It was a bright and beautiful day in the humble village of Colseit, one of those very rare days where the temperature was just warm enough to encourage people to leave their humble abodes and just cool enough to prevent the wave of lethargy that often accompanied blazingly sunny skies. Monster attacks were declining thanks to the steady efforts of the local branch, the apple orchards were bearing plenty of their signature fruit, and the village's new public plaza had been finished earlier than planned. All in all, it was a wonderful, perfect day to spend gallivanting around town and experiencing all that nature had to offer.
Of course, for those employed at the R&D department, this meant nothing. Unlike everyone else, they still had tasks to complete and deadlines to meet. Therefore, instead of running around playing tag, like Katla was currently doing with a very red faced Micie, Escha and Logy were hard at work in their humble atelier, synthesizing away.
It had been a very productive day so far; already Escha had created and delivered several new cogs and screws to her cousin Awin to help with Maintenance's project to revamp the balloon docks, while Logy had finished cataloging their most recent venture in the never ending quest for alchemical components. Mistakes were made to be sure, but most of them were minor, like filling out a form incorrectly, or leaving the cauldron bubbling a little too long. Today however, this mistake was just a little more significant than most…
Escha wandered over to the cauldron, to check on the recipe she had been brewing for the past twenty minutes. She gently lifted the wooden lid, peering inside the magical artifact. She frowned. "Hmm… Logy, I know you don't know much about cauldron alchemy, but…is it normal for the cauldron to suddenly turn red?"
"Red?" The sound of his scribbling stopped suddenly as his mind immediately went to the ramifications of such a development. "It can do that?"
"Ah, apparently yes… Ah!" She yelped and jerked back as a loud hiss suddenly came from the angry mixture, the cauldron lid flipping onto the floor. "Wah! It's getting really violent all of a sudden!"
Logy hurried over to support her, glancing at the now whirling torrent of crimson hellfire spinning in the abused cauldron. "Get back," he barked, reaching down. He slammed the lid on the terrifying concoction, grabbing some heavy tomes to weigh it down should the blend refuse to settle.
"What did you throw in there?"
"Well…remember how you said you wanted some stronger bombs the other day?"
"When we were fighting the dragons? What about it?"
"I…thought it was a good idea to throw some of your blitzes in the cauldron and see what happened…"
"You did what?!"
"I was just trying to make a stronger weapon for you!"
"By throwing four very volatile explosive projectiles into a confined area and trying to fuse them together by adding even more energy to their already high payloads! Why did you think that would be a good idea?"
"It worked when I wanted to combine those apples into a better apple!"
"But that was food! This is obviously not!"
"The concept is the same so I thought it would work!"
"How many recipes actually tell you to throw an explosive into a pot and see what happens?"
"There's a lot about the past era that we don't know! Maybe they did this daily!"
"You are not a historical expert, and I'm certain Threia would agree with me that-" Logy took a break from their argument to sniff the air. "…Do you smell smoke?"
Two heads turned to face the cauldron. The lid and the books atop it were on fire.
"WAAAAAH!"
"AAAAHHH!"
"Put it out! Put it out!"
"I'm trying! Save the books!"
Two alchemists were currently panicking as their alchemical reaction, mixed by the adorable pinkette, just so happened to turn into a raging inferno.
"Look in the ingredients chest, we have to have some water somewhere!" shouted Escha as she practically broke open the window to let the gathering smoke escape.
"On it!"
"Hurry, hurry!"
"Why do we keep the water in beakers if they're all the same thing?!"
"It's easier for me!"
"Never mind that, just help me put out the fire. Here!" directed Logy, thrusting a glass beaker into Escha's hands.
"Right! Water, go!" she cried, throwing the beaker like a grenade. Unfortunately, her superior aiming abilities only seemed to work against monsters.
"You threw it out the window!"
"I'm sorry! I'll do better next time!"
"…What next time? We're out of water!"
"Eeeehhhhhh?! But I just grabbed ten vials earlier today!"
"Which you used trying to make a better Apple Story!"
As if to add insult to injury, a strong gust of wind blew into the room, fanning the flames further.
"Our atelier!"
"We need water!" A thought struck Logy. "The apples! They have water in them! Throw the apples!"
"Not the apples!" wailed Escha, throwing her arms around Logy to stop him from abusing her poor, delicious alchemy ingredients.
"Escha! This is not the time!"
"They're my friends!"
"You eat them!"
"They're my edible friends!"
Meanwhile, the commotion became loud enough for the rest of the department (or rather, one of them) to warrant an investigation.
"Senpai~! What's going on up he- ZOMIGOSH IT'S A FIRE!" shrieked Lucille, recoiling in terror.
"Lucille! We need water, and fast, get us some water!" ordered Logy, still in the midst of prying Escha's arms off him.
"H-Hai! L-Lucille's on the job!" stuttered the medical prodigy as she whirled around and tore back down the stairs. The door slammed shut behind her.
"Escha, get off me!"
"Not until you spare the apples!"
The two glared at each other in relative silence, the only sound coming from the blazing firestorm. Logy sighed.
"Fine, fine, but we have to find some way to put out the fire, otherwise the apples are going to get it anyway."
"…Promise?"
"Yeah, I promise."
Escha released her hold on Logy.
"I've got it!" Escha exclaimed, rummaging through their supply of battle gear. She emerged a second later with a pale blue sphere.
"Wait a minute-"
"Ice bomb go!" This too flew out the window.
"ESCHA!"
"Waaah! Sorry! I'm sorry!"
"We're fighting a fire! Not a monster! How is it you can hit a living, moving, squirrel-sized creature, but you can't hit an unmoving, gigantic inferno?!"
"Its hit box is too small!"
"That doesn't even make any sense!"
As if to add more insult to more injury, a stronger gust of wind blew into the room, fanning the flames further. This time, the casualty was the couch.
"Not our couch!"
"No!"
The pair could watch in horror and sorrow as their source of comfort burned. Escha sniffed sadly. "We've had so many great memories with that couch…"
"I know…" lamented Logy. "Reading on it, writing on it,"
"Sitting on it, lying on it,"
"Sleeping on it,"
"Eh? You slept on it?"
"Of course I did. I only brought a suitcase when I came here, remember? There wasn't exactly any space to pack a bed."
"B-But! Don't you have a place of your own somewhere in town?!"
"Yes. That couch."
"Waaah?! You mean to say I just burnt down your home?!"
"…I think that would be pushing it a bit…"
"I'm SO SORRY Logy! I'll take responsibility, I promise! Here, sleep with me!"
"What?!"
"N-Not like that Logy! I mean you can live with me at my house. We can set up some nice bedding somewhere, or maybe we can even get a spare room for you to stay in. Clone and dad won't mind, I'm sure of it!"
"…I'm pretty sure your dad would mind you living with a teenage guy you just met not too long ago…"
"It'll work itself out, I promise! We'll just ask the Maintenance Division to build an add-on so you don't have to sleep on a couch anymore."
"I think Maintenance will be too busy rebuilding the atelier…"
They would be, because the atelier was quickly plunging into shambles. As if to illustrate the point, a beam fell from the ceiling, a foot away from hitting Escha, reigniting their panic.
"AAAHHH!"
"R-Right! Fire first, other stuff later! Escha, do we have any other items or ingredients that could help us at all?!"
"I'll check! …How about a Dimension Bomb?!"
"What good would that do?!"
"We can delay the fire for a few turns!"
"Put that away! No more explosives!
At this point in time, the pair had made so much of a ruckus that the rest of their coworkers felt the need to investigate.
"Escha! Logy! What are the two of you do- Woah!" exclaimed Marion, upon seeing the catastrophe that had just landed in her lap.
"Ah, it seems the room is on fire," stated Linca.
"Chief Marion! Linca! Help us!" cried Escha.
"Help you?! What do you expect us to do?!"
"Please Chief Marion!" begged Escha with a sniff. "We've already used up our water and ice bombs!"
"How did you even let the fire grow to this size? Were the two of you sleeping on the job?!" accused Marion.
"I-It wasn't like that! I was trying out something new and then stuff happened and then we argued and then more stuff happened and then fire!"
"And why didn't you ask Lucille to help you when she came up here?"
"W-We did! Logy sent her to get us water but then even more stuff happened and then bigger fire!"
"And look at all this property damage! Alembics, calcinators, retorts, ancient alchemical texts and treatises, a very expensive couch, and walls! Do you have any idea how much all of this stuff cost, and how much of a pain it'll be to tell Solle and the Manager?! Are the two of you trying to accelerate my aging?!"
"Chief, please," interjected Logy, "This was all just a simple mistake that got out of hand-"
"Because the two of you probably spent more time arguing over how to put out the fire than actually putting out the damn thing!"
"Uwah! That's actually very accurate!" observed Escha in awe.
"As expected from Chief Marion," agreed Logy, nodding.
"Mou! This is not the time for compliments!"
"Marion…"
"What is it Linca?"
"The cauldron appears to be overflowing."
"!"
The arguing alchemists and manager whirled to see the crimson concoction sloshing every which way out of the cauldron, loud hisses and gurgles punctuating every spill. Giant bubbles erupted from the mix, as the cauldron itself began to vibrate…
"It's gonna blow! Everybody run!"
Logy grabbed Escha, pulling her a step behind him as he ploughed down the stairs to the relative safety of the R&D division's headquarters. Linca and Marion were close behind, the former holding the latter in a bridal carry. Marion was immediately put down after she yelled at Linca to put her down.
"Did you close the door?!"
"No, I was too preoccupied with Marion's safety at the time. I will do so now," replied Linca, bounding up the stairs just as fast as they had just come running down them.
The other three looked upwards through the doorway, watching as Linca slammed the door shut in an almost heroic manner.
Unfortunately, she had just shut herself in the atelier.
"LINCA!"
Solle filled out yet another form in the never-ending quest to satisfy national bureaucracy. He made sure to submit the form in triplicate, signing his name and adding his 21-digit authorization code. Not that the Colseit Branch needed 21 digits to keep track of their employees of course. In fact, they didn't even need 3…
But rules were rules, guidelines were guidelines, and work was work. Besides, it was almost time for him to feed the homunculi some of his snacks, and the little guys always brought a smile to his face. That is, if Lucille hadn't gotten to them first… But he'd show them all, with his brand new recipe, handcrafted with only the finest of ingredients and the most flavorful of combinations. Soon…very soon…He'd show the entire world the appeal of home baked goods…
If Solle had an evil laugh, this was where he would use it. But he hadn't, so he wouldn't.
A loud dull thump interrupted his confectionary musings, and his eyes turned to the ceiling in genuine surprise. He then shared a confused glance with Manager Colland, before they exchanged a shrug and got back to work.
Oh yes, he thought, soon he would show them all the power of pastries…
"LINCA!" cried Marion, flying up the stairs.
"Chief Marion! Wait for us!"
Marion slammed into the door, literally tearing it off its hinges in her mad dash to get to Linca. The door flew out the brand new hole in the side of the atelier where the window had been…
Escha and Logy arrived to find a blackened room, with half the ceiling, floor, and walls just gone. It is needless to say, but will be said anyway, it was a wreck. Amazingly though, some things had actually come through unscathed. Chief among them being…
"Whoa! The Imbuer doesn't have a scratch on it!"
…Yes, that's totally the most important thing…
"…Ah, it seems I have survived…"
"LINCA!" shouted Marion, tackling the ash-coated woman in a hug. "You stupid idiot! Don't you dare do something like that ever again, you hear me?!" She cried into Linca's shirt in relief, prompting Escha and Logy to stand around awkwardly, staring at anything that wasn't their two embracing seniors.
But then Logy heard something to break the awkwardness. "…Does anyone else hear something really high pitched?"
"High pitched? I don't think so…"
"Really? It seems to be getting louder…"
And indeed, it was.
"…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
A manic Lucille ran into the room, hurling a bucket of water straight into Logy's face.
"Did I put out the fire?!" she shrieked in terror, her eyes shut as she hid behind the now empty bucket.
"…Yes Lucille…Yes you did…"
Lucille visibly relaxed. "Whew…I'm glad. Ah? Logy-senpai? Why are you wet?"
And Logy facepalmed.
.
.
.
Omake:
"Phew, all that running really tired me out. I'm really hot…" Katla fanned herself with her hat, fidgeting with the collar of her shirt to cool herself.
"Yes, you're very hot," agreed Micie. His face reddened as he realized what he had just said. "P-Purely in a temperature sort of way, of course!" Suddenly, Micie's face became very hot…purely in a temperature sort of way, of course.
Katla cocked her head in confusion as Micie laughed nervously to stave off his embarrassment. "Aren't you also hot Micie?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I suppose I am. I could really use some water right about now."
…
Wilbell was having a good day. Actually scratch that, she was having a great day! She'd woken up on time for once, spending the morning practicing magic and spending precious quality time with Nio as they baked sweets and cookies together in the Apple House. Not only that, but she had just successfully pulled off a new trick in her magic show for Duke and his regulars. Though part of her was still sad that Escha and Logy couldn't make it…seriously, what could they possibly be doing that was more important than seeing her show? Her show had fire! Bet they couldn't beat that!
Now though, as she was walking along the pathway through the park, something caught her eyes. Well, more like two somethings.
As she neared, she first saw Micie lying on the ground unconscious, a comically-sized cranial eruption on his head, and shards of glass next to him. He was also wet. She didn't want to think about why.
She then noticed Katla, partially encased in a block of ice. Her teeth were chittering as she pleaded with her eyes. "H-H-H-Help!" she begged, frozen teardrops falling to the grass.
Wilbell blinked. Then she blinked again. Then she pinched herself. Then she yelped in pain after having pinched herself. Then she sighed, turned, and began walking away.
"H-H-H-H-HELP!" pleaded Katla.
Wilbell turned to look at the helpless merchant. "If I want to help you then I need to form a contract with that fire spirit." She continued her leisurely strolling pace. "I'll be back in two, three days tops! Stay frosty!" she called over her shoulder with a friendly wave.
Katla would have felt insulted, but at the moment, she couldn't quite feel anything below her hat.
All of a sudden, the remnants of a blackened wooden door slammed into Wilbell, hurling the witch into a nearby river.
Even though it didn't do much in the way of thawing her out, Katla's heart warmed.