Michael arrived at the Starlight Tavern and immediately noticed the "private event" sign hanging at the entrance.

What? Could it be—

Upon entering, sure enough, the place was empty; the Fourth Prince was here again!

Libnahi, who was on duty, greeted, "Good day, Sage. The Fourth Prince has booked the place again."

The Fourth Prince laughed heartily: "Come, come, drink with me."

Michael felt conflicted; time was tight, and he needed to discuss matters with Libnahi. How could he have the time to chit-chat with the Prince?

Michael stepped forward respectfully, "Your Highness, my expedition team has already received instructions and begun their search."

The Prince laughed heartily: "No rush, no rush, there's no hurry now, take your time!"

Michael asked in surprise, "What makes Your Highness so happy?"

The Prince chuckled, "Isn't the Fifth Prince a genius? Are you happy to see me in distress? He personally went to capture a Water Element, used up all the summoning materials on the ship, and still failed to catch one!"

Michael was truly shocked, "Is this Water Element that formidable?"

The Prince mused, "Otherwise, would I be so sincere in asking you to help find the Heart of Fallen Ice? Actually, I know that even if I obtained the Heart of Fallen Ice and gave it to the Water Element, it might not necessarily pledge allegiance to me. However, if it becomes stronger, others will have even less chance of getting it. That's an outcome I can accept!"

Then the Prince downed his drink: "Now, I want to spread the news of the Fifth Prince's setback everywhere. Once other adventurers know that the Fifth Prince has also failed, they won't bother trying either, making the Water Element safer. Especially letting the five young ladies from the New World know, so they understand that the Fifth Prince is not all that, hahaha~~~"

Ah...

Michael was a bit dazed; although he knew there'd surely be competition and sabotage among princes, was it alright to speak so openly to an outsider like him?

Got it, the Head Maid who was on duty earlier did mention that this Fourth Prince was the weakest among the five princes. He was certainly the least favored, so his attitude towards the Water Element was either to strive for it or to sabotage if he couldn't get it. Maybe, this guy could be of use to me? No, he came twice in one night to find me for drinks; he's actively trying to win me over? In that case, let's see his worth!

Michael said, "I've received the latest news that Miss Eve from Gem Starlight City needs a Treasure Phoenix Fish and is rallying several fishermen to fish for it."

The Prince was stunned: "Is that true?"

Michael cleared his throat: "Yes, but this is somewhat absurd. It's possible that her subordinates misunderstood her intentions because, after all, this fish has long been extinct in Gem City."

The Prince laughed in surprise, "What's the use of that fish? It's long out of fashion; I can get one right away!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He does have some use indeed!

Michael got excited: "Your Highness, this matter requires immediate action! It would be best to complete it before dawn! Once Miss Eve finds out about the absurd behavior of fishing, she will certainly stop it!"

The Prince laughed, "This must indeed be done before dawn."

Then the Prince smiled at Libnahi: "Lady, I believe your abilities are much stronger than other ladies. Do you have any plans to get a promotion?"

Libnahi was stunned: "Your Highness, I only know how to tell a few stories to pass the time; it's nothing special."

The Prince smiled: "Sometimes, fate is just that strange. Well then, Sage, wait for my news!"

With that, he disappeared in an instant teleportation.

Michael looked at the stunned Libnahi and felt the Prince had quite a bit going on?

So he asked, "Shouldn't the Fourth Prince not have the authority to appoint officials? Why did he say that?"

Libnahi snapped out of it: "If His Highness secretly took something from the palace's collection room, then everyone on duty tonight in the palace would be held responsible, and the manager would be penalized! But if I'm not present, then I might get promoted to manager..."

So that's how it is!

Even though it was the Prince's doing, Michael still needed to assess her: "Suppose His Highness took a tribute from the collection room and you knew. What would you do?"

Libnahi said, "I wouldn't know, or I'd pretend not to know."

Alright, that's a very typical and somewhat unsatisfactory answer for Michael.

Michael asked directly, "Suppose I asked you to quietly take this fish for just one hour and then return it, with a large sum of money for you; what would you do?"

Libnahi laughed, "Of course, I would tell the manager, and if the manager agrees, we would split the money together."

In a corrupt Empire, that's indeed the normal logic. However—

"I mentioned, only you can take it quietly; no one else can know."

Libnahi chuckled, "Then this exceeds my capabilities, it's quite tricky."

Michael continued to ask, "Suppose you're the manager, what would you do?"

Libnahi sighed, "If I became the manager, then I wouldn't be able to moonlight at your shop, sir."

Michael was suddenly startled; only then did he realize the seriousness of the matter!

Libnahi, however, asked, "Then what does the Sage hope I would do?"

Of course, loyalty...

Michael lamented, "As a Sage, of course, I wish to build a wise world."

Libnahi smiled, "As expected of the Sage, in that case, I won't take any money from you and will directly lend you the fish."

This answer is essentially no different from the last Head Maid... yet, it sounds particularly pleasing. Michael didn't know if he should be disappointed or glad, or perhaps he was too much of a Spirit purist?

Libnahi smiled, "Does the Sage wish for me to report the Prince for stealing a fish?"

Michael was shocked: "No! Just pretend you don't know."

Libnahi laughed, "You truly are a sage, sir."

Michael exclaimed, "Does that count as sage-like?"

Libnahi smiled, "Indeed, within the palace system, using the virtue of tolerance and the art of compromise to find a perfect balance is sage-like—"

Before she finished, the Prince's laughter came through: "Well said!"

The space rippled, and the Prince handed a black cloth-wrapped aquarium-like object to Michael: "Sage, I have used magic to inscribe blessings for Miss Eve on the fish. Could you please deliver it for me?"

Michael lifted the aquarium cover and indeed, it was done!

Michael didn't waste any words, "I'll set off immediately."

At the same time, Michael quickly called in the chat group, "Raphael, come receive the goods!"

Raphael was overjoyed, "You're truly the boss!"

Michael sighed, "But... it seems there's no hurry to return the fish either, let's assess the situation first."

Michael thought it might be the art of compromise not to tell Raphael about the Prince writing love messages...

Raphael was ecstatic, "Great, Miss Eve will visit her classmate later, I will arrange for special team members to dive and hang this fish on the classmate's hook. That will be a moment to witness miracles..."