Chapter 80: The Art of Making People Wait
A few minutes later, Max stepped out with damp hair, looking noticeably fresher—and, for some reason, in an exceptionally good mood.
He threw himself straight back into work.
And somehow...
Everything just seemed to click.
Whether it was because he’d finally reunited two old friends after keeping them apart for far too long, or for some entirely unrelated reason, even Max couldn’t say.
Whatever the cause, the runes flowed from his hands more smoothly than ever before. His engraving speed increased noticeably, and the number of mistakes dropped with every pipe he completed.
Or perhaps...
For the first time in what felt like ages, his mind wasn’t busy planning the next perverted system task.
Whatever the reason, the results spoke for themselves.
Normally, each completed batch only shaved ten or fifteen minutes off his brewing time as he gradually improved through practice.
This time, however...
He cut nearly forty minutes from his record in a single batch.
By only a few hours past midday, the first batch was already complete.
"Hahaha... now who’s the genius?" Max said, looking proudly at the twelve small bottles lined neatly across the table, each filled with a clear crimson-red potion.
He grinned even wider.
"Max’s a genius."
Naturally, he answered his own question.
There wasn’t anyone else around to argue with him.
For the first time, he’d managed to squeeze twelve Minor Healing Potions out of a single batch of herbs, finally breaking through the limit he’d been stuck at.
That meant he could stop chasing quantity.
Now he could start focusing on quality instead.
Unfortunately...
Potion brewing proved far less cooperative than Max’s ego.
Even after putting in considerably more effort during the second batch, the best improvement he managed was trimming another twenty minutes off the brewing time.
By the time he finished, the moon had already climbed into the sky.
Zerena, however...
Still hadn’t returned home.
Max had actually been looking forward to surprising Zerena.
Four extra potions.
Without spending a single additional unit on herbs.
From her perspective, that was practically free profit.
And if there was one thing capable of improving Zerena’s mood, it was discovering she’d somehow earned more money than expected.
Max, naturally, was hoping that good mood might also lead to a few... productive activities before bed.
Unfortunately...
The only thing that arrived was a phone call.
He answered immediately, wearing a smile that could’ve qualified as suspiciously optimistic.
Instead of praise, however, a calm voice greeted him from the other end.
"Did you finish the potions?"
Max’s enthusiasm lost a little height.
Still smiling, he answered, "Yeah. When are you coming back, Aunt?"
"Tomorrow around noon," Zerena replied. "Since you’ll have nothing to do in the morning, take the potions to the army outpost. Bring the laboratory license with you—they’ll record the delivery there."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"After that, buy another set of herbs."
Another short pause followed.
For perhaps the first time since she’d started giving instructions, Zerena sounded ever so slightly hesitant.
"...So we can focus on earning some more points for the next batch of potions."
The disappointment that had been quietly growing with every new instruction disappeared the moment Max heard her last sentence.
A smile returned to his face.
"I’ll take care of it, Aunt. Don’t worry."
He was just about to tell her he’d managed to increase the number of potions from a single batch.
Unfortunately...
Zerena had already hung up.
Max stared at the silent phone for a second.
It was less of a conversation and more of a one-way announcement with occasional opportunities for him to say "yes."
Shrugging, he looked back at the row of potion bottles lined neatly across the table.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Well... if she doesn’t want to hear about them, I guess I’m keeping them."
With that, he calmly stored the four extra potions away.
After all, if Zerena was going to end the call before he could even mention them, then clearly they hadn’t been important enough for her.
So, with another disappointingly quiet morning ahead of him, Max resigned himself to introducing his hands to their old friend first thing after waking up.
Some reunions, apparently, remained inevitable.
After taking care of that particularly private morning routine, he headed into town.
Before long, he found himself standing in front of Yennefer’s herb shop—the same one he’d been meaning to visit again ever since his last trip.
Pushing the door open, he stepped inside.
An amused voice greeted him almost immediately.
"Well, well... look who decided to show up."
Yennefer looked up from behind the counter, a smile already spreading across her face.
Max returned it with one of his own.
"So," she continued, clearly enjoying herself already, "where’s that old grandma of yours? She didn’t come by yesterday either."
"She went back to the city..." Max replied, sounding a little awkward.
Come to think of it...
It had been several days since he’d held a normal conversation with anyone besides Zerena.
Most of his recent interactions had revolved around potion brewing, system tasks, and increasingly questionable business arrangements.
Standing inside an ordinary herb shop again almost felt... unfamiliar.
Before Yennefer could continue questioning him, Max decided to get to the point.
"I need some herbs—"
Yennefer rolled her eyes before he could finish.
"Let me guess," she interrupted. "Redleaf, Sunpetal, Azureleaf, Silverroot Powder, and Mana Water."
Max didn’t look surprised; he was well aware of where the supplies had been coming from. Yennefer waved a hand at the boy in the corner, sending him into the storage room."She has been clearing my shelves every day for a week," Yennefer said, her irritation evident. "Look, I like the profit, but she is definitely hiding her work. What is she making? It’s been bugging the hell out of me..."
Max froze, unsure of how much he should say. He settled for a neutral smile.
Yennefer mirrored the expression, her eyes narrowing as she leaned in. "...but you know what she’s doing with them, don’t you?"