Chapter 10

The protagonist does not appear.

---

Royal Academy

This was around the time when Kena had just met Kataratsu.

In the alchemy professor's office, a female student was currently being called in. There was an issue with her submitting the potion, which was part of the class, late, but more importantly, there was a problem with the submission itself. The alchemy professor, with his messy hair and wrinkled faculty robe and lab coat, was Lops Harvey. His face was half-hidden by his bangs, and his unkempt beard was noticeable. With a lackadaisical posture, he looked up at the female student standing beside him.

"Hey, this potion that you're supposed to have submitted... Did you really make it?"

"Y-Yes..."

"Really? If you made this, I can recommend you to the royal palace..."

"Really!? Is that true!?"

The female student, suddenly seeing a path to promotion before her, beamed with joy. However, Lops, maintaining his lackadaisical attitude, picked up the potion from the desk and continued.

"In that case, you'll be making this. Do you know the recipe for this?"

"A-Ah, yes. It's made with Kazu's roots..."

"Wrong. This isn't made with such cheap materials. It's an ancient relic, made with a method that no one knows anymore."

The sharp gaze peeking through his bangs made the female student pale and step back.

"...So, who made this?"

Returning to the beginning, Lops, though his posture was still lazy, pressed on with a different intensity. Finally, the female student, on the verge of tears, bowed her head.

"S-Sorry! I couldn't get all the materials, so I... I asked the Adventurer's Guild to make it for me!"

"Got it, I understand. I'll give you an additional assignment later. You can go now."

With a shooing gesture, the female student, without wiping away her tears, bowed again and fled the office.

---

Lops, who had been contemplating the red liquid bottle for a while, looked up at the knock on the door.

"Come in, come in~?"

The one who entered was a typical blonde, blue-eyed elf. Her hair, which reached her waist, was braided, and she was dressed in a red robe that reached her feet. Maimai Harvey, the head of the Royal Academy and Lops' wife.

"Is it the head of the academy...? It's rare for you to come all the way to the alchemy department."

"I just ran into a crying girl running down the hall. Your lack of effort and student abuse will affect your evaluation, you know?"

Ignoring the playful, inquisitive face of the head of the academy, Lops pushed the red liquid bottle under her nose.

"How cold. ...What is this?"

"It's a potion submitted as an assignment."

"Hmm, who made it? It doesn't seem like something you could make."

Shaking it, she instantly identified the contents.

"Impressive... It seems it was made by an adventurer."

"Really? An adventurer... Oh!?"

Realizing the implications, she was speechless at the absurdity. Lops, seeing her reaction, sighed dramatically, took the red liquid bottle from the former court mage and head of the academy, and placed it on the desk.

"If something like this gets out into the world, it will cause chaos in the market. I'll go to the guild tomorrow and warn the person who made it."

"For you to move, it must be quite serious. Why don't you bring the person who made it here?"

Lops sighed at her suggestion.

"Are you going to hire them as a teacher?"

"First, we'll have an interview, and then we'll see the results."

Waving her hand, she stopped and turned around.

"Oh, by the way, I have a dinner meeting with my brothers today. Could you tell them I don't need dinner?"

"Got it. But it's quite a surprise that the high priest has time off..."

Sliding up to Lops, Maimai kissed his cheek and left the room with a cheerful wave.

"I have an urgent report from my younger brother..."

---

Noble District High-Class Restaurant, "Black Rabbit's White Tail"

"…That's what happened."

"W-What!?"

"I see, Mother..."

Kataratsu, who had encountered Kena unexpectedly during the day and reported the entire incident to his siblings, stopped eating as his sister, with a fierce expression, approached him. Maimai, grabbing him, shook him violently.

"H-How could you not call me to the scene!?"

"Hmm, should we welcome her with the entire church?"

The eldest brother, a tall and handsome man named Skalgo, whose every movement was accompanied by sounds like 'shararan' and 'kiraran' and effects of roses dancing. His lemon-colored blonde hair and emerald eyes, with slender fingers at his lips, pondered.

Incidentally, the sounds and effects were not just auditory or visual illusions. This was the top-ranked skill, heavily criticized on the bulletin board and questioned by the management, [Special Skill: Roses Fall Beautifully]. The effect was a general aesthetic effect that could be activated at will. The fact that his mother taught him such a skill was also problematic...

Maimai, who had stopped shaking Kataratsu, shrugged at her eldest brother's words.

"Maybe it's better not to. After all, the reason Mother retreated deep into the forest, tired of people, was...?"

Her brother nodded, remembering, and ran his hand through his hair 'sarily'. The two younger siblings, who had the skill to ignore, didn't comment.

"Still, Mother as an adventurer...? Wait, could that potion be...?"

"Hmm? Mother said it was her first day as an adventurer today."

"Wait a minute. A potion with a lost recipe was brought in..."

"Hmm, if Mother had come, she should have let us know."

"She said she was turned away at the door. She went to the church before coming to me."

Kataratsu's explanation earned a tap on the forehead from Skalgo, whose long, slanted eyes gleamed 'kirariin' unnecessarily as he thought.

"To turn away Mother without informing us is a desecration of the Mother I respect."

His eyes, which glowed 'girarin' red and menacingly, were interrupted by Maimai's slap.

"Brother, don't say such dangerous things! If Mother finds out, she'll be furious. She wouldn't recommend such a thing, given her gentle nature."

"True," Skalgo muttered, dissipating the black mist 'fusa' and combing his long hair with his fingers, then letting it flow 'shararan'.

"If Mother is to settle in this capital, we need to consider our position, don't we?"

"Brother, are you unhappy with our current position?"

"Of course, our master is Mother. All our activities should be centered around Mother. Yes, that's right!"

Seeing the turbulent waves 'dodon' behind his eldest brother, the younger siblings sighed. It seemed that even after 200 years, the mother-centric attitude hadn't changed. If anything, it had worsened.

There was only one way to stop the eldest brother in this state.

"Mother needs to scold you."

"Is this country safe with such a high priest...?"

Indeed.

Continuous posting. Actually, I wanted to insert this between the first and second parts to get a reaction like, "Hey, what are you thinking!?"