And what would you call a miracle if not a divine intervention? And divine intervention relies on the divine, such as the outer gods. I hope you see where I’m going with this. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.

  — Excerpt from Notes For Newstar

  Day 1118, 5:10 PM

  “Well, that was exhausting.” I smiled at Ruby.

  Our past few hours weren’t really that exhausting. Sure, the interrogation was tedious, but her master had already brought the news of the attacks. All we had to do was nod and confirm his story two dozen times over the course of two hours.

  “What do we do now?” Ruby asked.

  “Well, we have a difficult choice. We can stay here and face the dragons once they come, if they come, potentially getting used as fodder by the virtuous high realm leadership of our beloved Thunderbluff, or we could do the smart thing and leave.”

  “Can you make it more obvious?” Ruby laughed, but there was bitterness there.

  “Sure. We can let others kill us for their greed, or be off, rich and happy in a better place. Do you know how to scribe runes? Make potions?”

  Ruby shook her head at both.

  “Does any of those sound interesting to you? They are the highest-paying trades for mages, and trust me, they pay really well. I can teach you too. Better yet, you learn by yourself, and I’ll help you out when you hit a snag. That should be even better.”

  She caved under my overly excited look and looked away.

  “I guess alchemy sounds interesting.” She wasn’t being honest, but that was fine.

  “Let’s go to the guild then. I’ll grab some books for you, and you can study while we travel to Glory. The trip will take quite a while, and we can discuss whatever you find confusing.”

  I could tell what was bothering her. Hadn’t I lost all my memories three years ago? Who did I think I was, telling her I would teach her alchemy, a craft most dedicated their entire lives to and yet often failed to make meaningful progress.

  Ruby was kind enough not to voice her doubt, but I could feel her stiffen when we entered the guild.

  “Good evening, Master Dandelion, what brings you here?”

  “Taking on an apprentice, Anise.” I smiled at the clerk. “And I wanted to buy some beginner-friendly books and tools.”

  The woman gave Ruby an envious look. “You have no idea how lucky you are. I bet half the guild’s experts would gladly pay to work for Master Dandelion just to get some advice on their craft. I’ve been here for over a decade, and I’ve never seen an alchemist with a success rate as high as Master Dandelion’s.”

  Ruby stared blankly, but Anise kept talking.

  “How much does your apprentice know? Just asking so I can pick the right books.” She fluttered her eyelashes in an overly exaggerated manner.

  For a moment I had the need to show off even more than usual and list all the titles myself, but I let Anise do her job.

  “Assume she doesn’t know how to brew proper tea.” I winked at Ruby. “Because I’ve never seen her brew tea.”

  Ruby’s lips turned into a tight line, but Anise didn’t blink. She just turned around and scurried off.

  “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

  “Master Dandelion?” Ruby said, looking at me.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “I’m a master alchemist. People addressing me formally call me Master Dandelion. Except for the herbalists.” I gave Ruby a teasing smile, and she stayed silent out of spite, not asking the obvious question.

  I didn’t say anything either, letting the silence stretch.

  “Fine, what do they call you at the herbalists’ guild?”

  “Well, Grandmaster Dandelion, naturally.”

  She stared at me. “I don’t believe you.”

  I showed her the grandmaster pin. She stared at it, wrapping her head around the truth.

  “You scammed them somehow. There’s no way you can become a grandmaster of any guild in three years. Even the herbalists.”

  I simply grinned. “And what if I told you that they gave me the pin behind my back because of a hobby project of mine I was doing in their guild?”

  I kept teasing Ruby, and eventually Anise came to her rescue, carrying a stack of books, a simple black cauldron hanging off the crook of her arm. I stored everything in my spatial pouch while Anise brought a crate of glassware.

  “Thank you, Anise, deduct it off my account.” I smiled at the woman, who just stared at me dreamily. “It was a pleasure seeing you. You’re as quick and clever as ever.”

  We left the building, and Ruby stopped to frown at me, fists on her hips.

  “Did something happen between the two of you?”

  “We only had professional contact, and that is all. Now, we should get going before the monsters arrive.”

  “And what about the people you evacuated?” She asked.

  “What about them? We brought them here safely, told them where to find shelter, food, and medical aid should they need it. I’m not their nanny.”

  Ruby gave a satisfied nod, as if she was afraid I would adopt a town’s worth of people. They had their own lives, and they had to make do by themselves. My job was to save them from a certain death I was partly responsible for, a job I had done admirably given the circumstances. If an imperial city, with all its experts, mercenaries, and adventurers fell, there was little I could do.

  So, we left.

  The trip to Glory took two moons, twice as long as it did when I had traveled alone, but company made for a much more pleasant journey.

  Ruby was trying her best with alchemy, and she could extract essence from the herbs and convert it to powders and essence oils by the time we reached the seventeenth prince’s city. She would’ve advanced faster had we been in a lab, but her water affinity along with her fourth realm mage mind proved a boon for alchemy.

  “I must warn you about something,” I told Ruby as I paid the city entrance fee for the two of us. “Glory is obscenely expensive compared to what you’re used to. You will be able to make ends meet as a novice alchemist, but you can forget about expanding your realm for a year or five. Focus on alchemy, on learning how to make money, and on sculpting your realm. You have a knack for alchemy, and I’m sure you’ll go a long way.”

  Especially if I leave the formulas for increasing the odds of awakening and for giving people another chance in your hands after I die.

  Yes, I could see her becoming a tycoon with those, assuming she outlives me, which I don’t have intention of happening, but if it happens, I would love for Ruby to get something out of me permanently croaking.

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “I have a lot of work to do, people to help, a realm to expand, so you don’t look down on me.”

  She swallowed, then spoke softly. “I don’t look down on you. I—”

  “Ruby,” I didn’t want to hear what she had to say. “You’re an amazing woman of outstanding character and a dear friend. Even if you first started talking with me just to figure out how to get out of the imperial service without paying your debt.”

  “When did I?” She started indignantly, but stopped shouting under my gaze. “I guess I wasn’t that subtle, was I?”

  You practically told me.

  I wanted to say more, but we were interrupted.

  “Pardon, Master Dandelion.” A servant in imperial green with a hint of gold walked out of the guard station just inside the city. “The princess said you should visit her as soon as you returned to the city.”

  I exchanged a glance with Ruby before nodding solemnly.

  “Stay with the adventurers’ guild if you want me to find you. I have a place I used to rent close to the scribes’ guild, and you can leave a message at the guild’s desk.”

  Then I turned towards the imperial servant.

  “Please lead the way.”

  We stepped into the parked coach and started a slow trip through the city. It took well over an hour before we reached the imperial palace, neither myself nor the man who waited for me saying a word.

  With my guide, I passed through security checkpoints unobstructed, and finally reached a small tea parlor.

  “Make yourself comfortable; the princess will see you when she has the time.”

  It was power-play and abuse of status all bundled into one. Then again, I couldn’t expect for an imperial princess to drop everything just so she could see me. Even if she was free, she would wait for an hour or two to keep me waiting and to remind me who was more important.

  Not a minute passed before a serving girl entered, carrying tea. Another followed behind her, carrying two trays of pastries and delicacies.

  I enjoyed my tea and ate and waited. Six hours later, another pair of servants entered, carrying tea and water and food. I spent three days in that small room before the princess finally deigned to grace me with her presence.