Following the prince's steps, Layn felt as if both of the handmaidens that served him before were intentionally breathing on his neck. Right now, it was already their kindness not to poke him with their hidden weapons at all times just to remind the intruder what was his position in presence of a royal descendant.
'Thank God… I don't think I would be able to handle the drawbacks of actually defending myself if they were to attack…' Looking at those pitiful girls with more of a pity than a hostility, Layn forced himself to drop their existence out of his mind.
Even if they were to make a move, his instincts would alert him about it either way. Tuned towards rapid movements rather than a specific aura, Layn was long past the point where he would have to be wary of such small fries. And with this solution, he didn't need to worry about those girls bothering his mind anymore.
"Yuck!" Barely managing to stop himself from uttering a slight moan of pain, Layn instantly moved his head to the side. With an innocent look on her face, Irea pretended as if she wasn't the one to send a painful nudge to his side for a moment, before whispering in a soft voice.
"What are you planning? Didn't you cause enough problems for me and my friends already?" Getting so close to the archmage that a random observer would already take them for a cuddling couple, Irea asked.
'I guess she's still worried about this situation… Well, can't blame her for that.' Layn was perfectly aware that if his actions were to be fully revealed to the public before the first effects of his plan would show, his life would turn miserable. Even if he could easily run away from this city, there was no telling just how far the influence of the local royalty reached, making it hard for him to even plan for a potential escape.
But rather than making the archmage falter, this tense situation he put himself in only served to reinforce his determination to pull the entire thing up without a fail.
"Okay, it will be hard for anyone to listen up on our conversation… But we need to remain on the move." Not daring to stop his steps, the prince casually informed the duo following him before turning his head to the back and sending a wink to the archmage. "Even being the third prince has its own drawbacks. Don't you dare to think it's all luxury and leisure."
Turning his head back to face the direction he was going, the prince waited for a moment before turning his head again. "You may speak openly now. I'm all ears."
"Your highness…" While the entire schematic for the discussion was long finished deep in Layn's thoughts, it was still necessary for him to infuse some of his theatric talents into his words. "Right now, in order to fully activate the treasure, I need a hundred grade one spirit stones. It would be even better to just use two or three grade two stones… But I dare not make such great demands."
While attracting the prince's attention was the potentially worst part of the entire scheme, elaborating on the price of the projects was the moment with the highest risk of the plan falling apart. 'Well, there is no need for me to worry even if this spoiled kid refuses.' With his eyes glued to the prince's back, Layn could barely spark any amount of care for the matter. 'In the end, if not through the academy, I'm sure I could establish my business anywhere in the city… which could actually be an easier feat than what I'm trying to do now.'
Layn never bothered himself to think in a way that would please others. This quality of his was only reinforced when he managed to nail his attempt at moving through the expanses of time in the wrong direction. Right now, the archmage was only willing to pay his mind to actually practical stuff. And holding on to the academy in terms of establishing his business was caused by one, simple reason.
By pushing the ownership of such a hot potato that his treasure would be, Layn could save himself some time he would otherwise have to spend on fighting off all kinds of powers interested in snatching his treasure for themselves!
"A hundred grade one stones, huh? Can't say it's a low price…" Grabbing his chin with his right hand, the prince thought for a moment before adding. "But I can't say it's expensive either. What are your estimated returns?"
Hearing the question, Layn openly breathed out a sigh of relief. If the talks somehow progressed so quickly to this point, he could fire off his main artillery somewhat prematurely. But what would be a disaster in the field of military, was actually a viable tactic in the field of negotiations.
"Sir, it's just like I said. By charging a quarter of a grade-one stone per person per a single session of using the treasure, we could get five fourth of a grade one stone in an hour." Explaining the idea, Layn smiled. "And that rounds up to roughly thirty grade one stones per day of pure income."
As happy as Layn was with revealing the prospect of the plan he laid out, this was yet another crucial moment in the discussion. Right now, faced with such an unbelievable figure, the prince would have to decide whether to trust Layn's words or not. And in the face of the royal might, Layn could already tell what kind of threat would appear to secure the case of him lying.
"That's pure income. What about the actual profits?" Contrary to Layn's expectations, the prince didn't fall for the trap that most of the amateurs would. Because just like everywhere, operating a business came at a cost.
"Your highness, I dare not to believe in my own calculations here. To be safe, I assumed that all the fees, costs and wages would amount to half of the profit. But…" Taking a short pause, Layn involuntarily managed to make the prince stop. Given how the young man himself already explained why they had to be constantly on the move, it wasn't good progress in regards to what Layn had to add now.
"But… And here I was worried there would be no catches in it." Rather than flying into a rage or accusing the archmage of trying to do him in, the prince smiled amiably. "Tell me, what's the catch of this plan?"
With more than half of his expectations regarding the prince's reactions already broken, Layn only shrugged his shoulders before making a move as if he wanted to spit on the ground, only to stop himself in the very last moment before his saliva would leave his mouth.
"Your highness, I'm your average adventurer. I managed to chance upon this treasure of mine and wanted to use it for the benefit of fellow cultivators." Using the words that Irea already taught him, Layn braced himself before bringing up the most important point of all. "Though it appears that politics is more important than human prosperity and lives. That's why, there are two more things, small but annoying for me, that I will need your help with, prince."