"Oh~? I see that at least some rumors about your families are true~"
"..."
The red-haired prisoner chuckled and this time it seemed that he really got to lord Moyena.
The kingdom's treasurer's face got red and he raised his right hand, pulling down on the sleeve of his shirt.
The knights protecting the prisoner moved and the light barrier shone intensely, similarly, the blue-haired Valto tensed up focusing on the movement of the treasurer.
But the angered man did not attack. His pulling down his sleeve revealed a rather crude iron bracelet with multiple small green mana crystals embedded in them – both the metal and the crystals were connected by chains of runes inscribed on them with great care.
Lord Moyena proceeded to take off the bracelet and put it right next to the problematic magic device.
"This is a present that Reo gifted me on my birthday the other month. She called it a stepping stone in creating a perfect artificial mana heart – it is basically an external mana reservoir that I gained access to after around a week of attuning to it. It refills together with my own mana reservoir so as long as I have it on it keeps refilling automatically. Thanks to this I have as much mana as a strong water magician."
"...!"
Lord Moyena declared before coldly glaring at the shocked Irghun...
"Your majesty, if you called for us to put the usefulness of this buffoon up to vote, then I vote to not pay him any mind and give him the treatment that every traitor deserves."
"N-NO! WAIT! I! I HAVE MORE INFORMATION! IMPORTANT ONES! THE SUN'S THORN ISN'T JUST...! GAH!"
pA ɴ,da-nᴏᴠᴇʟ.cᴏm Irghun's face turned ghastly pale and tried to stand up but one of the knights grabbed his shoulder and forced him back into his seat.
"You already informed us about this project. It shows great potential – but the other device in question isn't an external mana heart."
The king nodded at the furious treasurer before breathing out and explaining while pointing towards the two artifacts laying side by side.
"The peculiar function of the other magic device was brought to our attention, you see. It doesn't just increase the user's mana. It influences user comprehension, understanding, and efficiency in using mana. This thing... sun's thorn..."
The monarch looked lord Moyena in the eyes and said before glancing toward the troublesome artifact.
"It basically turns a useless magician into a prodigy."
"...!"
"~!"
Upon the king's reveal, most of the people in the meeting room were taken aback while the shackled prisoner's face brightened in relief upon learning that he indeed still holds importance.
"That's right! A toy like that basically only marginally improves the quality of a mana stone itself – if anything it will be problematic to release it to the public because it would bring down the prices of mana stones!"
Ikarveth felt confident enough to speak up and slander the bracelet.
*CLICK* *WHOOSH*
"Hey. Trash. You better start spilling some secrets. Badmouthing other people's work will not save your neck."
Zoemi raised his right hand and snapped his fingers creating a small shockwave which pressure washed over the others causing them to tense up, giving him a window to speak for himself.
"...you...!"
"I am starting to lose my patience. I wonder what this farce is about – we really don't need you alive."
The prisoner gritted his teeth and growled but the black-haired boy merely smirked at him devilishly with disdain in his eyes.
"Your majesty! Why did you allow this low-born marital artist to participate in this meeting?!"
Ikarveth could not handle the disrespect and despite being detained by the knight guarding him, he struggled to turn toward the king and called out spitefully.
"...marital artist...?"
"This is not one of lady Aspakeony's corpse puppets?!"
Duke Derizno and lord Moyena's eyes widened as they paid proper attention to the black-haired young man for the first time since their arrival in the meeting room.
"Low born...? Aren't you a person of the lowest birth from everyone here?"
Zoemi didn't address their questions and instead continued smirking mockingly at the fuming former educator at the Aspakeony Academy.
"How dare you?! You're just some lowly attendant that the leftover Helterose picked up from some ditch!"
Ikarveth growled, struggling in his shackles as if he wanted to throw himself at the young man.
"Is that so? Allow me to introduce myself properly then~"
"Why would...?! GRAGH...!"
Zoemi said with a light shrug – Ikaveth wanted to interrupt him but the grip of the knight holding his shoulder hardened forcing him to shut up.
"My name is Zoemi Benevi Banemor. The sole survivor of the sixth great family of the Bellcephora kingdom."
"Wha...?!"
The black-haired young man explained and the prisoner and the heads of the two great families gasped in unison.
"I want to make one thing clear before you start trying to claim my family was stripped of its importance. The representative of the Victureo family isn't here because their involvement with the whole magic device intrigue is under investigation. The representative of the Espine family isn't here..."
Zoemi started explaining and raised one finger before glaring down at bewildered Ikarveth.
"...because I said that I will kill them on sight if they dare to stumble my way."
The young man said and his obsidian eyes glistened with a distant light of stars as if they were portals to the starry sky high above.
"That's nonse...!"
Ikarveth scoffed but the words got stuck in his throat when he caught a glips of the king looking away with a troubled expression, just as if he was too worried to look at the black-haired youth in case he would incur his rage.
Duke Derizno and lord Moyena realized the same thing as Ikarveth did – the royal family didn't lift a finger to help the Banemor family when the Espine family attacked them and they even split the Banemor territory between themselves.
"I think it would be best to add that I am something that marital artists call Heavenly Star Warrior. Blessed by Guide to boot~ His majesty requested me to help the Bellcephora kingdom... but now that I think about it, he is only worrying over his own comfortable position, isn't he?"
"!!!"
Zoemi revealed with a smile before sending the king a rather unfriendly gaze which caused Valto to step in front of the monarch in case an attack was launched.
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