I shut my mouth.
Wolfgang, who had been babbling on like he had a motor in his mouth, and Zenric, were both silent as well.
Crack, cr-crack.
The sound of the floor splitting somehow sounded like a scream for mercy—was I the only one who thought that?
"…Uh."
Zenric and Wolfgang looked down at their feet, their faces pale.
The marble was shattered just a few centimeters away from their toes.
Had things gone even slightly differently, their feet might have ended up like that marble.
I shivered involuntarily, a chill crawling down my spine.
"Sacred…"
Then, an eerie voice rang out—one that I couldn't believe belonged to Lana.
"Who told you to speak such vile words… in this sacred temple…?"
Lana slowly lifted her bowed head.
Through her cascading silver hair, her vivid green eyes gleamed threateningly.
Absolutely terrifying…
"In a temple that's meant to be quiet and pure… you raise your voices and fight…?"
Whoever said Lana was timid—who were they?
She radiated so much pressure she shut up two strong-willed men in an instant.
"Having a difference of opinion means coming together and working things out—not shouting over each other to prove who's better. Should I really have to teach you that?"
"…"
"…"
"Aren't you both adults? If I brought in the young acolytes who work in the temple, I bet they'd understand better than the two of you."
"…Uh."
"Geniuses? What kind of geniuses can't even agree on one thing? I'm seriously worried that our acolytes will start thinking being a genius just means being the most insufferable person in the world."
…Wow, she's fierce.
Those words must've really stung the pride of two men who've always been hailed as geniuses, yet they couldn't say a thing back.
Well, looking at the completely wrecked marble floor, I guess all their complaints just melted away…
"As expected of Lady Lana. Things were about to blow up, so I brought the Saintess just in case. Glad I did."
Monica whispered to me then.
Wait, what does she mean by that?
"Oh, you didn't know Lady Lana is one of the enforcers of discipline in our temple?"
Enforcer? That timid-looking person?
"Well, it's not obvious since everyone in the temple is pretty gentle. But with outsiders? She doesn't hold back."
According to Monica, here's how it goes:
Because Lana uses divine power so efficiently, she's not just good at healing—she's also got excellent talent in physical reinforcement.
Apparently, before I became the Saintess, an outsider tried to scam the temple and got caught red-handed by Lana, who beat them so badly it raised dust even in the rain.
"Good thing Lady Lana was more interested in potion research. Otherwise, the head of the holy knights would've scouted her as a paladin ages ago."
"…"
She's got that much backbone?
What the heck. That's scary.
So this was why Airic trusted her so completely.
I stared blankly at Lana, who was basically hiding a demon on her back.
"Now then, what do you two have to say?"
Lana scolded the two of them like a preschool teacher.
Zenric and Wolfgang, with their hands folded and eyes glued to the floor, opened their mouths meekly.
"…We were wrong."
"We're sorry."
The teacher, satisfied with their very appropriate answer, smiled brightly.
"Admitting your mistakes—how admirable! Now you're finally acting like real adults!"
I couldn't take it anymore.
"Pffft…"
"A-Ah, Lady Saintess!"
When I finally burst out laughing, the three of them finally noticed my presence and turned to look at me.
Lana's face turned bright red.
"I-I'm sorry! Um, I mean, I broke the floor… I-I'll pay for the damages!"
"No, no. Of course, the repairs should come from the temple's funds."
Pay for it, my foot.
Thanks to Lana, who managed to rein in those two eccentric alchemists, it actually worked out in our favor.
Besides, the 3,000 gold Lute had paid as an advance was still untouched.
I hadn't offered it up as a donation.
I needed it for the potion business, and more importantly, I was planning to renovate the entire temple.
"I came to check how things were going…"
I glanced over at Lana, Zenric, and Wolfgang carefully.
"Yeah, looks like I don't need to worry."
Now that they'd seen Lana's combat prowess, they'd probably fall in line on their own.
Zenric and Wolfgang both wore gloomy expressions, clearly catching the implication in my words.
Well, if they'd behaved properly from the start, they wouldn't have had to go through that mess. They brought it on themselves.
As expected, from that day on, there were far fewer loud arguments coming from the potion lab.
They still bickered from time to time, but that was just normal creative friction from working together.
And so, two weeks after Lana's destructive force was revealed to the team—
A new potion sample, created through the combination of divine power and alchemy, was finally completed.
"Oh, that was quick."
I looked at the sample the potion development team nervously brought over.
A clear orange liquid sloshed inside the bottle.
"Heh heh heh. Didn't I say I'm a certified genius? I worked hard, of course."
Zenric smiled dopily, with dark circles sinking down to his chin.
"…Did you stay up all night? What's with your face?"
Having grown more comfortable with them over the past two weeks, I asked casually. Zenric gave me a big thumbs-up and shouted energetically.
"You said we'd get a bonus, so I had no reason to say no! I worked hard!"
That wasn't… what I meant when I said there'd be extra pay.
And to top it off, Wolfgang was in the same sorry state.
"…You too, Wolfgang?"
"The more hours I put in, the sooner we could finish the sample. Why would I refuse?"
A perfectly reasonable answer, but judging by the way Zenric snorted at him, it seemed like he had the same motivation: money above all.
I turned to Lana, who at least looked better in comparison. Still avoiding eye contact, she kept her head lowered.
"Still, it seems Priestess Lana got some decent sleep."
"…Actually, I also… stayed up all night… with them…"
Really? For someone who did, she didn't look too bad.
"Th-thanks to divine power…"
So, in other words, she was self-healing as she worked through the night.
Are they all that desperate for money? I didn't expect them to work this hard...
"…Health comes first, so make sure you get some sleep. Don't skip meals either."
"We've been eating on time! Meals are free, after all!"
What a thing to be proud of.
I shook my head at Zenric's proud exclamation.
After the brief greetings, Wolfgang began explaining the potion.
"So, based on our research, divine power and alchemy are actually a very compatible combination."
"Really?"
"Yes. Since it's something that hasn't really been attempted before, we didn't have any existing research to reference. We had to go through trial and error, but it was a very enjoyable process."
Wolfgang smiled in satisfaction, and Zenric nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"Every time we fixed a mistake through research, it gave me such a thrill."
And the way they both grinned darkly… yeah, they really did enjoy it.
They say all alchemists are crazy about research—guess that's true. Their personalities might be polar opposites, but they're equally insane when it comes to their work.
"However, the current version isn't good enough for immediate sale. We wouldn't even recoup the cost of materials."
"At this point, it can only heal minor cuts at best."
Yeah… not exactly a hot-selling item.
"Still, we wanted to show you it has potential. With more effort, I'm confident we can create something far better than your average alchemy potion."
"Good. You all did well."
Honestly, getting these results from a first attempt was pretty impressive.
"Phew, thank you!"
But for some reason, instead of being happy, the three of them looked relieved at my praise.
It was obvious they'd been worried I might scold them for bringing me something useless.
Guess the alchemists had heard about my reputation too…
Even if I told them I'm not like that, they probably wouldn't believe me, so I let it slide.
"I'll have the kitchen prepare a special meal—make sure you eat well and get plenty of rest today. You've worked hard, and I'm counting on you all moving forward."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Lana, still with her head down, wobbled as she left the reception room.
Zenric happily slapped her on the back, and Wolfgang pinched his side for being too familiar.
After spending nearly 20 days together, they seemed to have grown pretty close.
Now that I had a sample in hand… it was time to carry out the next step.
I took the potion and headed to the bathroom, avoiding the eyes of Victoria and Monica.
Standing in front of the sink, holding a paper knife, I really did look like… a crazy person.
But there was something I had to do.
I cut the tip of my finger with the knife. Blood started to trickle out.
After checking the wound, I took a sip of the potion.
"Tastes pretty good. Must've been Zenric's idea."
I'd heard that some potions tasted like absolute garbage, but our self-proclaimed genius Zenric must've cared about that too.
"Oh, it's really healing."
Before long, the wound began to close.
Still, even though it was a shallow cut, the healing was slow—and incomplete.
Now it was time for the real test.
I checked the knife's blade… and then slashed a deep cut across my forearm.