Chapter 168: That Man Must Have Ulterior Motives!

  When Nanalie arrived at the Alchemists’ Guild again, she couldn’t help feeling nervous as she stood before the familiar grand doors. Taking a deep breath, she tightly gripped the scroll and pou her hands, then pressed them to her chest for reassurance. As if cheering herself on, she gave a small nod before stepping forward toward the stairs.

  Just as she was about to asd, a small hand suddenly reached out from behind and lightly tapped her shoulder.

  “Ahh!”

  Startled, Naurned around quickly. Standing behind her was a young woman with bck shoulder-length hair, wearing a deep red cloak, smiling mischievously at her.

  “Hahaha, Nanalie! Long time no see!”

  “Culia, you scared me to death!”

  Nanalie exhaled in relief, pg a hand on her chest as she looked at her grinning friend.

  “It really has been a while… Oh, by the way, it’s year-end again, huh? Are things still the same for you this year?”

  Culia raised an eyebrow as she sized Nanalie up and down.

  “Hey, are you okay? I remember if you keep deying payments this year, they might revoke your workshop lise…”

  “N-no, no problem at all!!”

  Hearing her friend’s words, Nanalie panicked and hurriedly pulled out her money pouch from her pocket, opening it to reveal its tents.

  “I have mohis time! Look, I pay…”

  “You idiot! What are you doing?”

  Culia gasped in shock as Nanalie dispyed her money in broad daylight. She grabbed her friend’s hand, gnced around nervously, and quickly pulled Nao the Alchemists’ Guild building.

  Ohey reached the ter, Culia finally let go and pced her hands on her hips, looking at her friend with exasperation.

  “Are you stupid? What if a thief saw you waving that around? And wait… where did you eve so much money?”

  Culia’s eyes widened in disbelief as she caught sight of the pouch stuffed with gold s. As Nanalie’s close friend, she was well aware of her financial struggles, which had once been so dire that she’d resorted ting for wild grass to eat.

  But now, this pouch of gold… Where oh had it e from?

  “Wait a minute. You didn’t take on some shady job, did you?”

  Culia’s face turned serious as she pced a hand on Nanalie’s shoulder, her expression filled with .

  “I know how important your mother’s alchemy workshop is to you, but you ’t do anything reckless! If you’re short on money, I lend you some. Don’t make any rash decisions, okay?”

  “W-what are you saying? I’d never do anything dangerous…”

  Already nervous, Nanalie became even more flustered under Culia’s questioning. She recalled the private agreement she’d made with "Mr. Ezio" to sell her workshop. It was an informal, secretive deal, and they’d agreed not to tell anyone about it. Now, under her friend’s interrogation, Nanalie found herself on the verge of crag.

  Her rea only deepened Culia’s suspi.

  “Wait a sed. Why are you avoiding eye tact? What did you do? Don’t tell me you’ve gotten involved in something bad…”

  “I really didn’t do anything! ht! I’ve got two new iions! I’m here tister them with the Guild!”

  “New iions?”

  Although she could tell Nanalie was ging the subject, Culia decided to drop it, given her friend’s desperate expression. With a sigh, she took the scroll from Nanalie’s hands and ope.

  “I hope you’re not submitting something weird again. Like that Dragon Fang Cleaver… Who would bother sying a dragon just so you could fe a kit knife? Hmm? This is… a greenhouse design…”

  Culia’s skepticism faded as she began to carefully examihe blueprints and apanying descriptions on the scroll.

  In addition to being Nanalie’s friend, Culia was also a staff member at the Alchemists’ Guild. However, she hadn’t used her position to grant Nanalie any special privileges. The truth was, Nanalie’s situation had long surpassed what could be resolved through favors.

  “This… Did you e up with this?”

  Culia looked up from the scroll, her expression a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

  In just a few minutes, Culia quickly grasped the significe of the “greenhouse” and “fertilizer” described in the scroll. What amazed her wasn’t the introdu of these alchemical tools but rather their materials. As Nanalie’s closest friend, Culia knew all too well about Nanalie’s borderline obsessive perfe. The girl would go so far as to make a b out of North Sea whale bones—valuable, perhaps, but utterly impractical.

  But these materials… were derived from slimes?

  If the tents of Nanalie’s scroll were accurate, then this was an affordable, groundbreaking alchemical iion! Far more practical thandish iions Nanalie had e up with in the past.

  “This… this wasirely my idea,” Nanalie admitted, still the ho girl at heart. Although Alex had told her she could cim full ownership of the “patent,” Nanalie couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  “It’s… it’s a retive of mine!”

  “A retive?”

  Culia raised an eyebrow, her fusion deepening.

  “I didn’t know you had aives.”

  “He’s… a distant cousin. He came to visit me and is staying with me right now. I was able to create this design under his guidance… Oh, but the teiques in it are all my own!”

  “So, he gave you the cept, and yht it to life?”

  Listening to Nanalie’s flustered expnation, Culia finally pieced together the story a out a sigh of relief. If that was the case, there shouldn’t be any issues with the ownership of this iion’s “patent.”

  “And that money… did your ‘retive’ give it to you too?”

  “Yes, Mr. Ezio is such a kind person. He’s helped me a lot!”

  “I see…”

  Culia frowned, her sharp intuition tingling. Something about this situation didn’t sit right with her, though she couldn’t pinpoily what. Still, the two alchemical iions Nanalie had brought were undeniably meaningful. Culia could firm that her of these designs had ever been recorded in the Alchemists’ Guild archives.

  “Well, setting that aside for now, how do you want tister this? Public or private?”

  “P-private…”

  Like patents, the Alchemists’ Guild had a system to proteventors. Alchemists could submit their designs to the Guild to establish their ownership while keeping the details fidential. This eheir iions weren’t stolen iarized before reag full development. Ohe iions were refined and ready for mass produ, they could then be publicly disclosed and sold.

  As for whether anyone would dare steal a patent from the Guild… well, this wash. Both mages and priests had more than enough means to uhe truth. If anyone was foolish enough to test the power of magid divine w, they were wele to try.

  In legal disputes, the Main World moved much faster than Alex’s former one.

  “All done.”

  As an experienced Guild staff member, Culia quickly hahe paperwork for Nawo iions. With her outstandis also paid off, Na out a sigh of relief—at least her mother’s workshop was safe from repossession now.

  “, we o verify the iions. Si seems you didn’t bring them, I’ll go back with you to check.”

  “Eh? Really?”

  Nanalie blinked in surprise.

  “But, Culia, don’t you have a lot of work to do?”

  “This is part of my job too. Besides, you were waving that money pouch around outside like an idiot. Who knows if any thieves are watg? With me around, you’ll be safer.”

  Culia patted her waist fidently.

  “I’m ae warrior, remember? Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe!”

  Of course, Culia wasn’t beiirely truthful. While proteg Nanalie and verifying her greenhouse iion were part of her responsibilities, what she really cared about was this “retive” of Nanalie’s.

  Nanalie had referred to this person as him, meaning the visitor was a man.

  A man, g to be Nanalie’s distaive, showing up out of niving her a rge sum of money…

  Culia’s suspis fred.

  That man must have ulterior motives for Nanalie!

  (End of Chapter)

  ?? Unlock the World of Stories with Early Access on Patreon! ??

  Hello, beloved readers and supporters!

  I am thrilled to offer you an exclusive opportunity to dive deeper into our captivating stories before anyone else. By joining the Patreon unity, you'll unlock a treasure trove of bes, including:

  ?? Early Access to 20 Chapters: Be the first to explore neters, experieng the twists and turns of our tales well ahead ur readers. Your jourhrough our stories doesn't have to wait!

  ?? ect with the unity: Join a vibrant, like-minded group of readers who share your passion. Engage iing discussions, share theories, and make new friends who love the stories as much as you do.

  ?? Support the Creator: Your patronage directly tributes to the ongoing creation and improvement of the tent you love. Be a vital part of the creative journey!

  Patreon./anish_44

  https://ko-fi./anish_44