房客(糙汉)何璐程曜坤

Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, agates, rubies, opals, pearls, gold, silver, white gold, and platinum, just to name the limited few that Zoemi could recognize.

"Psst... My prince, just so you know, I don't want to pay this old man even a broken copper so it would be much appreciated if you did not waste anything. Please."

"Who do you think you are talking to? I've turned a plain brick wall into a work of art. Sit down and watch."

Zoemi's worried whisper reached Surou's ears and stirred up his pride.

"...also, we will have to talk about... you sharing the story of my life without my permission..."

The blue-haired boy glanced back at the black-haired boy and whispered in muttered in annoyance – although he did not try to clear things out since the made-up story was the reason the old jeweler, Remberu, agreed on Zoemi's outrageous conditions.

"We definitely will. Now, chop-chop. Go on to work."

"..."

Zoemi rolled his eyes and nodded at the rather obvious statement, causing Surou to squint his eyes at him before turning back.

"Hmm..."

The blue-haired boy curiously picked up one of the carving tools and studied it with interest.

"The thing magicless people create to imitate spells..."

He raised his brows and nodded, rather impressed at the ingenuity, but after a few more seconds he put the tool down and began choosing the base material for the accessory he would make.

"...huh..."

Surou scoffed after examining all the precious materials just to find out that most of them weren't of the top quality.

"Will you even start doing something or will you just stare at the tools like a cow at a painting of a meadow?"

Remberu groaned grumpily and certainly wasn't being reassuring towards the blue-haired boy but in the first place, why would he?

"I was just thinking that I would like the girl I love to see these top-quality materials."

Surou made a bitter expression and said in the flattest voice possible, so obviously annoyed that Zoemi began worrying that the blue-haired second prince would stand up and walk out the next second.

"Good. Use that feeling as an inspiration. Just imagine you're making a gift for her. You want to see her, you want to show her how much you love her, you want her to be happy. If it's made with all your heart she will love it no matter what it is."

"..."

All that sarcasm was clearly lost on the old jeweler who apparently took Surou's words completely seriously – but what was probably the most shocking part was that they caused the man to warm up to the blue-haired boy.

"..."

"...I know... don't mind him... he isn't doing it on purpose..."

The second prince slowly turn around and glared at Zoemi with murder in his eyes and the black-haired boy did his best to calm him down.

Surou was more than just pissed off and he had all the rights to be like that.

"Oh, dear. Isn't that right? Hmmm... In that case... She doesn't have any hair accessories even though her hair is so lovely... A hairpin it is."

The second prince spoke in a stiff, mechanical voice that made Zoemi sigh.

|Connect me via message spell with him, please.|

The black-haired boy thought to himself while Surou was picking up the materials.

"(Done!)"

One of the sentinels responded cheerfully, establishing the spell connection.

"|My prince...|"

"[DON'T YOU DARE TO MY PRINCE ME! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO HUMILIATED IN MY LIFE! WHAT IS THIS WHOLE BULLSHIT ABOUT ME LOVING THE WRONG WOMAN?! I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT I DID NOT START AY RELATIONSHIP WITH ANYONE, AT LEAST NOT BY MY OWN FREE WILL!]"

Zoemi thought apologetically and saw Surou flinch – but the next moment he was the one flinching as Surou's furious thoughts assaulted him right back, lashing out in his thought.

Still, the blue-haired boy managed to control himself on the outside quite splendidly, which Zoemi would expect out of his character from the game but not the person he met in the academy.

"|I understand, my prince... The things I said to this old man were not meant to offend you, it only served to make him comply with my demands. Becoming a stay-in apprentice will be a stealthier option than renting a place. This will give us enough time to investigate things... and do so more thoroughly than I originally intended to because your testimony had shaken whatever understanding of the foundation of this world I had left intact...|"

"[...I will comply, for now...]"

Zoemi thought apologetically while Surou breathed out and got to actually work as the idea was already forming in his head.

"No tools...?"

Remberu grumbled seeing the blue-haired boy just picking up more and more jewels and rare metals.

"Oh...? Oooohhhh!"

But then his eyes shone when he saw water gather at the end of Surou's fingertip and take a peculiar shape.

|This kid is a natural!|

The old jeweler gasped internally while Surou started working with a serious face.

|It's a good thing the second prince gave us the benefit of a doubt. Still... Surou doesn't love Burushi... which is... worrisome. She loves him, after all... But then again – since Arisu was the one hexing Surou all this time, he must have been the one to pick Burushi as the target. He or his mother, the queen...|

Zoemi sighed silently and thought, intending to start a conversation with his sentinels.

"(Why would they do that?)"

One of them responds to the thought curiously.

|Getting rid of Surou could have been a long-time coming. Who knows? Maybe Burushi was even enrolled into the Aspakeony Academy just for that sole purpose? We should look into it if we ever get the opportunity.|

"(We should!)"

"(Yes, we should!)"

The boy considered and thought with a soft scoff, which was welcomed by an excited cheer of the sentinels.

For the time being, Zoemi went silent and joined in with the old enchanter at watching the blue-haired boy focus on his creation.