"Do you have another solution, Professor?"

  "Not exactly a 'solution', but while the academy is currently out of those raw materials, I still have some in my personal herb garden."

  "You mean......"

  Raelingrim smiled and said:

  "After all, for a genius like you, I shouldn’t be too stingy. How about this—come to my herb garden in the outskirts in a few days, and you can take the make-up exam there directly. You can also bring a few assistants."

  "Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you, Professor?"

  Raelingrim shook his head with a laugh.

  "Not at all. I’m also curious to see if Student Hulim has talent in potions. I hear Professor Dez has been quite pleased with himself lately."

  Uh, Professor Dez has indeed been a bit......

  But it’s understandable. Any teacher would be extremely proud when their student achieves something extraordinary.

  "I understand. Thank you very much, Professor."

  "You’re welcome."

  ......

  "Huh? The exam is going to be outside the city?"

  Miko, who was munching on pastries, perked up as if she’d heard something interesting.

  "Then I’ll come too! How about I be your assistant?"

  "In that case, I’ll go as well."

  Alicia spoke up too.

  "I don’t mind," Hulim looked at Alicia. "But if you come, Alicia, won’t it cause any issues? Isn’t your faction currently in conflict with the Crown Prince’s?"

  "No need to worry. It’s not a battle that requires constant oversight. The faction has its own operational rules—even if I’m not around, there won’t be any chaos."

  "If that’s the case, then it’s fine."

  ......

  Another dark night.

  Inside a noble’s mansion.

  The noble, who would usually be fast asleep by now, was wide awake, pacing back and forth restlessly in the pitch-black room.

  He clutched a secret letter tightly in his hand, his face filled with anxiety.

  After a long time, realizing there was no turning back, he finally made up his mind.

  "......I have to do what that man said. Otherwise, I’ll definitely die."

  Immediately, the noble sprang into action, sorting through the evidence that would have ruined him forever throughout the night.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He was going to personally deliver it to the person he now swore allegiance to—only then would he have a glimmer of hope for survival.

  ......

  ......

  Outside the city of Langard, there stretched vast fields.

  Here stood many private manors and estates belonging to Langard’s nobles and celebrities. Usually, these nobles spent their time in Langard, but in their leisure, they would come to their suburban manors for vacations, and occasionally hold banquets here.

  Professor Raelingrim’s herb garden was located somewhere in this area.

  Now, Hulim and her two companions arrived at the entrance of the herb garden.

  "Good day, Professor Raelingrim."

  "Hello, Student Hulim, and Students Alicia and Miko. Please, come in—make yourselves at home."

  Raelingrim welcomed the three inside, while Alicia’s guards remained outside.

  The four of them walked along a stone path toward the depths of the herb garden. On both sides of the path were all kinds of plants, and some people could be seen tending to them.

  Before long, they reached a greenhouse in the inner part of the garden.

  "My personal potion-making workshop is inside."

  Raelingrim pushed open the door.

  Inside, there was still a stone path, but the types of plants on either side became increasingly exotic and unusual.

  "......This is my study, where I usually organize my thoughts and record research results."

  As he walked further in, Raelingrim explained.

  "That area over there is where I store the harvested magical plants."

  Miko followed along, looking around curiously.

  "This place is so big! I’ve never seen so many potions before!"

  "Hehe, Student Miko," Raelingrim smiled and explained. "That’s because I’ve spent a great deal of time collecting these magical plants. Many of them are rarely seen in the outside world anymore."

  "Really? That’s amazing! You’re like a collector, Professor!"

  "Haha, not a collector by any means—just a normal quirk of a potions master~. Alright, we’ve reached the potion-making studio."

  As they talked, the group arrived at the studio.

  Inside, all kinds of tools were readily available.

  "Student Hulim, feel free to use any of the tools here. I’ve already told you which potions you need to brew. If you’re ready, you can start."

  "Understood, Professor."

  "Huh?" Miko looked around the studio in confusion. "Hulim, where are all the raw materials?"

  "That’s because......"

  "It’s like this, Student Miko," Raelingrim cut in before Hulim could answer. "Identifying and preprocessing the raw materials needed for potion-making is also part of the exam."

  "So, you’ll need to harvest the raw materials yourselves from the herb garden. You’ll also have to handle the processing after harvesting—this is why I told Student Hulim to bring assistants. It would be quite time-consuming to do it all alone."

  "Ah, I see! Then Hulim, let’s go harvest the raw materials now!"

  "Alright. Professor Raelingrim, shall we begin?"

  "Of course—go ahead~!"

  The exam officially started.

  First, Hulim wrote down the required raw materials and their general characteristics on a piece of paper, then handed it to Miko.

  "Miko, I’ll leave the harvesting of these magical plants to you."

  "Don’t worry! I’ve got this!"

  Miko took the list from Hulim and turned to head into the herb garden.

  Hulim then looked at Alicia.

  "Alicia, could you help me process some of the materials? I’ll tell you the specific steps."

  "No problem."

  "Great, I’ll go prepare the tools first......"

  Before long, Miko returned with some magical plants.

  "Hulim, do you think these are right?"

  Hulim glanced at them and nodded.

  "Perfect. Here are the remaining magical plants we need to harvest. Be careful—some of them look very similar, so it’s easy to mix them up if you’re not attentive."

  "Got it! Leave it to me!"

  Miko took the updated list and set off again.

  "Alright, Alicia, could you help me process this batch of materials?"

  Hulim handed some materials to Alicia, who acted as her assistant and began processing them.

  As time passed,

  most of the materials had been collected and preprocessed, and Hulim started making the first potion.

  "Hulim, I’m back again!"

  Miko returned with another batch of magical plants.

  Hulim glanced through them and picked out one specific plant.

  "This one’s incorrect—you picked a similar-looking magical plant instead."

  "Huh? Really? I checked carefully for a while, but I still got it wrong?"

  Miko stared closely at the plant Hulim had pointed out, trying to figure out the difference.

  "It’s right here!"

  Alicia, who had just finished processing a plant, walked over and pointed to the stem. "The correct one has some vertical stripes here, but they’re very faint—easy to miss."

  "Ah! I see! I’ll go find the right one right away!"

  With that, Miko ran out again......

  While the three of them were busy working away, Raelingrim, acting as the proctor, sat casually on a chair nearby, observing everything silently.