Emma was stunned, her mouth opening and closing for a long time without uttering a single word.
Meanwhile, Luke continued his act as if nothing was wrong. Noticing the crowd of onlookers growing larger, he seized the moment and stepped onto the signboard.
With an expression full of disdain, he declared, “A potion that increases magic power—only I sell it in the entire Empire. One gold coin per bottle, fair for all, young or old!”
After reading it aloud, he burst into laughter. “A potion that can increase magic power? Aside from magic circles and magical tools, I’ve never seen such a thing. Are you taking your customers for fools?”
Saying this, he raised the signboard and asked the crowd around him, “Everyone, you come from all corners of the land and have seen much—has anyone ever heard of such an amazing potion?”
“Everyone knows the best magic potions come from our Lemon Academy!”
The crowd of onlookers shook their heads, then nodded again.
Emma’s mind was blank. She couldn’t understand how her junior suddenly showed up in the Silent Moon Chamber of Commerce’s uniform, publicly humiliating her.
Yet apart from the resemblance and the black hair, Luke’s manner of speaking and attitude were completely different from usual.
Could it really be possible for two people to look so alike in this world?
Seeing more and more people gathering, Emma realized the most urgent thing was to clarify that her potion’s effects were not fake.
“The world is vast and full of wonders. As a magic potion essential to the Empire, apothecaries are constantly innovating and improving day and night. As an apothecary, I happened to develop a potion that can enhance magic power.”
Luke spat on the ground with utter contempt. “Have you no shame? The headmaster of Lemon Academy is the Empire’s top apothecary, and even she hasn’t developed a potion with such an effect. Are you saying you’re better than Lemon Academy’s headmaster?”
Their back-and-forth drew nearly half the people on the commercial street.
After all, there’s never a shortage of onlookers eager for drama, no matter the world.
At this moment, voices echoed from the crowd.
“That’s right, even the Empire’s top apothecary hasn’t developed such a thing, and you, an ordinary apothecary, claim you have?”
“So you’re just trying to make a quick buck here at the Silent Moon Wharf’s commercial street before disappearing, huh?”
Emma looked in the direction of the voices, wanting to see who spoke with such sarcastic tone.
To her surprise, she was stunned again.
She saw Ize hiding behind someone in the crowd, looking shifty, occasionally making mocking remarks, and every time he finished speaking, he’d immediately switch to hiding behind another person.
With someone taking the lead, soon many onlookers chimed in.
“Yeah, do you really think us ordinary folk are so easy to fool? This is the Silent Moon Chamber of Commerce’s turf—if I want to buy potions, I’ll buy from them, since theirs all come from Lemon Academy.”
“With someone like you, you dare call yourself an apothecary? I doubt your potions can even restore magic, let alone increase its power.”
Emma: “???”
At this moment, Emma didn’t care about the jeers and doubts from the crowd. What she cared about most was why Ize was doing this.
One person who looked like Luke might be a coincidence, but another like Ize? Could that be a coincidence too?
Still, what mattered most now was clarifying the effects of her potions.
Otherwise, she really might end up sold off to mine at the quarry.
“My low-grade mana recovery potion is indeed better than those currently produced by Lemon Academy.”
“If everyone doubts my potion’s effects, why don’t we test them on the spot to see if they’re as powerful as I say?”
Emma was a noble by birth, well-versed in noble etiquette, and her presence alone actually piqued the interest of many in the crowd.
Luke feigned suspicion as he reached out to take Emma’s potion. Just as he was about to drink it to verify its effects, Ize, hiding in the crowd, pinched his nose and shouted again.
“Everything needs a comparison! Even if your magic potion really does boost power, what if the effect is so weak it might as well not exist?”
“What’s more, who knows if your recovery potion’s effect is any good? If it’s not even half as effective as the Silent Moon Chamber’s Lemon Academy potions, what’s the point of a small power boost?”
“It just so happens the Silent Moon Wharf has several magic circles that gather elemental affinity—we can use them for a proper comparison.”
At these words, many onlookers agreed, and some wealthy folks even offered to pay for someone to test their magic in the elemental gathering circle.
Luke continued boastfully, “You still have time to run. If there’s no effect at all, and you’re proven a fraud, you’ll end up in jail.”
Emma no longer cared whether the person in front of her was really Luke. She replied confidently, “Why would I run?”
A crowd headed for the nearest magic circle capable of gathering elemental energy.
Emma spoke up, “My potion has the most obvious effect on a Tier One mage. Is anyone here willing to give it a try?”
At her words, a plain-looking adventurer stepped forward.
“I’m a Tier One mage.”
He then cast a basic Tier One Fireball spell on the spot.
Afterward, he entered the magic circle and cast it again.
Everyone could clearly see that the fireball cast in the magic circle was about one third larger than the one before.
Next, the adventurer drank the potion Emma had given him.
Luke, with disdain, asked, “Let’s talk about the recovery effect first. How does it compare to the potions sold by the Silent Moon Chamber?”
The adventurer considered his state, his eyes brightening. “It seems to work even better than the Chamber’s…”
“I used half my mana casting Fireball twice just now.”
“The low-grade mana potions from the Silent Moon Chamber barely refill my mana, but just now I clearly felt the recovery continue even after my mana was full.”
Unable to wait any longer, the adventurer immediately cast another Fireball.
The crowd saw that this fireball was much larger than even the one cast inside the magic circle.
Luke was incredulous. “Th-this can’t be possible.”
He promptly cast a Fireball himself.
Then he entered the magic circle and cast another.
Finally, he stepped out of the circle, drank Emma’s potion, and cast one more.
Luke’s natural affinity for fire magic was already high, so his fireballs were big to begin with, even without any enhancements.
Thus, the magic circle’s boost wasn’t obvious for him, but everyone could still tell that after drinking the potion, his Fireball was clearly even larger.
The crowd instantly fell silent. Emma glanced around and caught Ize cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting, “Heavens! It’s even better than the magic circle!”
Luke’s expression collapsed, his face flushing red. “I admit my knowledge is limited. The potion you’re selling really is impressive. One gold coin is a fair price!”
Emma: “……”
She couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but something about all this felt strange—though she couldn’t put her finger on what.
Were her two juniors actually here to help her?