Evening, at Lymon Academy.
Xueyuan, Xueni’s younger brother, had been urgently summoned into the office by his sister.
Inside the office, Xueni sat staring absentmindedly at several bottles of magic potion on her desk.
“Big sis, what’s wrong?” Xueyuan walked in with a puzzled expression.
Xueni remained silent for a while before finally speaking. “Do you remember Emma from Starlight Academy?”
Xueyuan nodded; he remembered her well.
A child of the Kelihe Family, an old noble family skilled in potion-making.
“What about her?”
“Well, back then, I originally wanted to accept her into Lymon Academy as my student. But that old woman Kleia snatched her up.”
“You tell me, an Eighth-Tier Mage who knows nothing about brewing or poison-making, what’s she playing at, snatching up a student focused on potion research?” As Xueni spoke, she became increasingly indignant.
So many years had passed since this incident, Xueyuan didn’t really understand why his sister was bringing it up again. “Sister, is there some reason you’re suddenly mentioning this?”
“Heh.” Xueni pointed at the potions on the desk. “These potions are Emma’s latest creation. Why don’t you try one?”
“It’s just a low-tier mana recovery potion, isn’t it? What’s so special?” Though a little doubtful, Xueyuan didn’t hesitate and drank the potion on the desk.
After drinking it, Xueyuan sensed his own condition. His eyes widened in surprise. “This potion can actually temporarily enhance elemental affinity?”
Xueyuan asked curiously, “How did she do this?”
Xueni explained, “The process of making this potion incorporates the principles of magic arrays. Even I never thought of this approach.”
At this, Xueyuan grew excited too. “Sister, what tier is Emma now?”
“Third-Tier, same as Eiruxi.”
Xueni had only ever accepted two direct disciples. The first was a Fourth-Tier Mage, who went off to Liyue Academy to take the High-tier Magic Exam, but because you can’t use potions during the exam, she didn’t get a very high ranking.
The second student was Eiruxi.
“I don’t think our Lucy is any worse. This method of incorporating magic array principles into potion-making—how did Emma come up with it all those years ago?”
“Besides, the teachers at Starlight Academy are all eccentrics, and Isha is also skilled at potion-making. Maybe Isha came up with the idea, and Kleia is using Emma to show off just to spite us.”
“Heh, whether or not the idea was Emma’s, Eiruxi’s potion quality definitely lost this time.”
Xueyuan’s face darkened. “So what are you thinking now, sis?”
“What could I possibly be thinking? Should I go poach her now and force her to join our Lymon Academy as my student?”
“Or should I secretly send someone to deal with Emma?”
“If I really did that, could I show my face? If that old hag Kleia came here, could I, a potion-maker, even win in a fight?”
As she spoke, Xueni picked up her tea and drained it in one gulp.
“This tea is way too sour.”
At Lymon Academy, Eiruxi received an urgent magic delivery.
The sender was Baishitong.
Eiruxi opened the box to find a Magic Recording Stone inside, along with a note.
Contents: “What’s recorded in here will definitely interest you. If you want the details, head to the Tavern at Silent Moon Wharf and ask one of the workers. Now you owe me a favor.”
After watching the content of the recording stone, Eiruxi’s face turned ugly.
Pointing at Luke in the image, she asked her classmates, “Do any of you know this person?”
The surrounding students all shook their heads.
“I’ve been at the academy for years; my memory is good. He doesn’t look like a Lymon Academy student.”
“Heh!” Eiruxi sneered. “Where did this stray dog come from, daring to impersonate one of our students? Not only did he speak so rudely, he was all talk and no substance—completely disgracing our Lymon Academy.”
According to Baishitong, those people were still at Silent Moon Wharf.
As it happened, her senior Rog had just returned from Liyue Academy after taking the High-tier Magic Exam.
She was going to see for herself, with Senior Rog, just who dared to impersonate a Lymon Academy student.
Elsewhere, Emma finally sold off all her potions before Commercial Street closed. Eight hundred gold coins in hand, and then some—she let out a long sigh of relief.
With this settled, she wouldn’t have to go to the Mine to pay off her debt.
Back at the Tavern, she confided her suspicions to Yize and Luke.
“You two went to Commercial Street today, didn’t you?”
Yize understood what Emma was asking and explained, “Those two troublemakers? That was me.”
“Senior, look—after our little act, your potions sold out quick, didn’t they?”
Honestly, if not for Yize and Luke’s performance, she might not have sold all the potions today.
She said gratefully, “Thank you, both of you.”
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Emma blurted out, “Luke, today you pretended to be an employee of the Silent Moon Chamber of Commerce and even claimed to be a Lymon Academy student. Aren’t you afraid of Lymon Academy coming after you?”
Yize explained, “There is some risk, but it was the best option we had. None of us wore Starlight Academy’s Magic Uniform, so no one could recognize us. Plus, Senior Sara arrives tomorrow and we’ll be leaving Silent Moon Wharf soon. As long as we’re careful for a bit longer, nothing should happen.”
He said it lightly, but Yize still felt uneasy.
After all, the option to help Emma sell potions was marked as difficulty C—there were certainly risks involved.
The two of them had helped for her sake. Emma thought it over and said, “If this gets exposed, just say I put you up to it. I’ll take all the responsibility.”
Yize could only sigh inwardly!
If things really came to that, how could he possibly say it was Emma’s idea?
If he did, who knows what trouble Emma would stir up next—or if the system would force him to step in and save her again?
At this point, Yize just hoped Emma could live safely.
Leaving the room, the three of them were ready to enjoy a big meal—a proper treat tonight.
Soon, Yize sensed something was off.
It was dinnertime, yet the place was unusually quiet, with barely anyone eating.
A sense of foreboding crept into Yize’s heart. The system hadn’t given any warnings, so he tried to brush it off as paranoia.
They had just found a seat when several people entered from outside, all wearing Lymon Academy Magic Uniforms.
The newcomers immediately surrounded them.
Yize was surprised; things were really getting out of hand—Lymon Academy’s people arrived too fast.
Luke was also alarmed, quickly lowering his head, afraid he’d be recognized.
Seeing this, Emma felt her heart go cold—she felt as if she’d just escaped one danger only to land in another.
She clenched her fists, teeth gritted. Though she only knew some support magic, as the senior to Yize and Luke, she had to shield her juniors!
Whatever happened, it should come at her alone!
Besides, Lymon Academy was one of the Four Major Magic Academies of the Empire—these were all noble heirs. They shouldn’t go too far, right?