Chapter 209: Uneasy question (2/2)
'No, there is no way for me to ask someone to give up their weapon, just to let me create a wedding bracelet,' he thought, biting his lips in silent despair. 'To think that I would have more troubles coming up with a bracelet than I had back in the past,' he thought, recalling one arduous task that he once fulfilled when he still believed Ortensia to be the love of his life.
”Dang it!” Layn shouted, unable to hold back his annoyance.
The entire plan of creating a wedding bracelet was something that he thought of when he saw Irea in bad shape recently. It was at that moment when he realized how easy it would be for him to lose the girl that he felt an urge to create something that would finalize their relationship. Something that he could both give to the girl and keep to himself. Something that would ward off his loneliness in the moments when Irea wasn't near him.
'Still, I cannot compromise our defenses even by a tiny bit,' Layn thought, gritting his teeth once again.
”Hey!” A sudden voice intruded on Layn's ears, forcing him out of his current stupor. ”The meeting will begin in a moment, brother,” Markus put his head inside Layn's workshop. As Layn raised his eyes on his friend's face, he couldn't help but notice the peculiar look in the man's eyes.
”Ah, sorry,” Layn apologized as he stood up before kicking the stone tablet with the concept art of the bracelet away from Markus' eyes. ”I will be...” just as he was about to reassure the man, a sudden idea appeared in his head. ”Come inside first,” Layn suddenly ordered, moving a bit deeper into the workshop to make space for his friends.
”What's wrong?” Markus' face instantly tensed up. It was the first time for Layn to request a private meeting like that, just as their council was about to start at that!
”Ah, there is no need to be so anxious,” Layn said, raising his hands as soon as he noticed the changes on his friend's face. ”I just wanted to ask a private question,” he added, averting his eyes as a sudden bout of shyness washed over the archmage's soul.
”Shoot,” Markus said, relaxing his facial muscles a bit. The wariness that his eyes were full of just a moment ago gave way to the vivid curiosity that exploded in his pupils.
”Do you have any gold... by chance?” Layn asked, unable to look at his friend's face at all. Given his relatively traumatic romantic experiences, talking about romance-related stuff still was pretty hard for him.
”Gold? While I have some, what do you need it for?” Markus asked, his face betraying just how puzzled he was. ”It's not like we can make any use of it here. Did you forget that looks are its only good quality?” Markus asked, shaking his head. ”No matter if tools or weapons, using gold for those is useless!”
”I'm aware of that,” Layn said before releasing a deep sight. Then, he finally raised his face and looked his old friend deeply in the eyes. ”It's the decorative function of the gold that I'm after, after all.”