"You’ll see when we get there."

Bev led Zelir through the bustling crowd with practiced ease.

After passing several shops, the two stopped in front of a stall bathed in a soft glow.

Zelir took a look. It was a small stall that specialized in selling Magic Accessories.

Various types of accessories were neatly categorized and displayed on the stand. A deep blue velvet cloth was spread underneath, lending them an air of luxury.

The merchandise was dazzling, with earrings, necklaces, rings, pendants, and more...

But they were all quite expensive.

The stall owner was a very shrewd-looking gnome merchant.

Yes, a gnome, not a Dwarf.

Zelir could clearly see the human-like features on his face.

’He’s probably so short that people subconsciously mistake him for a Dwarf, assuming he’s selling masterpieces made by master smiths, right?’ Zelir thought.

When the stall owner saw Bev and Zelir, he immediately identified who the big customer with real spending power was.

"Good day, beautiful young lady!"

He rubbed his hands together, his face wreathed in smiles, and quickly came out from behind his stall to greet them.

"What might you be looking for today? We’ve just received a new shipment of the latest accessories, perfect for your noble temperament!"

’Another boring sales pitch. Shady merchants are the same in every world...’

Zelir looked away, bored.

’Since Bev wants to buy accessories, I’ll just keep her company.’

’After all, girls love this kind of stuff.’

"Hmm..."

Bev crossed her arms, her gaze critical.

She looked Zelir up and down, her eyes scanning his neck, wrists, and waist.

"Why are you looking at me like that..." Zelir said, a little uncomfortable.

"I’m seeing what kind of accessory would suit you," Bev said.

"Oh, so you’re buying it for me?" Zelir finally realized, a little surprised.

"Of course. And don’t you dare say you don’t want it."

Bev raised an eyebrow, her tone quite domineering. "It’s a gift from me, so you’d better treasure it... Stand still and let me take a look."

"..."

Zelir could only stand at attention obediently, letting her have her way.

’To be honest, he wasn’t very interested in these trinkets.’

’Magic Accessories did have a boosting effect on Magic Power, but the effect was minimal, nowhere near the bonus from a Magic Wand or Magic Robe.’

’Most importantly, they were ridiculously expensive.’

’In Zelir’s opinion, buying them was basically asking to be ripped off.’

Bev picked up an Obsidian pendant and held it against Zelir’s neck, and the stall owner immediately chimed in with a description.

"My lady, what excellent taste! That pendant enhances the recovery speed of one’s Magic Power. It’s very useful!"

"Hmm... not quite. Zelir, you don’t suit necklaces." Bev shook her head and put it back.

She browsed a bit more and then her eyes fell on a belt pouch.

"This pouch is also excellent. It has a Rune Circuit Array inscribed inside that can improve Casting efficiency," the stall owner pitched again.

Bev thought for a moment, but still shook her head.

"No... The pouch isn’t pretty enough. It’s not eye-catching at all."

She was picky, browsing for quite a while, before a silver Bracelet finally caught her eye.

The Bracelet’s design was simple and elegant, its surface polished as smooth as a mirror, reflecting a cool, soft light.

A blooming flower was cleverly carved at the Bracelet’s clasp.

"This Calm Mind Bracelet was crafted by a master Dwarven Artisan from rare Moonlight Secret Silver."

Seeing Bev pick it up, the stall owner’s eyes lit up.

"When wearing it during Meditation, one can clear their mind of distractions more quickly. The speed and stability of gathering Spiritual Power will be significantly improved!"

"Zelir, here, hold out your hand."

Zelir dutifully complied.

Bev placed the Bracelet on Zelir’s left wrist.

The metallic silver luster contrasted with Zelir’s fair skin, making it look even more elegant and giving him a touch of scholarly grace.

"Hmm... Not bad."

Bev nodded in satisfaction. "Zelir, try it. See if it helps with gathering your Spiritual Power."

Zelir fiddled with the Bracelet, then infused his Spiritual Power to sense its effects.

’Just as I thought...’

’The so-called "significant improvement" was really just a slight increase in the speed of calming his mind for Meditation.’

"It has some effect..."

The moment Bev heard that, she immediately turned to ask for the price and paid for it without hesitation.

’The second half of his sentence, "but not much," never left his lips before the transaction was complete...’

’Holy hell.’

’A whole forty Gold Coins!’

’That’s almost half the price of a Magic Wand!’

Zelir could see the stall owner grinning from ear to ear, and he could only wonder how much profit he’d made from this sale.

Zelir felt a pang of heartache on Bev’s behalf, but her expression was quite happy.

Seeing this, he didn’t want to be a killjoy, so he could only thank Bev sincerely.

"Thanks, Bev. I’ll treasure this gift."

Zelir fastened the exquisite Bracelet, then shook his wrist, the silver light glinting faintly. "It does look pretty nice."

"Of course it does."

Bev lifted her elegant chin slightly, a look of playful pride on her face. "I have good taste."

The two of them walked out of the market area together.

"Alright... Now it’s my turn to repay you, at least a little," Zelir said.

"Oh?"

Bev raised an eyebrow slightly, the corners of her lips curling up. "And how are you going to repay me?"

"By helping you with your mandatory commission, of course. How else?"

"Hehe, I knew you’d help me."

"So, what is it?"

Zelir volunteered. "What task did you get assigned this time? Don’t tell me it’s organizing the library again."

"Not this time..."

Bev thought for a moment. "But with your help, it would definitely be much more efficient. Come with me."

Bev led Zelir to a secluded courtyard behind the Guild, surrounded by green vines.

The courtyard was spacious, with a large stone table in the center, on which several thick books were scattered.

Zelir gave them a quick flip-through. They were all books recording various elemental reactions. Besides those, there were also some notes filled with complex runes and drafts.

"What’s all this?" Zelir asked curiously.

"Here, this is it."

Bev pointed to the drafts on the table. "In a few days, Black Stone Town will hold its annual Autumn Harvest Festival."

"The Black Stone Town Government Hall wants to make the celebration more lively and wants a sufficiently spectacular fireworks display as the grand finale, so they came to our Mage’s Guild for help."

"A fireworks display?"

Zelir was taken aback. "That sort of thing... shouldn’t they go to an artisan for that? What does it have to do with us Mages?"

"The artisans can’t make what they want."

Bev waved her hand dismissively and explained.

"The fireworks they make are, at best, just gunpowder stuffed into paper tubes. They make a ’bang’ and some orange sparks, that’s it. A far cry from ’spectacular.’"

"That’s true..." Zelir nodded in understanding.

Based on his usual observations, the development and application of gunpowder in this world were still at a very primitive stage.

So-called fireworks were most likely just the most basic firecrackers. They were noisy, sure, but there was certainly nothing to look at.

"So, this glorious and arduous task has fallen to us, the Mage’s Guild!" Bev’s tone was tinged with pride.

"So how do we do it?"

Zelir’s interest was piqued. "Are we creating a whole new type of Fireworks Magic from scratch?"

"That’s more or less it!"

Bev nodded affirmatively.

"Just like creating any other Magic, we’ll use rigorous logic and intricate circuit structures to design and construct a grand Fireworks Magic purely for spectacle!"

"You can do that?" Zelir was moved.

’That sounds incredibly difficult.’

’Even creating a Fireworks Magic that ignores lethality would require a profound understanding of theory.’

’If Bev could really pull it off, then in the field of research-oriented Mages, she would absolutely be considered an undeniable genius.’