Magic Life in the Empire

Chapter 108 - Stash

This way, he might naturally encounter Lapis and potentially search for another Black Tulip. The offer had nothing but benefits for Cyril.

"I'll do what I can." So he agreed after brief contemplation.

"Great!" Exclaimed Jack, "Now we have the son of that Arthur on our side. We basically won already."

"I'm still not convinced," with a frown said the tall man.

"I want to see proof that he will be useful." He walked up to Cyril and stared at him from a height.

Jack only waved his hand in response and relaxed back in his seat.

"Cyril, do you mind giving our skeptical friend, Gethyn, a demonstration?" His face held a certain confidence.

Then Jack turned towards the tall man and said with a smirk, "Do you want to bet your personal stash on this? If Cyril finds it, he can take anything he wants from there. Do you dare accept?"

Gethyn's face showed hesitation—almost panic—for a moment. Then, reluctantly, he agreed, "I doubt he can actually find it."

"I'll need Morpho to get the scent; hold still." Cyril stood up and turned his head to the butterfly on his shoulder.

This bet intrigued him too. At least he was curious what the personal stash of a secretive criminal looked like.

Morpho gracefully flew close to Gethyn and stayed in the air for a couple of seconds.

Before long she did a loop and landed back on Cyril's shoulder, bringing him the good news.

Surprisingly, their target was in this very room.

Cyril stood up and walked up in front of a particular spot on a wall. With each step he made, Gethyn's face twisted more and more.

Thinking back to how Jack opened this secret room, Cyril put his hands on the wall where Morpho guided him and focused.

Once he input a bit of his mana, part of the wall melted into nothingness, leaving a square-shaped hole.

Inside was a safe with a combination lock on it.

Cyril stood aside, showing everyone the results, and turned to look at Gethyn himself, whose face became a little pale.

"Why don't you open it? Don't worry, I won't be too greedy," Cyril said with a faked compassion in his voice.

His words caused the others to let out a bit of a chuckle, though the tall man's face became a bit worse.

Still, a promise was a promise, and he inputted the password with a trembling hand. It looks like he cherished whatever was inside.

"Too bad, it's going to be ours now. This is a lesson for doubting you!" Rhamn triumphantly exclaimed.

The others in the room watched the safe slowly opening as well. But their eyes alarmed Cyril—though they tried to hide it, a cunning glint was there.

Is there a trap? Cyril became cautious.

Gethyn opened the door completely and stood aside, closing his eyes with determination and looking at the ceiling.

Cyril slowly walked up, wary of his surroundings, but soon his expression turned confused.

Instead of any materials, valuables, or even a trap, there was something resembling a shrine inside.

At its center was a painting of a beautiful woman holding a wand with an embedded crystal near her lips, her finger pointed directly at the viewer.

At the foot of the painting and wherever there was space lay shirts, toys, and various useless knickknacks.

Just then, a louder laugh escaped everyone around. Jack was hitting the back of the chair he was sitting in with an absolutely jubilant expression.

Even Kenneth, the seemingly most normal of the people here, was cracking a smile that seemed to signify a well-executed prank.

Though Gethyn still stood like a prisoner on death row, his eyes were closed, but his ears were still working.

Hearing the others reaction, the man hastily replied, "What do you all even know? These things are worth a fortune!"

"Do you even realize how rare a limited edition, fully working replica of Scarlet's singing wand is?!" He almost yelled, with his face gaining a bit of crimson.

"I am sorry, Gethyn. We have no doubts it's valuable. We are only enjoying the reaction of our new friend Cyril. He definitely expected something else in there," said Kenneth in a calming voice.

Indeed, Cyril stood there silently, staring at the utterly useless contents of the safe. His hopes had been completely betrayed.

His eyes scanned everything inside again, a petty urge forcing him to take at least something.

Finally, he settled on a card with a gorgeous, intricate design. It was small and still looked somewhat presentable.

Clutching this war trophy, he turned to face the prank-loving group.

...

"So there are no more doubts here?" Cyril calmly said, pretending nothing happened just now.

Gethyn finally mustered the courage to open his eyes and see the damage. "That was my club membership card! I only have 3 of these..." He whispered with some pain.

But it looked like he no longer had any concerns over Morpho's abilities.

"Then it's settled!" said Kenneth with a smile and continued, "We'll need to prepare a bit for the outing, so it won't happen today. When is a good time for you?"

Do we have anything on Sunday? Asked Cyril in his mind.

Actually, he's been relying on Rhamn in this regard quite a bit lately. He wasn't even sure if he could return to living without her. It was just too convenient.

"Nothing planned on Sunday. Unless Myra says the theater play will happen tomorrow," replied Rhamn with a happy smile.

"I am free tomorrow," said Cyril.

"Perfect!" Jack got up from the chair. "I say we should drink to this new alliance. Let's go ask Thomas to make something. Poor guy doesn't get real customers anyways."

Before leaving, he crouched on the ground and slung Emily over his shoulder.

"I fully expected him to just abandon her here."

Am I supposed to carry Cedric?

Cyril took a brief look at his classmate—and ignored him, going out of the now-open room without any regrets.

He was already holding Tigris.

Instead, Katherine picked up the sleeping student in a princess carry.