"Everything has been perfect, young miss. Additionally, the promised compensation has been delivered by the faction and is perfectly organized in the treasury."

"Hehehe, does that old bastard think he can save himself by sending the compensation before we arrive? Age has made him naive." Sigrún commented as a mischievous smile appeared on her face, which was contagious to Eleonora, who smiled similarly.

"Fufufu, most likely he has something good up his sleeve. We need to gather good intelligence this time before we go to swindle..." Eleonora pretended to cough a little and continued as if nothing had happened. "Negotiate with the director."

At the same time, Eleonora placed a plate full of cookies on the table, which she brought closer to Erik. He could only roll his eyes at the brazenness of his beautiful masters, though not without accepting the 'bribe.' After all, the cookies were innocent and were better with him than in his master's ring.

On one side of the table, Seraphina stood professionally, smiling elegantly at the scene. Though her eyes revealed the amusement the whole situation brought her, her attitude quickly changed a bit when she heard Sigrún's voice.

"And Sera, have you made the preparations for Erik's license applications?"

Upon hearing her master's question, Erik couldn't help but look at her confused; after all, he had no idea what she was talking about. Seraphina responded calmly while bowing respectfully.

"Of course, young miss. The young master reached the minimum standard to request it several years ago, so everything is ready and waiting for your approval."

"That's great, as efficient as always, and I think it's better to finish this before the end of the month," Sigrún commented, pleased, then turned to look at her beloved disciple and asked with a smile.

"What do you think, Erik?"

"What licenses are you talking about, master?" Erik asked, genuinely confused, to which Eleonora commented with a slight smile.

"Fufu, your licenses as an alchemist and artificer, of course."

"Eh? Why would I have to get those licenses? I'm fine as I am," Erik asked with an expression of pain and rejection on his face, to which Sigrún responded with a big smile.

"Hehehe, because they are mandatory to register patents in your name. Since you've developed several interesting things worth patenting, you need to get both licenses—as an artificer and as an alchemist. Moreover, they are a requirement to publish in the university's journal."

"So I need two groups of assistants?" Erik looked in horror at the women, who smiled cheerfully at his 'misfortune.'

"That depends. If you manage to demonstrate that your assistants are equally skilled in both artificing and alchemy, a single group is fine," Eleonora responded with a hand on her cheek, resting on the table, while looking with undisguised affection at Erik's 'adorable' expressions.

"So either I hire two groups of assistants or train one to be good at both things; neither sounds like an easy job..." Erik exhaled with tiredness and started to eat his cookies with evident reluctance, while all the women present laughed softly at him.

"Calm down; it's not like you need to have them before applying for the license. Actually, they give you a period of up to five years to register your assistants before your license is revoked," Sigrún commented, a bit amused as she looked at her disciple.

"I see... at least I have time. But what a bother; now I have to find a place to live while I look for assistants. Getting a license is such a hassle; they should make it easier..."

Erik commented, full of reluctance, then ate his cookies again, seeking comfort. But his words left the women present confused and deeply worried, so Eleonora asked hurriedly, with a bit of panic in her expression:

"What do you mean by a place to live, Erik?"

"Well, some time ago, I read that when a student gets licensed, he must become independent from his master."

Upon hearing Erik's response, all the women present let out a sigh of relief, which soon transformed into melodious laughter that filled the room, greatly confusing Erik. Not long after, Sigrún commented with evident relief in her voice.

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"Hahaha, so that's what you meant. You really scared me for a moment. And although it's true that a disciple must become independent from their master when they obtain their license, that doesn't mean you have to go live somewhere else. That only applies to the profession, so you just need a separate workshop, which you already have."

After explaining the important point, Sigrún's expression changed to a much more serious one, which surprised Erik a little. She then spoke in an almost solemn tone.

"Besides, don't talk about going to live somewhere else or things like that. This is your home, and we are your family."

Seeing Erik's expression, Sigrún moved closer to him and hugged him affectionately, then continued with a soft, warm voice filled with love.

"You are my dear disciple, and you're stuck with me for at least a million years. So you can't even think about leaving my side; your master forbids it."

Eleonora also approached Erik and hugged him from the other side, then added in a soft and loving voice.

"Sig is right, Erik. Now you're ours; you can't leave. You're stuck with us until the end of time, fufufu."

Meanwhile, Seraphina watched the scene with a bit of amusement on her face at Erik's somewhat worried look. At the same time, she felt the urgent need to join the group hug, but that wasn't appropriate behavior for a great maid like her. After all, she couldn't disturb her lady's moment.

...

...

...

A month later, Erik was standing alongside Sigrún and Eleonora in front of a tall and beautiful skyscraper of dark glass similar to obsidian, with a modern and minimalist style. It emitted a slight ethereal glow and a delicate aroma of herbs and flowers.

"Well, Erik, this is the Alchemical Regulation Institute. This is where you'll take your exams to obtain your one-star alchemist license." Sigrún commented with a smile while looking at Erik, who seemed quite disheartened as he asked.

"Does every profession have its own regulation institute?"

"Not really; it's something done as needed. For example, professions related to technological development are regulated to prevent the loss of knowledge. But then there's law, for instance, where they need to be able to demonstrate in a simple and reliable way that they possess the necessary knowledge to practice their profession. So they have their own regulation institute that takes care of that."

Beside Erik, Eleonora answered the question with a smile, greatly surprising the star-haired boy, who quickly asked.

"So they are private?"

"Yes, except for alchemy and artificery, which are hybrids managed by private entities together with the faction. All the others are managed privately only." Sigrún answered cheerfully, which brought a small smile to Erik's face. He commented in a pleased tone.

"Hehehe, I really like the director—a wise man."

"Why do you say that, Erik?" Eleonora asked curiously while looking at him. Erik responded with a slight smile.

"Because he's a really wise man, and the way he manages the faction is irrefutable proof of it. For example, a foolish or ambitious leader wouldn't hesitate to put the regulation institutes under his administration, since not only would it be very profitable, but it would also improve his control over his faction. The problem is that, in the long run, that would end up destroying any possibility of progress or innovation."

"Oh? Why do you think that?" Filled with interest in her disciple's comment, Sigrún asked with a small smile, to which he responded cheerfully.

"Well, it was actually something postulated by Arcane Mikels in his book 'Principles of Market and Trade.' In it, he explains that if the market is understood as a process of social cooperation where titles of value are exchanged voluntarily, then any violent intervention over it ends up leading to a self-destructive spiral. That is, let people do things by themselves; anything else is destined to fail."

"Fufufu, you've been mentioning Arcane Mikels a lot lately. You really liked his theories," Eleonora commented cheerfully, to which Erik casually nodded.

"Yes, I think they're the best way to explain the success of the Arcane Order—a case of overwhelming success."

"Really?" Sigrún commented, surprised, and turned to look at Eleonora with an inquisitive glance and asked, "Does it really talk about that, Eli?"

"Fufufufu, you really should read something other than novels and alchemy, Sig. But actually, I'm also a bit confused about it, Erik. Arcane Mikels's book doesn't even mention the Arcane Order. After all, at the time it was written, the order was just in its initial phases and wasn't very well known, far from its current success."

"Well, we can read it together, and I'll explain why I think it accounts for the success of the Arcane Order's model."

Erik commented with a small smile on his face, which greatly delighted Eleonora and Sigrún. Their favorite plan lately was spending time with their dear disciple, as those five years away had left them with a serious deficiency of 'Erikium.'

"Hahaha, that sounds like a good plan for later. For now, you have an exam to take, so let's go," Sigrún added with a smile while looking at Erik, who nodded unenthusiastically, then began to walk like a prisoner going to his execution, greatly amusing the pair of Masters.

The group of three entered the beautiful building, and the first thing Erik noticed was the pleasant aroma of herbs that permeated the place. It gave a sense of calm and somewhat mimicked the fresh scent of a spring forest. Additionally, it had a much more elegant and 'magical' design than its minimalist facade.

The floor was a mosaic of black and shiny tiles that seemed to be made of the same magical crystal as the exterior, where light reflected, creating brilliant patterns that moved gracefully as they walked. A gigantic chandelier suspended high above filled the space with a soft and mysterious light.

In the center of the hall, a circular fountain of intricate design bubbled with a liquid that seemed to change color with each blink. It was surrounded by benches and chairs of elegant design, forged in magical metals and upholstered with sumptuous velvet. But since Eleonora and Sigrún knew the place perfectly, they overlooked all that and soon reached a beautiful glass elevator, where they entered accompanied by Erik.