Climate, humidity, weather, and the density of buildings.

He strolled through the imperial capital of Garkhain day after day and found a place that fit the bill. On this day, when the sun was shining and the air was dry, he lost his tail and set up all the three.

He utilized the structure of a clock and invented a mechanism so that the sparks would explode when the time came. He was positive that there would be enormous damage. Deaths would also be inevitable.

Moreover, there was no way that the imperial family of Garkhain, which placed great importance on war, would let something that could cause that much damage escape.

Soon, that time would come.

“I’m sorry, Rishe, but that’s just the way I am… I’m a monster, and taking you as my student was just me playing human.”

“One’s role isn’t defined by anyone, not by others, but you yourself! For you, I may be a fleeting student, but I want to grab a different role.”

— The next moment.

He thought he heard Rishe mutter something inaudible. Then she looked back at the tall man with the gray hair.

“Lord Rovine, I apologize for having falsified my position until now. But first, let me tell you something to settle this situation. Teacher Michel Evan still hasn’t told you what he intends to do, has he?”

“…You’re right, Lady.”

As the frontier count claimed, Michel hadn’t yet talked about the existence of gunpowder or what kind of violence he was planning to launch on the Imperial Capital.

Experiments were prone to failure if the uncertainties weren’t taken into account.

Remote experiments inevitably involved a lot of pitfalls. Even the explosives he had planted in the Imperial Capital could end up failing to explode for some reason or another.

He didn’t reveal his tricks just in case.

Michel wondered if Rishe was thinking along the same line. If so, that would be quite funny. It would be as if she were a student who had been by his side for years.

I don’t think I have the aptitude to be around anyone.

The thought of Kyle popped into his mind, but he decided to ignore it.

Either way, it was just around the corner.

“Now, let me clear up a misconception about Michel Evan.”

“…?”

Michel blinked at Rishe’s unexpected remark.

Oh, I see. Rishe may pretend to know about gunpowder, but she doesn’t know that I can make it explode in a timed fashion.

First off, it wasn’t even clear if she really understood what gunpowder was.

Perhaps she thought that if she could just keep him down, the disaster at eighteen o’clock wouldn’t happen.

Rishe stared straight at Michel as he came up with that thought.

“The teacher who taught me alchemy once said, In any experiment, there is always an element of uncertainty. If you don’t take that into account, your experiment is likely to fail.”

“!”

He gasped upon hearing it.

That was exactly what Michel was thinking. Rishe’s clear green eyes never strayed from Michel’s.

“It doesn’t matter how genius an alchemist you are. If you don’t have enough information about the pawns in your experiment, you will never achieve the results you expect.”

Before he knew it, Rishe was holding a golden pocket watch in her right hand.

“Your experiment is a failure.”

She informed him proudly.

“There’s no way you could have anticipated this uncertainty – Me… Everyone involved in this case has done their ‘job’ promptly.”

“What the…”

A bell rang in the distance.

It was the sound of the time signal from the church, which also served as a clock tower. It was eighteen o’clock, the time when Michel planted the bomb.

The sun was just about to set, and the sky of the Imperial Capital was dyed dark blue.

Michel looked to the west, to the Imperial Capital, which he could view below from the garden. Was that the direction of one of the sections where he set up the mechanisms?

That was when it happened.

“…Thunder?”

A line of light ran quickly and briefly vertically.

But if it was lightning, that would be strange. The sky was clear, and lightning was supposed to fall from the sky to the earth. But now, the light rose from the bottom to the top.

It was as if it was running up into the sky.

“No, that’s not…”

“What you create is not only poison. Even if it seems to you that it’s only harmful to people, if you use them in a different way, it can create various merits.”

The next moment.

“!!”

With a loud popping sound, a grain of light burst in the sky of the Imperial City.

It was gunpowder.

She knew that at a glance, but it wasn’t the result Michel had envisioned.

On the contrary, it became even a breathtaking sight.

It resembled an enormous flower.

A chemical that was supposed to crush and kill people was blooming in the night sky with vivid colors akin to the aurora borealis.

T/N: I just felt burnt out so I wasn’t able to update recently. Let me have a few more rest for the holidays ≧◠‿●‿◠≦

I wish everyone an advance Happy New Year! Despite the pandemic, I wish y’all a prosperous and healthy 2021 👼 Stay safe. Read with you next year ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ