Lollipop

Stain stood there, beaming proudly with a spellbook in hand.

It looked like he'd prepared this spellbook just for me.

No alchemist specializing in potion-making would bother learning decomposition magic, after all.

But before I could say a word, Camilla jumped in.

"What the hell is this bitch doing, wagging her tail at Master... guh!"

"Haha, s-sorry! You two talk!"

"Lena sis! Let me go for a sec! Can't you see this vixen flirting with Master?"

"No nagging—come on!"

"Hmph! I only listen to Master. Lena sis can't order me aro—"

Lena clamped a hand over Camilla's mouth, struggling to drag her away.

No matter how hard Lena pulled, Camilla's petite frame wouldn't budge an inch.

All I could do was watch and say one thing.

"Follow Lena."

"Y-yes, Masteeeer—!"

"Treat Lena's words as mine and listen up. Got it?"

Camilla backed off without a word, even if it killed her.

I just let out a sigh.

Stain watched the whole scene with amused interest.

I closed the workshop door and stepped outside.

With Lena and Camilla bickering, we wouldn't get any real talk done.

"So, why show me this spellbook all of a sudden?"

Straight to the point.

He wouldn't have brought it out of nowhere without wanting something.

Sure enough, Stain hesitated a moment before bowing his head.

"Please help me out! And I'll give you this!"

"Me? How could I help you, Stain? Our fields are totally different."

"That advanced recovery potion you showed me last time. The one with the preservation enchantment..."

Of course I remembered.

The potion that earned advanced grade thanks to its rot prevention and instant stamina recovery.

He wanted to recreate it.

The problem was, it relied on the System's magic—no way to help him directly.

I'd anticipated this, so my prepared response flowed out smoothly.

"Enchanting is all about intuition. Hard to teach."

"Yeah... I figured. I just came on the off chance. Take the spellbook anyway. I can't even learn it."

"You're... just giving it to me?"

Stain handed over the spellbook limply.

He wasn't a bad guy, that much was clear.

He hadn't planned to strut around with one spellbook from the start.

This could be a good opportunity.

A sudden idea crossed my mind.

Something that might benefit us both.

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It'd help me more, since I could analyze spells.

Plus, I wasn't about to take an expensive spellbook for free.

This was debt.

The intermediate recovery potions I'd gotten before had been super useful.

Time to pay that back now.

"Stain, could you... show me the potion-making process?"

"The process? You mean the recipe...?"

"No, the actual steps. I might be able to help."

Stain pondered briefly.

But the conclusion seemed set.

Our fields were different, so stealing techniques was unlikely.

For a normal mage, anyway.

"Sure! Want to head over now?"

I told Lena and Camilla as Stain led the way to his workshop.

"Lena! I'm heading to Stain's workshop for a bit!"

"Eek! Master! Take me too! Me too!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"No. Stay with Lena."

Camilla's face fell instantly.

I left her with Lena and hurried out.

Maybe I'd learn a new spell today.

Crunch—

I'd sweet-talked Lena sis into letting me hit the market, and now I crunched on a lollipop.

The sweetness cleared my head right up.

Lena sis is just too nice, isn't she?

When I first woke up, it hadn't felt real.

Hell, I'd thought I was dead.

No, I should have been.

That last assassination attempt.

The target was the Sword Master's owner.

The man called Aura's lord.

An Aura Master, after all.

An Aura Master lives up to the title. Ugh... creepy old bastard.

I glanced down at my severed limbs.

Prosthetics filled the spots now, but the memory of them getting chopped off was crystal clear.

Still, I landed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one good hit. Guess I should be satisfied?

In the end, failure.

But I'd given him a nasty wound—his bed's gonna suck for a while.

All that for a couple limbs.

Thinking of the Aura Master made my skin crawl; I shuddered.

No desire to remember.

But this slave seal... won't come off? Whatever, actually kinda glad! He-heh!

After the fatal injury, I'd thrown myself into a slave caravan on purpose.

If I survived, it'd be the safest spot, I figured.

A basic slave seal from some mage? I could break it solo.

And if the new master tried anything rough, I'd play along and use him.

Just till my body healed.

But Master Theo? Totally different.

Different in every way.

These prosthetic arm and leg... they're treasures! And he gave them to me! Ehehehe!

Honestly, the performance was unbelievable.

Still adapting, but there had to be hidden features.

Magrid's heir, my ass. Where else does he get tech like this? Hee-hee, he's definitely hiding something!

The more I thought of Master Theo, the more I giggled and my heart fluttered.

He gave trash like me a treasure.

And he made it right in front of me, putting in all that effort.

I love this master.

My old one never went this far.

No need to hunt down a dark mage. Nah, this is way better!

Good things kept happening since meeting my new master.

When my limbs got cut, I'd thought of dark mages.

Maybe they could reattach them.

They'd rot and stink eventually, but swap 'em out periodically.

But this gift? Not even comparable.

So I had to repay him.

No, I wanted to.

I'll protect Theo-nim no matter what! Lena sis is too nice to do it, so it's on me!

A vow, a solemn oath to myself.

Couldn't lose a second master.

One odd thing about Master Theo, though.

Is Master really a mage? He's kinda... weird.

From eavesdropping on his chats with Lena sis, yeah, definitely a mage.

A rare crafting mage, even.

The prosthetics proved it beyond doubt.

Crunch—

I bit into the lollipop again.

A wrinkle creased my smooth forehead.

For a mage, he's got no openings. Even 4th or 5th-class battle mages aren't that tight...

Mysterious.

I'd met plenty of mages.

Even so-called battle mages.

But Master was different.

Felt like facing a battle-hardened knight.

Lots of combat experience? But his age... doesn't add up. Why the veteran vibe?

Couldn't figure it out.

Definitely a mage, but with zero gaps.

I could probably slip in, but it'd cost me.

Heart heavy.

What if Master didn't need me anymore?

Can't become useless! No way! I hate being alone again...

As anxiety about Master Theo bubbled up, a strange voice reached my ears.

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Lena sis hadn't noticed yet.

"That arrogant punk Theo—making me come all the way out here for trash like him?"

Definitely heard "Theo."

And the tone grated.

Same name coincidence?

Not sure yet, so I rolled the candy in my mouth.

Lena sis was busy shopping.

Perfect timing.

Now I could focus on the voice.

"What? Making Sunogi with magic? And potions? If he had skills like that, he should've told me sooner, the sneaky bastard!"

"Whoa, Lady Florence! Watch your words here... Still, thanks to Theo, we got this chance, right?"

"True. He's got his merits, sneaky as he is."

Magic, Theo.

Too early to jump, but it screamed Master.

Didn't matter if not.

I didn't like this scrawny old geezer tossing Master's name around.

Crunch—

I bit the lollipop.

Not much left.

Ears stayed sharp.

"Even sending Aura Users about to become knights... Ignoring Count Arno's favor has limits. Theo'll back down when he sees you all! Let's drag him out now!"

I looked up, spotting the voice's source.

Skinny old man with two Aura Users.

And two underlings.

Total five.

Shrrk—

Test the prosthetic arm.

Whoosh—

Test the prosthetic leg.

Good enough.

Who're you... gonna drag?

Crunch—

Shoved the rest of the candy in and crushed it.

Seemed like pests trying to ruin my time with Master.

"Lena sis! Gotta pee!"

I called out.

Lena sis jumped in surprise.

"You're all grown—don't say it like that! Hurry up and go!"

"Hehe, got it! Be right back after I handle it! Wait just a sec!"

"Need help? You okay?"

Lena sis was so kind.

Body like this, but handling small fry? No need for help.

"I'm good! I can do this solo! Back soon!"

Lena sis watched me with worry.

She was worried, so I'd hurry.

Candy gone.

Wooden stick in my hand.

This'd do.

The moment we reached Stain's workshop, he grabbed a handful of silverwheel grass—potion ingredient.

It faintly glowed at his fingertips.

Reacting to mana—quality stuff, for sure.

"Starting?"

I pulled out a flask of low-grade life water onto the table.

Stain's mana writhed.

"First: Resonance of Detoxification!"

Stain's mana circuits lit up clear as day.

Even the workshop's mana circuits too.

Stuff I couldn't see last visit.

Resonance of Detoxification? Magic to strip poison from silverwheel grass?

Seemed like a purification variant.

But "detox" suggested something more direct.

The analysis results matched my guess.

Stain watched anxiously for the outcome.

The instant the messages popped up, I clenched my fist.

If the class matched, I could steal spells from anyone.

Whether they agreed or not.