The investigative team.
Even after hearing this message, Daneel could only stand there and stare into empty space for a few moments as it felt as if his mind was filled with waves that were crashing against each other and rendering him senseless.
Ever since he and Luther had arrived to tackle this case, the investigative team had been present everywhere, forgotten and ignored as they were like the backdrops of the situation who weren't effective, but still present because of their duty.
Hence… The identity of a member of the investigative department was a perfect fit for someone who wanted to hide in plain sight. After all, what more could a culprit want than to keep a close eye on those who were investigating them?
It wasn't just this. The investigative department would be the first to be called in such a case, and they would have the chance, if they were discreet enough, to change things and even hide stuff if they wished.
And also… The investigative team had access to the documents in the administration department which would let them know about the perfect time during which someone of Letitia's power level could come so that they would be assigned exactly to the group that they wished.
This…was the missing link which Daneel had been looking for, but the way that he had found it was definitely out of the norm.
In fact, the files he had been knocked onto the floor were numerous, numbering in the hundreds, and normally, he might not have scanned through them as he hadn't been thinking in that aspect.
It was almost as if he had to thank Erin for this act, but of course, he would never allow himself to do something like that as her gloating face was something that could drive many men to suicide.
Even though he had come here with a different objective, it was true that he might have gone to these records eventually out of desperation, but still, he couldn't help but appreciate this stroke of luck. Well, he had at least arrived here by his own deductions.
Finally, it was like a pathway had opened up in a maze which had been filled with dead ends so far. Even someone as smart as Letitia who had planned everything else would not be able to imagine that anyone would have the time to go through so many records and find these connections which actually might not mean anything unless one was already suspecting her, and even if she had thought of it, she wouldn't have been able to do anything as it was almost impossible to carry out a few plans without leaving some or the other trace.
All in all… Daneel knew his next target. But how was he supposed to go about it?
He had to catch that person from the investigative department who had helped Letitia, and he had to somehow ensure that if there was a precaution inside him, too, that his memory would be wiped, that he had to stop it from going off in some manner.
Again, all of these things that Daneel was suspecting had happened could only be proven if substantial proof was found regarding them. Otherwise, they would all be just coincidences pieced together based on an incorrect assumption.
Yet, Daneel's gut told him that he was on the right track, and so, he engaged his entire mind onto this task of extracting information without triggering the failsafe.
Also… Regarding this entire thing, Daneel's plan had never been to depend just on the answer that he had gotten from Erin, which was pretty damn vague in the first place. He had been carrying out his own investigations into all the information that he had both from the memories of the Emperor and all the libraries that he had collected so far, and they all indicated a certain thing which almost seemed pretty obvious when one thought about techniques like what Letitia might have used if she really was the culprit here.
Yet, until now, there had been no proof to show that what they pointed out was right, but finally, it looked like Daneel would be able to confirm whether it was the case are not. In fact, his hope behind going to Erin had been to find further clues regarding it, and even though he had failed, he looked forward to succeeding without needing her help.
And besides… Wouldn't it be amazing to see her uptight face look like it was slapped, for once?
Putting these thoughts aside, Daneel first concentrated on making a plan, but as he wasn't able to figure one out right away, he decided to enlist Luther, too, who had ample experience in this area but whom Daneel had not used very much because of his own zeal to develop his skills in the best way possible- which was to dive right into problems like these and attempt to solve them.
Not even a few seconds after Daneel told Luther everything, the man gave an idea, and it was so simple yet perfect that Daneel wondered why he hadn't gotten it himself in the first place.
He called the Head right away, and as he told him about each of the things that he had learned, the Head actually seemed to be getting angrier and angrier.
The reason behind this was explained by him in a voice that was filled with chagrin.
"The Eternal Blossom sect has always been a very...strange sect in the Big Four. They do not play by the rules, and their power makes it so that we cannot really discipline them as easily as we would be able to with the other sects. And besides, they never accept any outsiders, so they are also completely closed off without being influenced by anything outside their purview.
"The sect leader actually laughed me out of the sect when I asked her just now, and even though I don't know why she was so amused, she pretty much confirmed that even she cannot be sure if your supposition is true."
Of course, Daneel knew the reason behind this- she must have been remembering the conversation she had with him.
The next words of the Head were spoken with extreme seriousness, with his gaze fixed on Daneel.
"If what we going to do really resolves the case, then I will readily admit that you helped much more than expected. The Eternal Blossom sect and its methods are things which I shy away from for personal reasons, and without you, it is possible that nothing might have been uncovered, and it would have become a case just like the one that I mentioned before. Such things always remain as matters of disgrace for the Heads of those times, and I even read a memoir from the Head of that era that to his death, he regretted not finding out about such a great conspiracy that had happened right under his nose. If you're successful, I will be spared of that fate, and as a token of gratitude, I will even be ready to upgrade your rewards to encompass higher tiers of weapons that even you will be able to use, as it is obvious that you also put in a lot of effort along with your commander. I will go and prepare everything that you have asked. I will also pray to the heavens that this matter comes to an end with this, as it makes me more and more worried as more and more fallacies in our present departments become exposed. After we are done with this, I have my work cut out for me- I guess a major reform should be on the cards in all departments, especially because this is such a crucial time."
Daneel knew that the Head was alluding to things which were not directly connected to this matter, and in this, once again, his passion to save the continent could be seen.
For a moment, just a moment, Daneel considered whether he should really trust the man and just expose his power so that he could possibly get the entire continent behind him right away.
That would really make things a lot, lot easier, and it was very tempting because each and everything that he had obtained till now had required him to give his everything.
Yet… He knew very well that the easy way out was almost always the one filled with the most risk, and in such a thing which would decide the survival of millions, he decided that he should probably be patient.
Well, first, it was time to bring this matter to an end.
"Let's do it three hours from now, when they leave, then. I'll take care of the other preparations."
Saying so, the King of Lanthanor nodded and left, but if he had lingered for a moment more, he would have seen the appreciative glint and the impressed smile on the Head's face.
After the Head left, too, the area surrounding the mountain devolved into silence, until three hours later, when a group of five trudged out of the path that led inside while talking between themselves.
All of them had slightly frustrated expressions on their faces, and even their tones were filled with disappointment.
They were the squad that had been assigned to this case, and so far, they had been extremely useless.
Although there weren't many cases, in the first place, the investigative development was supposed to be formed out of the smartest minds in the Big Four and it was also one of the highest paying departments. However, rewards were based on results, and so far, they had obtained none.
Just yesterday, though, their day had been filled with them ridiculing those from the Central Continent who had arrived, but today, that was not the case due to the incident they had seen where the intelligence of the King of Lanthanor had been shown.
The five were going back to their own sects to relax for a day and recharge their mind so that they could throw themselves into this the next morning in the hopes of finding something that would justify them asking for resources later on, but just as they were about to exit the protected perimeter of the mountain and teleport away, they were confronted by one of the major suspects of the case.
It was Memphis, and he looked drunk.
Wait… Wasn't in this guy supposed to be confined separately, just like the others?
Could he have been released?
But… They hadn't been notified!
Right as the leader of the squad was about to use his communication trinket to send a message to the Head regarding this, Memphis blabbered something unintelligible and staggered forward in a certain direction.
It was just a drunken walk whose objective seemed to be merely to get past them and return to the mountain, and none of the members of the squad thought much of it.
Yet… Right as Memphis was about to pass a certain member of the department, he whirled around and sent a fist flying, which promptly knocked out that member.
As the other four stared at Memphis with shock, the seed transformed into the Head, who nodded at them all and ordered them not to repeat what had happened here to anyone else before snatching up the body of that member and departing.
Even for a minute after this happened, the four left couldn't budge, as they were extremely puzzled as to just what the heck had happened.
Why had the Head disguised himself as one of the seeds and knocked out one of their own? What was even going on here?
Sadly, it did not look like they would be getting their answers, and just a few meters away from them, the Head had appeared next to Daneel before dropping the body of that member onto the ground casually.
"Like you said, simple, but effective. The failsafe will only trigger if it was a threat, so the answer was to surprise him. Now… We can check his consciousness through a certain spell which will allow me to intrude in his dreams. We can simply check them for proof. Want to come along? It's a simple enough matter, and I think you deserve it."
Daneel felt like laughing as he heard this, as this was exactly the spell he had used before to converse with Percy in the Eternal Blossom sect. It was an exclusive spell of the Emperor, so it made sense that there were records regarding it that were simply left behind to be accessed by the Big Four.
As he nodded, the Head reached forward and touched his forehead, before using his other hand to grab the head of the member of the investigative department on the ground.
The next moment, Daneel found himself in the same familiar empty space.
Unlike back when he had cast the spell himself, it looked like the Head wasn't really that skilled in using it, as the entire space felt as if it was wobbling instead of being stable.
Almost as if he was scared that he would be kicked out, the Head, along with Daneel in tow reached forward and touched one of the bubbles of light nearby so that they could be sucked into it to view it.
Because it was done so quickly, Daneel didn't have a chance to see any details regarding it, but when both of them found themselves in a wooden hut where a single person with long hair was sitting in front of them, they were both extremely shocked.
Yet… When that person turned around and screamed with fear as she saw them, the shock they felt didn't even hold a candle to what was being expressed on her face.
The woman looked familiar, and as Daneel recognized who she was, he blinked with pleasant surprise.
It was Letitia.