Iana followed the scent of the herbs and unknowingly arrived in front of a small shop.
At the entrance hung a sign that read “Magic Potion House,” carved with an image of a cauldron bubbling with purple fumes, as if to proclaim to passersby that this was a powerful potion shop.
Iana easily pushed open the slightly rusted wooden door, which creaked loudly.
From that door, she could feel the long history of this potion shop.
As Iana stepped inside, a strong fragrance of potions immediately filled the air, and she couldn’t help but take a deep breath, instantly feeling much more energized.
The shelves inside were filled with all sorts of bottles and jars, colorful liquids shimmering with strange lights in the glass.
What puzzled Iana was that as she glanced around the shop, she couldn’t find a single person.
“Am I too early?” Iana doubted herself.
“But the shop is clearly open. Or maybe the owner stepped out.”
Iana decided to wander among the shelves for a while.
After all, she had a vague feeling this trial mission might involve bloodshed, so she could stock up on some potions here—just in case.
“What are you wandering around for?” a somewhat childish female voice suddenly sounded beside her.
“Who’s there?” Iana asked, startled.
“I’m warning you, it’s daytime now, so stop pretending to be a ghost.”
Iana looked around carefully but still saw no one, so she immediately assumed a battle stance, ready to defend herself.
“I’m right here!”
A little girl with a magical hat bigger than her head bounced out from behind the cashier desk, her face carrying a hint of anger as if offended by Iana’s failure to see her.
Only then did Iana realize why she hadn’t noticed her—the girl was so short that the cashier desk completely blocked her from view.
Iana paused for a moment, then awkwardly relaxed her guard.
Looking at the little girl wearing the oversized magical hat, Iana couldn’t help but laugh.
“Sorry, I didn’t notice you there.” Iana asked, “Are you the owner of this shop?”
The little girl put her hands on her hips and said angrily, “Of course I am! I’m the greatest Master Alchemist, Lottie!”
She stood on her tiptoes, trying to make herself look taller.
“Did you just say I’m pretending to be a ghost?”
Iana quickly waved her hands to explain, “No, it’s just that you’re too short and blocked by the counter, so I couldn’t see you clearly.”
“Ah, I’m not short!” Lottie protested.
Iana’s words seemed to hit Lottie’s most sensitive nerve, causing her to sulk, “I just haven’t developed yet. And you don’t look much taller than me anyway. How dare you call me short.”
“What? I’m not much taller than you? Are you joking?” Iana was offended by Lottie’s claim—this was serious business.
“What’s that? You want to compare?”
“Bring it on, I’m not afraid.”
The two little girls stood back-to-back, both trying to straighten up and outgrow the other.
“Hey, take off your hat first. Using your magic hat to look taller is cheating.” Iana said with a frown, looking at Lottie, who only slightly surpassed her height thanks to the hat.
“Blah blah, I don’t care. You’re just shorter anyway.”
Lottie beamed with joy, almost splitting her mouth in a grin.
In all these years, this was the first time she had ever won a height contest—even if it was with the help of a magic hat, a win was a win.
As for Iana, after a brief flash of anger, she realized how silly it was to argue with a kid.
After all, she was just a young dragon that had only recently appeared—there was still plenty of room to grow.
“Did you brew all these potions? They look really high quality.”
Hearing the compliment, Lottie proudly lifted her chin.
“Of course! I have the best magic potions in the entire Crovian Kingdom!”
She hopped over to a shelf and pulled out a yellow vial, “Look, this is a Potion of Transformation that makes people grow cat ears.”
Then she took out a pink potion and said, “This one is a Potion of Growth that makes flowers bloom instantly, and….”
Curious, Iana followed the little girl around the shop, suddenly noticing a plain black bottle tucked away in a corner.
That bottle emitted a faint, eerie glow, standing in stark contrast to the other colorful potions.
“What’s that?” Iana pointed to the black bottle.
“That one…” Lottie suddenly grew nervous upon hearing Iana’s question.
Instead of answering, she picked up a green potion nearby and said, “Look, this is a Potion of Plant Transformation. See? I’m pretty amazing, right?”
Iana keenly noticed Lottie’s evasion and blinked, leaning in closer to the black bottle.
“This one looks more special than the others. Why is it placed all alone in the corner?”
Lottie answered awkwardly, “That… that’s just ordinary, um… ink! Yes, it’s just a bottle of ink!”
“Ink?” Iana frowned, reaching out to grab it.
“Why would a Magic Potion House have ink? And it’s clearly glowing.”
“Don’t touch it!” Lottie suddenly jumped up and grabbed Iana’s wrist with surprising strength.
Realizing she’d overreacted, Lottie immediately released her grip and lowered her voice, “It’s really… nothing special.”
Watching Lottie’s unusual behavior, Iana’s curiosity only grew stronger.
“Look me in the eyes—are you lying to me?”
Lottie bit her lip, and her magical hat slipped down, completely hiding her face.
The shop fell silent except for the sound of wind outside.
“Actually…” Lottie’s voice was as light as a feather, “that’s my failed experiment.”
“Besides this potion, I’ve never failed. Since I started brewing potions at three years old, every potion I made was perfect—except for this one.”
Lottie was very upset.
She thought to herself that she should have dealt with this bottle earlier so it wouldn’t have been discovered by Iana.
“Failure is normal. Don’t be discouraged—just keep trying, right?” Iana realized her earlier behavior might have been wrong and tried to comfort her.
“It’s different. This potion is very important. If I had succeeded in making this potion, my parents wouldn’t have…”
Iana realized she had touched a painful spot and her throat went dry.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know this potion had special meaning for you.”
“Years ago, my parents were infected by a very special creature. They became savage. If I had managed to brew this potion, maybe I could have saved them.”