Chapter 130: My Aunt Brought Me a Customer, So Naturally I Looked at Her Chest (R-18))

"I’d love to take that money, Mrs. Melmarc," Max said, glancing at the metal bar in her hand. "But unfortunately, I really don’t have any potions left to sell you."

Seeing her sigh in disappointment, Max could tell she’d realized he wasn’t simply trying to drive up the price.

He paused for a moment before adding,

"But if you’re willing to wait until tomorrow, I can make a few more for you."

As he spoke, Max reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial.

Inside was a glowing red liquid, faint particles of light drifting through it like tiny sparks suspended in the potion.

He held it up for her to see.

"Something like this."

Both women stared at the vial in surprise.

Even though Melmarc wasn’t a mage herself, she’d dealt with enough expensive potions over the years to recognize when something was far from ordinary. The faint glow alone was enough to tell her that this wasn’t some common healing potion.

Yennefer, however, recognized it at a glance. For a moment, she completely forgot about maintaining their little act. Her eyes remained fixed on the glowing red liquid. "Is that an A-grade potion?" she asked, her voice carrying genuine surprise.

She didn’t even bother pretending she hadn’t recognized it.

Max smirked when he saw the shocked expressions on both women’s faces.

That was exactly why he’d brought the potion with him.

"It is," he said, holding the vial up slightly. "But it’s still made using the Minor Healing Potion recipe, so its effects aren’t particularly strong for an A-grade potion. It can heal some deeper wounds, though."

Grace’s eyes remained fixed on the vial.

"Do you have more?" she asked.

Her gaze sharpened with interest. "And how many?"

Max slipped the vial back into his pocket.

"Like I said, I don’t have any available right now. This one’s for emergencies." He didn’t bother explaining what kind of emergency he meant. It was simply another convenient excuse.

"But I can probably get you about a dozen by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow when?" Grace asked immediately. She wasn’t even trying to hide how badly she needed them anymore. Leaning forward slightly, she fixed her eyes on Max with an unmistakable sense of urgency.

Max, however, found his attention drifting elsewhere.

His gaze dropped toward the opening in her dress, catching a glimpse of the cleavage beneath it. He swallowed before forcing his eyes back toward her face. "Auntie will let you know the details," he replied casually. "But before we worry about that..."

A faint smirk appeared on his face.

"Let’s talk about the price."

Yennefer was already bracing herself for whatever ridiculous demand Max was about to make. Before he could say anything, however, Grace spoke first. "Don’t worry about the money..."

She slid the metal bar toward him.

"I know that even though it’s an A-grade potion, this particular recipe isn’t valuable enough to justify something like this. But if you can get me twenty of them, I’m willing to give you this in exchange."

Max glanced at the bar.

Even for twenty Minor A-grade Healing Potions, fifty thousand units was nearly three times what they were actually worth.

The offer was ridiculously generous.

And, for once, Max wasn’t even thinking about how to get Grace into bed.

Apparently, Yennefer had the same realization.

Max nodded slowly.

"The extra money is certainly nice..."

He paused.

"But..."

Yennefer’s eyes immediately narrowed.

’Please don’t start thinking with your dick now...’ she silently prayed.

This time, however, Max surprised her, "I only need you to pay the actual cost," he said with a small smile. He slid the metal bar back toward Grace before continuing. "But I do want to ask you something. And it has nothing to do with why you need the potions."

Grace slowly took the bar back, her expression showing a hint of surprise. Yennefer, meanwhile, stared at Max in confusion.

He hadn’t just turned down a ridiculously generous offer—he hadn’t even asked for anything extra in return.

Grace nodded.

The faint worry that had been lingering in her eyes seemed to ease slightly.

"Are you married, by any chance?" Max asked with a casual smile.

Yennefer immediately understood.

’That bastard... he’s playing the long game.’

Grace, however, looked slightly confused by the question. Yennefer had warned her that Max was vulgar, but this wasn’t exactly vulgar. It was simply a little more personal than she’d expected from someone she’d only just met.

"I am," Grace replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing important..." Max said, shaking his head with an innocent smile.

"If that’s all, then let’s meet tomorrow," Grace said with a polite smile as she opened the car door.

"I can drop you off, Melmarc," Yennefer offered.

"No need. Just make sure Mr. Falkner gets back safely."

Grace paused at the door, leaning against it as she gave Max a pleasant smile.

Max returned it.

"Oh, one more thing..."

His expression remained friendly, but his tone became slightly more serious.

"Don’t mention this to anyone. The person who makes these potions probably won’t be very happy if they find out about the deal."

He gave her a small, knowing smile.

"So just keep it between us, Mrs. Melmarc."

Grace knew that anyone capable of producing A-grade potions was unlikely to be an ordinary person.

Still, she wasn’t particularly worried.

For one thing, she had a few powerful people on her side. And for another, she had no intention of telling anyone else about the deal in the first place.

"Don’t worry. I’ll keep it to myself," Grace assured him. "Just try to get them to me as quickly as you can."

As she spoke, another realization occurred to her.

The person Yennefer had described as paranoid and vulgar didn’t seem to be Max at all.

Apparently, she’d been talking about the person who actually made the potions.

Saying that, Grace turned toward Yennefer, catching her reflection in the rearview mirror.

"Then please contact me, Mrs. Emyr, as soon as Mr. Falkner has the potions."

"I will," Yennefer replied with a small smile.

Grace nodded and closed the car door.

Yennefer didn’t wait around for long. As soon as Grace had stepped away, she started the car and drove off, leaving the other woman standing alone by the roadside.

As Yennefer was about to ask what was going through Max’s mind, she suddenly saw him raise his hands and begin making a rapid series of gestures.

She stared in surprise. He wasn’t simply writing a rune or two in the air. He was forming entire strings of runes in rapid succession, each one appearing almost as quickly as the last.

"What are you doing?" she asked, watching him with growing confusion.