[One Month Later – Tuesday Morning | Alchemy Department, Mana Theory Lab]
The morning sunlight filtered in through the tall glass panes, casting golden rays across the lab. The scent of faint mana ink and melted copper filled the air Kael was hunched over his notebook, brow slightly furrowed, but this time with a confident grin tugging at his lips.
"Yes!" Kael jumped to his feet. "Finally, I can draw a mana circle properly."
Phoebe, seated across from him, didn't even lift her eyes from her mana regulator crystal. "Calm down, handsome," she muttered, twirling a pen between her fingers. "That's just a basic mana circle."
Kael raised an eyebrow, still grinning. "Yeah, and that still counts as an accomplishment. Don't ruin the moment."
Phoebe rolled her eyes, but her smirk gave her away. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, prodigy boy."
Kael laughed lightly, then rummaged through his storage ring. "Oh, right. I got your thing."
Phoebe looked up. "What thing?"
Kael held out his hand and gently placed the arcane-class mana crystal on the table. The pure, shimmering blue-violet energy within the crystal pulsed like a heartbeat. The room seemed to vibrate subtly with its mana resonance.
"W-WHAT?!" Phoebe shrieked, jumping from her seat. She launched forward and wrapped Kael in a tight hug.
"YOU ACTUALLY GOT IT?!"
Kael stumbled slightly, startled. "Oof h-hey not that tight!"
Realizing what she'd done, she immediately leapt back, cheeks flushed bright pink. "S-Sorry! That was… I just… you know… wow." She looked down at the crystal in her hand as if it were a divine artifact. "This is… priceless…"
Kael shrugged coolly. "No need to thank me. It was our deal, remember?"
Phoebe still looked at him, stunned. "Yeah, but… damn, you must be loaded or something to just drop an arcane-class crystal like that."
Kael smirked. "Not exactly. Let's just say… I know a guy."
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "A guy?"
"Well, girl to be precise."
She crossed her arms. "A sugar mommy?"
Kael almost choked. "What no! Gross." He waved his hands. "She's my sister.It's complicated."
Phoebe burst into laughter. "Relax, I'm joking… mostly." She carefully placed the crystal into a mana-sealed vial. "Still, thanks. This… this could save my sister."
Kael softened, his smile genuine now. "I hope it does."
There was a brief moment of silence as they locked eyes. Then Phoebe cleared her throat and suddenly acted busy. "S-So… one month vacation starts this weekend, huh?"
Kael leaned on the desk. "Yeah. Haven't planned anything yet."
Phoebe didn't look at him as she scribbled something on a piece of paper. Then she casually slid it across the table. "Well… if you're not too busy, you could swing by my place. I could use a genius like you."
Kael blinked and looked at the paper. It had her address… and her personal number.
"…Me? Genius?" he asked, teasing.
She gave him a side glance. "Learning mana circles in under a year? Yeah. That qualifies."
Kael smiled, eyes soft. "I had a good teacher."
Phoebe looked away, hiding her face behind her bangs. "Stop sweet-talking me. It won't work."
Kael pocketed the paper with a smirk. "Trust me… one day it will."