Alice’s face went slightly red from almost saying something that stupid.
"W-well how was I supposed to know that?! You just shoved a ring in my face out of nowhere!"
"Out of everything your brilliant mind could have guessed! Have you lost whatever was left of your sleep-deprived mind?"
"...Shut the fuck up."
Alice slowly took the ring from his hand, and examined it carefully.
"So? What is inside it?"
She raised the ring to her eye level and examined it.
It was a black ring, with some strange box-like pattern around it made with white ink.
She had to admit that it was her first time seeing a Dimension Ring this strange.
"It’s not made here..." Alice guessed. "This pattern, it’s different from how we usually channel mana around any magitech."
Leon smiled at her and nodded.
"Correct, and that’s because it was not meant to channel any mana to begin with."
Alice blinked at him, "then what?"
Leon smirked, "try guessing."
Alice first wondered what else could possibly be channeled into a device.
Except for mana, there was no known energy source which could power any kind of magitech.
But it did not take her long to connect the dots. His sudden return from Evana. His so-called girlfriend. The strange vehicle they had used to get here.
Alice already had a hunch about who that girl really was. But she had not been fully sure if her guess was true, even after seeing that strange flying vehicle.
Now, all the pieces were falling into place.
"...No way..."
Her eyes went wide.
"Astral Matter?" She looked up at Leon. "Did you get this from Evana? Then that means that girl from Evana? Wait wait, now that would really be a diplomatic problem!"
Alice glanced at his face and asked, "I heard they had mastered the way of utilizing Astral Matter. Tell me, is it truly Astral matter?"
As a tech enthusiast herself, she was devastatingly interested in this matter.
She had even forgotten that she was supposed to be angry at him just a moment ago.
Leon simply replied.
"You are right. But at the same time, you are wrong." He leaned against the railing. "They have not fully mastered it. What they did was merely touch its surface."
Then Leon pointed toward the ring in her hand.
"Inside that ring are all the blueprints and designs for how Evana has been making their technology."
"What the fuc—?!"
Alice had to quickly raise her hands to cover her own mouth, hiding her shock before it could spill out too loudly.
Earlier, when she had first arrived here with Ayaka and Irene, Leon had asked the both of them to give him and Alice some private space to talk. To which they had agreed without much fuss.
And now Alice understood exactly why.
If anyone else had heard this that Leon was carrying technology which Evana had developed after so much research, right here inside a single ring.
It would instantly become a national issue.
Every kingdom in this world would kill just to get their hands on even a fragment of what was sitting in Alice’s palm right now.
But then again.
"...How the hell did you even get your hands on all of this?"
Alice muttered slowly, still staring at the ring in disbelief.
Leon folded his arms and gave a small shrug.
"I have my ways."
He then pushed himself off the railing. In fact he had received all the info without anyone knowing, not even Anise and Irene knew about this.
Leon had to hack into their system to retrieve it.
’Their security needs some work.’ Leon reminds himself to hint this to Alice the next time he meets her.
"But let us leave that topic there. That is not something you need to concern yourself with right now."
Alice narrowed her eyes at him.
"...You always say that."
"Because it always works."
"...alright, what is your goal here? Surely you didn’t go to Evana just to get your hands on their tech... what are you plotting?"
"What am I plotting?" Leon repeated her question.
After getting the Mark of the Astral Spectrum, and becoming the only true candidate for the empty throne that Astral reality had left behind, Leon was now just a few steps away from achieving the power to match the five Calamities themselves.
Once he claimed that throne, he would have an infinite source of energy to do whatever he wanted in this world, and once he sat upon the throne of the Astral Domain, then even the Five Calamities would hesitate to raise a single finger against him.
Killing him would mean destroying an entire reality itself. and that was not something any of them wanted.
But for now...
"About what I am plotting...? Just know, that it’s something which would benefit both me and you."
"What does that mean?"
"Anyways, lets think about the outcome after we are done, so... Alice, I am giving all of this to you, so tell me how much time do you think it would take for you to study it? We can use this to perfect our own tech. We can even make it far more advanced than Evana itself if we try to."
Alice was not exactly sure, but right now, Leon had that same terrifying look on his face again.
Alice scratched her cheek.
"Are you stupid? sigh.... well to your answer your question... I do not know how much time it will take me to understand it. I have to look into it properly first before I can even tell you what exactly we are dealing with here."
"Mhm. that makes sense." Leon nodded. "Well, take it easy this time. You need sleep first, before anything else. See, your eyes look horrifying right now."
"...well genius, that’s because I was working on your weapon, you are to blame here, hmph!"
They quietly chatted for couple of minutes. Leon teases her for her crying in the cake shop.
. . .
"It is getting late... Let us head back now, we still have a banquet to attend tonight."
As he started walking, Alice suddenly asked.
"By the way Leon, why did you give this to me?"
Because clearly, he could have given this to anyone. Even Ayaka would be a better choice...
Leon paused mid-step, he tilted his head slightly, looking back at her.
"Because you are my closest friend, Alice." He said it plainly. "You are the only one I can share my true desires with."
He smiled softly and added. "So keep it a secret between just us two, alright?"
Alice’s eyes widened at his words, but after a moment, she slowly nodded.
"O-okay."
Leon was about to walk out.
But then.
"...A-another thing, Leon."
"Hm?"
"That girl. Irene..."
She hesitated at first, because she was not sure if she should even be asking this.
"Yes? What about her?"
Alice gulped, then spat it out anyway.
"...Did you make her your girlfriend just so that no one would suspect you of stealing all this tech?"
Leon’s fingers twitched slightly at the question, but he answered it right away, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Hm? No way... exactly what kind of person do you take me for?"
Alice quietly looked away, a little embarrassed for even asking.
"...Oh, forget I asked."
Leon simply shrugged and walked back toward where Irene and Ayaka were, and Alice followed right behind him, holding onto the dimensional ring.
Her earlier anger toward Leon had faded away.
’What was I even thinking...’
She thought to herself, recalling her own actions of crying while eating just moments ago.
’That was so embarrassing. And everyone saw me too, even Madam Ayaka!’
"Sigh... Fuck me sideways." She muttered.