The alchemists working in Yoanen Meikin’s workshop occasionally made a certain mistake.

They believed that while Yoanen herself was the workshop’s mad owner, they, in contrast, were perfectly normal and rational alchemists.

But as anyone familiar with Einroguard could tell, it was wise to be suspicious of people who got along well with lunatics.

More often than not, they carried their own madness inside.

Compared to Yoanen, the workshop alchemists were relatively sane, but once alchemy became involved, they too turned sufficiently insane.

“Find it first, no matter what. Before the alchemists from the other workshops!”

“We should visit the other workshops entirely. We need to figure out what they know.”

“That’s a good idea. Did you bring the invisibility potions?”

The workshop alchemists immediately began discussing infiltration with invisibility potions.

Invisibility potions conveniently solved a great many problems alchemists encountered in life, and infiltrating rival workshops was one of them.

“Oh!”

The alchemists who stepped outside noticed robes from another workshop and immediately exchanged guarded glances. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The people emerging from the alley ahead belonged to the alchemy workshop under Prince Bogajun.

“That’s a rather unpleasant coincidence.”

“Shh. Let’s probe their intentions first.”

While whispering among themselves, the alchemists under Prince Bogajun approached.

“Good day. Have you perhaps heard rumors about some special flamewood root?”

“...”

“...Wh-what are you talking about?”

The workshop alchemists carefully controlled their expressions and feigned ignorance.

Meanwhile, the alchemists under Prince Bogajun, who knew nothing, spoke with voices full of excitement.

“A truly extraordinary flamewood root has apparently entered Granden City recently! According to the rumors, it was personally grown by a Red Dragon in lava...”

‘Does that even make sense?’

The workshop alchemists inwardly scoffed.

Certainly, the flamewood root they had seen possessed extraordinary energy.

Its power exceeded ordinary flamewood root several times over. Using it would not only strengthen potion effects, but would also make it possible to brew rare potions normally considered nearly impossible.

Even so, the idea that a Red Dragon had personally cultivated it in lava sounded absurd.

More importantly, how would anyone even steal something like that? The greed of dragons was not something a mere herb gatherer could overcome.

‘No. That’s not the important part right now.’

“I see. Then are you also trying to obtain this reagent?”

“Of course. His Highness the Prince would be very pleased.”

“Hmm. I’m still not entirely certain what to think. Why don’t we discuss it in detail over drinks?”

“Pardon? That’s not difficult, but...”

“I heard a new liquor was released at . Let’s go.”

“! I’ve wanted to try that one. Perfect timing!”

The wicked workshop alchemists smiled sinisterly at the thought of incapacitating their competitors with grape liquor and barley liquor.

‘The reagent is ours.’

***

Lee Han and his friends split up and visited every place they could think of that might purchase reagents.

Like someone dreaming of becoming Granden City’s greatest merchant, Lee Han had no intention of selling carelessly.

He could easily sell the goods at street stalls or in alleyways, but that would only turn it into a one-time transaction.

If he secured proper sales channels and built trust, then opportunities like this could be used again in the future.

However, there were two things Lee Han had not anticipated.

First, the places in Granden City that dealt in alchemical reagents were far stricter than expected.

Students who could not openly use the Einroguard name or their real identities could not simply sell things wherever they pleased.

-We already have contracted suppliers. My apologies.

-We only purchase reagents from suppliers recognized by the Guild.

The second issue was that rumors surrounding Gonadaltes—or rather, Stedal Nago—were still spreading wildly.

-What? Reagents from House Nago? The family of that Stedal Nago?

-In that case, things are different. Let us see the reagents. Could you bring them in?

Places that had initially rejected them immediately showed interest the moment they heard the name House Nago.

After all, wasn’t Stedal Nago currently the hottest topic in Granden City?

Naturally, they became interested when that same family tried to supply reagents—especially with flamewood root currently in short supply.

“I never expected the alias to become useful like this...”

“Even the Principal probably couldn’t have predicted it.”

Yonair muttered quietly.

Walking beside him, Lee Han asked,

“There won’t be any problems once they inspect the reagents, right?”

“Mm... It should probably be fine. Making appointments is the difficult part. Once it reaches the reagent verification stage, there’s actually very little that can go wrong.”

Prestigious workshops usually purchased reagents from already verified suppliers, so they rarely accepted proposals from new sellers.

Conversely, the fact that they had asked to see the goods meant they were highly interested.

If the quality failed to meet expectations, things could become troublesome, but the flamewood roots Lee Han’s group had prepared were exceptionally good. There was little chance of problems arising.

“Several alchemists will inspect the quality, conduct tests, discuss pricing, and then draft a contract.”

“We really shouldn’t visit Yoanen’s workshop?”

“My sister won’t work. Like I said before, her eye is too sharp. For this kind of thing, it’s better to deal with someone more lenient.”

Having spent his entire childhood frequenting his family’s workshop, Yonair understood reagent purchasing thoroughly.

From a seller’s perspective, buyers who lacked discerning eyes, cared too much about trends and rumors, and overpaid were ideal customers.

Yoanen was the absolute worst type of buyer in that regard.

Her observational ability alone was terrifying, and she never made unnecessary expenditures.

“I think Prince Bogajun’s workshop would be ideal. I heard they have plenty of Imperial gold and care greatly about appearances.”

“Yonair. You’re going to become the Empire’s next Minister of Finance. Alright, let’s go there.”

“...”

Lee Han was already considering turning this into a regular business if things went well.

Buy discarded reagents. Restore them using the Insane Duplicate’s knowledge. Sell them for profit.

If managed properly, it could become a far more stable income source than unreliable requests.

“Certainly... it requires a lot of labor, but I think all the second-years could handle this together.”

Yonair agreed.

(Though not with the part about becoming Granden City’s greatest merchant.)

This reagent business could become a better source of funding than expected. For students constantly struggling to support magical research, it would feel like rain during a drought.

There was one drawback, however: it required much more labor than expected.

It sounded simple when summarized, but every stage demanded exhausting preparation, management, and verification.

Still, considering the unity among the second-years, that issue could be solved easily enough. Gather everyone together and divide the work.

‘Ah. Mana consumption is also a problem. But that hardly matters.’

In reality, mana was a greater issue than labor, but Yonair barely even considered it.

Standing beside someone from House Wardanaz made mana shortages feel too insignificant to mention.

“How is your research going lately?”

“It’s difficult, but considering third and fourth year, I need to prepare ahead of time...”

At those words, Lee Han looked at his friend with obvious admiration.

If only certain students from House Ga or House Ang possessed even half that level of planning ability, the average quality of Einroguard students would rise dramatically.

“But do you know the Meikin Family’s secret wish?”

“No. I don’t know that much.”

Old noble houses inevitably developed countless secrets and hidden ambitions over the centuries.

Magic known only to family members. Lost techniques. Long-standing goals.

“Hmm. Then try guessing.”

Yonair mischievously presented a challenge.

Could this genius of House Wardanaz guess the Meikin Family’s secret desire using only the clues he had seen so far?

“Mm... It’s not restoring the recipe for <The Meikin Family’s Legendary Tart>, is it?”

“...Of course not. Wait—how do you know about that?!”

Yonair stared in shock.

Because the Meikin Family possessed such a long history and exceptional skill in alchemy, they had left behind many accomplishments in numerous fields.

Even now, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) desserts like <House Meikin’s Sweet Slab Chocolate> and <House Meikin’s Magical Chocolate Eclair> remained famous throughout the Empire.

However, among the recipes lost over time was one legendary creation—

<The Meikin Family’s Legendary Tart>.

According to legend, it could soothe even an enraged Great Demon or Spirit King. Clearly, it had not been an ordinary dessert, but rather some extraordinary potion-like creation.

Still, the tale was ancient and lacked reliable clues, so even within House Meikin, few people seriously pursued it anymore.

When the family already possessed countless other secrets and techniques, why obsess over a forgotten tart recipe?

“I looked through some old records because I thought a lost recipe from the past might be profitable. But the more I researched, the more it seemed like some kind of magical potion rather than a mass-produced dessert.”

“...That does sound likely...”

Shivering slightly at the hidden depths of his absurdly capable friend, Yonair slowly continued.

“The thing I’m interested in is different. Do you know about <The Meikin Family’s Cauldron>? You probably don’t...”

“The cauldron that endlessly produces treasures?”

“...”

Yonair had already heard rumors that House Wardanaz possessed every kind of ancient book and grimoire imaginable, but he was once again stunned by how much Lee Han knew about things nearly forgotten even within House Meikin itself.

Though, when he thought about it, he could understand why Lee Han knew.

“Y-yes. That’s right. Of course, after so much time, the story has probably been exaggerated somewhat. But there’s still one thing we can infer from it, right?”

“Duplication.”

Yonair nodded immediately.

Conversations with someone operating at the same magical level truly were enjoyable.

That idiot from House Ga would have immediately started talking about snacks or Mage Cards after hearing this story...

“Exactly. Material duplication magic. Of course, it wouldn’t actually be infinite, and it would definitely have severe limitations, but it’s still a fragment of that principle. That’s what interests me.”

Perfect material duplication magic was considered nearly impossible.

Therefore, <The Meikin Family’s Cauldron> likely achieved something similar only through heavy restrictions and limitations.

Yonair’s goal was to recreate even a fragment of the cauldron’s principles and secrets.

Even that alone would be a remarkable achievement.

“There it is.”

While talking, they arrived at the workshop of the alchemists serving under Prince Bogajun.

Just as Yonair had described, wealth practically overflowed from the building itself.

Unlike the other workshops in the guild district, this one displayed extravagant gold-and-silver signage and even crystal-decorated balance scales.

“Doesn’t anyone steal those?”

“Shh. They’ve already been stolen several times. Don’t say things like that once we’re inside. Let’s go.”

The two knocked on the workshop door and revealed the name House Nago to the employee.

The employee jumped in surprise before hurriedly running off to relay the message.

“They say they’ll meet with you immediately. Please come in!”

Lee Han and Yonair exchanged meaningful glances and nodded.

The reaction was far more enthusiastic than at the other places.

The signs were promising.

Click.

After entering the reception room and taking their seats, the door soon opened again.

Several familiar-looking alchemists entered.

It was Yoanen and the alchemists under her.

Though disguised, Yonair’s complexion immediately turned pale.

“Yonair?”

“!”

To Yonair’s horror, Yoanen recognized him instantly.

Although he had altered his appearance moderately, Yoanen’s monstrous powers of observation immediately detected the familiarity unique to blood relatives.

Mana flowed into the amethyst glasses she habitually wore, allowing her to see through the disguise completely.

It truly was Yonair.

“Then this person beside you must be...”

“I’m Gainando.”

“Judging by the intelligence I can sense, you are definitely not Sir Gainando. Then you must be Sir Wardanaz, correct?”

“...Yes. That’s correct.”