Wicktoria and the Magic Tea Artisan

Chapter 5

"Sorry for suddenly getting emotional. Did I startle you?" Lamont said after regaining his composure.

"Not at all," I answered promptly, hoping he wouldn't feel uncomfortable getting emotional in front of me. "You can express your feelings whenever you want to. You can be honest with me."

"Thanks," he said with a faint smile. "Would you like some tea? You can sit and relax." He gestured towards the couch in his office. "I'll brew some tea for us."

"Sure. Thanks." I sat on the couch and observed him. He stood by the tall table by the window. On the table, there were several transparent crystal balls floating, spinning in circles. Some appeared to be boiling water like kettles, while others contained what looked like leaves, herbs, flowers, seeds, or dried fruits.

"We were talking about chocolate earlier, so I felt like having a chocolate tea. What do you think?"

"Sounds great," I said.

"Can I watch you make the tea?" I asked.

"Of course. Come here," he said. I walked over and stood beside him.

"So, the ingredients we need are... black tea, cacao, hazelnut, and dreamweaver nectar." As he gestured towards the shelf on the left, glass jars opened and the ingredients left the jars and flew to the table. I recognized the black tea, cacao, and hazelnut, but the dreamweaver nectar was new to me, so I examined it closely. It was in liquid form, with a faint pinkish glow.

"Is this drinkable?" I asked, pointing at the dreamweaver nectar.

"Yeah, but you have to use only three drops. Using more than that will make it extremely bitter."

"Is it a magical ingredient?"

"Yeah, it is. Dreamweaver is a plant that grows only in the Dream Realm, and it's very hard to obtain. It hides deep in the forest and travels with the wind. Only very lucky collectors can get hints about the plant's location in their dreams."

"You can only know its location through dreams?"

"Exactly. And I'm one of those lucky collectors."

"You collected it yourself?"

"Yes. I go out to collect magical ingredients on weekends. It's one of my hobbies."

"Even your hobby is amazing."

"It's my passion. Brewing magic tea. I explore forests, mountains, jungles, islands, rivers, and seas to find magic ingredients."

"That's awesome. Seriously, your life is so magical."

"You'll find your passion and enjoy a magical life eventually. It could take quite a while though. It took me some time to realize that this is my passion but that's my case. You can figure it out quickly."

"I see."

"By the way, Dreamweaver nectar helps you dream whatever you want. Before you go to sleep tonight, think about the dream you want. You will experience it vividly in your dream."

"That's amazing."

He smiled. "Now, I'm going to prepare these ingredients in each crystal bowl," he said, putting each ingredient into the crystal balls one by one. As he gestured, holes appeared in the crystal balls, allowing the ingredients to enter, then they disappeared, making perfect balls. "Each ingredient will be prepared at a different temperature. Since this black tea, cacao, and hazelnut were grown by wizards in magical soil, the preparation methods are different from ordinary ones. This black tea will be steamed at 117 degrees, this cacao will be boiled at 105 degrees, and the hazelnut will be crushed with a meteorite. Plus, I need some fresh pixie dust. It's the powder that has fallen from pixie wings. We need this to maximize the magical effect of Dreamweaver nectar." He took out a tiny glass jar from his jacket and scooped out a teaspoon of sparkling powder from it. He poured the powder into a crystal bowl filled with water, and the crystal bowl began to swirl on its own, dissolving the pixie dust into the water. The pixie dust emitted a seductive scent of the earth after rain.

The crystal balls containing black tea and cacao made a sound of a kettle as they were heating up. A meteorite crushed hazelnuts with a crackling sound. Lamont controlled the crystal balls and other tools through gestures only, without directly touching them. He looked like a conductor leading an orchestra.

"Now that everything is ready, I'm going to pour all the ingredients together."

He made the glass teapot fly off the shelf, then opened its lid. He made a tiny hole in each crystal ball, causing the boiled water and ingredients to fall into the teapot simultaneously. It was like watching an art performance, a very beautiful sight indeed.

"Finally, three drops of Dreamweaver nectar..." he said, carefully dropping it into the teapot.

"Wow," I gasped, amazed by the sweet, buttery aroma created by all the magical ingredients blended together.

He gave me a slightly shy smile at my reaction. He made two small teacups fly off the shelf and then poured the tea from the teapot into the teacups.

"Here you go. Hope you like it," he said, placing one of the teacups close to me.

I picked up the teacup in front of me and took a sip. "Unbelievable," I said. It was an ecstatic experience. A silky smooth finish, subtle sweetness and...

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"It's just that I don't know how to describe this sensation properly. I'm not talented in language," I explained.

He relaxed and chuckled. "You like it that much?"

"Yes, it's incredible. No tea or beverage gave me this kind of experience in my life. You're so genius. How could you create this?"

Lamont blushed a bit. "I'm so glad you enjoy it. You know, we have to set a date. We gotta celebrate your blooming. I'm going to brew another tea for you at your party."

"Thank you but I'm too old for a blooming day party. It's for babies."

"Some people bloom at an older age."

"And they appear on the news because it's unusual. I don't want to be on the news ever again."

"Ever again? Have you been on the news before?" Lamont asked me.

"Oh, right, you said you don't know my dad. The missing participant from the Championship you mentioned? That's my dad."

"Oh," he gasped in surprise. "I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

"Well, it's been sixteen years. And he went missing before I was born so I have no memory of him. I just saw him in pictures and videos. He was so talented. He was a genius like you. That's why people couldn't understand why I couldn't bloom. You know, they expected a lot from me. I was supposed to have his genius genes."

"It must have been so hard for you."

"Yeah, being compared to my dad for sixteen years made it harder for me to survive, especially in school. You know, teenagers could be mean. They called me 'cursed' or 'retarded.' Every day was horrible." I sighed deeply. "Lamont, I really wanna know who did this to me and why. Can you solve this mystery for me?"

He placed his hand on mine. "We will do it together," he said.

"I can't. I told you. I never received proper education or training. There's no way I can pass this interview and solve mysteries with genius wizards like you."

"We'll see," he said and elegantly sipped his tea. "There is a ward where we take care of cursed people inside MoM. We will go and see them. You observe them and tell me what you see. That's a test for you. Hop on your longboard and follow me closely. It's spacious and busy inside so it's easy to get lost."