With the declaration issued and the Flame Kingdom established, the three delegations began taking their leave one after another. Mashu Red-White Rose did not linger either, though he had very much wanted to deepen his relationship with Liszt.
But as an envoy delegation, they had to convey the signed agreement to the King of Iron Ridge Kingdom as soon as possible.
Of course, he still delayed for a day, choosing to depart only after the Blast Furnace Castle delegation and the Eagle Negotiation Delegation had left. Before leaving, he once again had a long private talk with Liszt in the study. At last, he took a small box from his pocket and handed it over.
"What is this?" Liszt was somewhat puzzled. Why was he suddenly being given a gift for no reason?
Mashu explained with a smile, "My younger sister Marilyn greatly admires Your Highness's bearing, and she also deeply respects Court Archmage Ake Roides by your side. So she asked me to present a gift to you and Lord Ake Roides. I hear it is a gift from the sea."
When the box was opened, two scale-shaped earrings gleamed with a deep azure radiance.
Even without using Magic Eye, Liszt could sense the abundant water-element magic power contained within. These were undoubtedly extremely rare and precious magical items.
Liszt accepted the box and examined it carefully. The more he looked, the more valuable the gift seemed. "A gift from the sea?"
"Yes. They are called Mermaid's Protection. When my sister was born, a Court Archmage of the Iron Ridge royal family gave them to her as a gift. The archmage has since passed away, but he left behind a story about these earrings—they were excavated from an underwater ruin."
"An underwater ruin? What kind of underwater ruin?"
"A