Noele sat on his bed with his legs crossed and eyes closed. With every breath he took, sweat poured out of his pores. He took off his shirt to avoid it from getting wet.
After a while, he opened his eyes and sighed.
"...I still can't feel any mana."
He grabbed his phone and read the articles.
"10 Easy Tips to Increase Your Compatibility Rating!", "High Tier Elementalist XX Shares His Secrets", and other similar articles were opened on his browser.
He closed them one by one. "Liars."
With a click of his tongue, he threw his phone aside and crashed onto his bed, covering his eyes with his arm.
"Goddammit... I wanted to get at least some compatibility before I touch that orb in front of the whole class."
After a minute passed, Noele stood up dispiritedly. "I need to get dinner ready."
-----
Noele and Megna sat across each other at the dinner table.
While Megna continuously grabbed more and more pieces of meat from the bowl, Noele barely touched his food.
Noele drank the glass of water and placed it back on the table. His hand continued to grasp the glass as his mind went to wander someplace else.
Seeing the depressed Noele, Megna felt her heart wrench. On the surface, she kept her cool. "Psst, Noele? Earth to Noele?"
Noele smiled back at her. "Ah, sorry. Just zoned out for a little bit there."
His hand left the half-empty glass of water and he stood up.
Megna watched his figure go into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After that, her eyes went to the glass of water that Noele was holding for a long time.
Her eyes widened.
The glass was emanating mist as the water inside had long since frozen. The frost slightly spread from the glass to the wooden table.
"I need a more potent Mana Suppressing Pill..."
-----
The next day.
Megna wiped the sweat off her face as the bus shook from time to time.
Glancing out the window, she saw grass surrounding the bumpy road. Sometimes, a cow or a goat would appear, feasting on the green grass below them.
The fresh breeze of a rural town swept by her face, easing the heat around her by just a bit.
Soon enough, she arrived at her destination.
After getting off the bus, she opened her map on the phone.
'Even after coming here so many times, I still cannot, for the life of me, remember where he lives.'
She followed the trail on her map and traversed the empty streets.
Even though there was no rain, mud puddles were scattered across the dirt road. Megna felt relieved she wore boots for this trip.
The brightness of the sun slowly faded as clouds rolled over the sky, giving Megna time to look at her surroundings more clearly.
"Over there, it's the tree with the swirly branches... I'm getting closer. Oh, it's the wall that's missing 3 bricks. I need to go right then."
After a few more mundane observations, Megna arrived.
In front of her was a decrepit wooden cabin. She knocked on the door three times and waited.
The peephole slid open. Two bloodshot eyes looked through the narrow opening.
"Who is it?! Disturbing my sleep... Oh, Megna. Come in."
The woman put her glasses back on and closed the peephole.
After unlocking it, the woman pulled the door open.
Megna took a step back as she saw the woman's appearance.
Her frizzy black hair was clustered above her head. The round glasses covering her eyes were covered in soot, as was the rest of her face.
She wiped the remains of the explosion off her previously white coat as she walked in.
"Geez, Alexis, what have you done this time?"
"Good to see you too." Alexis coughed as she opened the windows and fanned the smoke out.
From the outside, someone shouted, "Goddammit Alexis, not this again!!"
"Ah, sorry, it'll never happen again! I promise!"
After shouting at her neighbor, Alexis looked back at Megna. "So, what do you need?"
Megna rolled her eyes. "I'll clean up here. Why don't you go take a shower first..."
"Tsk, so nitpicky."
.....
An hour later.
Megna grabbed a towel from one of the drawers and wiped the sweat off her forehead.
She observed Alexis' room and grinned. Her hard work was evident.
Meanwhile, Alexis finally finished taking a bath. She walked out of her shower, having changed clothes already with a new white coat and black pants.
"...You know all your cleaning is pointless, right? It'll just immediately get dirty again."
"I know. Just let me savor it."
"Okay then, sheesh." Alexis grabbed a juice box from her fridge and sat on the couch. "So, you want another batch of the usual, I'm guessing?"
"Well, yes and no." Megna followed Alexis's lead and grabbed a juice box as well.
"Hey, those are mine--"
"I need a stronger batch of Mana Suppressing Pills."
"...Stronger?" Alexis sipped from her juice. "You know the ones I give you are already very strong, right?"
"They aren't enough." Megna creased her eyebrows.
Alexis shrugged. "...A stronger batch will take longer to make."
"How soon can you make them?"
"Thursday. Friday if the materials are sold out. They tend to restock on Wednesdays."
"Sure, Friday sounds good."
Megna took out her wallet and handed Alexis her payment. After receiving her change, Megna walked to the door. "I'll be back on Friday then."
"Wait!" Alexis headed into her bedroom for a few seconds before coming back.
Megna saw that she was holding something. "You finally bought a phone?"
Alexis smirked. "Now, give me your contact number. I'll call you when it's finished. Or maybe you'd want it delivered?"
'Delivery?' Megna thought for a good few seconds. "No, I'll come to pick them up myself."
After exchanging numbers, Megna bid her goodbyes to the alchemist and headed back home.
Back at the cabin, Alexis looked around and sighed. "I need to move out. This place is falling apart."