“You and Aesphyra seem to have a great relationship, discussing alchemy after class and even running errands for her to fetch medicinal ingredients,” Teacher Seve teased.
“Teacher, don’t say such things. My relationship with Aesphyra isn’t that great. If she hears this, she’ll definitely give me trouble.”
“Alright, alright, you better hurry. The alchemical process can’t wait too long.”
“Ah, right, I understand.” Hearing this, Vinny quickly headed to the medicinal herb room.
After watching Vinny leave, Seve glanced in the direction he came from and then turned to leave.
“Little student, if I’m not mistaken, it’s after school hours. What brings you here?” The guardian of the medicinal herb room was an old man, currently holding a newspaper.
“Old sir, could I trouble you for some Dragon Beard? Aesphyra is busy brewing a potion and asked me to fetch it for her.”
“Oh, little Aesphyra, always so diligent.” The old man stroked his beard, slowly walked into the herb room, and took out something resembling ginseng with long roots, but it was a dark earthy yellow color. He placed it in a leather pouch and handed it to Vinny.
“Alright, thank you, old sir.” With that, Vinny hurried back.
The old man sat down and recorded the herbs Vinny had requested, noting that they were under Aesphyra’s name.
“Aesphyra, I’ve brought the Dragon Beard.” Vinny handed the leather pouch containing the Dragon Beard through the door, where it was taken by a pair of delicate hands wearing disposable gloves.
“Alright, thank you, Vinny. Please wait outside for a moment, okay?” Aesphyra smiled, and soon the sound of a boiling cauldron came from inside, indicating that she was adding ingredients, controlling the heat, and guiding the neutralization of the potion’s effects.
Just by the sound, it was clear that this potion was not easy to brew, but with Aesphyra’s alchemical skills, there was no need to worry.
Vinny waited outside for about fifteen minutes until the boiling sound from the cauldron finally ceased.
After tidying up the brewed potion and the remaining liquid, Aesphyra threw the disposable gloves into the trash, washed her hands, and took out a new pair from her pocket to wear.
“Sorry for the wait, Vinny.” Soon, Aesphyra emerged from the alchemy room, smiling at Vinny. She seemed to have stored the potion she brewed, so Vinny didn’t get to see what it looked like.
“That fast? It’s only been fifteen minutes.” Vinny raised an eyebrow. Brewing alchemical potions, especially higher-level ones, usually took a lot of time, often more than an hour.
Vinny knew he would have to wait a long time for Aesphyra to finish, but so what? Opportunities to get Aesphyra to treat him were rare.
“Well, I couldn’t leave you standing outside for too long, so I sped things up a bit.” Aesphyra smiled with a hint of mischief.
“Ugh, since when did you start caring about me?” Vinny took a step back, looking disgusted. “Don’t act like this; it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Oh? Could it be that Vinny is the type with peculiar tastes?” Aesphyra tilted her head.
“Huh? What are you talking about? What peculiar tastes?”