Chapter 73 : Chapter 73
Ryan remembered now.
Cosette had indeed mentioned several times that there was a kind and capable maid big sister who often helped her.
He had assumed she was merely a servant from some ordinary household. He had not expected someone with such bearing.
The Herbert family?
That was a rather prominent earl family from the southern part of the Empire.
“I see.” Ryan’s tone softened slightly. “Thank you for looking after Cosette. It was my oversight. I should have prepared these things for her myself long ago.”
“You flatter me, Young Master Velt.” Lano smiled faintly, and that smile seemed to brighten the very air around her. “Being able to help Miss Cosette brings me joy as well. She is as adorable as a little sister to me.”
As she spoke, she set the cloth book bag she had been carrying onto the small side table by the door. From it, she took out two beautifully bound children’s primers filled with illustrations and handed them to Cosette, whose eyes were already full of anticipation.
“These are the ones I borrowed for you this time. Have you finished the last two?”
“I finished them!” Cosette took the new books and hugged them to her chest as though they were treasures. Then she hurried back to her bed, took out the two older books she had carefully preserved, and handed them back to Lano. “Thank you, Big Sister Lano!”
Ryan’s gaze drifted casually across the open book bag.
Inside were several more books of varying thickness. The titles on their spines flashed by in an instant—Demonstration of the Core Principles of Fire Element Theory, Deductive Study of the Empire’s Magical Elemental Periodic Theory… all of them were dense and obscure theoretical works.
It seemed that her master was the standard scholarly type.
Just as he was about to look away, one book with a dark blue cover near the outer edge of the bag caught his attention.
A Comparative Study of the Similarity in Alchemical Material Properties Between the Empire and the Northern Orc Kingdom.
At almost the exact moment he saw the title, the Eye of Probability, which had been silent for some time, activated passively again. Several lines of illusory text quietly appeared above the book:
【Read this book, obtain key information, and successfully apply it to the current crisis】
【Probability of winning the wager: 80%】
Such a high probability was almost a direct declaration that the breakthrough lay within it.
Ryan suppressed the emotions surging inside him and maintained a calm exterior. He pointed at the dark blue book.
“Miss Lano, that book… seems rather interesting. Would it be convenient for me to borrow it and look through it?”
Following his gesture, Lano looked at the book. A trace of perfectly measured surprise appeared on her face before melting into a faint smile.
“Of course, Young Master Velt. I borrowed this one for myself, but if it interests you, please take it first. I do not need it urgently. You may return it after you have finished.”
“That hardly seems appropriate.”
“You are too polite.” Lano took out the book and handed it over with both hands, her posture respectful. “The value of books lies in being read and contemplated. For it to meet a reader interested in it is a kind of fortune for the book.”
“My master is deeply devoted to the study of magical theory and often needs to consult all kinds of texts. Being constantly exposed to that, I have also picked up the habit of reading miscellaneous books here and there. I hope you will not laugh at me for it.”
Ryan accepted the heavy volume.
It had a deep blue hard cover, and the gold-stamped title was already somewhat worn: A Comparative Study of the Similarity in Alchemical Material Properties Between the Empire and the Northern Orc Kingdom (Third Revised Edition).
The spine was thick, and the edges had been turned so often that they had begun to whiten slightly.
“Thank you.” Ryan nodded to the maid who called herself Lano. “I will return it as soon as I finish reading.”
Lano smiled and lowered herself in an elegant curtsy, flawless in every movement.
“You are too courteous, Young Master Velt. To provide convenience for one eager to learn is an honor for the book, and also an honor for me.”
As she turned, her pink hair traced a soft arc through the air. Those eyes that seemed able to draw in all attention gave Cosette one last glance, carrying a gentle smile, before she softly closed the dormitory door behind her.
After the faint click of the door shutting, silence returned to the dormitory.
Only the crackling of firewood in the hearth remained, together with the soft rustle of pages as Cosette carefully flipped through her new storybooks.
Ryan walked to the desk and sat down, turning the oil lamp up a little. The dim yellow glow fell across the dark blue cover.
He opened the book.
The pages were made of fine parchment, and the printing was clear. Yet between the pages there were many handwritten notes and annotations in neat script, all written in some kind of dark purple ink that did not fade easily.
Most of the annotations were supplements to the main text, doubts raised against it, or further lines of thought. They involved fine details of mana fluctuations, comparisons between different scholars’ opinions, and even several simplified formula derivations.
The depth and professionalism of these notes far exceeded what an ordinary maid—or even most students of the Magi-Engineering Department—should possess.
A trace of suspicion flashed through Ryan’s mind.
Who exactly was this Lano? And what kind of person was her master who studied magical theory?
But at this moment, the “80%” given by the Eye of Probability flickered in the depths of his mind like a warning lamp, making him temporarily suppress the urge to investigate further and focus instead on the contents of the book.
The structure of the book was very clear.
The first half systematically organized the mana properties, growth environments, processing methods, and primary uses of the various common alchemical materials found within the Empire.
The second half introduced the plants, minerals, and biological materials produced by the Northern Orc Kingdom that resembled imperial alchemical materials either in mana properties or outward appearance. It focused especially on the differences and similarities between them, the risk of confusion, and the feasibility and cost of substituting one for the other under extreme circumstances.
Ryan quickly scanned the table of contents, his eyes passing over chapter titles one after another:
Comparative Stability of Ice-Attribute Active Materials, Differences Between Natural and Artificial Cold-Attribute Mana Carriers, Critical Conditions for Mana Inertness and Activation in Low-Temperature Environments…
His finger stopped on the title of Chapter Four:
Cases of Misuse and Accidents Caused by Similar Appearance.
He turned to that page.
At the beginning of the chapter, several famous historical accidents were listed. In every case, apothecaries or alchemists had mistakenly used materials from the Orc Kingdom that resembled imperial materials in appearance, resulting in explosions, poisonings, or bizarre mana contamination incidents.
Each case included a detailed description of the process, comparative illustrations of the materials, and excerpts from the compositional analysis reports after the accidents.
Ryan turned the pages one by one.
He read quickly, but he carefully weighed every word.
The annotations in the margins became even denser here. Some supplemented details of the cases, some proposed different angles of interpretation, and some were marked with phrases like “doubtful” and “requires further verification.”
Then he reached Section Seven of Chapter Four.
Its title was:
Mistaken Identification of Ice Crystal Flower (A Specialty of the Empire’s Northern Territories) and Frostvine (Unique to the Orc Kingdom’s Everfrost Wasteland), and Analysis of Malicious Accidents.
Ryan’s breathing stalled slightly. He slowed down and began reading word by word.
The main text first displayed side-by-side botanical illustrations of the two full plants, microscopic images of their dried petal and vine slices, and comparative mana spectra after both had been ground into powder.
To the naked eye, especially after being ground into medium-coarse powder, the two were extremely similar in color—both a grayish white with a faint violet tint. It was almost impossible to distinguish them by appearance alone.
The crucial difference lay in their mana properties.