“By-product??”
Vanessa knew the concept. When alchemical potion was properly refined, there was a chance for residual potion energy to manifest as a by-product. The by-product's color differed from the main product's, and the two were clearly separated, making them easy to distinguish and collect.
She didn't know its exact function, but since it was a by-product born during the refinement of a recovery potion, it surely couldn't be something harmful or with negative side effects.
“Don't worry, I've kept them all safe,” Mirexia naturally anticipated that Vanessa would ask about the potions she had refined the moment she woke. After all, Vanessa had poured her entire heart and soul into creating them, going so far as to use her own refined blood. The process had nearly caused Vanessa to bleed to death.
Just like last time.
Mirexia recalled that incident, Vanessa, alone, challenging the Demon God Pillar to rescue the students it had controlled.
It was always like this. She never considered her own safety.
Every time Mirexia thought about it, she felt anxious, afraid that Vanessa's reckless nature would one day land her in irreversible danger. In fact, someone like her was likely to fall into peril wherever she went. One day, she might even meet an untimely end.
“Mirexia.”
“..........”
“Mirexia?” Vanessa called her name twice before the other finally emerged from her thoughts. “You're hurting me.”
“Huh??” Mirexia only then realized she'd been gripping Vanessa's hand tightly, so tightly it was getting stronger. She immediately let go in a fluster.
'Virtue + 100.'
'Current Virtue: 9624.'
“Sorry, Vanessa.”
“Were you lost in thought about something just now?” Vanessa asked. She tried to lift her hand but still lacked the strength. Until now, she'd been unable to resist Mirexia's grip.
“Vanessa, next time you do something like this... please talk to me first, okay?” Mirexia paused, then fixed Vanessa with a serious gaze. “You were unconscious for a full day and night. You were in real danger.”
“Please... don't do this again.”
Seeing the intense anxiety in Mirexia's eyes, Vanessa knew she needed to give a definite answer.
This time, her actions had truly frightened Mirexia, terrified that something might have happened to her.
Come to think of it, as her childhood friend, Mirexia really had it hard. She worried endlessly about Vanessa, always had, always would.
In a certain sense, being her childhood friend was quite unfortunate, wasn't it?
“Alright, alright, I got it~ I just didn't expect the amount of blessed angel blood needed for 'Blessed Angel Kiss' to be so large. I felt like they were about to drain all my blood! That wasn't something I'd anticipated. And since the alchemical process couldn't be interrupted, otherwise everything would be ruined.”
Vanessa smiled as she explained.
“You promise?” Mirexia still seemed uneasy, speaking seriously.
“Pfft, does my childhood friend really have that little faith in me?” Vanessa teased. “Fine, I promise. Is that enough for you?”
Mirexia didn't respond. She left the room and soon returned, carrying a bowl of porridge.
“You haven't eaten for a day and night, you must be hungry.”
“I made you meat porridge. Eat first, then rest.”
“I can't move much right now,” Vanessa said.
“It's fine, I'll feed you.” Mirexia picked up a spoon, stirred the porridge, and gently blew on it.
“Open your mouth.”
“Okay.” Vanessa parted her lips, but as the spoon approached, she mischievously stuck out her little tongue and licked it.
Mirexia froze. She didn't know what she was thinking, but a faint blush spread across her cheeks.
'Virtue + 50.'
'Current Virtue: 9674.'
“Alright, stop fooling around,” Mirexia said, slightly flustered.
“Pfft.” Though her spirit was weak, Vanessa still had the energy to tease Mirexia.
This porridge was clearly made by Mirexia herself. As for the taste... well.
As a princess, Mirexia surely hadn't learned much about cooking. The fact that it tasted this decent was already impressive, no need to expect too much.
After finishing the porridge, Vanessa regained a little strength. She shifted her gaze and noticed her clothes hadn't been changed, she was still wearing the Carillian Academy uniform skirt she'd collapsed in. Only her hairpin had been removed.
Thinking about it, with Mirexia's personality, she probably wouldn't dare do such a thing. Plus, the situation had been urgent, there hadn't been time.
“Mirexia, can I see the potion I refined?” Vanessa asked once Mirexia had cleared away the dishes and returned.
Mirexia sighed upon hearing this.
She'd expected Vanessa's first concern upon waking would be the potion.
She took a box from the cabinet, opened it, and retrieved one light pink potion and three dark green ones.
Vanessa was curious about the purpose of the dark green potions, but in her current state, she couldn't test them.
Her gaze shifted to the light pink potion. In the sunlight, it faintly refracted a holy glow, the white foam floating within resembling the fluttering wings of an angel.
The century-lost 'Blessed Angel Kiss' had returned to the world.
Vanessa observed that the pink hue of her 'Blessed Angel Kiss' seemed paler than the one Aesphyra had given her last time. The one Aesphyra had was probably the four-winged angel version.
She'd drunk half a bottle of Aesphyra' four-winged 'Blessed Angel Kiss' last time. Now she'd returned a full bottle of the two-winged version, fair compensation, she supposed.
“By the way, Mirexia, how did you carry me back to your room?”
“Don't worry, no one saw during the process.” Mirexia was meticulous, just like how she'd rescued Vanessa and still managed to sort out the potions.
Otherwise, all of Vanessa's efforts would have been in vain.
Vanessa nodded.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I'm wondering, since I've been taking over your bed, where have you been sleeping these past few days?~” Vanessa asked with a smile.
“There's a bed in the study room, isn't there?” Mirexia replied.
“Oh, I see.” Vanessa gave Mirexia a teasing look, everything left unspoken.
“.......”
'Virtue + 50.'
'Current Virtue: 9724.'
Honestly.
Seeing Mirexia's reaction, Vanessa found it amusing.
If it were Aesphyra, she might act a bit less innocent, but Mirexia was different. Mirexia was far too honest, her thoughts focused solely on Vanessa's safety, even after confirming she was no longer in danger.
Vanessa glanced at the empty bottles on the counter, those were probably the alchemical medicines Mirexia had given her these past few days.
This debt of gratitude just kept growing.
Several days passed. During this time, Vanessa remained under Mirexia's care. As the classes approached, Vanessa finally regained enough strength to move and get out of bed before classes resumed.
However, due to the excessive loss of refined blood, she needed time to recover. Vanessa felt her magic capacity had decreased, she couldn't use [Holy Envoy] or [Divine Blessing] anymore. Only [Fortress Armour] remained unaffected and functional.
This significantly impacted her strength, but it wasn't a major issue.
After regaining mobility, Vanessa returned to her male form, Wen. He found that his abilities in this form weren't severely restricted. As long as [Armor Formation] worked, his male form's capabilities remained mostly intact.
Mirexia insisted on taking Winnie for a medical checkup. Reluctantly, Winnie agreed. After several rounds of examinations, the doctors found nothing seriously wrong. Still, Mirexia wasn't satisfied, running additional tests before she finally felt somewhat reassured.
This incident had severely impacted her female form, she'd lost an overpowered ability. This meant that if Winnie encountered a crisis he couldn't handle and decided to transform into Vanessa, he'd only summon a weakened version. She might collapse immediately after transformation, unable to even maintain balance, better not to transform at all.
On the other hand, Winnie worried whether Aesphyra had noticed his absence during this time and connected it to the potion refinement.
Now it seemed his concern was unnecessary.
After refining the 'Blessed Angel Kiss', Winnie searched the campus for Aesphyra. But when he asked members of the student council, he learned that Aesphyra had rarely shown up at the council lately, and hadn't appeared at all recently.
Wen's heart tightened. He realized the seriousness of the situation.
Given that tiny bread roll's personality, she wouldn't slack off like this without reason. Something must have happened to her.
Thus, Winnie went straight to Aesphyra' dormitory and knocked on the courtyard gate. No response came after a long wait.
“Aesphyra? Aesphyra??” Winnie's heart sank, growing tense.
Could it be... that something had happened to her??
He knocked several more times on the door, still receiving no answer.
No, If that white-haired nut were home, she'd definitely hear the noise. Even if she were playing a trick, she wouldn't ignore him like this.
Winnie grew anxious. He considered climbing over the wall to check inside. After repeated knocking failed, he couldn't hold back any longer.
Yet just as he was about to scale the wall, a familiar voice arrived, teasing as always.
“Winnie, after all this time apart, did you go to the mountains to learn how to be a monkey?”
“? Aesphyra??” Winnie abruptly turned, staring at the silver-haired petite figure wearing a large black bow at the back of her head. She held her chin, watching his current action with an amused expression.
“You??” Winnie felt both shocked and delighted, yet confused. “Where were you? The student council said you haven't been showing up. I knocked, and you didn't answer.”
Aesphyra' attire suggested she'd just returned from outside.
“Oh? Haven't seen you for a while, and Winnie misses me that much?” Aesphyra flipped a strand of hair before her ear, smirking.
“I miss you, my foot!” Winnie snapped, scrutinizing Aesphyra from head to toe.
Phew. He'd overthought it. She seemed perfectly fine.
“I thought you'd been holing up indoors, not answering knocks, ”
“Could I have collapsed at home, unable to call for help?” Aesphyra chuckled. “Winnie, your imagination is quite vivid. A shame you're not a novelist.”
“Fine, fine. I knew you weren't worth worrying about,” Winnie said, rolling his eyes.
Little Nut adapted well. If she felt unwell, she'd go to the infirmary herself.
“Oh? So Winnie really does care about me?” Aesphyra' lips curved slightly. “Am I that important in your heart?”
“Important, Little nut. Who cares about you? Such self-importance.” Winnie crossed his arms, feigning disdain. “I just came to check if you were still alive!”
Winnie's stubbornness was something Aesphyra had tasted plenty of before, yet she still found it endlessly entertaining. And besides...
'Virtue + 50.'
'Current Virtue: 9774.'
“By the way, where were you just now?” Winnie glanced at Aesphyra.
“Dining,” Aesphyra stepped past Winnie, approaching the courtyard gate, and used her student card to unlock it.
“Eating? Don't you usually cook for yourself?” Winnie asked. “Seriously, the student council said they rarely saw you. What's going on with you?”
“Winnie didn't just say he didn't care about me?” Aesphyra turned and smiled.
“Tch...” Winnie was about to retort when Aesphyra suddenly lowered her head and coughed several times.
She smoothly pulled out a silk handkerchief, caught the blood she'd spat, and casually tossed it into the trash bin by the door.
Aesphyra' hemoptysis seemed worse than last time.
Winnie understood now.
That silver-haired little nut had switched from her normal mode to energy-saving mode due to her deteriorating health, rarely going out, and only doing so to eat.
It seemed the injuries caused by the backlash from [Divine Blessing] and divine blood were truly severe, conditions that wouldn't improve with time, but only worsen.
“Hey, your symptoms... they haven't gotten worse, have they?”
“Don't worry, Winnie. I won't die just yet,” Aesphyra said lightly, as if the injury wasn't hers. “Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about how you'll pass this term's final exams.”
“That potion you gave me last time... can it cure your illness??” Winnie stopped bantering and asked seriously.
“Really? Suddenly asking this, could it be Winnie actually got his hands on a bottle?” Aesphyra replied with an amused tone.
####
Hemoptysis = Coughing Blood