"Tell me, is there maybe some kind of family, that is known for its righteousness?" Asking up as the two of them left the lodging of Sitra, Layn clearly proved that he wasn't going to give up. Even after the unexpected denial from the elder from their hunting group.
"A righteous family? What kind of world did you live before to believe there are still some groups like that?" Shaking her head in disbelief, Irea sent a ridiculing glance to the archmage. "Everyone will be righteous if you pay them enough."
Shrugging her shoulders, the girl clearly was intent on cutting the topic and leaving it behind. With a failure already marking the progress of Layn's plans, her enthusiasm towards it only diminished.
"I think I formulated the words in the wrong way." Hiding the embarrassment under a wide smile, Layn ignored Irea's attempt to change the topic. "Let me put it in another way. Is there some kind of powerful family or organisation silently helping the academy out?" With this wording, the picture of what Layn saught was much clearer. "They might be doing it out of own their interest, but they need to be powerful enough to shield us from other local forces…" Going way over the line with his words, Layn only realised that fact once his voice reached the girl's ears.
"So you want some kind of backer? That's doable, but it won't be easy at all." Seeing how all her attempt at moving this topic out of the agenda continued to fail one after another, Irea appeared to give up. Simply answering Layn's questions without even a hint of further resistance, she proved to be actually a great help.
"That would be perfect. Could you take me to them, then? If this idea will fail, I won't bother you with this topic any longer." Layn would have to be an idiot not to notice how annoyed the girl already was with the topic of the stones. But he couldn't blame her either.
For someone like her, magic stones were a treasure. Maybe not something she could never touch in her life, but still something she would have to work pretty hard to obtain. On the other hand, Layn couldn't think less about the hardships he would have to overcome to obtain some of those treasures.
Not because he was belittling the means of the ancients. 'Now that I think about it, I'm just arrogantly believing that nothing would be able to stand in my path, aren't I?' Some say that becoming aware of the problem was the first step to overcoming it. But Layn was as far away from such thoughts as one could humanly be.
Because it actually wasn't arrogant to think like that. Given his means and knowledge, it would actually be strange for him to struggle in this ancient world at all!
Refusing to utter even a single word in regards to the stones, Irea pursed her lips before grabbing Layn's hand and pushing him towards the gates of the academy. "Don't act that surprised. What kind of family sponsoring the academy would live within the academy itself?" Shaking her head in what appeared to be joy caused by Layn's misunderstanding, Irea smiled. "We are going to visit the third prince."
Explaining the matter in a way that clarified absolutely nothing, Irea's smile widened even further, proving that she had to be aware of Layn's confusion. But even without knowing the details, the girl told more than enough for the archmage to draw some conclusions.
"I will be in your care, then." Nodding his head in gratitude, Layn instantly submerged himself in his thoughts. Because even for a genius he was, forming up a plausible plan to fool not only the academy but someone who appeared to be of royal blood, wasn't going to be an easy task.
Unsurprisingly though, by the time the two of them reached the gates of an impressively huge mansion located right outside of the castle district, Layn already had his entire role devised in his mind.
Leaving dealing with the guards at the gate of the mansion to the girl, the archmage soon walked through a beautifully decorated garden, all the way to a small patio. Shielded from the sun by a huge umbrella, a man in the middle of his twenties was enjoying his leisure, resting on a large yet thin bed while handmaidens feed him some kind of stripes of meat.
"Did you finally notice my charms, dear?" Ignoring Layn's presence from the get-go, the man directed his head towards the approaching duo. 'Even though we didn't make a single sound while approaching…' Noticing this small detail, Layn's lips widened a bit. 'What a curious man!' Exclaiming in his thoughts, the archmage prepared for the scene that was bound to happen.
"Your highness, I brought someone who wishes to have a word with you." Lowering her head in respect of the other party standing, Irea quickly explained after paying her respects. "While his words might sound insane, I can vouch for him. In fact, he saved my life on multiple occasions, so I would be greatly pleased if your majesty could spare him a moment."
Seeing the girl openly beg like that, Layn couldn't stand it. Moving forward, he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, before forcefully bringing her up. "This is my business. I won't allow you to lower yourself just for my sake." Reprimanding the girl sternly, Layn then moved his eyes on the prince's face.
In the middle of his twenties, this man could clearly take pride in his appearance. Despite acting spoiled right now, there wasn't a single spare hint of fat on his body. Due to the lack of any kind of shirt on his chest, Layn could only observe the ripped muscles dancing under the man's skin with jealousy.
'I guess even being nearly omnipotent doesn't save me from those simple feelings…' Internally commenting on his own state of mind, Layn shook his head before speaking up.
"Prince, I came to you because I believe you are the only person capable of making full use of my treasure." Stepping forward, Layn paid no mind to the handmaidens who instantly presented their weapons. The message was clear. Take another step, and you will die.
"Oh? And what treasure could that be?" Catching the prince's attention was the hardest part. Now that his curiosity was piqued, Layn could proceed without any real worries.
"Prince, I'm capable of finishing the artefact, capable of outputting about two and a half grade one stone worth of energy. Per hour, without any breaks, without any time limit." Repeating the very same details that he already revealed to Irea, Layn smiled. "It's both my, and the academy's wish to make use of this treasure to establish an area, where young cultivators could use this treasure to break through the energy infusing stage."
By lying about the silent support of the academy, Layn managed to achieve two things. First off, the topic instantly raised several levels of importance in the prince's eyes. Secondly, Irea opened her eyes wide, putting a lovely expression of shock on her delicate face!
But there was one more, unexpected factor to this situation. Noticing how Layn's eyes instantly moved to the side, hunting for the adorable expressions of the girl beside him, the prince smiled widely. "I see that you are a man of qualities as well." Commenting out of nowhere, the young prince stood up from his strange bed before approaching Layn and reaching out with his hand.
Just the sight of it was enough for all his handmaidens to hiss like some kind of angered cats.
"You caught my interest. How about we discuss the details… In a more secluded place?"