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Duke Clovis suddenly appeared behind Erika, placing his hand on her shoulder, his expression extremely stern.
Seeing her father unexpectedly show up behind her, Erika felt a little nervous.
She thought that her plan to sneak away had been discovered.
Her eyes darted around as she considered a countermeasure, but then she heard Duke Clovis ask,
“Explain to me, why were you able to last so long on the magic formation just now?”
Hearing Duke Clovis’s question, Erika immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Her tense smile eased up.
“Oh, so it’s about that.”
She circled behind the Duke and whispered mysteriously, “It’s because I have a treasure!”
“Treasure?”
Duke Clovis was puzzled. What kind of treasure could be so effective that it greatly strengthened Erika’s mental power?
Erika proudly told her father,
“It’s something from Professor Victor.”
“What? Victor’s?”
Hearing that name, Duke Clovis was completely dumbfounded.
He had long known that Victor was a genius, having already become a professor at such a young age.
Had Victor already developed an artifact that could enhance mental power?
No, that wasn’t the main point!
The key issue was—why did Victor’s artifact end up in Erika’s hands?
Did Victor give this kind of thing to Erika? Was he trying to win her favor?
Duke Clovis instantly became furious, feeling a surge of rage boiling inside him.
“Damn that Victor, so he’s still thinking about Erika!”
He wished he could twist off that bastard Victor’s head right now!
Daring to covet his precious daughter—he must pay the price!
Then he suddenly realized something was off. Wasn’t Erika always annoyed by Victor?
Why was she speaking of Victor now with such pride!?
The more Duke Clovis thought about it, the more wrong it felt—Victor was clearly trying to deceive his daughter!
Erika saw Duke Clovis’s reaction and pulled out a small blue potion from her bag.
“What is this?”
Duke Clovis looked at the potion in her hand with curiosity.
A blue potion—this was something he had never seen before.
“I bought this from Professor Victor’s artifact shop, only 1,000 Gio per bottle!”
Duke Clovis: “…….”
Misunderstanding cleared.
He had thought Victor had lured Erika in the academy.
Now it seemed it wasn’t what he had imagined at all.
Looking at the potion in Erika’s hand, he was suddenly stunned.
“Wait!”
“Erika, how much did you say this thing cost?”
Duke Clovis doubted his own ears—1,000 Gio? He must have misheard.
Erika puffed out her chest and proudly repeated, “1,000 Gio!”
Duke Clovis: “…….”
Since when did he raise such a wasteful daughter?
Forget it, forget it, she’s his own daughter—his own flesh and blood.
Taking a deep breath, Duke Clovis suppressed his anger and forced a smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. He said to Erika,
“I don’t recall ever teaching you to spend money recklessly.”
Hearing her father say this, Erika immediately refuted,
“I didn’t waste money!”
“Right now, your mental power is no longer sufficient to sustain the magic formation, correct?”
Duke Clovis nodded.
Just as Erika had pointed out, despite having numerous Tier 2 mages supplying mana, his own mental power was already mostly drained, forcing him to rest.
This was something no mage could avoid.
Even if one possessed immense magical power, without enough mental strength to control it, mana couldn’t be mobilized, formations couldn’t be maintained, runes couldn’t be carved, and spells couldn’t be cast.
If someone could continuously cast magic for three days and nights without collapsing from exhaustion—
There was no need for further discussion; that person should just go straight to the grand tournament and prove themselves.
Bragging should at least have some limits.
That said, Duke Clovis recalled Erika sustaining the magic formation for five hours straight.
Could it be related to this potion?
“Try this.”
Erika uncapped the potion and handed it to her father.
Duke Clovis frowned at the small bottle of blue liquid, feeling some resistance. It didn’t look like anything good.
“This… liquid… looks just like artificially colored industrial waste.”
Could this stuff even taste good?
“Hurry up and drink it!”
Erika urged him impatiently.
At her insistence, Duke Clovis suppressed his reluctance and gulped it down.
Whoosh!
A faint blue glow flickered across his body.
Almost instantly, his mental power was restored by nearly half.
It was enough for him to continue casting spells.
He felt his previously exhausted mind become significantly refreshed.
Duke Clovis rubbed his temples, his fatigue almost completely gone.
As a high-level mage who had been at Tier 3 for over thirty years, he clearly understood just how astonishing the effects of this potion were.
Making sure no one was watching, he discreetly pocketed the empty bottle, leaned close to Erika, and whispered,
“Do not spread word of this, at least not yet!”
“Tell me, how many bottles do you have left?”
Erika counted on her fingers.
She had bought ten bottles at once. One had been wasted at home for testing, four were consumed while sustaining the formation, and her father had just drunk one to recover his mental power. That meant…
“Four bottles.”
Duke Clovis gripped Erika’s shoulders and lowered his head, speaking seriously.
“Until we return to the capital, you must keep this a secret.”
“If word gets out now, those with ill intentions will target you.”
“You can’t handle this on your own. Give them to me—I can keep them safe.”
Hearing this, Erika sighed and shook her head.
“No way, I spent a lot of my allowance to buy these.”
“I’ll double your allowance when we get home.”
“Deal.”
Erika thought to herself:
‘Anyway, since Professor Victor made these, I can just ask him to make more when I see him at the academy.’
‘He should agree… right?’
Feeling like she had made quite a profit from her father, Erika cheerfully handed over three bottles.
Had her father not insisted she keep one for emergencies, she would have given them all away.
Duke Clovis carefully cradled the potions and left cautiously.
Watching her father’s slightly comical departure, Erika couldn’t help but laugh.
Back on the mountainside, Duke Clovis quickly resumed channeling mana into the formation.
A few resting Tier 3 mages saw him return and asked in surprise,
“Duke, don’t you need to rest?”
Duke Clovis turned his head and gave them a kind smile. “My mental power is still fine. You all rest—I can maintain the formation myself.”
???
Again?
The exhausted mages were stunned.
First, his daughter stood firm for five hours, now he was taking over?
Was the entire Du Croy family just built different!?
Meanwhile, Erika had other plans—she needed Gwen’s help.
Approaching Gwen, Erika shyly said, “Sister, I can’t hold it in anymore!”
“We’re both girls—you must understand me.”
Gwen thought for a moment, then blushed slightly.
Ah… so it was that.
Without hesitation, Gwen agreed to accompany her.
And thus, Erika’s plan began.