"Definitely," the shopkeeper chimed in, serving a plate of assorted biscuits on the table. "You've really mellowed out during your stay in England, huh? Or maybe we'll have Princess to thank for that?"

Marice raised an eyebrow. "Why do you guys keep calling her that?"

He gestured at Katherine with his free hand. "She looks the part, right? It just feels appropriate somehow."

"Why thank you," Katherine replied, picking a square cookie from the plate. "I'm flattered, but Marice is the actual princess here. And she's always been a nice person, you know?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "You think so? When she and her mother first came here, she always looked so intimidating. Like she considered everyone her enemy or something. We tried to get her to play with me and my friends, but she would act like we didn't exist. That's why the people here used to refer to her as Miss Maldita."

She took a bite of the cookie. "Ah, that's just what she is on the surface. If I'm being honest, she hasn't really changed much since I first met her."

"We've figured as much, but how on earth were you able to befriend her?"

Katherine paused, staring at her half-eaten cookie. "Well... she was actually the one who approached me first. I sucked at manually controlling ether, so she offered to teach me how to do it. And before we knew it, we became friends."

Knowing that Katherine had left out one crucial detail to the story, Marice flashed her a teasing grin. Katherine looked away, lightly kicking her leg in retaliation.

"Really?" He looked at Marice. "I wish you extended the same gesture to the rest of us here. Or maybe you were so smitten by Katherine's princess-like presence that you just couldn't resist the urge to help her, huh?"

"S-Smitten?!" Cheeks flushed, she popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth. "I... never thought about that before..."

Marice leaned forward, propping her chin in her hand. "Stop putting weird ideas in her head. I helped her because I wanted to. Simple as that."

"Y-Yeah, Marice sucks at socializing with other people, but she's a kind person at heart!"

He glanced between the pair. "But I'm sure you're kinder since you were able to befriend Miss Maldita beside you. Not to mention that you're gorgeous and elegant to boot. Princess really does fit you to a T, huh?"

"Is that so?" Regina chimed in. "Then how come you aren't addressing me as such?"

"Y-You want to be called Princess too? Aren't you a couple of decades too late to be given cute nicknames?"

She tapped her hair sticks against each other twice, causing their gems to glow blue, "Hmph, you're no fun. Perhaps I'll just replace you with Richelle. She seems more likely to play along with that sort of thing."

"What?!"

Richelle's eyes glimmered. "I can think of a cute nickname for you if you want. In exchange, you have to let me work here!"

She pursed her lips as she slid the sticks on the back of her head, activating their hair styling magic. "Hmm... if you can give me a nickname that will suit my liking, then I'll let you take over Henry's post."

"Awesome! Gimme time to think of something good!"

"Uh, Boss," Henry uttered, "you shouldn't get her hopes up like that."

"But I mean it though. You should start thinking of a better nickname than her if you don't want to be replaced."

"Wait, you're actually serious? That's not fair at all!"

"Oh, hush. It's not like you're hurting for cash right now."

"But that food truck I've always dreamed of having isn't going to buy itself, you know?"

"And how's that my problem? Move along now and get them something to drink."

He sighed as he walked back behind the countertop. "I sometimes wonder if you're actually a witch in disguise..."

"Anyway," Regina turned her gaze to Marice as she picked up the sleek tablet next to her mirror, "let's get to business. What kind of materials are you looking for again?"

"Neutralizers and vita-enzymes. Also, Mystifica fruit alcohols, healing herbs, and resins."

Regina brought up her shop's inventory for alchemy ingredients and handed the tablet over to her. "Pick what you fancy."

"And speaking of trucks, I'm also thinking of renting some space for my mobile workshop."

"Mobile workshop?"

"Basically a converted semi-trailer."

"A-A semi?" Henry interjected as he finished filling a pitcher with iced tea. "Damn, you drive trucks now, Marice?!"

"Uh, no. I only wanted the trailer itself, but Kath pestered me to get the whole package."

"Duh!" Katherine said. "Why buy a trailer if you can't drive it around? That's like buying a halo-halo without ice cream, and that's just sad!"

As Henry and Katherine exchanged nods of approval, Marice just shrugged. "You won't be even around to drive it once you start working anyway."

"That's why you need to learn how to drive it!"

Regina paused as she gave them an amused look. "Well, you can either use the rooftop or the garden park at the back. How much space do you need anyway?"

"About a hundred twenty square meters," Marice replied.

"Ah, larger than I thought. Alright, just let me know when you need to set it up."

"By the way, do you carry some synthetic biomass? Class B ones should be fine."

"Biomass, huh? I don't usually have them on hand, but I can get some for you."

She looked up from the tablet's screen. "Oh, so you don't make your own?"

"I could, but I'm too busy with my other projects to even bother." She tilted her head, watching her hair about to finish braiding itself. "Buuut, if you request it as a commission, I'll make the stuff for you. It'll cost you a pretty penny though."

"No, I'm good."

"Ah, so quick! People usually have to grovel at my feet just to get me to consider their personal commissions. I'm certain they'll tear you a new one if they heard you turning down my offer."

"It helps if you lower your prices a bit."

"Why? You can afford my services."

"That doesn't mean I should just needlessly throw away money." As she was done reviewing her order, Marice returned the tablet to Regina. "I'm curious though. Where will you get my biomass?"

"I order mine from Hiraya's Chateau."

"You're doing business with that vampire?"

Regina set her tablet aside. "Oh, spare me that look. She and I were buddies long before her syndicate got the lion's share of control of the Metro Underworld three years ago."

"Huh... that's news to me."

As her hair was done styling itself, Regina looked into her mirror once more. "As your de facto alchemy mentor, you'd do well to acquaint yourself with her one of these days."

"Whoa," Katherine said, receiving a glass of iced tea from Henry, "you were the one who taught Marice alchemy, Miss Han?"

"Nope, I didn't teach her a single thing."

"Huh? Now I'm confused."

She returned the mirror and picked up her iced tea. "She just used to watch me do my alchemy work here every single day. And she never even asked me a single question about what I was doing. She just sat on the chair I had reserved for her across my worktable, observing everything I did. It was a bit creepy, but I found the subtle reactions of hers amusing enough to keep her around."

"She was really good in our alchemy classes, so I think you've made a difference by doing that."

She paused, taking a sip of the iced tea. "You think so? Now just imagine what she could have achieved if I actually trained her myself! Haw haw haw!"

"I dunno," Marice replied, munching on a round biscuit. "I honestly don't think I would enjoy alchemy as much as I do now if that happened."

"I know. Not that I had the intention of teaching you alchemy to begin with." She then turned her attention to Richelle, who was still deep in thought. "How about you? Have you thought of anything nice so far?"

"Already?" Richelle gave her a quick nod. "Reggie. Sounds cute, right?"

"Hmm... it sure does. Maybe a little too cute for my taste. Do you have other names in mind to compare with?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Err... how about Regine?"

Regina blinked. "Ah, my other name."

"Other name?"

She paused, thinking to herself for a moment. "Something of a fun fact for everyone: my parents used to argue whether I should be named Regine or Regina, so they settled it with a coin toss right after I was born. Regina sounds better personally, so I'm glad my mother won."

"Then... you don't like the other one?"

"I just like Regina more, that's all. Besides, they're basically the same name anyway."

"Wait, they do?"

"Yep," Katherine replied. "Both names mean queen."

"Queen, huh?" Her eyes suddenly became wide, mouth agape for a few seconds. "Reina...?"

Regina stifled her laughter, shaking her head. "Okay, you win."

Richelle jumped out of her seat. "Yay! I get to work here, okay? No backsies!"

As Richelle and Katherine shared a high-five, Henry rushed to Regina's side. "Y-You're seriously going to give her my job?!"

Regina took another sip of her iced tea. "Well, she deserved it, seeing that you just stood there and let it happen."

"If you want to be called Princess or whatever, just say so! Just don't lay me off!"

She leaned back, crossing her legs. "Why not? Weren't you always complaining about your workload here?"

"Only because I'm literally the only employee you have at this time of day! Oh, did I say employee? More like your personal gofer!"

"Gofer?" Marice asked.

"It just started with me making her afternoon tea," he said, counting with his fingers, "then cooking our meals. And after that, I even began doing her housework here and her other two condo units!"

"I'm just making your talents to good use. You're good at housework, especially when it comes to cooking. I can't remember if I mentioned this already, but I'm personally a fan of your barbecue sisig and pares."

He looked away, cheeks a bit flushed. "Words alone won't be enough of a consolation, you know?! Just this morning, I had to transfer some of your stuff from one unit to another!"

"Ah," Katherine uttered, "so you must be the one I saw in there earlier."

"You did? I don't think I saw you outside."

"My passive sonar picked up activity from that unit, then I scanned the place with my thermal imaging system. I was about to investigate before Mari told me that it was Miss Han's."

"Someone's going to rent that unit," Regina said, setting down her half-empty glass, "so I had him tidy the place up a bit."

Henry faced her once more. "And you're just going to do this after everything I've done for you? That's just cruel!"

She snickered. "Aww, aren't you acting like a clingy boyfriend now?"

"H-Hey, I'm serious! I'm going to tell your father!"

She frowned. "Oh, hush. My father has no power over my business."

"Maybe, but he'll certainly get on your case for throwing me under the bus like this!"

"Quite a sly devil you are, pitting my father against me. And I was thinking about hiring you for a different job too. A much higher paying one, if I might add."

"Wait, what job?"

"Since you're already complaining about it, let's make it official: I'd like you to be my personal servant." And just as Henry was about to speak, Regina raised her forefinger. "Buuut... I'd be a fool to ask someone who's already conspiring against me, so—"

"I take it back! You should've just said so earlier!"

She grinned. "So I suppose we have an agreement then? Consider it a great privilege to serve yours truly for the rest of your mortal life."

"Ugh. With that kind of attitude, no wonder you're always alone."

Her playful expression faltered as she knitted her eyebrows. "I love your honesty, but you can be too honest at times."

"W-Well, you started it!"

Marice shrugged. "Hate to interrupt you two, but it's about time we head back home."

"Already?" Regina said. "I thought you were supposed to humor me today with your overseas adventures."

"We still have to prepare for lunch."

"Didn't you folks just have brunch over an hour ago?"

She narrowed her eyes. "How did you know that?"

Regina smirked. "Well, you did ask me to keep an eye on your mother at all times."

She held the urge to grumble and simply shook her head. "I suppose I owe you that much. Where do I even start?"

"What about that one quest we took when we visited Dresden?" Katherine said, munching on a ladyfinger. "You know, that creepy old crypt in the forest?"

"What? No!"

She finished up the biscuit. "Hmm... you're right. Maybe we should save that for last."

"Ugh, no. I mean, why do you always bring that up first?"

"Cuz it's a roller coaster of a story to tell, duh!"

"You almost died in there!"

"And thanks to that little accident, I was able to prove that I have a guardian angel!"

Regina cocked her head. "Guardian angel?"

She nodded. "I was able to survive thanks to her help!"

Marice shot up from her seat. "You dumbass. That wasn't an angel. She was a—" She held her tongue as Katherine looked at her with a pout. "Look, can we just tell a different story instead?"

She clasped her hands. "You're so lucky, Marice. To be able to see divine beings with your eyes."

As the image of the raven-winged woman flashed before her mind's eye, Marice scowled. "The ability to perceive the absolute truth can be a curse in itself."

"You always say that. I just... wanted to thank her properly, you know? I'm sure she was the one who saved me back when I was a kid too..."

As the two of them fell silent, Regina shook her head. "I'm really curious, but the atmosphere took a sudden awkward turn. If you aren't comfortable telling me that story, then let's leave it there."

Marice looked away. "No, it's fine. You can tell her if you want, Kath."

"Um, I changed my mind," Katherine replied, wincing. "How about something more recent? Like our final group exam in the Nether Catacombs?"

She forced out a smile. "Yeah, let's go with that."