The next morning, Dalia was firmly looking down while sitting in an Ether-driven carriage that was taking them to the location given in the invitation.
Helena had a broad smile on her face as she looked out the window. The sun was just peeking out of the clouds, and because the actual ceremony was slated for noon, there weren't too many people on the road they were traveling on.
They had had the option to directly teleport to the location, but both of them had refused as they tended to spew out the contents of their stomachs whenever they went through the ordeal of teleportation.
Hence, even though it meant that they would have to start out very early in the morning to travel all the way to the border, they had done so after packing a portable touch-up kit which they could use after reaching their destination.
Before, they had never used to care about their appearance, but, now, just like Eloise had said, they represented something important. So, they had picked up a few simple skills just so that they could look presentable instead of looking like two people who had been traveling for hours.
As the sunlight hit her face, Helena squinted and looked to the side to see her daughter in that position.
Putting her hand around the girl who had opted to wear a gorgeous red dress with a simple, pearl pendant, she said, "Don't be nervous! It's been months since you've seen him. Just act like yourself."
Of course, this had no effect whatsoever, which made Helena sigh and remember her own childhood crush- a woodcutter in her village around whom she had always used to get flustered till she grew up and grew out of it.
Just like that, she knew that this would pass, but the problem was that they were soon going to be in a public place right near the King where the entire scene was going to be broadcasted live for hundreds of thousands of people to see.
The surprising thing was that too much advertising hadn't gone into this program. It had all been very secretive and hush-hush, and even though it had become clear that the King was going to unveil some kind of transportation system, no one knew any further details.
Over both forms of the Network, only a very brief line had been used to build up the hype: "Prepare to see the future," along with today's date and the word 'Noon' below it.
This kind of crisp, clean advertising had worked surprisingly well: all over the continent, anticipation was at an all-time high, mainly because everyone wanted to find out what was being concealed so well.
Looking at her daughter again, Helena decided that she would handle this delicately.
With that intention in mind, she was just going to launch into a story about her own crush, when she suddenly felt something strange and stopped.
They had rented a large carriage with 4 seats, two on each side, just so that they could have spacious leg room over the long journey. All the little girls and boys in their house were due to leave a half hour before the appointed time via teleportation, so they were alone right now.
Only, when she looked down, she saw a pair of feet adorned in hand-made shoes.
"Hello, ladies."
Even though the voice sounded familiar, she shrieked with shock and was about to forcefully catch hold of her daughter and jump out, thinking that some rapist or murderer might have managed to appear in front of them, in this way, so as to abduct them.
Only, weirdly, it was her daughter who had a calm reaction.
"Mom, calm down! It's the King!", she shouted, which made Helena take a closer look at the man who had a sheepish expression on his face as he smiled at them.
He was wearing a red-gold coat, complete with shining, crimson dragons that coiled around his shoulders and waist. Right now, he was scratching his head, as if things hadn't played out in the way he had expected.
"Apologies. Maybe I should have teleported outside and knocked first before entering. We are a little strapped for time and I heard that you two were arriving in this means, so I just…"
"Please don't apologize, My King. I'm used to this because the teacher in our school loves to do the same to startle students who might be gossiping instead of studying. My mother is not that experienced, though, so you must pardon her."
Meanwhile, Helena stared at her daughter, wondering where that timid and blushing girl had gone.
Wasn't she supposed to be tongue-tied right now? Instead, how was she talking so calmly?
A slight blush was still there, but Dalia had a sweet smile on her face, instead of being silly like she had been during that first audience.
It seemed…that the generation gap was real. She had grown up in an isolated place while not interacting with many people, which had resulted in her being in that way with her crush. Yet, her daughter was a modern citizen of Lanthanor who was studying the world in school while also talking to various people from all walks of life. This must definitely have resulted in a fundamental change which made her different, and much more mature.
Realizing this and regaining her composure, Helena sat down, as she had just been about to jump out.
With a small smile, she was also about to say something to the same effect, but she stopped when the King raised his hand and said, "No, it was my fault. I'll make sure to be more tactful with my loyal subjects in the future. Miss. Helena, how is business? Any troubles you wish to tell me about? If that is the case, don't hesitate. I have both a personal and professional stake in this business, as you already know. And little Dalia, how's school? Any suggestions on making it better?"
Seeing the King smile genially and say this, Dalia almost lost her the composure that she had mustered with great difficulty. She could tell that he was…different, from how she had last seen him.
At that time, there had still been a little bit of the rough edges of a normal person who had ascended to the Throne.
Now, all of that was gone, and was replaced by the bold presence of a leader who was fully confident in himself.
Thankfully, her mother came to her rescue.
"None at all, My Lord. And, please, you must call me Helena, I insist. I've met Mother Mary multiple times. Oh, that is what she is being called by many in the Kingdom- I'm surprised that you aren't aware."
Helena said this because of the fact that King Daneel had just raised an eyebrow on hearing his mother being addressed as 'Mother Mary'.
Seeing his interest in the matter, Helena said, "Her philanthropic work has built up a considerable following who are all ready to die for her, if needed, My Lord. I am only saying that to convey the level of devotion she garners, mainly because of her humble and motherly attitude which made her become the Mother of the downtrodden, who had no one to call their own. As for the business: there are no difficulties that need to be brought to your concern, I assure you of that. If there is anything, I definitely would not hesitate. Dalia, you said you had some ideas about the school, right? What were they?"
Hearing her mother speak had allowed Dalia to gather herself again, so, she waited for the King who had sunk into deep thought.
After a few moments, he snapped to attention and looked at Dalia again before nodding his head, which Dalia took as a sign for her to speak.
"My King, I just think that…the method of testing us is too varied. You see, the teachers set the tests, by themselves, and sometimes, they are hard, while other times, they are so easy that we could do them in our sleep. In the same subject, there are multiple teachers, and, hence, multiple tests, so there is no method for us to compare with the other classes. I, at least, think that it would really push everyone to perform better if there was something to achieve by scoring high in a way that can be compared and is common among all students at the same level, in the same subject. Right now, the only criteria is pass and fail, and those who perform exceptionally get recommendations. That's it."
Daneel had been quite startled by this news about the 'following'. Initially, his only intention had been for his mom to not be bored when both of them were off taking care of their duties. He had given her an almost unlimited fund to spend on the poor, as she had always liked to help those in need, even when their own family had been in a very bad condition.
He had almost forgotten about the matter, so, finding out about this, in this way, at this stage, itself, was a good thing.
His guess was that Eloise hadn't reported anything about the matter because it might not be big enough, yet.
After all, how could she know that this concept of one person garnering devotion from others could be something so dangerous?
He had experienced that danger, himself, just recently. Yet, he didn't know if that applied here. After all, his mom wasn't promising anything, nor were there specific things to do to show devotion. If so, could it be called a religion?
Deciding to do an in-depth study of this as soon as today's event was over, Daneel had listened to Dalia's words, and had been startled again.
He had set up the school as a means for children to find out about the world and be educated about the possibilities of their future. Hence, there hadn't been an emphasis on standardized testing methods.
Yet, he now realized that that was foolish. Just like Dalia had said, a standardized test would push students to study harder, while also resulting in a metric with which their skill could be judged.
As he thought on it, he was, at first, very reluctant about the latter, as he hated that practice from Earth where someone was judged according to their marks all their lives.
The tests had to be there, but steps would also have to be taken so that the negatives wouldn't get carried over. This…would definitely also be something very crucial that might dictate the future of Lanthanor and Angaria.
So, it had to be given careful thought, as Daneel really, really did not want to put the children of this world through what all those poor kids on Earth had to endure.
All in all, even before he got to his main point, this conversation had already turned out to be very fruitful.
Bending forward, he patted the cute, little girl's head, which made her blush a deep crimson before looking down.
"Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! I'll definitely look into it and implement something that we can be happy about."
Smiling broadly due to the adorable reaction, Daneel sat back and looked at Helena before a serious expression came on his face.
"Now, then, I also wanted to give you a little advice, Helena. I've looked over everything you're doing. You are unique because you cater to all kinds of people. But…I think a small step will really boost your popularity. You see, segregation is something ugly that we must acknowledge and use even if we don't like it. At least, that's what I think. You need to differentiate your clothing line into three sections: one for normal people, one for those who are relatively well off, and one for the rich. This way, you will pull all those people who have been on the fence because they don't want to wear the same clothes with the same branding as those who they see to be beneath them. Sadly, this is how a major part of the market is, and it won't change no matter how many changes I bring. That is how humans are, and I don't see that changing, at least in the short term. Hence, what you can do is take advantage of that. You can overcharge the premium line, and use that extra money to keep the cheapest line very affordable. Take from the rich and give to the poor, in a way, while keeping everyone happy. As for the differentiation, you can keep the H&D and add suffixes, while also changing the color of the logo you print on the clothes. At least, this is my suggestion. I would understand if you don't want to go through with it, but I do urge you to think about it. Now, then, I think you two forgot to notice something…"
Saying so, Daneel pointed at the window, which made the two look outside and gasp, as all they saw were clouds.
Indeed, Daneel had sped up their journey by personally flying them up.
This idea regarding the garment line was based on what he had seen on Earth: premium brands always had tons of sales, because of the 'pull' of their name, and because they were regarded as status symbols. If Helena agreed, he had many ideas for ads which would definitely catapult H&D to the top.
As for the 'Robin Hood' part, it was his own twist to the typical idea he was implementing here.
Even before the two could recover from the shock that they were flying, they began to descend, as they had reached their destination.
As they landed, Daneel opened the door and got out, before breathing in deep while viewing the sight in front of him which he was very, very proud of.
There were three, distinctly different tracks on the ground, with three different 'carriages' on top of them.
Each carriage was a wooden box on multiple sets of wheels, with the edges of the box had metallic parts jutting out that glinted in the sun, and were carved into beautiful shapes to award the carriage with a very high-class look.
The first carriage was the most normal-looking: it just looked like a typical Ether-driven carriage that was placed on a track.
The second looked more special: it had a very weird, metallic back part whose purpose they couldn't tell. The tracks were also different: each track had many patterns carved on them, which meant that they were trinkets.
The last was the strangest: it was made of wood and metal of the highest quality, but the main peculiarity lay in the fact that there was a very strange apparatus that the carriage…fit, into.
While Helena and Dalia gasped in wonder, Daneel proudly said, "Here is the segregation I told you about, in action. Soon, you will understand its importance. And…just wait till you see what each of these things can do."
…
Meanwhile, a secret meeting had just begun in a remote location that was not under the rule of any Kingdom in the Central Continent.
Over 30 people had gathered, each wearing more extravagant clothes than the last, but at their head sat a man donning the simple attire of a common shopkeeper.
They were in a wooden house specially constructed for this occasion, and on one wall was a Network Trinket with a countdown to noon, when the special event would start.
Whispers could be heard from everyone in the room, but they were interrupted when the man at the head of the long table stood up and spoke.
"Everyone, I've been warning you for a long time. The King of Lanthanor…is a genius whose mind we cannot beat. Hence, the only method left is for us to learn what we can and implement it in our own way. If all of us come together, we can put all his plans to much greater use."
One among the audience chose to speak up.
"But…isn't that stealing?"
The response was given in a cold tone.
"So? What can he do about it? We will do it openly, and even credit him, saying that we were 'inspired'. All that he will be able to do is lament. People, this is the best way for us to flourish. Now then, unless you are fine with seeing your profits dip further, I suggest we watch, and get ready."