"Alright. I don’t want alchemy. It’s nice and all, but I can’t imagine spending my life brewing potions," Raelis said plainly.
"Oh? Yeah, I guess that kind of sucks. But the money and the fame are great," Julian replied with a chuckle. "Honestly though? You should take Alchemy classes. There’s an instructor who’s interested in promising alchemists."
Raelis rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, she wants to turn a random student into the greatest alchemist?"
"That’s a part of it, yes." Julian leaned back. "But you don’t really have to listen to whatever that woman has to say. She probably has something going on upstairs if you know what I mean."
"Right..." Raelis sighed. "What kind of recipes could I get if I took her class?"
"Hmm... advanced recipes on most potions, I suppose," Julian replied. "She’s a very skilled alchemist, and with your attentiveness, you might just be able to satisfy her... not in the sexual way, but—"
"I understand," Raelis cut him off. "I’ll think about it."
"Good. You do that. Now I’ll tell you something in advance, since I’m sure you’re going to sleep through my lesson again," Julian said. "Since I offered you the Alchemy class, you’ll be able to choose what kind of extracurricular activities you want to participate in."
"Basically, think of it as a club. You can join the Alchemy club, maybe the Hunting Club. There’s also a traveling club, but those people are too masochistic, so they usually go into narrow caves or something like that," Julian explained. "But if you’re into that stuff, then go ahead."
Raelis’s brows furrowed.
"Can I pick the clubs in advance?"
"Why? Got somewhere to be?" Julian asked with a tilt of his head.
After a brief pause, Raelis spoke. "In two weeks, we’re going on an excursion, right?"
"Hmm? It’s supposed to be top secret, but yes. You’ll be going on personal excursions," Julian replied. "Given how you know about them, I assume there’s no need for explaining?"
Raelis shook his head. "I want to put my all into training for the next two weeks. By that, I mean I want to skip class."
"Raelis..." Julian mumbled. "You do know those alchemy recipes I’m planning to show you are extremely beneficial, right? They could even save your life in battle."
"Look..." Raelis trailed off. "If I find myself in a situation where I have no choice but to use a Swiftness Potion, then it’s already over. I wouldn’t be able to outrun the attackers, and if I return without my teammates everyone will think I’m a deserter."
He frowned. "And unlike the neighboring kingdom, Clementine, the Varekan Empire punishes deserters with death."
The moment Raelis finished his words, silence descended.
It lasted for a few minutes as Julian opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to find the right words. But alas, it seemed like he couldn’t argue Raelis’s logic.
"Well... being faster is also beneficial. You can use those potions while in battle to get a slight edge over your opponent," Julian reasoned.
"Alright then, how about this. Give me the recipes, and I’ll complete them all right now," Raelis stated, causing Julian’s brain to freeze momentarily.
"You really are... sure. You know what. Give me just one second," Julian said, and in the next moment, he vanished.
It looked like he had teleported, but from the open classroom door, it was clear he had simply run out as fast as he could.
And just as fast, he was back with a box full of materials.
He pointed toward one of the alchemy stations. "Go sit down. We’ll start immediately."
"Alright," Raelis replied with a chuckle and sat back down at his desk.
Julian approached with the box full of materials and placed them on a nearby table, and one by one, he began giving Raelis recipes as well as the required materials to brew.
And just like that, several hours passed...
"You bastard..." Julian muttered, clutching his top hat.
Then, he speechlessly picked out each of the potions and brought it over to Raelis’s face. Of course, every single one of them glowed, signifying that they were perfect.
"What are you made of exactly?" Julian mused. "Some of those potions weren’t Swiftness Potions, by the way."
"I know. I can read."
"And you still made them perfectly!" Julian grumbled. "At this point, I’m starting to think that you should become the greatest alchemist in the world. Hey, why don’t you try to become the Divine Alchemist’s disciple? I’m sure he’s looking for a promising and gifted—"
"Okay okay, stop," Raelis urged with a sigh. "I already told you I won’t be doing any of that. But now that I’ve done everything you asked, does that mean I can skip next week?"
Julian froze, then narrowed his eyes.
"That can be arranged, but... you said you wanted to skip the week after that as well, right?" he asked.
"Yes. I want to train until the excursion," Raelis replied plainly. "So can I pick the clubs I want to join ahead of time? I can give you my signature to avoid the hassle and all that."
"But what about history class?" Julian sulked. "I’ll be teaching you the history of... right, you’re a Varekan."
Julian brought his head back, almost as if he wanted to smash it against the wall, then stopped.
"Why would an Imperial need a history lesson on the empire’s founding when that’s one of the many things that are drilled into their head when they’re 5 years old!"
A faint smile appeared on Raelis’s face. "Well, that sucks to be you. But hey, that fixes one issue, doesn’t it?"
"It does... fine... here," Julian mumbled and handed Raelis a pamphlet. "This is the club form, so just have it signed by tomorrow and hand it to me—"
Raelis handed the pamphlet back within moments, and it was fully signed, with three clubs selected, the bare minimum.
"Uhh..." Julian adjusted his top hat and read it.
But soon, his eyes widened.