While Maria stood at the table, she watched the entire scene with a small victorious smile, as if everything was going exactly according to her plan.
When Niklaus entered his room, night had fully settled outside the window. The sky was submerged in darkness, while some calm moonlight filtered through the glass, casting a pale glow over the wooden floor.
He sat on the bed, his body leaning against the wall, his red eyes still carrying the trace of deep thought, as if his mind was trying to decipher an unclear code.
Silence surrounded him. The room's atmosphere was warm compared to the cold air outside, but it wasn't real comfort—just a short truce with a reality he hadn't fully understood yet.
But that silence didn't last long.
Without knocking, Maria pushed the door open and walked in, making it clear that the place was entirely hers. Her tone carried a dose of assertiveness, while her words showed no respect for usual conventions.
Maria said, looking at him intently, her voice firm but carrying a hint of sarcasm: "Follow me, you brat."
She wasn't waiting for his reply. She just turned and headed toward the exit.
And she was thinking in her own way: how to make this person leave her inn, but also considering the consequences at the same time. His staying was a problem, and his leaving without getting what he wanted was also a problem.
Niklaus, though not the type to let others give him orders, rose from the bed quietly and stepped toward the door without the slightest objection. His eyes followed her steps, but he said nothing.
As they walked down the hallway, Maria said in a formal but bossy tone: "From now on, you will address me as 'Master.' Understood?"
She said it without waiting for any reaction from him, despite her inner worry—but she wouldn't let some brat like him dominate her.
Niklaus raised his left eyebrow for a few seconds, then completely ignored her words, indifferent to all of it.
When they reached the end of the hallway, Maria stopped in front of a heavy wooden door, then unlocked it smoothly, revealing a stone staircase descending downward, submerged in darkness but bearing signs of constant use.
She began to descend, her steps not hesitant but steady—she knew every corner of this place. Niklaus followed silently, his eyes watching every detail of the new space.
When they reached the bottom, it became clear that the basement wasn't just an old storage room—it was a complete secret laboratory, equipped with tools one would usually only find in advanced alchemists' workshops.
On the wooden shelves were bottles filled with liquids of various colors. Some shimmered strangely, some carried strong scents revealing their concentrated contents.
Rare herbs hung above the main table, some carefully dried by Maria, others still fresh as if she had just collected them.
In the corners were small metal plates engraved with symbols, and faintly glowing blue stones—mana stones, used to generate magic and craft magical tools.
This place was more complex than Niklaus had expected. Not just a dark basement, but a real laboratory, full of secrets and experiments that ordinary people never saw.
Niklaus stood there, looking around for a moment. His eyes followed the details in silence, but he showed no surprise. He just observed everything as if trying to slowly understand what was in front of him.
Maria said quietly, putting on her thick gloves and fixing the mask over her face: "Get ready. Learning alchemy is never easy."
Niklaus looked at her and said nothing. The only thing he cared about was finding out what she knew about him. Not even learning alchemy.
Two weeks passed. Maria was surprised by Niklaus. She had thought he would give up on learning alchemy, especially since he seemed to be learning with obvious boredom and absorbing information coldly. But he was indeed learning quickly, understanding what she said as if he already knew the basics of alchemy.
During those two weeks, an informal but steady routine formed at the inn. Maria taught Niklaus alchemy. Ethan was busy either cleaning or complaining about the tasks assigned to him. And Adele followed Niklaus everywhere, as if he was her personal magnet.
In the morning, Maria would prepare breakfast, then start Niklaus's training on potions. While Niklaus studied, Ethan faced his personal tragedy of cleaning the place, but never missed an opportunity to eat whenever he could.
Ethan, while cleaning a table, muttered in despair: "I'm convinced now… there's a ghost in this inn."
No one took his words seriously, but he didn't stop complaining about it, especially since he kept feeling invisible movement passing by him—but in reality, it was Adele, whom he couldn't see.
Niklaus, Maria, and Ethan sat at the dinner table. Maria ate quietly while looking at Niklaus and Ethan. Despite her inner annoyance at their presence, after two weeks she felt warmth having people other than herself and Adele in this inn. But she knew these days would end—indeed, like everything else.
She looked at Adele, who was sitting on the chair next to Niklaus, staring at him with bright eyes. Maria never understood why Adele looked at Niklaus that way and followed him everywhere since his arrival. It was an unpleasant feeling inside her because of this, especially as she connected the dots—that the organization was searching for Niklaus and feared him, while at the same time the organization wanted Adele at any cost.
While Ethan devoured his food as usual, he muttered in a low voice full of his typical drama: "If you make me do all the housework alone again, I'll consider this an official betrayal. No, I already consider it an official betrayal."
Niklaus finished his food, paid Ethan no attention, and stood up. Meanwhile, Maria said to Ethan: "I'll wash the dishes and—"
Before Maria could finish, Ethan immediately stood up, smiling as usual, and said: "Ah, my dear lady, I knew you were very merciful."
But Maria smiled fiercely and continued: "Dear Ethan, I'll wash the dishes, while you chop the wood and clear the snow from in front of the door."
Ethan froze in place, then cried out in despair, wiping fake tears: "Whyyyyyy?!"
Meanwhile, Niklaus sat on one of the distant benches, hearing nothing but the sound of his own thoughts. He was thinking that his alchemy skills were decent now. He was also curious how he had learned so quickly, even though he didn't even care about learning. As if this body had gone through this experience before. Which only increased his discomfort and annoyance.
But he still couldn't make magic-related potions, because the magical seal was still in place. He was so tired of this. He was also sure that Maria had noticed he never used magic. Yet despite that, she didn't comment on it, just taught him everything he needed to know about tools and potions without any discussion.
Staying here was no longer useful to him. Enough was enough. The useless System still hadn't given a notification that the mission was complete. And he still hadn't found out what Maria knew about him. He was bored, and he wanted to finish his existence in this clichéd novel quickly.