Just then, Gelos finally arrived, carrying two secret treasures that the Princess had taken from the Re-Estize Kingdom: gauntlets that never tired and an ornament that provided continuous healing.
"Oh! Gelos, you're so slow! The Old grandpa and I have already settled everything, and we were just waiting for you," the Princess said to the tardy Gelos, her tone like that of a casual friend.
"The treasure vault was a bit far, so I was delayed a little," Gelos replied, but that wasn't true. Gelos had arrived much earlier, but he hadn't wanted to interrupt the Princess's conversation with the three Chief Priests in such a setting. Moreover... Gelos was afraid the Chief Priests and Princess Elizabeth would cause him trouble, so he thought it better to appear at the very end. Thus, Gelos had been hiding outside, eavesdropping, and hadn't come in.
"Is that so? I thought you were perhaps afraid of being scolded by me, so you didn't dare come over so quickly! Don't worry! I can understand your situation back then; everyone serves their own master." However, Princess Elizabeth's words directly exposed Gelos's lie, which made Gelos somewhat embarrassed.
"It's good that the Princess understands..." Gelos could only reply very politely, then placed the two pieces of equipment on the table and stood to the side.
"Then, these two pieces of equipment are offered to the Princess as an apology," Xi Neiding said after glancing at the equipment on the table.
"Then I'll accept them. Bell, put them away... These two pieces of equipment are for you to use from now on." However, Princess Elizabeth didn't even look at the equipment. She turned to Bell and said something that surprised everyone present.
"This... you're giving this to me? Such precious items, I... I can't accept them." Bell looked at Xi Neiding and Raymond, utterly bewildered. The two were still stunned and hadn't recovered, so they couldn't give Bell any instructions. Then, Bell saw Princess Elizabeth glare at her, somewhat impatiently.
"If I tell you to use them, then use them! Don't forget, your master is me now!" the Princess continued.
"Yes... Yes! I'll take them now!" Bell immediately, and quite flustered, picked up the two pieces of equipment, hugging them to her chest as if afraid something might go wrong.
"Consider this my Christmas gift to you!" After seeing Bell carefully carry away the two pieces of equipment, Princess Elizabeth waved her hand with an indifferent attitude and said.
"A Christmas gift, huh... Ah, ah, thank you, Cle... no, Princess Elizabeth." Bell clearly almost used the wrong name, then, seeing Princess Elizabeth's terrifying gaze, immediately corrected herself.
Seeing the Kingdom's secret treasures end up in Bell's hands like that, the mood of the few people present was somewhat complex.
Although it was true that these two pieces of equipment were taken back by Princess Elizabeth, and were now given to her as an apology, she, in front of everyone, directly gave these two secret treasures to Bell, who could be considered a subordinate. The crucial point was that Bell's status was very delicate concerning Princess Elizabeth's position, which made it a bit hard to accept. After all, with Bell's status and strength, possessing these two pieces of equipment was almost like a waste.
"What? Do you still have some dissatisfaction?" Princess Elizabeth seemed to notice the troubled expression on Bell's face. After all, the three high-ranking officials of the Slane Theocracy present were all looking at Bell with very complex expressions, making Bell truly unsure of what to do.
"No... I wouldn't dare, it's just... uh... ah, it's just that this gauntlet is a bit big. If I were to equip it, it probably wouldn't fit, right? So..." Bell could only make up an excuse on the spot.
"Hmm? It really doesn't fit well, I hadn't noticed." Princess Elizabeth glanced at the gauntlet Bell was holding in her arms. It was clearly a gauntlet meant for a male. If Bell were to equip it as is, it would indeed be very difficult to put on.
"But it's fine. When we go back, I'll give it to my other brother and have him adjust it to your preferred style." However, Princess Elizabeth didn't pay much attention to it and instead said something else that greatly concerned the officials.
"Ah... it can be adjusted? Then... then that's wonderful." Bell then saw Raymond's wink, signaling her to quickly accept it, and Bell could only comply.
"Oh! Does your country actually have such excellent craftsmen? Can even such secret treasures be modified? To be frank, before becoming a Chief Priest, I also served as a craftsman in our country. Although it might be presumptuous, if there's an opportunity, Princess Elizabeth... could you introduce your brother who can modify secret treasures to me?" Xi Neiding asked.
"Hmm? You want to meet my other brother? Uh... it might be a bit difficult. My brother is a famous shut-in. Unless there's something special, he usually stays in my family's treasure vault. And his personality is a bit... Since Old grandpa brought it up, then I'll talk to him about it. If there's an opportunity in the future, I'll introduce you to each other to exchange ideas!" Although she initially seemed to want to politely refuse, she eventually agreed.
"Then this Old grandpa thanks the Princess in advance... If I could interact with such a highly skilled craftsman, I would die without regrets." Xi Neiding hadn't expected Princess Elizabeth to agree so readily.
When he first heard the Princess say she could adjust secret treasures, he was indeed very surprised, but after the surprise, he wondered if the Princess was lying.
How could such secret treasures be adjusted again?
This was something never heard of. Aside from those secret treasures that inherently change shape according to the wearer's state, almost none of them could be adjusted further.
However, she claimed her other brother could adjust them, and even adjust them according to preference, which was indeed very suspicious. So, Xi Neiding decided to test whether the Princess was bluffing. After all, bluffing is a common tactic in diplomacy between nations. To his surprise, the Princess readily agreed. It seemed she wasn't bluffing. When there was an opportunity to contact Bell later, he would ask her about it to confirm the truth.
"Old grandpa, you're exaggerating. For my shut-in brother, it's no big deal. As long as there are enough materials, he can even make equipment with better effects than these two pieces," Princess Elizabeth said, still with that indifferent expression.
"Oh! Is that so? That makes me even more eager to meet your brother," Xi Neiding responded with great surprise. This wasn't feigned; he was genuinely astonished. Could someone craft equipment more powerful than the Kingdom's secret treasures? Wasn't that a bit too exaggerated?!
"Well! Since that's the case, Old grandpa, you should look forward to it. I'll go tell my shut-in brother when I get back and arrange for you all to meet." Princess Elizabeth didn't even hesitate this time; she simply smiled and agreed.
That confident smile was definitely not a bluff. It meant that the Ainz Ooal Gown Magic Kingdom truly had craftsmen skilled enough to create powerful equipment. Xi Neiding's heart was now in utter turmoil.
"Well... it's getting late, I should go back now." At this point, Princess Elizabeth announced her departure. Although it was a rare opportunity and it might be difficult to see the Princess again in the future, she had already expressed her intention to leave. There were no good excuses to keep her, so she had to be allowed to go. Xi Neiding couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
"Princess Elizabeth, you see, your tea isn't even finished yet. For Bell's hard work in brewing your tea, please finish your tea before you leave." At this moment, Ruoqiebeien, who had been silent, finally spoke, using such a lame excuse to try and keep her.
"Huh? I'm not tir... Eek... Ugh..." Bell was about to chime in and say she wasn't tired, then saw the three high-ranking officials of the Theocracy glaring at her with deathly cold eyes. Bell quickly shut up and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Hmm?" Princess Elizabeth looked at Ruoqiebeien with a somewhat suspicious gaze. Such a lame excuse indeed aroused suspicion.
"By the way, I also have some questions about the magic you just performed that I'd like to discuss with you. Consider it a casual chat over tea! What do you think?" Ruoqiebeien continued.
However, upon hearing this, Xi Neiding and Raymond were speechless. To so directly ask about someone's magic information, a normal Magic Caster would surely refuse, right? One must know... one's original magic, before its full extent is revealed, can almost always be used as a trump card. Yet, the Princess's status and position were still very delicate for the current Slane Theocracy. For him to just ask so directly, wasn't that clearly an attempt to pry into her secrets with ulterior motives?
"Hmm? Casual chat, you say?" As expected, the Princess looked at Ruoqiebeien with a different gaze, and coupled with her half-smile, it was clear she understood Ruoqiebeien's intentions.
"Alright! Since the tea is already brewed, it would be a waste not to drink it. Then I'll chat with you for a little while longer." And so, the Princess, even knowing Ruoqiebeien had ulterior motives, agreed, and symbolically picked up the teacup! She then merely took a small sip, just for show, and put it down.
This reaction truly surprised the three high-ranking officials of the Theocracy. Was the Princess inexperienced? Or was she too trusting? Or... was she overly confident because she was too powerful and didn't even consider the Theocracy a threat?
"Thank you. The magic that could directly change the climate just now, that was performed by you, wasn't it?" Ruoqiebeien immediately got straight to the point, although... the three present all knew that magic must have been performed by her. Previous climate anomalies in both the Kingdom and the Empire had reported relevant information, and if there were no surprises, those should also be the work of the Princess.
"Yes, it was! I hadn't recovered my memories then, and I just felt like Christmas was missing something. Then, Yugali happened to ask me why Christmas should be white, so I remembered a little and just used magic to make it snow! A 'White Christmas,' you know."
The Princess admitted it quite readily. It seemed that the 'credit' for Elizabeth's memory recovery didn't just belong to Gelos, but also to Zesshi Zetsumei. However, the Princess did resolve a question that had long troubled the Theocracy: why Christmas is white. When those few great individuals were still alive, there were records... one of them had sighed thus.
"Magic that can directly change the climate! If I may be so bold as to ask, can this be reversed? While a White Christmas is certainly nice, such abrupt climate changes affect our country's agricultural production." Raymond didn't care about white or not white; he was more concerned with the immediate problem.
"Of course it can be restored, but!" The Princess showed a somewhat troubled expression, the first time she had shown such an expression since sitting down to talk.
"Is there some difficulty?" Raymond was very concerned about this point. If it couldn't be restored and the snow was allowed to continue, the damage to the Slane Theocracy would be enormous.
"It's not that there's any difficulty; it can be restored. It just needs a little more time. The effect of my magic actually cannot be directly canceled. Instead, it requires another casting to overwrite it. However, within a certain period after casting this magic, it cannot be overwritten again, so we still need to wait a while," the Princess explained.
"Then how long until it can be overwritten again?" Raymond asked eagerly. He had already prepared himself for dealing with the effects of the abnormal climate when the Princess was about to leave. However, now knowing it could be directly resolved, Raymond was naturally very anxious.
"Probably until tomorrow?" Princess Elizabeth gave a vague answer.
Just one day? But the Princess had just expressed her intention to leave. They couldn't force her to stay another day, could they? Raymond couldn't help but show a troubled expression.
"Does this magic have a significant impact on your Slane Theocracy?" The Princess seemed to notice Raymond's predicament, so she proactively asked.
"Yes... it will have a very serious impact," Raymond replied truthfully. Although the main grain harvest season had already passed in autumn, it wouldn't necessarily lead to famine or similar problems, but other crops would suffer... "Is that so! Well! In that case, I'll stay one more night! This matter was indeed done without my knowledge. Since I did it, I must take full responsibility. I will help you restore it to its original state. I can't let you suffer losses because of my momentary whim!" The Princess very naturally said what Raymond desperately wanted to hear.
"We are truly grateful to you." Raymond, having received this answer, had nothing more to say except thanks.
"Well then! Is this problem resolved? What else is there to talk about?" Princess Elizabeth once again picked up her teacup, looking at Ruoqiebeien meaningfully as she asked.
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