A week had passed.

Aurora woke up with a smile on her face. It had been a week since Marina and Oliver had been absent from class, which meant that today they would be back with that news.

Things were finally starting to pick up.

She sat down with a cup of warm tea and some sweets on the table. She couldn't wait to hear the news.

"Miss, I'm back," Lyra said as she opened the door, holding a box in her hands.

Aurora looked at her with a curious expression, "So, how did it go?"

"It's done!" Lyra exclaimed with a sense of accomplishment as she approached her employer.

She passed the box over to Aurora, who opened it and took a quick glance inside before closing it again. "Good job," Aurora praised her with a smile.

"Thank you, miss," Lyra replied with a warm smile of her own.

"Why don't you sit down and have some tea with me?" Aurora suggested, gesturing to the table where a pot of tea and a plate of sweets were laid out. "These sweets are really nice."

Lyra nodded in agreement and took a seat, pouring herself a cup of tea to enjoy while they chatted.

***

Aurora spotted Ruby on her way to class and was about to call out to her, but decided against it. She figured that it wasn't the right moment to give her a gift.

So, she silently followed her into the class.

Marina and Oliver were already there, talking with several students who were interested in what they had experienced at the lab of the Magic Association. From their conversation, it seemed like they were still holding onto the news.

Aurora took a seat and cast a quick glance towards Ruby. She too was looking at her. For a moment their eyes locked, but Ruby quickly blinked, realizing what had happened, and avoided Aurora's gaze once again.

The potion-making teacher walked into the class and Aurora could tell from his expression that he was in a good mood, which was a good thing for her as well, since it meant that the news was finally here.

She glanced towards the front row, at Nova Wilder. She didn't seem to have done anything to change the future either. Which is again a good thing for her.

The teacher began by pulling out a potion from his pocket. It was the same type of potion they had made around a week ago, a weak health potion with a dark blue color.

But something different in the middle of the potion. It looks kind of glowing. 

"This is the result of Marina and Oliver's journey at the Lab of Magic Association," the teacher said. "Turns out, both of them are more than qualified at creating amazing potions, even more so than a professional."

Marina and Oliver both blushed in embarrassment.

"As you can see," the teacher continued. "this potion is a little different than the normal weak potion we made last time. This glow was successfully created by them using unexpected ingredients, making it 10 times stronger than an ordinary weak potion."

"That's insane," one student said.

"That's great and all," another student said. "But is that really a big deal?"

"Yeah, isn't calling it insane overdoing it?"

"Hey, stop mocking other people's achievements!"

"I'm just saying..."

"Shut up, you don't know anything!"

The teacher clapped his hand, pulling attention back to him. "I understand that some of you may not understand why this is a big deal. That's normal, you're all still learning. So let me explain why this is important."

The teacher pulled out a normal potion from his pocket. "If you've already mastered the potion-making process, you can try to improve it by adding or changing some of the ingredients. Professionals do it all the time. I used to do it before I decided to become a teacher."

He put the potion on the table. "The change can be small, sometimes it's big. But here's the thing, what people consider a big improvement is usually around two times better than the original. An improvement of just ten percent is already a good thing."

"I see," one of the students who had complained said, "If it's compared to that, I can see how it's amazing."

The other student nodded in agreement.

The teacher smiled. "And that's not the end of it. A master from the Magic Association theorized that using the same ingredient, this effect can be recreated in other types of potions, like anti-venom potions for example. Making it ten times more potent."

"So does that mean all potions will be a few times better soon?" someone asked. 

The teacher nodded. "Possibly. That's why the Magic Association made an exception and will let both Marina and Oliver work part-time there. It's their finding after all. It's only fair for them to continue researching their finding and keep making improvements. So in the future, they might be absent a lot."

"A break from studying, I'm jealous," a random student said.

"They didn't go there just for fun, stupid," Ruby said.

Aurora immediately looked at her. Ruby noticed and reflexively looked away.

"Anyway, that's the end of the announcement," the teacher said. "Now let's begin the class."

***

Class is over.

Aurora walked over to Ruby and stood beside her, trapping her against the wall.

Ruby squirmed in her seat, avoiding Aurora's gaze. 

"W-what?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Aurora let out a deep sigh. "Are you still upset about what happened that day?" she asked, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Ruby replied quickly. "I'm not mad anymore. So... Can you please let me go now?"

"No!" Aurora exclaimed, her voice firm. "We're not done yet. Please, look at me."

Ruby let out a sigh, but obliged and met Aurora's gaze. Her blue eyes were intense, and Ruby felt a warmth creep onto her cheeks.

"Wh-what now...?" Ruby stammered, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Aurora smiled. "Finally, you're looking at me. I can't do this if you don't pay attention properly."

"Do what--" Ruby started to ask, but was interrupted as Aurora pushed a box into her chest, letting go and allowing Ruby to reflexively grab it before it fell.

"What is it...?" Ruby stared at the box, confused. 

Aurora smiled and answered, "It's a gift from me."

"Gift?" Ruby asked.

"Why don't you try to open it?" Aurora encouraged her.

Glancing nervously at Aurora, Ruby slowly opened the box. The first thing she noticed was something red inside. Then her gaze settled. She knew exactly what it was because she had a huge collection of that gemstone at home. It was a necklace, with a ruby in it, like her name.

"You like gemstones, right? So, I hope you like it," Aurora said with a little smile. "So, about what happened that day, Aurora nervously looked at her own hand. Nova wanted to talk about the abandoned mine, right? My family bought that mine, and it's actually full of gems. I had this idea that I want to gift you gems from there. That's why I told you to go first. I was worried if you stayed, it would ruin the surprise."

Aurora looked up, nervous about what reaction Ruby would show. Would she be happy? Would she be angry? But what she saw was Ruby's crying face.

"I'm sorry..." Ruby sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

"Why are you apologizing?" Aurora reached out and gently wiped Ruby's tears with her finger. "You really are a crybaby."

Ruby quickly wiped her own tears, pouting slightly. 

"I'm not," she insisted.

"Sorry," Aurora smiled, her expression softening.

Ruby looked down at the box, taking in the sight of the beautiful ruby nestled inside. She hugged the box tightly. 

"Thank you," she said, her voice choked with emotion.

Aurora's face broke out into a relieved smile. "Sure, anytime."

***

As the man walked into the Magic Association office, he was greeted by an old man with a long white beard sitting behind a desk. 

The man cleared his throat and said, "I have some bad news, Director. We're running low on Kroma herb. The stock in the market is pretty limited and the price has gone up more than a hundred percent. When our finding becomes more widely known, things will get worse."

The old man let out a sigh and said, "Yes, unfortunately. Have you found out why this widely available herb is suddenly disappearing?"

"Well, around a week ago, someone started hiring people to buy huge amounts of Kroma herb all over the kingdom, but for no clear reason," the man replied.

The old man's eyes widened, "Is it possible that our research leaked?"

"I'd like to think so, but no," the man said. "They started buying the herb a few days before we found out about its hidden functions. It might not be connected."

The old man nodded, "But the timing is suspicious. Does that mean someone already knows about this? Or maybe..."

The man interrupted, "What should we do, Director?"

The old man thought for a moment before asking, "Have you found out who bought the herb?"

"We're still not sure, but some people say it was a noble family," the man replied.

The old man grumbled, "Just our luck. They're planning to monopolize the herb, eh?"

The man nodded, "Even if we found out who bought it, we might not be able to do anything if it's a noble."

The old man let out a sigh, "At this point, we can only wait for their next move. Hopefully, this won't be a hindrance to the our development of new potions."

***