The next day, the North Border Gate was opened completely due to the influx of a large number of Ether-driven carts carrying wooden boxes.
The King had already sent orders to allow them in after cataloging each and every box. After entering, they were ordered to be set to the side instead of traversing further into the Kingdom.
Hearing this report from the men whom the Black Raven King had sent to deliver the seeds, he immediately contacted King Daneel to find out the reason behind the strange directions.
This time, when they initiated the trinkets, the Black Raven King saw that the King of Lanthanor had a small smile on his face unlike before when he had accepted the deal. Although a slight ominous feeling swept over him on seeing this, he dismissed it as simply a figment of his imagination.
After all, the deal was done. There was no chance of anything happening that could be worse than the worst case scenario he had already thought of.
"What is the reason for the carts to be stopped near the border? The seeds are delicate, and it is best if they are planted as soon as possible. The deadline given by the Big 4 is approaching, and there can't be any more delays."
"No need to worry, Black Raven King. As you must know, farms can be found near the border too. I have decided that the Echer seeds will be planted in these border farms. The infrastructure is already in place, and I will be sending over more manpower and resources. I had been meaning to invest in the border regions anyway."
"Oh, then there is no problem. The advance payment will be sent soon. My officials will be on call to assist in the initial planting."
In the King's Chambers in Lanthanor, Daneel cut off the communication while an expression of ridicule appeared on his face.
For the first time, Daneel was up against a truly ruthless figure who did not care about the deaths of tens of thousands of people in order to further his agenda. If the case about him not having a remedy for the barren soil turned out to be true, this was the least amount of people that would die due to having their livelihoods destroyed. Of course, a war would result in even more loss of life.
Right now, he had a tough decision to make: the best plan put forward by the system needed him to be ruthless in turn. Yet, Daneel felt something inside him pushing him away from this decision.
The consolation was that he did not need to make this decision now. Thus, putting it aside, Daneel decided to list the pressing matters on his plate right now.
1) Eldinor: Although the Kingdom of the Elves was currently only keeping an eye on him, he knew that it was a major threat. He could not guarantee that his bluff would keep them away for an extended period of time. Thus, he had to find a way to diffuse this looming threat.
2) EXP: Daneel had been regularly checking the Kingdom statistics, as he looked forward to earning EXP to buy more tools. There were quite a few tools he had his eye on which would definitely help him a lot. Sadly, the system had completely stopped giving him missions. Thus, he either had to achieve momentous things or increase the satisfaction level.
3) The Empire Spirit: The matter of the Empire Spirit was also on his mind. Increasing satisfaction level would actually kill two birds with one stone, enabling him to access the wealth of knowledge present in the Spirit. Knowing the importance of knowledge, Daneel looked forward to finding out what exactly was stored inside the spirit.
4) The Escaped Nobles: His blood still boiled whenever Daneel remembered the instant the two nobles had gotten away. Although he had been looking for clues regarding the two for a long time, there had been nothing substantial yet.
5) Personal Power: This was the most pressing matter. Although he had been finding more time to train recently, Daneel was still an Eminent Human Mage and Fighter. If he wanted to depend on himself for his protection while fulfilling his goal to become Lanthanor's bastion, he needed to find a way to increase his level quickly. Again, EXP was required for this matter as there were some tools that could act as the solution.
After pondering over the list, Daneel realized that resolving just one matter would have a chain effect of solving multiple issues: satisfaction level.
Just as he was about to ask the system for ways to handle this, an urgent knock sounded on his door.
Opening it with the system, he saw a white-faced Kellor stagger into the room.
"Jonah is at the gate of the Palace!"
....
A few minutes later, inside the Throne Room of the Lanthanor Kingdom.
Daneel sat on the throne with a perplexed expression on his face. His former master had suddenly appeared at the gate, saying that he wanted a meeting with the King.
He knew that his former master was clearly aware of the fact that entering the Palace was suicide. Unless he had suddenly grown into a Champion Level powerhouse, there was no way that he could pose a threat to Daneel.
This was, of course, impossible, so Daneel had ordered for Jonah to be brought to the Throne Room.
Escorted by Aran, Cassandra and 50 elite soldiers, Jonah entered through the doors with an easy smile on his face.
As Daneel lay his eyes on him, he realized that something was different.
Indeed, when Jonah opened his mouth, everything became clear.
"Daneel, this is simply a clone. My true body is hundreds of kilometers away. I mean no harm, and I simply came to tell you something out of good will. This clone has no power and is carrying nothing. If you wish, you can have Kellor check."
Nodding at Kellor, Daneel watched as the Grand Court Mage did a thorough search of Jonah's robes. As for the matter of the body being a clone, it didn't matter because even if it wasn't, he wouldn't be able to resist against the might of the dragon claw.
"I wish to speak with you privately regarding a matter which involves the future of Angaria. You already know that I can do no harm to you."
Again simply nodding at Kellor, Daneel gave the order to dismiss.
Since the moment he had heard Kellor's message in the King's chamber, Daneel had felt a rage boiling inside him.
The man in front of him had once been someone he admired. Daneel had often thanked him in his heart and vowed to pay him back for everything he had done.
Yet, all that had changed at the moment he broke the barrier and took away the noble.
No matter his motive, he had gone against the authority of the King.
Thus, he was a traitor.
After everyone left the room, Jonah first looked at Daneel for a few seconds. Noticing the smoldering fury in his eyes, he sighed before opening his mouth.
"Daneel, I know you are furious with me because of what I did. Although I cannot give you a reason for my actions right now, all I can say is that I had no other choice."
Hearing these words, all Daneel could do was try to control his emotions. After all, lashing out at a clone would achieve nothing.
"Why are you here?", he asked through gritted teeth, making Jonah smile helplessly seeing his former student's anger.
"Daneel, first and foremost, I am a citizen of Lanthanor. This Kingdom is my birthplace, and I love it as much as you do. Still, I chose to go over to the Church's side. Have you never wondered why?"
Of course, this question had run through Daneel's mind many times. In fact, even Kellor had brought up this matter, and they had both decided that the most obvious explanation must be the one most likely to be true.
"Because your family was killed by King Richard, and you wanted revenge."
Hearing this answer, a sad expression came on Jonah's face.
"No, Daneel. I have come because I managed to escape my handler's gaze in order to show you the reason for my decision to swear an oath to the Church of Rectitude. If you care about the people you now rule, follow me to my old cabin."