Chapter 22: A Morning of Guilt and Alchemy

‘Am I jealous of them?’

Celeste swiftly dismissed the thought the moment it surfaced.

Impossible, absolutely impossible; how could she harbor such a repugnant idea?

After all, Yalin was merely her childhood friend.

Their relationship in the past had been quite good.

But that was merely in the past.

After entering the academy, Yalin’s various antics had long since worn down her patience.

Nevertheless, what she had said that day was indeed a little too harsh.

Even if she had been caught in a moment of anger, she should not have uttered words like ‘I never want to see you again’ to a former good friend.

Thinking of this, Celeste couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.

Guilt…

Yes, guilt!

Celeste suddenly understood; she was merely feeling a little guilty.

Now that she considered it, Yalin had barely sought her out since that day, seemingly having reflected deeply on his actions.

And she, too, had made some missteps.

She hadn’t found the right opportunity to speak before, but if they met again, she would clear the air with Yalin and then apologize to him.

Perhaps then, their old relationship could be restored.

If they could continue to be friends, that would be quite nice.

Oh, why not take this opportunity to go find him now!

Celeste’s eyes brightened; yes, this was a perfect chance.

Didn’t Liyang want to see Yalin?

Though she didn’t know Liyang’s reasons, from the look of things, it seemed Liyang wouldn’t be able to go to the Alchemy Branch for a while.

After all, the two places were quite far apart, requiring over half an hour to walk.

Since that was the case, she would go to the Alchemy Branch first, inform Yalin, and have him come to find Liyang.

Then, she could conveniently use this chance to say a few words to Yalin.

Celeste believed she had conceived a brilliant idea, so she cleared her throat a few times and spoke with feigned nonchalance.

“Um, Liyang… student? Don’t worry, I’ll go to the Alchemy Branch tomorrow and tell Yalin, and have him come find you.”

“R-really?”

Liyang looked at Celeste, her gaze filled with gratitude.

However, she quickly lowered her head again. “But… but after what happened, how can I still impose on him to come all this way to find me? I should be the one to go to him…”

‘What ‘thing’ happened?’

Celeste raised an eyebrow.

‘It’s fine if you don’t want to say, but being so evasive and ambiguous—what kind of drama are you trying to stir up?’

Still, if there was a hidden reason, Celeste had no interest in prying.

“Then I’ll go and ask where he is for you first; the Alchemy Branch is quite large, and it wouldn’t be convenient for you to go alone.”

“Are you sure it’s alright?”

“Mm, I don’t have anything to do tomorrow anyway, so it’s a good chance to go over there.”

“Th-thank you…”

Liyang nervously fiddled with the strands of hair falling by her ear and whispered, “I-I’m sorry, we just met, and I’m already asking you for so much help…”

“Liyang, we’ve been in classes together for half a year.”

“Ah haha, that’s true…”

Liyang chuckled awkwardly a few times.

“Sorry, I… I’m not very good at talking to others, nor am I good at responding, so I don’t have any friends…”

“So, um… thank you for being willing to help me…”

Celeste’s gaze was somewhat peculiar.

‘So Liyang always kept to herself not because she was aloof, but simply because of social anxiety (TL Note: Social anxiety, often abbreviated as ‘shekong’ in Chinese internet slang.)?’

This truly was an eye-opener for her.

‘Friends, huh…’

Celeste felt a slight melancholy.

She always seemed to be surrounded by many people, but how many could truly be called friends?

She was too exceptional, possessing outstanding talent, hailed as a once-in-a-century mage.

She stood so high that no one dared approach her easily; they only revered and flattered her.

But at the same time, she was merely a girl from a commoner family.

She didn’t understand the veiled remarks of noble ladies, nor was she knowledgeable about popular plays and balls.

In truth, she was just like Liyang, utterly alone.

“It’s alright, it’s just a small favor, and Yalin and I… are also friends, after all.”

Celeste suddenly felt a sense of having lost, and she rose from her chair.

“Well then, that’s that. You get some good rest; I’ll come find you again tomorrow.”

“Mm… thank you.”

Liyang nodded, then suddenly remembered something and quickly called out to her.

“Um, Celeste, I know Yalin likes you, and we aren’t ‘that’ kind of relationship… I just… want to thank him, so, please don’t worry…”

Celeste paused, then offered a faint smile.

“It’s alright, you don’t need to hold back. He and I aren’t ‘that’ kind of relationship either.”

“Ah? Well, that’s good then…”

‘Why did her last sentence sound a little strange?’

Celeste paid no mind to that; she was thinking about the earlier statement.

‘Yalin likes you.’

Did Yalin like her?

It was a fact obvious to anyone with eyes, and Celeste was naturally no exception.

But did she like him?

To rephrase, had she ever liked him?

In the past, she had indeed felt a sense of dependence, but could that truly be called liking?

The feeling of irritation seemed to resurface, and Celeste shook her head, casting off those chaotic notions.

It was fine; she just needed to wait until tomorrow.

As long as she met Yalin tomorrow and cleared the air, the matter would be resolved.

As for what had happened between Liyang and Yalin, or whether they liked each other, Celeste didn’t care in the slightest.

Though Yalin could be annoying, he wasn’t a bad person; if the two of them could be together, that would actually be quite nice.

After all, they were both people she knew, so she would probably be quite happy for them.

At dawn.

The sun had only just begun to peek over the horizon, and the sky remained dim.

At this hour, most people were still deep in slumber, and the entire academy was virtually empty.

Yalin walked through the dimly lit corridor and arrived at the research lab door.

After silently offering a prayer in his heart, he took out his key and gently, quietly, opened the large door.

The research lab was pitch black, devoid of any movement.

Excellent; the old man finally hadn’t pulled an all-nighter doing research today, making his early rise from bed worthwhile.

Yalin let out a sigh of relief and switched on the room’s lights.

Just one weekend away, and the room was a mess again.

At least it wasn’t as utterly dreadful as last time.

And upon closer inspection, there seemed to be traces of it having been tidied?

What was going on? Could it be that the old man had cleaned it himself?

‘The sun must have risen from the west today.’

Never mind, he’d deal with that later.

Yalin skillfully operated the instruments, meticulously decomposing and fusing the prepared alchemical materials one by one.

These past few days had been a string of troubles, and he had inadvertently overused his mediums.

Yalin’s heart ached; the few mediums he had used up were nearly equivalent to half a month’s salary.

Yet, without mediums, he truly would be a pure good-for-nothing incapable of magic.

What if he encountered some wicked woman? Wouldn’t he be beaten to his knees, begging for mercy?

Therefore, no matter how much it pained him, he could only grit his teeth and get on with it.

‘Should I find a few more clients?’

Yalin muttered to himself, gazing at the materials working within the instrument.

Just as he waited patiently, the laboratory door suddenly opened once more.

“Yalin? Why are you here so early today?”