LHAHS Chapter 361
"Senior Carl!"
"Hello."
Stepping out of his private workshop, Carl smiled at the sight of Juen and Luke. "Oh! Juen, Luke. What brings you two here?"
"We wanted to have dinner with you, senior. Treat us!" Juen batted her eyes playfully, voice dripping with exaggerated sweetness.
Carl chuckled. "Sure, why not?"
Sitting in the dormitory garden, filing her nails, Eliza let out a soft laugh. "He doesn't even realize he's being played."
She cast a disdainful glance at Carl. "Must be exhausting, looking after a mentee who's way out of your league, Senior Carl."
"What did you just say?" Juen bristled, glaring at her.
Eliza barely spared her a glance. "Did I say something wrong, Juen Torvina?" Her voice was icy.
Juen and Luke flinched.
Leo may have overshadowed her, but Eliza was originally one of the strongest candidates for class representative. In any other era, she would have been a solid contender not just for the top of her year but for the student council presidency itself.
Among the still-green first-years, just meeting her cold gaze was enough to make them tremble.
"Why is our esteemed dorm leader in such a bad mood again? Threatening underclassmen like some schoolyard bully?" Carl cut in smoothly.
"Are you calling the heir to the Hergin family a delinquent?"
"Well, you kind of are one. Bossing around classmates, skipping lectures… That's pretty delinquent behavior."
Eliza narrowed her eyes.
"If you don't want to be called that, maybe stop intimidating my mentee?" Carl stepped in front of Juen and Luke.
"S-Senior Carl…" Juen looked at Carl's back, visibly moved.
Carl smirked. "Juen is definitely too good for me as a mentee."
"No, you're an amazing mentor, senior!"
"Thanks. And for the record, I don't think I'm being taken advantage of at all."
Eliza tilted her head, watching Carl with interest. Putting on a good act in front of the juniors, huh?
"…Because Juen pays for everything."
"……"
"She's the daughter of the Southern Tower Master! Filthy rich! A junior who treats her poor senior to meals—what a great kid!"
Juen's expression went ice-cold.
Eliza sighed deeply. "And here I thought you were showing some dignity as a senior."
"Not to mention, she's so generous she's satisfied with just treating me to cafeteria food. Right, Jue—ugh!"
Juen drove her fist into Carl's side without hesitation.
"Let's go, Luke!"
Flushing red, Juen stormed off, leaving Luke to frantically support Carl.
"S-Senior, are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah… But help me walk."
"Yes!" Luke hoisted Carl up and hurried after Juen.
"Whoa, you're strong."
Luke gave an awkward laugh.
"You mad? You're mad, aren't you?"
"Shut up!"
"Come on, don't be like that," Carl wheezed, still chuckling, then smiled wryly. "I just didn't want you making things worse with Eliza. If you get on her bad side, your school life is going to be miserable. As your mentor, I should be protecting you, but… I can't stop Eliza. That was the best I could do."
Juen scowled. "Even so, don't put yourself down. I think you're the best mentor, senior."
Carl blinked, then grinned. "Thanks. You're the only one who'd say that. In that case, dinner's on me tonight!"
Watching from a distance, Eliza blew on her nails and murmured, "Seeing that… Maybe having a mentee wouldn't have been so bad."
For the first time, she felt a twinge of regret about not taking one.
Just as she sighed, Carl's voice carried over. "And don't hate Eliza too much. As long as you treat her like a proper senior, she'll be decent. She doesn't hold grudges."
"Hah, as if." Eliza scoffed but felt strangely pleased.
"Still, she was a bit unlucky. You know, not a single first-year picked her as a mentor. Honestly, even I wouldn't have picked her—wahaha!"
Snap!
Eliza pulled out her whip and stretched it taut. Her eyes gleamed with murderous intent. "You're dead."
Carl's agonized screams echoed soon after.
"Love potion?!" Juen nearly choked on her breath as they walked back to the dorms after dinner. "There's no way something that ridiculous actually exists!"
Carl smirked. "It's recorded in Dweno's Alchemy Book. You think it's a joke?"
Juen's eyes widened. "Wait… Dweno's Alchemy Book?"
That's right. Senior Carl got his hands on Dweno's Alchemy Book.
"That's insane."
"Right? It's seriously insane."
"Huh?"
Juen and Luke jolted at the sudden voice beside them.
"Hey, Chelsea." Carl greeted casually, prompting Juen and Luke to hurriedly bow.
"Hello, Senior Chelsea!"
"Hey," Chelsea said with a small wave before turning to Carl, arms crossed. "You got dragged to the student council last time for making some weird potion. And now you're making something even crazier?"
"Hey, this was made by Dweno. Calling it 'weird' is a little much, don't you think?" Carl shrugged. "At best, it only lasts for a day."
"A day?" Chelsea raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. And come on, after the hell the student council put me through last time, you really think I'd try to sell this?"
"Then what's your plan?"
Carl grinned. "Marketing."
Chelsea narrowed her eyes.
"Think about it. 'An alchemist who successfully created a legendary love potion!' That title alone is enough to boost my future career! My post-graduation prospects will be solid!"
"That's assuming you even graduate."
"Can you not stab me where it hurts?" Carl groaned before straightening up again. "Anyway! I'm submitting it to the student council tomorrow. No way they'll approve selling it. But I don't need them to! I just need the title! So, spread the word! Carl Thomas—the man who created a love potion!"
Chelsea watched him, unimpressed, arms still folded. "Pathetic."
Love potion…
Even as she scoffed, Chelsea couldn't help but feel oddly intrigued. It was a word bound to pique the curiosity of any teenage girl.
The next morning was a weekend.
Yawning, Carl opened his door to head out for breakfast—then froze.
A crowd of Noble dorm girls stood in front of him.
"W-What the hell? This early in the morning?"
"Carl." A Noble magic faculty girl looked at him with a serious expression. "Sell me the love potion."
"What?" Carl blinked, dumbfounded.
By now, the rumor had spread throughout the entire second-year class.
"No, sell it to me!"
"I won't complain even if it doesn't work that well!"
"How much? Name your price!"
"Don't sell it to her, sell it to me instead!"
As soon as one magic faculty girl spoke up, the others swarmed in, hands reaching for Carl in a frenzy.
Carl yelped, shoved his way back into his room, and slammed the door shut.
Knock! Knock!
"Senior Carl! Open up!"
"Just sell it already!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Noble girls pounded on the door.
Carl paled. "Hey! If you get caught using this on someone without their consent, the student council will drag you off!" he shouted.
"But you said the effect only lasts a day!"
"A little punishment is worth it!"
"Yeah, but I'll get in trouble too!"
His protests fell on deaf ears.
Carl had severely underestimated the mystique that the words love potion held for hormonal teenagers. Especially at Lumene, where boys and girls of the same age lived and studied together. Romantic feelings were bound to bloom.
Couples weren't rare. But some students were completely unattainable.
We have two of them just in our dorm: Abad and Duran.
Status, skill, and looks, they had it all. Every day, without fail, they received letters and gifts from admirers. Yet despite their overwhelming popularity, Carl had never heard of them accepting a confession.
And that made sense.
Who would fight a battle they knew they'd lose? Most had given up entirely, locking their feelings away.
But if there was a love potion? Even if only for a day… they could dream.
Normally, they would have scoffed at the idea. After all, Lumene students weren't fools.
But what if the love potion was recorded in the Alchemy Book of the Great Hero Dweno?
Wouldn't someone take the risk, even if it meant facing disciplinary action?
I… I might have seriously screwed up.
If the potion worked, both the users and he, as its creator, would be punished.
A cold sweat ran down his back as he recalled the last time the student council had summoned him.
"If you make and sell another weird potion, be prepared for the consequences."
He shuddered.
"Break the door down."
"First come, first served."
Carl froze. The voices from the other side had turned deadly serious.
Face drained of all color, he grabbed the golden vial from his desk.
Time to run.
Throwing open his window, he climbed out. Exiting through the window would earn him demerits, but that was the least of his worries.
Better that than getting dragged to the student council!
If he could just hold out until a professor intervened, he'd be safe.
Wait… who's on duty today?
"Love potion?"
The rumor had already reached the professor on duty.
On weekends, most professors took time off, leaving the school relatively empty. However, at least one professor remained behind to oversee the students and had the authority to summon others in an emergency.
Normally, even if a disturbance broke out, it would be resolved quickly.
"A love potion…" Professor Len stroked his chin after hearing the report. His eyes gleamed with excitement. "Senior Carl has truly outdone himself!"
Anna sighed and turned to leave. "Students might use it recklessly. I'll confiscate it before anything happens."
"Wait, Assistant Professor Anna."
"Hmm?"
The voice belonged to Professor Tina, an elf with gray hair and deep dark circles under her eyes.
"I think this is a rather intriguing experiment," she mused.
Anna groaned, pressing her fingers against her temples.
Tina Tingel, a visiting professor at Lumene.
Anna knew exactly what kind of person she was.
A mad scientist.
A woman who would dissect anything that piqued her curiosity.
To someone like Tina, a love potion and its effects on a test subject would be an irresistible research opportunity.
No… not just her.
Anna turned to look at Len—who was wearing the exact same expression.
Two professors, both hopelessly obsessed with magic.
Anna clenched her teeth. "If we confiscate it, you'll still be able to experiment on it later!"
"But then we'd have to conduct the experiment under restrictions!" Len protested. "A love potion! A fantastical concept, the kind of thing only found in stories! And now, my very own disciple has created one! A miracle of magic! Shouldn't we test its effectiveness firsthand?!"
"You crazy bastard! What kind of professor uses students as test subjects?!"
Anna's blood boiled, but in this room, she had no allies.
"I agree with Professor Len," Tina said calmly.
Len nodded. "I see we think alike, Professor Tina."
Wasn't this the same man who cursed her out as a scheming elf when we sent Senior Leo to Seiren as an exchange student? Who even is this person?
Watching the two professors, their eyes alight with magical fervor, Anna tilted her head back and let out a long, exhausted sigh.
Even if she went alone to stop Carl, Len would just get in her way.
I'm going to have to file another incident report, aren't I?
Once again, she was the only one suffering.