Nodding, Joshua said, "Thank you. I am proud of them all, none of them s.h.i.+rked away from all the training they were put through. All we need is time. With time, the Domination Corps will definitely grow into one of the most powerful, if not THE most powerful strike team in the world. I really don"t know how the teachers from the Fists of Justice Training Hall came up with all these intricate formations that have great effect in battle. If it weren"t for them, this result would be impossible."
"I know. They were really a treasure in the mud- even I didn"t know they were in possession of such knowledge when I trained with them. I might have to have a conversation with the Master soon. Take care. Keep training, and don"t hesitate to ask me if you need anything."
Smiling at Joshua, Daneel patted him on the shoulder and teleported away.
His next stop was the memento that was constructed for the fallen soldiers of the Black Raven Kingdom. Reaching it, he was happily surprised to find that most of the houses that had been recently built for the accommodation of those coming were almost full.
The graveyard was spread over a large place, and as Daneel looked down from his position in the air, he saw many families sitting on the gra.s.s in front of the grave of their family member who had perished. Some cried, some laughed and some even talked animatedly as if they could feel the presence of their loved ones there.
His heart was warmed by this site, and he looked on for a few minutes before contacting Faxul.
"What is the status? Are you ready to make a formal announcement?"
What followed was a brief pause during which Daneel couldn"t figure out what his friend was thinking.
"I don"t think that"s wise. The gesture with the memento was genius, but it hasn"t managed to sway public favor as much as you hoped. Still, there has been a lot of change. What was hate has changed into a more neutral impression now. I have brought up this topic with the advisers, and they say that it is best to wait. I agree with them, but I leave it up to you. You know what we risk if it doesn"t go well."
Frowning, Daneel wondered if he had been too naïve in thinking that what he had done would be enough to let the two Kingdoms unite.
Of course, he was still proud because it was already a miracle that he had managed to change the public opinion to how it was right now.
Knowing that he only had a month left, he considered whether to press the issue. Yet, what they risked was riots and instability in a Kingdom that was still settling down from a change in leaders.h.i.+p.
This might end up completely destroying the Black Raven Kingdom which was already in a precarious position due to the many losses that it had recently sustained.
Daneel didn"t want this at all.
As for the reason why his gesture hadn"t been enough, he thought for a bit before placing himself in the shoes of someone who had grown up while listening about the constant skirmishes with the Lanthanor Kingdom.
It was quite possible that this could have built up a stigma in the people"s minds against his Kingdom, making it so that some extreme people could even take this gesture to be a mocking one.
Thankfully, there weren"t that many people like this, otherwise, the results wouldn"t have been so good.
Yet, something needed to be done now to hasten the unification.
As always, Daneel"s first option was to think about his memories on Earth. Of course, this was only after no good ideas appeared to him.
He had reflected on this before, and he had realized that his specialty came into play when he designed plans to apply things from Earth on Angaria.
What was usually done to relax tensions between the citizens of two countries to potentially unify them?
Rifling through everything in his mind, an event came to the forefront which was attended by all countries regardless of enmity.
In the history of this event, there had been many instances where respect was earned by a country due to the performance of its people even by those who formerly hated it or had bad opinions about it.
From his experience, Daneel knew that public favor was like a boulder on a hill that had settled into place with two rocks in front of it, stopping its forward momentum.
A lot of energy might be needed to push it forward to roll down, but after doing so, it would pick up speed on its own.
Public favor was the same. Starting a change was the most difficult thing, after which, proper handling of circ.u.mstances could definitely result in a s...o...b..ll effect.
In Lanthanor, Daneel had done a lot to begin the rolling effect which had enabled him to bypa.s.s the drop he had had due to the ma.s.sacre in the Palace and bring the satisfaction level to 19%.
He needed just one more percent to earn a lot of EXP, but it had been stuck at this point for quite some time.
Clearly, some event was needed to push it forward again.
Similarly, the boulder had already begun to roll in the case of the Black Raven Kingdom. Again, a push was needed.
Deciding that this event he had in mind would hopefully be the push that would let him accomplish two things at the same time, Daneel immediately contacted Eloise through the oathstone before remembering that she was still unconscious.
After all, she was the one whom he depended on whenever he wanted to enact any of his plans for the betterment of Angaria.
At this moment, he truly understood how much he depended on her.
Yet, he felt that he had never really appreciated her enough till now. Still, she had always put in even more work than necessary to make sure that everything went smoothly.
Just as he was resolving to himself to appreciate her more and let her know that she was an integral part of his life not just because of her actions, but also because he truly valued and admired her as a human being, a voice was heard through the oathstone which shocked him and almost made him fall through the air.
"Da-Daneel? You never spoke till now, how are you speaking now?"
It was Eloise"s voice, but it was slightly different than how he remembered it. It was more… pleasant.
"Eloise? You can hear me?"
"Yes! Where am I? I thought I was still dreaming… But this feels different from a dream…"
Rapidly beginning to teleport back to the Palace, Daneel continued to speak to Eloise, fearing that he might lose her if he let a pause come in their conversation. She sounded confused and even scared, and hearing that fear in her voice made Daneel panic more than he had in a long time.
"What do you see around you Eloise? Tell me."
"Nothing. I can"t see! Am I blind? What"s wrong with my body?! Something is happening to it! It"s being…destroyed! But it"s also being reborn at the same time…Daneel, I"m scared!"
"It"s all right, Eloise. You sustained an injury, and the medicine is just doing its work. Just relax. Why don"t you try to open your eyes?"
"But I can"t feel anything! Your Highness, you can tell me what"s really going in…it"s ok if I"m dying."
Daneel had no idea how she had jumped to this conclusion. Yet, the desperation he heard at the end of her sentence made his eyes moisten as he felt a mad urgency overtake him.
He was already at the Palace, so he ran through the corridors to get to the room she was staying in.
While the servants watched on bewildered, the King of Lanthanor barged into the room a.s.signed to the guests in the Palace and closed the door behind him with an urgency that none of them had seen before.
Inside, Molan and Sister Xuan were sitting in the courtyard again while having a cup of tea. Hearing him, they stood up with shock.
Ignoring them, Daneel ran to Eloise"s side.
"She"s talking to me through the oath stone!"
Screaming this, Daneel looked at Eloise who still looked the same. Just as he was about to answer her in his mind, Eloise"s voice devolved into sobs and she said something that he would never forget.
"The pause means it must be true. I just want to say one thing to you, Your Highness. I... love you. Just once, can I call you by your name?"