Inside a darkroom in Star-Lake Castle.
The bubbling churn of steam, the hissing gaps of evaporating slime, and the crisp clinking of glass bottles against iron sheets—these sounds converged to sketch out the scene within the darkroom—
A great number of experimental tools, strange liquids simmering away, peculiar pungent smells, Dangros placed upon a heat-resistant platform to give off his residual heat... and Angel, with a defensive spell active.
With a chime, Angel took out his pocket watch, checked the time, and nodded. "It should be ready."
Having said that, Angel turned to Dangros, whose face was full of innocent bewilderment. "You can come down from the platform. Pay attention to the changes in your surroundings, rein in the flames around you, and don't nearly burn down the house again like last time."
Dangros obediently nodded, withdrew the scattered red glimmers around him, and jumped down from the heat-resistant platform.
After landing, Dangros shook himself several times, scattering off the dust that had accidentally fallen onto him while burning magical materials. Then, under Angel's guidance, he entered a special experimental glass chamber nearby for steam isolation.
"Not bad, not bad. You've behaved much better these past two days. Once we're out, I'll have Toby play with you for half a day. Also, the quenching agent is in the corner. You can go enjoy it yourself when you come out." Angel praised Dangros a few times before hurriedly turning his attention back to the experiment table.
He poured half a cup of gray, gel-paper-like liquid from the condensation container.
Angel swirled the transparent cup. The liquid inside swayed with the characteristics of a non-Newtonian fluid.
"This is... Rock-Born Liquid Sol."
It was an auxiliary material Fritz had envisioned. Fritz had never managed to refine it successfully, but after Angel improved the