The Miracle Potion and the Sleepless Night

Liyahiss walked back, her thoughts replaying the events from the bar.

The red-haired beauty had dined and dashed, and the staff member had suddenly agreed to let her go. The change was too abrupt not to arouse suspicion. The red-haired beauty must have used some underhanded method.

Perhaps she could bewitch people, or maybe she could hypnotize them, just as I can?

There was too little information. It seemed a personal visit to the red-haired beauty’s home would be necessary to uncover the truth.

As she observed the shops lining the street, Liyahiss kept her ears pricked, diligently searching for any useful information.

“Have you heard? A scholar has developed an unprecedented miracle potion!”

“A miracle potion? How miraculous? What does it do?”

“I also heard it’s going to be at the auction tonight. As for what it does… well, we’ll find out then.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense! Spit it out, or I’ll beat the hell out of you!”

“Tsk! Young people these days have no patience. Fine, I’ll tell you. Drinking the potion is said to trigger a second phase of physical development, with immediate results.”

What? Could that be true?

Liyahiss held her breath, listening with even greater intensity.

“Huh? It can make someone develop that quickly? Aren’t there any side effects?”

“Now that’s beyond my knowledge. But one thing is certain—tonight’s auction is destined to be a sleepless night for many.”

“If the potion’s effects are real, there’ll be no shortage of spectators. Maybe even people from other races?”

“The competition will be fierce. People like us, with no money, shouldn’t even bother joining the fray.”

“We can’t even go watch just because we’re not buying? This is a once-in-a-century miracle potion we’re talking about!”

“But you need an admission ticket just to get inside, and we can’t afford one.”

“What? So we can’t even watch? Forget it. I’m just going to go home and contemplate my existence.”

“Don’t make lying down and giving up sound so profound!”

An admission ticket? She remembered that the grand prize she had won for free was exactly that. Now, she simply had to go and see for herself.

Liyahiss returned to her residence and, over dinner, mentioned that she would be going out to an auction that evening. Upon hearing this, Hillisa produced a glittering gold card from her bodice and handed it to Liyahiss.

“Master, there are one billion gold coins on this card. Please try to spend it wisely.”

How much? One billion? Was she sure this wasn’t embezzled from the national treasury?

Never mind. It didn’t matter. After all, if she truly wanted it, money was something she could obtain in any amount.

When evening fell and the auction was about to begin, Liyahiss donned a mask before leaving. She only ever revealed her true face to those she knew well.

The streets teemed with an endless stream of pedestrians, most of them heading toward the auction house. It was impossible that they were all attending, of course; without admission tickets, they could only wait outside for the event to conclude and hope to glean some news.

Before she knew it, she had arrived. Guards stood at the entrance, checking each participant’s admission ticket one by one. An attendant led her through a few winding corridors and into the auction hall.

Liyahiss chose a seat in the very last row; with her magically enhanced vision, she could see everything with perfect clarity, even from a great distance.

Meanwhile, in a VIP suite…

“How are the preparations coming along?”

“Your Excellency, after much difficulty, I have managed to gather one hundred million gold coins. Our success in acquiring our target is all but guaranteed.”

“Are you so certain?”

“This suite is ours alone. It seems our rivals couldn’t even secure a private suite. It’s clear their families aren’t as wealthy as we thought.”

“That makes sense. My dream can finally be realized! Ahahaha!”