Leo looked taken aback at his outburst.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Ryan said as he pinched the bridge of his nose, a habit that he'd picked up from Carl.

The hasty apology seemed to calm down Leo, and that was all Ryan could really ask for—the opportunity to apologize before the big man took offense at his words and left his shop.

"It's alright, I guess I shouldn't have offered to help," Leo said.

Ryan searched for a hint of mockery in his friend's tone but couldn't find any; Leo was genuinely conceding that he'd overstepped.

"Thank you... and it's not like you did anything wrong. I'd just prefer to handle it on my own," Ryan said as he looked up to the big man.

"Understandable," Leo said with a smile. "So how do you usually start your day?"

Ryan smiled at the question, grateful for the fact that his friend had decided it best for them to pivot from the awkward conversation they'd just had.

"Well, I usually brew some potions and—"

"YOU? BREW? You can't be serious after what happened at the orphanage," Leo scoffed.

Ah, yes. How could he forget his first escapade as an alchemist? Even as an apprentice at the time, Ryan had tried to brew a stat booster potion and had failed spectacularly.

The term 'failure' was actually less encompassing for what had happened. Ryan had started an alchemical fire on the orphanage grounds. And those were the kinds that were harder to put out than most.

The matron had shouted his ear off for months on end, with him never hearing the end of it till he was kicked out.

As for how he got his initial potions to sell at his shop, all he did was buy a couple from the Looter's Heaven. He never bought up to half a dozen at once and they never minded, unlike some of the potion merchants in the markets that would only sell in batches.

"Well, a man has to find his way around the world," Ryan said matter-of-factly.

"You got that right..." Leo said with a snort. "So how did the great fire master Ryan manage to start brewing? I can't imagine any of the master alchemists here would be willing to teach you after... you know."

Leo was right; he'd tried to learn from the three different master alchemists in their little town and had faced rejection at the door. As all had already heard about the fire he'd started early into his 'career,' nobody wanted the name of their shop to be soiled with such.

After all, it wasn't good for business if the buyer heard that the shop producing their potions had an alchemist that started fires.

"I'm self-taught actually," Ryan said with a smile.

Leo looked at the potions on the shelf and back at Ryan before repeating the motion a couple more times, the smile on Ryan's face beginning to falter.

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"Is that safe?" Leo asked skeptically. "Are those potions safe to drink?"

Ryan almost cursed; of course Leo would ask that. Yes, Ryan did have a license to brew potions because... well, he was an alchemist. However, it was generally frowned upon to teach yourself how to brew potions at the beginning stages. It could lead to unwanted disasters.

Like the brew blowing up in his face, the reagents not mixing well enough and causing an adverse effect on anyone who downed it, or the potion itself not even working. Those were just the common mishaps that a self-taught alchemist could brew up; there were still a myriad of possibilities that had been untouched.

"First off, ouch. So little faith in my work, brother?" Ryan said, the rolling of Leo's eyes were all he needed to continue. "Secondly, no, we all know that it isn't advised to be self-taught. Third and lastly, the potions are very well safe and meet the minimum requirements."

"Meet the minimum requirements!!!" Leo's face blanched.

"Well, the other additives are purely aesthetic and unnecessary in my opinion. I don't think that—"

"Ryan... are you fucking kidding me?!" Leo said with a frown.

"Leo, Leo, relax. It isn't that deep, bro. It's just missing ingredients for the taste and smell. Nothing important," Ryan said, trying to explain the situation.

At least to Ryan, it didn't really matter much if the potion was as sweet as those that other alchemists produced; it didn't matter that they smelled better or that they weren't, in fact, better looking. They were his potions and, most importantly, they got the job done effectively.

Something that some of his customers had already commented on. He wasn't too ashamed of his work—yes, he knew it could be better. But why should he bother to improve on an already working formula?

He saved costs on improvements and still got paid for his potions.

"Bu-t, b-but... potion making is an art form. It should be sacred, and you should always strive to do the best you can. Irrespective of your budget," Leo said.

Ryan could see that the big man truly believed what he was saying, and so he couldn't help but let out a snort of derision at his friend's take.

Leave it to Leo to disregard a working business model just because it wasn't artistic.

"What?" Leo questioned once he realized that Ryan wasn't even going to bother with him.

"It's commendable how you think anyone desperate enough to shop here gives a middle finger about how tasty or nice-smelling my potion is," Ryan said, wiggling a finger at the big man. "Besides, those who come to this part of town are only interested in cutting costs, an area I am well equipped to deal in."

"But—" Leo protested or tried to.

"No buts, Leo. I'm giving the people what they came for; artistic can sit on one side of the room."

Leo seemed to want to argue some more, but the stern look that Ryan gave him was one that brokered no more on the issue.

Ryan would've loved to stay and chat more about the arts and not-arts potions that he was currently making, but as always, time was of the essence and most especially today when he had a deadline hanging over his head.

Huh, Ryan hadn't really given it much thought, but somehow and someway he'd managed to pay off all but one of his debts while retaining his autonomy. It was certainly something to celebrate, and maybe he just might if today ended the way that he hoped it would.

Maybe he'd have luck shine upon him as it had so often done within recent times. Right now, that was the one thing he needed the most. Not stories about how to make potions more artsy and whatnot.

"That's the way it works, Leo. I'm pretty sure that you know more about that," Ryan said gently.

He tried not to offend his guest too much, keeping in mind that the big man had sacrificed his off day to spend some time with him. It might not be best to spit in his face after such a kind gesture.

"Yeah, I do know," the big man replied in kind.

Fantastic, and here Ryan was thinking that they'd have to carry on arguing about this the whole day while the day went by past him.

Arson's silhouette still wasn't at its peak but was getting closer with each second, and he wasn't getting any closer to his target for the day by arguing with his brother while he could be shouting his lungs out at the potential customers that roved the market, looking for the cheapest deals that they could get—something that Ryan was sure he had to offer.

"Hello lad, I see yer've an assistant now?"