"Elanev, go make sure no one disturbs us. Daneel, sit. We need to talk.", said the minister, pointing to the bed in the room.
Nodding, Elanev gave Daneel a weak smile before exiting the room.
"We have a small window. The King is discussing with the Grand Court mage. Let"s make it fast. Daneel, you have been very busy lately.", said Kellor , folding his hands.
"I am sorry, I simply had no idea that the product would be so impactful."
Daneel rubbed his nose as he said this. Hearing his words, the two men looked at each other before sighing.
"Yes, I should have warned you of the repercussions. Only, I myself underestimated the interest the King would show in the product. At the agreed price, one would only save 25% of the money spent on barriers. Although this adds up into an astronomical figure, the King was not supposed to take interest in it so soon.", said the minister in an apologetic tone.
"No, the King isn"t moving for some monetary profit. Just like me, the Grand Court Mage must have a.n.a.lyzed a sample and realized that the person or organization behind such a wondrous effect is definitely one which should not be provoked. Thus, I suspect he simply wants to request for help; either in the struggle against the other factions or to smuggle out his kith and kin unnoticed before the previous King pa.s.ses away."
Kellor spoke in a contemplative tone as he responded to the minister"s apology. Folding his hands, he looked straight into Daneel"s eyes before continuing.
"Daneel, such a solution cannot be made by one who is not at least an Eminent Warrior Mage. I"ve studied a small sample. The skill in magic required to cast a spell that uses such intricate particle manipulation is incomparable to any Exalted Human Mage like me. Of course, no matter how talented you are, it is impossible that you have reached that level. In fact, even the Grand Court Mage, who is the second strongest mage in the Kingdom, is also only an Exalted Human Mage. Who is the personage helping you, Daneel?"
Indeed! Daneel had also been puzzled as to why the King would move in such a crucial time. Now, it was apparent that his motive was not the honey, but the "existence" behind it. Ironically, these two came to the same conclusion as the TriCobra sect had before.
Actually, Daneel had had no idea that the spell was that complex. He had simply planned to tell Kellor that he had become inspired by something he had seen in nature. This was not new, as there were many instances of the same happening in the books that he had read.
Now, there was no way to use that excuse. How much ever he trusted the two men in front of him, there was no way he would expose the system, which was the greatest weapon he had.
Thus, the only choice he had was to accept that there was some unknown master behind him. This would let him both collect the money safely and use the disguise whenever he needed to cast the spell on the honey in the future. Also, it might ensure that he would stay immune from any dangers that followed, if he could show that the master was a figure that should not be provoked.
Deciding that this was the best thing to do right now, Daneel quickly started thinking for a name.
"I was going to tell you myself. A few days after you visited my room, an old man came to me saying he wanted to take me in as a disciple. When I refused, he teleported me to a remote location.
"With a gesture of his hand, a 10 foot tall tornado came into being that started devouring a forest nearby. Realizing that I had come across an expert, I immediately asked him to take me in.
"Although he agreed, he stated that he would only help me a little bit until I reached a certain level. I could request 3 things of him. The first thing I requested was this: a product which will let me earn money for my faction. He agreed and gave me this honey and said he would personally modify as much as needed. He was also very encouraging of me building a faction, saying that "Leaders.h.i.+p must be learned from a young age.""
Stopping himself from blabbering further, Daneel looked at the two of them to see if his lie worked. This was actually a story he had read back on Earth, and he had fit it to his situation to convince Kellor and the minister.
His hope was that the fear of a powerful master would keep the king in check, especially in a time like this when there were so many looming threats to his life.
"Daneel, that is one of the most far-fetched stories I have ever heard."
Hearing these words, Daneel tensed up thinking that his lie had been seen through. Yet, the sentence that followed put him at ease.
"But, I have no choice but to believe you. I trust in my instincts that such a solution can only be made by a mage more powerful than any in this Kingdom. According to my master, there are some peculiar experts who act similarly on their whim. What is this honorable master"s name, if I might ask?"
"Master Novrain."
Daneel had been thinking for a name ever since he had decided to use the lie. Finally, he decided on using an anagram of his family name as that seemed to be the most fitting.
"A n.o.ble name. I am glad our suspicion turned out to be true. I voiced this to the minister as soon as I saw the solution, and that is why I did not stop him. Only the King"s sudden interest was unexpected.", said Kellor, smiling.
"That settles everything. I had no choice but to tell the King that there is an unknown person who approached me with the product and asked me put it on sale. He and the Grand Court Mage want to meet this person. It should be fine to ask your master to meet with them, as they present no threat to an existence at his level.", said the minister, as if everything was all right now.
Daneel had been smiling, thinking the same, but his mind went blank hearing this. The imaginary master would have to meet the King and the Grand Court Mage so soon?!
"Is that OK Daneel? Will you let me know later about the location and the date?"
"Ye-yes..."
Rethinking about everything that he had heard so far, Daneel decided to agree to the meeting. Major gains could only be made by taking major risks.
To the King, this was a meeting with a powerful existence or organization that he would not dare provoke. Thus, there was only a minimal risk of there being danger. Besides, he was also very interested in finding out what the future plans of the king were. If he could somehow get crucial information regarding the King"s next movements using the ident.i.ty of a powerful existence, then he could change his plans accordingly and stay one step ahead.
"System, can I use the spells I developed using the tool to pa.s.s off as an Eminent Warrior Mage?"
[On a.n.a.lyzing records collected from the library, system can confirm that at least one spell which is only castable by an Eminent Warrior Mage can be cast by host by using the Parallel Processing Tool to combine 2 spells developed by the system.]
Although he had answered a bit doubtfully, he started feeling confident after hearing this answer from the system.
It was time to practice some acting.