tied back in a bun.
With half-dead eyes, he glanced at the potions pinned to his clothes and picked out a bright yellow one, downing it in one gulp.
"Kuh... This one's the best, as always."
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and tossed the empty potion bottle onto the desk with a clunk.
Then he adjusted his glasses again and swept his serious gaze over us.
"The potion you'll be making today is the same kind as the one I just drank. As I mentioned in the basic alchemy lecture, potion-making is one of the core fields of alchemy, and strictly following the recipe is crucial. We'll start the practical by practicing adherence to the procedure."
His fatigue seemingly gone in an instant, he eyed the identically set-up tools with refreshed eyes.
Without pause, he moved his hands and mouth in tandem.
"First, add 12g of dried red trout scales to the cauldron. Grind only the peel of unripe green mandarins and add it, then carefully pour 100ml of Halrin spring water down the side of the cauldron. Add 16g of frozen blueberry juice. At this point, light the fire and stir clockwise at 17 revolutions per minute over medium heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce to low heat and stabilize for 3 minutes. Then turn off the fire, cool completely, and it's done. Simple, right?"
In a flash, all the ingredients merged into one.
Inside Professor Derhrit's cauldron was the exact same bright yellow liquid he'd just drunk.
"Simple, right? Now you try it."
Silence fell over the students for a moment.
He'd gone through it so quickly that no one seemed to have followed properly.
But eventually, everyone started fumbling through the potion-making process.
Well, I could guess what kind of potion it was.
Just looking at the ingredients, it screamed tonic or revitalizer.
And with Professor Derhrit right there demonstrating the effects firsthand, it was certain.
The measurements were prepped, so I just added them to the cauldron in order, boiled over medium heat while stirring, let it rest a bit, then cooled it—done.
To make an even more effective potion, you'd have to follow conditions several times more stringent, so this level of difficulty was a piece of cake.
I glanced at Noel.
He was... staring off into the distant reaches of the universe...
"Ah~ I totally get it!"
He clearly didn't get it at all.
The other students were probably the same.
Ignoring that, I picked up the plate with the dried red trout scales first.
"I'll handle the procedure, so back me up."
"Huh? Sure... No! Who are you to order me around?!"
Dude, you bit your tongue there.
Tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes.
"Then do you want to handle the procedure? I'll back you up."
"Ugh... No, if you're asking, I guess I have to. Yeah! You do it! I'll back you up!"
He probably didn't want to admit he couldn't remember.
Whatever, it didn't matter, so I added the ingredients to the cauldron in order and lit the fire.
I stirred the contents of the earthenware pot with a spatula and prepared the hourglass.
"Lower it to low heat once it boils."
"I know that much...!"
I confirmed the sand was all gathered on one side of the hourglass.
The moment the bright yellow liquid in the pot started boiling, I flipped the hourglass.
Now just leave it for 3 minutes, then cool it...
Suddenly, the liquid in the pot bubbled and swelled up.
The expansion rivaling pulled taffy was not part of the plan.
A quick glance showed Noel pale as a ghost, hands trembling.
"Hey, were you late switching to low heat...!?"
Yeah, you were a bit late.
Then just turn off the fire.
It can stabilize with residual heat.
I immediately extinguished the flame, but Noel was already fidgeting in panic, face ashen.
Just a moment ago he'd been forcing a tough act, but one little mistake and he was a completely different person.
At least once the tonic stabilized, he took a deep breath and returned to normal...
But Noel's completely pallid face was hard for anyone to watch.
It was just one mistake, after all.
I reached out to pat his shoulder, but Noel flinched noticeably and pulled away.
Even simple physical contact was still impossible, huh.
The distrust and wariness built up from his previous school seemed even more deeply rooted than I'd thought.
His reaction suggested it was impressive he didn't outright antagonize or hate humans.
Still, that made recruiting him just as difficult.
After pondering for a moment... I pointed toward the classroom door with my half-extended hand.
"Lunch. Together?"
7
The student cafeteria menu for the first day back after break was chicken steak with white sauce.
Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside thick chicken cutlet topped with smooth, creamy white sauce that struck the perfect flavor balance.
The chewy whole roasted mushrooms soaked up the sauce and provided the missing texture.
As I split one in half, Noel across from me mumbled softly, looking ashamed.
"...Thanks for earlier."
"We were partners. No big deal."
"Still... I caused trouble... I'll tell the professor so I do it alone from now on. You should join another pair."
This guy's worse off than I thought.
The practicals were structured around pairs—doing them solo from now on?
I set down my fork and knife and stared straight at Noel.
Feeling my gaze, he flicked his golden eyes away slightly.
He didn't want to meet my eyes, probably.
"What trouble? It's the first practical—who expects everyone to nail it? You learn from mistakes. Don't sweat it. Just eat. It'll get cold."
First things first—restore Noel's rock-bottom self-esteem.
Figure out how to rebuild it and get him healthy.
As I brainstormed methods, the cafeteria grew rowdy.
"We can't take this anymore! Why start classes so soon?! Guarantee our vacation...! Guarantee the vacation we lost to the research labs!!"
A few people shot to their feet.
From their outfits, they weren't students—they were TAs.
Looking like walking corpses, they grabbed metal pipes and such, blocking the cafeteria doors.
"Grad students need vacations too!"
"Dinner!"
"Give us time off!!"
Unable to process the sudden turn of events, Noel stared off into the distant universe again.
It was almost natural for him to zone out completely.
First the egalitarian book club illegally occupied the library, now grad student TAs occupying the student cafeteria—none of it made logical sense.
Hmm, I figured it'd happen soon, but today?
Talk about impeccable timing.
My prediction was a bit off, but I ignored it and resumed eating.
The student cafeteria occupation—aka the TA Revolt—would end in under 20 minutes.
In Broken World, Leon only hears about it as news, so he doesn't even appear.
But... poor guys.
In this world, grad students... have it worse than in reality.
To learn a craftsman's skills, you have to grovel under them for years without pay just to pick up the basics—that's common sense in Broken World.
Academia isn't much different; grad students are treated like half-slaves.
The saddest part is that getting even a small stipend puts you on the better end.
Guards rushed in and pried the cafeteria doors open.
Slow for every other incident, but fast when it suits them.
No sign of Jin amid the chaos.
"Let me go! I want a vacation toooooo...!"
The grad students were dragged out by the guards, wailing.
Listening to their cries sent a chill of foreboding down my spine.
Come to think of it, I got a summons from Edmund.
No way Clara joined the protest and they're short-handed, right?
8
"A protest? Of course not."
Reunited in Edmund's lab after break, Clara smiled brightly.
She still looked worn out, but her pale green eyes sparkled with energy.
"They know it's unreasonable too... but I'm enjoying my research right now. Oh, Professor Edmund said he'd be back in about five minutes."
"Guess I'll wait. Did you have a good break, TA Clara?"
"Ahaha~ Truth is, I didn't realize it was break until a month in. The academy felt so quiet—I figured out everyone went home for the holidays. It was peaceful, so I focused well."
"That's... good to hear."
Was it really?
Hard to say...
"Did you go home too, Theo?"
"Quick trip back to the estate. Stopped by the Riverflow Festival on the way."
"The Riverflow Festival—one of the big three? Lucky~ Wonder if I can roam festivals freely once I'm a professor..."
"If you're curious, you can go now."
Edmund entered, opening the door gentlemanly as always.
From his crisp suit to his slicked-back hair, he was still a walking statue.
"Just finish work quickly and make time."
His blue eyes didn't so much as blink as he spouted the impossible.
Clara nodded with an ahaha at the deus ex machina advice of "just try harder."
"Theo Agrit, you applied for Understanding Runes, I see. Maintaining academic interest is important."
"Well... yeah. What'd you need, Professor?"
Truth was, I took it for easy credits, but I hid that.
Edmund strode over and peered down at me intently.
He seemed subtly taller, making our eye levels uneven.
"Be the class rep for Understanding Runes."
"I'll pass."
Class rep? Looked like a hassle.
Like Mayrill last semester, stuck with all the grunt work.
"I'll give you full marks on lecture attitude."
"...I'll do it."
That's different.
Attitude weighs less than practicals and exams, but points are points.
If you don't want to fail, grab every point you can.
Plus, some cushion expands your options.
"Just out of curiosity... why me?"
"For a lecture on runes, isn't it obvious the student who knows them best takes the key role?"
"I see..."
Wait, then what about Mayrill, class rep first semester?
Was she a grad candidate too...?
Edmund's rune obsession is scary.
But that's why it was worth asking.
"Just curiosity again, Professor—ever seen runes like these?"
I handed over two pre-copied sheets.
One from the magic sword, the other from the mysterious orb.
Edmund examined the paper, swallowed hard, and pondered deeply.
Then, after a moment, he shook his head and spoke.
"First time seeing them. Where'd you find them?"
"Personal circumstances—I can't say where."
Can't exactly say I saw them on an orb I picked up in the mirror world with the magic sword.
If even Edmund doesn't know, guess I'm on my own.
Any hint would help.
"Hmm... I'll look into it."
"Really?"
"No reason to back off from a new discovery."
Edmund stepping up?
Reliable guy in times like these.
As I inwardly cheered, Clara peeked over with sparkling eyes.
"New runes... So jealous... I wanna investigate too..."
"We'll investigate right away."
"Yes~ I'll gather research materials...!"
I'd dumped more work on Clara, who jumped in without complaint...
But she looked happy, so it's fine...?