"Wild... Wild... Mixture?"
"His newest creation?"
"Leon... which master apothecary is that?"
"Could it be some new elixir the Dian Cecht Familia just developed?"
"Wouldn't be strange, what with Miss Airmid there..."
"I'd say Miss Naaza of the Blue Pharmacy..."
"Nah, Miss Heith's got more going for her!"
"Damn lolicon!"
"..."
The murmurs spread through the ward like ripples. Plenty of people were still staring toward where Margaret had vanished, their eyes full of doubt and curiosity.
...
At the far end of the corridor, three figures stood quietly.
The girl with pink twin-tails narrowed her eyes slightly; the dog-person girl with short flaxen hair gave her ears a faint twitch; the silver-haired girl, exquisite as a doll, kept her face blank. The three of them watched in silence as that streak of fiery red disappeared around the corner.
'The "Wild Mixture"... boosts all Basic Abilities? Invigorates the spirit?'
The pink-haired girl, Heith Velvet, kept her expression composed on the surface, but the thoughts inside her head were spinning fast.
'That guy Leon... so he's been hiding something like this on top of the "Monster Hunter Special"...'
'No good, I need to get word to Mr. Hedin right away. There's no way I'm letting the Loki Familia snap up the whole supply!'
She turned abruptly and gave her two "companions" a hurried nod:
"Airmid, Naaza, looks like there's nothing urgent here for now, so I'll go take my rest first."
Before she had even finished speaking, she was already striding off, "withdrawing" from the scene swiftly and with no loss of grace.
The Airmid left behind: "..."
The Naaza who met her eyes: "..."
The two exchanged a knowing look.
It seemed certain "news" would soon be quietly making the rounds among Orario's top familias.
...
...
By early evening, the sky had turned gray and overcast.
With a creak, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and three figures with their forms completely hidden under hooded cloaks filed in one after another.
"Phew... home at last."
The moment the one walking last locked the courtyard gate, all the tension in her body and mind drained away in an instant.
She yanked down her hood and shook out her somewhat disheveled long red hair, revealing Margaret's pretty face, its weariness impossible to hide.
"Ahh... so tired..."
"I just want to curl up on the sofa by the fireplace and not move a muscle..."
"I want snacks and sweets..."
"And if... someone could give me a massage, that'd be even better..."
Iri pulled off her hood too, pouting slightly, and lifted a pair of eyes brimming with expectation toward the man leaning against the doorframe.
Leon looked at Iri and Lydia, who had also taken off her hood, and at the eager, hopeful gazes the two of them were giving him, and the skin of his face twitched a couple of times.
But still... a massage?
Something stirred in him, and a brilliant smile blossomed across his face in an instant.
"Margaret, Iri, Lydia, welcome home."
"Tired after a long day's work? Come on, come on... get inside quick, the fireplace is roaring, nice and warm!"
In the reception hall, Laurier, Aura, and the others took in the whole commotion at the door. Leon's almost excessively attentive manner in particular had them so embarrassed their toes were practically curling.
Once the three of them had changed into their loungewear, settled into the sofa, and relaxed in front of the fireplace with hot tea in their arms, Leon finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up, his face full of anticipation:
"So how'd it go, Margaret? That thing I asked you to do... did you pull it off?"
...?
Iri and Lydia froze at his words and exchanged a puzzled glance.
A thing? What thing?
Going to the Treatment Center... that wasn't just to help out?
Margaret gently blew the steam off her tea, tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, and let out a helpless sigh:
"Leon, from now on, things like this... don't make me do them again. You know how I am, I just can't act to save my life. If Lydia hadn't pushed herself and used her Magic at the end, nearly working herself into 'Mind Down' by accident, I don't even know if I could've pulled it off."
Mind Down?
Everyone turned in unison to look at Lydia, who sat in the middle of the sofa with her head bashfully lowered, their faces filling at once with shock and concern.
"Lydia, why'd you push yourself so hard?"
"Are you feeling all right? Anything hurting anywhere?"
"If you're not feeling well, you have to say so."
Faced with everyone's heartfelt concern, Lydia shook her head shyly:
"I'm fine, everyone... I'm already much better."
"Margaret gave me the elixir to drink right away back then, so the headache only lasted a little while, and after that, after that..."
After that? Then?
Everyone's gaze swung in unison back to Margaret.
"Here's what happened..."
Margaret recounted the whole affair from start to finish, every last detail included.
Listening to her describe that toe-curlingly awkward scene, the looks everyone gave her turned a little peculiar.
"Ahem, Margaret... your acting was just the teeniest little bit clumsy."
Looking at the tiny universe Leon was pinching out between his index finger and thumb, Margaret shot him an exasperated glare, then crossed her arms, folded her long legs, sank deep into the sofa, and turned her face away:
"So it was clumsy, fine! Honestly! I've never been this embarrassed in my whole life!"
Ignoring everyone's teasing looks, Leon cleared his throat:
"Ahem, clumsy or awkward, none of that matters. The point is getting word of the Wild Mixture out there..."
"I'd say by now the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia... should be unable to sit still."
Just then, Rose came down from the stairwell carrying a few thick blankets. One by one she draped them gently over Margaret, Iri, and Lydia, carefully tucking in the corners, and asked softly:
"Should we make some preparations ahead of time?"
Leon propped his elbow casually on the sofa's armrest, rested his cheek on one hand, and tilted his head, quietly studying the three of them, their profiles and figures made all the softer and more endearing by their exhaustion, a relaxed smile curling at his lips:
"The situation's turned around now, the initiative's in our hands."
"All we have to do is sit pretty on the fishing platform and wait for the fish to take the bait."
...
...
It went pretty much the way Leon had figured.
Important public facilities like the Dian Cecht Familia Treatment Center, the Guild headquarters, and the entrances to Babel were naturally where all sides' informants gathered.
So, just as naturally, intel on the Wild Mixture was overheard by every faction's people. However... for anyone who didn't know the "Monster Hunter Special" existed or what it did, they might simply take the "Wild Mixture" for some kind of "stamina potion" that restored physical strength and lifted the spirits.
Rather than spend the energy paying attention to a Pleasure Quarter support trinket like that, it was more reliable to gather a bit more intel on the various healers, especially those two newcomers in the Demeter Familia, whose healing Magic was each more absurd than the last.
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