The next morning, Lyra came with a box in her hand. She carefully held it and entered Aurora's room with a smile.

"Miss," Lyra said, "they found what you were looking for!"

She passed the box over to Aurora, who carefully opened it. Inside, the ruby sparkled in the light, its deep red hue radiating a warm glow.

"It's beautiful," Lyra said, peeking behind her.

"Just in time," Aurora smiled. Yesterday she had messed up and made Ruby angry. With this, hopefully it will fix their problem.

"Alright," Aurora closed the box. "Take this to the artisan you met before. Make sure he makes a beautiful necklace with this."

Lyra nodded full of energy. "Leave it to me, miss."

"I believe I haven't given you the money for the payment yet," Aurora opened her wardrobe.

"No, it's fine, miss," Lyra said. "Your father already gave me enough funds for whatever sudden needs you have. And that reminds me, your father told me that the mine and gems business is doing great. So he wondered what you want to do with the money? Are you interested in buying something?"

"Oh, finally," Aurora said. "Then please tell my father to buy Rona herb as much as possible."

"Rona herb?" Lyra said, confused. "Isn't that a cheap herb that's usually used for mosquito bites?"

"Yes," Aurora smiled. "Buy as much as possible."

"But...why?"

"Why not? It's my money, right? So I can use it however I want."

"Well, that's true, but..."

"And not just from this area," Aurora continued. "Buy all Kroma herb from all over the kingdom. I want every last one of them."

Lyra looked at her in disbelief. "Miss..."

"That's it," Aurora said, all smiles. "Please inform my father about it."

"I understand," Lyra said, finally giving up.

***

On the way to class, Aurora bumped into Ruby. They looked at each other in surprise.

"Good morning--" Aurora tried to greet her, but Ruby just took off, leaving her alone.

Aurora sighed. She was still angry.

With heavy steps, she entered the classroom.

Before the lesson began, the teacher had some announcements.

"Yesterday's potion results caught the interest of the Magic Associations," the teacher said. "The top three were invited to their lab to gain more experience. That's why Marina and Oliver are absent today. The same offer was given to Nova, but unfortunately she declined."

"I'm just not interested," Nova said, didn't care.

The teacher cleared his throat. "The point is, your results can catch the attention of high-ranking people. It will help your future. So take them as an example and try your best in your studies."

And with that, the lesson began.

***

"Kroma herb," Viscount Starlight muttered to himself in confusion.

For the last few days, he was happy. A random request from his daughter to buy an abandoned mine turned into a huge win. Aurora seemed to be loved by the goddess of fortune. He now owned one of the biggest gem mines in the kingdom.

Still, in the end, that mine was Aurora's idea. So he was going to give her most of the money he got from it. With that, he told her personal maid, Lyra, to ask his daughter what she wanted and what she would do with that money.

He was ready for unreasonable demands, even something like buying a castle or something. But she told him to buy Kroma herb.

Viscount Starlight scratches his head. "Kroma herb? If I remember correctly, isn't that a name for a cheap herb that is usually used for mosquito bites?"

"That's right, my lord," the butler said.

"Are you sure that's what she asked for?"

"Yes, that's exactly what Lyra said," the butler replied. "There's no mistake, she swore that was the young miss's request."

"But why?"

"I'm afraid I don't know."

Is it just another odd, random request from her daughter, the Viscont though, or is there a hidden meaning?

"And she wants a lot of it?" The Viscount asked.

"That's right," the butler said. "She wants all of them."

"Is she thinking of doing business with it?" The Viscount muttered. "But that doesn't make sense. They are cheap, abundant in numbers, and not really useful. The demand is low too. Or is there anything special about them that I'm not aware of?"

"I can't really say for sure," the butler said. "After all, the usefulness of herbs depends on the researcher. They might find new uses for them in the future. But so far, that's all there is to it."

"Didn't she say anything about it? The reason?"

The butler sighed. "She said, 'It's my money, right? So I can do anything with it'."

Viscount Starlight laughed. "My girl is something. Sure, if that's what she wants, just do it. If there's no more room to store it, we just need to make more room. If worst comes to worst, we still can sell it back."

"I understand, my lord," the butler said.

***

West side of town, inside a normal-looking building, a lot of important information being traded there. Unlike the outside, which is unremarkable, the interior is different. It is not inferior to a noble house, full of valuable books, paintings, and much more.

This is not surprising because it is the secret office of the infamous Information Guild.

A young man with purple hair, around twenty years old, sits in a chair. He is shuffling through a bunch of papers, checking reports from his subordinates.

"Anyway," said a bald guy who sit on a sofa not far from him, "that little maid appeared again today."

"Hm...? The one looking for us?" the purple-haired guy named Dante said.

"Right," the bald guy said. "She's looking for us because she wants to do business with us, right? Shouldn't we just invite her here?"

"Have you already figured out who she is?" Dante asked.

The bald guy nodded. "Her name is Lyra. She's a personal maid of Aurora Starlight, the only daughter of Viscount Starlight. It's unlikely that she herself is looking for us, so..."

"The little lady of Starlight must be behind this," Dante guessed.

"Right, and didn't their family just find a hidden gem mine? They obviously don't lack money. It could lead to big opportunities. So shouldn't we get in contact with her?"

"Don't get too excited," Dante said, putting a bunch of papers on the table. "We still don't know what she wants. Not to mention the weird actions."

"Weird?"

"That maid didn't bite when we laid a trap to make her come to a suspicious place, and she didn't bite when you tried to send clues, right? She's too careful and uncommitted to find us."

The bald guy nodded. "True, that feels half-assed. But isn't that just because the maid is lazy?"

"Probably," Dante said. "But then why didn't she send other people? As you said, they shouldn't lack money, she could hire more people to look for us."

"Then why?"

"Most likely just to get our attention. It's basically saying she's interested in making contact with us, but wanting us to make the first move."

"What's the point of doing that?" The bald guy was confused.

"To me, the message is clear," Dante said, smirking. "She's trying to say, 'You will need me more than I need you'."

The bald guy gulped. "Then... What are you going to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Dante said. "There's no way I will reject such an interesting invitation."

***