141 Arrival at Lunar City

Name:Genius Seventh Prince Author:LazySky
"Greyson! How come you did not tell us you were this strong?!" Nicholas shouted in surprise. The rest of the group had already finished off their opponents and ended up watching the entire process of Greyson's fight.

"Ah, well, it's not that I intentionally hid it. You guys did not ask, as well." Scratching his head, Greyson did not really know how to answer. Would it not be weird if he just announced to the group what his level was unprovoked? That would be more like wanting to boast about his talent than innocent informing.

"Hahaha, well, I guess my royal brother has just been making a full of himself this entire time." Laughing in an unrestrained manner, Nicholas did not spare his older brother from his teasing.

Sebastien's face grew a shade darker as he sincerely did feel embarrassed about his earlier attitude. 

"I'm sorry, Greyson. It was my mistake for falsely assuming your level of strength and looking down on you. I hope we can put the past behind us." Surprisingly, Sebastien did not lash out at Greyson and instead approached with an apology. Overwhelmed by the sudden switch in attitude, Greyson did not know how to respond at first. Seeing the hand stretched out toward him, he felt that it would be rude to just leave the prince hanging. Plus, their arguments were only verbal and nothing bad actually ever happened. Reciprocating the handshake, Greyson smiled warmly.

"It's no big deal. I did not really take your actions to heart, anyways."

"Really? That's great! Wow, not only are you a genius but you are even such a broad-minded and magnanimous person. It's really such a pleasure that I can get to know you!" Taking a complete 180 turn to his earlier stance, Sebastien proactively spoke to Greyson and even complimented him. Find authorized novels in Webnovel,faster updates, better experience,Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

"Ah, you are too generous with your praise. I'm nobody great." Slightly uncomfortable with such a passionate reception, Greyson just politely smiled and responded modestly.

"Sebastien is right, you seem like such a powerful magician. I guess it is our mistake to not realize your abilities before." Palmira echoed Sebastien's earlier sentiments.

"Ah, ah, ah, what is this now? Are older brother and sister suddenly going to steal my friend? You guys weren't paying any attention to him earlier, though..." Nicholas chimed in.

Greyson really did not know how he was supposed to respond to these royals. For most of the trip, the three of them did not give up and continued to try to communicate with Greyson. Buttering him up with compliments and praise, the three seemed adamant on becoming friends with him. They even began to bestow gifts to him. They varied from precious magic herbs, to some spells, and even magic tools. Although Greyson did not lack in these things, he had half a mind to accept them since they kept pushing him. However, before he accepted, Elder Sweetbow was actually the one to step in to stop them.

"My disciple does not lack such things. If you are offering him gifts of this caliber, would that not be looking down on me as his teacher? He cannot reject them easily, but I will reject them for him. He already has enough of all those things you want to offer." Sweetbow waved them off easily. Not wanting to offend this Elder either, the three could only give up for the moment and dispersed towards different places on the back of the Silverwing Bird.

"Thank you, teacher. I really could not take their insistent chattering for much longer. Earlier, they came off as such cold and arrogant people. I did not think that they could be so talkative when they wanted to. Their new attitude is really burdensome." Breathing a sigh of relief, Greyson quickly thanked Sweetbow for the assistance.

"Why do you think they are acting that way?" Contrary to what Greyson expected, Sweetbow actually responded with this question.

"Why? Well, I could not be completely sure... Probably due to my strength, right? They just have more respect for me now that I am stronger and more talented than them. I did not give it that much thought. It's not like I really want to get close to them."

"Idiot! How could you only think to that extent?! You have to understand, Grey. Royal family descendants have to mature early. You cannot measure them by the same standards of other peers around your age. Their minds are always working some kind of plot. The reason for this: they all want to sit on the throne. That is the end goal of almost everyone born into royalty. To be the 'final winner' in the fight for the throne. They are not being this friendly and kind just because they appreciate and admire your talent. They want to pull you to their side and hold you there with gifts and support, so that you will work for them and help them ascend the throne. Yes, they might respect you. But, in the end, they do not want to sincerely get close to you. They merely want to use you. That's why I sent them off like that. If you just ingenuously accept their gifts, who know what requests they might put to you later? And you would be the type of person to help them because they helped you before. Although these things are small and meaningless, the more they get to know you, the more important and heavier those presents would become. It's not because I really think you would so easily let yourself be used, but I want this moment to serve as a lesson. This is why I hate humans so much. It is hard to trust them with anything. Greyson, you are young and have not experienced the world as much. Humans are vile creatures with much greed and deceit within them. You cannot let your guard down for a moment!" With a serious expression on his face, Sweetbow harshly lectured Greyson.

Shock showed on the young teen's face as he realized that his teacher was probably right. Looking over at the three royal princes and princess, he made eye contact with all of them as they smiled enthusiastically back. Shivers of disgust were sent down his spine at that moment. Even Nicholas suddenly seemed fake to him. Thinking about it, although Nicholas was friendly, it was just to that extent earlier. Now, Nicholas went out of his way to talk to him just like his other siblings. Although the transition in his actions was more subtle, the change was still there if one looked for it. His expression hardening, Greyson no longer wanted to deal with them at all. He had heard all about how inside the royal family was like a warzone, but this was the first time he experienced how much they hid daggers within their smiles. Earlier, he thought they were just two-faced at most. But if they were going to be nicer to him then he would reciprocate. He was even about to accept the gifts just because it was too bothersome to reject. Just like that, he would have been quietly hooked into their lives.

For the rest of the journey, Greyson's attitude towards them clearly cooled. He even began to meditate in order to easily rebuff them. Ezra and Ignis were a little upset and envious over the difference in treatment, so they were glad to see this break in the relationship. Their parents had ordered them to try making connections with the royal family. There was no need to make any promises yet, but to keep their eyes peeled for the most talented member so they could maybe place their bets behind them. Ever since the fight with the Elementals, though, all of the attention was placed on Greyson and they were completely ignored. In contrast, Quinn did not think too much about it. He mostly dozed off and observed the surrounding view peacefully.

...

After around half a month of travelling, the group finally made it to the outer gates of the imperial capital, Lunar City. Contrary to Greyson's expectations, the city was not very aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. Instead, the dark grey stones that most of the wall, buildings, and castle were made from made the city give off a dreary and cold atmosphere. Not much color illuminated the city other than the yellow of the light stones. The gate was crowded with different groups that seemed to have come from all over the country. Greyson could tell that they were all young people at differing stages of the magister level along with their escorts who were mostly great magister level magicians. Their arrival did not go unnoticed, however, most of the people just glanced over nonchalantly before no longer paying any attention. Some of the more arrogant young ones looked at them with disdain. Greyson's group did not say much before obediently getting in line to wait. Not even the royal heirs from the Idris Kingdom had the ability to act up here. In front of the Moon Empire, they were but extremely distant relatives.

When it came their turn to enter, the Old King stepped out to represent them. He carried with him their identifications and papers. Along with those things, he also slipped the guard a decent amount of gold coins secretly. Clearly expecting such actions, the guard accepted without a change in expression. 

I guess there are people like this everywhere. Greyson thought to himself. These kinds of bribery scenes were not uncommon at all. It was not so much that they wanted to get in faster through these means as it was that they wanted to make sure the guard would not give them trouble for no reason. It was not weird to see someone getting stopped at the gate for no reason other than the fact that they would not pay the guards any money. Although this was technically against the law, most City Lords would not pay it any attention and instead encourage their guards to do so. They would get a cut later afterwards.

Since the amount seemed to be enough, the guard became more eager to serve and quickly got the group through the gate. They had to pass through a large magic barrier that was apparently set up by the first magician king of the Moon Empire. This barrier would protect from attacks and could even sense when different race enemies enter. If one is not human, they could not pass through the barrier unless they are given specific permission. Sweetbow and Greyson were given this permission, therefore they received a special-looking charm necklace that they had to wear at all times in order to not be attacked by the barrier. 

Feeling himself walk through an invisible resistance, Greyson was fascinated by the power of magician kings. He wondered when he could reach that step himself...