The Herb King

Leric scolded himself for being careless. He also decided to always use his [Virtual Map] skill even in safe environments like this restaurant. At least this way, he would be able to know whether an enemy is hiding or not. Other than that, he would also have a rough understanding of the strength of anyone in the establishment since the [Virtual Map] also indicates one's level of power.

"You must have heard me wrongly, miss." Leric coughed lightly.

Julie sneered beneath her veil. "I don't think my senses have dulled to such a degree that my hearing would be impaired. You seem to know a lot about wines. Maybe we can have a chat and exchange some pointers." Her voice was calm, but everyone in the scene felt the intense coldness in the atmosphere.

Grace retracted her hands from her sister's arms. It seems like this man said something bad about their wine that made her sister react like this. She knew that her sister loved their late grandpa so much and she also happened to learn the method of making their best wine from him, the Coner Blanco.

Leric furrowed his eyebrows in displeasure, but he soon calm down because of his skill [Demon Heart]. It was his mistake to badmouth their wine in public, but there should be no need to make matters escalate, right? "I don't think I am skilled enough to exchange pointers with the renowned family head of the Urgel Household. I'm just a wandering Alchemist with no noteworthy accolades. I apologize for my words earlier if I have offended you."

When she heard his apology, Julie's anger subsided a bit. She wasn't surprised that the man was able to identify her since Grace's presence was already enough for the others to speculate who she was.

"Just tell me the reason why you said our wine is bad and I won't pursue this matter." If this guy could not give her a good response, then she will make him pay for insulting her grandfather's creation.

Leric sighed and shook his head. It seems like this girl was determined to cause trouble for him. Initially, he wanted to be nice since he was together with Samira and the others, but who would have thought that he would encounter such a stubborn young lady?

Leric unconsciously activated his [Initimidating Aura], making Julie feel a hint of surprise. This guy was actually an expert! And based on the danger he exudes, his strength should be on the same level as hers, if not stronger!

She thought that no one in the same age group as her would be her equal in terms of talent. Even the so-called one-in-a-century genius, Crown Prince Christopher, pales in comparison to her.

"Since you badly want to know why. Listen carefully. As someone who knows a thing or two about winemaking, I know that there are five major steps when making wine. First is the gathering of ingredients. During this step, it is ideal to only collect the best fruits. The second step is the crushing of the ingredients. This step is a laborious process since it would take more than an hour to thoroughly crush the fruits until all their juices would be taken. I believe your family is crushing the ingredients by stomping on them. This is an old method and will take more time..."

"You! How did you-"

"How did I know? Simple. The wine you serve still has some small residues of insoluble substances. Although these tiny pieces can be negligible, high-level Espers would be able to notice them. However, I can let this off the hook since you are doing the most manual process of crushing, but..."

"What made this wine taste bad is the third step, which is called fermentation. There is a strain of yeast that has the best aroma and it can also enhance the flavor of the wine. If you add this yeast to the fermentation process, the resulting juice will become more flavorful. I think you don't know how to make this specific strain of yeast. Well, I can understand since the technical skills of this empire are very behind..." Leric immediately shut his mouth when he realized that he had almost slipped up. When he turned his gaze at Julie, he realized that the latter was looking at him as if she was looking at an alien.

"You even know about yeasts? The making of yeast is a closely protected knowledge that has only been passed to me by grandpa. Other than me, only my father knows about it. How do you know about yeasts?" Julie's anger had long since vanished the moment Leric started his explanation. She knew everything he said since it was the process of winemaking. However, her grandpa only taught her four steps, but this guy claims that there are five steps. Where did he get all this knowledge from?

"Sorry, but this conversation might take a few hours if I continue this explanation and as you can see, we are about to go out of the restaurant to have a short walk." Leric didn't answer her questions. He then turned around and looked at Samira and the others. "Let's go."

Julie gritted her teeth, but she didn't press the matter. This guy possessed knowledge about winemaking that was far beyond her own. Even her grandpa might not be able to compare to that guy. "I'll look for you once I settle my matters!"

Leric waved his hand nonchalantly and he didn't even look back at her.

"That guy..." Julie's expression suddenly became calm.

"Sister, that guy sure knows a lot about winemaking. You've also taught me about the four steps of winemaking, but his explanation is much easier to understand." Grace stared at Leric's back with curiosity.

Julie rubbed her head and nodded in agreement. "It's the first time someone forced me to concede. The information he has about winemaking can improve the tastes of our wines. Tell Paul and Archie to gather information about that guy, but make sure that they wouldn't offend him. We'll look for him in the next few days. The one-on-one matchups start tomorrow so we should focus on that first."

Grace nodded her head in acknowledgment. "Alright, sister."