"Don't look at me; just because I came up with the idea for the competition doesn't mean I have to do everything. I'll prepare the stones while you guys decide on the prize." Declared Elif as he hovered all twenty-five stones with his Qi and headed toward the Manager, leaving the four women to decide the award or punishment.
While they were discussing the award for the winner, punishment for the loser, or possibly even both, I arrived next to the Manager, who was currently standing next to a massive hammer and a large podium.
"You could just set them down here, Prince Elif; allow me to do all the menial work." Said the manager, to which Elif nodded and gently set the large stones on the ground.
"Seeing that giant hammer and large podium, I'm assuming that's how the breaking of the stones is usually done?" Asked Elif casually as he waited for the four women to finish their conversation, though knowing Illumia, and Idonea, it was more likely that only two people were talking.
"Yes, Prince Elif; This is the easiest and most exciting way to open the stones; you don't have to worry about any damage they may receive during the process; as you may know, spirit stones are incredibly durable. Of course, we have many other methods of breaking open the stone if so prefer, Prince Elif." Stated the manager respectfully as he began preparing the stage by placing one of Elif's stones onto the podium.
"It's fine, as long as it gets the job done." Replied Elif, and with that, the two became silent as they waited for the four women to arrive, which surprisingly took longer than thought.
"Finally, what type of award or punishment were you four discussing that required you to argue for ten minutes?" Questioned Elif in slight annoyance while fanning himself as he eyed the four approaching women, though he was mainly speaking to Marley and Eyvor.
"My apologies, your Highness; Ms. Eyvor and I had a little disagreement about whether to have the winner get a prize or the losers get some type of punishment before eventually deciding on both." Answered Marley apologetically while feeling slightly embarrassed.
"I could tell; I could hear the two of you from all the way over here; anyways, what did you guys decide on?" Said Elif with a shake of his head before focusing on Eyvor.
"We've decided that the winner will get to pick one of the four losers and that the person who was picked must truthfully answer the winner's questions; of course, the winner can decide whether they must share it between all of us or just between the two of them. That is if you're okay with that, Prince Elif?" Replied Eyvor while curious about Elif's reaction.
"Ho, I quite like that. Hehe, you better hope I don't win then, Illumia." Said Elif with a mischievous chuckle as he eyed Illumia.
"I'm not worried about you winning, your Highness." Replied Illumia blandly, as usual.
"We'll see then; alright, manager, start smashing!" Ordered Elif with an excited smile, though Illumia's words caused him to be doubtful about his chances of winning.
With my words signaling the start of the competition, the manager tightly gripped the massive hammer with both his hands and brought it above his head before violently slamming it down on the podium, causing the stone to turn into sand while the force of the impact shook the entire floor. Though when he lifted the hammer, I had a frown on my face, as there wasn't a single spirit stone; however, I wasn't too bothered by it; it was all luck; besides, I still had another four stones.
With four more stones left, I was hoping to get at least one spirit stone from them; however, it seemed like heaven was playing a prank on me as every time the manager lifted the hammer after slamming it on the podium, there was nothing but sand.
"Unfortunately, your Highness, out of the five stones you picked, not a single one had a spirit stone; it must not be your lucky day." Said Illumia with a teasing smirk while standing beside Elif.
"Tch, I knew I wasn't going to win anyways; however, you seem quite confident; how about you go next?" Replied Elif with an irritated expression while hoping Illumia would end up the same as him.
I didn't even need to order the manager as he had already placed Illumia's stone on the podium and was about to slam his hammer on top of it; the moment the hammer collided with the rock, it turned to dust, however, unlike before, the hammer didn't come in direct contact with the podium, which can only mean one thing.
"What luck, my first stone, and I already have two spirit stones; heaven must be blessing me today." Said Illumia with fake excitement as she continued to tease Elif, much to his annoyance.
"Hmph."
Unfortunately for me, it was apparent to all that Illumia wasn't just lucky, as out of the remaining four stones, three of them contained spirit stones.
"Seven spirit stones, that isn't going to be easy to beat." Commented Marley with a frown as she and Eyvor felt slightly nervous at their chances of winning.
"You've clearly done this before, haven't you? You don't seem to be the type of person who would do this, Illumia." Stated Elif in frustration as he eyed Illumia's seven spirit stones.
"During my younger days, His Majesty very much liked to gamble, and many times Her Majesty would accompany him, to which I'd be forced to go." Replied Illumia with a slight smile.
"Father, enjoyed gambling? I suppose you learn something new every day." Muttered Elif in surprise before focusing on the podium where Eyvors first stone was crushed.
"Haa, don't feel so bad, Prince Elif; this is my first time doing this, so I'm right there with you." Stated Eyvor with a sigh when he noticed her stone was empty.
Although she sounded dejected, her mood quickly improved after the next couple of rock smashes; she may have only gotten two stones with spirit stones inside them, but each one had four, resulting in her getting eight in total.
"What was that about this being your first time doing this, Eyvor?" Said Elif dryly as he eyed Eyvor, causing her to look away while blushing in embarrassment.
Next was Marley's turn; I don't know if I just picked the worst stones or what, but each one of Marley's stones had one spirit stone in them, and while that only equals five, I find it to be impressive that each of the rocks she picked all contained a spirit stone.
"Haa, only five." Muttered Marley dejectedly while eyeing the spirit stones.
"Welp, now only Idonea has a chance of beating Eyvor, though eight spirit stones will be hard to beat." Commented Elif as he intently watched the manager smash the hammer onto the podium where Idonea's first rock was.
Idonea was starting off strong; her first rock had contained two whole spirit stones inside them, which was quite good; however, it seemed that was the best she could do, as her next two rocks only contained one spirit stone inside them while the fourth rock was empty, though the fifth rock did have another spirit stone. Nonetheless, it only amounted to five spirit stones, which was more than mine, the same as Marley's but less than Illumia, and Eyvor, who had won with the most spirit stones.
"Tch." Voiced Idonea in displeasure.
"Haa, well, you've won, Eyvor; congratulations, though I would've been happier if I had won." Announced Elif with a dejected sigh, though he seemed to still be in a good mood.
"Hehe, thank you, Prince Elif; however, I will not be asking you the question right now as I'd wish for us to be in a more private setting." Replied Eyvor with a chuckle and a light smile.
"Ho, well, I'm not that surprised that you decided to ask me the question; however, it seems like you've already got quite a question, don't you, Eyvor." Said Elif with a teasing smirk before chuckling.
"Well, anyways, that's fine by me; I don't mind waiting a few hours; here you go, manager, that should cover the cost of all the rocks, and you can keep all the extra spirit stones; I don't care about them." Added Elif as he tossed a small sack filled with spirit stones toward the manager while pointing toward the small pile of spirit stones previously encased in the rocks.
"T-Thank you for your generosity, Prince Elif!" Exclaimed the manager happily while slightly bowing.
I gave a nod of acknowledgment to the manager before heading toward the stairs to leave the store, so we may continue exploring Fairyopolis. Once we exited the store, we just picked a random direction, and for the next few hours, we just casually strolled around the city while occasionally stopping by a store or street vendor we found somewhat interesting; though nothing exhilarating happened, it was a pretty pleasurable experience, time well spent I'd say.
"I must apologize, Prince Elif; however, It is getting quite late in the day; I must return to the manor in preparation for tonight's banquet." Stated Eyvor with a sad sigh as she looked at the beautiful evening sky.
"Ahh, yes, I'd entirely forgotten about the banquet scheduled for tonight; it is fine; I'd imagine you must have some important things to deal with. Besides, no need to sound sad; we can always come back tomorrow or another day to enjoy Fairyopolis." Said Elif with a smile as the five of them flew off into the sky while heading toward the center island.
Once we neared the center island, Eyvor continued heading toward the large floating island while I circled it in search of my temporary residence, which didn't take long.
"Now then, don't think I didn't hear what you and Eyvor were talking about earlier, Marley, so what type of punishment shall I give you?" Stated Elif with an evil grin as he looked at the panicking Marley.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 217: Suscila The Fiancé) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 98: Orc!) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 168: Ruins Of Shandora)|| Marvel's Black Steel (Chapter 82: Horny Twins) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]