After seeing that carnage that I inflicted upon the ratmen, Zeph decided that it was best to head home instead of trying out my magic on more monsters. Compared to her, I was much more relaxed about the nature of my magic. 

Sure it wasn’t something I wanted to use against other people. But it certainly showed some promise. While not lethal, it didn’t require me to take a significant pause while utilizing it. Therefore, it was perfect for someone who preferred close range combat like myself. At the very least, it was an effective form of communication.

However, both Zeph and I noted that the explosions frequently varied in power. Not only did my initiating motion, such as snapping my hands versus stomping my foot, affect the power, but there was also variation based on the material used as the source of the explosion. While blasting the air seemed to yield lackluster results, the ratman and leaves clearly garnered better results even with the other factors remaining the same. And although experimenting with this power wasn’t necessarily simple, it was definitely something that Zeph and I were looking into. 

With the sun gently setting down behind us, Zeph and I rode back towards Damask with our meager bounty of ratmen tails. Despite being a negligible amount of pay, it was still easy pay. Of course I might be a bit biased considering how I’m being paid as a fairly high-ranking government official. Since my pay is still the same as before, despite being sort of promoted, I’m making quite a decent amount of money compared to Sekh and Zeph. To be specific, my finances are now sitting at 43 solidi, 84 denarii, and 42 numi; it should also be considered that I wasn’t paid during my very prolonged naptime with Aentaerope. 

When the two of us arrived back at the Bureau, I went to take care of the horses while Zeph quickly cashed in the ratmen tails. As I was brushing the mane of Ferra, I heard the soft footsteps of a very familiar leopard girl approaching me.

“So, how’d it go?” Sekh asked cheerfully, wrapping her arms around my waist. 

“Reasonably well,” I replied, turning around to rub her head. “So my ability is definitely usable against enemies. But the result is rather gruesome especially since it doesn’t kill the opponent.”

“That’s not good,” Sekh said, her voice tinged with slight concern. “Still, I don’t really know anything about magic so I can’t provide any particularly meaningful advice.”

A faint smile appeared on my face as I bent to kiss her on the cheek.

“That’s fine, you don’t have to. Just having you here provides me plenty of motivation to keep training.”

“Speaking of training,” Sekh began with renewed optimism. “I’ve been working a lot on my own recently. I obviously won’t be on your level or Zeph’s level for the matter. But I do think that I’ll be able to help you a lot more now. So the next time you go out to clear the countryside, then let me know so I can join.”

“That should be soon then,” I told her, prompting Sekh to react with a series of energetic tail waves. “Though I might have to ask you to sit back while I test out my magic.”

“I’ll be your bodyguard in that case,” Sekh said with a wink. 

Putting on a somewhat innocent and soft act, I smiled at Sekh.

“I’ll be in your care then.”

That night at dinner, I briefly informed everyone in the building about my developments in magic. While Justin and Irene were amazed by the unusual nature of my magic, Minerva suddenly sunk into thought. 

“Azel, are you able to make different colors with your explosions?” Minerva asked me.

“I’m not entirely sure,” I replied. “It’s most likely possible if I have different things to blast.”

“That’s inconvenient then,” Minerva replied. “I was thinking that your magic would be much better applied to sending messages on a battlefield. I don’t even know if it can be used in construction at its current power.”

“Most likely not,” I commented, while Zeph nodded in agreement. “But we still don’t know the full extent of the explosion’s power yet.”

“Well it’s good that you two are doing your best to learn the extent of Azel’s power,” Minerva remarked. 

Dinner and the rest of the night went on as it usually did. We had a good time eating while Minerva and I had our usual massage session afterwards. 

Since there’s only one of me to go between Sekh and Minerva, the two of them have decided to split the week in regards to who gets to sleep with me. Though there’s also days where I get lovingly sandwiched between the two of them. As for tonight, I could only get sandwiched between Sekh’s thighs. 

Or at least that’s what I thought was going to happen, until Minerva burst into the room. 

“Uhh, you need something?” I asked, quite concerned about the feverish look in Minerva’s eyes. 

“Azel, I just got an idea,” she almost shouted, causing Sekh to just gape at her in confusion. “Do you remember the fuel that the blacksmiths were using to make Damask steel?”

“Yeah, what about it exactly?” I wondered.

“What if you tried using it for your magic?” Minerva suggested excitedly. 

In a second or two, I connected the dots in my head. And the moment I figured out her line of logic, I jumped up excitedly and rushed over to Minerva to pull her into a hug.

“Minerva, you’re a genius. You’re actually a genius.”

The two of us hopped around with our arms linked, almost as though we were in a trance, excitedly celebrating an idea that might not even work. 

Fortunately for us, Sekh cautiously approached and when she deemed it safe, poked both of us on our cheeks. 

“Hello? You two alright? Any brain damage of some sort?”

“Brain damage, no we just used the most out of our brains,” I told Sekh with an excited smile. “Alright, it’s better to say that it was just Minerva, but this might be a serious breakthrough.”

“So you’re saying you can make the boom become an even bigger boom?” Sekh asked. 

Somehow in sync with each other, Minerva and I spoke the same words at the same time. 

“Exactly!”

“That…is pretty great,” Sekh said with a thoughtful expression. 

“How would it not be?” I asked Sekh. “If it works that is.”

“Fair point,” Sekh remarked. 

“Anyways Minerva, would you like me to treat you to something?” I asked the still excited dark elf. 

“Let’s wait until we find out whether my idea works or not,” she suggested. “That’ll make the celebration more suitable.”

“Sounds good,” I replied. 

After a few more energetic nods, Minerva bade us goodnight and went back to her room to sleep. In contrast, Sekh just sat on the side of our bed with a somewhat dazed look.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her. “Is something wrong?”

“Not really,” Sekh replied with a vaguely distant look. “It’s just strange to see both of you excited like that.”

“Now that you mention it, you have a point,” I remarked. “I know that I got all fired up because Minerva’s behavior was rather infectious. But it definitely is unusual for Minerva to get excited like that.”

“Probably because it had something to do with you,” Sekh suggested, with me nodding in agreement. “Well take pride in that. You’re one of the very very few people who can turn the normally taciturn Minerva into a giddy young girl.”

“I’m glad that the Bureau doesn’t know about this,” I commented. “Otherwise I don’t think they can look at her the same way. I definitely can’t.”

“At this point I think we’re way too used to the soft Minerva,” Sekh said jokingly. “We only get glimpses of her professional side and even then she softens up when she sees us, you in particular.”

“By the way, how does she behave with you when I’m not around?” I asked Sekh curiously.

“She’s nice, but definitely not giddy,” the leopard girl told me. “And certainly assertive at times. But I don’t mind that, she has a stake in the matter too. Plus she’s reasonable so I don’t feel like things are unfair.”

“That’s good, just let me know if anything changes,” I said to Sekh while stroking her ears. 

“Have you told Minerva that already, or are you planning to?” Sekh asked teasingly, her eyes lighting up as she spoke. 

“I already told her,” I answered. “I figured that since you’re more bold then she’s the one at a higher risk of being taken advantage of, if something like that ever did happen. Though I don’t believe that you’d bully her in such a way.”

“Well I’m glad you’re looking out for her,” Sekh remarked. “And me as well. Anyways, you’ve been a bit too cute just now, so I’m going to have to request that you hold me. Otherwise I don’t think I can sleep with all this excitement in my body.”

“You’re saying that like I wasn’t planning on hugging you tonight,” I pointed out before pulling Sekh into the sheets with me. 

“Yeah, should’ve known,” Sekh said in a voice faking defeat. 

I spent the next day doing as much work as possible in order to clear up time for a visit to the southwestern blacksmith villages. Additionally, I also sent out orders to the patrolling soldiers to alert me to the presence of any significant monster or bandit gatherings. Because if the mixture of ferrosaur parts worked as an effective fuel for my magic, then it would be good to see how it worked on a real battlefield situation. 

On the morning that we were getting ready to go to the blacksmith village, Minerva came over to me as I was packing our belongings. 

“Is everything going well?” she asked me while putting her own things on the little baggage train. 

“Pretty much,” I answered. “But are you sure that you need to come along?”

“Well I cleared up a lot of work for the Bureau already,” Minerva informed me. “It’s also a good opportunity for the senior clerks to work independently. Plus I want to personally see whether my idea works or not.”

With a teasing smile, I stared at Minerva before gently flicking her on the nose. 

“You don’t have to make excuses for wanting to go somewhere with me.”

Turning slightly red, Minerva averted her gaze from me. 

“I’m not making excuses, not really. But I will admit that I do want to go, partly just to spend time with you.”

“Hmm?” I hummed teasingly. “Well, I also love spending time with you so I don’t mind. Though I hope that the Bureau will be fine without you.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Minerva brushed off, her confidence now returned. “I’m still giving them regular training. I’m even letting the senior clerks perform some of my duties while I watch over them.”

“Are you planning on getting a promotion at some point then?” I asked. 

“Well I can’t stay at this position forever,” Minerva answered. “Ideally I’d get appointed as administrator in Damask. But I absolutely refuse to rely on your influence to get the promotion. I plan to get it through my own efforts.”

“I doubt you even needed my help to begin with,” I remarked, causing Minerva to suddenly pull me into a hug.

“Of course I needed help,” she asserted. “But there’s nothing wrong with that. You always support me and I always support you. Isn’t that how life is supposed to be?”

“That is true,” I declared with a soft smile. “Life should be just like that.”

For the next few days, the four of us traveled along the road towards the smithing villages. And since the distance was quite short, we could subsist off pre-packed rations without having to forage for food. Though we didn’t pass up the chance to snag a rabbit here and there. 

Upon arriving at the village of Camil, we were quickly let in with a warm welcome from the villagers. 

“You know, if you needed an order, you could just send a message to us and we’ll send it to Damask,” the senior smith Vorn told me after releasing me from a tight hug.

“Well, I have a bit of an unusual request,” I warned him with a cheerful smile. “Simply put, I’ve awakened the ability to use magic and I want to try experimenting with the Ferrosaur fuel that you use. Oh, and my magic causes things to burst into flame.”

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Vorn stopped for a moment to think. 

“Yeah, we can try it. We do have the facilities to conduct a test safely, though I’ll have to inform everyone about it.”

“Let me know when you’re ready then,” I replied. 

After some waiting, Vorn motioned for Zeph and I to follow him towards one of the furnaces. There, a group of smiths had set up some Ferrosaur fuel in addition to removing all flammable materials within the room. 

“So can I stand and watch?” Vorn asked. “Or is it only safe for mages here?”

“You can watch,” Zeph told him. “Though you’ll have to hide behind me if you like living.”

“Never thought I’d be hiding behind a girl thirty years my junior,” Vorn remarked. “But if that’s what it takes to live then I’ll do it.”

Once Zeph gestured to me that she was ready, I readied enough mana around a small clump of fuel and prepared for a blast. 

With the snap of my finger, the tiny pile of Ferrosaur fuel burst into a brilliant orange-yellow flame. Compared to the other blasts that I had created, this was on a completely different level. It was to the point that small bits of still burning fuel flew towards us at incredible speed, only being blocked by Zeph’s wind barrier. 

“That worked...really well in fact,” I commented after a long silence. 

“Azel, are you feeling tired?” Zeph asked. “Any signs of mana intoxication?”

“Not at all,” I answered, prompting Zeph to widen her eyes. “It feels about the same as blasting any other material. Maybe slightly more taxing.”

“That’s... incredible,” Zeph remarked. “I guess the only problem is how to deploy the fuel effectively on the battlefield.”

“What about firepots with the fuel?” Vorn suggested. “I know the people in Fars use such pots with their own strange concoction. So firepots with Ferrorsaur fuel should work just fine since you have the power to properly ignite them.”

“That should work,” I replied, gazing at Vorn gratefully. “I assume that firepots don’t normally work with Ferrosaur fuel since they can’t be reliably ignited with a regular flame.”

“It’s better to say that it explodes before the user can even toss it very far,” Vorn told me. “But with your ability to ignite it at a distance, then the major problem is out of the way.”

“I’ll order three dozen pots in that case,” I told him. “How much will it cost?”

“I have no clue,” Vorn replied. “I’ll let you know once the order is finished.”

Shortly after, we decided to bring Sekh and Minerva over for another demonstration, since I wanted to do another test for consistency. Additionally, I also stomped my foot instead, creating an even larger explosion than last time. 

Since it was the first time the two of them saw my magical display, both Sekh and Minvera just stood still, clearly awestruck. 

“So Minerva, your idea did in fact work,” I told the motionless elf while waving my hand in front of her face. 

“Hey Azel, I don’t know if you really need me to guard you,” Sekh mumbled. “In fact, I think I might need Zeph to protect me from the debris.”

“Definitely,” Zeph added. 

At that moment, Minerva regained focus and spun around to hug me. 

“So… you have anything in mind for where you want to go?” I asked Minerva. “It’s my treat.”

To my surprise, Minerva affectionately bopped me on the head with a smile.

“Azel, that’s not the reason I’m excited. Just seeing you do well is enough for me.”

“So dinner when we come back then,” I said cheekily.