Ethan had returned to Witch's House. It was like an emperor returning to his throne.

He’d broken through to become an Extraordinary. In a sense, that made him the local king of Blackwater Town. Extraordinaries were the highest tier of combat power around.

Of course, there were probably more than one or two true Extraordinaries in Blackwater Town. And there were certainly people with some connection to one—a cousin, say, or another distant relative—who could call in a favor and get an Extraordinary to show up.

But that wasn’t something worth considering. In practice, an Extraordinary could live very comfortably in Blackwater Town. Shops would offer them discounts, then brag to their other customers that so-and-so Extraordinary had bought something from them.

Ethan had more or less made his appearance in Blackwater Town in broad daylight.

“Come to think of it, Young Master Ethan, shouldn’t you be studying at the Magic Academy?” Tori asked, puzzled. Ethan had spent his summer vacation adventuring, sure, but classes started in August, and the competition had been at the end of the month. It was now early September. Shouldn’t he be at the Magic Academy?

Ethan chuckled. “Let’s not get into that. I only need to pass the final exams. As for my grades during the term, the quest points I earn at the Adventurers’ Guild count toward this semester’s score. The Magic Academies in our country believe students should contribute to the nation, so apart from first- and second-rank Mages and purely theoretical experts, pretty much everyone registers as an adventurer. Every year, some people go missing on their adventures, or die while supporting the fighting at the border.”

Tori could only give him a thumbs-up. “That’s some serious fighting spirit.”

“I heard you went missing along with your opponent. What happened to them?”

Ethan gave a couple of light coughs. “Like I said, some people go missing on their adventures. They were an adventurer too. It’s unfortunate, but that’s how it is.”

Well, damn. You really are ruthless. I bet that opponent had it coming for a long time.

Tori decided not to press the matter.

“Thank you for your purchase. This Miniature Agility Potion is one silver and sixty copper.” Lydia looked at the man in front of her and named the price.

“Aw, come on, little Lydia~ Look, how about you give me a discount? One silver and forty copper. What do you say? Twenty copper isn’t much, right?”

Lydia’s gaze was icy. “And then you’ll use those three coins to buy drinks and chat up pretty adventurer ladies, right, Uncle? I’ve heard about it. The lady from your family came in here before and specifically told me that when she sent you to buy potions, she gave you exactly enough money. If you ask for a discount, it means you’re planning to sneak off and do something else!”

“Ah! Th-this… How could you…” The man gave an awkward laugh, pulled out one silver and sixty copper, and completed the purchase.

After taking the money, Lydia beamed. “Come again, Uncle~ Next time, I’ll knock ten copper off for you!” She even gave him a wink. Not that anyone paid much attention to a wink from an eight-year-old girl.

Ethan sucked in a sharp breath. He gave Tori, who was watching Lydia’s performance with admiration, a dark look. Tori was still nodding along in approval.

“Lydia’s growing up fast, too. She’s already a first-rate salesperson! We can hire two newcomers to take over her spot, then promote her to manager! Right, Boss Ethan?” Tori looked proudly at her boss, only to meet his dark expression. Her heart sank.

She discreetly took two steps back. “Um, Boss Ethan? Is there something you’re unhappy about?”

“Is this how you’ve been teaching her?”

“Huh? What’s wrong with that?”

Ethan frowned. “She’s still a child!”

“What? What are you talking about?” Tori was completely baffled. “Isn’t she talented? If she’s got talent, you should nurture it from a young age. Look how naturally she handles it! Lots of people aren’t as good at selling things as she is at using magic. What’s wrong with that?”

“But she’s so young. She should be getting more guidance.”

Tori’s expression darkened. “Are you saying I haven’t taught her enough?!” She planted her hands on her hips and marched toward her boss. “Boss Ethan! You’re being awfully biased!”

“Huh?”

“I’m only eight, too! I won’t be nine until next May. I work myself to the bone for you, and you treat me like a workhorse, right? Lydia’s eight, too, but the moment she makes a little money, you start worrying about her? It’s so discouraging for me, working myself to death brewing Potions for you! I might not be able to make Potions anymore!”

Well…

Only then did Ethan suddenly remember that this girl was only eight, too. He paused. “Have you… grown quite a bit?”

“Ha ha ha!” Tori put her hands on her hips. “You’re only noticing now?” She wagged a finger at him. “You really shouldn’t do that, young man. You need to pay attention to how girls change, or you’ll upset them! I’ve grown a lot, haven’t I? That’s the result of the Potion!”

“…I don’t make a habit of closely watching girls your age. I’m not one of those perverted nobles.”

"—Really?" Tori suddenly leaned in close, an ambiguous smile playing on her lips.

Ethan had annoyed her earlier, so she decided to let the boy experience the harshness of adulthood: "I once heard a theory. Men who are fond of young girls mostly didn't get to enjoy their own youth properly at that age. So they conjure up an imaginary girl of that age in their memories to fill the emotional void left unfulfilled back then—Young Master Ethan, you were around eight or nine when your rank declined, weren't you? Was there a girl you regretted not being with at that time?"

"!" Ethan was taken aback by her words, his face clearly asking, "How do you know all this?"

"This is where you, as a pure-hearted young man, fall short." She traced a finger across her cheek, finally resting it on her lips. "So, Young Master... are you truly not interested in me?" She leaned in extremely close to Ethan. "If you're willing to pay, I wouldn't say no~"

Hearing her mention money, Ethan, whose heart had been racing, instantly calmed down. With an indifferent expression, he said, "In that case, Miss Tori, I'll have no choice but to exercise my authority as store manager to convene a meeting and establish regulations to deduct your wages."

“Ehh!!!”

That hit Tori like a critical blow. “Th-that’s against the rules! You can’t just dock my pay whenever you feel like it!” Tori was suddenly reminded of her previous life, when her pay had been docked on a project. She argued her case with all she had.

Then Ethan laughed and ruffled Tori’s hair. “All right, I’m joking. You’ve got money on the brain.”

Tori angrily brushed Ethan’s hand away. “Don’t treat me like a child!”

“Didn’t someone just say she was only an eight-year-old girl, and wouldn’t be nine until next May?”

“…Ngh.”

In the end, Tori stomped off to her lab in a huff and threw herself into brewing Potions. She was in a terrible mood because she hadn’t managed to get a reaction out of that innocent boy. That didn’t seem right…

She glanced at her reflection in the test tube. Honestly, after breaking through and taking the All-Purpose Potion, she looked quite a bit better. If she’d been a six before, she was probably a seven now—a little over seven. Aside from not having grown into her figure yet, everything else was pretty good. She could still get a bit taller, too. She was about 1.4 meters now; 1.6 would be just right.

She patted her own cheeks. What was she thinking? She couldn't really resort to selling herself later, could she? When it came down to it—nothing made money faster than selling potions. It wasn't as if Tori hadn't heard the adventurers in the tavern talking; in a place like Blackwater Town, that sort of thing could be taken care of for a single silver coin.

It didn’t even pay as well as a Miniature Meditation Potion.

She wanted to make serious money!

Looking back, even she found it hard to believe. In just three days, she’d developed several kinds of Potion, successfully made an advanced Potion, and brewed Ethan’s Potion.

Tori suddenly frowned.

Wasn’t this all going a little too smoothly?

She stared at her reflection in the glass bottle for a long time. The figure in the glass suddenly seemed strange, as if she didn’t recognize it. But when she rubbed her eyes, it was still her.

Why?

Was she really this talented at making Potions?

The question came to her naturally.

If she had to put it into words, this world’s Potion system had some connection to chemistry and medicine, but not much. Just as she’d felt during her advancement, this was art—the art of magic, the art of Potions.

But still, was she really this talented?

She didn’t think so. If she’d been this talented, she should’ve been making a fortune in her old world, instead of ending up like that.

It was true that she’d failed many times while making Potions and had changed her approach again and again. Now that she thought back on it, she could recall every step of those processes. Nothing about them felt out of place.

But it still felt strange.

When she took stock of what she’d achieved, it was frightening. A Potion Maker with no formal education absolutely shouldn’t have been able to do this.

The answer… the answer might lie in the Demon Realm.

Tori suddenly remembered Ethan saying that high-ranking Mages could use the Demon Realm to transmit information to Mages in a given area. Maybe that transmission…

She closed her eyes and entered a deep state of meditation. This time, she didn’t focus on magic power or the elements. She focused on the Demon Realm itself, sensing what people called “information.”

And then she heard it.

“Homeland… someone from my homeland.”

“!!!!”

Those weren’t the words of this world. A sudden wave of fear swept over her.

“I’ll give you knowledge… you… help me…”

A strange, demonic message filled with knowledge she couldn’t understand rang directly in her mind. She jerked her eyes open. She was sure of it. Absolutely sure!

“W-Witch.”