This Ascent to Divinity is Lewder Than Expected

6.50 – Manor Workshop

The next morning, Zoey sought Sabina out. After a series of increasingly louder knocks, she came to the conclusion that the woman wasn't inside her assigned room. The door wasn't locked either. Letting herself in, Zoey called out to announce herself, but no reply came. Sabina had already left. She frowned. That put a dent in her morning plans.

Fortunately, a note on Sabina's neatly made bed caught her eye.

Zoey, it read. You can find me at the crafting wing. Our gracious hosts have been kind enough to grant me access to their workstations until I set up my own.

Zoey raised an eyebrow, then laughed. She couldn't say she was surprised Sabina had hurried off to an alchemy station the moment she could. It wasn't like much else was happening. Was she supposed to sit in her room all day?

The d'Celestin manor was a gargantuan place—as having an entire wing dedicated to their personal crafters suggested—so Zoey had to ask directions from one of the servants, who had been passing by with a cart filled with linens.

The young woman was dressed in a traditional frilly black and white maid's uniform, which Zoey couldn't help but admire. She wondered how Rosalie would look in one. Not that Zoey made her interest obvious. The woman was going about her job, and she wouldn't interrupt that.

Even addressing the worker, though, seemed to fluster the woman, which Zoey found amusing, but she couldn't let herself get distracted by a girl in a cute maid's outfit. She got her directions and shortly made her way to the crafting wing.

Unsurprisingly, the professional space for the d'Celestin's personal alchemist—or alchemists, plural?—was magnitudes grander than Sabina's own workshop. There were rows of labeled ingredient cabinets, cauldrons and pots of all sizes, and glassware and other paraphernalia organized on shelves. All of it polished, the whole space so clean as to be impressive. That was what dedicated staff and endless funds could do, Zoey thought with appreciation. Sabina kept her workspace in good condition, but she certainly didn't have servants going around polishing cauldrons to a reflective sheen.

She found the tall, antlered woman there, hurrying between counters and boiling pots, making two small batches of some unknown potion. She spotted Zoey as she walked in. They were alone inside the workshop. Perhaps because it was early, or perhaps because the official alchemists didn't work every day.

Actually, there was one more person who, upon Zoey seeing her, made her do a double-take.

Mini-Mel was standing on a counter, hands on her hips as she watched Sabina work. Her face lit up on Zoey's arrival, and she waved brightly in greeting. Zoey returned it, blinking in surprise.

The slime girl's glass jar was set to the side. Sabina had taken over caring for her, apparently.

"Ah. Zoey. I was expecting you," Sabina said. "Come give me a hand?"

After so many hours acting as Sabina's assistant, she didn't hesitate; she hurried over to help. She joined Sabina in the familiar scramble of tending to the temperamental, volatile craft, setting aside her questions to focus on the task at hand. When they finished pouring the bubbling stews into rows of vials and flasks, Sabina nodded in satisfaction, removed her gloves, and faced Zoey.

"This place will spoil me," she told her. "There's something to be said for working with familiar equipment, but nearly everything here is enchanted and of the highest quality. The cost has to be astronomical." She looked wistfully around at the rows of rune-engraved cauldrons. "It simplifies certain tedious processes, to say the very least."

"I'm sure, circumstances allowing, Rosalie wouldn't mind you using her family's workshop whenever you want."

Sabina waved a dismissive hand. "That's not necessary. As nice as it is, I'll want to set up my own workshop again. I prefer an independent venture. Involvement with families such as the d'Celestins …" she trailed off. "Regardless," she said, deciding better of finishing the thought. "I understand we're still operating with some level of secrecy. Best to have our own space to work in."

"Yeah," she said. "For the most part. It's complicated. That's why I came to speak with you, there's a lot to catch you up on."

"Let's hear it. Or should we find someplace private?"

Again, Zoey looked around. The workshop was an enclosed space; there weren't any corners or hallways to hide around to eavesdrop. They ought to be safe. And besides—

"Rosalie said if her family wanted to spy on us, there's nothing we could do about it," Zoey shrugged. "So we have to assume they're not. Here's as good as any anywhere."

Sabina nodded.

"So," Zoey said. "First off, I should apologize."

"For?"

"For abandoning you to Lucinda. And also, all of this had to come as a surprise." She gestured around them. "You know. The d'Celestins."

Sabina's lips quirked up. "Yes, I'll admit it was unexpected." Whether she'd been caught flat-footed at the time or not, now that a day had passed, Sabina seemed totally at ease with being in the manor of the most powerful man in the world. She'd appropriated his alchemy workshop without hesitation, that was certain. "I'm sure you had your reasons. And we were in no danger."

"You weren't," Zoey confirmed. She wouldn't have left them with Lucinda if she'd thought otherwise. Though that assurance had come from Rosalie rather than her own knowledge of the woman. "Also, I've gotta ask, what's mini-Mel doing here?"

Sabina glanced in the slimegirl's direction. She stood on the counter, politely observing what was happening around her. With their attentions turning her way, she waved brightly a second time. Still unable to talk, apparently. Zoey wondered whether that was permanent or a byproduct of her early stages of development.

She'd grown several inches since she'd last seen her. She stood, at a guess, around a foot and a half tall: a fair bit larger than only two days ago. Her last meal had done good work. Zoey's cheeks briefly colored, remembering Mel was due for another 'feeding' when she got a chance. It was obvious Mini-Mel wanted to grow larger to get closer to her original form … or maybe she just enjoyed the process of harvesting her meals.

That would have to be handled later. Zoey was busy today.

"Hm?" Sabina asked. "The slimegirl? I've been experimenting with her."

"Experimenting?" Zoey asked with sudden alarm.

"Using her body as a reagent, yes," Sabina said. "Voluntarily given, of course. She regrows easily. And I've been feeding her in exchange." She shrugged as she finished: "Also, she makes friendly company."

"Feeding her what?"

"Your semen. What else?"

Zoey faltered. She wondered how Sabina could say something like that without a second's hesitation. "Ah," she said. "Right, you have a supply of that. Stored away."

"A dwindling one," Sabina said. "I'll need to handle another extraction sooner rather than later. It's a prominent ingredient in my experiments."

"Uh, yeah. We'll figure that out when I have a chance."

"But we have business discussions to handle first, I'm aware," Sabina said. "Go ahead."

Zoey wrangled her thoughts back into order. "There's been some movement on our future plans. The exact details are in the works, but Aria made a good point. Combining our upcoming temple—wait, you know about that, right?"

"Your status as an ascending deity? Indeed." Sabina might as well have been talking about the weather with the ease with which she deadpanned the words. This woman was really something.

"Well, we're going to integrate the potion business with it. Like, set up a stall inside? Maybe. Or give some away to followers for free. As a perk. It's all to be decided. But they synergize well. People interested in those sorts of potions are also the most likely to want to worship under, um, my aspect, I guess you'd say."

"Logical. Will I be attaching my workshop as well? Or just the business front?"

"That depends on the temple. If a room suits your needs, would you want it?"

"I see no reason I wouldn't."

"Then sure. But we don't know what's available yet. That's what I meant by, in the works." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Still gotta talk to Enzo about starting a temple in his city in the first place. He might care. And there's probably all kinds of administrative work to be done. I'm hoping having friends in high places will speed the process up, so you're not without a proper workplace for long." And so they could get started on Zoey's following.

"This is more than a proper workplace," Sabina said, gesturing around. "I just hesitate to brew anything too sensitive using the d'Celestin family's equipment"

"Exactly. I'll be getting with Aria to speak with Enzo today. Get that sorted out. Assuming he's even available to speak." Who knew what the schedule of a Highguild Guildmaster was like? Probably busy, to say the least. "I'll keep you updated. More importantly, I need to talk with you about my newest skill."

"Oh?"

"It's called Patron," Zoey said. "And I want to use it on you. But it has certain … requirements."