Louis had just stepped out of the lab when he suddenly halted.

His eyebrows perked up, as if he suddenly remembered something important.

"Wait a minute..." he muttered to himself, turning back to look at Hillco, who was still tidying up potion bottles, "I almost forgot the main thing."

He returned, walked over to the potion racks, and shouted to the alchemy genius who was busily organizing, "Hillco, I'm actually here today not just for the matter of the Knight Potion."

Hillco looked up at this, blinking in confusion: "Not for that? Your timing is perfect, I thought your nose was even more sensitive than the lab cat's."

Clearing his throat, Louis said somewhat embarrassedly, "I want you to help me make something... um, special."

"Oh?" Hillco grew interested, tilting his head and crossing his arms, "What kind? A weapon? A potion? Or a magic device? Or a magic explosion bullet!"

"None of those." Louis paused, as if choosing his words carefully, and then slowly said, "I want to make something that can light up the night sky.

Preferably colorful, shaped like... a flower, exploding in the sky, and then slowly falling apart.

But not a real explosion. Just something... for celebration."

The expression on Hillco's face gradually became oddly nuanced, his brows knitting into a question mark: "You're saying... exploding, glowing, making noise, but not harming anyone?

Doesn't that sound like... a toned-down version of a magic explosion bullet? Are you planning to celebrate by blowing up a few birds during a siege?"

"It's not an explosive!" Louis waved his hands frantically, "It won't kill anyone, or set houses on fire. It's... beautiful, romantic, set in the night sky, like a giant flower blooming up there.

And it will fall like starlike sparks, twinkling. Sometimes it's red, sometimes it's blue, there's also gold and purple... best if it can come in sequences, like dancing in the sky."

Hillco's face was plastered with "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?".

He blinked in confusion: "Are you describing some kind of magic? Why come to me, I'm an alchemist, not a mage?"

"Not magic, nor illusion, it's something tangible." Louis sighed, finally realizing he was describing something that didn't exist in this world.

"You want to make a... 'rhythmic, non-dangerous explosion device', specifically for... looking good? What's the point?" Hillco's tone was already tinged with subtle doubt.

"It can be used in celebrations, ceremonies, like during weddings, everyone looks up at the night sky, with a 'bang', a golden flower bursts open, and people below clap and cheer, that feeling must be fantastic."

"You want to set off a magic explosion bullet at your wedding?"

"It's not a magic explosion bullet!" Louis stressed, exasperated.

Hillco had a look on his face like "it's all about the same", silently uncapping a potion bottle he just closed, possibly to check if he hadn't mistaken the scent of some hallucinogenic ingredient.

"Got it, sort of." He scratched his head, "You want something like launching magic explosion bullets into the sky with an alchemy device, non-lethal, varying effects, as beautiful as possible. Simply put... a 'non-killing magic explosion bullet'?"

"Yes! That's about it." Louis breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting somewhat close.

"Alright, I'll give it a try." Hillco shook his head in resignation.

...

The sun set in the west, its golden-red afterglow sprinkled on the northern field of Red Tide Territory, coating the boundless wilderness with a layer of serene, gentle warmth.

The wind blew through the gaps in the wild grass, kicking up some dust, and also brought with it the impending essence of night.

Louis led his horse and stepped into this somewhat desolate testing ground.

Hillco's figure was clearly visible in the distance.

He stood beside an alchemy launcher, focused, directing a few apprentices as they installed oddly shaped alchemy devices onto the launcher.

On the ground lay several large metal tubes, arranged neatly, though somewhat crude due to hurried manufacture, looking like a bunch of giant carrots ready to ascend.

"Wow..." Louis blinked, "This thing is even more... peculiar than I imagined."

And Hillco, the inventor himself, draped in his smoke-blackened refined white robe, stood excitedly in front of the launcher, instructing the apprentices to pour some powder into the metal tubes.

Sif murmured under his breath, "Why do I feel it's more like Red Tide Castle?"

Louis's mouth twitched, how is it similar, Red Tide Castle is so cool.

Then his gaze swept over the ground, and his eyebrows twitched slightly, "And what's written on these cylinders?"

[Prototype・Ornamental Magic Explosion Bullet]

[Do Not Lick!!!]

[Side Effects: Ringing Ears/Light Dizziness/Possible Romantic Sensations]

"Where do I even start to complain?" Louis held his head, feeling a headache.

It was then that Hillco finally noticed their arrival, waving his hand abruptly: "My Lord! You're just in time! Almost ready!"

In the center of the field, the last set of devices was installed.

"The main ingredient is newly blended magic marrow powder, one of the core energy sources," Hillco explained while checking, "It mixes in a trace of red platinum magic crystal..."

"Is it really safe?" Louis repeated softly, his tone peculiar.

"Safe under normal circumstances." Hillco replied without hesitation.

Louis's eyelid twitched slightly, what about under abnormal circumstances?

"For colors, it's using fire moss ash and gold and silver dust." He continued, his tone calm as water, "Fire moss ash presents bright red under high temperature, and gold and silver dust reflects blue and gold light under different lighting conditions. If the proportions are adjusted well, it can simultaneously explode in red, blue, and gold hues."

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