Is It Wrong for an Extra to Steal the Protagonist's Harem?-Chapter 55: walking disaster

The Alchemy Laboratory was a massive, amphitheater-style room filled with tiered wooden benches, brass cauldrons, and shelves crammed with pickled monster parts. It smelled strongly of sulfur, dried mint, and ozone.

I took a seat at a workbench near the middle row. As promised, Alicia slid into the seat next to me, dropping her leather satchel with a heavy thud.

"Don’t look at me like that," she muttered, glaring at the other students who were whispering and pointing at us. "Martin is sitting next to a cauldron that looks like it hasn’t been washed in a decade, and Emily freezes the water before it can even boil. You are simply the most... tolerable option."

"I’m honored to be your safety net, Princess," I smirked, leaning back and crossing my arms. "But remember, Alchemy requires delicate control. Since you’re a Fire Mage whose primary solution to everything is ’blow it up’, try not to incinerate my eyebrows."

"I have perfect control!" she hissed, her face flushing. "I’m a Flamehart!"

"We’ll see."

BANG.

The heavy oak doors at the front of the classroom flew open, slamming against the stone walls.

Professor Sylvia rushed in, carrying a stack of papers and a tray of glass vials that looked dangerously unbalanced.

"I’m here! I’m sorry I’m late! The Headmaster held me up—kyaa!"

Her heel caught on the edge of the slightly raised podium.

Time seemed to slow down. The tray tipped. The papers flew into the air like a flock of startled doves. The woman tumbled forward, letting out a very un-professorial squeak.

CRASH.

Glass shattered. Papers rained down on the front row.

Sigh, she is a walking disaster zone.

She groaned, sitting up amidst the wreckage. She wore a white lab coat that was perpetually stained with strange colorful patches, a pair of thick, round glasses that were currently hanging off one ear, and a tight black pencil skirt that had ridden up her thighs during the fall.

But the most prominent feature of Professor Sylvia was her chest. It was absurd. Her white button-down shirt was fighting a losing battle, the buttons straining against the sheer volume of her assets. As she pushed herself up on her hands and knees, the cleavage on display was enough to make half the male students in the front row forget how to breathe.

"Ahem," Sylvia coughed, fixing her glasses and hastily pulling her skirt down. Her face was bright red. "Well. That’s one way to start a Monday. Welcome to Alchemy 101, freshmen. Please ignore the mess."

She scrambled to her feet, dusting off her lab coat.

"Today," she began, clapping her hands together, "we are going to be brewing a Grade-D Vitality Elixir. It is a foundational potion used by knights and adventurers to rapidly recover physical stamina and heal minor muscle tears."

She waved a hand, and magical chalk began writing the recipe on the blackboard.

"The key to this potion is temperature control. You must heat the Silver-Leaf Extract to exactly 85 degrees before adding the Ground Minotaur Horn. If it’s too cool, the horn won’t dissolve. If it’s too hot..."

She paused, looking at the class seriously.

"...it will release a vapor that acts as a potent, localized aphrodisiac and muscle relaxant. So, please, control your fires."

I raised an eyebrow. An aphrodisiac vapor? The game developers really didn’t pull their punches with the fan service mechanics.

"You have one hour. Begin!"

The lab erupted into chaotic noise. Mortars and pestles began grinding. Fire stones were struck.

Alicia immediately took charge of our station. She grabbed the mortar and began crushing the Minotaur horn with aggressive, rhythmic thumps.

"I’ll handle the heating," she declared, her eyes narrowing in concentration. "You measure the liquids."

"Sure." I leaned against the desk, watching her work.

With her sleeves rolled up, the tight fit of her modified uniform clung to her torso. Because of the ambient heat of the cauldrons, a thin sheen of sweat was already forming on her forehead and the nape of her neck. She looked gorgeous when she was focused.

I quickly measured the Silver-Leaf Extract, my high [Calculation] stat allowing me to pour it to the exact millimeter without needing a measuring cup.

"Done," I said, pouring it into the brass cauldron. "Heat it up."

Alicia placed her palms on the runes at the base of the cauldron. Her mana flared—a bright, aggressive red.

The liquid inside began to bubble almost instantly.

"Alicia," I warned, watching the liquid turn a violent shade of purple. "That’s too fast. You’re flash-boiling the extract. It needs to be a steady simmer."

"I know what I’m doing!" she snapped, gritting her teeth. But her mana was inherently destructive. Fire magic wanted to consume, not gently warm.

The cauldron began to rattle. A faint, sweet-smelling pink vapor started to leak from the rim.

"Shit," Alicia cursed, trying to pull her mana back, but the runes were already overloaded. "It’s... it’s stuck in a feedback loop!"

The pink vapor hit her face.

Alicia gasped. Her crimson eyes dilated instantly. A heavy flush spread down her neck and disappeared into her cleavage. Her breathing became shallow and rapid.

"A-Alex..." she whimpered, her legs suddenly trembling. She grabbed the edge of the table to steady herself. "It’s... hot. Why is it so hot?"

She reached up and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse, fanning herself. Her skin was flushed, radiating heat. The aphrodisiac vapor was taking effect.

I didn’t panic.

I stepped up right behind her.

"I told you," I whispered, my chest pressing against her back. "You lack delicate control, Princess."

"D-Don’t touch me..." she breathed, but as I reached my arms around her waist to grab the cauldron’s cooling levers, she leaned back into my chest, her body going soft.

I grabbed her hands, which were still resting on the heating runes. My hands covered hers.

"Let me show you," I murmured in her ear.

I channeled my own mana. Thanks to my [Mana Sensitivity] stat, I could feel the erratic, violent spikes in her fire magic. I didn’t try to extinguish her fire; I acted as a dampener. I synchronized my mana with hers, smoothing out the jagged edges, turning her roaring bonfire into a perfectly controlled, steady blue flame.

"Hah..." Alicia let out a soft, breathy moan as our mana mixed. The sensation of high-tier mana synchronization was highly intimate. It felt like a warm current running through her veins.

"Watch the liquid," I instructed, keeping my hands over hers, my hips pressed firmly against her backside.

The violent purple bubbling ceased. The liquid settled into a smooth, rolling simmer, turning the exact shade of golden-yellow required by the textbook.

"You’re... you’re doing it..." Alicia whispered, her head falling back slightly to rest against my shoulder. The pink vapor was dissipating, but the effects were still lingering in her system. She smelled strongly of roses and aroused sweat.

"No," I corrected, gently squeezing her hands. "We’re doing it. Now, add the horn."

She shakily reached for the bowl of powdered horn and tipped it in. The potion flashed a brilliant, pure white, then settled into a clear, glowing elixir.

Perfect execution. 100% purity.

"Excellent!"

A voice broke our little bubble.

I stepped back instantly, though Alicia swayed slightly without my support.

Professor Sylvia had walked over, her clipboard in hand. She leaned over our workbench, her massive breasts resting heavily on the wooden surface, completely oblivious to how much cleavage she was presenting directly to my face.

"A perfect Phase Three transition!" Sylvia beamed, adjusting her glasses. "Most Fire Mages struggle with the delicate thermal equilibrium required for this elixir. But Lady Alicia, you maintained a flawless 85 degrees!"

"I... um... yes. Thank you, Professor," Alicia stammered, still panting slightly, crossing her arms over her chest to hide her hardened nipples pressing against her blouse.

Sylvia grabbed a glass stirring rod, dipped it into our cauldron, and pulled it out. A drop of the glowing elixir hung from the tip.

She brought it to her lips and tasted it.

Her eyes went wide.

"My goodness," Sylvia gasped.

A sudden, intense blush exploded across the Professor’s face. Her knees buckled inward, and she let out a soft, highly inappropriate squeak.

"P-Professor?" Alicia asked, alarmed.

Sylvia grabbed the edge of the desk. "The... the purity! It’s over 99%! The vitality surge is... oh my..."

She had ingested a drop of practically perfect Vitality Elixir. For a civilian researcher like her, the sudden burst of physical stamina and blood flow was overwhelming.

She took a wobbly step backward, fanning her flushed face.

"I... I need to sit down..."

Her heel caught on the stool behind her.

For the second time that hour, Sylvia tripped. But this time, she was falling backward, right toward the edge of the stone platform.

"Watch out!" Martin yelled from the next table.

I moved on instinct.

I stepped around the workbench, reached out, and caught her.

My right arm wrapped securely around her waist, stopping her fall. But my left hand, flying out to support her back... missed.

SQUISH.