Seeing Jorn so enthusiastically accept my offer, I couldn't help but don a victorious smirk. We shook hands while both looking excited, although for entirely different reasons.

Jorn nodded in agreement and said, "I'll make sure everyone knows we are gathering tomorrow at the address you provided us."

"Perfect, as for the payment..." I replied as we proceeded to discuss the details of our contract.

I found out that Jorn's party has eight members in total, which is excellent because that way, they can simply split into two shifts of four, ensuring complete protection of the premises both during the day and, more importantly, during the night as well.

Pleased with how well everything went, I left the inn and hurried back home to rest, as tomorrow promised to be quite a hectic day.

The following morning, even before the sun had a chance to peak out over the city's roofs, I was already in the lab, busily brewing another batch of elixirs together with Theo and the kids, who, while still looking quite sleepy, didn't complain one bit.

Today was the last day of our elixir brewing as I planned to finally set out on my journey into the mountains tomorrow.

Initially, I wanted to simply pay someone to go there in my place, but after some careful deliberation, I concluded it would be much wiser to go there in person.

I had no idea if the Court wizard had Jenny's parents under surveillance or not, but I didn't want to take any chances.

And I especially didn't trust anyone but myself with any clandestine operations. If, for example, my messenger got caught, there would be a high risk of him disclosing my involvement - something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

I continued to diligently brew another batch, and right as we were taking a lunch break, I got word that my new guards had finally arrived.

Thus, I quickly gulped down the last few bits of the hearty stew in front of me, and while ordering Theo to start preparing another batch of umbrifila, I hurried to the front gate, where a group of beast hunters was already waiting.

As I approached, I could see them nervously shuffling about, unsure what to do. "Hello there, Jorn. I presume you can start right away, yes?"

The stout beast hunter moved his eyes between the opulent mansion behind me and myself a few times before replying. "Ah, sure, we just didn't expect to be guarding such a lavish house, that's all."

But then, a sudden realization dawned on him. "Wait, if you live here, that means you are..."

He widened his eyes and immediately straightened his posture as he seemed to figure out who I was. I raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is that a problem?"

He looked at me, and he nervously laughed. He then said while scratching the back of his head. "No, not at all. Working for someone like you would be a great honor, sir."

I simply nodded, and not wanting to drag this on as I still had plenty of work, I promptly took them inside and showed them around the house.

Since they realized who I was, I noticed that even Brunhilde started to be much more respectful toward me, although she still kept her distance, trying to maintain an air of indifference around her.

Right as we finished the tour, I curiously observed how Jorn briskly began issuing orders and placing his people around the premises.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I nodded with appreciation, seeing his evident professionalism. He seemed to take his new duties quite seriously, and I liked that.

I demanded that there be a guard in front of the entrance to our laboratory at all times and that nobody without my direct authorization be allowed inside - that also applies to the guard itself.

Jorn raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, but I could see him covertly glance at the sturdy door, probably wondering what I was hiding there.

Another guard will also be standing in front of the main entrance, and the remaining two will be doing rounds around the premises, ensuring nobody uninvited trespasses.

Seeing everything was in order, I quickly returned to the basement and continued crafting elixirs until the evening.

As we filled and corked the last vial, I sighed with relief. I threw a look at the crates of elixirs stacked all the way to the ceiling and couldn't help but smile.

During the last two days, we were able to make a whopping 1200 elixirs in total. There will be only a few batches now and then after this, as we were already running low on herbs, so we will have to wait all the way until spring when my large shipment of herbs is scheduled to arrive.

Speaking of which, I promptly set aside 600 potions that I would deliver to Clovis's Merchant caravan as an advance for the said herbs first thing in the morning.

The rest will go straight to Isadora so that she can begin to sell them to her customers. I grinned as I couldn't wait to see the look on the Chancellor's haughty face when he found out about this.

I had already set aside the elixirs for Dominic and his gang so that they would not bother us for the time being. I, of course, didn't plan on giving them free potions forever, as that would be pretty stupid.

But before I could consider a more permanent solution of how to deal with them, I first need to strengthen my own position, as trying to fight on multiple fronts at the same time is not something I can afford right now.

After cleaning the lab, I skipped dinner and crashed into my bed, totally spent and slept without a care in the world.

The following morning, I levitated the crates full of elixirs to the courtyard and ordered my driver to stack them on the carriage while I went to inform Jorn that I would be out of town for some time and that no visitors are allowed on the premises while I'm gone.

I also told both Helga and Theo to be extra careful and that they shouldn't leave the house for the time being. I threw one last look at the mansion, hoping nothing disastrous would happen while I was gone, and hopped on the carriage.

We arrived at the Southern Gates just in time, as the caravan was already forming and preparing to leave. Today was coincidentally the day when they were scheduled to leave Ereneth for the Kingdom's capital, so right after I spotted Clovis's familiar figure in the crowd busily issuing orders to his people, I hurried toward him.

He at first looked more than excited to see me, but as soon as he saw the color of the vials, he furrowed his brows. "These are not the potions we bought from you at the market..."

I expected such a reaction, so I nodded with a smile. "Indeed. We ran into some unexpected troubles with the Alchemist's guild, so we had to slightly alter our recipe, but I can assure you they work exactly the same as regular potions, and now they even taste much better."

He measured me thoughtfully, not quite convinced, so I took one elixir out of my pocket and offered it to him. "Here, you can try it yourself. Free of charge, of course." I showed him a confident smile.

Clovis accepted the elixir and reluctantly took a sip. His eyes widened as he swallowed the first gulp, and he looked at me with a clear surprise. "This tastes surprisingly good. Still, without an Alchemist's mark, we can't sell them as potions..."

I nodded. "I'm afraid not. But this, my friend, is a brand-new type of elixir. I can assure you won't find something like this anywhere else in the Kingdom!"

This seemed to crack him, but he still looked hesitant. Thus, as a finishing blow, I quickly added something I thought up during the short ride here.

"And since I greatly value your foresight and courage to enter riskier ventures in the promise of even greater returns, I can also offer you an exclusivity contract so you'll be the only one able to sell those outside of Ereneth."

He pondered this for a while before finally he took an appraisal artifact out of his pocket and examined the elixir in great detail. I watched him silently, trying to devise more ways to convince him if this didn't work out, but in the end, I didn't have to as he soon donned a broad smile and offered me a hand.

"Alright, you have yourself a deal. But forgive me if I look too cautious, but I want what you just said in writing." He said with a shrewd look of a merchant.

I happily agreed, as I didn't plan to deceive him either way. I knew how hard it was to secure such a contract in the first place, so I was simply glad I could gain my first customer.