THE PRINCE’S EGO

As soon as they finished lunch, Kaito and Akihiro immediately rose from their seats.

"Alright, enough relaxing," Kaito said, throwing his cloak over his shoulder. "Time to get ready."

"We'll meet outside the palace in five minutes," Akihiro added before both of them disappeared down the hallway.

Leyla sighed and turned to Naru. "Come on, let's get changed."

Naru instantly flashed a seductive smile. "If you insist."

Their room was just as it had been before—spacious, elegant, and bathed in warm light. Leyla walked toward the wardrobe, slipping off the top layer of her clothing, but she didn't even get to the next one before she felt hands wrap around her waist.

"Naru…"

"Hmm?" he murmured, pressing soft kisses along her neck.

"Not this time," she said firmly, turning to face him and placing a hand on his chest to push him back.

Naru leaned into her, his eyes full of hope. "But Leyla…"

"No, no 'but'," she said, raising an eyebrow. "We're in a hurry, and we have a mission."

He raised his hands in surrender, still grinning. "Well, it's not like the world will end if we take five minutes for ourselves."

"It would end—for you," she shot back, pulling on her clothes.

He let out an exaggerated sigh, crossed his arms, and shrugged. "Fine, fine, have it your way. But you know what?"

"What?"

He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a sultry whisper. "If I do well on this mission… you owe me tonight."

She narrowed her eyes. "Owe you?"

"Owe me," he repeated with a smirk.

Leyla rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the smile forming on her lips. "Fine, fine. If you prove yourself."

Naru looked as if he had just won the greatest prize in the world.

When they stepped outside, Kaito and Akihiro were already waiting in front of the palace.

"Finally," Akihiro said. "We were starting to think you got lost."

"Uh-huh, sure," Kaito added suspiciously. "More likely, they were doing something else."

"Unfortunately, we weren't," Naru said in a dramatically sad tone.

Leyla elbowed him in the ribs.

"So, where are we headed?" she asked, ignoring Naru, who was pretending to be wounded.

"North," Kaito said. "I'm almost certain the artifact is hidden in an old cave near the lake, but…"

"But?"

Kaito leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "We're not the only ones who know about it. Raizen has already sent people there. If we don't hurry, we might never find it."

Leyla felt Naru tense up beside her.

"Then there's no waiting," the prince declared.

Just before they set off, Naru suddenly turned to Leyla, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her into a deep kiss.

Leyla was caught off guard, but she didn't protest—on the contrary, she enjoyed the moment.

Behind them, however…

"Oh my god," Akihiro groaned.

"Can someone hand me a knife so I can gouge my eyes out?" Kaito added.

"Horrific. Absolutely horrific," Akihiro muttered.

"Jealous?" Naru asked, pulling away and looking at them smugly.

"No, we'd just prefer not to have to witness this every day," Kaito replied.

Leyla laughed and patted Naru on the shoulder. "Alright, the prince's ego is fed. We can go now."

And with that, they set off toward their next challenge.