“Charlotte mentioned that you’re skilled in a lot of things, so I wanted your help.” Lilith took out one of the stealth potions and handed it to Scarlet. “This is a stealth potion made by Lyonel. It’s not stealth exactly, but it will let me go unnoticed.”

“Ah, Lyonel!”

“You know him?” Lilith asked in a surprised tone.

“I don’t,” Scarlet responded in an excited tone.

“Wha -why would you- what?” The simple response left Lilith dumbfounded.

“Hmm? You made it sound like I should know him.” Scarlet lifted the potion and shook it lightly. “So I thought I would play along.”

“Charlotte wasn’t wrong,” Lilith mumbled.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Do you think you can reproduce these? I got four from him, but after getting here, I feel like I’ll need a lot more.”

“I’m no expert at potion making. I’m a combat mage with an acute interest in magical tools, but it shouldn’t be hard to make these.”

“Were you the one that made the barrier for this place?” Lilith’s interests perked.

“I did.” Scarlet uncorked the vial and took a whiff.

“It’s remarkably similar to the ones in ruins,” Lilith pointed out.

“They are the base I used to build this barrier, so you’re not wrong. That’s all I’ll say, though. Can’t be telling all my secrets.” Scarlet poured the liquid into a larger container. “Feel free to look around. They’re all tools I’ve made.”

“Oh~” Lilith veered away from the counter, her hands behind her back. Lilith took slow steps, looking at every single tool and stopping every so often to get a closer look. A lot of them were tools used in most households, while others she had never seen before having never left these shelves.

“I thought it was weird,” Lilith said as she stopped in front of a tea kettle and lifted it from the plate it sat on. “I like tools a lot. They help me with my job a lot easier, which means I naturally become familiar with the leading figures in this department. An archmage, who often received credit for many of these tools, but was not well known to the populace.” Lilith looked over at Scarlet, who looked back. It was nearly impossible to see her face, yet a grin formed on her lips that was as clear as day.

“That’s an interesting way to put it.”

"Well, I only know because I had access to documents that normal people wouldn’t.”

“I would appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone.”

There was an eeriness that came from the words she spoke. It was a similar feeling to the voices she heard when Lilith first entered. It was magic, or more so, embedding magic into her words. Something she had never seen before. It felt like the pit of her stomach dropped and a coldness washed through the room, giving her goosebumps on her arms. “What’s upstairs?” She asked, changing the subject quickly.

“Books. All kinds of books, but they’ll only benefit mages. I suggest coming back when you can take advantage of them.”

“So never?” Lilith mocked her response.

“Who knows? Maybe or maybe not.”

She knows something, Lilith thought.

“You look confused,” Scarlet said as she went back to testing the potion.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Hmm, how about a hint?” Scarlet asked.

“A hint?”

“Yes, a hint.” Scarlet poked a finger into the bowl and licked the bit of liquid before writing her findings on the notepad. “Why do you think the church is so afraid of the cursed? Why are they so willing to prosecute people for something the world deems as useless?”

“Because-” Lilith froze. Because, why? She thought.

“Think about that and you might figure it out. I also wouldn’t bother asking me these questions, to begin with. Anything I know, I learned from that child, Charlotte. She has had a fascination with you cursed ones for as long as I've known her.”

“I wouldn't call Charlotte a child.”

“She is to me and always will be.” Scarlet pivoted her attention back to Lilith. “So, is there anything else you need other than these potions?”

“Ah! Right.” Lilith pointed to her head. “Can you make a potion that can temporarily dye my hair a totally different color? I know it’s not a thing… I think? At least I’ve never heard of it, but it’s hard to believe you couldn’t.”

“I can make one.” Scarlet said flatly.

“You can!?” Lilith’s voice shot up.

“If you give me an hour, I’ll have it ready, but if you want your stealth potions right now, then you’ll have to give me longer.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Lilith nodded her head. “That’s fine. That’s fine. Do you mind if I wait and look around?”

“Sure, just don’t break my tools.” With a smile, Scarlet took the bowl she dumped the potion in and disappeared into the back room behind the curtains.

There was a familiarity with the tools there and it was interesting to see how some of them differed from the current products in circulation. It let her see what they were like before and how people either improved on these inventions or made them worse. What interested her the most, though, were the shelves with tools she had never seen before. While some tools had obvious purposes, even if they weren't released, others were so unfamiliar that she couldn't even make a guess.

Sitting down on the floor, she took a took off the shelf. One which, although very familiar, was sitting on one of the unknown shelves. “Why is this here?” She asked herself. It was a stone near identical to the experimental one. “Why-” Lilith quickly took out her own barrier stone and lined them up side by side. At a glance, they were similar, but after giving it a better look, they had differences. Scarlet’s version not only had one extra magic circle used, but the stone itself was different, even though it looked the same.

Lilith scratched her head, trying to understand. She understood magical stones and the variety in their density to hold magic, but Scarlet’s stone felt a bit off. And the extra circle. What even is it?

Two hours went by without Lilith even realizing it as she observed the stones. She didn’t notice it originally, but unlike the experimental one, when she put her hand onto the original (or so Lilith assumed) it immediately sucked in her mana as if it was a baby hungry for food. It was relentless, but nothing she couldn’t handle. She compared both of them as she put mana into them, trying to understand the differences. At first, she worried about injecting her own mana into an unknown crystal, but things seemed fine. Sure, it tainted the color to black while she used it, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. Well, Lilith’s ordinary, that is. They were different visually, but after activation, they did the same. “Why?”

“That’s because the difference lies in the barrier's strength itself. That’s something the human eye can’t see,” Scarlet said from her chair behind the counter.

Lilith jumped at the sound of her voice. “How long were you there for?” She asked after turning her attention to Scarlet, who sat comfortably observing Lilith.

“Long enough.” Scarlet motioned Lilith to come close with both the barriers, so she did just that. Standing up and walking over, she placed them both on the counter.

Scarlet pointed to the one Lilith had brought with her. "I made this one with the intention of mass production," Scarlet explained. “Although it should be in the experimental phase, it requires far less mana to use, and crystals that are far easier to acquire.” Scarlet pointed to the one she left on the shelf. “This one is the very first prototype. This was the direct outcome from my findings with the barrier that was given to me how many so years ago.”

“So this offshoot caused the ones used in towns, then later the portable one I’m currently testing.”

“This is a middle ground. It wasn’t big enough nor strong or large enough for a town, alongside needing constant upkeep with mana, while on the other spectrum, it costed too much mana to travel with. It served no real purpose other than being the prototype of what we have now. But for you, it can be different.”

“I have the mana for this,” Lilith explained what Scarlet wasn’t saying.

“Yes. I’m sure you’re testing the new prototype, but take the old one with you as well and take these.” Scarlet handed over the potion for her hair dye and two dozen more stealth potions. “I made 24. That should be enough. They’re basically the same as the original, but last far longer.”

“You’re -uh, giving me these and the stone?” Lilith asked in a confused voice.

“I don’t sell things at my shop. The only people that come here are the ones in need of something that I can provide. So, if you find your way to the entrance of my shop, then you will leave with an item. I have no need for money. That does nothing for me.”

“Thank you. I honestly didn’t expect any of this to happen.” Lilith tossed both of the barriers and stealth potions into the void and held up the hair dye. Taking off the cap and her hat, she poured it directly into her hair. Every spot the liquid touched caused the color to change from her fake brown hair to color matching her bright red eyes. “How long does this last?”

“You should be fine for a month. Although red eyes are a sign as well, no one will bat an eye if your hair is red. It’s the combination of the two that is abnormal.”

“Thank you, again.”

“This is what I do. Just do me a favor and tell Charlotte when you see her next time to come see her teacher for once and get her pass back.”

“Will do.”

………..

Sitting down on a bench in front of the church, Lilith hatched her plan. It was pretty simple, and after giving herself a bit more time to unweave it more after the initial idea, it came together. Since Gabriel had no wish to turn her in, there would be no way he would lead her to a trap. If he wanted to, she would’ve already been dead. So that means the person would look the other way if they found out she was cursed. That meant that she didn’t need to worry about showing this specific person who she was, but the worry was everything leading up to that moment.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” she said as she leaned back on the bench. “They’ll check the bag themselves.” Lilith thought back to when she first entered the city. She didn’t have to do anything but hand over the bag, and when she did, the guard walked away with it. It’s not like Lilith was the one that had to open it.

Voice hushed, she continued to plan out her plan. “Empty the bag and make sure everything I have is in. It needs to be believable that I use it, too.” Lilith counted how many potions she needed, how much food, and whatever camping items she needed. Normally, she kept these items in the void, but for people who weren’t like her, they would keep them in these bags. Although not nearly as big as her own storage, they held quite a lot and were exclusive to carriers.

“Will they question the barrier, though?” The barrier was the main issue. If things looked normal, she had doubts they would look too deeply into everything, but the barrier was different. It was something they’d never seen before, but it was something that was vital to her plan and she couldn’t risk taking it out on her own.

Standing up, she left the bench and headed to an alleyway where no one could see. She quickly unloaded the bag and put in everything she needed. The fake package given to her by Gabriel to trick the guard and all the items she originally listed, including the barrier, but instead of the one given to her by Alex, decided that Scarlet’s crystal would be a better option. Yes, it was hungry for mana, but if the priest could handle it, then it would be safer. After double-checking the bag, she strapped it around her shoulder, took a deep breath, and headed to the church.

“Hello, I have a delivery for the priest, Owen,” Lilith smiled, the most businesslike smile she could muster. The two guards- paladins, to be exact, glanced over at the small figure standing in front of them. It made her nervous and felt like she was about to break into a cold sweat, but she held her smile until one guard finally took the bag.

With nothing to hold on to and one paladin remaining after the other walked away with her bag left, she twiddled her thumbs, cleared her throat, and bounced between her legs while looking past the gate. It was uncomfortable standing next to someone who could slay her on the spot, and it worried her if they questioned what the crystal was in the bag, but there was nothing she could do but wait.

Lilith let out a loud gulp and froze in place as the guard came back and handed over the bag. There was nothing else said, nor any hint that there was something wrong as they both moved to their sides, letting her through. It felt a bit anticlimactic considering she expected something to go wrong, but it was hard to complain and honestly, the only thing she could do was chalk it up to some magic trick Gabriel did. So, with worry, she walked past and headed to the room Owen was in.