"A school for kids without testing them? Isn't that just….a waste of time and money? Whose dumb idea was this?"
"Molan, don't make judgments without finding out all the facts. But I must admit, it seems impractical."
Of these two women, one stood at around 5 feet with a tiny figure while the other was at least a head taller, with more of an athletic figure.
The latter who had just been referred to as Molan shook her head, but opted not to say anything else about the matter.
Instead, she asked about something which had been bothering her since coming to Lanthanor.
"Sister Xuan, have you felt anything … else since coming to this Kingdom?"
The famous "suspicion" of Sister Xuan was usually something which only activated on rare occasions. Its occurrence seemed to be random, as she would sometimes have many in the span of a week and not even have one for months afterward.
Hence, now that she had had one "suspicion", Molan wanted to know if there were any more that needed to be reported to the Sect.
The two were standing in a busy street right in front of the School, but it seemed as if no one could see them.
Almost unconsciously, each citizen who was about to stumble into them seemed to nudged away to pass them by.
If someone were seeing from above, it would look like they were a heavy stone which split the river it was in, forcing the water to go around it.
Frowning at the answer, Sister Xuan thought a few moments before finally opening her mouth and saying, "Remember the time in the Sect when I had a suspicion that all the undergarments of the sisters in our building would be stolen?"
Molan's face, which was currently that of a pretty woman with high cheeks and an oval face blushed deep red as she remembered the embarrassing incident.
Theirs was a female-only Sect, but they had once hosted a tournament where others of the Big 4 had come to compete.
During the tournament, Sister Xuan had had this suspicion which no one believed as the formation which repelled all males from the dorms was something which could only be broken through by a peak Warrior level Fighter or Mage.
At the time, there had been no one of this level in those who were coming, so everyone had ignored it, thinking that Sister Xuan might finally get something wrong.
This was also because of the fact that she had said the 'suspicion' was faint, unlike the rest which were very strong.
In the end, the undergarments had all been stolen, but the perpetrator had actually been one of their own sisters because she had lost a bet with one of the men who had come for the tournament.
"Are the people's undergarments also under danger? Are there perverts abound?", she asked with agitation, remembering the time that they had had to spend without any while new ones were getting stitched.
"|Cough| No, Molan, I was only referring to the weak suspicion. Here, I have a similar weak suspicion about the future of this Kingdom. It tells me that…. This Kingdom will be center of the struggle that is about to come."
Molan, who had just been about to take a sip of conjured water spit it out with shock as she heard Sister Xuan's answer.
"Are you sure, Sister Xuan? This puny Kingdom taking part in that struggle of behemoths….how can it be possible?"
This made Sister Xuan ponder more, but she finally gave up and shook her head after a few seconds.
"I don't know. Like I said, it's vague. We can tell the Sect about it when we go back, in case it gets stronger. You never know, Molan. It is sometimes an ant which tips the scales in favor of victory or defeat. Let's go. We need to examine each and every corner of this Kingdom thoroughly to look for clues which can strengthen my suspicion. In the process, we can also find out what the motive and the effects of these…. Seemingly mindless schemes are."
Nodding, Molan followed Sister Xuan as both of them made their way into the school to examine each of the classes in which the basic courses were being taught.
No matter where they went, no formation could stop them and no eye could see them.
In this way, they began their detailed tour of Lanthanor.
.....
Meanwhile, in the King's Chambers in the Royal Palace of Lanthanor, Daneel had just taken a break to check the report sent by Elanev.
The news that he was getting closer to the King was good, but Daneel knew that everything would come to a junction at the time of harvest, which was only a couple of months away.
The mysteries needed to be unraveled fast.
Hence, he had to find ways to speed up Elanev's infiltration.
First and foremost, the call of action was to find some way in which Elanev would be invited to the Throne Room and possibly be left alone inside for at least a short period of time so that he could place the surveillance trinket inside. The issue of extracting it could be handled later.
No matter how much he racked his head, Daneel couldn't think of some way through which he could make this happen.
Just like in Lanthanor, the Throne Room of the Black Raven Kingdom was only used for official meetings on the behest of the King.
Hence, there was no chance of personal interactions taking place there, which ruled away many possibilities.
Only something which heavily affected the King, like the question before about the fight which he had had to ask right at that moment, or matters relating to the Kingdom could be discussed inside.
Exasperated, Daneel once again started going through all the aspects relating to the Black Raven Kingdom.
For one thing, the economy of the Black Raven Kingdom wasn't doing very great. Their primary source of income was mining from an Ether mine which had existed for centuries.
The military was the primary spending area, with most of the money going to rearing the Black Ravens which were an integral part of their society.
Other than this, farming was a secondary occupation in the Kingdom on the few fertile lands remaining.
Going through his memories on Earth, Daneel tried to think of more things like the concept of the assembly line which could be adapted to Angaria.
As he was doing so, an idea finally occurred which was related to something he had already implemented: entertainment.
Entertainment was one of the largest businesses on Earth. Activities which could make a common individual forget everything about their mundane daily lives and immerse themselves either into the thrill of games or the mystical worlds of films, books or music were something which always made money when done right.
In a way, the Network of Angaria was an entertainment device, allowing people to forget themselves by finding out about the world around them. In it, there were also regular programmes featuring famous bards who enthralled listeners with their well-sung albeit overtly grandiose tales.
Yet, what Daneel was thinking about was another aspect of entertainment which was both a huge money-maker and a crowd puller: game entertainment.
Each year on Earth, millions flocked to see their favorite players show their skills.
In Angaria, although there were a few primitive games which people played in their pastime, there was nothing like a standard game in which competitions could be held.
If there was such a game which could make money for the government and also entertain the people to increase public opinion, could Elanev request a personal meeting with the King in the Throne Room to propose something regarding it?
Of course, no ties had to lead back to Lanthanor, which would be easy to accomplish, at least for a time. Later, if everything went according to Daneel's plan regarding the leadership of the Kingdom, it wouldn't matter.
Just as he was thinking of deciding on the particulars which Elanev would use to approach the Black Raven King, a feeling of being watched swept over him, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Yet, it only lasted for a second before fading away.
"System, is anyone surveilling me currently?", he asked, puzzled, as there had never been an instance where the system couldn't detect if someone was looking at his location discreetly.
[Negative]
Just as he was about to assume that he could be mistaken, the feeling appeared again, making him stand up straight and look around in alarm.
Someone, or something, was definitely looking at the area he was in without the knowledge of the system.