"They wanted to steal flowers from your shop. I came to help you." Nora panted, explaining earnestly while remembering to keep her voice down.
"Uh... thank you." Ron smiled wryly and looked at Nora. "Are you... all right?"
Nora hadn't needed to step in at all. Ron could have handled everything himself, but she'd meant well, and he couldn't very well discourage her.
Besides, there was no reward for the temporary quest, so it didn't matter whether he completed it.
It was just that the words (Failed) were a little unpleasant to look at.
But Ron had already failed several daily quests, so he didn't mind adding another failed quest to the list.
"I'm fine..." Nora got to her feet, nearly stumbling.
She'd been kicked in the knee earlier, and it was still aching faintly.
She clearly wasn't fine... Ron shook his head. "Come inside and rest for a while."
Go inside?
Nora immediately shook her head, pretending nothing was wrong as she turned toward the gate. "No need. I'm really fine."
Ron watched Nora leave and didn't insist that she stay.
He looked at the two thugs in the yard, then stepped outside to check on the one lying in the street. He could only shake his head helplessly.
He found some rope and tied up all three of them, then went out to find the patrol in Chaos City and handed them over.
Chaos City lay at the border where the four races met, in a region under joint rule.
Although both the Human Empire and the Dwarf Race counted Chaos City as part of their territory, the city was actually governed by people sent by all four races.
The Elf Race and the Gnome Race didn't care for administration, so the city was mostly managed by humans and dwarves.
The fact that the flower shop belonging to the Seventh Prince of the Human Empire had been targeted by thugs would surely draw the authorities' attention.
Ron was merely a son Andre III didn't favor, but his status was still what it was. Those three thugs probably wouldn't get off lightly.
And the person behind them likely wouldn't escape punishment either.
Ron didn't pay the matter any more attention. Anyone who could only hire thugs to steal flowers couldn't be much of an important figure.
So, once he'd dealt with it, he went back to the study to read.
Maybe I'll relax with an illustrated book for a while... Ron thought.
Magic Academy laboratory.
Professor Hicks walked in and saw Edith fiddling with potion vials, but Harper was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't help asking, "Where is he?"
Edith smiled helplessly. "He went to the Puppet Testing Ground to test his Explosive Potion."
"Hmm? Didn't I tell him to make the Meditation Potion first and put those useless things aside?" Hicks frowned in displeasure. "Is he trying to make me cut his research funding again?"
Edith's delicate face showed a hint of embarrassment. She brushed back her light green hair, picked up the potion she'd been working on, and explained, "He's already made it. This is it."
???
Professor Hicks stared for a moment, then caught on. He strode over to Edith and took the potion from her hand.
How long had it been?
A day or two?
He'd already made it?
"Have you tested it? Have you tested the potion's effects?" Hicks asked as he opened the bottle and leaned in to smell it. A fresh fragrance wafted up, and his mind instantly felt clearer.
"We tested it this afternoon. We invited mages from the academy, including apprentices and mages from Tier One to Tier Four, ten from each tier." Edith picked up a test report from the table and handed it to Professor Hicks. "Apart from the Tier Four mages, who found the effects average, everyone else experienced a huge improvement in meditation efficiency. It was about three to five times better, and the effects lasted from one to three hours. It's more potent than the Nether Orchid itself, but it doesn't last as long."
Hicks took the report and read through it carefully, inwardly astonished.
They already understood the effects of the Nether Orchid thoroughly.
It could gather the surrounding elements and improve a mage's meditation efficiency through its fragrance, boosting it by up to three times.
Yet Harper had made an even more potent Meditation Potion from the Nether Orchid in just a day or two.
It was far stronger than the Meditation Potions on the market.
Most of those potions only slightly improved meditation efficiency, usually by 50 to 150 percent.
On top of that, they were highly addictive, so most mages only used them when breaking through to a new level. Otherwise, they were simply too wasteful.
So Harper's Meditation Potion had surprised Hicks once again.
But that was as far as it went.
After all, Hicks knew what Harper was capable of.
Or rather, anyone familiar with the Magic Academy's experimental district knew there was a Gnome magic freak there.
Unlike other gnomes, this freak had no interest in money or business. He was completely absorbed in magical experiments.
He loved beautiful women and explosions. Unless he was working on an assignment from someone else, the products he developed himself were almost always related to explosions.
Unfortunately, the Magic Academy had eventually classified all those products as highly dangerous.
So, in the field of explosives, Harper was a failure, just as he was when it came to pursuing beautiful women. He had never truly succeeded at either.
But in other fields of magic, Harper had an astonishing talent and intuition. Whenever someone assigned him a task, he could complete it perfectly, and in a remarkably short time.
This left Professor Hicks and the others deeply troubled, yet there was nothing they could do about it.
Hicks shook his head, putting those thoughts aside.
He held the potion in his hand, rubbing it thoughtfully as he considered what to do.
"Edith, test the users' tolerance over the next few days. Find out how long they can keep taking it," Hicks instructed.
"Yes, Professor." Edith nodded. She felt a little helpless, though. It seemed she'd have to share a room with Harper for several more days.
"Have you been to that flower shop? If possible, I'd like to go take a look," Hicks continued. "If this Meditation Potion proves effective, then there are some things I'll need to discuss properly with His Highness Ron."
"Yes, Mason took me there." Edith nodded, then checked the time and said with some frustration, "But we probably can't go now. That flower shop is only open from one to five in the afternoon, and sometimes it closes early. We definitely won't make it today."
"I see..." Hicks was momentarily stunned, but quickly understood.
That flower shop wasn't an ordinary one, and it didn't need to stay open for long hours to make a profit.
With such a miraculous plant as the Nether Orchid, the shop had no trouble finding buyers.
Besides, its owner was the Seventh Prince of Andre III, with the Empire behind him. He clearly didn't care about a little profit, so those opening hours made sense.
"Then let's go tomorrow afternoon," Hicks said. "But you'll still be in charge of the laboratory tomorrow, so have Mason take me. If you see him tomorrow, remember to let him know in advance."
"No problem, Professor." Edith nodded.
I want it~ Mmm~~(???????)
Before you continue