People said women changed their expressions faster than turning a page, and there was some truth to that.
Greg had originally thought they could get straight to work on their research once their helper arrived.
He had even planned out the division of labor in his head: Alice would lead the theoretical work, Chloe would handle the hands-on alchemy, and he and Victoria would slack off on the sidelines.
What a perfect blueprint for teamwork!
However, when Chloe looked past Greg's shoulder and spotted the gray figure inside the laboratory, her radiant smile instantly froze. Then it faded as swiftly as a candle snuffed out by the wind, replaced by undisguised disdain.
"Tch, why are you here too, small fry?"
Her voice turned cold, completely unlike it had been moments earlier. Her eyes narrowed slightly behind her silver-rimmed glasses as she looked Victoria up and down, as though appraising some worthless merchandise.
Victoria refused to back down. She immediately rose from her chair and planted her hands on her hips, an equally sharp gleam flaring in her gray eyes.
"Huh? I should be asking you that! What are you doing here when you've got nothing to do with this?"
"Nothing to do with this?"
Chloe sneered, her fingers tightening slightly around her toolbox.
"Greg personally invited me here to help. But you? A broke little small fry who can't even afford a potion? What right do you have to be here?"
"What did you say?!"
"What, was I wrong? I remember perfectly well how you haggled in my shop last time."
"Th-that was because your prices were unreasonable to begin with!"
"Unreasonable? My potions are worth every bit of that price. Only small fry who can't recognize quality would call them expensive."
Seeing the two draw closer and closer, with