After waking up from a deep meditation session, Daneel realized that the trinket he was carrying in his pocket was flas.h.i.+ng brightly, illuminating the swirling mists in the Energized Training Chamber. In his hands was a Ker Gem from the treasury which he had been using to speed up his training.
After over a month of absorbing this particular source of energy, Daneel had already gotten used to the uncomfortable feeling which he had felt before.
Getting up, he first grinned widely seeing that he was already close to another breakthrough.
Yet, just when he was about to ask the system to show him his statistics, the trinket flashed again signifying that another message had been received.
Curious, he stopped his actions and checked the trinket to realize that it was actually Kellor requesting for a meeting.
Seeing that there were multiple requests both from Kellor and Luther, Daneel immediately contacted them both and walked to his chambers.
In the past month, he had been blissfully training for most of the time except for the few hours spent either with his mother or in the library.
The a.s.sembly of the information was coming along quite nicely, and Daneel was confident he would be able to ama.s.s all the books available in no more than a few weeks.
Before, this had been his main priority. But after the events with the Ker Gem mine where he realized that experience was much more important than knowledge, Daneel had decreased the priority in his mind.
As for his mother, she had been happier than ever to see that her son was finally spending some time with her. Along with the fact that her husband was finally cured, Maria felt that things couldn"t get better for the Anivron family.
As someone who had experienced the harsh end of poverty, Maria had developed a sense of kindness which made her care for everyone in the palace as if they were her own family.
Seeing this, Daneel had been reminded of the popularity of the Queen and the concubines which had led that King to fear a coup.
Daneel wasn"t the type to get fears like these. In fact, he thought that it would be great if his mother could turn out to be the other face of the Palace; after all, he knew that tough times were coming during which he might have to make difficult decisions. In that situation, if there were someone else whom he could trust to blunt the edge of the ruling party, it might do wonders.
Thus, he had instructed the treasurers to set up a special fund in her name which she could use however she wished for the welfare of the people.
Although Maria had denied his suggestion to go out into the City and help those in need at first, she had later acquiesced after a talk with Robert. Daneel didn"t know what his father had said, but he had been happy to see that she agreed wholeheartedly with a huge smile on her face before getting the details about the exact sum of money she could spend.
After deciding on an initial amount of 100,000 Gold Lans, Daneel looked forward to seeing what impact this would have on the Kingdom Management Statistics which hadn"t budged so far.
A few moments later, the team of people who were quickly becoming known as the advisors of the King made their way into the chamber.
Sitting down in front of the dragon heart, Kellor, Luther, Faxul and Robert first waited for Daneel to speak.
"A month has pa.s.sed. Let"s get some progress reports first on the tasks I have given you before moving to the topic which Kellor requested the meeting for."
Indeed, Daneel had been about to call for a meeting himself. Seeing that there was something pressing to address anyway, he decided to use this occasion to get everything done so that he could return to training ASAP.
With time, he realized that he had gotten addicted to the feeling of growing stronger. In fact, he had actually cursed himself often for not using a Ker Gem sooner.
Nodding at the King"s words, Kellor started to speak.
"My King, a team of 35 scribes and scholars have finished compiling an epic saga just as you requested. If you give the go-ahead, we can begin printing it en ma.s.s to distribute it to the bookstores and libraries in Lanthanor. Here is a sample."
Kellor had carried inside a small bag which he now opened to take out a large, rectangular book with golden edges that shone in the faint light in the King"s Chambers.
"Daneel Anivron. Our King, Our Saviour."
These were the words written in a bold font on top.
After taking it into his hands and noticing that it was quite hefty, Daneel smiled a little before setting it to the side and saying, "Well done. I shall go over it after the meeting and tell you if there needs to be any changes before we can begin ma.s.s production. Faxul?"
With his usual stoic expression, Faxul said, "I"ve been spending the past month walking around the capital and so far, there is one thing which I think will interest you: there is a serious dearth of healers in the city. There are only a few who are known, and they charge exorbitant prices."
Hearing this, Daneel felt like hitting himself on the head for forgetting such an important aspect of a nation.
Healthcare!
Growing up in the slums, Daneel knew very well that even the most basic ointments to heal superficial wounds came at a very high price. Besides, if one suffered a serious wound, a family would have to starve for weeks if they wanted to approach a healer.
"Well done. Kellor, make a report regarding how much it will cost to set up a healthcare initiative by the government for a very low fee. Get on this ASAP."
Seeing Kellor nod, Daneel turned to Luther and Robert.
"Daneel, we have already made a list of prospective instructors for each stream of study. The location has also been scouted, and we are ready to send invites to the instructors.", said Robert.
"Good. Carry on. Kellor, go on. Play the recording."
After ensuring that his Past, Present, Future plan was going well, Daneel sat back and watched on while Kellor took out a Gold Lan from his pocket.
"This is a transmission we just received from Olfax in Elfaven."
With their interest piqued, the rest of the individuals in the room leaned forward while Kellor placed the coin on the table and activated it.
"-want me to make you remember?"
A deep, authoritative female voice came into focus. Due to the fact that everyone in the room had already heard such transmissions before, they knew right away that this was the Queen of Eldinor, Eldara speaking.
"Mother, the polls say we are quite close. Won"t we be able to win if..."
SLAP
After a crisp slapping sound, the sound of a body thudding to the floor could be heard clearly.
Sighing, the Queen spoke again.
"Eldra, my patience runs thin. I already told you multiple times; for victory, you must be prepared to do everything in your power. I don"t know how I can make a Queen out of you. Now, will you get up and listen or do you wish to be sent to the Well again?"
"N-no, mother. I"ll immediately contact the top three news organizations. You will definitely be Queen again."
Through the shake in her voice, the individuals in the room could clearly tell that she was shuddering with fear.
With a "Humph", the sound of footsteps and the slamming of a door could be heard, after which Daneel thought the transmission was over.
Yet, Kellor didn"t move to take back the coin.
Hearing a faint noise, Daneel and the other bent forward to realize that there was a silent sobbing that felt heartbreaking to even hear.
After seeing that the others had realized what the sound was, Kellor deactivated the trinket and put it back in his pocket.
For a few moments, silence pervaded the King"s Chambers.
Finally, the King of Lanthanor looked up and said, "Order Olfax to look for ways to initiate contact with Eldra. It should be discreet, and she shouldn"t know it is us."
It seemed that the elections in Eldinor were going to get much more interesting, mused Daneel before dismissing the meeting and going back to training.