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There was a child who liked to cause mischief in the town. It was the grandson of the only apothecary in Huin Town, so people, although discontent with the child, did not dare to complain about him to the apothecary or even scold him.
However, Yuna, who was thrown a stone by the kid out of nowhere while walking in the market in a relaxed mood, did not have any of it.
She grabbed the child up, pulled down his pants, and slapped his buttock harshly thrice.
The kid struggled and, with a crying face, threatened, "…Ju..st you wait! I'm going to tell Grandma!"
"Just you wait, I'm going to tell Grandma." Yuna made a bad face and mockingly imitated the child. She had no psychological pressure in bullying a kid while she herself was an adult at soul.
Just because she was an adult didn't mean she did not have her childish side as well.
The kid cried even more at Yuna's mocking gesture and started running toward the apothecary store to complain to his grandma, whom everyone respected and did not dare to get on her bad side.
See if she still dares to mock and beat me, I'll make her pay for beating me, hmph!
However, contrary to the kid's expectation, his grandmother just clapped her hands and said, "Finally someone who dares to scold you. That's good. I'll let her look after you from now on."
"…Grandma!" The kid had a disbelieving expression, as if finding it hard to believe that he, who was always pampered and spoiled by his parents, was allowed to be beaten by his own grandma.
Although his grandma always had a cold face, which made him a bit scared of her, she didn't particularly ever scold him after he came to the small town to live with her.
The Huin Town apothecary just looked coldly at her grandson and said, "You are spoiled and don't know manners. Your parents sent you here so that I can educate you. If not because I want to focus on potion making, you would have been educated long ago. The townspeople are wimps who don't even dare to scold you."
If they didn't dare to complain, then she would not address their little grievances either. Well, she had her own peculiar way of conducting her life and way of thinking.
All in all, the grandma was an eccentric person in her own way.
"Go call the girl, I'd like to talk to her."
The apothecary gave the order.
The child's lip trembled, on the verge of crying but still very scared of the mean-looking grandma. The kid was, after all, someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
"Go quick."
And just like that, Yuna stood before the apothecary, acting calm and poised without showing any of her inner nervousness.
Aiss… it was her temper that always got the best of her.
Let whatever storm may come, Yuna could only grit her teeth and receive it. If the apothecary didn't want to sell potions to them, she would just have to train herself hard to learn healing spells and work to the bone like her classmates did.
Although she didn't regret her actions, she still could not wrong her grandfather, who would need treatment if he later contracted an ailment ah…
"It's winter vacation, and during this time, if you can look after the kid, I can let you borrow books on elementals. The high-grade ones that discuss in depth elemental knowledge, which you cannot casually buy even if you want to."
The apothecary stated calmly.
"Ahh…."
Yuna had a stupid expression, trying her best to understand what she heard, which was completely different from her expectation.
After catching onto the words, Yuna was about to answer the apothecary that she was very willing, because elemental books really could not be bought casually even if one had the money ah…
Even if she had money, they were not available for sale.
How many elementalists clamored to get their hands on the books, which were infamous for being rare and hard to obtain? Yuna had enough of hearing it from her teacher, who always boasted about even that one page he got a chance to read.
DING—
Just then, the door of the apothecary store opened.
It was the main character.
Yuna, who was about to answer the apothecary, sighed.
Austin, a bit surprised at finding Yuna at the apothecary store, gave a small smile at her. He tugged at the warm coat, which Yuna insisted was her grandfather's old winter coat they planned on throwing away. She said it was old, but it still looked and felt new and good.
Although big, Austin felt warmer in the chilling winter.
The girl looked cold and indifferent on the outside but actually had a very precious, tender heart.
"Yuna, are you not feeling well?" Austin questioned, seeing her inside an apothecary store.
Yuna shook her head. "Just coming to do business."
"That's good. You should take care of yourself so you don't get sick," he said and gave another light smile.
And that light smile became another catalyst of jealousy at school.
He accepted only Yuna's lunch, and he only ever smiled at Yuna.
What the students didn't understand was that Austin accepted the lunch box because it was Yuna's kind heart without any strings attached, while those female students wanted to have an ambiguous relationship with him.
Not that he looked down on them, but he was an adult, and it was uncomfortable for him to be the receiving end of a little girl's affections.
Yuna just nodded her head at Austin and watched quietly as he bought medicine for his mother.
After he left, Yuna gave another sigh.
Was this a coincidence?
Yuna recalled a certain post she read in her past life:
<"Well, look who I ran into," crowed Coincidence.
"Please," flirted Fate, "this was meant to be.">
Hah…
Count that dog lucky. Coincidence or fate, I'll only let myself lose out just this once, although the thing she lost out on was a bit too big…
But life was what mattered the most. Yuna consoled herself.
In her past life, she did an MBTI test, and one of the questions was, 'You are willing to give up a good opportunity if you believe someone else needs it more,' and what was her answer back then? Of course, it was 'strongly disagree,' and she even snorted contemptuously at her brother, who chose 'agree.'
Look at then and look at now—she was slapping her own face, and it stung.
"The boy who just left, I won't ask for more. Can you please teach me how to make just that kind of potion?"
The apothecary looked at the little girl, checking her up and down as if seeing an interesting creature. Her old and muddy eyes reflected a meaningful light.
"Unless you enter the capital academy when you reach thirteen or fourteen and excel in academic performance, you will not have the chance to read the book again. I won't give you an opportunity again. From a small town like this, it will be extremely hard to get a chance to enter the capital academy."
"Umm… I would still like to learn how to make the potion."
Just say yes quickly, Granny, I'm on the verge of changing my mind!
Yuna, who was wavering at her hard decision, screamed internally.
"Ho… very well. Come tomorrow to look after the kid. I'll teach you when the appropriate time arrives." The apothecary dismissed Yuna, not bothering to persuade her about the great chance she lost out on.
It was none of her business if people wanted to act as good Samaritans and place others' needs before their own.
"Okay."
Yuna agreed sadly.
Still, when she was reminded of the plotline in the novel where the grandma apothecary left the town and a new apothecary came who was not able to make the kind of potion Austin's mother required—and his despair of watching his mother relapse in pain and grow weaker and weaker—Yuna could only harden her heart and try to ignore her regret.
Readers are always soft toward pitiful characters.
…
How hard could it be taking care of a naughty kid?
Yuna tactically used the carrot-and-stick method to take care of a bear child. Her stick was slapping his butt, and her carrot was her delicious cake.
The child became obedient after only a week. Kids were still in their worldview reformation stage, so they were easily influenced.
His parents must've gone out often and left him in the care of a nanny. Of course, some neglected kids would cause mischief to attract their parents' attention.
The kid, although rebellious, was not bad at heart.
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