Silver Bottle (10)

'First, fuse iron with gold. Raise the temperature halfway through, then use tin's associated ore as a harmonizer. Add some base materials with suitable properties, and in the end, you can refine a metal that gives off both gold and silver hues.'

'This metal is one of the Grafting School's unique primary ingredients for an "alchemical catalyst"... Was its name Three Kings' Stone?'

'Interesting.'

Gilan returned the parchment and black jar to Galken, then said to his little familiar, Vivi:

"Let him go back. The spell will last until tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Master!" Vivi nodded its little head, its black tongue licking its lips.

Its black arrow-tipped tail swished as it raised a hand and pointed.

Still wearing a blank expression, Galken cradled the parchment and black jar in his hands, then slowly began walking toward the wooden cabin.

Gilan withdrew his gaze. His figure shifted, and he swiftly vanished from where he stood.

The cloaked figure left the woods and followed the country path back toward the town of Andeya.

From afar, she could already see the city gates.

Yet she was calculating that she still needed to approach four people tonight and extend invitations to them.

I can't disobey the boss's orders. I need to hurry...

the cloaked figure thought.

Suddenly, she stopped.

Whoosh!

"Who's there?!" She abruptly turned her head toward one side of the path.

Beneath her hood was a pretty face. However, a scar ran from the corner of her left brow across her eyelid to the side of her nose, ruining that beauty.

The woman's gaze was sharp as she stared fixedly at a tree by the roadside.

Rustle.

The moonlight was bright, and the shadows of the trees swayed.

The next second, a tall figure stepped out from behind the tree.