After quickly handling the aftermath in the village, Eleanor and her group set off on the fastest route back to Olivius City.
At dawn, before the sun had fully risen, the convoy was already ready to depart.
Eleanor sat inside the carriage, gazing through the window at the ruins of the outpost bathed in the morning light.
Her fingertips lightly rested against the window frame, her eyes showing a faint, barely noticeable restlessness.
“Miss, it’s time to leave.”
The Guard Captain whispered outside the carriage.
Eleanor withdrew her gaze and gave a slight nod.
At the coachman’s call, the carriage slowly began to move, the wheels crunching over the gravel road with a soft rustling sound.
Julius, one of the Duke’s guards, rode beside Eleanor, glancing out occasionally as if confirming something.
The convoy’s pace was much faster than when they came.
The scenery rushed past them, the rhythmic clatter of hooves and wheels blending into a hurried tempo.
By noon, they didn’t even stop to eat, only briefly distributing some rations to stave off hunger.
“Hold on a little longer,”
the captain told the weary guards. “We should see the city walls before nightfall.”
Sure enough, as the sun set in the west, the towering walls of Olivius City finally appeared on the horizon.
The patrolling guards on the walls spotted the convoy from afar, and the heavy gates slowly opened to welcome their return.
As the carriage passed through the gates, Eleanor finally exhaled, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
She gently lifted the carriage curtain, looking at the familiar streets and buildings, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.
“Head straight to the Duke’s Mansion.”
She instructed the coachman, her voice calm as before, though a little faster than usual.
The sound of wheels grinding over the cobblestones echoed through the city as the convoy raced toward the Duke’s Mansion.
Julius looked up at the darkening sky, unconsciously touching the broken silver chain around his neck.
Helos… should still be unaware of what’s happened, right…?
Inside the Workshop, Helos was frowning, her silver hair casually tucked behind one ear.
Resting her chin on her hand, her pale purple eyes were fixed intently on the scattered Magic Crystal Shards on the workbench, her fingers tapping absentmindedly.
“Knock knock knock—”
Suddenly, a sharp knocking shattered the silence of the Workshop.
That knocking rhythm…
Without thinking, the girl’s lips curved into a smile. She hurried to the door in three quick steps and yanked it open.
“Oh? Julius, you’re back?”
Helos’ voice betrayed her excitement. “How was the trip—hey?”
Her words abruptly stopped.
Standing outside was indeed the familiar black-haired youth, but he was completely different from before.
Julius’ uniform was covered in soot and torn in places, his fringe stuck to his sweaty forehead.
Most strikingly,
the silver chain around his neck was broken, only a short piece hanging there now.
Before Helos could react, Julius stepped forward, his warm palm pressing firmly on her shoulder.
He took a deep breath, lightly lifted the broken chain, and asked hoarsely:
“That amulet you gave me… what exactly is it?”
Helos blinked, her pale purple pupils widening slightly.
“Ah… you actually used it?”
“Yeah.”
Julius nodded heavily, his gaze burning into her. “We were ambushed.”
He briefly recounted the attack on the village, his voice growing quieter.
When Julius described the amulet’s explosion in detail, Helos’ eyes suddenly lit up, her pale purple pupils contracting with excitement.
“Told you my invention would come in handy!”
She placed her hands on her hips, the silver ends of her hair swaying with her triumphant gesture, pride written all over her face as if saying, “I knew it.”
“So what exactly is that thing!!!”
Julius grabbed her shoulders and shook her, his voice trembling with relief and disbelief, “If I hadn’t reacted quickly, I’d have been seriously injured!”
“Uh… s-sorry.”
Helos’ confidence immediately shrank by half, her eyes darting nervously as she twisted the edge of her sleeve.
“Actually… that thing…”
Her voice grew quieter.
“I call it the Prototype Home-made Shrapnel Grenade.”
“If this were on Earth, it’d probably only exist in some ridiculous novel—because its core ingredients are basically a big pile of flour compressed by alchemy, mixed with Flame Grass powder as an accelerant, and sprinkled with some tiny metal fragments I picked up from the Workshop’s scrap heap.”
“And the Magic Core at the center? It was originally designed only as a trigger catalyst.”
“When the Magic Core is activated by external force, the internal alchemy formula triggers, instantly releasing the large amount of flour.”
“At that moment, the Flame Grass powder is catalyzed by the magic, creating actual flames, which causes a dust explosion in an extremely short time.”
“As for the metal fragments…”
“Those were just random bits I threw in because the compressed space still had room, and the flour quantity wasn’t quite enough.”
“Originally, I just wanted to make something like a smoke bomb, but I never expected that with the magic catalysis, the dust explosion would be so powerful.”
“Without alchemy, I wouldn’t have imagined the Magic Core could be used this way.”
The air suddenly grew heavy.
“In other words…”
She carefully glanced at Julius’ ashen face and braced herself to add, “It’s basically a bomb.”
“You gave me this thing and told me it was an amulet?!”
Helos shrank her neck, then straightened her back with a stubborn expression and shot back:
“Well, did it protect you or not?”
Julius slowly raised his hand to cover his face, his expression caught between exasperation and helplessness.
He took a deep breath, wanting to say something, but finally only let out a long sigh.
Indeed, that dangerous “amulet” had truly saved his life.
Looking at the girl’s “I’m sorry but I’ll still do it again” face, he suddenly felt both annoyed and amused.
“Fir…”
Julius rubbed his temple. “Could you at least tell me in advance that it’s a bomb?”
“I did tell you—would you have dared to wear it around your neck otherwise?”
“Did it have to be worn around my neck?!”
Seeing her like this, Julius suddenly had the urge to bonk her on the head.
In the end, he could only shake his head in resignation and reach out to smooth her messy silver hair.
“Sigh, you really did save me this time.”
“Then aren’t you going to thank me?”
“Don’t even think about it!”