"Welcome, good evening~"

The female shop assistant greeted the passing customers warmly, but Merka seemed absent-minded and didn't respond in a timely manner.

"Hello, what would you like to see?"

After waiting for a while, the shop assistant finally had the chance to serve Merka.

"Do you have, um..."

Merka wanted to say something, but found their request too abstract, causing them to stutter subconsciously.

"Right, why is your store named Fire Meteor?"

The shop assistant noticed Merka's well-dressed appearance, with an air of style and confidence, plus their deep, abstinent eyes and cute doll-like face, which made her smile even sweeter.

"Huoliuxing... It's our store's signature."

"You light its fuse on the ground."

"Then, with a loud bang."

"It flies into the sky with a swoosh."

"Finally, it bursts into pieces between the clouds and falls down."

"Our fireworks fly higher than the Monte Rosa volcano."

"Because it falls through the clouds like a shooting star, so we call it Huoliuxing."

The shop assistant clasped her hands in front of her chest, closed her eyes gently, and vividly described it. It was as if that romantic and sincere scene was unfolding before her eyes at that moment.

"But we don't have any left, customer."

"During the recent fireworks festival, they were all sold out."

Merka was pondering whether the shop assistant's description of the fireworks matched a real shooting star, but didn't expect them to be sold out. They couldn't help but be taken aback.

"..."

"None left at all?"

"I can offer a high price to buy."

Merka said.

Seeing Merka's slight anxiety, the shop assistant smiled and shook her head gently.

"If there's none left, there's none left."

"The fireworks artisans are lazy, they only make a limited number each year."

"Besides, this year is the biennial gathering, the artisans are already exhausted. I'm afraid more money won't help."

After the shop assistant finished speaking, she calmly took out a piece of paper from her pocket, took out a pen she carried with her, quickly scribbled on the paper, and handed it to Merka.

"However, I'll give you the address of a fireworks artisan."

"If you're really in a hurry, you can go directly to him. What if he agrees?"

"Remember to say some nice words and bring a gift."

Merka took the piece of paper, was momentarily stunned, then quickly thanked her and left.

"... You let such a handsome person go?"

"You like that type, don't you?"

The shop owner leaned against the counter, several body lengths away from the shop assistant, and asked her curiously.

"His jacket had the Agio family crest, I'm not worthy of someone like him."

The woman's expression suddenly lost its business-like smile and became sophisticated and indifferent.

"The Agio family... It seems like quite a few Agio people have come to the city recently."

"Yes, after all, the Montecristo family is also conservative."

The shop assistant girl slowly lit a cigarette, exhaling smoke slowly.

"Now... the Agio family, the Montecristo family, and the McNewdeau family are all conservatives. The Altria and Koshiba families are reformists. The Galleher family is the only one left that hasn't taken a side."

"I wonder if the days ahead will still be peaceful... I always feel the air is filled with a sense of gunpowder."

Although the store manager's words revealed a sense of unease, their tone and expression remained calm.

"Whatever, let those nobles fight amongst themselves. As long as it doesn't affect us common folks."

The shop assistant replied.

"You're right."

——————————————————————————

"Young lady, refrain from using magic."

"My classes focus on close combat and assassination awareness."

Dunkirk's face was icy cold.

She held up a smoothly curved long knife, placing it between herself and Turing.

The cold lake water just reached their ankles. In this confrontation, the clear sky seemed to flow like swift currents in the desolate expanse.

Turing had already changed back into a patient gown.

Since Turing regained her magical power, she had requested to have the infirmary moved to a villa on the island in the middle of the lake.

Originally, Turing didn't want to stay in this heavily medicated place for another day, especially since she wanted to quickly explain the misunderstanding to Merka. However, Maria insisted that Turing couldn't leave until she finished the course.

"Dunkirk, sis."

"Is this the reason why you switched from a handgun to a cold weapon?"

"Besides, if it comes down to brute strength, I have the advantage."

Turing said, raising a small hand and waving her little tentacled fist in front of Dunkirk, then quickly retracting it.

"Don't do that. Otherwise, you won't make any progress."

"When faced with an opponent on your mother's level, you'll regret not taking my lessons seriously."

"And remember to call me 'Teacher' during training."

Turing stuck out her young tongue.

"Okay, Teacher..."

Dunkirk nodded, but just as she was about to launch an attack on Turing, she noticed that Turing had already withdrawn her defensive stance.

"Teacher, the people from Acadia can't use magic, right?"

"The so-called magic is just angels working behind the scenes."

Turing casually conjured a burning fireball, then extinguished it with a gentle squeeze.

Although Turing had been able to do this before, she knew deep down that it was completely different now.

Before, Turing had to at least mentally recite an incantation, but now the flames were being controlled as if they were a part of her own body.