Nameless Anomaly | ✧ Scaramouche

III • [ locked ]

three • 3

[ｌｏｃｋｅｄ]

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The bubbling fizz overflowed on the crafting table where a certain green-haired girl with a pair of adorable lengthened ears was working. One lens of her worn glasses fogged up due to the layer of mist that came out of her observed flask. When she tries to reach the cloth rag to clean up the fizz, she accidentally knocks the whole flask over, spilling all of its liquid content. 

"Ah-! Oh no, I spilled the potion!" She panicked, trying to put the flask back into its previous upright position. She tried to salvage what could have been left on the container but there was almost none of it left. Sucrose frowns sadly as she sees the fruits of her labor dripping down the crafting table.

The Knights of Favonius's Chief Alchemist—Albedo, suggested a new experiment to be conducted a week ago. The subject was something they were quite familiar with. It was all about the possible extraction of the pyro essence contained in a scarlet quartz. Sucrose, despite having her forte in bio-alchemy, unexpectedly found herself a role to take part in the conduction of the new experiment. 

The never-before-seen connection between sweet flowers, sakura blooms and scarlet quartz—not much has been known yet thus this research serves as a stepping stone for the advancement of alchemy. 

Timaeus was also working on the parts of the research that needed analysis and calculations. He was looking at the data on the pinning board seriously when he heard Sucrose's voice in distress. Seeing the mess she made unintentionally, he just shakes his head and sighs.

Sucrose's mood went sullen. She had been working on the potion that would serve as an important catalyst that could stabilize and contain the heat of the pyro essence. It was extracted from the sweet flower enzymes and cherry blossoms. Working on it for three straight days, in the end, it was all for naught. She'd have to do the procedure again to record the results. 

Seeing the girl in a sad state, the blonde Chief Alchemist approached her. "Don't be too upset. You can always do the experiment again." Albedo comforts her nonchalantly without letting go of the alchemy recipes he held in his hands.

"T-The materials I used this time are quite hard to obtain. There's nothing left of the extracted enzyme for the catalyst." Sucrose wipes the crafting table and dries the extra moisture with her anemo elemental power. 

Thinking of a possible solution, Albedo puts a hand on his chin before saying, "Hmm. How about this? I'll have Timaeus go on a short trip to Inazuma. I'd have him obtain some of the enzyme samples you need. Would that be fine?" Sucrose nods after not much thinking. If Timaeus could obtain the enzyme samples, then it would be possible to conduct the experiment again. 

Timaeus was baffled and speechless at Albedo's sudden plan to send him all the way to Inazuma. If he was going there only for the acquisition of the enzyme, the long trip wasn't going to be enjoyable but surely be tiring and draining. 

"Mr. Albedo, do I really have to go? We can post a commission or try to buy them from traveling merchants. Going all the way to Inazuma for this is..." Timaeus tried to change Albedo's mind. When Sucrose met Timaeus's pitiful eyes while he was trying to appeal, she became guiltier having to spill the potion. 

Sucrose knows why Albedo was sending Timaeus himself for the enzyme. Posting a commission would mean that they would have to wait until someone takes the commission. Someone might not even take it due to the tiring trip. And also, traveling merchants might not have the supply of the specific enzyme.