"Your Highness," Zephyrion began, his voice polite but insistent, "since we have a foreigner among us today, someone from outside the mountain, I would like to propose an exchange of hands with him."
As he observed the King and Queen's expressions turning sour, Zephyrion remained undeterred. This was his father's plan, designed to test the strength of the outsider and gauge his prowess.
He continued, "Certainly, someone who has traversed the upper sections of the mountain and survived, despite the Vylkr vines and a bloodthirsty god, must possess extraordinary strength." Zephyrion then shifted his gaze to Orion, sizing him up, and added, "Considering that our foreign guest appears to be only a few years older or younger than myself, I can't help but wonder about the experience and knowledge I might gain from such an exchange."
He redirected his attention to the king and queen, his smile now replaced with a more serious and respectful expression, awaiting their response.
As Zephyrion finished speaking, voices among the guests began to murmur in agreement.
"Indeed! I hadn't noticed before, but the foreigner does seem rather youthful!"
"The fact that he traversed the upper mountain unharmed at such a young age suggests that he must possess considerable strength."
"Hmm, now I can't help but wonder what would happen if the foreigner faced off against the Gemheart clan heir. This could also be a chance for us to measure the strength of the outside world against our own."
After hearing the young man's request and the audible voices echoing around him, King Brylon couldn't help but feel an irritating headache beginning to throb at the corner of his mind. They had indeed considered the need to ascertain the foreigner's strength, but the idea of pitting someone like that against another and asking them to brawl it out until either one of them was defeated wasn't an ideal solution.
It carried a high risk of jeopardizing their kingdom, especially since they still had no idea what awaited them outside the mountain. Were there more people with the young boy? Were there more nymphs, and how many of them were there?
These questions remained unanswered, making it wiser to gain the foreigner's trust first, gradually lowering his guard until he willingly shared his knowledge about the outside world without the need for coercion or deception.
However, until then, recklessness could potentially bring even greater peril to the Prismerian Kingdom. King Brylon turned to look at his wife, noticing her defeated expression. It seemed she was harbouring similar thoughts.
"Although we could easily dismiss his proposal and discourage anyone else from making a similar request, even though I have some doubts about it and suspect it might be a ploy from the Gemheart clan," Queen Selene said as she shifted her gaze towards Orion from the corner of her eyes. Observing him furrowing his brows in response to the young man's request, she continued, "But no matter how you look at it, this is a chance to assess Orion's true strength and confirm whether he has been concealing his abilities or is indeed as weak as he has portrayed himself. After all, if anything goes awry, we can always place the blame squarely on the Gemheart Clan."
Recognizing that it had come to this point, King Brylon shifted his focus to Zephyrion and said, "Very well, I am also curious to ascertain the strength of our guest who has ventured into the Prismerian Kingdom from outside the mountain."
He was acutely aware of a pair of eyes intently fixed on him from the side, but he continued regardless. "However, I'm afraid this decision should be left to him," he turned his head to meet Orion's gaze, who had been watching him closely since he began speaking.
Orion, on the other hand, felt his eyebrows nearly escaping their positions due to irritation after hearing the young man's words below.
'Thank you very much, but I came here to enjoy a banquet, not to participate in it,' Orion thought.
He had no interest in exchanging blows with anyone, despite his curiosity about the ongoing battle below.
Meanwhile, below on the golden-veined crystal-clear stage, Zephyrion shifted his gaze from the King to Orion. "Mr Foreigner, I w--"
However, just as Zephyrion was about to speak, Orion promptly interrupted him. "I'm sorry, but I think I'll pass. I didn't attend the banquet to participate in such activities," his voice sounded a bit duller than King Brylon's own, as he was still uncertain about how he managed to amplify his voice so much.
Nonetheless, the echoes carried his words clearly to Zephyrion's ears.
Zephyrion's grin faded slightly, and he attempted to sweeten the offer, now realizing that it would take more than a simple request to get the foreigner onto the stage.
"Ahem! I understand that due to the impromptu nature of this challenge, you might not have been prepared. Therefore, I'm willing to make an offer," he declared, causing the grand amphitheatre to erupt with whispers and murmurs of intrigue.
"The Gemheart clan heir is really that desperate, huh!" Many attendees from the smaller minor clans and city families couldn't help but think, their attention now completely fixated on the unfolding scene, sensing that things were about to escalate.
Zephyrion, in the face of it all, persisted with his enticing offer. "If you lose, I am more than willing to make your stay in the Prismerian kingdom much more comfortable, in addition to sharing some of my wealth with you," he declared confidently.
He understood that his father might even double his reward if he managed to succeed in this plan and bring the foreigner onto the stage for everyone to witness.
Zephyrion continued, "And if you win, the offer remains the same, except I'll also ensure you get a guided tour of the city, visiting the finest places the Prismerian Kingdom has to offer, all under the protection of the Gemheart clan's finest security."
A win-win proposition was the only card Zephyrion could play!
To conclude his offer, he emphasized, "After all, this will be a straightforward exchange, just so I can get a firsthand look at the strength of those from beyond the mountain."