Back in the now-empty underground room save for Marcus and the Matron, the latter was looking at the former while waiting for an explanation.
Marcus could clearly sense this, but he silently stood and stared into space for a few minutes.
He seemed to be trying hard to control his emotions, and as someone who had known him for decades, the Matron could sense this.
Finally, unable to handle her curiosity any more, the Matron opened her mouth and said, "Mar-"
"He saved Lucas."
Interrupted in this way, the Matron first frowned for a little while.
Then, she said, "He was just saving his own body. Besides, Lucas saved him from the Church for that much time. There is no debt, Marcus. Don't take this upon yourself. You know how important power is for us right now. The accords say we must not meddle with the Central Continent, but this is definitely an exception. Y-"
BANG
Marcus was still standing in the same spot, but a loud sound reverberated in the room, as if someone had punched the metal door or wall hard.
This made the Matron stop speaking and notice that her companion's face had now turned a shade of red.
"When I asked about whether he was crippled, they told me that he was one second away from death. One second, Matron. If he hadn't exposed his secret and given us that second, I would be bereft of a son and Angaria would have one less talented seed to protect it. Both Angaria and I owe him. You know the old ways and the accords are very strict about debts. Yes, many do not honor them anymore. But both I, and the High Council do. I only gave him my word after communicating with them. You also think too narrowly. Do you think those old fogies weren't watching? And do you think they are any less interested than you in what he has?"
After hearing the words 'High Council', an ashen expression had come on the Matron's face.
Her eyebrows narrowed, she asked, "What else did they say? And don't tell me it's only about the debt."
At this, Marcus actually sighed and looked down, as if there was a weight on his shoulders which made even him bend.
Debt.
A concept that would become more and more important the further one rose on the path of power.
And also the reason behind why all those who wished to train in the Big 4, except for a few exceptions, were barred from interacting with the Central Continent.
However, for those old monsters, just like the Matron had said, this wasn't the only reason.
"They also want me to find out how someone from the Central Continent was able to obtain Doom Mosquitoes. And, more importantly, how someone was able to develop a way to control those Doom Mosquitoes, even if it seems as if these golden ones were just a weak strain. And-"
As Marcus took a pause, the Matron chuckled and said, "And they want to accomplish the same thing as I, don't they."
With another heavy sigh, he looked at her for a second and nodded before saying, "I have to try and find out with certainty what level of inheritance he has. I also have to keep an eye on Lanthanor, as there has been news of an upcoming alliance with another Kingdom. The High Council does not want to history to repeat."
At the last words, a grimace came on the Matron's face.
"So it's possible he's that precious? It's been 400 years, but my old hag of a master still laments about the woman who showed talent and evidence of an inheritance that shocked Angaria itself, but was lost because of the hasty actions of those in charge then. She always said that if that case had been handled well, we might not even have had to fear the Church right now. I thought it was just a far-fetched story. Anyway, it seems you have your work cut out for you. Need my help?"
"Clearly, it's not. No thanks, I'm supposed to be on my own. After seeing you before, I don't even trust you to control yourself, especially after what I just told you. Leave. I'll be traveling to Lanthanor alone."
As if her plan had been foiled, the Matron humphed before shooting a glare at Marcus and disappearing.
Finding himself alone in the room, the bald, hulking man took out a display trinket from his pocket.
As it activated, a picture of a man with a child on his shoulders appeared.
After caressing the child's face with his fingers for a few seconds, he put it away before disappearing from the prison.
…..
[Satisfaction Level: 26%
Dissatisfaction Level: 30%
Milestone Reached. 10,000 EXP awarded.
Total Exp: 33,000
Next Milestone: 30% Satisfaction Level.
Award: 50,000 EXP]
As Daneel stood in the Lanthanor's private booth for what was mostly the last time, he asked the system to repeat the notification it had sent after his speech had concluded.
The Olympics had been a smashing success, and no matter what he said towards the end, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.
This was why he hadn't focused much on the specifics on his speech, instead opting to keep it simple.
After announcing the results and thanking everyone for participating, he had concluded it, and he had had to try his absolute best not to gasp with shock the moment this notification had sounded in his mind.
His goal had been to increase it from 19% to hopefully 20%, as that was the milestone that had been marked by the system.
Earlier, even after taking a lot of measures such as establishing the school and setting up the healer's institute, he hadn't seen much of an increase.
Of course, there had also been the matter of that massacre, but still, seeing a massive 7% increase now, Daneel was shocked out of his mind.
Yet, if it was just this, maybe he wouldn't feel as incredulous.
The other fact which astonished him was that he was so close to the next milestone, and that the reward for this one was 5 times the previous.
5 times! A whopping 50,000 EXP?!
And here he had toiled so hard for this 10,000 which felt measly now.
Daneel was so happily surprised that thoughts like these went through his head, but he also realized that he was trying hard not to think about that strange promise from the Big 4.
Just as he was about to analyze what had happened in that room, he received a message from Lanthanor which shocked him even further, but this was something that he had been hoping would happen.
There was a change in the room which held the Empire Spirit.
Daneel had posited before that the milestone the system had set and the one stated by the Empire Spirit were the same, even though this felt like too much of a coincidence.
Now, clearly, it was true.
Without any more hesitation, he teleported away from the booth after sending a message to his commanders so that they wouldn't panic.
Appearing at the entrance of the National Academy of Lanthanor and startling the soldiers who were standing guard, Daneel didn't even bother to greet them before entering at a run.
"It's the King! Stand down!"
"Oh, it's the King! I can't believe I almost attacked my idol!"
"My cousin just told me that Lanthanor won the Olympics! The King made the announcement! What could be so urgent here for him to come so quickly?"
As statements like these were heard behind him from the guards, Daneel ignored them all and quickly reached the library where another soldier was waiting for him outside.
"Sir, it started only 20 minutes ago. I was making my usual rounds, and I noticed it. I made sure to close all the curtains."
With a nod, Daneel barreled through the door and ascended the stairs 3 at a time. There was nothing Kingly about him at the moment, but he didn't care, because he was finally about to solve a mystery that had been plaguing him for months.
As he reached the hidden door which was locked, he saw what the soldier posted there had told him about through the communication trinket.
A golden light was shining through the bottom of the door.
Opening it, Daneel immediately made to step inside, but the moment that golden light spilled onto his entire body, he fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious.
[Host's mental input has been hijacked. No threat to host's life detected. System has detected an accessible information source. Assimilation in process.]