Winter has once again come to Ereneth, and tiny snowflakes danced outside the window of Isadora's workshop. But despite the city being firmly in the winter's icy grip, I was sweating profusely as I listened to my master's heavy words.

"We have no other choice but to close the shop sooner than usual this year... Hopefully, by spring, everything will return to normal." Isadora spoke with a sigh as she gazed at the empty shelves.

'Oh crap, This is bad...' I thought as I tried my best not to let my growing anxiety show on my face. The reason for the empty shelves... was me. In my own recklessness, I never considered for a moment what my actions might actually do.

When I bought up all the umbrifila I could get my hands on in the market, I inadvertently caused a momentary shortage in the herb's supply within the city. That, by itself would normally be just a minor inconvenience at best, as the city was quite large and a single person couldn't buy out all the herbs as most herbalists maintained their own stockpiles throughout the year.

But such a thing could not have come out at a worse time. From what I later learned, there was already slightly less umbrifila going around since most beast hunters, who normally gather it in the surrounding woods, were sent out to quell the recent troubles with monsters rampaging in the Northern Mountains.

And when the rumors about the lack of medicines started going around the city shortly before the winter season came... Which is also the time of year when many people usually come down with various illnesses. The whole city subsequently succumbed into panic. People rushed to the stores, buying out all the medicines they could get their hands on. Even Isadora's shop was not an exception to this.

This brings us to this moment when most herbalists had no choice but to close the shop for the winter. I prayed to all the gods so that nobody would connect the dots and point at me as the culprit for this.

After Isadora told us the grim news and dismissed us for the rest of the winter, she left the workshop, leaving both me and Elena to our own devices. Contrary to my gloomy face, Elena seemed elated by the news. She's probably already imagining herself spending the whole of winter in her parent's house, letting herself be spoiled even more than she already is.

She never gave a damn about anyone else but herself, which left me wondering why she was so adamant about getting such a job where caring about other people's health was actually kind of expected...

'I guess she wants only the status and money that come with being an herbalist...' I chuckled to myself amusingly. But I quickly banished such useless thoughts, as I had much bigger worries to take care of first. With a deep breath, I tightened the scarf around my neck as I quickly left the shop and set off into the snow-covered streets.

That afternoon, I sat on my bed, deep in thought, looking through the window of my room at the heavy snowfall outside.

My situation was far from ideal. Not only was there the risk of some merchant recognizing me and blaming me for the umbrifila shortage, but I also learned that The Magistrate was going around the city asking questions about a certain incident involving a fire in the Western District...

There was, of course, no direct evidence connecting me to any of this, but I still need to be extra careful. 'I will have to lay low for a while before this blows over...' I thought somberly.

I even briefly considered leaving the city altogether and going back to the village to stay with my parents over the winter. But the roads leading there are not at all maintained over the winter season, turning the already arduous journey into an extremely difficult one. So in the end, I decided to simply stay holed in my room for the time being.

The only bright side to all of this was that I now had an abundance of free time, allowing me to once again fully focus on magic. I will also turn twelve soon, and now that I have enough money, I can finally begin to seriously think about my future. I didn't forget about my training at all during these past months. This whole potion-making business is nothing but a means to an end. A useful way to finance my true passion, which is magic.

The obvious next step would be to find a suitable magic academy that would be willing to accept me despite my commoner origins. However, not any academy would do; only the best of the best will be enough. After everything I went through these past years, I believe I deserve nothing less.

I certainly have enough money for it—at least I hope so. 'Well, even if I don't have enough, I can always just make more potions...' I smiled as I looked at the large pile of herbs stacked by the wall.

However, I still need a lot more pieces of information before I decide what to do next. I think the best course of action would be to schedule a meeting with Theo. I think we have become something akin to friends throughout the course of our somewhat short acquaintance. That is why I hope he won't mind too much meeting me for a simple talk, even if I have no ingredients to offer him this time.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Thus, I sent him a short message asking for a meeting, and while I waited for an answer, I thought about how much I should tell him. He was quite smart, so I couldn't come up with some cheap, made-up story, as he would see right through it.

In the end, I decided to tell him the truth. Not the whole truth, of course, but a part of it. There is no point in keeping my abilities a secret from him anymore, as he will still find out about them soon anyway.

Meanwhile, there wasn't much else to do. I already had quite a substantial stockpile of potions, so I don't have to bother brewing them each day.

That is why I did something I rarely do. I relaxed and didn't do anything at all for the rest of the day. 'Everyone needs some lazy time once in a while,' I thought blissfully as I lay in bed, looking out the window at the falling snow...

***

Theo's reply came early in the morning the following day, and now I was on my way to our usual meeting place. As I stepped through the doors of the inn, a gust of warm air embraced me, a stark contrast to the wintry chill that had enveloped the world outside.

I found Theo at our usual corner table, engrossed in the reading of some withered-looking scroll. I made my way across the hall, and his piercing eyes looked at me with curiosity as he spotted me coming closer.

"Ah, Darian! Tell me, my dear friend, what was so important you wanted to meet right away?" Theo greeted me with his typical mischievous smile.

"Did you manage to find another ingredient even in this god-forsaken weather?" He quickly added with a glint in his eyes.

"Good day, Theo, I'm afraid I don't have any ingredients for you this time, but there is indeed something I wanted to speak with you about." I smiled at him innocently.

"Is that so...? Does it have anything to do with your strange obsession with magic?" He raised his eyebrows amusingly.

"It's not an obsession, only a simple curiosity, and yes, I wanted to ask more about something we discussed previously."

"Hahaha! See? That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Theo burst out laughing.

I decided to get to the point quickly rather than allow him to continue laughing at my expense. "You told me before that there are ways to measure someone's magical talent; can you tell me how exactly it works?"

"Wait, do you seriously think you have a talent for magic? I thought you were joking." Theo widened his eyes.

"Well, I'm not certain that's why I want to get measured," I replied seriously.

Theo stopped smiling, and his face quickly turned serious too. "This is not something to be taken lightly, so if this is some kind of elaborate prank, then tell me right away."

I shook my head and said, "No, I'm serious."

Theo released a sigh as he slumped back in his chair. "As I already told you, most noble families have their own measuring artifacts so they can measure each of their children right after they are born. In your case, you would have to get an audience with Sir Roderick, Ereneth's Court wizard, to get measured."

He then smiled at me and said, "But you're in luck, as Sir Roderick, contrary to many other Court wizards, actually holds a public measuring every year. So you wouldn't need any special arrangements to be made. All you need to do is sign up and pay the fee. I believe the next one is only a few months away..."

"How much is the fee?" I asked eagerly.

Theo winked at me. "I will give you a good piece of advice. In high society, you don't ask about such things. If you have to ask, that usually means you can't afford it. But between us, it's only 10 silver marks."

I smiled at him. "Well, then I think I will be just fine... But what about those who can't afford to pay the fee?"

"Hahaha! Well, then they're out of luck. There is no point for someone who can't even afford the measuring fee to attempt to become a mage in the first place. They wouldn't be able to afford the required resources anyway..."

"Right..." I said. 'Good thing I'm not poor anymore,' I smirked inwardly. "So where do I sign up for the measuring?"

"Hmm, there might be a slight problem in your case... Since you are still a minor, it should normally be your parents who ask for such a thing in your place. But with your parents being only peasants from the countryside, their request might get overlooked without the right connections." Theo said thoughtfully

But then he grinned at me. "But you're in luck, as Sir Roderick is a friend of my father; he used to come to our house quite regularly. So if I hypothetically wrote him a letter asking for a small favor, I'm sure your request would be accepted right away..."

I furrowed my brows. "Oh, and if you were to hypothetically do such a thing, what would it cost me?"

"Hahaha! It seems you know how these things usually go... That's good!" Theo nodded, seemingly satisfied.

"Well, nothing comes freely, even among friends, especially among friends," Theo said with a distant look.

"Anyway..." He continued, "I recently came across a mention of a certain rare ingredient that grows only in winter. I'm sure with your special talents, it would be no problem to gather it for me." He grinned at me.

'Hmpf! What kind of friend would send a child into a blizzard to look for some stupid magical herb in exchange for a simple letter!?' I grumbled in my mind.

'But I really need that letter... Besides, this will give me a valid reason to get out of the city for a while before things calm down a bit...' I thought before I grudgingly accepted Theo's request.

"Perfect!" He exclaimed. "You can find everything that you need to know about it here..." he said as he passed me the very same scroll he was reading before.