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nTranslator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

nAfter hearing Lorne’s words, Kyle and the others could not help but feel a sense of shame in their hearts.

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n“I’m sorry to have let you down. The King and ministers actually have not come up with such an answer.”

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nEver since that night, they had no idea how to solve it at all. Now, it was not a matter of whether the empire would give those barbarians a piece of their minds, but whether the empire could uphold their status as a progressive place.

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nRosen and the others’ faces twitched non-stop from what Lorne said. They were speechless, and they dared not to disappoint Lorne.

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nThe palace really had no choice this time.

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nLooking at the pained expressions of Kyle, Rosen, and the other three, it seemed like they were holding something back. Lorne could not help but pat the shoulders of Rosen and Kyle, who were sitting on his left and right.

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n“I say, all of you like to worry about nothing. You can’t even run your own business well and all you can think about is the king and his ministers.

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n“You should all really mind your own businesses. Do you think that those ministers in the palace are for nothing?!

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n“Rosen, Abner, Allen, and Andrew. They’re the world’s first-class masters when it comes to having much wisdom! I’m sure they would have come up with something easily! Why are you all doubting them?

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n“Only those barbarians who have never read books or come into contact with many cultures would be regarded low leveled peasants.

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n“If they were brought to our majestic empire, it wouldn’t even be enough to reach any of their levels here. In my opinion, Rosen and the others have already solved the puzzle.

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n“If they can’t even understand this, then what kind of officials are they? What kind of assistant ministers are they? They should hurry back to the countryside to buy land, buy farmland, and farm cattle instead of growing the empire.”

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nThe moment Lorne finished speaking, the entire tavern fell silent.

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nAt this moment, Rosen and the others were on the verge of a mental breakdown. On the surface, they forced a smile, but in reality, their hearts were bleeding profusely. If they did not have to put up a front, they would have burst into tears minutes ago.

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n‘Right, there’s no more hope. Lorne, you think too highly of us. The few of us really can’t find the answer. We really don’t have any plans on how to solve it at all. I’m really sorry to disappoint you. The few of us old fellows should just abandon our posts and return to our hometowns. We’ll farm the land, herd cows, and raise children!’ Kyle thought to himself as his eye muscle twitched non-stop.

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nWhile he thought about it, he wanted to grab his own face and slap himself. This was because there was nothing wrong with what Lorne had said. Kyle could not even say a word of rebuttal.

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nThey were the civil and military officials who helped the king grow this very empire.

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nWho was to blame if they could not solve it themselves?

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nKyle could not help but grasp his chest where his heart lay tightly. Then, he raised his head and glared at the four ministers around him. After a while, he calmed his breathing and spoke to Lorne with a smile, “Lorne, you must know that we are just ordinary civilians. We only handle our small business.

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n“Therefore, it’s inevitable for us to think that we might have a chance to know how to solve it too. Therefore, it’s inevitable for us to get excited if we knew the answers to it.”

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nLorne nodded. He understood this quite well. After all, normal people had patriotic feelings. The people of the empire naturally hoped that the Lolan Empire was always seen as more supreme to others.

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nLorne added some meat and vegetables into the hot pot soup. Then, he said casually, “In the future, don’t be so flustered when you encounter big or small matters. Calm down whenever there’s a big matter, that’s all I ask for.”

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nKyle quietly accepted Lorne’s life philosophical plea, and then said with a laugh, “Boss, since you said that the questions raised by the Spartans are only superficial.

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n“Then, do you have a solution to the first test that they raised?

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n“We just really want to know how to solve it.

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n“Since we are just doing business, we don’t know much, and we are not as smart as those people like Rosen in the palace.

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n“Therefore, we have discussed it more than once, but we can’t come up with a solution at all. Why don’t you tell us, boss, so that you can get rid of our curiosity?”

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nWhen they mentioned people like Rosen, the other four could not help but lower their heads. Their faces were filled with hidden shame.

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nTheir king… had actually learned how to mock them. If this went on, the group of ministers would not be able to behave themselves well in the future!

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nWhen they heard what Kyle had said, Lorne too was also somewhat interested in the way he said it. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, he would talk loudly and show off his vast knowledge to the rest. This was something he loved to do the most.

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nTherefore, Lorne clapped his hands and said, “That’s fine. Today, I will explain to you how to crack this so-called puzzle.”

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nAs soon as he said this, Kyle, Rosen, and the others swept away all their emotions and abandoned all the distracting thoughts in their mind.

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nEveryone was fully focused and stared at Lorne intently. They wanted to hear what amazing methods this amazing tavern boss could come up with.

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nAfter all, they really could not solve this problem themselves.

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nSeeing that everyone was staring at him, Lorne picked up a stick and dipped it in the soup. Then, he drew a circle on the table and pointed at a very prominent spot on both sides.

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n“If the rumors I heard from the street are true, it seems that the puzzle has a hole on each side. There are thousands of paths in the middle, but only one should be the correct one.”

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nKyle and the others quickly nodded.

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n“That’s right!”

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nLorne then threw the small stick aside and explained to the others, “We can’t destroy the nine-holed exquisite bead, but we can’t open this sphere forcefully.

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n“Things like thin threads are made of a very soft material. If you just poke it with your hand, you won’t be able to find the right path to pass it through.”

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nRosen cut Lorne’s words. “That’s true. We’ve thought of utilizing how water flows, the method of knotting the thread, and even tied a heavy object to one part of the thin thread.

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n“But these methods were useless and the thin thread was too soft. It will get stuck no matter what.”

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nLorne nodded slightly from Rosen’s logic.

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n“That makes sense. If we just use these methods that can be thought of by ordinary people and succeed, those barbarians will lose out on the bargain.

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n“All of you rely on yourselves or rely on some objects, but you forget that you can rely on animals or insects as well.

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nAs soon as Lorne finished speaking, an idea suddenly flashed in the minds of Kyle and the others. It was as if the bulb on their heads immediately lit up from Lorne’s suggestion.

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n“Animals or insects?”

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