Episode 947

The alchemists working in Yoanen Maykin's workshop occasionally fell under a certain delusion.

That while Yoanen was the madwoman running the workshop, they themselves were perfectly sane and normal alchemists.

But as anyone who'd seen Einrogard could attest, those who managed to coexist peacefully with the insane ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were often just as suspect.

Because more often than not, they harbored comparable madness within themselves!

Though relatively sane compared to Yoanen, the workshop alchemists became sufficiently unhinged whenever alchemy was involved.

"We must find it first. Before any other workshop's alchemists!"

"Perhaps we should visit the other workshops first. Let's probe what they know."

"That's a fine idea. Did anyone bring invisibility potions?"

The workshop alchemists immediately considered using invisibility potions to infiltrate.

Invisibility potions conveniently solved many problems an alchemist might face—and infiltrating rival workshops was certainly one of them.

"Ah!"

As they stepped outside, the workshop alchemists spotted figures in another workshop's attire and narrowed their eyes in suspicion.

The ones who had just emerged from the alley ahead were alchemists working under Prince Bogajun.

"An ominous coincidence, if it is one."

"Shh. Let's sound them out."

While they whispered among themselves, Prince Bogajun's alchemists approached.

"Greetings. Have you heard any rumors about a special Flame Tree Root?"

"......"

"...Eh? What... what might that be?"

The workshop alchemists maintained their composure, feigning ignorance.

The oblivious alchemists under Prince Bogajun spoke in excited voices.

"Apparently, an extremely rare Flame Tree Root has arrived in Granden City! Rumor has it someone secured one personally cultivated by a Red Dragon atop a lava flow..."

'Does that even make sense?' The workshop alchemists inwardly scoffed.

Admittedly, the Flame Tree Root they had seen possessed extraordinary properties.

Far more potent than ordinary Flame Tree Roots, it could not only amplify potion effects but even enable the creation of rare potions that were usually difficult to brew.

But the idea that a Red Dragon had cultivated it atop lava was absurd.

For one thing, how would anyone even steal it? A dragon's greed wasn't something a mere herb gatherer could overcome.

'No. That's not the point right now.'

"Indeed. So, are you also planning to seek out this reagent?"

"Of course. His Highness would be most pleased."

"Hmm. I'm still unclear—would you care ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to explain in detail over drinks?"

"Huh? It's no trouble, but..."

"I heard the <Inn of Ten Thousand Schemes> has new liquor. Shall we?"

"The <Righteous Thief of Granden>! I've been meaning to try it—perfect!"

The wicked workshop alchemists smirked, already plotting to knock out their rivals with grape and barley potions.

'The reagent will be ours!'

Lee Han and his friends split up to visit potential reagent buyers.

True to his aspirations of becoming Granden City's greatest merchant, Lee Han had no intention of making haphazard sales.

He could have offloaded them at street stalls or back alleys, but that would have been a one-time deal.

Finding a reliable buyer and building trust meant he could return to them in the future.

However, two things caught Lee Han off guard.

First, the establishments in Granden City that purchased alchemical reagents were far pickier than he'd expected.

Neither Einrogard's status nor any other affiliation made it easy for students to sell casually.

-We already have contracted suppliers. Apologies.

-We only purchase reagents from guilds recognized by <Paragranum>.

And second, the rumors about Gonadaltes—no, Stedal Nago—were still burning hot.

"What? The Nago family's reagents? You mean from that Stedal Nago's family?"

"If that's the case, that changes everything. I'd like to take a look. Could you bring the reagents?"

Even places that had initially reacted negatively showed great interest upon hearing the Nago family's name.

Wasn't this the family of the mage who had recently become the hottest topic in Granden City?

How could they not be intrigued when a family like that wanted to supply reagents? Moreover, Flame Tree Root had been in short supply lately.

"I never thought an alias would come in handy like this..."

"Even the Headmaster wouldn't have predicted this," Yoner muttered. Lee Han, walking beside her, asked,

"There won't be any issues when they inspect the reagents, right?"

"Hmm... It should be fine. The hard part is securing an appointment—once it gets to the reagent inspection stage, there usually aren't many problems."

Renowned workshops typically purchased reagents only from verified sources, so they rarely accepted new offers.

In other words, the fact that they even asked to see the reagents meant they were highly interested.

If the quality turned out worse than expected, things could get complicated, but the Flame Tree Root Lee Han's group had prepared was quite good. The chances of any issues were slim.

"Several alchemists will likely attend to verify the quality, run some tests, then discuss pricing and finalize the contract."

"Are we really not going to try Lady Yoanen's workshop?"

"Not my sister. As I said, her discerning eye is anything but ordinary. For this, a more... lax approach is better."

Having frequented her family's alchemy workshops since childhood, Yoner was well-versed in reagent transactions.

From a seller's perspective, buyers who lacked discernment and were swayed by trends or rumors—willing to overpay—were ideal.

Yoanen was, in that regard, the worst possible buyer.

Starting with her sharp eye, she never wasted a single coin beyond necessity...

"I think a place like Prince Bogajun's workshop would be good. I've heard they have plenty of gold coins and care deeply about appearances."

"Yoner, you're the Empire's future Minister of Finance. Let's head there, then."

"......"

Lee Han was already considering making this a regular venture if things went well.

Purchase discarded reagents, borrow the Crazy Doppelganger's wisdom to restore them, then sell them.

If managed properly, this could become a far more stable income source than unreliable commissions.

"True... it does require a lot of effort, but all us second-years could work on it together."

Yoner agreed (though she didn't share his ambition of becoming Granden City's top merchant).

This reagent trade could turn out to be a surprisingly good revenue stream. For students struggling with research funds, it would feel like rain after a drought.

The downside was that it demanded more labor than expected.

While it might sound simple when summarized, the groundwork, management, and verification at each stage were quite meticulous.

But given the second-years' teamwork, that was manageable. Just call everyone together and assign tasks. 'Ah, mana could be an issue too. But that's negligible.'

In truth, mana was a bigger problem than labor, but he didn't even consider it.

Not when standing beside a friend from the Wardanaz family—it was far too trivial a concern.

"How's your research going these days?"

"It's tough, but considering third and fourth year, I have to start preparing now..."

Lee Han looked at his friend with immense pride at her words.

If only students like Ga or Ang had half her foresight, Einrogard's average student quality would skyrocket!

"By the way, Lee Han, did you know about the Maykin family's secret arts?"

"No. I didn't know that much."

Old families inevitably accumulated various secrets and hidden techniques.

Spells, knowledge, and goals known only to their members.

"Hmm. Then take a guess."

Yoner playfully tossed him a riddle.

Could this genius from the Wardanaz family deduce the secret arts of the family she was interested in, based solely on the clues so far?

"Hmm... It's not about restoring the lost recipe of <The Legendary Tart of the Maykin Family>, is it?"

"...Of course not. Wait, how do you even know about that!?"

Yoner was stunned.

Given the Maykin family's long history and excellence in alchemy, they had achieved remarkable accomplishments in various fields. Desserts like <The Maykin Family's Sweet Pan Chocolate> and <The Maykin Family's Magical Chocolate Éclair> still boasted widespread fame across the Empire to this day.

However, among these achievements, there was also a lost recipe—<The Legendary Tart of the Maykin Family>.

Legends claimed it could even pacify an enraged archdemon or the Spirit King, suggesting it was no ordinary dessert but likely an extraordinary potion or substance. However, the story was so old and lacked concrete clues that even within the Maykin family, few took it seriously.

With so many other secrets and legacies, why bother searching for something like that?

"I heard it was a lost recipe, so I thought it might be something valuable and looked through some old texts. But the more I read, the less it seemed like a mass-producible dessert and more like a magical concoction."

"...Yeah, that makes sense..."

Shivering at her friend's unnecessarily impressive depth of knowledge, Yoner slowly explained.

"What I'm interested in is another lost artifact. Have you heard of <The Maykin Family's Cauldron>? You probably don't—"

"Are you talking about the cauldron that endlessly produces treasures?"

"......"

Yoner had heard rumors that the Wardanaz family possessed all sorts of ancient and magical texts, but she was stunned once again by how well Lee Han knew even the nearly forgotten stories of her own family.

Come to think of it, she could guess why he knew this one too.

"Y-yeah. That's the one. Of course, since so much time has passed, there's bound to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be some exaggeration, but there's something we can infer from it, right?"

"Replication magic."

Her red-haired friend nodded. Conversations with people on the same magical wavelength were always enjoyable.

If it were that Gainando kid, he'd probably just start talking about snacks or Wizard Cards the moment he heard this...

"Exactly. The magic of material replication. Of course, it's neither infinite nor without limitations, but traces of that magic are clearly there. That's what I'm interested in."

Since complete material replication magic was nearly impossible, <The Maykin Family's Cauldron> likely achieved it in a limited form.

Yoner's goal was to recreate even a fraction of the cauldron's secrets and principles. Just that much would already be a remarkable achievement.

"There it is."

As they walked, the workshop of the alchemists under Prince Bogajun came into view.

Just as Yoner had said, the exterior of the workshop exuded an air of wealth.

Unlike the other workshop buildings in the guild district, it had an extravagant sign made of gold and silver, and even a balance scale adorned with crystal decorations.

"Has no one ever tried to steal that?"

"Shh. A few have tried. Don't say that inside. Let's go."

The two knocked on the workshop's door and announced themselves as members of the Nago family.

The employee was startled and immediately ran inside to inform someone.

"They've agreed to meet you right away. Please come in!"

Lee Han and Yoner exchanged meaningful glances and nodded.

This was a much more enthusiastic response than elsewhere. A good sign.

Creak

After entering the reception room and sitting down, the door soon opened. Familiar-faced alchemists walked in.

It was Yoanen and her subordinate alchemists. Though disguised, Yoner's face paled.

"Yoner?"

"!"

Surprisingly, Yoanen immediately recognized her younger sister's disguise.

Even with altered facial features, her flawless observational skills picked up the familiarity unique to siblings.

Yoanen channeled mana into the amethyst glasses she usually wore, piercing through her sister's disguise. It was indeed Yoner.

"Then that means the other one is..."

"Gainando."

"Given the intelligence I sense, you're definitely not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lord Gainando. You must be Lord Wardanaz, right?"

"...Yes... That's correct."