“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Erylin took the bread Silas handed her in a bag, her heart tinged with worry.
She had already learned that the purpose of bringing Hermetica and Persephone together with such fanfare was to develop an antidote to cure the frenzy of the magical beasts in the Echo Forest.
After all, those magical beasts were the academy's property. If they had to kill them all, it would be a massive loss.
Everyone present held a piece of bread in their hands.
Except for Grimm.
Looking at the five loaves of bread stuffed into his arms, Margaret's eyes filled with amusement as she teased, “We here at Persephone have always been hospitable. I just wonder if the esteemed professor of Hermetica will appreciate the gesture.”
The implication was clear: if he didn't eat the bread, he would be breaching etiquette.
Grimm casually tossed the other four loaves to Violet, who was standing nearby, and said, “In the face of such warm hospitality, of course I should express my gratitude.”
“Eh? But Professor, I just ate—”
“Are the mana crystals in your lab still sufficient?”
“Oh...”
Nursing a bit of resentment, Violet took a rough bite of the bread.
Why am I always the one who suffers?
A few seconds later, Grimm and Margaret exchanged a glance, stood up, and went back to their respective tasks in the laboratory, their hands busy with various potions and apparatuses.
“Three years ago, when the academy's Mana Spring was heavily contaminated with toxins, it threatened the lifeblood of all our medicinal ingredients. If we hadn't used Persephone's unique purification circuit, a step later and your Hermetica would never have seen a single new ingredient in this lifetime, would you?”
“Speaking of which, didn't someone's toxicology report just happen to be finished around that time?”
Margaret spoke grumpily, having already completed the purification of the first vial of potion.
“And what about the scars left behind after the purification? If I hadn't formulated a sustained-release agent in time, someone would probably have been held accountable by the academy, wouldn't they?”
Not to be outdone, Grimm handed the potion he had just formulated to Margaret.
Margaret was taken aback for a moment, then asked suspiciously, “The neutralizing agent...”
“Added.”
Margaret blankly took the potion vial he handed over and resumed her work.
“Hey, hey, do you know how long those two have been bickering?”
Violet suddenly leaned in close to Erylin, asking in a whisper while munching on her bread.
Erylin shook her head.
“Two hours! Two whole hours! They've been arguing since the moment they met. This is literally the worst torture I've ever experienced!”
Violet spoke fiercely, venting her frustration.
“Why are they doing that?”
Violet shrugged.
“Well, it's to compete for the Dawn's Crown of Thorns this time. You know about it, right? It's the academy's highest medal of honor, specifically awarded to those who make breakthrough contributions during major crises or in academic research.”
“Erylin, you must have one too, right?”
Erylin shook her head.
“No, I don't.”
Being famous didn't mean one had made a great contribution.
“Really? I guess the rumors were just blown out of proportion. I thought for sure you had one.”
Erylin furrowed her brows. She had indeed heard of this honor, but she didn't know much about it.
Didn't the Dean mention she had won several of them back when she was a student?
“Is this medal... really that rare?”
“Cough, cough, cough...”
Violet coughed a few times, barely managing to swallow the bread in her mouth as she stared at Erylin in sheer disbelief.
“You seriously don't know? Calling it rare is an understatement! If you get one, you can basically cruise through the rest of your life!”
“That thing is forged from Star-forged Gold! Star-forged Gold! It's the kind of priceless material you can't even buy with money! And for researchers like the professor, once they get this medal, they can receive the highest level of funding from the Imperial Royal Pharmaceutical Society.”
“Hehe, when that time comes, we can blow up the lab however we want and waste ingredients as we please! On the first day, we'll blow up a potion cauldron. On the second day, we'll blow up some Holy Splendor Dew Grass... Hiss, would that be too cheap? We should blow up a Starfall Stone instead...”
Just imagining pinning that medal to her chest caused countless beautiful fantasies to surge in Violet's mind like a tide.
“Damn it! Why did this attempt fail again!”
Seeing that bad news had come from Margaret and Grimm's side once again, Violet let out another sigh.
“Looks like neither of them will have a chance to get the Dawn's Crown of Thorns this time.”
As if recalling something, a mysterious smile played on Violet's lips as she gestured for Erylin to lean in.
“The professor and Lady Margaret have worked together ever since they joined the academy, so they're actually quite familiar with each other. But if you want to know why they bicker so much...”
“I'll let you in on a secret: they're actually teacher and student...”
“And they're also husband and wife...”
Erylin gasped and covered her mouth, instantly catching on.
Violet took another bite of her bread, seemingly pleased with Erylin's reaction, and continued, “So, you see, this is just a little bit of playful flirting between a married couple...”
“Did you add too much again?!”
“Wasn't it you who messed up the steps?!”
Margaret slammed her hand on the table in frustration. In just half an hour, she had already made dozens of failed samples, and not a single one was successful.
“Tsk! It's impossible to make this thing tonight! We can only extract partial potion components from those magical beasts; we can't deduce the full formula at all!”
“How are we supposed to make the corresponding antidote and purifying agent like this?!”
“Calm down, Margaret...”
“Ha? Don't you realize we've been wasting our time? Trial and error alone would take thousands of attempts! How could we possibly make it in such a short amount of time?!”
Violet ignored their bickering. Munching on her bread, she picked up the lab report from the professor's desk and began reading it with interest.
Meanwhile, Erylin stood to the side with her head lowered, lost in her own thoughts.
Purifying agent... Wait, purifying agent?!
The purifying agent mixed in here is still the unimproved version!
What if we used the improved purifying agent that Ain made back then?
A bold idea blossomed in Violet's mind. She could almost feel the medal representing the highest honor waving at her.
“Erylin!”
Violet stood up in excitement, looking at the girl beside her with a face full of anticipation.
This was Persephone, but her experimental equipment and ingredients were all over at Hermetica.
More importantly, she had already made a backup in her lab yesterday!
“Come with me!”
“Eh?”
Rate on N.U.
