Chapter 4: The Love Potion
Dear Sir,
Please enjoy this lemon drop that I have given you, along with your medicine and bottle of water. I may be busy, but I don't want to look like I was ignoring you. Forgive me.
Good luck on the case.
Waver read Gray's note. Beside him was his medicine, water bottle, and the candy that Gray left for him. Even though he was tired and asleep, he did sense her presence that night. He was still recovering from his sickness, but he didn't want his issues to affect her too.
Gray. Don't let my case bother you. You should do what you need to do. I can take care of it myself. Hopefully Reines can help you with making decisions for yourself.
He sighed and rested on his bed. His fever was better than yesterday, but he still felt a bit sick. Looking up on the ceiling, he thought the current case that he was dealing with.
I can't keep delaying and cancelling my lectures like this. But I also can't let this entity cause havoc around Clock Tower. I'll still have to investigate more on this case…
After a while, he got up and took his medicine and took it down with a bottle of water. Afterwards, he looked at the lemon drop that Gray had given him along with the note. The candy looked ordinary, like anything you can get at a candy shop or supermarket.
There was nothing suspicious about it.
"Lemons are good against colds. Gray really did learn."
He sat down on a chair next to his bed and took a smoke while he ate it. Gray was nowhere to be seen near him, as if she avoided him on purpose. But Waver didn't mind it, due to his sickness during the past few days. She was probably going to get groceries, the usual routine.
"I hope Sir enjoyed the lemon drop."
Gray's face blushed red, thinking about her actions. Carrying a small bag of groceries, she walked along the sidewalk towards the apartments. Then, her cellphone rang.
"Gray! Did you give anything to my elder brother?"
Reines' voice echoed through the cellphone. Gray looked back and forth, hoping no one was listening in on them. Holding the phone to her ear, she listened to what Reines was saying to her.
"I don't know if he ate it or not, Reines. But I don't want to ask too much about it."
"That's fine. That's the first step to being a love stricken girl. Oho. I'll come tomorrow to check up on you two. I can't wait to see your reactions!"
"Reines!"
"I'll be there. Get ready tomorrow. Talk to you soon!"
"Goodbye, Reines."
Gray closed her cellphone and put it back inside of her cloak. A bit of cool air brushed her face against her hood as she walked back towards the apartment. Their unit's light was on, showing that Waver was awake for some time. It was mid evening, and he was still recovering from his cold, and working on the case.
"As long as Sir accepted it, that is enough for me."
Gray smiled as she continued on her daily routine around the apartment and helping Waver as best as she can that day. Lectures were cancelled due to his sickness, as the Department of Modern Magecraft had another field day from doing homework.
The next morning, Waver began to feel drowsy. His head pounded with intensity, making him feel ill again. He laid down on the couch, taking a break from reading as he tried to recover.
Am I still sick? I don't feel a fever or anything when I woke up. I already took my medicine. I hope I'm not overthinking this…
He rested on the couch, waiting for Gray to come back with groceries. However, someone else came towards the door. A loud, smug voice came through the door. The slight metal footsteps were Trimmau that usually accompanied her.
With a few knocks, Reines shouted towards her dearest stepbrother.
"Elder brother, it's me. Open the door. I came to check up on you."
Waver immediately winced, hearing her voice.
"What do you want? Can't you see that I'm sick."
Reines answered back.
"Aren't you better already? It's been a few days. Let me see the face of my dearest elder brother."
"Can't you open the door yourself? The El Melloi family owns this apartment complex anyway."
"Come on now. Just open the door. Gray isn't in the apartment this morning? She's probably out shopping again."
"Fine. Fine. I'll open it. No need to get so loud then."
Waver slowly got up from the couch and went towards the front door. He really didn't want to open the door for Reines, but Gray had told him the night before that she was coming to check up on him. Grabbing the doorknob, he opened the door.
Something doesn't feel right.
Upon him was the most beautiful women he had ever seen. He felt his heart pounding and his face turn red. Reines was the one that he saw that he fell in love with. His emotions and senses felt out of place, as if he was under a spell. His body contradicted his mindset. Something felt off.
"Reines, I love you."
"Huh? Are you still feeling sick elder brother?"
"Ah!"
What did I just say? This sounds so wrong. Stop!
Waver quickly covered his mouth and ran back to his couch. But from Reine's reaction, he could see her smug grin by the door. Trimmau was beside her, with a blank expression and wearing a maid outfit. His mind continued to see Reines as a love interest.
"Oho, you love me? I have gotten a lot of work for you to do."
Her grin scared him. There was the look of dominance and power spread throughout her face. It was like she had hit a sweet weak point inside him.
"Elder brother…"
No…No…No…NO!
But he couldn't control himself. Something deep inside him was turning him into someone madly in love. There was something controlling him, against his will. Reines came closer and closer towards him, as if he had just met his end. He might not remember what he did to her, but his body was doing whatever she asked him to do.
All he could see was her grin.
"I wonder if Sir is feeling better."
Gray held on another small bag of groceries as she walked back towards the apartment. A stagecoach was waiting there, signaling that Reines had arrived earlier this morning to check up on them. A few doves were flocking around the apartment. Walking up the staircase up towards their apartment unit, she heard some noises inside.
"Hope Reines didn't go too far with her teasing. I'll surprise them with some freshly baked crumpets I bought nearby. They're nice and crispy and would go well with butter."
Taking a key out of her back pocket, she opened the door.
"Sir, I'm ho—"
Waver was massaging Reines' feet and kissing her hand. They were by the couch, with him kneeling to tend to her while she was out laughing, enjoying herself. He didn't seem like himself as he didn't see Gray in front of her.
"What else do you want, madam?"
"Oho. It would be nice if you serve me some tea and scones as well."
Reines turned around to see Gray.
"Gray? Did you come back?"
Gray…GRAY!
Waver turned around to see Gray, with her face shocked and face red filled with embarrassment. She felt like she wanted to scream but couldn't. The scene was a disaster, with a mess full of emotions. Waver quickly got up and went back to his room to calm down, leaving Gray and Reines in the living room. Feeling drowsy, he went to the bathroom to splash his face with water. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a dove watching him by the windowsill. But in a split second, it disappeared.
What was that? Was something watching us?
Meanwhile, Gray was confused and asked Reines what as going on inside the apartment.
"Reines, what were you two doing?"
Reines grinned back at Gray.
"He said that he loved me. Isn't that sweet?"
"L-Love?"
"And we showed each other the meaning of love. Basking in each other's embrace. Oho. It was so magnificent."
Gray's face turned red again, imagining what those two were doing while she wasn't there. The thought was too much for her. It was hard enough deciding if her feelings for Waver was love or not. She didn't expect Reines to go that far for him.
"I was kidding, Gray. Did you seriously believe we did it?"
"Reines…"
Reines laughed, seeing her expression. Trimmau offered her a cup of tea, and she took it and drank a sip.
"Elder brother acted strange today, but I went along with it. You came just in time."
"What do you mean?"
"I wonder if he fell into some spell or something again. Only you were in the apartment with him while he was sick. Did anything happen?"
"Well…"
Waver immediately came forward, shaking his head. He had just recovered from the spell, which was affected by Reines nearby. Even though he wasn't doing anything for her this time, all his thoughts were full of her.
The candy. I ate the lemon drop that Gray gave me. It's possible that it was laced with something…
"Gray. Reines. Let's go to Clock Tower."
He went to grab his coat and dressed up to leave the apartment. Taking a puff of a cigarette, he motioned them to get ready and leave. Gray, with her bag of groceries, hurriedly put them away. But he stops her to get one more thing. Reines looked on to the side, resting on the couch. Trimmau stood motionless to the side.
"Where did the lemon drop come from? Are there any candies like those?"
"Well, yes. There were—"
"Get them. I'll get them inspected to see if there is something in it."
Gray looked down, quiet on what she had done. She wanted Waver to feel better from his sickness, but it led to one problem after another. Everyone got up and got ready to leave for Clock Tower. Reines' stagecoach was waiting outside, waiting for them.
"You could ride in my stagecoach, elder brother."
Reines pointed towards the stagecoach, eager for his response. However, Waver ignored her and walked along the sidewalk. Gray followed along, hiding her face from him.
"No need. I can drive there if I need to get there earlier."
"But—"
"It's fine. We'll get there in time."
With a pout on her face, Reines left Waver and Gray on the sidewalk as she went ahead of them to Clock Tower. He sighed as they walked along the sidewalk, looking at the surroundings around them. The cool breeze of an early morning in London. Feeling bad for not allowing Gray to make breakfast, he bought some mince pies for them to eat on the way.
"Lord El Melloi II, what happened to you?"
Adashino glared into Waver's face, which was full of embarrassment and blushing red. Her hands and body was close to him, to the point that he had to tell her to give him some space.
He slapped her hand out of the way.
"What does it look like to you? I'm here to find out what happened to me."
Waver looked to the side, to see Gray sitting on a chair. Reines was there too, calling Melvin to come to the room. They were inside Waver's office, hoping that he had recovered from his sickness. But he was having none of that.
"Gray. Did you know anyone related to the bag of treats you brought?"
Gray shook her head, trying to remember.
"Well, there was a girl from the Botany Department that gave it to me when I met with her. And Flat recommended me to her, saying she would help me."
Flat? Why am I not surprised.
"Fine. I'll get those two. Anything else?"
"Reines suggested me to give you something sweet when you're sick."
Reines…
Waver sighed. After Adashino checked his symptoms, she came to a conclusion. She crossed her arms, giving him the best answer she could.
"Is this a love potion effect you're having? Are you around anyone that you felt butterflies in your stomach when you're near them?"
Waver blushed from hearing her remark. His face was already feeling red from being around Reines, but she just confirmed the effects even more. Whenever he was around her, thoughts of Reines kept spilling in, distracting his concentration.
"Oho. Is that why you suddenly fell for me, elder brother?"
"Shut up, Reines. I can't concentrate with you around."
Reines pretended to look disappointed and sad. She crossed her arms.
"I went through all the trouble to get the Sealer mage you want here. Do you think you can meet—"
"NO! Not like this…"
Waver shook his head, trying to keep calm. He quickly smoked another cigarette.
"Maybe when I get better, Reines. I-I really can't do much like this."
Gray looked onward to the side, feeling useless. She didn't want to bother with Waver's investigation due to her actions. She would passively watch from the sidelines until he needed her again. She held on to the bag of treats that Waver told her to get for investigation.
Within a matter of time, Flat and Svin were called up by Waver. Maribel Ellen, the girl that Gray talked about, was assumed to be a fake student until Flat talked more about her.
"You haven't heard of her, Big Ben? She's from the Botany Department."
Waver shook his head. Flat's nicknames were annoying at times, but he needed the information on the love potion and how it got to him before dealing with the entity case. Things kept getting delayed, hindering his investigation and time again and again.
So he was a bit impatient.
"Understood. If she's available, call her up. Have you two been giving Gray dumb advice again?"
Svin responded to Waver's question. He spotted Gray in the corner of the room before answering.
"Flat does try to be helpful, but it probably didn't end well. She just wanted to understand more about love magecraft, Professor. We probably went too fa—"
Flat immediately interrupted.
"It's fine! Leave it to me. We'll get sorted out for you, Big Ben London Star!"
Waver felt like he was going to have another headache with Reines around, but he needed to keep her around in the meantime before she did something else on her own. More images of Reines flooded into his mind, but he resisted to deal with this side problem first.
Not now. I have to resolve this stupid problem first. I can't let more problems hinder me from my investigation! Concentrate!
Maribel arrived at Waver's office. Her hair was covered, just as Gray had remembered seeing a few days ago. Strands of orange bushy hair sticked out, but she didn't seem to mind. It reminded her of Little Red Riding Hood. She nervously walked into the office, staying polite and quiet.
"Did I do anything wrong, Lord El Melloi II? Why am I here?"
Behind her, Flat smirked and touched her shoulders.
"Maribel, it's you! I think he is asking for an alibi. It's probably about the candy you gave to Gray."
"Ah! You scared me. You don't need to do that to me, Flat."
"Hehe, sorry."
She looked around and spotted Gray nearby. Waver was struggling to keep himself in control, due to the love potion affecting him again. But he had to continue questioning them before she can be let go. He was sweating, but he didn't want to cause more issues on top of this.
"Maribel Ellen, were you aware the candy were laced with anything?"
Maribel looked confused.
"I don't think I'll ever do that. The candy I gave Gray are just the normal treats you can get from a supermarket or candy shop. Did something happen?"
Gray scratched her head. Her face looked gloomy.
"I believe Sir meant that something happened to him that wasn't supposed to."
Waver eyed the girl's features. She didn't look anything special from the other student mages he taught in his classes. But since the Botany Department specialized in potions and other variations of chemicals, they could help check up on the love potion within the candies.
"So, you really don't know?"
Maribel nodded. She turned towards Gray.
"Was there anything suspicious about me, Gray? Flat told me about you and you wanted help, so I tried. I'm sorry if anything went wrong."
Gray sighed. She didn't want to think about it.
"I-It's alright. Things happen. I'm sure you didn't mean it."
After a while, Waver wasn't able to pinpoint any one person on Gray's horrible advice from people, as well as figuring out how the love potion came to be. He needed them to check for its contents while he will figure out a way to cure himself from the annoying effects.
"Do love potions even have an antidote? How am I supposed to deal with this?"
He glared at Reines but wasn't able to hold out for long. Her presence alone greatly affected him. Adashino chuckled through her kimono sleeve. She touched his shoulders to get his attention.
"Lord El Melloi II, you never experienced a love potion before? They're rare, but not uncommon. How does it feel to be thinking of your loved one all the time?"
Out of everyone, why her? Why did it have to be Reines?
Waver blushed angrily at Adashino. He crossed his arms, annoyed with her.
"None of your business, Adashino. How long do these effects tend to last?"
"Depending on the love origin, usually about a week to a month."
A week?! A month?! This is going to affect the current investigation way more than I thought…
"These effects are very annoying! I've never experienced something like this!"
Waver was frustrated and put his hand on his face. But he had to keep calm. There were sometimes cases like these, in which many smaller side problems affected the main investigation. Even with this love potion, there were certainly ways to mitigate the effects. He just had to make Reines avoid him until he recovered from the love spell.
"Maribel, are you interested in checking out the candy? I'll allow it and bring Reines along with you. It might be for the best. Reines, we should avoid getting close to each other for the meantime."
Reines grinned towards Waver.
"Oho. You don't want to feel the love of your dear sister? How sad. But don't worry, there can be other ways to communicate if you want to talk to me."
"Shut up! This is serious. I got work to do. I can't keep delaying everything."
Waver immediately began separating everyone towards different tasks. With Reines gone, he managed to be able to barely concentrate. They would give him more information on the love potion later. He wanted to punish Flat for his stupidity and advice on Gray, but she stopped him from doing it. Melvin and Adashino were still there, helping Waver with the case.
"Waver, are you sure about this? What about the Sealer mage that Reines brought?"
"I'll talk to him later. This just wasn't the time, Melvin. We have to get back on track."
Waver took another puff of smoke from his cigarette before they prepared for work.
"We need to catch the entity before things get worse. We still haven't been able to find it, let alone Seal it. Something definitely feels off."
"I see. The entity is probably hiding something from us. That's a possibility."
While Waver managed to lessen the love potion effects by removing himself from Reines' presence, it still impacted his thinking and concentration. Maribel was in the Botany Department Laboratory, helping them check out the candy. Reines and Flat were there as well in case she needed help and to give information to Waver.
Maribel inspected the candy, not seeing anything strange about it.
"There really is nothing strange about it. Maybe I should try cutting it—"
She got interrupted by Reines grabbing the candy and setting her Mystic Eyes on it. It tried to feel the presence of any magical energy within it but was unable to. It looked like the contents itself would be within the candy itself.
"Sorry. I just wanted to test something. Wait a second."
Her eyes temporarily glowed red, attempting to test the candy, but it didn't work. Afterwards, she gave it back to Maribel. She shrugged and sat back to check out the Botany Laboratory. It resembled a science lab, but there were magecraft equipment in some areas.
"Okay, I'll cut it up now. Please check if there is anything strange coming out of it."
Maribel began her experiment.
"I put the candy inside a chemical solution that takes apart the magical energy inside it. There is probably some magecraft being used that led to the love potion effects. Let's see what it has. The Botany Department tends to do experiments on making potions to help with aging and other problems that have to do with the human lifespan."
In an instant, the candy evaporated, revealing its contents. A faint pink substance was floating around the container. Inside, a few bits of the origin was around the magical energy.
"The love magecraft doesn't look strong at all. At most, mild. Hopefully, Lord El Melloi II can recover soon."
Flat came closer towards the experiment being done. He observed its reactions, being amazed by its response to the chemicals within the container. After a while, the love potion opened up its contents, revealing its properties.
Maribel went to check up on the substance.
"It's composed of 0.005% of a very potent love potion. It looks like it had been diluted with something to make it palatable to the tongue. Its love origin doesn't seem to be very strong. Something like ludus. It looks playful and casual."
"So love origins can show some of their properties when exposed?"
"Probably. It looks like the user is experienced enough to do this on a normal object already. It's strange that I wasn't able to notice anything with these."
"I see. You really are a smart one, Maribel."
"Flat, you don't need to flatter me. But, thank you for your consideration."
With another piece of candy, she tested it with another method. A faint pink color came out of it, making it look like some light fume. The outcome of it revealed the substance to have a scent-like trail behind it. Reines and Flat were in awe at the various experiments and wanted to see more.
"If only my elder brother had seen this. He would really favor you, Maribel. Too bad he is still recovering from the love potion effects, so I can't go near him."
Flat poked Reines' shoulder, getting her attention.
"What about Trimmau. Can't you use her? Plus, it can help us send some information towards Big Ben. He will appreciate it."
"I'll think about it. Splitting Trimmau might take some time, but it might work. He is waiting for the results after all."
Reines smirked, enjoying her time together with Maribel and Flat at the Botany Department's science lab room. After a few more days of investigation, they would be able to give Waver the results in due time.
Ludus. Ludus. Ludus. That must be it. It doesn't resemble any other Greek origins that I had taught in class, nor did it have anything too different to be something else.
Waver felt his head hurt from thinking up the love potion's origin as he continued to resist its effects. Its mild nature shocked him, as he had expected something more potent and controlling due to the origins of love potions.
Love potions. Love magecraft. I wonder if the entity and the culprit might have anything to do with this. But I can't tell whether or not it was a coincidence or fate that had done this…
He sat down on a bench near a resting spot inside Clock Tower. Melvin and Adashino were helping him search the premises for the entity, but there wasn't any clue to where it had gone. It seemed to blend into the environment overnight. With the sheer numbers of mages within Clock Tower, the lack of responses didn't fare well.
Melvin returned from checking an area in Clock Tower and went up to check up on Waver. Something was sitting on his shoulder, staying quiet. It looked like a piece of mercury that had adjusted itself on the surface.
"Waver, someone wants to talk to you!"
The mercury slowly formed into a humanoid, resembling Reines. It quickly jumped off Melvin's shoulder and onto Waver's. The Reines figure began talking, posing around his shoulder.
"Elder brother, how are you? Isn't this better for us to communicate now?"
Reines' voice grated his ears, as the love effect made him blush from hearing her voice. He quickly covered his mouth in case he accidentally said anything awkward from the spell.
"Don't suddenly talk to me like this, Reines. Can you get someone else?"
Reines crossed her arms, displeased through the mercury.
"Fine. Flat will give you some of the information we find. By the way, you can also use little Trimmau to help you investigate the room again. You might discover something."
Waver sighed. But he continued to listen in on the data they had gotten on the love potion based on the candy Gray had brought. Based on the information, the love potion potency was very strong, but it had been diluted and used a love origin that he had expected. With the culprit possibilities being left vague.
"Thank you for the information, Flat. Tell me if there is any more."
"Got it! Please don't punish me, Big Ben London Star."
"We'll see about that. Bye."
It's possible that these cases are connected. But it really strange that we are unable to track the entity despite the amount of mages within Clock Tower. It's probably hiding something.
Waver closed the conversation, and the mercury turned into a pocket watch for him. With that, he put it inside his pocket for later use. Melvin walked over to him to give him more details about the Sealer mage that Reines had brought for him.
"Waver, do you think it's a good time to have him help you?"
Waver turned around, touching his chin.
"Makoto Nijima, the Sealer mage? I almost forgot about him. We should use him to help us with our investigation, can't keep him waiting for too long."
Melvin sat down on the bench, next to Waver. The two of them sat in silence, with how badly the investigation was going. They would have to ask for more help to deal with luring the entity out of its hiding place.
Later that evening, Waver set up a room for Nijima and Gray so that they could sense the entity better. Nijima had been very formal towards him, treating him as a Lord due to his status constantly. The utter shock that the small student of Kayneth El Melloi's class has grown up to become a Lord of the Department of Modern Magecraft surprised him.
After their introductions, Waver hesitantly asked for help and explained his reason for being called to Clock Tower. Nijima wore a traditional Japanese monk robe, with certain markings around them to indicate his class and skill level. There were small stacks of parchment paper for spell binding in his sleeves.
"I see. I will do my best in your stead, Lord El Melloi II."
"Good. The entity should still be around the premises. It's unbelievable that it managed to avoid detection for this long."
"Understood."
With a séance circle created on the table, Waver allowed Gray and Nijima to hold hands so that they could be connected and feel the atmosphere around Clock Tower. There were spirits and the undead around them, circling through the room.
"Heed the spirits. Heed the call. Detect any anomalies within the walls of Clock Tower that is unknown to all. Reveal yourselves."
The circle glowed for some time before it started to dim. There was barely any presence of the entity that Waver was looking for. Despite having some spiritual properties, it didn't leave much of a presence within the séance circle.
Waver pinched his nose in frustration.
"Strange. If it isn't a spirit or an undead, then what is it?"
He turned towards Gray.
"Gray, can you sense it? Was there anything strange within Clock Tower?"
She closed her eyes, trying to remember what she saw during the séance and their ritual to find the entity. The sensations of Clock Tower were felt all around her. The many auras of many different mages all over the buildings, the campus, and the various halls.
Until something felt odd. A familiar girl with her hood and fur cloak was seen.
"Sir, I don't know if you would believe me. But, there seems to be another copy of me around Clock Tower. I don't understand it."
"A copy?"
She nodded, staying quiet to Waver's response.
Waver didn't know what to say. From what he had experienced in the past, the entity never had something like this before. There was definitely something strange going on.
"Doppelgangers."