The one who spoke was the owner of this place, Alisa von Aurelius.
Lan Qingyou looked up and saw the woman leaning over the railing of the second-floor balcony, looking down at her while holding a book.
That slight smile on her face made it clear she was pleased by Lan Qingyou's arrival.
For someone who's supposed to be the aloof type, she's certainly picked up the habit of smirking.
This woman really is irritating.
Thinking this, Lan Qingyou, who had no intention of being looked down upon, flew straight up.
Upon reaching the second-floor balcony, Lan Qingyou took a quick look around.
There was a rug spread out with various books and tea snacks on it; it seemed Alisa was having breakfast while reading.
She really had come at... just the right time.
Lan Qingyou didn't bother sitting on her Magic Broom anymore; she simply floated over and sat down on the rug.
“You just got out of a dungeon yesterday, and you're already running over here today?”
Seeing Lan Qingyou make herself at home, Alisa didn't get angry. She walked over and sat across from her, setting her book down and picking up a teacup.
“Speak. What brings you to me?”
As Alisa spoke, she picked up a bell on the rug and gave it a shake.
A moment later, a homunculus dressed in white entered and served Lan Qingyou a breakfast set consisting of bread, eggs, salad, and black tea.
Just as Lan Qingyou had guessed, Alisa had rarely managed to sleep until dawn yesterday, so she figured since she was already awake, she might as well have a proper breakfast.
But just as she had everything prepared, she heard the alarm from below. When she went to check, she found it was a familiar face.
Alisa's feelings toward Lan Qingyou were complicated.
To be honest, when she first heard the name, she looked down on her.
Especially after joining The Masquerade and learning through their channels that Lan Qingyou wasn't some academic big shot from Blue Star, but just a young person in her early twenties, her disdain had only grown.
After all, Alisa had been researching alchemy since she was on Blue Star. Although she couldn't actually produce anything back then due to the lack of the prerequisite 'mana,' she had at least built a complete system for herself in terms of theory, especially in biological alchemy.
Yet, Lan Qingyou had beaten her to the punch—not once, but twice.
Though she was a bit discouraged, she wasn't disheartened.
In her view, while alchemy had many developmental directions, the path she took was the one the Aurelius family had walked for hundreds, even thousands of years.
Furthermore, at the very start of her transmigration, she had obtained Rome's Alchemy Notes, which allowed her to take her research and learning to the next level.
However, it was only when she truly met Lan Qingyou that she realized the other woman was an existence just like herself.
Although Lan Qingyou's starting point might have been considerably lower, she had to admit that the woman was superior when it came to how her mind worked.
Later, she even learned that Lan Qingyou had systematically studied chemistry under her own chemistry mentor. Realizing they were fellow students, even her last shred of disdain vanished.
In its place was the recognition of the other woman as a fellow researcher.
Er... actually, she had already acknowledged it the moment she used the same Witch potion to evolve into a witch.
But since they hadn't interacted back then, she had needed a way to save face psychologically.
The appearance of Professor Seymer had provided her with that very excuse.
“I didn't come for anything major this time. It's mainly for this...”
As she spoke, Lan Qingyou pulled a green stone tablet from her cards and placed it on the rug between them.
“This is!!!”
The moment she saw the tablet, Alisa's eyes went wide.
Her heart raced, and her hands trembled.
At this moment, Alisa didn't know how to describe her feelings.
Although her Magic Eye wasn't the kind that could identify things like Lan Qingyou's, her intuition told her that this was exactly what she wanted.
It was the very thing her family had been searching for and craving since its founding.
Now, it was right in front of her.
Complete and without a single flaw.
“The Emerald Tablet. You should know what this is, right?”
With one hand resting on the Emerald Tablet, Lan Qingyou's crimson eyes met Alisa's sapphire-blue ones.
“Of course. Since you've brought this out, there must be a reason.”
Suppressing her excitement, Alisa feigned composure and nodded, her gaze fixed intently on Lan Qingyou.
“I want your research data and papers. Also, if you obtain anything from the Emerald Tablet, you must share it with me immediately.”
Lan Qingyou had already made up her mind last night.
Although the Emerald Tablet could boost certain attributes and knowledge points, Lan Qingyou didn't really need those anymore.
Instead of keeping a World Item by her side as a decoration, it was better to give it to Alisa, someone who had studied more systematically than her.
At least this way, the woman might actually research something useful.
What she needed to do was ensure the woman shared any knowledge gained, making her a beneficiary as well.
This was why she had used the vague and broad term 'anything' just now.
As for whether the other woman would go back on her word, Lan Qingyou wasn't worried at all.
Setting aside things like contracts, the woman's proud nature alone would prevent her from doing such a thing.
“Fine, but I need to know what you want these for. Since it's my technology, I have a right to know.”
Alisa agreed to Lan Qingyou's proposal without a second thought.
But still confused by the motive behind this move, Alisa wanted to know the reason.
Of course, even if the other woman didn't tell her, she would still agree; this 'right to know' was merely an added bonus.
“It's nothing. It's just that after being away for ten months, coming back to find the place so drastically changed makes me feel a bit... melancholy. So, I want to give certain people a small punishment.”
Lan Qingyou shrugged calmly.
Though she appeared composed, anyone could see that her mood was currently far from pleasant.
“Ah... that business...”
Realization dawned on Alisa.
It made sense.
Someone who had just returned would naturally be more concerned about this issue, which she herself had stopped caring about long ago.
After all, the impact when it happened was indeed massive.
“Then a small punishment is indeed in order. Actually, I feel the same as you, though I've already finished my punishment.”
Alisa shrugged.
She had already dealt with it, which was why she no longer paid attention to those matters.
“Finished? How did you punish them?”
Lan Qingyou looked at her, a hint of curiosity and even a trace of excitement in her crimson eyes.
After all, at their core, they were both agents of chaos.
She really wanted to see how this woman would go about punishing others.
Considering her own High Tower Clan had suffered, there was no reason the witches of the Workshop Clan would have let them off easily.
Rate on N.U.
