I looked up and saw three large boxes in front of the emperor with some unusual items on them.
On the box to the left of me were three tea bowls. There were three kinds of bowls: a small bowl, a large bowl, and a teacup-like bowl, all of which had a tarnished brownish color in some parts, but all of them were white and looked luxurious.
Next, on a box placed in the center of the room, there was a large block of stone. This seemed to be the same material as that used for the lion figurine that was by his side when he met the emperor. On top of the leftmost box, there were three stacks of scrolls. I looked at the emperor, and at the same time he slowly opened his mouth.
"There, you see," he said, "Auzin and Satsuki have been rude. Not only that, their retainers even tried to kill him. As the steward of the Mideast, I must apologize for bringing disgrace on the king of a nation, even if he did not know it. These are the least of Maro's apologies."
No, really, thank you.
"Since you're so kind as to accept this... These bowls were fired by Maro with all his heart and soul. I brought 30 of each. And these cloths my wife wove with all her heart. You may not like it, but please accept it."
The emperor is smiling and looking at the three boxes. At that moment, Riko slowly gets up from next to him. At the same time, Mei and Sidi stand up at the same time. The three of them look at each other, and slowly approach the emperor. I am taken aback by their sudden and unexpected behavior.
"Linos-sama ......"
Matkal speaks to me in a whisper. It seems he wants us to go with him. I look at Mato and Soleil, get up, and head for Rico and the others.
"This is wonderful! It's wonderful...such a beautiful thing. ....... This cloth is also ...... how pleasant ...... it is to the touch."
Rico is crouched in front of the box, looking at the teacups and the cloth. Both May and Siddee look intrigued.
"It's lucky if they like it."
"Of course not. I took the trouble to ....... You know what?
Rico looks at me with a big smile on his face. I had no idea of its value, but I smiled and nodded anyway.
"My wives are pleased as well. Thank you very much, Your Highness. By the way, ...... what is this stone?
I look at a large stone, about the size of a hug, placed in the middle of the room, which has a faint bluish-white light.
This is the Prill Stone.
""Prill's stone!""
May and Sidney shout. They both roll their eyes in amazement. What the hell is going on?
"The Prill Stone, also known as the Stone of God, is a very rare and valuable stone. It is said to be able to eliminate magical effects. Is this stone ...... in the rough? It is said that the more refined and pure the stone is, the more it can defend against high LV magic and the longer its effects will last."
May is staring at the stone with a terrible look in her eyes. As usual, May's expression is frightening when she finds something unusual or a phenomenon. It's a pity that she is such a beautiful woman ....... While I was thinking that, Rico shows me his left hand. On her ring finger shines a ring.
"This Mayment ring, a memento of my mother's. ....... It, too, is made of refined Prill stones.
"I see. ....... And, if the stone is this big, it can be used in different ways ......."
"That's right."
The emperor slowly opens his mouth.
"In my country of Miedai, this prill stone can be found in its raw state. This is the largest and finest of its kind. And Maro is the one who can refine it. For refining, we use this crushed ore."
"...... I see. You know, when I saw you at the palace, there was a ...... tiger by the emperor's side. It is very similar in color to the figurine that I saw."
"That's a spirit stone. It's the nicks from refining the prill stone. ...... In your country, it's called ash. It's what hardens when it cools. Successive emperors have poured nix into this spirit stone as they refined it. Although not as effective as the Prill Stone, it is still said to protect those around it from evil spirits, evil thoughts, and all kinds of misfortune. It is the only treasure of our country that has been passed down from generation to generation by the emperor.
The Midei nation has been able to survive, even though it is a small nation, thanks to the Prill Stone. The refining of the stone requires maintaining the heat of thousands of degrees for days at a time, which requires a great deal of magical power. Therefore, the emperor who is involved in this work is said to work hard to save his life.
Basically, the Prill stone is refined only two or three times in the emperor's lifetime. That is, once when he refined it with his father and learned the technique, once when he refined it by himself, and finally, once when he taught his children how to refine it. For that reason, its value is priceless. Therefore, the Prill stone is the highest prize in the country, while in Midei, the refined stone is sold when the emperor passes on the technique to his son. With the stones sold at this time, the country had enough money to feed itself for several decades.
But about 10 years ago. The cult of Klimiana, having its eyes on these stones, attempted to invade the country of Miedai. There had been several attempts to interfere, but the country had managed to repel them all with its iron-clad cooperation. However, the cunning and ingenious plan of the Pope, Jouvancel Sein, has broken down the iron link of the country. In Mideast, the country was scorched to the ground in a great uprising that split the country in two. The Crimean Church did not invade the country immediately after the great uprising, but over a period of about ten years, it gradually reduced the power of the country, as if it were tightening its neck with a cotton cord.
"I have brought you this stone, Lord Rinos, in anticipation of what you can do."
What do you mean?
He says that he has repelled the interference of the Church of Crimiana. And I sense no evil in his body. I also sensed an atmosphere that would not allow evil to enter. This stone, if possessed by someone with evil intentions, will bring great misfortune to this world. I am ashamed to tell you, Maro, that this stone can no longer be protected in the land of Mideast. I am truly sorry, but could you please protect this stone in your country? ...... this way."
The emperor slowly bowed his head toward me.
"Please stop, my lord. Please raise your hands.
At my words, the emperor slowly raises his head with a smile on his face. Then he glanced at the two women standing behind him.
"Satsuki couldn't refuse the request of the man she liked. And because she had been told that life in Ozin would be better than it was now, she had tried to be persuasive. I am sorry that you got caught up in this, but Satsuki did what she did for the sake of her master. Do not blame him, I beg you.
What do you mean?
Satsuki liked a man. He told her that if she came to the Kingdom of Thana, Aujin would be better off than he was now, and he and Satsuki would live happily together.
Satsuki is shaking and looking down in embarrassment. And Aujin is also lying on his face, looking down.
Aujin, too, looks selfish, but he is actually a very kind and gentle girl. As he listened to Satsuki's story, he begged Maro desperately to forgive Satsuki. Both of them may look strong, but they are actually weak girls.
The two women kept bowing their heads as they listened to the emperor. I watch them and slowly open my mouth.
"This Satsuki, is she the man you fell in love ...... with, the man in black ...... crimiana? Where did the man go ......?"
The moment Satsuki heard what I had to say, she looked up with a start. How did you know that? Sweat began to pour out of his face.
In ...... country: ....... Meet up at the border....... It was all due to my own stupidity. Please forgive me, please forgive me."
Satsuki bows her head. I explain to the emperor what I have seen so far with my appraisal skills. He looked at Satsuki with a smile on his face.
"Satsuki, Orjin. I don't doubt your feelings. But there are things you can do and things you can't. Don't you two understand?
""Hi ......""
"Both of you, apologize to King Agartha."
At the emperor's urging, the two men looked at each other and opened their mouths.
"Satsuki, I would like to offer my deepest and most sincere apologies to King Agartha, the emperor, and the empress for the trouble I have caused them through my shallow actions. In this regard, I am willing to accept any punishment that may come my way. ......"
"Koku, I also apologize to my ...... mistress for what happened. It's true, I'm sorry. I'm also sorry for what I said earlier about ...... your bad character. I was just annoyed because all the wives were so beautiful. I'm really, really sorry. I don't want you to hit me on the butt."
"As for these two, I'm going to close the gates and place them in our country. For the time being, they can be found at ......."
"I'll leave these two to you, Your Imperial Highness. Indeed, I think these two should cool their heads.
"Hyah! That one! What are you ...... doing?"
Suddenly, a woman's voice rises. When I looked in the direction of the voice to see what was going on, I found Mei holding the Empress' shoulder.