Soon after, Daneel dispersed the group after having Joshua and Faxul distribute parchments to them. These were contact trinkets, and they needed to be bound by blood much like the one that had pricked his blood when Daneel had entered the Fists of Justice Training Hall.
Once bound to a certain person, the parchment could only be read when held in that person's hands. Any attempt by anyone else would result in self destruction.
After the faction members started trickling out of the forest, Daneel sat down on a nearby rock and drank some water from a waterball spell.
"Commence the system upgrade."
[Affirmative. System Upgrade purchased. Remaining EXP: 1150.
System will be offline for 6 hours during upgrade. Would you like to proceed?]
After saying "Yes" to the system, Daneel saw that Joshua and Faxul had come and sat near him.
Taking out a yellow letter from his robes, Faxul handed it to Daneel with a doubtful look on his face.
"Remember the noble that Joshua beat with your help?", he asked, as Daneel took the letter in his hands and started examining it. Due to working together, Faxul and Joshua had gotten quite close and the latter had already told the story about how he joined Daneel in the first place.
"Ya, Varanel. He's not been in the academy for a while right?", Daneel asked, recalling the vicious expression on the Noble's face after being defeated by Joshua.
"Yes. He turned up at my room yesterday when you were outside and left after giving me this. He said it's for you."
Puzzled, Daneel felt the letter in his hands and noticed that surprisingly, it was just a simple paper instead of a trinket like the ones they had handed out before.
Opening the letter, he was quite shocked to see the contents.
"Come to the barren land three kilometers east of the Outer City at the stroke of midnight if you want to know the King's weakness."
The first thing that Daneel thought was that this was definitely a trap. There was no chance that a lower tier noble like Varanel would have information about the King's strengths and weaknesses.
Yet, the actions of some of the nobles over the past few years had been quite puzzling. Keeping to themselves, they had almost disappeared from the peoples' eye.
Still, Daneel knew very well the value of information. Although he had a lot of wealth, it had been very difficult to obtain information from the palace. Thus, he did not want to miss the chance if the information was trustworthy.
If this invitation had come before this meeting with the faction, Daneel would have definitely discarded it as too risky.
But now, with the upgraded system that he would soon have, Daneel was confident to at least detect danger if it existed and escape if need be.
A few hours before the appointed time, Daneel hatched a plan to ensure that he would be prepared no matter what happened.
An upgrade to the system had resulted in all of the tools he had purchased automatically upgrading. This had been another of the reasons for his avid stockpile.
Now, with Anti-Surveillance 2 Tool, the system could scan 200 feet around him in any direction. Thus, he could also safely teleport to any location in that distance.
He first teleported 50 feet under the surface similar to when he had eavesdropped on the TriCobra Society. After that, he ordered the system to teleport him 200 feet east each time until he reached the barren plain written in the letter.
Thus, he placed himself directly under the meeting location to see just who it was that had contacted him.
A half-hour before the appointed time, two teenagers in royal robes steadily walked towards the meeting spot. Although he could not see them, Daneel clearly identified the voice.
It was Laravel!
The arrogant prince who had almost killed him during the First Year Assessment was talking to Varanel while walking with an agitated tone.
"Did you make sure to explain clearly that the letter was for Daneel?"
"Yes. He didn't say anything but nodded after seeing that it was only regular paper."
"Good."
A brief silence followed, during which Daneel surmised that Varanel was fidgeting, as if he wanted to ask something but was deciding whether or not to.
"Why, Laravel? Why are you meeting with him? Like you said, we stopped everything. It did nothing to change the peoples' view. The dangers you spoke of are still out there, but the King has found a solution! The Vice Sect Master will take control over the formation and things will be just like before. What's wrong with that? Your eldest brother will become King, but you said you weren't interested in the throne anyway."
"Are you really so naive as to believe that things are that simple? I know my eldest brother. He inherited my father's desire for power and a long life. Besides, he was never interested in ruling the people anyway. The Withering Leaf Sect definitely has some motives on the Kingdom, but I have no idea what exactly. I have no choice but to meet him."
Sighing heavily, Laravel continued while approaching a specific spot on the barren land.
"I was always very close to my grandfather. He told me many stories about how our ancestors built the Kingdom, and that it was handed down King after King to the sons of the Lanthanore Family. Although I did show off, I was blinded by a desire to be praised by many. These last three years spent at my grandfather's side have taught me that in the end, only one thing matters: having no regrets when we die. Grandfather regretted allowing the rest of the family to do whatever they want. In his final years, he wished that he had done something to stop the Kingdom from reaching this state. He told the same to my father, but I know for sure that he only cares about himself. I do not want the Kingdom to go into an outsider's hands. For that, I am willing to do anything. According to some information I intercepted by fluke, I suspect that he is connected to the powerful figure who supplies the honey trap solution. So, I have no choice but to request a meeting with that personage with the hope that I can find out just what my father is planning."
Hearing this, Daneel got more and more shocked. The previous King had actually felt regret in his final years? And this regret had changed this arrogant prince enough to seek him out?
Daneel even suspected that the ones above knew he was eavesdropping, but the desperation in Laravel's tone was definitely not fake.
Although he still did not believe everything, Daneel decided to first see just what this weakness was. He had already confirmed that there were no threats around the location.
Teleporting a little distance away, he put on a weary expression and slowly walked to the location.
As he neared the meeting spot, a mock expression of surprise appeared on his face after seeing Laravel at the location.