Chapter 57: 57. Dragon Lady.
Rowena stared down at the small vial in her hands.
The deep red liquid inside was unlike any other healing potion she had seen before, and this immediately allowed her to recognise what it was.
"Is this.....?"
"Yes, it’s a 20% impurity-free healing potion. I wanted you to have one as a thank you for everything you’ve done for me."
"But you don’t have to give me...."
"I wanted to. Actually, I made this one for you long before I ventured out to fight the goblins, so it’s something that’s been on my mind for a while now. To be honest, I never could have expected the potion to do more than just heal physical injuries, but it turns out it was more than enough to repair Legolas’s and Aldren’s mana cores as well. Hopefully it will be of use to you, because just like them, you certainly deserve to have your mana core back." Austin stated, and Rowena was left speechless.
This friend of hers seemed to enjoy seeing her in tears, but despite how hard she tried to hold them back, this time they truly streamed down her cheeks.
This was because she had recently heard from both Legolas and Aldren about how their mana cores were now in good condition.
Both had been healed, and the two elves could make use of their beast soul abilities again.
At first, Rowena had found it hard to believe that such a potion truly existed, but seeing as how both elves had revealed this to her at the same time, with more than enough proof that they could use their abilities again, even Rowena had to believe them.
However, since Austin had still been unconscious at the time, Rowena couldn’t talk to him about it.
But to her surprise, Nora had approached her, requesting that a potion in her possession be administered to Austin.
Looking at the potion then, Rowena was certain it had to be the same one Legolas and Aldren had told her about, and this only caused her to regard Austin with even higher esteem.
Austin had inexplicably become a genius in the eyes of the Countess.
He had become a diamond in the rough, and this only strengthened her resolve to keep Austin by her side.
"Thank you, Austin." Rowena muttered softly with a delicate smile on her face.
Austin was immediately captivated by her smile and smiled back before saying. "I’m glad you like it. But who knows, maybe one day, when you’re not too busy focusing on matters relating to your territory, the two of us could work on brewing something together."
Naturally, the Elvenheart mana-replenishing potion recipe had been developed by Rowena’s late father, but since arriving here, Austin had noticed some similarities between it and the two potion recipes he had received so far.
He had seen the similar patterns both recipes shared, and because of this, he felt he might be able to create a 20% impurity-free mana-replenishing potion of his own.
Even if he was unable to accurately achieve 20%, he was still confident he could brew at least a 10% or possibly a 15% version, and in the current market, either of those would be nothing short of a goldmine. So teaming up with Rowena to study the base ingredients of her father’s 3% mana-replenishing recipe could truly prove useful to him.
"I’d like that." Rowena stated softly, but she was still in slight shock that in a matter of minutes, her mana core would be as good as new.
"Alright, now go get some rest, okay? Your body needs it, and don’t forget the pampering I’ll be giving you starting in four days."
"I won’t."
"Don’t forget our picnic in three days as well."
"Okay." Rowena replied with a small laugh before turning toward her room, the vial still cradled gently in her hands.
Meanwhile, Austin watched her go for a moment before letting out a long breath of relief.
Now that that had been taken care of, there was only one more thing left to do tonight, and so Austin immediately set about doing it.
Since it was already late, the mansion had grown quiet by the time Austin made his way outside.
He wasn’t entirely sure where the dragon lady was, so he asked three different maids where the strange lady had last been seen, and each gave him a slightly different answer.
However, they all pointed in the same general direction, which was past the eastern gardens, beyond the hedges, toward the open hill that overlooked the rest of the estate, so Austin made his way there despite the late hour.
He could have easily waited until tomorrow morning, but a part of him wanted to see her as soon as possible, and so he followed the stone path that led through the manicured gardens.
Here, Austin noticed the grass was high enough to brush his ankles, but what impressed him most about this spot was the night air, which was so cool and refreshing against his skin.
Looking up, Austin noticed the bright stars scattered across the night sky, along with an unavoidably large moon that looked almost double the size of the one he had seen in his previous world.
Taking it all in nearly made him forget why he had come out in the first place, because the air was just so inviting.
Now, he found himself genuinely tempted to lie down on the grass and sleep out here under the open sky, but he swiftly shook the thought away as his gaze landed softly on a figure in the distance.
He was certain it had to be her.
The lady was lying flat on her back in the middle of the open field, and she had long crimson hair fanning out beneath her like a pool of spilled wine against the grass.
Even from the distance he was at, Austin could clearly make out the two curved horns on her head and her massive wings stretched out against the ground on either side of her.
