"Do you know something about it?" Ayame asks.


    She nods quickly, urgency written all over her face. "Yes! My parents... they are alchemists who were secretly researching how to turn adults into Wizards. They spent years on it... and finally they had a breakthroughst week when they found an old note in an ancient tome."


    "What did it say?" I ask, skeptical but very intrigued.


    "They discovered that the elixir alone obviously isn''t enough, but almost is." She exins, her voice trembling as she speaks. "To turn an adult into a Wizard, you need a special ingredient... something called [Geimroot]. It''s incredibly rare, and as far as they could tell, it only grows in one ce-a location that turns out to be heavily guarded by the kingdom."


    I frown, suspicion creeping into my mind.


    Oh no…


    She shakes her head, looking genuinely confused and scared. "I''m not sure why exactly... but there really is an outpost near the Glimmering Forest. It doesn''t make much sense because as far as my parents knew the nt was entirely useless for anything else..."


    Fuck…


    "What''s your name?" I ask, my tone softening slightly.


    She hesitates momentarily before replying, "Aurora."


    "Aurora, why exactly were you following us?"


    She lowers her gaze, her voice barely above a whisper. "My parents... they tried to hire ouws to sneak into the Glimmering Forest to get the [Geimroot], but no one would take the job. And then... someone must have told the authorities. The knights came for my parents in the dead of night, dragging them away in chains.


    They took everything-our shop, our home... I have nothing left."


    She looks entirely pitiful standing there, her shoulders slumped in defeat, her eyes brimming with tears. The story she''s telling paints a grim picture of the kingdom''s grip on the Wizard ss and the lengths they''ll go to maintain it.


    I know what they''re up to, and I believe so does this girl, but she is possibly pretending not to in order to gather our support.


    The kingdom isn''t just protecting a nt; they''re guarding a monopoly. By disabling ess to the [Geimroot]''s source, and even the public''s knowledge about it''s existence, they ensure that only a select few- the children of nobles and the wealthiest citizens- can ever hope to be Wizards. If adults could use the elixir, if anyone with enough gold could buy their way into that kind of power...


    it would potentially upend the bnce they''ve fought for centuries to maintain.


    We''ve stumbled upon something much bigger than a simple alchemical concoction. If I''m right and there''s a conspiracy to keepmon folk away from the Wizard ss, our situation has gotten more delicate than ever before.


    I nce towards my mischievous samurai and can easily tell that Ayame is greatly upset; she''s already arrived at the same conclusion I did and is appalled by another evidence of the kingdom''s greed. If things continue like this it might be her who pushes for us to join the Consortium…


    For now, though, we need to decide what to do with Aurora- and how to handle this newfound knowledge.


    I study her for a moment, weighing my options.


    "Can you concoct the potion?" I ask.


    Aurora looks up at me, her expression a mix of nervousness and hope. "Y-Yes," she replies. "I can make the [Mystical Elixir of Awakening]. I''ve been helping my parents for years. I know all their forms."


    I nod slowly, considering. "And are you willing to drink one first to prove your sincerity?"


    Her face pales at the suggestion, her lips parting in a small gasp. She hesitates, looking down at her hands. "I... I don''t know," she admits, her voice barely above a whisper. "If I drink it and it works... I will lose my Alchemist ss.


    It might be the only thing I will have left from my parents. If I lose even that..."


    Her voice trails off, and she looks genuinely torn. The fear of losing thest connection to her parents is clearly eating at her.


    Before I can respond, Ayame speaks up. "You do know you can just pray at a temple to swap sses, right?" she says, her tone light and reassuring. "If you don''t like being a Wizard, you can switch back to Alchemist."


    Aurora''s eyes widen, and she gasps cutely, her entire demeanor brightening while blushing profusely. "Oh! You''re right!" she exims, her voice filled with relief. "I was so absorbed in my own problems that I didn''t think of such a simple solution!"


    I can''t help but chuckle at her sudden change in attitude. She was so serious thus far, like a real scientist- albeit a very desperate one- but it''s good to see that she also has an adorable side when flustered.


    With her trustworthiness rtively established, the next step is figuring out where to house her. As if reading my mind, Ayame suggests, "Why don''t we take her back to our benefactor''s home? We could sleep there too-it''s big enough, and it''ll save us the trouble of finding somewhere else."


    I shake my head with a wry smile. "I already rented a room at an inn for the day, we can just rent one more for her. No need to rely on another guy''s hospitality, it makes me feel a bit lesser as a man."


    Ayame seems to be absolutely bbergasted. "And why would you do that?" she asks, her voice tinged with confusion. "His ce is way morefortable than a simple inn, and it''s free."


    I smirk, leaning in slightly. "Ghost and I had some urgent business to attend to that required a sturdy bed and a private ce that was closed from the public''s eyes." I say, my tone yfully suggestive.


    Realization swiftly dawns on Ayame, and she opens and closes her pretty little lips as noting seems toe out, until she finally manages to speak up, her voice rising an octave. "Wait, what?! Are you telling me that while I was out there working, gathering intel, you two were just... just procreating?!"


    I burst outughing at her choice of words. "Procreating?" I repeat, amused. "Ayame, I don''t procreate. If you''re going to use me of something, at least use the right word. We were fucking." Then, in gleeful tone I add; "though, the words ''mating'' and ''breeding'' are also eptable, should you prefer them."


    Even without seeing it, I can tell that Ayame''s face is bright red with a strong mix of embarrassment and indignation, after all, her entire bodynguage disys her thoughts rather strongly. "I can''t believe you!" she exims, pointing a very usatory finger at my person. "Here I am, risking my life for information while you''re off having fun with Ghost!"


    Blossom beams with pride as shees to my rescue; "Master was teaching Ghost how to be a good girl!" She deres with a rather serious tone that indicates that such reasoning justifies everything perfectly.


    Ayame turns toward the dog-kin woman, her voiceced with incredulity. "Teaching you to be a good girl?" she repeats, clearly struggling to grasp what she''s just heard.


    I nod, maintaining my serious demeanor. "Exactly. She was misbehaving a bit, so I had to put her back on the right path a woman should follow. And besides, it was our time off. No one told you to work, de. But I do seriously appreciate the effort."


    There''s a heavy silence that follows, and I can feel the shift in the already threatening atmosphere around her into one of pure danger.


    ...


    [Author: please read my thoughts below.]