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A New Companion

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

Hmm, in the end the author never reveal why Leon and Mia is so in synch.

*****

Staring blankly at the unlocked door, I pushed it open with a tilted head, only for an utterly unexpected sight to greet my eyes.

「No, stop! Those are the raw materials for the potions Mia is supposed to deliver!」

「Oh, Leon, you’re as stiff-necked as ever. A tiny pinch isn't going to hurt, and she won't even notice.」

Unable to process a single thing that was happening, I promptly shut the door.

(Whew... Okay, what on earth is going on here? Why is Vanessa trying to brew potions in our lab, and why is Leon back when his temporary assignment was supposed to be over?!)

Maybe the exhaustion from pulling all those overtime hours on the paperwork was finally catching up to me, and I was just hearing things. Yep, yep, that had to be it.

Telling myself that everything would be completely fine this time, I took a deep breath and opened the door once more.

「Herbs just sprout right back up once you plant them, so it's not like they actually disappear when you use them.」

「They do disappear! The more you use, the less we have!」

「Goodness... Didn't I drum this into your head until I was blue in the face? Materials are meant to be used exactly when you want to use them.」

As I stood there utterly dumbfounded, staring daggers at the two of them, Vanessa's eyes suddenly locked onto mine.

「You shouldn't go around using other people's things without asking, Leon.」

「I heard everything you just said, Vanessa.」

Seeing her try to play it off with a cheeky little tongue-out, "tee-hee" smile made me realize that letting her off the hook that easily just wasn't going to cut it.

This was a Court Alchemist's workshop managed by Master Clein, and as his assistant, it was my job to protect it right now. It wasn't a place where people could just trespass and start doing whatever alchemy they pleased.

「What exactly are the two of you doing here? No matter how close we all are, just barging into the workshop whenever you want is—」

「I'm the one who hired them.」

The sudden deep voice completely startled me, and I turned to see Master Clein walking out from the back of the room.

I had so many questions—like why he was even here when he was supposed to be resting, and if he was healthy enough to walk around, why hadn't he accompanied me to the audience chamber?

But above all else, one specific detail caught my attention.

「Y-You hired them, you say...? Wait!」

(N-No way... Don't tell me that's what Master Segrus meant when he talked about a subordinate setting off on their own journey!)

「Leon is officially joining my workshop as a full staff member. From here on out, he'll be handling the enchantment work required for our potion research, while simultaneously developing the Bracelet of Power prototype.」

My brain spun from the sheer speed of these developments, but Master Clein’s reasoning made perfect sense.

When it came to brewing high-grade potions like the Purification Potions, having an enchantment specialist on board would be an incredible asset. His skills would undoubtedly elevate the overall quality of our potions.

He'd also be super reliable during field assignments like our recent geological survey. Honestly, the thought of our workshop getting a little more lively with a new teammate made me genuinely happy.

A small part of me wished they'd at least given me a tiny heads-up beforehand, but I wasn't about to press the matter.

Knowing Master Clein and Master Segrus, I highly doubted this arrangement had been settled through a perfectly peaceful, polite conversation. But as long as the three of them—including Leon—were happy with it, it was probably best for me not to stick my nose into the details.

「I'll be in your care from now on, Mia.」

「Same here, Leon! Let's do our best.」

After exchanging proper greetings with Leon, my gaze drifted right past his shoulder to the individual who was still casually trying to mix our herbs.

「So, what brings you here, Vanessa?」

「She's basically like a lingering ghost that came attached to Leon. Apparently, she plans to squat here and do alchemy for the foreseeable future.」

「Huh? But isn't Vanessa the Sub-Master of the Alchemists Guild? Is it really okay for her to hang around a place like this?」

「I checked on that myself, and it turns out she already got formal approval from the Guild Master. She'll be pulling double duty, maintaining her position as Sub-Master while officially returning to active alchemy work here.」

I see. So Vanessa finally found her spark for alchemy again. I'd been secretly worried that she might disappear completely once her lingering attachment to the Necklace of Warding was resolved, but it looked like my fears were totally groundless.

In fact, it seemed like the person I actually needed to worry about wasn't the free-spirited Vanessa at all, but rather—

「Alright, while everyone's distracted...」

「Ah! Lady Vanessa, I told you you're not allowed to just make potions on a whim!」

「Shh! They haven't noticed yet.」

「They absolutely have! Don't come crying to me when you get scolded, seriously!」

At this point, it was hard to tell who was supposed to be the older one and who was the younger one. Watching Vanessa humming happily as she began her brewing, contrasted against Leon whose shoulders were slumped in pure defeat, was quite the sight.

Still, Leon looked kind of happy to be playing the caretaker role. If they could reclaim their original master-disciple dynamic and enjoy doing alchemy together, then I suppose that was a wonderful thing...

Except, a completely different issue was currently brewing within *our* master-disciple relationship.

「More importantly, why on earth are you working, Master Clein!」

「I healed up after resting for a few days. Human recuperative power is truly something to behold.」

「Quit telling fibs! Let me see the document you're working on right now.」

「This isn't something a mere assistant needs to look at.」

「Just hand it over! ...Wow, look at that! Your handwriting is shaking like a leaf!」

「My handwriting has always been atrocious.」

(I wonder if this is what Leon meant by a 'man's pride.') He was clearly just putting on a tough front and enduring the pain, which meant he wouldn't last very long. I couldn't help but worry that he was going to delay his own recovery.

As I was debating whether it was better to just let him have his way for a bit, Vanessa came rushing over to me, holding a freshly brewed vial.

「Look, look, Mia! The potion is all done!」

「...Wow, that's an incredibly high-quality potion. I'm actually a little annoyed.」

「Impressive, right? If it's just stuff like this, I can pitch in and help you out whenever you need.」

Seeing Vanessa give me a sharp little wink, I made a mental note to teach her that a proper alchemist's job isn't done until everything is completely cleaned up. I'd also have to tell Leon not to just do it for her out of habit, even as he automatically began tidying up the workstation with practiced ease.

But first, there was something I wanted to ask.

「What made you decide to come back to active alchemy work here, of all places?」

「Didn't you say it yourself, Mia? You told me to make a necklace.」

「W-Well, I mean, I definitely did say that, but...」

I just never imagined she'd jump back into it this quickly, let alone park herself right inside Master Clein's workshop!

「Don't come complaining to me when your paperwork backlogs at the Alchemists Guild start piling up again.」

「Oh, that'll be fine. I made sure to dump all of it onto the Guild Master this time. Besides, whether I'm actually at the guild headquarters or not doesn't really change much.」

「I feel like that's a massive structural problem in its own right, though.」

As I was internally worrying whether she had secretly just been fired, Vanessa slowly leaned her face in close to mine.

「Thanks for everything. I'm going to make a necklace that's truly worthy of you, so just give me a little more time, okay?」

...Wow. She really knows how to flip that sudden big-sister switch out of nowhere. I guess it's because Leon knows this genuine, caring side of her that he's so willing to stick by her.

Realizing that a part of me was already eagerly anticipating that necklace made me accept just how wonderfully simple-minded I can be.

「Could it be that you're actually the tsundere type, Vanessa?」

「Oh, I'm purely the lovey-dovey type when it comes to you, Mia.」

「Yeah, I'm going to have to respectfully pass on that.」

「Oh, behavioral resistance! You're just being shy~」

「No, I am completely, one hundred percent un-shy.」

「Now, now, your potion deadlines are going to slip if you keep chatting. I'll make sure to watch over your raw material processing, so give it your all!」

「Wait, aren't you supposed to be *helping* me with that part?!」

While I couldn't help but feel like our peaceful lab had suddenly turned into an absolute circus, I figured this was still a million times better than lonely hours spent brewing by myself in a quiet workshop.

I had a lingering worry that things might get a bit *too* chaotic around here, but as long as we were all having fun, it was totally fine—or so I decided to tell myself.

*****

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