"At this season, the only plant that bears edible fruit is the hulberry plant," Onean said after a moment of contemplation.

"That sounds like a type of fruit. Is that all we get to eat? That's way too sad for a meal," Erwin complained.

"Well, there's not much choice here, is there? There are now cattle or sheep for you to eat near the Terarody Mountain Ranges. Alternatively, do you want to try out what the magic beasts here taste like?" Onean asked with an amused smile.

"Have you tried any magic beasts before? Surely you would've tried some magic beasts with Master Piro, right?" Erwin asked with a curious expression.

"Do I look like I have a death wish? There are far less painful ways to commit suicide than to eat magic beasts," Onean said as she rolled her eyes at Erwin.

"Are magic beasts that poisonous?" Erwin asked with a surprised expression.

"You can interpret it that way," Onean replied. "To put it more accurately, the danger lies in the fact that we don't know what kind of elements are present in their bodies, and those unknown elements could be lethal. Come to think of it, that female wereleopard's processing of that chunk of the ice dragon's heart was quite impressive. I'm assuming that was the first time that she had worked with the organ of an ice dragon before. When it comes to brewing magic potions, it's very difficult to execute the process properly when you're unfamiliar with the ingredients."

"I know nothing about brewing magic potions. I was never interested in it back at the academy," Erwin said. "However, I do recall eating some of the Falcon Beak Lizard flesh a while ago. Even now, my stomach churns when I think about that rancid flavor."

With that in mind, he decided against exploring the possibility of hunting magic beasts for food.

"Let me put it this way: when it comes to some standard elementary magic potions, even the apprentices in magic potion shops will be able to brew them without any issues. However, as the magic potion ingredients become more and more complex, the potion master brewing the magic potion must also become more and more skilled. Under normal circumstances, there would've been no way to properly process the internal organs of an ice dragon without some form of prior experience," Onean explained.

"So you're saying that the female wereleopard is a terrible magician, but she's a master when it comes to brewing potions?" Erwin asked.

"I don't know if she's a potions master or not, but what I can tell you is that there are many very skilled human potions masters that wouldn't have been able to process that dragon's heart properly," Onean said as she turned to look at Erwin.

Erwin contemplated this statement momentarily, then suddenly asked, "By the way, what did you mean when you said that the magic language she used was quite unique?"

"I'm sure you would've figured it out as well, right?" Onean asked as she glanced at Erwin. "The language that she used wasn't the regular wereleopard language."

"That's what I was surprised by," Erwin said. "I didn't think that the leader of a wereleopard settlement would be so knowledgeable. Could you tell what type of language she was using?"

Onean shook her head in response. "Just like you said, there are definitely some strange things happening in these mountain ranges."

"I haven't taken any potions classes, but I know the general process for brewing magic potions. It's just the process of using magic power to convert something into a desirable form, right? To put it plainly, it's no different from the normal magic that we use. What I'm wondering is how she was able to complete the potion brewing process with her pitiful magic power," Erwin mused with an intrigued expression. "I heard that most advanced potions masters are at least at the grand magic mentor level, and she's definitely nowhere near that level."

Onean shook her head as she heaved a faint sigh. "When it comes to magic potions, your understanding of the subject is far too limited."

"What do you mean by that? Was what I said incorrect?" Erwin was rather taken aback to hear this.

"The fact that you're jumping to conclusions like this shows that you really are a complete novice when it comes to magic potions," Onean jibed with an amused smile. "When it comes to brewing magic potions, even if you possess exceptional magic power, all that does is increase the probability that you'll succeed in brewing the potion. Just because you're a magician with limited magic power doesn't mean that you're unable to brew advanced magic potions."

"How is that supposed to work?"

"At times, the potion brewing process can be made a lot simpler just by using a different type of magic language. If the right magic language is used, the success rate can be maintained, and less magic power would have to be expended to brew the desired magic potion," Onean replied. "As for whether that female wereleopard only knows one type of magic language for brewing magic potions, that's completely up to speculation."

"But if you change to a different type of magic language, wouldn't that change the properties of the magic potion as well?" Erwin asked.

"Alright, then let me ask you this: say you're using a fireball spell. Is it going to become a lightning spell just because you used the ancient magic language?" Onean countered.

"But a fireball spell unleashed using the ancient magic language is far more powerful than its normal counterpart."

"That's true, but is there a fundamental difference?"

"So you're saying that if a different magic language is used to brew a magic potion, the only thing that changes is the efficacy of the potion, not its properties."

Onean nodded in response. "I don't know if the magic language that she used made the magic potion more or less efficacious, but it would've definitely had some type of effect."

"But as I'm sure you're aware, when we're casting a spell using a different type of magic language, it's not just a simple matter of translating one language into another. Instead, the entire process through which the spell is cast has to be changed, as does the logic involved," Erwin said.

Onean pointed a finger into the distance as she said, "Let's say that the endpoint lies on the other side of the forest. No matter which direction we choose to go in, the endpoint is still there, and there's no changing that."

"I really want to praise you for giving an apt analogy, but in reality, that's not the case," Erwin said with a smile.

When it came to magic potions, Onean was naturally far more proficient than Erwin. However, on the subject of space, Erwin's understanding of the topic had already gone far beyond what was to be expected of a normal person, and even a prodigious magician like Onean couldn't compare.

Onean was just about to ask him to elaborate, but a suspicion quickly arose in her mind, which was that Erwin was only saying that because he wanted to show off his knowledge in the entity of space in order to redeem himself for his complete lack of understanding of magic potions. Thus, she decided against raising the question. However, in reality, her assessment of the situation was incorrect. While it was indeed true that Erwin was trying to redeem himself, the concept of space really wasn't as simple as Onean imagined it to be.

"But if you think about it, doesn't that mean that if an apprentice from a magic potions shop learns a few extra magic languages, then they'll be able to brew magic potions normally beyond their capabilities?" Erwin asked. "Wouldn't that be a shortcut that everyone would be trying to exploit?"

Onean heaved an exasperated sigh upon hearing this. "Looks like I really do have to educate you on this topic. Firstly, potion brewers who only know how to brew magic potions using magic power alone are really no different from the novice apprentices in magic potion shops. There really is no correlation between magic potion brewing and the level of one's magic power. When you're cultivating magic power, you can repeatedly practice an incantation, and that would still yield positive outcomes. However, when it comes to brewing magic potions, efficiency and productivity are paramount, so if you repeatedly do something over and over again, you're not actually making any progress, so it would just be a waste of time. Do you think there's any point in that? Now, let's talk about the identification of magic potion ingredients. This actually correlates with your existing base of knowledge. Firstly, you have to analyze what type of ingredient you have on your hands and what it can be used for. Then, you have to consider what type of magic can be used to refine the ingredient, and what type of magic language to use to yield the optimal level of efficiency. When it comes to ingredients like an ice dragon's heart, the process is quite complicated, and there's generally not going to be any information pertaining to such an ingredient in normal potions books. Hence, you'll have to gather as much information on this type of magic beast as possible, then theorize about the properties of the ingredient based on that information. After that, you perform experiments depending on how much of the ingredient you have in order to determine the initial plan for how you're going to refine it..."

Listening to Onean's lecture, the same waves of drowsiness from earlier in the afternoon began to wash over Erwin again. He had already sat down onto the ground with his face raised upward, listening to "Professor Onean" giving her lecture, feeling like he needed a notepad. He was feeling very hungry, so his brain wasn't working properly, and with this bombardment of magic potion brewing theoretical knowledge from Onean, he felt like his head was buzzing in protest. 

"I know that what you're saying is all correct, but can we find something to eat first?" Erwin implored in a whiny voice.

"You're the one who doesn't know anything but insisted on arguing with me," Onean said as she poked Erwin on the forehead with her index finger with a displeased expression.

"I didn't know you would suddenly give such a long-winded lecture. Those missionaries should invite you to teach them how to spread their religions," Erwin said with a wry smile. "I can tell that you'll definitely be a fantastic mother in the future. Your children will be sure to grow up splendidly under your guidance."

A displeased pout appeared on Onean's face, and she didn't feel like bickering with Erwin any longer. She used her hands to smooth down her slightly disheveled hair, allowing the light of the setting sun to bask her face in a warm orange glow. Her proud and captivating eyes were giving off a faint gleam under the light, and Erwin couldn't help but be entranced by the sight of her, feeling as if her eyes were sucking his soul away.

A short while later, Erwin returned to his senses before continuing his made-up story. "I can already imagine myself sitting beside the children, looking at them with sympathetic expressions as they're lectured by you."

Onean was rather amused by the continuation of his story. "Why are you taking pity on my children?"

"To be honest, I should be taking pity on myself. Once you finish lecturing the children, it'll be me next, and the topic of the lecture will be why I still haven't learned how to brew magic potions even after all these years." Erwin couldn't help but burst into laughter at his own story, and the more he thought about it, the more amused he became.

"Are you really that hungry? Why do I feel like you're still very energetic?" Onean asked as she took a glance at Erwin, who was still laughing to himself like an idiot.

"Alright, let's go find some food." Erwin used what little energy he had to rise to his feet, then grabbed onto Onean's delicate hand before setting off to search for hulberry trees in the forest. As for the two bottles of foul-smelling magic potion, they had already been tossed aside by him. He really didn't want to have to deal with that smell while eating.

As it turned out, hulberry trees that were bearing fruit were quite easy to find in spring. Each tree bore hundreds of fruit, so they were extremely eye-catching. The fruits varied sporadically in size with the longest ones reaching around the same length as a human arm, while the shortest ones were only around the length of a finger. There was also a lot of variety in their color, with some that were red, some that were green, some that were purple, some that were yellow... It was like a piece of artwork created by a complete novice. Erwin could imagine the beginner artist experimenting with all of the colors on their palette, resulting in all of the fruits being painted in different colors.

"So this is a hulberry tree," Erwin mused as he stood at the foot of the tree before raising his head to look upward. "Which one should I pick? Are there any rules or conventions I should follow? Are any of them poisonous?"

"You really are a coward, aren't you?" Onean chuckled with an amused expression.

With a wave of the silver staff in her hand, a series of hulberries of different sizes began to fall down from the tree.

Erwin took a step back, then reached out to grab onto a fist-sized hulberry that was yellow in color. He looked carefully at the granular skin of the fruit, and he had no idea how he was supposed to eat it.

"Why aren't you eating?" Onean asked as she turned to him with an expectant expression. "Aren't you really hungry?"

Looking at the expectant smile on her face, Erwin was reminded of the piece of scale melon that he had been force-fed by Onean back in Xeto.

"Why don't you give it a try first?" Erwin wound an army around Onean's waist, then thrust the hulberry in his hand toward her mouth. However, he made sure to stop just short of Onean's lips so that she had enough space to open her mouth. As a result, she was forced to take a bite, but Erwin was gentle enough that she wasn't in any pain.

Onean remained completely unfazed and took a bit out of the hulberry without any hesitation.

Just as Erwin was looking at her with a curious and expectant expression, she sneakily flipped over her wrist, then grabbed onto Erwin's cheeks with her other hand. In the blink of an eye, a hulberry that had been concealed in her palm this entire time was tossed into Erwin's mouth.

Erwin's eyes widened as he clasped his hands over his own throat, and before he had a chance to react, he had already involuntarily swallowed the hulberry.