The next day, after class ended, a girl with white hair, Marina walked over to Aurora's seat. Aurora noticed that Marina looked a bit stressed and as if she hadn't been getting enough sleep, judging by the bags under her eyes.

"Hey," Aurora said. "Is something wrong?"

Marina let out a sigh. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Why?" Aurora asked. "What are you sorry for?"

"Actually..." Marina said, "I used up all the ingredients you gave me, but..." Marina sighed again. "I didn't really get the result I wanted. They all turned out weird. Somehow."

"Weird how?" Aurora asked.

"The point is," Marina said, "I don't think I can do it. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Aurora said. "I didn't expect you to succeed right away. That's just unreasonable, no matter how genius you are."

"But still--" Marina started to say, but she was cut off by Ruby, who had just walked over to the two of them.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Ruby asked.

Both Aurora and Marina looked at Ruby.

"I asked Marina to make a potion for me," Aurora replied.

"Cool," Ruby said. "What kind of potion?"

"That's... a secret," Aurora smiled. Beside her, Marina didn't say a word. If Aurora herself wasn't willing to say it, there was no reason for Marina to say anything.

"Not this again," Ruby pouted. "You didn't even explain to me what you did at that duel yet, and now this."

Marina remembered the duel Ruby mentioned. It felt like so long ago. She too was curious to know what Aurora did that day. But if Aurora wasn't willing to tell Ruby, there was no way Aurora would tell her.

"Sorry, sorry," Aurora said. "I'll tell you when the potion is ready, okay?"

"Why not now?" Ruby asked.

"Come on, it's more fun that way," Aurora said.

"Fine," Ruby said. "But you better explain it later. About that duel too. Promise me."

"Okay, okay," Aurora said with a smile.

Aurora turned to Marina and said, "Anyway, it's fine if you failed. If you need more ingredients, I will have my maid bring them to you."

Marina replied, "Ah, thank you." She paused for a moment, then added, "Wait, that's not what I'm trying to say..."

Aurora interrupted, "Marina, I understand. You're worried that even if you continue this, nothing will come out of it. It's fine. That's the risk I'm willing to take."

Marina still hesitated, "But--"

Aurora cut her off, "Whatever you were going to say, I won't take back what I asked."

Marina let out a sigh, "I understand."

"So Marina, do you accept commissions to make potions for me too?" Ruby asked with a curious look on her face.

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Marina felt a little uneasy with the way Ruby was looking at her. "Well, sure," she said, "we're friends, I can try. As long as it's not too hard or weird," she quickly added.

"What's that? You think I would ask for something weird?" Ruby said, obviously offended.

"Tha-that's not what I mean..." Marina stammered.

"Whatever," Ruby said, brushing off Marina's comment. "Let's talk again after you finish with Aurora's potion. That should be your priority."

Marina blinked, surprised by Ruby's response. "Sure," she said.

Aurora interjected, "So do you need something else, Marina?"

Marina shook her head, "No, that's enough. If you're willing to go this far, I will try my best too."

"Alright, it's done then?" Ruby said, grabbing Aurora's hand and pulling her closer with both her hands. "I have some business with Aurora, so can I take her with me now?"

"Hey Ruby--" Aurora began to protest.

"It's fine," Marina smiled.

"Then see you later," said Ruby, pulling Aurora along with her.

"Right, bye," Aurora said, being pulled away by Ruby.

Marina couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her friends leaving together.

"She really treats you well," said someone, making Marina jump. She turned to see the owner of the voice, feeling irritated. "Hey, don't tell me you were secretly listening?"

"Not on purpose!" Oliver said, sounding defensive. "I just happened to be here."

"You should stop that, it's creepy," Marina said.

"As I said..." Oliver sighed. "Whatever, that's not the point."

"Yeah," Marina said. "I was ready for her to get angry or something, but instead she acted reasonably and ended up cheering me up. She is too nice, it almost makes me scared."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Oliver asked. "To be able to experiment with rare and expensive ingredients, that's makes me jealous."

"Of course it's good," Marina said. "I just... don't want to disappoint her."

"I don't think you need to worry about that, after all you're a genius potion maker," Oliver grinned.

"Don't call me that," she elbowed him playfully.

"Okay, sorry," Oliver laughed. "Anyway, what kind of potion are you actually trying to make? I'm curious."

"Why would I tell you that?" Marina said.

"Oh, come on. Aren't we rivals?" Oliver said.

"Why would I tell my rival then?" Marina said, with a hint of teasing.

Oliver blinked, feeling stupid. "Right, I didn't really think about what I said."

***

As planned, Aurora, Ruby, the maid, and the knight set out for the town today. They disembarked from the carriage one by one, ready to explore the bustling streets and shops.

"So, where are we going today?" Aurora asked, looking around at their surroundings.

"I heard about a shop around here that I want to check out," Ruby said as she scanned the area. "But I think we should just explore and see what we can find."

"Sounds good to me," Aurora replied.

Ruby grinned and immediately grabbed Aurora's hand. "Alright, let's check that one out first!"

"Okay, okay," Aurora said as she was being dragged by Ruby, forced to walk quickly. "But please, don't run. We might fall."

Behind them, Lyra and Rita followed closely.

"Ah, sorry," Ruby said immediately slowing down as they entered the first shop. The shop was filled with flowers everywhere.

"Do you like flowers?" Aurora asked, reaching out to gently touch one of the blooming roses.

"I do, I really like their smell," Ruby replied. "But I prefer them in a vase, taking care of live plants can be such a hassle."

"Oh, okay." Aurora will remember that.

Aurora gazed with interest at the flower with a strange shape in the corner of the shop. She couldn't quite place whether it existed in the modern world or not, but it was certainly unique. The leaves on the plant seemed to be of different shapes and sizes, almost as if they had been randomly plucked from other plants and placed on this one. It was like a chimera plant, a strange and intriguing sight.

"Is any of these plants catching your interest, Miss?" asked her maid, Lyra.

"They're interesting," Aurora admitted. "But I'm not sure if I want to buy one yet."

"I see," Lyra nodded. "If you find something you like, just let me know."

Aurora didn't bring much money with her, as in this world they still use coins instead of paper money. Carrying a large amount of gold coins can be a hassle.

However, Lyra, on the other hand, always carries a large amount of gold coins from Aurora father, in case Aurora has a sudden urge to buy something. Lyra is always ready.

Even though she wasn't sure where Lyra kept them.

Aurora turned to look at her maid, trying to figure out where she could be hiding such a large amount of gold coins.

"What is it, miss?" Lyra noticed her stare.

"It's nothing," Aurora said.

In the end, Aurora decided to buy that strange chimera plant, the small one. She didn't know the exact price, but by the surprised look on her maid's face when she was about to pay, she knew it must have been quite expensive.

And Ruby, she offered to buy the bigger one for her, but Aurora declined the offer.

After that, they continued their walk and picked up some street food to munch on as they strolled.

"Is it really okay to eat this?" Ruby asked, looking at the skewers she held, warily.

"I think it's fine," Aurora reassured her.

"It's not going to be poisonous or something, right...?" Ruby double-checked.

Although her overly cautiousness was a bit funny, Aurora understood that people could easily die if they ate something strange. So, it was understandable.

"You don't have to eat it, you know," Aurora reminded her.

"But, but it looks delicious!" Ruby said.

Aurora giggled. "Then just give it a try."

"Excuse me, miss," Lyra said to Aurora. "I can try it first to make sure it's safe."

It was obvious by the drooling look on her maid's face that she was just hungry.

"Sure," Aurora said. "You can try it."

"Thank you, miss--I mean, leave it to me!" Lyra said as she went to the vendor and bought more skewers.

Aurora turned back to Ruby, "Even if it makes your belly hurt or something, it will be fine. I'm here, I can cure it with my magic."

"What? Doesn't that mean you've mastered another form of your magic?"

"Well, yes," Aurora admitted.

"That's unfair," Ruby said, pouting. "If you're growing so fast, I can't keep up! How many forms of your magic have you mastered already? Fourth? Fifth?"

Actually, because the way she uses magic is different than the way people from this world do, Aurora can already use all seven forms of her magic, plus an additional secret form. So, she can use eight forms, one more than Nova can.

Still, if she were to fight for real with Nova, she is not confident she would win. After all, most of her magic isn't suited for fighting. And her secret form, LightSpeed, has a bothersome weakness.

Lyra returned, happily munching on skewers. Seeing how content she was, Ruby finally decided to give it a try. She ended up enjoying it so much that she decided to buy more. Even Aurora and Rita, who initially didn't seem interested in trying it, decided to give it a go.

While eating, Aurora's eyes caught something interesting. A group of tough-looking guys entered a big building not too far from them.

"They are Adventurers," Ruby said, looking in the same direction. "Are you interested in the Adventurers Guild?"

***