After waiting a little longer, Nolan finally saw Sucrose, looking somewhat downcast, open the laboratory door.
"Uh, Sucrose, long time no see. What's wrong?"
Nolan noticed Sucrose's gloomy expression and slightly toned down his cheerful mood as he spoke.
"Ugh, you interrupted my experiment!"
Initially, Sucrose didn't want to say anything, but the more she thought about it, the more frustrated she felt. Clenching her fists and puffing out her pale cheeks, she looked at him with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Haha, sorry about that."
Nolan had no idea that Sucrose was deeply engrossed in her work. If he had known earlier, he would have avoided this mishap.
"You know, you could hang a sign on the door that says, 'Working, do not disturb.'"
He averted his gaze, trying to dodge the responsibility.
"So, why did you come here all of a sudden? Do you need something?"
Sucrose, soft and timid like a piece of bread, only puffed her cheeks to show her discontent. She wasn't the type to hit him, after all.
She could only resign herself to the result of the interrupted experiment.
Failed experiments were common anyway; this one could just be chalked up to experience like the others.
"Well, I found some materials during an adventure that I thought you might be interested in, so I brought them over."
Nolan followed Sucrose into the laboratory.
The Knights of Favonius had provided Sucrose with a decently large alchemy lab, complete with all kinds of equipment.
In the observation area, Nolan noticed a small Loach Berry tree, no taller than his palm, with a single blue Loach Berry hanging from it.
He couldn't tell if this was the result of a successful experiment or a failed one.
"Materials I'd be interested in?" Sucrose's eyes lit up behind her round, half-framed glasses when she heard what Nolan said. "Did you find the bones of some rare creature? Please, show me!"
She had asked Nolan to keep an eye out for such things before, and it seemed like he had made some progress.
"Yes, don't rush. Is there anywhere to sit?"
Nolan smiled and nodded, preparing to take out the materials, but quickly realized there was no space on any of the tables, all of them cluttered with equipment.
"Sorry... usually only Mr. Albedo drops by occasionally. The table and chairs meant for guests have all been taken over by my experiments."
Blushing slightly, Sucrose stared at the ground, her gloved fingers nervously poking each other, embarrassed.
"That's fine, no worries. Is that the experiment table over there? Let's clear some space, and then I'll show you the monster bones I've gathered."
Nolan smiled as he watched Sucrose's adorable expression.
Ahead, he spotted a table with just a glass flask and some other experimental tools on it.
"Alright, sounds good."
Sucrose nodded and walked over to the experiment table, intending to clear away the failed experiment—the "topical healing ointment" she had been working on.
But then she noticed something strange: in the flask, where she had accidentally added too much plant extract, the muddy brown ointment had undergone a mysterious transformation.
The ointment had transformed into a jelly-like substance with the color of fresh grass.
Although this wasn't the result she had initially expected, it didn't seem like a failed experiment either.
"Is there something wrong with the substance in that flask?"
Nolan noticed Sucrose staring at the flask, deep in thought, and asked with a hint of confusion.
"Well, it seems the experiment succeeded, but not exactly in the way I imagined." Sucrose, now fully focused, spoke without her usual hesitation.
"Should we test it?"
Nolan, curious about the experiment, inquired.
Sucrose's semi-transparent stockings reflected the bright daylight streaming into the room, slightly shimmering as the garter straps pressed softly into her pale, smooth thighs. Even from a glance, they looked soft to the touch.
"Of course we need to test it. Many useful discoveries happen through unexpected results in experiments, so we have to conduct a thorough test."
It seemed Sucrose had completely forgotten about cleaning the table or inspecting the rare creature bones Nolan brought.
As expected of a dedicated researcher, when she got serious, it was like she became a different person.
"Alright, let me play the part of your assistant for a while, Master Alchemist Sucrose. What do you need me to do?"
Nolan joked lightly.
Why "half-joking"? Because in his mind, Sucrose truly deserved the title of a master in bio-alchemy.
The lab might look ordinary, but anyone stepping inside and seeing fist-sized dandelions or Sunsetias growing straight from the ground would surely be amazed.
And all these experiments were Sucrose's solo accomplishments—quite impressive.
"Oh, Mr. Adventurer, don't tease me like that. I'm nowhere near Mr. Albedo's level of mastery."
Sucrose was so flustered by Nolan's words that she almost lost her serious composure and quickly waved her hands.
"I didn't even mention Albedo... Looks like Sucrose's ambitions are bigger than I thought. Does she plan to surpass Albedo in alchemy?"
Nolan mused, reading between the lines of her reaction.
But then again, it made sense. What student doesn't aspire to surpass their teacher in their field?
"If you really want to help, could you grab a mouse from that cage near the window? I'd like to test the healing ointment on it to see if it works."
Sucrose adjusted her round, half-rimmed glasses with her finger as she spoke.
"A mouse? Sure."
Nolan had always had a bit of an aversion to handling small animals, especially things like cockroaches or caterpillars.
He could look at them just fine—even if they were only an inch away from him—as long as they didn't touch him. But if they did, he'd feel uncomfortable all over.
It was enough to make him jump with discomfort.
But now it wasn't an issue—he had his spiritual threads, which allowed him to pick things up without physically touching them.
Nolan walked over to the window.
Sure enough, there was a cage filled with white mice, just like the ones he had seen on TV. They were no different.
It was clear Sucrose took good care of them, as they all looked healthy and energetic.
The mice even looked a bit cute, but Nolan still didn't want to touch them directly.
So, he summoned a translucent thread that blocked out sensory feedback, using it to reach into the cage and randomly pick up a mouse, which he brought over to Sucrose.
"Wow, that's such a handy ability,"
Sucrose said enviously as she watched the translucent thread holding the mouse.
For a researcher like her, an extra pair of hands would be invaluable. She couldn't help but wonder if her Anemo powers could be used similarly.
Caught up in her thoughts, Sucrose quickly snapped back to reality, shaking her head and turning to Nolan.
"Mr. Adventurer, could you help knock the mouse out for a moment? I'll need to make a small cut on its paw, and I don't want to see it suffer."
---
(End of Chapter)
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