"Hahaha! I get it now!" CK burst out in triumphant giggles, "No wonder those researchers were having a hard time. The composition of the elixirs they made were fixed!"
Tampering with the failed elixir bottles and making use of the materials inside the lab, CK managed to deduce the component of the Izelron elixir.
"At first, I thought it was something that cultivated land or something related to food. But as it turned out, the elixir wasn't just one of those things–It was all of them," CK grinned, "A true cure-all concoction. This is genius."
The Izelron elixir was not the final product in itself but was used in creating plenty of other end products. It was like water. Although water is not the final product of making broth, it was a vital step. Same goes with cooking or any other process that could not be completed without water.
Izelron's potioneering methods relied heavily on the presence of Izelron elixirs in their concoctions. CK managed to arrive at the elixir's formula by removing all the other unnecessary ingredients from the picture–including that blasted wine. It wasn't even a vital aspect of the process.
The fruit of CK's one night labor was on the table. Inside a few glass bottles were translucent liquid resembling pure alcohol.
CK was sure of it–this was Izelron elixir. By adding the elixir to any other material or liquid, the potioneer has the ability to change its composition. It wasn't as effective as Hermetic talc, but that kind of alchemic treasure is for CK to gatekeep for now.
"Those amateurs. I'm starting to think they've only managed to keep up by sabotaging others constantly," CK snorted.
"You must admit, though, this wine is pretty good," Malphas said pleasantly, taking a sip from the glass in his hand.
"Save a bottle and hide it. It's our little trophy for conquering this little challenge," CK said, finishing the last drop from her glass.
The doors suddenly began clicking, causing CK and Malphas to stare at each other.
"Shoot, we have company. Quick! Hide the bottle!" CK said, hastily gulping down the wine in her glass. Malphas disappeared into the shadows while clutching a bottle of wine, out of sight just in time as the doors swung open.
"Hm? W-What the–Hey, did you get in here without the key?"
CK turned to the newcomers, who were a few researchers she never saw before.
"Haha! I got locked in," she said, tipsy from drinking, "If you're here, that means it's morning, yes?"
"Um... Yeah," the researchers looked at her, confused. "Good," CK said. She tilted her head when she saw the other researchers walking in.
Now, those were familiar faces. Quincy's eyes narrowed upon seeing CK. CK smirked.
"Good morning, Queenie. Did you sleep well?" she said. "What have you been doing inside the lab? Don't tell me you've gone and tampered with everything. We told you not to touch anything without permission since you're still new," Quincy scolded.
"Haha! Did you pull that lie out of your a–"
"Lady CK, here you are."
"Oh. Frederick. Good morning," CK greeted the man, who walked into the lab and looked around curiously.
"Quincy told me you locked yourself in last night and decided to work on the elixirs without their permission," Frederick said.
"Look at the doors. It's impossible to be locked in from inside. But yes, I got bored so I decided to play around a bit. Come see," CK gestured Frederick to approach the table.
Frederick hesitantly approached. Quincy's and Collet's group decided to approach, eager to find a mistake they could reproach.
Quincy paused when he saw the apparatus. "The scales! We left them here to be purified! Where did they go?!" Quincy glared at CK, "You! Don't tell me you touched them?!"
"Sure, I did. I needed them to complete the procedure. In fairness, you got the purification part right," CK said.
"They weren't ready for use yet! It takes five days and three stages to properly purify them. We've only begun boiling them two days ago," Quincy said.
"All you had to do was speed up the process and use the proper solvent. Had you used a catalyst, the purification would be completed in only two hours," CK rolled her eyes.
"T-Two hours?! Impossible!" Quincy lost composure. "If it's impossible, then I'm clearly a god and you should start worshipping me," CK snorted.
"The use of a catalyst... I'm assuming you employed your study's results and used slimes?" Frederick asked amusingly, making CK smile.
"A few bottles are missing from the rack. Did you touch them?" Collet asked accusingly. "Got rid of the contents. It was a failed experiment anyway. I decided to wash a few of them to store the right elixir," CK said.
Frederick observed the glass bottles. The liquid was hard to see but it was in there. He took one of the bottles and looked at it closer.
"And you're certain they will work?" Frederick turned to CK. "Positive. You can run a few tests if you want to confirm it yourself. I suggest only using ten milliliters to fifteen per procedure," CK stated.
"I see," Frederick nodded. Collet's eyes widened at them, unwilling to acknowledge the approval in Frederick's eyes.
"There's no way that thing would work. Wha–You're new here! How would you know what to do?!" Collet pointed at CK, "You're just a slimy, unwanted piece of–!"
"Enough, Miss Collet. You are an academic scholar and the leader of the potions department's most advanced team. Act with more integrity," Frederick said icily, causing Collet to flinch.
"B-But..." she trailed off, bowing her head in silent defeat. CK stared disinterestedly at her.
"Not only have you sped up conversions that would've taken days to complete, but you also accomplished recreating a formula that took the elixirs office a month to work on and still fail," Frederick looked at CK, a hint of recognition and respect in his tone.
"You've done well, Lady CK. It's only your second day, too," Frederick complimented. "It's nothing, really," CK smiled, her words laced with double meanings.
"The department head has just returned. Come with me. You'll need to report directly to him and explain the procedures," Frederick said, "Bring the elixirs with you."
"Alright," CK said. She retrieved the bottles and passed by Collet's team, barely fazed by the disdainful glares.
"Fucking spotlight stealer," Quincy glared. CK raised an eyebrow at him.
"You've brought this on yourselves. Had you not decided to play a pretty prank, maybe I would've given you liberty to experiment a little more," CK smirked, bumping Quincy's shoulder on the way out.
And so, with little to no sleep and with only wine and a few meat jerky for breakfast, CK followed Frederick to meet one of the most important figures in the potions department.
"Am I...really going to go like this? I'm barely presentable," CK said hesitantly. Frederick chuckled.
"We've seen men whose bodies shook after an absurd amount of caffeine and wore their clothes inside out. Trust me, my lady. Compared to them, you are quite presentable," he said.
"I'll trust your word, then," CK said. Once again, she was following Frederick. But this time, it was on the way to the department head's office.
Frederick knocked on the door, hearing a muffled 'come in' from inside. Frederick twisted the knob and pushed the door open. CK's brows rose upon seeing the man inside the office.
"Frederick? You visited early. Is it an urgent matter?" The young man with cerulean hair asked, still wearing modest but refined clothes.
"Not really. But good news serves well in the morning," Frederick replied. The young man saw the young lady accompanying Frederick and his eyes widened in recognition.
"Miss CK!" he said. "Head of the potions department, huh? I didn't expect that," CK mused, "Hello, Locke."
"I'm glad to see you managed to get into the Academy. Frederick and the admissions committee aren't known to be lenient with requirements," Locke smiled wryly.
"I managed," CK said. "Lady CK's credentials were impressive. She certainly lives up to it," Frederick smiled, "She only started working yesterday but managed to recreate the elixir from the records we scavenged in Izelron."
"Wasn't that mission given to Miss Collet's team?" Locke asked. "Yes, but I thought I should assign Lady CK to work with them in hopes she could do something to help. I certainly didn't expect she would accomplish the task all by herself and in one night only," Frederick stated.
Locke's eyes widened in shock. He turned to CK, "That's genuinely impressive."
"Surely, as head of the department, you would've been able to do the same thing," CK said. "I would like to, but there are things I have to prioritize," Locke laughed lightly.
"You've read the abstracts, haven't you, Locke?" Frederick asked. "I have," Locke nodded, "They're all very impressive."
"Yes. The one about autocatalysis reminded me of one of your own suggestions to implement a similar method," Frederick said.
"I remember. However, I haven't managed to find a proper material to use for catalysis. Who would've thought that slimes were the answer?" Locke chuckled.
"There's other alternatives if touching slimes is too much," CK offered. "I'd like to hear all about it. But first, can you explain how you managed to recreate Izelron's elixir?" Locke asked.
"Of course," CK nodded, "I've only managed to get some basic information from the meeting with the elixirs office and from the data that Frederick was kind enough to give to me. I decided to reverse engineer the failed experiments inside the lab..."
CK had to double over the procedures based on what she remembered from the night before. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep made her a little disoriented. Still, Locke patiently listened and asked for clarifications where he thought was necessary.
"So that's where they went wrong. Had they considered the possibility that the elixir was a reaction agent instead of a final product with fixed properties, maybe they would have made better progress," Locke held his chin, nodding at his own understanding.
"I still find it strange how you managed to lock yourself in at the lab," Frederick shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe someone locked me in from outside?" CK shrugged.
"Who would do such a thing?" Frederick frowned. "Hm... If it was intentional..." Locke trailed off.
Frederick looked at him in confusion. "Lord Locke?" he called. The young man shook his head.
"It's nothing. And please, I've already told you to use my name as long as we're inside the Academy. You can use titles when you're outside," Locke sighed.
"The Lady CK doesn't seem to mind me referring to her as a noble," Frederick said. "Like I said, I don't mind first name basis. Refer to me as you wish," CK smiled.
"Oh, fine," Frederick said and grinned, "You know, my lady, accomplishments like these are usually rewarded by the Academy. If there is anything you'd like, say the word and the Academy will give it to you...provided that it is still within reasonable bounds."
"Hm... I don't know," CK said. How about you tell me about the Marchen's plans to rewrite history and the possible involvement of the Academy in it?
"How about a reassignment?" Locke suggested, "You've experienced a bit with the elixirs office and their work atmosphere. If the workplace is not to your liking, you can freely choose which office you'd like to be assigned to."
"Great. Can I be your assistant instead?" CK asked. Locke smiled apologetically, "That sounds nice, but um... How do I put this? If the workplace at the elixirs office is already intense, my work will be thrice the magnitude."
"You poor thing," CK stared at him in dismay and shrugged, "I haven't really seen the other offices properly aside from the tour."
"Hm..." she thought for a while. She'll need plenty of time to move around without her cover work demanding too much from her.
"Say, which one is the...I don't know, the least popular office?" CK asked. The men shared looks and turned back to CK.
"If you mean the office with the least amount of members, it's the tinctures office. But their members' work ethics are quite lax. Their specialties aren't very in-demand so–dare I say–they're the office with the least amount of progress and budget," Locke said apologetically.
"Perfect," CK smirked, "I'd like to be in that office."
"B-But Lady CK... Surely, you can use your potential somewhere else? Maybe with the infusions office? I can refer you to the medical department if you'd like," Frederick suggested.
"You said you will reward me for my achievements," CK tilted her head. Frederick sighed, "You're right. I must not go back on my word."
"You'll be assigned to the tinctures office, then," Locke smiled at CK. "Thanks," CK said.
So, Locke Tewdorn was the head of a department? No wonder the Duchess wanted him to pull the strings and make things easier.
But if Locke holds power to some extent, it will be tricky to look for information on the Marchen. Didn't Flavio also mention Locke's family was close to them?
At least now, she's out of the hectic elixirs office. CK silently hoped that her reassignment will give her a better workplace to maneuver.
'They'd better not be a bunch of asses. Otherwise, I'm quitting this undercover job and let everything run haywire,' CK grumbled in her mind.
"A-Achoo!"
Poof!
Pink powder erupted from a flask after a researcher squeezed her dropper a little too much after a sneeze.
"What?! Oh, no, no! Don't make me titrate a fourth time," the researcher whined, sniffing heavily and inhaling the pink powder, which caused her to sneeze a few more times.
"You know, the sneeze usually comes after the powder is sniffed. Not after," one of her companions said as he wiped the glass equipment clean.
A young boy's head popped in through the partially opened door, "We've got a message! It's from department head himself."
"What?" The sniffing girl said in surprise, "He never sends us a message. Aside from when he does his regular check-ins per month..."
The young man wiping the equipment placed his cloth down and touched the infopod behind his ear. Closing his eyes momentarily, he managed to get the most recent message.
"He's transferring a new researcher into our office," he said, causing the others to look at him, "He'll personally drop her off at our place so get ready."