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"Huh? That's quite… Interesting, isn't it?

" Following Layn's gesture, the third prince quickly reached for the piece of paper before scanning its content. Yet, instead of flying into a rage, his lips slightly curved forming a gently vicious smile.

"Tell me, brother, why are you showing this to me?

"

nAs the prince turned his eyes towards the archmage, Layn was already standing beside the window, carefully plucking out the recording stone from between the shuts. Once that was done, he then moved towards the prince, only to end up on the opposite side of the table as a member of royalty.

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"Your majesty, here is the recording stone I spoke about.

" Placing the reddish gem on the table, Layn ignored the convenience and sat down without a care in the world. 'I wonder if the rituals of interacting with royalty are the same as they would be in the future?' Giggling in his mind over the prospect of insulting the prince by daring to sit when the other party was standing, Layn smiled.

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"While it's just my guess, I'm inclined to believe that you received some kind of warning. A report maybe?

" Leaning his head to the side as he brought his hand towards his chin to slowly rub it, Layn smiled to indicate that he didn't wish to explain his words any further.

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"That's… That seems to be the case.

" Releasing a long sigh from his lungs, the third prince fell onto the chair. Yet, rather than continuing with the topic, he looked towards the still standing Irea only to laugh up gently.

"You may sit. In fact, I would prefer if you acted as daring as your partner did.

"

nWaving away all the unspoken words of protests of the girl, the prince pointed his hand at the alchemist. Then, as if this momentary addition was nothing but a short interruption, his face turned serious once again.

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"Your guess is right. As of now, the entire shrine was reported to be snatched by the inner academy disciples.

" Confirming the archmage's guess, the prince looked around the room before his serious face changed to a sour smile.

"Assuming from how you repeatedly brought up the matter of the recording stone and a lookout outside… Well, given how I can't see a huge pile of stones anywhere in the room, I assume you refused the proposition written on the letter.

"

nHearing the prince's reasoning, Layn couldn't stop his smile from appearing. 'At least, this guy is not an idiot. And that opens up a whole world of possibilities.' Pushed by his thoughts, Layn abruptly stood up from his seat before approaching the place where his grade-one stones were left in waiting.

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"Prince, those are the stones remaining after finishing the treasure. I hope to have your understanding that I asked for a bit more stones than I actually required to kickstart that treasure of mine.

" Pointing his hand at the small pile of valuable stones, Layn grabbed two of them before approaching the window.

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"If I may excuse your majesty for a moment, I need to pay the people I asked for the favors.

" Nodding his head with respect towards the royal, Layn leaned outside of the window's frame before smiling towards the duo waiting below.

"Your reward for fulfilling my request. Go and enjoy yourself!

" Dropping the stones towards the duo, Layn didn't even linger for long enough to see whether they managed to catch it or not. Rather than that, he retracted his body back to the room before closing the shuts.

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"Let me ask you this, then.

" Noticing the relaxed look on the archmage's smile, the third prince's lips twitched a bit. With his eyes moving on the girl who followed his order and sat anxiously on the edge of the bed, his eyebrows moved down a bit. 'She is acting just like expected. Just who is this guy…?' Alternating his sight between the two strangers, the prince finally rested his eyes on Layn's calm face.

"What do you suggest to do now? Keep in mind that if you do nothing, it will be easiest for me to just accept their narrative.

" Shaking his shoulders, the prince looked away as if this matter didn't bother him at all.

n'Poor execution.' Commenting on the several lapses in the prince's acting, Layn shook his head before resting his back against the backrest of his chair. Going as far as to lean on the chair so far that only two of its legs remained on the floor, Layn smiled at the prince as if he was some kind of naive child.

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"Your majesty, forgive me for asking.

" For a moment, Layn's hands trembled. 'Heck, I would kill to have something to take a sip from…' Despairing over the lack of proper requisites to reach the pinnacle of acting on his part, Layn could only give up on this small gimmick of his.

"But do you really believe I would let go of such an insane treasure if it held any value to me in the first place?

"

nUnable to resist his temptation, Layn stood up from his chair, almost causing this piece of furniture to fall flat on the ground.

"Just one moment…

" nodding his head towards the prince as he excused himself, the archmage then rushed deeper into the room only to bring a random cup from Irea's cupboard only to fill it with the water directly from the bail.

nBringing it back to the table where he sat before, Layn placed the cup on the table, fixed the chair to a proper position before sitting back down and taking a sip from the small mug.

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"Ah, that's… Dear, I already washed my…

" Before Irea could even finish the words of her warnings, Layn realized his mistake born of hastiness. Turning his head to the side, he instantly spat all the water that he already had in his mouth directly on the floor, before cleaning his mouth from the contaminated water.

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"Unnecessary theatrics… But I get your point.

" Watching the archmage's show with his lips trembling from joy, the prince stood up from his chair.

"The fact that you gave such a treasure away so lightly, means that it is well within your powers to recover it if necessary. What's more, I assume that if you didn't bat an eye for such a constant source of spiritual energy, you have your own means to obtain even more of it.

" Summing the situation up, the prince once again proved that he wasn't just a clueless part of the local royal family.

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"But the question stands. What are you going to do about this situation?

"

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