Leon's house, once again in that same old veteran of a living room.
Glancing around, the visiting guests sat upright on the main sofa, their gazes all drifting toward Leon on the single-seater to the right.
And gathered around the warm fireplace with its flickering flames, the ladies of the house were scattered about in whatever postures suited them.
Some leaned against the wall with arms crossed, some curled up in the rocking chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, some sat on the high stools by the bar counter talking in low voices, and others, like Laurier and Lydia, leaned out from behind the railing of the second-floor walkway, sneaking peeks down below.
"Crackle...!"
The flames in the fireplace were burning bright. The dancing firelight tinted Heith Velvet's cold-flushed cheeks red, making her already babyfat profile look especially soft and adorable.
Kaguya sat squeezed between Riveria and Alise, back ramrod straight, her posture so proper it bordered on rigid. The length of calf bared beneath her kimono was pressed together and angled slightly, her plain white tabi resting sideways inside the fluffy slippers. Her fair hands were folded primly on her lap, her bearing a flawless display of noble-lady etiquette... if you ignored her perpetually lowered face, and the little maneuver of deliberately using her black hair to hide most of her expression.
Did something interesting happen at the entryway just now?
The eyes of Laurier, Iri, Margaret, and Lydia drifted quietly back and forth between Leon and Kaguya.
Kaguya's keen senses naturally picked up on those looks. Already mortified beyond bearing, she now all but wanted to bury her face in her kimono sleeves.
As for a certain man, with his thick skin, his face stayed perfectly composed, as unruffled as ever.
...
"You two are remarkably well-informed."
When Leon finally spoke, the air in the whole living room seemed to go faintly still.
Every gaze, in that instant, landed on him together.
Finn smiled, unbothered by the teasing edge in Leon's words:
"Little brother Leon, let's skip the unnecessary talk. We've worked together so long now, and with a bond like ours, it'd be too much to keep hiding the good stuff away, wouldn't it?"
"Come on, bring it out and treat your big brother to a look. How about it!"
Little brother?
Big brother?
Watching Finn's earnest, sincere expression, Leon couldn't keep the corner of his mouth from twitching, thinking to himself: Like hell I'd believe you.
Seated beside Finn, Riveria, along with Laurier, Persephone, and Margaret, who had all secretly pricked up their ears, nearly lost it too. They scrunched up their faces, fighting hard not to laugh out loud.
Leon's getting called "little brother" now? And by Finn, of all people...
Hilarious!
Riveria: "..."
As for Hedin beside him, though he said nothing, Leon had the faint sense that if Finn kept up the nonsense, this "Hildrsleif's" patience would soon run out.
Sticking to the principle of "the one with the money is god," Leon rested his hands on the broad, soft armrests of the sofa, ignored Finn's chumminess, leisurely crossed his legs, and spoke with a smile:
"Since you two are in such a hurry, I won't drag it out either."
"Iri, go down to the cellar and bring the stuff up for me."
"Got it!"
Iri the Alchemy Assistant... Irisviel, on hearing the order, didn't say a word, just padded off in her fluffy slippers that matched her hair color, pattering into the stairwell down to the cellar.
Once her figure disappeared around the corner, Hedin and Heith Velvet's gazes met briefly.
So this is one of the two top-grade healers you mentioned... from the Demeter Familia?
That's right, this is the one. Irisviel von Einzbern.
Hedin nodded slightly, thoughtful.
By the looks of it, she seems to be a pharmacist too, an alchemist? The same type as that "Dea Saint"?
...
Setting aside the silent exchange of glances between the two Freya Familia members.
Leon didn't leave his guests waiting. While Iri went to fetch the sample, he met the focused gazes around him and led off with an eye-catching piece of news:
"The 'Wild Mixture'... taken once, it immediately invigorates your stamina and lifts your mental state."
Invigorates stamina, lifts mental state?
Hearing this concrete information from Leon's mouth, every guest felt a stir.
Riveria and Heith Velvet especially, as a Mage and a healer respectively, knew all too well what "lifting your mental state" meant. As for the stamina part... that wasn't something an elegant mage need concern herself with.
But before they could ask in detail, Leon dropped an even bigger bomb:
"...and it grants a 5% boost to all Basic Abilities, with an effect lasting..."
He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over the slowly freezing expressions around him, the corners of his mouth lifting beyond his control:
"Two hours."
The moment his words landed, the guests in the living room all fell silent.
"..."
Only the grandfather clock in the corner kept its pendulum dutifully ticking out a steady, clear rhythm.
After a long while...
Finn, Hedin, and Riveria set down their teacups almost at the same instant, their movements giving an all-but-imperceptible hitch, and then slowly drew in a breath.
Alise and Kaguya, who'd only meant to sit back and watch how things unfolded, were jolted by the sudden information, their gazes freezing, but the next second their eyes turned abruptly sharp.
The guests snapped their heads up to look at Leon, eyes fixed dead on his, trying to confirm whether his words were true or false.
After a moment of watching, Leon still wore the same smile he'd had from the start. Only, whether it was their imagination or not, that upturned corner of his mouth seemed somehow to grow more and more smug.
Riveria gently set her teacup back on the tea table and faced Leon with a solemn expression:
"Mr. Hart, can you confirm... that this elixir has the same effect as the 'Monster Hunter Special,' namely a 5% boost to all Basic Abilities?"
She paused briefly, her voice dropping a touch lower:
"And... whether there are any side effects after taking it?"
From deep within her habitually calm eyes, Leon caught a clear hint of hidden anticipation.
He unhurriedly picked up the teacup before him, took a light sip, and only then answered slowly:
"The effect is indeed a 5% boost to all Basic Abilities, lasting two hours."
"Verified by us personally."
"As for side effects..."
Meeting his guests' anticipation, Leon grinned, baring a row of neat white teeth:
"There are none."
None?
Everyone's breath caught at once!
But before they could collect themselves, Leon's smile turned meaningful as he added:
"And what's more... the 'Wild Mixture' and the 'Monster Hunter Special' can be taken at the same time."
He paused slightly, then said clearly:
"To put it more plainly..."
"The buff effects of the two can stack perfectly."
"Which means, used together, you get... a 10% boost to all Basic Abilities."
"Haah...!"
Alise and Heith Velvet sucked in cold air almost in unison, their eyes going wide on their own, faces blank with astonishment.
In that moment, even the flames in the fireplace seemed to flicker wildly inside the living room.
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