Daneel had thought of at least 10 different reasons regarding why these five must be here, and why they had been waiting so patiently for him to wake up.
Yet… The one that had been stated did not resemble any of those 10, and he had to admit that he was pretty flabbergasted.
It was the same with Kellor beside him, whose eyebrows were raised as he looked at the man with the tiger skin while wondering if he was joking, but the dead serious expression on his rugged face made it clear that this was definitely not the case.
This entire thing was so unexpected and out of the blue that he had to take a few moments to recover from the surprise, but after that, just to confirm, Daneel contacted Luther.
"Luther, do you have experience dealing with cases where murders have happened, and where the culprit is not clear?"
The answer came in a nonchalant tone, although it seemed that his ex-commander did not understand why Daneel was asking that question right now, and that too right after he had seemingly 'awakened' from his recovery.
"Yes, Your Majesty. In fact, I am a leading authority in this in the Central Continent, and people used to come from all over Angaria to consult me in some cases. Of course, I was the Commander, too, so I would only give them inferences based on my experience, and usually, the matters would resolve themselves. On a few occasions, I have set out if my presence was needed, and I can proudly say that I've had more successes than failures. Many more, in fact. After all, the skills for being a spymaster and those needed for bringing an experienced eye which can spot things that others would miss actually overlap quite a bit. May I ask why you ask, My King?"
Daneel left Luther hanging, because it was now clear that these five weren't pulling his leg.
As for him being abducted before and then having his memories erased, it was definitely plausible, because a Human was pretty damn vulnerable to things like these. Even though the consciousness was sacred and would need permission to be impeded upon, someone skilled in Mind Control would be able to forcefully erase any memories they wished no matter what resistance was put up.
As for the entire thing about them going to attack Daneel, he believed that part, too, because it sat well with everything he knew.
The unbelievable thing was that this guy, who was built like a tank, had been about to stop them all at the risk of his own life because he had 'sworn allegiance to him'.
Just this concept of someone from the Big Four swearing allegiance to him without being forced to astonished Daneel endlessly, and he simply could not bring himself to believe it.
At the same moment, though, interrupting the silence that had appeared in the room after the extraordinary statement of the man, the Head appeared, and as he turned to Daneel, there seemed to be a slightly… guilty expression on his face.
It was only present for the briefest of moments, though, and after that, it was replaced by a smile.
Looking him over, the Head finally opened his mouth and said, "A full recovery. I must admit that even I'm pretty surprised to see that the regenerative power of the Divine Cockroach is so strong. Even a Champion would have needed weeks or even months to recover from those wounds, but you look like you're ready to go back into battle! King, I won't beat around the bush. I blame myself for what has happened, and if it weren't for my hope which had been ignited by Bartholomew's words… Nevermind. Whatever the facts are, I can only assure you now that something similar will never repeat, and that even the High Council itself regrets what has happened. They also value you a bit more, now, because all Bloodline possessors in this age are precious. Hell, no one even knows that we know of Bloodlines, as it is a very well kept secre. My offer still stands regarding your entering the Big Four, although I encourage you to take some time on your Mage Path, because it is all the more important now. It is with their Mage Path that those with this Bloodline can shine, and you should focus on breaking through with the best one possible. After you enter, you will still be groomed with the best of resources, and you can choose to enter right after you breakthrough as a Mage. There might be a few who voice concerns regarding your future potential because of your bloodline, but I know just how talented you are in magic. Even if some of that talent is sapped by the Bloodline, I still think there will be plenty left to surprise us all. You can still visit the other sects- I have informed them, and they await your arrival."
After speaking until here, the Head, who was floating in the air, gestured at the five youngsters and continued.
"Anyway, about these five. Matthew, here, is actually someone who is related to someone you know. Do you remember Marcus, the one who saved you when you were attacked by Heroes? Matthew is his elder son, and his younger brother was the one who was severely injured in those events that occurred during the Olympics that you set up. He is still recovering as he was weak at that time, and I had to forcefully stop Matthew here from going to the shore looking for the Church to take revenge for his brother. And after the episode with his father, he wanted to go kill those Heroes, too, even though he would have directly died if he had tried. The fact of the matter is that him swearing allegiance to you is real, and the Chief has also asked me to tell you that he is trustworthy. As for the entire matter regarding the murder… It is also real, and the investigative team from the Big Four has met a dead-end. That is to be expected, though, because none of them really have that much talent in investigation, and often, we bring in outside help. The circumstances are different now with the first person we would always approach, so I sent these 5 to ask. The decision is yours. If you choose not to have your man associated with this, we'll go with the second-best option, but I can only say that he won't find his time wasted. We are willing to pay with Ker gems for his services."
The Head was a man who often gave long monologues, and this one was longer than most.
Yet, most of it was filled with ardent emotions, especially in the first part, when he was apologizing to Daneel.
And if Daneel hadn't heard from Bartholomew, he might even have been inclined to believe him, and feel happy that he cared for him.
Now, though… He knew that that guilt might well be one that was born because in a way, the plan had become reality because of him, and if Daneel hadn't broken through, he would have died, and the blame would have been on the Head who would have been the one who allowed it to happen.
The conclusion regarding this could not be made at this time, though, so Daneel focused on the matter at hand.
And that… was when he got an idea.
"I have spoken to Luther. I'm prepared to give permission. But in return… we don't want Ker gems. My ex-commander is a Warrior, now, and I wish for him to be able to choose a weapon in the Treasury of any of the Big Four. This is the only way. Take it or leave it. And also, to ensure his safety, I will be accompanying him."
As soon as he said these words, the temperature in the room started to rise, as three of the five began to glare at him while looking as if they wanted to cut Daneel to pieces right where he stood.
That was when Daneel was reminded that these were people who were originally going to kill him, so this was to be expected.
The last of the four other than the leader, though, laughed out loud, and then simply continued to watch.
He was the one sitting beside the one with the tiger skin, and from the beginning, it had looked as if he was very amused by something.
"Humph."
A single sound by the Head was enough to make all three of those who had gotten hostile sit back with slight expressions of pain on their faces, almost as if they had been spanked like naughty children.
Because Daneel had been quick enough to activate the Basilisk's Breath to see what had happened, he knew that they had all actually been… slapped.
It had been done because of the infusion of the Head's path into the World, and as their cheeks started to turn red, he spoke in an angry voice.
"Don't think that all of you are exempt from punishment just because you eventually did not go out to attack. You will be receiving it, but after this thing has been resolved."
He continued after turning to Daneel.
"I accept. In fact, I will give access to all of our Treasuries, and you can choose whatever weapon you wish, if this entire thing reaches a satisfactory conclusion with the help of your commander. Is that all right?"
Daneel inwardly smiled as he heard the Head's words, because he had been hoping that the man would say this. He was obviously feeling guilty, and Daneel didn't feel bad at all for using that guilt. It was because of it that he had promised more than what Daneel had asked, and the King of Lanthanor was ready to take it happily.
As for his goal behind this… It was simple - he wanted to see just what weapons were present in these Treasuries from which he could potentially extract consciousnesses that he could use to shapeshift into more Godbeasts.
For him, consciousnesses were almost like weapons now, and the more he had, the more powerful he would become.
He was eager to collect as many as possible, and aside from the Treasury from which he could only obtain one weapon, these Treasuries of the Big Four were his main source.
And as for the entire thing about him giving permission… The truth was that he was actually pretty damn interested in this, and he had always been a huge fan of detective novels back on Earth.
He had been looking for something to do to calm down from the entire ordeal of his breakthrough, and this seemed perfect. Besides, it would also reward him with something very important, so he was eager to get right down to it.
"That's good. We can set off right away, if you wish."
With a nod, the Head once again turned to the five and said, "Matthew, you are in charge. I'll be keeping an eye on the proceedings, so be warned. I expect full cooperation, and if any of you is found hiding information or being evasive, they will directly be labeled guilty. Understood?"
After all of the five gradually nodded, the Head turned around and nodded to Daneel before leaving.
Daneel, meanwhile, had been sending information the Luther, who had actually needed a little bit of time to come to terms with the fact that he had been abducted, and then had his memories changed to seem as if nothing of the sort had happened.
After hearing that part, there had been silence, but after that… Luther actually chuckled.
"I was weak, so I have no one else to blame but me, My King. I'll be in Lanthanor in a few seconds."
Daneel couldn't help but admire his sovereign even more when he heard this, as others would have gotten baselessly angry. Instead, Luther had recognized right away that it wouldn't have happened if he were stronger, and he seemed to have reinforced his own ideal to grow strong enough that he would never be taken advantage of like that, ever again.
A minute later, Daneel reached an obscure location in the north-east of the Black Raven Kingdom, where there was an unassuming mountain that looked like it had once been a volcano.
Luther would arrive in a few seconds, but already, Daneel had spotted a few circled footsteps on the ground, seeing which he was directly reminded of crime scenes back on Earth.
For a moment, he felt a strange impetus to conjure a long coat and a top hat along with a smoking pipe, but smiling and resisting it, he walked forward, eager to plunge himself into whatever awated him.