PFC Chapter 107: If He Can Really Pull It Off, I’ll March Over There and Marry Him Myself!
Chapter 107: If He Can Really Pull It Off, I’ll March Over There and Marry Him Myself!
Chapter 107: If He Can Really Pull It Off, I’ll March Over There and Marry Him Myself!
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On the surface, her words sounded perfectly fair.
But faced with such an obvious setup, a wave of self-preservation—and the instincts of someone who’d dodged more than a few scams—swept through Wilma’s mind.
In an instant, the confidence that had lit up her face was replaced by a prickling sense of caution.
“What exactly is your plan for handling these orders?” she demanded, her tone sharp.
It was true—the Imperial Capital and all the surrounding cities had already been stripped clean of every halfway competent alchemist by the Royal Noble Magic Academy. Not a single one remained.
Even if they tried to source supplies and labor from farther afield, the sheer volume was overwhelming. No matter how much gold they threw at the problem, there simply wasn’t enough time to fulfill everything that was needed.
Or… could this guy really have some trick up his sleeve?
Impossible.Maybe he could scrape together the raw materials, but the manpower? Out of the question.
Unless he knew some kind of duplication magic—unless he could split himself into dozens of copies and brew ten thousand potions with his own hands—
If he could do that, forget apologizing. Wilma would gladly march over there and marry him herself!
“…And what’s any of this got to do with you?” He said. But just moments ago, Lin Wei had been brimming with bravado, wagering as if victory were already his.
But now, his tone faltered, a flicker of hesitation breaking through—as if, in the heat of the moment, he’d blurted out something reckless and was only now realizing how outrageous it sounded.
“If you’re too scared to take the bet, then fine,” Lin Wei said. “Just walk away and pretend your precious Royal Noble Magic Academy was never here.”
“As for these orders, how we handle them is the business of the Imperial Capital’s Magic Academy—not yours. Now get out of my sight.”
“No… I accept your wager.” Wilma, picking up on the subtle shift, broke into a disarmingly warm smile.
There was nothing particularly special going on—just a young man eager to show off in front of Nerinette, trying a bit too hard to look impressive.
Except he’d overplayed his hand—and now he’d backed himself into a corner.
Without enough manpower, there was simply no way to produce such a huge quantity of potions.
This wasn’t a problem of materials or technique.
It was just… a matter of not having enough people!
As for the students in the Alchemy Department, under normal circumstances, anyone capable of brewing a Grade Two “Fine Quality” potion would already be considered fit to graduate.
Wilma had the records from the Imperial Capital’s Magic Academy at her fingertips.
No matter how she looked at it, there was no way for anything unexpected to happen this time.
“Don’t go regretting it now,” Lin Wei taunted.
“Of course not… In fact, Nerinette, maybe you should start practicing your apology in advance?” Wilma smirked, her face radiating a smugness that made Nerinette’s blood boil.
Nerinette clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white, barely restraining herself from leaping across the room and pummeling Wilma into the floor.
“We’ll just see who ends up apologizing to whom!”
Even though Lin Wei’s earlier confidence had wavered for a moment, Nerinette’s faith in her reliable assistant ultimately won out.
She nodded, determination flashing in her eyes, and agreed to the wager.
With words like those, it was clear—Lin Wei absolutely had a solution.
All she needed to do was trust him and offer her support. The rest would fall into place naturally.
“Hahaha! Well then, let’s just wait and see!”
Wilma’s laughter rang out, brash and triumphant. Waving her hand smugly, she led her group away.
“Are we really just giving up on the orders?” someone muttered as they left. “After all that preparation, if we fail, the Vice Dean will have our heads…”
“With Nerinette and that guy here, there’s no chance we can snatch the orders now. Better head back and dig into who this Lin Wei really is…”
Their voices faded away in the corridor, the sound of their plotting growing ever more distant.
Lin Wei didn’t spare them a second thought. It wasn’t his first time dealing with nobles, after all.
What did amuse him, though, was the wager just now… That woman had finally taken the bait!
He’d kept his expression under control until now, but at last, he couldn’t help it—a wide, ferocious grin split his face.
“Well then… I’ll leave you all to it, Mr. Lin Wei,” the vice dean said, mopping sweat from his brow. He made a swift exit, not daring to linger.
With Lin Wei present, there was no way to forcibly reroute the orders.
But why had this man chosen to become an assistant at their academy, anyway?
If he was Miss Yalis’s friend, he could have easily found some cushy, no-stress job.
Instead, he’d gone out of his way to make things more complicated for everyone!
“…Thank you, Lin Wei. For what you just did.”
The atmosphere in the room instantly cooled.
Where the Alchemy Department office was usually bustling with activity, now only two people remained.
Lin Wei waved off Nerinette’s heartfelt thanks, clearly unfazed.
“That’s nothing, Director Nerinette. Ever since I joined the Alchemy Department, you’ve looked out for me. There’s no way I’d let anyone bully you right in front of me.”
“Besides, just seeing that sour face of hers ticked me off. If I didn’t give her a proper lesson, I’d be too riled up to sleep tonight… Anyway, just wait for her to come crawling back to apologize. You’ll see.”
“Oh, by the way—she called you ‘junior’ back there. Did you two know each other before?”
He’d been curious about that for a while now. With everyone else gone, he could finally indulge in a bit of gossip.
“Mhm… We both studied in the Alchemy Department at the Royal Noble Magic Academy,” Nerinette admitted.
That answer genuinely surprised Lin Wei. He shot her a look of disbelief.
“You went to the Royal Noble Magic Academy? Director, don’t tell me you’re actually a noble!”
“Something like that… But it’s all in the past, and I don’t care to dwell on it. Still, it felt pretty good to see her leave with her tail between her legs today.”
Nerinette gave a dramatic sigh, clapping Lin Wei on the shoulder with mock regret.
“If only you were a few years older, Lin Wei! Who knows, I might’ve been so touched I’d just marry you on the spot!”
Truth be told, there was at least a seven- or eight-year age gap between them. She was basically old enough to be his aunt—pining after such a fresh-faced youngster really was a bit much.
“Alright, let’s get back to work.”
“So, what’s your plan? Are you thinking of rallying the Alchemy Department students and guiding them as we go? We’ll need to get a move on collecting the ingredients, too.”
You have to understand… Potion-making is a craft that can only be mastered through patient, gradual accumulation of experience.
Identifying ingredients, distinguishing their properties, extracting their essences, then all the subsequent steps—enchanting, refining, and so on—each requires careful study and practice.
Only after all that can someone finally craft a potion with their own hands. The difficulty is akin to asking a fledgling mage, who’s just learned to cast a simple spell, to suddenly start researching “Advanced Multimagic Fusion and Practical Applications.”
At best, a handful of outstanding students might achieve a fifty percent success rate; the rest would be little more than assistants, fetching and carrying.
As for the actual potion-making, that would fall to her and Lin Wei alone.
“I don’t intend to do it that way,” Lin Wei said, surprising her. “In fact, Director Nerinette, what you need to do right now is go home and get some proper rest for the next couple of days.”
“After I left yesterday, I’m guessing you stayed in the office all night, didn’t you? If you keep burning the candle at both ends, you’ll drop dead before the task is even finished.”
“Huh?” Nerinette blinked, completely caught off guard by his response.
She stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide with surprise.
“So what are you planning, then? Even after all the orders we’ve already filled, we still need at least eight thousand more potions just for the Holy See’s contract. Don’t tell me you’re going to handle it all yourself?”
Human beings have their limits.
No matter how skilled or experienced he was, doing it all on his own sounded absurd.
“There’s no need to worry about the details, Nerinette,” Lin Wei replied with a wave of his hand. “Just trust me.”
“For the time being, I need you to stay away from the Alchemy Department and not disturb me, no matter what.”
“By tomorrow morning, all eight thousand potions will be lined up right here—neat and ready. But when the time comes, don’t ask me how I did it. Just know that I have my own channels for getting this done. Trust me!”