(MC POV)
I coughed awkwardly into my fist after straightening out my clothes, Brendan sitting quietly on the bed across from me.
After finally managing to calm the girls down and reverting both mine and Brendan's bodies back to normal, we continued on with our lesson like nothing happened.
I cracked my neck to ease the strain of being stuffed into multiple bosoms just moments ago, "So… I guess you know that was not the answer."
He nodded, still not sure how he should react after seeing the girls react like that to my younger form.
I don't blame him, the girls can be a little bit too… Passionate… When I am in that form. I'm pretty sure it's just their motherly instincts acting up more than anything else. None of them, with the exception of Odriana, had a younger brother growing up after all.
I guess I should be more careful about such things in the future.
"Right. So what else do you think it might be? Surely you didn't just think of one possibility?" I asked.
Brendan scratched his head with a hand, "My second thought was scales, but that should result in a type of strengthening effect instead, right?"
I grinned, "It will create a vitality effect actually, a really potent one in fact. Do not try it."
My alchemist disciple tilted his head at me, "Eh? Why Master? Any noble would pay a hefty sum to get their hands on such a pill. The ones on the market aren't even that effective unless they get the really, really expensive ones."
I lifted my index finger into the air, "Firstly, we're not short of money."
All thanks to the investments I made in my hometown, by the way. The entertainment industry seems to be booming over there.
My middle finger lifted up to join the first, "Secondly, when I say 'really potent', what I meant was 'eat it and you will be permanently in the mood for the next twenty four hours and probably wring yourself dry and die' potent."
I speak from experience by the way, damn near died those times no thanks to that crazy Practitioner feeding that to me. I won't say what I did under the effects of that, but that demented person clearly enjoyed watching me suffer.
Still… I will admit that most of my alchemical knowledge stemmed from my time being their plaything, not that I will thank that absolute nutjob for it.
"And last but not least," I continued, lifting my third finger to join the first two. "Ain't no way in hell I want to be known for making such a thing. Feel free to do so if you want but not me."
There's nothing wrong with that business, but if I get into that line of work, that would mean I need to associate myself with those fat, arrogant nobles. Nah, I don't think I'd want that.
Brendan chuckled, "I wouldn't want that either, Master. Besides, I can't make that without Master's help anyway, though I do admit that I am quite curious about its effects."
I shook my head, "Just take my word for it, unless you plan to have an all out orgy of some sort and your body is strong enough, don't take it."
My alchemist disciple gave me a weird look, "Does that mean… Master uses it? You know, when you and senior sisters…"
I scoffed, "Please, that was all me. Don't need any drug to keep me going to satisfy them."
"Ah… I see… Umm… Good to know?"
I waved my hand at him, "Enough about that. If you really do need a vitality pill of that sort, I can share some other safer recipes so you don't need to use this one. Just let me know when you find yourself underperforming. Let's move on then, what else do you think it might be?"
He pursed his lips, "I don't… Umm... Nevermind… My next guess was dragon talons…"
I couldn't help but chuckle, "Hehe, a natural guess, but what do you actually think it will make?"
Brendan gave me a sheepish smile, "If that doesn't make the gender change pill… A transformation type pill that grows body parts, maybe?"
"That is quite right, impressive," I praised him. "Specifically, it would have allowed you to grow wings temporarily, the type of wing would depend on what you throw in after that. Any type of feathers would grant your feathered wings and so on. Since we're on that topic, I'll go ahead and tell you that Dragon wings aren't the answer either."
"Same effect as the dragon talons?" Brendan asked.
I grinned, "Yes and no. Interestingly enough, this would allow you to transform any part of your body for the duration of the effect except for growing wings. Funny how this works eh?"
Brendan grimaced, "This is way harder than I thought it would be… I'm not sure what else can be used, Master..."
"Truth be told, you most likely wouldn't have guessed this either and if you did, I would be quite worried for you."
Brendan's face turned from confusion to understanding to doubt really quickly.
"It can't be… The Dragon's… Umm… Sexual fluids?"
"Female dragon's for the female gender change, male's for the opposite," I confirmed. "I'm pretty sure there are other combinations out there but this one requires the least materials and I personally know it works."
Once again, no thanks to that crazy Practitioner.
"Ugh… No wonder no one else has made this yet…" Brendan sighed. "How did Master… Ummm… Nevermind, I don't think I want to know…"
"I did not jack off a dragon if that's what you're thinking, so get your mind out of the gutter," I admonished him, though my smile remained on my face. "It's a simple thing of analyzing every single potential material component after you kill something, you never know when you might need them. I would suggest that you do the same, in fact."
He gave me a sad smile, "Master, I'm sorry but… I really doubt anyone else but you can do the material substitution thing."
"Nonsense," I waved his protest away, clapping him on the shoulder. "Trust me when I say that it's easier than it seems, you just need to know how to do it. Anyway, let's try that out first eh?"
I hovered my hand over the cauldron again, putting in the components needed for our potion of choice.
Once done, I gestured for Brendan to try again, my disciple moving forward without hesitation to take his place in front of it.
I watched over him as he completed the brewing process, combining everything together with as much precision as a Master alchemist might have.
I didn't even need to show him the process and he already had it figured out just by looking at the components.
This is why he's a genius in his own right too, something that he doesn't give himself enough credit for.
In just half an hour, the mixture was complete and a transparent liquid sat in the cauldron. If we were to bring this to a brazier to refine, we would be able to turn it into pills for better storage.
Once more, I scooped up a vial of it and inspected it with an eye, "Hmmm… Perfect quality. Extremely well done, Brendan."
He bowed his head quickly, "You over praise me, Master. You did most of the work."
See what I mean?
I took a look at the potion and an idea sprung into my head, "Hey Brendan… You wanna prank the girls?"