Leonel pocketed the Segmented Cube and seemed to finally realize that the atmosphere was a bit off. He swept a gaze forward and noticed Noah.
After a brief pause, he turned back to Aina.
"Are you sure that it's comfortable?"
Aina giggled. This was the fourth or fifth time Leonel had asked this question.
"Yes, really, it is."
She lightly touched the mask on her face, a light smile blooming beneath.
She normally wouldn't wear a mask, but the purpose of this one wasn't to hide her appearance.
After learning about Aina's curse and the time limit, Leonel found out that there was a way to delay the progress of the curse. It was obvious that it was greatly suppressed by Cleansing Waters, so Leonel chose to Craft a mask for Aina that could help her.
What he hadn't expected, though, was for Aina to like the mask so much. Though she never said anything, the curse placed her in a perpetual state of discomfort. Even in its least inflamed form where her scars appeared no different from knife wounds, there was an uncomfortable tightness and itchiness she always had to deal with.
But, for the first time, she felt completely at ease. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that Leonel had cured her completely.
The mask itself was something that Leonel put his heart and soul into. It was actually the reason they had taken an extra two days to exit the Segmented Cube, other than celebrating Aina's birthday, of course.
The mask used the pearl of the Purifying Fog Clam as a base. It gave the mask itself a premium white glow that seemed somewhat like marble but carried the off-whiteness and milky texture of pearls.
The inner-workings of the mask were forged with the Ice Vein type Ore, Misty Dream Ore.
The Purifying Fog Clam was known for its ability to turn large amounts of water into a gentle mist that almost appeared like fog. As for the Mist Dream Ice Vein Ore, it was known for its ability to keep its ice-like state even in the hottest of climates, almost as though it was in its own dream world regardless of the environment.
Leonel crafted veins patterns throughout the mask with the Misty Dream Ore and filled its innards with Cleansing Waters. The combination of the two allowed Aina to have a fine mist of Cleansing Water perpetually hovering around her face. Any unease she had completely vanished.
In the end, the mask gained the appearance of a beautiful piece of art. The contrast of the milky whiteness to the sharp blue lines of the Misty Dream Ore made it look particularly dazzling. In fact, even Aina hadn't expected to like it so much.
What she was more shocked about, though, was the fact that Leonel actually managed to give it defensive strength rivaling a Tier 8 Black treasure despite the fact it wasn't designed with such a thing in mind.
Others might not know how valuable Force Crafters were, but how could Aina not be aware? The realization that Leonel hadn't been joking before left her quite stunned.
Of course, she hadn't thought that Leonel had been lying. He wasn't that type of person. Rather, she was more shocked by Leonel's level of skill.
From what she understood, he was almost at the standard of a Fifth Dimensional Force Crafter. At his age, at least in worlds as weak as theirs… That was completely unheard of!
Mordred smiled bitterly when she saw how the two were still somehow in their own world. Didn't they see the gravity of the situation?
Mordred cleared her throat.
"Ah, right." Leonel looked up toward Mordred and grinned. "Sorry, I heard that there were negotiations happening now? I've already promised Em to take the helm in these matters, so if you want to negotiate, you'll be doing so with me."
Hearing these words, Mordred couldn't help but smile. It seemed that she had thought too much before.
That was right, if he was willing to beat this cousin of his so savagely, there shouldn't have been anything to worry about to begin with.
Jessica, who had descended to Noah's side, frowned when she heard these words. As the Prince of The Empire, something like Leonel negotiating on behalf of outsiders was highly inappropriate. She wanted to open her mouth to say something, but Noah stretched out a hand that stopped her.
"As you wish."
Leonel nodded.
Soon, the group had entered the military tent.
Leonel sat on one side of the table with Aina to his left and Mordred to his right. As for King Arthur, he sat to the right of his daughter.
On the other side of the table, Noah faced Leonel with Jessica to his side. On the other side of Noah, there was another young man.
The young man had his long hair done up in an elaborate bun that seemed to come straight out of an ancient world. He had sharp features and an even sharper gaze all hidden behind his glasses.
However, while the glasses Leonel's father wore were more of gimmick because he simply liked their appearance, Leonel could tell that the glasses of this young man were actually a treasure that helped boost his ocular ability.
The young man swept a gaze toward Leonel before observing Mordred and then finally turning toward Aina. But, before he could, Leonel snorted lightly.
An audible crack resounded in the quiet room.
The glasses of the young man snapped, their lenses breaking into tiny fragments. If it wasn't because the young man was quick to close his eyes as soon as he realized that something was wrong, he may very well have been blinded in that moment.
Leonel's gaze didn't shift away from the young man as the latter slowly took his glasses off, his visage indifferent but the aura he was exuding reaching a tangible level.
"Watch where you're looking please, or else I'll have to ask you to leave."