The Herb King

After the hearty feast, Leric told everyone to choose their rooms. The employees happily thanked him and left with their families. They were only ordinary people and the thought of living inside a huge mansion was like a dream come true for them.

When they all left, Leric finally has time to start refining his pills.

"Refining outside the mansion seems fun. Alright. I'll do it here." He lit up a cigar as he prepared his cauldron and ingredients.

The sky is clear and the weather is good so there shouldn't be any problems if he refines his pills outside.

"Because of the Hunter Association's large purchase of the Recovery Pellets, my stock is running low. I'll refine more of it first." Leric muttered to himself as he sorted the ingredients of the Recovery Pellet and kept the other ingredients away.

Soon, he lit up the cauldron and started the refinement process.

He was blowing rings of smoke with his cigar as he refined the pills. If an Alchemist was here, they would certainly collapse if they witness Leric's casual attitude when refining pills.

Hm?

Leric raised his eyebrows when he noticed a blue dot near his location in his [Virtual Map]. He activated his perception skill and saw a young lady hiding behind a tree, secretly looking at him.

'Isn't this Janeth's daughter? What's her name again? I think it's Janrose...'

She was looking at his movements in great detail and she was even secretly taking notes in her notebook.

'Is she sneakily learning my methods?' Leric thought with an amused look. He didn't call her out or stop her from seeing his refinement technique. He even slowed down the process. He wanted to see if she can truly learn anything from him.

Meanwhile, Janrose didn't even blink as she looked at Aethelwolf's methods. The technique he used was very intricate and even with her high comprehension, she only managed to learn a few things after watching him. "His refining method is very advanced! Is this the peak of Alchemy? Amazing!" She muttered with admiration in her eyes.

When Leric opened the lid of the cauldron, there were five pills lying inside. He grabbed them and kept them inside his storage space. He then said as if he is talking to someone. "Do you want to see the process up close?"

Janrose felt nervous when she heard his words. 'Did he notice me? Oh no! I'm dead!' It was taboo to sneakily learn someone's technique so she would definitely be in trouble if Aethelwolf will see her.

"I know you're hiding behind that tree. Just come here and stand behind me." Aethelwolf's joking tone made Janrose jolt in surprise. She knew that she was busted so she could only walk towards him with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Sir Aethelwolf. I know what I did was wrong, but please don't hurt my mother. She has nothing to do with this." Janrose said with a pitiful look.

Leric's expression turned gentle upon hearing that. "Do I look like I'm angry?" He asked with a smile.

"Huh?" Janrose raised her head and saw Aethelwolf smiling at her. "You're not?" She asked in disbelief. She thought that she would be punished for what she did.

Leric shook his head and moved his gaze back to his cauldron. "Do you want to learn Alchemy?" He suddenly asked.

Janrose nodded with her head lowered. "I do, but I don't have money. There is an Alchemy Tower that teaches aspiring Alchemists, but they are asking for a high tuition fee. We are only commoners so my mother can't afford to pay for it. Sometimes, I watch Alchemists when they refine pills in public."

Leric didn't ask more questions and just began refining the second batch of Recovery Pellets. "The pill that I'm refining is called Recovery Pellet. This is only an inferior version of my creation and it requires five ingredients to make..."

Janrose was shocked when Aethelwolf started talking. She realized that he was teaching her the refining method of the Recovery Pellet! She hurriedly noted down everything he said in her little notebook. She also seriously watch every step and even asked him about the things that she found difficult to understand.

The refinement process this time took him about an hour because Leric still had to explain things to Janrose. "Were you able to understand something?" The girl showed clear interest in learning Alchemy and Leric was also in dire need of an apprentice so he wanted to see if she has the potential.

Janrose furrowed her eyebrows as she shook her head. "I'm stupid and I only managed to remember ten percent of what you said, but if I read the notes that I've written, I should be able to remember about twenty percent." She answered, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Leric dropped his cigar when he heard her words. "You managed to learn ten percent of it?" He asked in surprise.

Janrose nodded her head meekly.

She was only a Level 1 Esper and she hasn't even summoned the most basic Pill Fire. However, after listening to his teachings once, she actually managed to absorb some of his methods!

"Alright. I believe you, but I'll ask you some questions, and let's see if you can answer them." Leric then started asking her questions related to the things he taught her earlier and the girl managed to answer a few of them! That means she wasn't lying!

Leric looked at the nervous girl with an excited smile on his face. To think that he would actually find someone who has a high comprehension ability. "Come, sit here beside me." Leric grabbed a chair for her.

Janrose sat down and she became even more nervous when she felt Aethelwolf's enthusiasm. "Sir Aethelwolf, I tried to remember your teachings, but I couldn't remember them all."

Leric waved his hand and replied. "It's fine. The Recovery Pellet that I refined earlier is a 2nd-Grade Pill. It's normal for you not to understand it." When he noticed that she was silent, he moved closer to her and said. "Don't think too much about it. How about I teach you how to summon your Pill Fire?"

Janrose lifted her head with a pair of shining eyes. "Really?"