Chapter Ninety-five: First Guidance
Karen and Yuluyana came by carriage to the street where her alchemy workshop was located, as Yuluyana, who had officially become Karen’s master, wanted to see her workshop.
In front of the alchemy workshop, Tim, whom Karen had asked to watch the place, was confronting a visitor.
“I am Julius. Karen’s lover.”
“You’re a fraud!”
“You idiot!”
Karen rushed over and smacked the shouting Tim.
“I’m so sorry, Master Julius! My errand boy was being terribly rude!”
“It’s all right, Karen. But perhaps this misunderstanding happened because you addressed me so formally with ‘Master’, creating a distant atmosphere. Why not take this opportunity to call me by my name?”
Faced with his sweet smile, Karen awkwardly replied:
“I’ll take that under consideration.”
“There’s no way a handsome guy like this could be your boyfriend! Karen, you’re being deceived!?”
“Stop it, that’s hurtful! He really is courting me!”
“Wake up, Karen! It’s absolutely impossible!”
Karen was on the verge of tears. Tim’s words hit too close to the mark. Harald grabbed Tim’s shoulder to restrain him as he tried to continue.
“Tim, be quiet. We servants have no right to comment on who Lady Karen chooses to date.”
“But…!”
“No buts. When Lady Karen tells you to stop something, you stop immediately. If you can’t do that, quit right now. Do you intend to repeat the same mistake again?”
Harald spoke with a dark look in his eyes, and Tim shrank back, swallowing his words.
Tim truly regretted what he’d done to Harald. And he was just worried about Karen.
Karen smiled bitterly and said:
“Tim, Harald is right. When I ask you to stop something, I want you to stop immediately, and it’s absolutely unacceptable for you to be rude to customers.”
“But…”
“Mr. Julius is a nobleman, Tim. He’s kind enough to forgive you, but other nobles wouldn’t be so forgiving.”
“A nobleman…”
Tim looked up at Julius with a fearful expression. It seemed Tim also recognized nobles as frightening figures.
Julius smiled, but his golden eyes held a cold light.
“I’ll forgive anyone associated with Karen because I’m her lover, but other nobles would kill you for being called a fraud and having their honor tarnished. And Karen wouldn’t be able to protect you from such nobles. Even if she wanted to protect you, it would be impossible. An E-rank alchemist doesn’t have that kind of power.”
Karen didn’t really believe that nobles would try to kill a child just for an insult, and even if such a situation arose, she intended to find a way to handle it. But telling Tim that to reassure him wouldn’t be good for him.
Tim gulped nervously at Julius’s threatening advice.
“That’s why I told you to quickly show him inside, you fool.”
Harald spat those words with a cold gaze, then turned to Karen with a pleasant smile.
“Lady Karen, I’ve completed the cleaning as you instructed. Please let me know if you have any new tasks.”
“Thank you, Harald. Could you wait here for a while?”
“Certainly.”
Harald pulled Tim toward the back of the house.
After watching them go, Karen turned to look at Julius and Yuluyana.
“He’s not as beautiful as I am, but his appearance is certainly beautiful for a human. Actually, don’t we look alike? Is it because beautiful appearances are proportional that we look similar? And aren’t our names similar too?”
“I believe we’re meeting for the first time. I am Julius Ehlertt. May I ask your name?”
Julius smiled, completely ignoring Yuluyana’s comment.
“I am Yuluyana, an elf. I have become Karen’s master. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Karen’s lover.”
“My name is Julius.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t remember the names of humans I’m not interested in.”
Hearing Yuluyana’s outrageous statement, Julius deepened his smile.
“Many elves are like that. I understand you’re much older than you appear, so please don’t worry. I don’t find it rude.”
“Yes, despite appearances, I am far older than you, so I would appreciate being treated with respect.”
“I’ll go make some tea!”
Unable to bear the explosive atmosphere that had somehow developed, Karen fled.
While brewing tea in the kitchen, she wondered what had happened between these two persons who were supposedly meeting for the first time yet seemed hostile toward each other. Then she noticed something strange.
“Huh? The magical power isn’t flowing into the tea leaves…?”
Karen tilted her head in confusion but continued making the tea. She could make tea as a simple beverage, but she didn’t get the sensation of it becoming a potion. It wasn’t like there was something extra mixed in. Fundamentally, her magical power just wouldn’t flow into the leaves. As if they were already filled with something else.
Puzzled, Karen returned from the kitchen to the living room and served tea to the two. Yuluyana frowned.
“I heard from Ms. Natalia that you even turn ordinary tea into potions, but this is just regular tea. How disappointing.”
“You’re right, it’s not a potion, is it? That’s strange. It usually becomes a potion, but for some reason, magical power wouldn’t flow into the tea leaves.”
“Hmm.”
Yuluyana stared intently at the teacup, then looked at Karen with a smile.
“Please call those errand boys, Ms. Karen.”
“Sure, I’ll go get them.”
Not understanding the reason but following the instructions of Yuluyana who had become her master, Karen hurriedly called Tim and Harald back from the waiting room.
Yuluyana looked carefully at the two of them and said to Tim, "It’s you, isn’t it?”
“You infused these tea leaves with magical power, didn’t you?”
“Huh? Yes.”
Tim nodded with a confused expression, and Karen nearly fell over in shock.
“W-Why did you do that?”
“What? But you’re the one who taught me that food and drinks last longer if you infuse them with magical power, Karen! So I infused them with my magical power for you!”
Karen held her head in her hands. It was true that she had taught Tim the secret to preserving food ingredients.
Karen staggered over to the food cabinet and asked Tim:
“Don’t tell me, everything in here…?”
“Yeah! I’ve got magical power to spare, so don’t hold back!”
“So that’s what you were doing when I thought you were just organizing things.”
Harald looked at Tim with a scowl. And Karen certainly wasn’t holding back at all.
In short, everything in there had been permeated with Tim’s magical power, making it impossible to use as materials for potions.
Karen asked her next question with a trembling voice:
“Tim, you didn’t enter the alchemy workshop, right?”
“Nope. You told me not to go in there, so I didn’t.”
If that was the case, it seemed the magical materials were at least safe.
It was a small mercy in an unfortunate situation. Karen let out a sigh of relief.
“Ms. Karen, as your master, may I give you your first guidance?”
“Y-Yes. Please do.”
“First, let’s dismiss these useless errand boys.”
“What!? Why!?”
“What did I even do!?”
Ignoring the confused Tim and Harald, Yuluyana kept his eyes on Karen and said:
“That errand boy has already made two mistakes just while I’ve been watching. And the other one is too incompetent to stop him. Your time is too precious to be wasted on such fools.”
“Well, the first incident was just him being concerned for me, and I didn’t explain properly about the ingredients. If they don’t repeat their mistakes, I’d like to forgive them.”
“I’m saying that your time explaining things to them is a waste, Ms. Karen. Humans are short-lived, so you mustn’t waste time. If you need assistance, I’ll send an alchemist who wishes to be my apprentice to you. I have people who will do anything I command. They’re well-versed in alchemy, so there won’t be any needless interactions.”
While Karen was at a loss for words at Yuluyana’s smiling yet merciless statement, a shadow quietly appeared beside her.
“Mister Yuluyana, Karen is a sensitive woman. She is currently dating me, but she once tried to refuse our relationship because my mere presence distracted her and made her unable to perform alchemy.”
“Unable to perform alchemy?”
Yuluyana frowned, and Julius continued:
“This boy is from an orphanage and has been an acquaintance of Karen’s for some time. He might even be her friend. Damaging such a relationship would disturb Karen’s heart. That could also hinder her alchemy.”
“So it’s nepotism, is it? Come to think of it, I don’t know about your relationships.”
“If you don’t know, wouldn’t you agree that hasty judgment would be premature? It could burden Karen.”
“…Ms. Karen, you look very troubled.”
Yuluyana looked at Karen and sighed.
“I see. Indeed, I don’t yet have enough information to accurately judge whether these people are necessary or unnecessary for her to continue practicing alchemy comfortably.”
“In that case, would you consider withdrawing your guidance?”
“Very well. I’ll put the matter of dismissing those errand boys on hold.”
“Am I saved? Why was I even being scolded in the first plac—mmph!?”
Tim was silenced by Harald without understanding what was happening.
Karen nodded appreciatively at Harald for doing a good job.
Yuluyana clapped his hands.
“Then I’ll change my guidance. Ms. Karen, to protect your rare talent in alchemy, you must not be distracted. Break up with your lover immediately!”
“Absolutely not.”
“Ms. Karen! I’m saying this only for the sake of your alchemy!”
Realizing that Yuluyana wasn’t saying it for her sake at all, Karen easily rejected her master’s first guidance.
At the last part I laughed so hard
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