The Extra Who Stole the Hero's System
Chapter 21: A Helping Hand

Chapter 21: A Helping Hand

The warning from the system was, stark and urgent:

[ WARNING: KNIGHT’S TRIAL ELIXIR - DETECTING CORRUPTED MANA SIGNATURE ].

It was a direct confirmation of danger.

We arrived back at the Sapphire manor just as dusk was settling. Luminous, still happily munching on his expensive nuts, bounced off to his room, eager to show off his haul. I, however, walked with a heavy heart, the ominous warning about the elixir weighing on my mind.

I found Evelina in her private study, surrounded by books,

"Kai! You’re back! And you found everything?" she said, her voice filled with eager anticipation.

I presented the Enchanted Grimoire and the Mana Focus Band first. She gasped with delight, her fingers tracing the glowing pages of the grimoire, her eyes sparkling as she slipped on the focus band. "Oh, Kai, these are perfect! Absolutely perfect! Thank you so much!"

Then, I pulled out the Knight’s Trial Elixir. The small, dark vial, with its unsettling green glow. Evelina reached for it, her eyes wide with excitement.

"And the elixir!" she breathed, her fingers against the glass.

"Evelina," I said, my voice low, my hand tightening around the vial. "I have a bad feeling about this potion."

Her hand froze. She looked at me, her brow furrowing slightly, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "A bad feeling? What do you mean, Kai? It’s a Knight’s Trial Elixir. It’s supposed to be incredibly potent."

"I know," I replied, trying to choose my words carefully. "But... there’s something about it. The way it glows. It feels... off. I would strongly advise you not to take it. In fact, I think it would be best if we... destroyed it."

The words felt strange coming out of my mouth. Destroy it? This potion was incredibly expensive, a staggering sum of gold coins. Alex Miller would winced at the thought of such waste. But the system’s warning had been stark.

[ RECOMMENDATION: DO NOT CONSUME ].

I knew from the novel that the system never gave warnings lightly. It had warned Eren Valtor against deadly consumption, against suicidal dungeon raids, against encounters with overwhelmingly powerful foes. If the system, a meta-interface designed to guide the protagonist, was giving such a stark warning, then this elixir was truly dangerous.

But how could I explain it? ’The invisible system only I can see told me this potion is harmful, so we should destroy this incredibly rare and expensive item’? That would sound insane. She’d think I was hallucinating, or worse, that I was trying to sabotage her Academy entrance. I couldn’t just destroy it without giving her a reasonable, believable reason.

Evelina’s gaze was fixed on me, a mixture of confusion and concern in her eyes. "Destroy it, Kai? But... it cost a fortune! And it’s crucial for my final preparations. What exactly makes you so certain?"

"It’s just... an instinct," I said, trying to sound vague but firm. "A very strong one. Sometimes, you just know when something isn’t right." It was a weak explanation, but it was all I had.

She looked at the elixir, then back at me, her brow still furrowed. "An instinct?" she murmured, a hint of skepticism in her voice. She seemed to hesitate, clearly torn between my warning and the potion’s supposed value and importance. "I... I will consider your words, Kai. Thank you for your concern." She took the vial from my hand, her fingers brushing mine, and placed it carefully on her desk, away from the other items. She didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she hadn’t dismissed my warning outright. It was a small victory.

Several hours later, just as I was about to take my shower, another interruption occurred—a soft knock came at my door.

"Kai? Are you awake? It’s Evelina. Could I have a moment of your audience in the kitchen?"

"The kitchen?" I called out.

"Yes! I need your help preparing some vegetable soup!" she replied, her voice cheerful, almost bubbly.

I opened the door. Evelina stood there, a large, empty pot in her hands, her eyes sparkling with an almost childlike enthusiasm. "Vegetable soup?" I asked, my brow furrowing. "But... why aren’t the maids helping you? Surely they can prepare soup."

She waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, no, no! I wish to prepare it myself! It’s been so long since we... since we cooked together, Kai! It will be fun!"

My mind quickly raced, Since we cooked together? Olberic’s diary hadn’t mentioned anything about cooking with Evelina. In fact, it had barely mentioned his daily life beyond his observations of Lord Sapphire.

This was another one of those ’memories’ I didn’t possess, another part of Olberic’s life I had to seamlessly integrate into my own. To keep the facade going, to maintain my identity as the adopted son, I had to accept. It was what Olberic would do.

"Of course, Evelina," I said, forcing a smile. "Lead the way."

The kitchen was a vast, bustling space, even at this late hour. Servants moved about, preparing for the next day, but Evelina seemed to command the space with an effortless grace. She led me to a large wooden counter, laden with an array of fresh vegetables.

"Alright, Kai," she said, handing me a large, curved knife. "We need to start with the cucumbers. I need a really big one for the soup." She gestured to a pile of cucumbers, all varying in size.

I picked up what I considered to be a rather large cucumber, its skin smooth and green. "This one?" I asked, holding it up. It felt substantial in my hand.

Evelina quickly burst into laughter, a light, gracious sound that seemed to fill the spacious kitchen. "Oh, Kai! That’s tiny! Drop it! I need a bigger one for the soup!"

My brow furrowed. Tiny? This cucumber is easily a foot long, thick, juicy and heavy. How could she call this small?

My mind, still rooted in the mundane realities of my past life, struggled to comprehend her definition of ’big.’ Was this some noble eccentricity? Or was she just messing with me?

She then reached into a large, woven basket beside the counter and pulled something out. My eyes widened. It was enormous. A cucumber easily twice the size of the one I was holding, thick as my forearm, and almost two feet long. It was comically large, almost like a small club.

"Yep, this big," she commented, holding it up with surprising ease, her eyes filled with amusement. She then tilted her head, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and added, "I wonder if it can fit in my mouth."

My mind froze. What? My internal monologue cried to a halt. The words, innocent on the surface, but loaded with an unsettling double meaning. My face, which had just begun to relax, flushed red. Was she... was she implying what I thought she was implying? Was this some kind of noble flirtation? What’s even the genre of the novel I’m in.

I stared at the comically large cucumber in her hand, then at her innocent, yet subtly mischievous, smile. My mind, was now utterly bewildered by a simple vegetable and a seemingly innocent comment.

Here I was, cutting vegetables in a noble kitchen, trying to play the part of a loving adopted brother, and a sister who might be a typical novel yandere. Was I truly wasting my time here, chopping cucumbers, when I should be reinforcing my defenses against any potential move by Lord Sapphire? The thought troubled me, a persistent worry in the back of my mind. What was he planning? And how long did I have before he made his next move?