―And then, a few days later. The Royal Capital Asteria.

On the highest tower of the Royal Capital Magic Academy, Aldo was holding Darius's staff as he took a deep breath.

His work will start soon.

From the top of the tower, the royal capital was bathed in daylight-like brightness, illuminated by the great magic furnace 'Lunarius'.

(Is it about time?)

That's right, it was just as Aldo thought that the light suddenly disappeared.

A moment of silence and darkness.

It wasn't a malfunction of the Lunarius, but rather someone intentionally turned off the lights.

In the silence and darkness, Aldo took a deep breath.

(...Alright, let's do it then.)

Theoretically, it's complete. He imbues the magic with "color" information, launches it high into the sky, and then releases it at any time he chooses.

However, it's a simple yet extremely difficult process.

Attribute magic originally has a specific color that symbolizes its attribute.

Just as fire magic burns red and ice magic glows pale blue.

And the fireworks Aldo creates are also a type of fire magic by classification. That being the case, they are generally red.

Changing the color of fire magic is equivalent to altering the very formula that forms the core of the magic, and creating fire that shouldn't exist.

If things go wrong, the technique could collapse, and the magic power could go out of control.

After years of research, Aldo's answer was to imbue fire magic with only a tiny amount of color information and mix in the magic power of other attributes.

Erase all information about the red fire and add a drop of green wind. If the mixing ratio, the way the magic power is refined, isn't perfect, the colors will either mix and become muddy or repel each other and explode.

With an ordinary wand, such faithful and delicate magic control would have been impossible. The only wand that could perfectly understand and shape that reckless, childlike dream was this one, made by Darius.

"―Alright, partner, let's go."

When Aldo spoke to his staff, it emitted a faint, warm light.

He will refine his magical power.

First, the magic to launch it. Then, the core magic to make it bloom in the night sky.

And now comes the delicate process. The core magical power is divided into hundreds of tiny particles within the brain, and color information is infused into each one.

The intricate work is so demanding that his mind is starting to scream.

But each time, he felt the staff provided accurate support.

It's as if someone is tapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Get a grip."

With all preparations complete,

"―Bloom."

Whoosh... Boom!

The released magic bloomed into a magnificent flower in the highest reaches of the night sky.

Below, he could see countless faces illuminated by the light, their eyes widening in surprise and then in awe.

Without a moment's pause, Aldo wove spell after spell.

At his magic, the wand responded joyfully, and the night sky was filled with colorful flowers of light.

Without a moment's rest, Aldo continued to cast spells. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he activated his magic.

Voices echoed from all around toward Aldo.

"Amazing...! I want to use magic like that too...!"

The pure joy in a child's voice.

Aldo was still clutching his staff as he used that voice as the driving force to cast his magic.

(...It was successful, I suppose. But this... It's still not enough. This magic relies too much on my personal skill and the performance of this staff. If I were to disappear, this light would vanish as well.)

The cheers of the people reach him with the pleasant breeze. Each one of them warms and fills Aldo's heart.

However, before he could fully savor that emotion, Aldo's thoughts had already shifted to those of a mage and a researcher.

(I thought I had achieved my dream. But... this is still incomplete.)

The dream of a single old sorcerer has now been sublimated into a new goal.

(That's right... I need to make it a simpler spell. Not something that only I and this staff can do, but a universal magic that anyone with a certain level of skill can replicate... I need to improve this light so that it can bloom in the sky forever, and become one of this country's specialties...!)

He gently stroked his partner's staff.

(Partner, our work has only just begun. It's going to get much busier from here on out... will you help me?)

As if in response to those words, the staff emitted a stronger, warmer light, as if saying, "Just what I wanted."

A magic that an old sorcerer pursued throughout his life, a magic to make someone happy.

Although it was still a long way off until the goal was achieved, he was filled with motivation.

―Later, after the fireworks, which were a huge success, the reporters from the royal capital swarmed to Aldo Vincent.

"What magic was that flower that bloomed in the sky that day?" To that question, the old sorcerer simply smiled gently and replied, "It was the magic of hope."

"That was a long-held dream of mine. And it was a master blacksmith named Darius, who lives in the remote forest and possesses a skill that can only be described as divine, that had made that dream come true."

Chapter 31