60. A Warm Friendship

60. A Warm Friendship
Tension rose as Liuz, with his special technology, managed to create an opening in the barrier crafted by Sylfaris. That was why the prince immediately grew furious and snapped at him. However, contrary to what they expected, Liuz reacted with surprising calm. Liuz stared with smiled. Instead of stepping inside, he walked closer to Prince Sylfaris and began speaking with his strange diplomacy.

“Resident of Planet Aetherion, I am Liuz. I need the energy from your crystal so I can return to my planet. If you don’t mind, we can exchange information about many things!” he said, as if that would actually be considered.

Rose immediately tugged on Liuz’s sleeve, but once again, the man didn’t understand.

“I possess plenty of metals and extraterrestrial crystals that I can trade with you. If you don’t mind, I only need to take a crystal of this size!” Liuz said, showing an odd maroon-colored crystal from his hand.

Sylfaris’ eyes widened. He took the crystal from Liuz’s hand and examined it closely.

“What crystal is this? It’s beautiful! Nothing here has this color!”

“Yes, I realized crystals like this don’t exist on your planet, so I’m using it for barter. Is that acceptable?” Liuz asked again.

Meanwhile, Liuz’s friends exchanged looks, as if negotiating with Prince Sylfaris was pointless. Because aside from Princess Kaelish, Prince Sylfaris was also known for being extremely stubborn.

“Agreed!” Sylfaris answered without a second thought.

“All right, thank you!” Liuz replied, immediately stepping inside.

Everyone gaped, thinking it would be difficult to obtain the Luminox Core. But contrary to their expectations, Liuz easily walked in, took a sample of the stone, and placed it into the container prepared by Earth.

“The power source is ready! Two days after the ship’s refinement, we’ll be able to operate according to plan, Sir!” Earth reported to his master.

“Good.”

Meanwhile, just like Liuz who looked satisfied, Prince Sylfaris also seemed to discover something about the crystal. He dipped the stone into the lake, and the entire lake began to glow red, the same color as the crystal.

“Beautiful… What is the name of this crystal?”

“Imperial Jade. I found it in a solar system near the planet GoVi-X. It’s harmless, beautiful, and perfect for decoration!” Liuz replied.

“Where are you from?” Sylfaris asked.

“From somewhere even farther.”

“I’m truly delighted to meet you. I’ve always thought that up in the sky, there must be many living beings like us. And now I finally get to meet one,” Sylfaris said.

Rose glanced at Aelion and Princess Kaelish.

“Is Prince Sylfaris really this trusting with strangers?” Rose asked, puzzled.

“No, he’s not like that. But he does have a soft spot for people he finds unique! A bit like me,” Princess Kaelish answered with a grin.

“That’s why you two are siblings,” Aelion replied.

Kaelish nodded, then Rose ran toward Liuz, passing right beside Prince Sylfaris. His eyes, which had been filled with awe at the crystal’s beauty, immediately dropped the crystal to the ground the moment he saw Rose walk by.

“Th–that… what creature is she? Is she a woman from another planet?” he muttered in astonishment.

Meanwhile, Rose ran to Liuz and instantly hugged him.

“Did everything work? Can we go home now?” Rose asked.

“Yes! We’ll return to my planet and get married!” Liuz declared.

Rose processed his words, then slowly grinned.

“How about we just go back to Earth instead?” she coaxed.

“That’s impossible. The system is already set—we’ll be heading to Orvantis. Only after that can we try returning to Earth,” he replied.

Rose nodded. She had no other choice. If she wanted to go back to Earth, she had to go with Liuz. It was just… the whole marriage thing was a bit troubling in her mind.

“Wait!” a voice suddenly interrupted.
It was Prince Sylfaris approaching.

“Hey, alien. Is the barter still valid?” he asked.

“You want to trade again? Sure, what do you want?” Liuz replied.

“Her. I want that girl,” Sylfaris said, pointing at Rose.

Seeing Sylfaris point at Rose, Liuz immediately stepped forward, placing himself in front of her to shield her.

“No! She is not something that can be traded! She is my wife!” Liuz said firmly.

Prince Sylfaris snorted, then pointed at Kaelish.

“Then I’ll trade for her!” he said.

Hearing that, Kaelish instantly stepped forward and smacked him on the head.

“You insolent brat! I’ve been patient with you and this is what you do?” she snapped, now putting him in a headlock.

“Haha..! At least I tried to remove you from my ecosystem!” Sylfaris yelled while laughing, freeing himself and running away.

Eldorin and Aelfric shook their heads, while Aelion simply stared, realizing how strangely close the princess and the prince really were.

“He’s just joking, Liuz! Don’t be so tense,” Rose whispered, noticing Liuz still standing in full alert mode.

“Joking? I didn’t know people on this planet could joke,” he replied, confused.

“You think everyone is like you—serious all the time!”

“Oh, right. Maybe I am too serious. But what’s the point of joking? It’s not funny,” Liuz muttered.

“Just ignore it! So, what’s our next plan?” Rose asked.

“I’m going back to the spaceship. I need to check all the systems,” Liuz explained.

“Alright.”

“Rose… are you going with Liuz?” Aelion asked.

“Yes, I’m going back with him,” she replied.

“Does that mean this is a goodbye? You’re leaving?” Aelion looked a bit sad.

“Of course she’s leaving with me. She’s my wife, Lord Aelion,” Liuz said, wearing a jealous expression.

“What about a farewell party?” Aelion asked.

“Yes, that’s right! There should be a farewell party!” Aelfric agreed.
“The palace will always be open for you and Rose,” Princess Kaelish added.

“Damn, there’s still so much I want to learn from you, Liuz,” Eldorin sighed.

“If there’s a party, I’m joining!” Prince Sylfaris shouted.

“Alright then, you all prepare the farewell party for us. I’ll prepare something for you as well!” Liuz said.

“What is it?”

“A secret! I’ll give it to you in two days. I’ll come to the palace then,” Liuz said as he took Rose’s hand and flew away.

“Alright, we’ll be waiting! Promise!” Aelion shouted.

“I’ll prepare lots of delicious food!” Kaelish yelled.

Liuz and Rose flew away, waving goodbye, leaving their friends behind, who all looked a little sad to see them go.