"I swear the potion I drank on the training field didn't taste like this..."
"Huh? I always thought healing potions were supposed to be bitter. Pretty much all of them are bitter—just varies in how bitter."
Victor Wang felt the fatigue in his body slowly ebbing away as he retorted, "No way. The potions they give the recruits in the Knights of Favonius taste sweet and tangy!"
Timaeus propped his right elbow with his left hand, his right hand cradling his chin as he frowned in thought. "Maybe it's something Master Albedo or Miss Lisa modified?"
"I could have handled the bitterness… if I'd never tasted a good one. Farewell, Timaeus, I'm going to ask Lisa myself!"
The thought of drinking such a bitter potion twice a day spurred Victor Wang into a run, heading straight for the Knights' headquarters.
Timaeus scratched his head in confusion. Was that a successful recruitment pitch or not?
When Victor Wang entered the library, he spotted a well-dressed, blond nobleman with broad shoulders and graceful bearing—the same one who sat to his left at Barbara's concert—holding a large bouquet of blue roses intended for Lisa.
Victor Wang found a suitable spot and pretended to browse through a book. He and Lisa were just friends, and this was her private matter. If she hadn't asked for help, he'd simply observe.
"These are special roses I had a friend in Sumeru find for me. They've been kept frozen the whole way here. See? Still fresh and lively."
Caesar had once thought Lisa liked Cecilia flowers and sent them persistently for half a year—all of which were rejected.
But over half a month ago, he heard from the staff that Lisa had accepted a single rose. When he came to check, sure enough, there it was.
Now that ordinary purple rose still stood in a vase on her desk, looking just fine.
"Thank you for the kind gesture, but I can't accept them."
Rejected. Again.
"You don't like roses?"
"One rose is enough for me."
"Someday, that one will wither. But if you just say the word, even if I'm in Sumeru, I can send you fresh roses every day."
"You may not know this, but roses are quite resilient. It's already sprouted roots in the water. Mondstadt's soil might not be ideal, but with me here, it won't wither."
She gave him a smiling, squint-eyed look. "And why is that?"
Lisa sighed. She recalled how she, Emma, and Caesar grew up together—neighbors, classmates, constant companions.
Back then, Caesar was brave, righteous, kind, and warmhearted—already exuding the charisma of the Gunnhildr clan even at that young age, always composed and courteous. But everything changed after they grew up. When she returned from Sumeru, Caesar began to chase her relentlessly.
Yet Lisa never saw Caesar that way. To her, he was merely a close childhood friend.
No matter how long you've known someone or how many good qualities they have, love is not that simple, she sighed to herself.
Dislike is just dislike.
If this went on, they might not even remain friends.
"The flower you're giving doesn't mean the same as this one, so I can't accept yours."
The rose in the vase was just a good omen... perhaps it carried some emotion, but at least not romantic love. That's how Lisa saw it.
"Are we really not a match? Don't you know I've liked you since we were kids?"
"…"
Lisa fell into thought again. Was I just too dense back then? I never noticed. She answered, "And did you know that I've only ever seen you as a friend? Let it go, Caesar. We can still be friends."
"Heh. You're unmarried, I'm unmarried. Pursuing you openly isn't exactly a crime, is it?"
His thick skin left Lisa speechless. She schooled her expression into neutrality and shook her head silently.
"I'll wait for you to say yes." Caesar smiled suavely and turned to leave.
Only then did Victor Wang put the upside-down book back on the shelf and approach Lisa.
"Who was that guy?"
"Caesar, my childhood friend. I only had two—him and Emma. Now you've met them both." Lisa sighed. "Sigh~ do all men lose their minds when they fall in love?"
She was facing the library entrance, so of course she saw Victor sneaking in earlier to eavesdrop.
"No one's managed to make me fall for them yet, so I wouldn't know."
"What did you come to see me for? Weren't you here to read?"
"Oh right. Why do the recovery potions at the Knights' training grounds taste so good, but the ones I make myself taste so awful?"
"You're interested in alchemy?"
"Having more skills never hurts."
"Mhm." Lisa nodded approvingly, then bent down and took out a bottle of colorless liquid from beneath the counter, handing it to Victor Wang.
As soon as he popped the cork, a sweet scent of Sunsettia reached his nose. "What's this?"
"Try it."
It tasted like Sunsettia too. Victor Wang looked puzzled. "Is this… Sunsettia juice?"
"Hehe~"
Lisa then pulled out a slim little booklet. "Here, take a look."
Sunsettia + Purified Water = Sunsettia-flavored Modifier
Raspberry + Purified Water = Raspberry-flavored Modifier
…
Ham + Cooking Oil = Ham-flavored Modifier
Victor Wang glanced through the list and instantly memorized all the flavor combinations, then handed the booklet back.
"You can keep it—it's yours."
"No need. I've already memorized it."
"…"
"That being the case, can I just add a Sunsettia during potion-making?"
"You can try, but I'll give you a friendly reminder—don't let others drink it. The potion will change effects."
"Hmm~" Victor Wang rubbed his chin. "Then can I add the Sunsettia juice after making the potion?"
Lisa gave him a 'Are you questioning my intelligence?' look and replied, "Why go through all that trouble juicing it? Why not just make a flavor modifier while you're making the potion?"
"Yeah, that does make more sense."
Seeing Victor Wang now utterly absorbed in alchemy, Lisa rolled her eyes and said nothing.
Victor then left deep in thought. He stopped by the Adventurers' Guild and bought a specialized potion holster—tubular vials designed for quick access, capable of holding six potions at once.
The pouch he used for gadgets still hung on his right. This new potion belt he slung on his left.
Truthfully, the most convenient option was the Adventurer's backpack. It held far more, and Victor had bought one before. But when worn under a cloak, it made him look hunchbacked; worn over it, it just looked weird.
He went to Quinn and bought five Sunsettias, picked up a bunch of test tubes at the general goods store, and returned to Timaeus to borrow more purified water and use the synthesis table again.
With the ingredients on the table and guided by his will, he crafted five bottles of Sunsettia-flavored modifiers.
Next, he bought more healing potion ingredients from Timaeus, synthesized five bottles, and added the modifiers.
Five sweet-and-sour healing potions—complete.
Timaeus scratched his head, just now realizing, "So the 'flavor modification' was really that simple?"
"Huh? What did you think it was?"
"I… I thought maybe you'd altered the alchemical properties of the materials themselves. Maybe even invented a whole new potion formula!"
"Is it really that complicated?"
"Of course! Sure, we can make potions by following formulas, but who really understands why they work? That's what I want to research!" Timaeus chuckled awkwardly. "Guess I overthought it—occupational hazard."
Back at his rented inn, Victor Wang placed three full-strength healing potions into his belt. With the two remaining potions, he diluted them with water, creating ten bottles of diluted recovery potions. Three of those also went into his belt.
Full-strength for emergencies. Recovery potions for daily sword training—two bottles a day.
There was no denying alchemy burned through money. If a synthesis failed, all materials went to waste. It was like lighting Mora on fire. This was probably why most people gave up.
Victor Wang hadn't checked his bank account in days. Once he finally looked, he felt a bit more at ease.
Though sales of Tales from the Box had started to decline, the royalties he'd already earned were substantial. For now, he didn't have to worry about Mora…
And if he ever ran out… well, he could always 'borrow' another manuscript.