They say a woman's mood can flip faster than the pages of a book, and that saying certainly wasn't without merit.
Greg had originally thought they could start their research immediately once their helper arrived.
He had even mapped out the division of labor in his mind: Alice would lead the theoretical framework, Chloe would handle the practical alchemy, and he and Victoria would slack off on the side.
What a perfect blueprint for teamwork!
However, the moment Chloe's gaze drifted over Greg's shoulder and locked onto the gray-haired figure inside the laboratory, her bright smile instantly froze. It vanished as quickly as a candle blown out by the wind, replaced by a look of unmasked disgust.
“Tsk. Why is a small fry like you here?”
Her voice carried a coldness that made her sound like a completely different person. Her eyes narrowed slightly behind her silver-framed glasses as she swept her gaze up and down Victoria, as if evaluating a worthless piece of merchandise.
Not to be outdone, Victoria instantly stood up from her chair. Placing her hands on her hips, her gray eyes flared with an equally sharp gaze.
“Huh? I should be asking you that! What is an outsider like you even doing here?”
“An outsider?”
Chloe let out a cold laugh, her fingers tightening slightly around the handle of her toolbox.
“I was personally invited as a helper by Big Brother. On the other hand, what right does a broke small fry who can't even afford potions have to be here?”
“What did you say?!”
“What, did I say something wrong? I remember quite clearly how you haggled in my shop last time.”
“Th-That's because your prices were completely unreasonable to begin with!”
“Unreasonable? The quality of my potions is well worth the price. Only a clueless small fry who doesn't know quality would complain about the cost.”
Seeing the two of them stepping closer and closer, with sparks practically flying where their glares met, looking as if they were about to start tearing at each other's hair, Greg hastily stepped between them and spread his arms to keep them apart.
“Stop, stop, stop! Both of you, calm down!”
He turned to Victoria first, explaining at a rapid-fire pace:
“Chloe isn't an outsider. She's a helper I specifically invited to prepare for the Hundred Academy Exchange. When it comes to practical work, she's absolutely one of the top talents in our academy. With her help, our research will progress much faster.”
Victoria snorted, clearly still unconvinced:
“Does she even have the time to help? Doesn't the Department of Alchemy have its own exchange?”
Greg paused for a moment. “Uh... actually, no.”
He recalled from the background lore of the original game that the students of the Department of Alchemy indeed used to have similar exchange events.
However, ever since one particular exchange where a group of genius alchemists accidentally blew an entire island off the map, that tradition had been permanently canceled.
Since then, the Department of Alchemy's exchange activities were limited to papers and product exhibitions, with no practical sparring matches whatsoever.
Greg turned back to Chloe, softening his tone slightly:
“Chloe, Victoria is my fellow disciple now, which is why she's in the same laboratory as me. We have to prepare for the exchange together, so—”
“I don't want to help her.”
Chloe turned her head away, pouting petulantly. “Haggling over a single bottle of potion... What a cheapskate.”
“Who are you calling a cheapskate?!”
Seeing Victoria on the verge of exploding again, Greg took a deep breath, pressed his hands together, and spoke in an incredibly earnest tone:
“Please, Chloe! This is the request of a lifetime!”
Chloe turned back, the coldness on her face melting away instantly as a brilliant smile bloomed once more:
“Okay! Since it's for Big Brother, I'd love to~”
Victoria watched from the side, utterly dumbfounded. “That actually worked?”
Greg wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, thinking that he had finally managed to temporarily pacify the north and south poles of these two magnets.
However, before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, another hand was timidly raised from the side.
“Um... Greg...”
Alice's voice was filled with hesitation and unease. She hunched her shoulders, her oversized professor's robe making her look like a small animal that had done something wrong:
“While I'm very glad you found a helper for us, is... is this really allowed? She isn't my disciple, after all...”
Looking at her cautious demeanor, Greg understood her concerns:
“You're worried that this counts as academic fraud, right?”
Alice didn't say a word, only nodding gently, her ice-purple eyes filled with worry.
Greg shook his head, his expression turning solemn:
“Alice-chan, that's a bit narrow-minded of you. Academic fraud refers to issues with the content—falsifying data, plagiarizing results, or drawing fake conclusions. But we are going to achieve success through genuine, step-by-step experimentation. Every single step and piece of data will be real, so this doesn't count as academic fraud at all.”
“But she isn't one of us—” Alice tried to argue.
Greg cut her off. “Ah, that's a bit superficial. It's just a name. As long as we don't say anything, who's going to know?”
“But—”
“Everyone does it, they just have a tacit understanding not to talk about it. So you don't need to worry so much.”
Alice blinked, a hint of hesitation flashing in her ice-purple eyes. “Does everyone... really do that?”
“Of course!”
Greg nodded without batting an eye:
“You could say it's an unspoken rule of magic academia.”
Alice's eyes lit up.
It was a light that shone as if the gates to a brand-new world were slowly creaking open.
She nodded vigorously, her voice once again bursting with motivation. “Yes! I understand! Let's start our research right away!”
With that, she turned toward the workbench and began tinkering with the equipment, her movements even more energetic than before.
Greg looked at her back and let out a silent sigh.
Now he finally understood why Alice was ostracized by the other professors in the academy.
The reason was simple—she was far too pure.
So pure that she didn't even know such open secrets existed, and actually believed that everyone in academia strictly followed the rules.
Just then, Chloe walked over to his side, her voice tinged with anxiety. “Big Brother, can I really be of help to you?”
She lowered her head, her fingers gently rubbing the handle of her toolbox. “Actually, there are still many things about magic theory that I don't understand... I'm worried I might disappoint you.”
Greg turned around. Seeing her rare display of self-doubt, he reached out and gently ruffled her slightly wavy hair:
“It's fine. The experimental material this time is actually a type of alchemy item, so it should have a lot in common with your usual potion experiments. And besides—”
He paused, looking down at Chloe, whose eyes had narrowed slightly in pleasure from his touch, and added earnestly:
“I believe in you, because you are a genius at this, Chloe.”
Chloe's cheeks flushed slightly. She nodded vigorously, her voice once again brimming with energy:
“Yes! I understand! I'll definitely do my absolute best!”
With that, she turned and ran to the workbench, standing side by side with Alice as they began to carefully examine the materials and equipment.
The two of them quickly got into the zone, whispering to each other and occasionally writing down data in their notebooks.
Victoria walked over to Greg's side, crossing her arms as she watched the two busy girls. “So, what are the two of us supposed to do now?”
Greg turned to face her, his lips curving into a meaningful smile. “Can you feel it? My noble soul is roaring.”
Victoria blinked, then let out an equally competitive smile. “Heh. Want to go? My bond won't lose to yours.”
The two exchanged a glance, and at the same time, pulled a deck of cards from their pockets.
“Duel!!!”
“Boom!!!”
Physical flames erupted behind the two of them.
Rate on N.U.
