After parting ways with Selina, Julius did not stop walking; he headed straight back to the workshop where Helos was.
He pushed open the creaking wooden door and at first glance saw the girl quietly leaning over the workbench.
Warm golden sunlight poured in, outlining her slender silhouette.
Helos seemed unaware of his arrival, staring blankly at the magic core before her, which glowed faintly, as if the entire world was concentrated in that single point of light.
Really?
“What are you doing?”
“Ah!”
Julius’s voice suddenly sounded from behind, making Helos startle and nearly drop the tool in her hand.
Still startled, she patted her chest and glared irritably at the boy who had somehow appeared in the doorway:
“Can you at least knock before coming in? You scared me to death!”
“Uh… I’ll be more careful next time?”
The black-haired boy said this, but his face showed no sign of genuine remorse.
“You’d better!”
Helos rolled her eyes at him, then as if recalling something, her eyes suddenly brightened. “Oh, right! How’s the antidote? Did it work?”
Julius reined in his smile, his expression becoming more complex.
He was silent for a moment before slowly speaking:
“It’s more than just effective—the effect is almost unbelievably good.”
“Oh~”
Helos blinked in surprise, a hint of disbelief showing on her face. “It actually worked?”
“Mm.”
Julius nodded solemnly, then cautiously added, “But we don’t know how long the effect will last yet. We’ll need to observe it for a while longer.”
“How’s the poisoned person doing now?”
“For now, their condition is stable… Oh, right.”
Julius hesitated slightly as he spoke, “The life potion you gave me—I used it on them.”
A trace of apology appeared on the boy’s face:
“They were in so much pain at the time, I took the liberty…”
“It’s fine. Potions are made to save people, after all~”
Helos waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll just brew you a few more later!”
She said it so casually that it made Julius pause for a moment.
“That kind of potion… should be pretty hard to make, right?”
“Hard?”
Helos tilted her head and thought for a moment.
The hardest part was just gathering the ingredients.
Because when it comes to the actual brewing, it’s basically ‘one-click complete.’ Anyone with hands can do it.
To be honest, even a fool could make it.
She shook her head, her tone very relaxed:
“Not too hard, at least for me.”
Julius stared at Helos’s effortlessly confident demeanor, took a deep breath, then suddenly stepped forward and gently held her shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“W-what are you doing?”
Helos was caught off guard by his sudden action.
“Listen to me, Miss Helos.”
Julius’s Adam’s apple moved as he spoke, his voice clearly serious now. “The potions you make—especially that life potion—absolutely, absolutely must not be known to outsiders.”
His fingers tightened slightly, his eyes burning:
“I don’t know how you managed to brew something like this, but its effects are too astonishing. If it gets exposed, it will surely bring unimaginable trouble to you.”
“Do you understand?”
He locked eyes with her, asking each word deliberately.
“I understand.”
Looking at the boy’s unusually serious expression, Helos was momentarily stunned, then nodded gently. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning to spread it around.”
Although at first, she did secretly consider making some extra money by selling potions on the side.
Of course, that idea stayed locked in her heart.
“That’s good.”
Julius released her shoulders and stepped back half a step, bowing slightly with a hint of apology. “That was rude of me, Miss Helos.”
“Rude? Aren’t we friends?”
Helos slapped his arm in a carefree way, a bright smile playing on her lips. “I’m glad you care about your friends, Miss Helos is happy about that.”
“But if you don’t consider me a friend, Miss Helos will be very angry!”
“Eh? You really consider me a friend?”
As soon as Helos finished speaking, Julius’s eyes widened slightly, disbelief clear in his voice:
“But you clearly are—”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I said it, so it’s true!”
Before he could finish, Helos stood on her tiptoes and lightly flicked his forehead with two fingers.
“Alright, go on! Stop just standing there distracting me from work! I still have to prepare more antidotes and life potions for you.”
She turned back to the workbench, then suddenly glanced over her shoulder and winked at him, raising her index finger and shaking it mysteriously:
“This is my secret recipe! No peeking!”
Julius stared at the girl’s back in a daze for a moment, then softly replied, “…Okay.”
He slowly turned around, his footsteps a bit unsteady as he left the workshop.
Friend…?
That word rippled gently in his heart like a ray of sunlight breaking through a long-standing gloom.
Unconsciously, the boy touched his forehead, where the girl’s fingertips still seemed to leave a faint warmth.
A smile involuntarily curved his lips.
This isn’t so bad, is it?
After carefully confirming Julius had left and the workshop door was securely closed, Helos turned and began counting the remaining materials on the workbench.
“Hmmm… since the potions’ effects have been confirmed, I’ll make another batch as backup.”
She skillfully divided the materials into groups, then pressed the quick-craft button in the ultimate alchemy system once again.
***
Amid the shimmering glow, two bottles of life potion radiating a gorgeous red light and two bottles of translucent green universal antidote quietly appeared on the workbench.
“Two life potions, three antidotes counting the leftover one, plus one vitality potion and one focus potion…”
She tapped her inventory lightly, resting her slender fingers on her chin in thought.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
Turning, she retrieved a slightly worn leather Waist Pouch from deep inside a corner cabinet.
Carefully, the girl placed all the potions inside one by one and found it held them all perfectly, with a bit of room to spare.
“Okay, didn’t expect that old thing I found in the warehouse before would still come in handy.”
She fastened the clasp with satisfaction and set the pouch in the most visible spot on the workbench. “Next time Julius comes, I can just hand it straight to him.”
After finishing all this, she sat down in front of the workbench and couldn’t help but begin pondering her next steps.
Since the Valiance Arts alchemy was fully unlocked and the effects had been tested—well, technically, she still hadn’t tried the Kiss of Thorns potion yet—
but that didn’t matter; she would probably need that one sooner or later.
She glanced at the drawer, then up at the workshop ceiling.
Hmm…
No clues for Phantom Arts yet, so she could only start with Valiance Arts or Enlightenment Arts.
But which one should she tackle first?