485 Nine

So this was what that Emperor had congratulated him about?!

His mind rocked by waves of shock, Daneel only shook his head before taking a step back.

Raising an eyebrow, the old man said, "So you really don't know anything about it? That's really strange…"

Folding his hands and putting one hand on his chin before stroking his beard, the old man pondered for a few seconds before saying, "Did you, by any chance, expose Drakos to corruption?"

So this old man knew about that too?

Still quite dazed from the fact that he was in a race, which meant that there might be competitors, Daneel only nodded, which made the old man slap his fist and palm together before saying, "now it makes sense. Even though Drakos is accepted you, I guess he must be too busy meditating to tell you about it. Besides, he is limited to the information he sees around him, so he doesn't know about what's going on in the rest of the continent, as I do. For example, I know that the race has started, and that one competitor has even assembled two parts."

"Who?!", Daneel asked hurriedly, wondering which king was capable enough of increasing his own Kingdom's satisfaction level without it being noticed by Daneel.

"The Kingdom you call Axelor. Not all Empire Spirits need satisfaction level to be increased for approval to be gained. According to what limited investigations I was able to carry out, that King fulfilled some other criteria in order to enter the race, and he was guided by that Empire Spirit, who is a vile, bloodthirsty madman by the way, to acquire another part. I guess he's the one who is leading right now, as I can sense that you only have one part with you, which is not even from Lanthanor. So, are you ready to tell me what's going on?"

Axelor!

Due to him being recently busy with the Sect of Hedon, Daneel had had no option but to turn a blind eye to this Kingdom which had tussled with him for quite a long time.

Although he had disqualified Axelor in the Olympics, Daneel still intended to take revenge for the act of releasing the mosquitoes in the first place.

Now, he was supposed to believe that that King was in possession of two parts??

Seeing the disbelief in Daneel's eyes, this old man who seemed to be used to reading people's facial expressions in order to find out their thoughts said, "I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. Of course, I have no proof to show to you, so you'll just have to take my word. Anyway, before that kid wakes up, you just need to tell me one thing: whether you're in possession of another part."

Daneel was still a bit indecisive about whether to trust this old man, but he decided that it wasn't that harmful to answer this question.

"The inheritance parts of Lanthanor have been taken by the Sect Leader of the Sect of Hedon, and they're currently stored in their Treasury. Yes, the ones I have are from the Hidden Kill Sect."

Raising an eyebrow again, the old man said, "From the Hidden Kill Sect, you say? I wonder what that snake is doing. Anyway, I guess that that part is safe and sound for now. At least, no one from the Central Continent can get to it. Now, I've been observing the continent, and from some clues, I know that you control a lot of things from the shadows, at least much more than how it appears on the surface. For now, my only advice for you is to focus on finding your own path to break through to become a Champion, while also looking for the other parts of the Grand Inheritance. Yes, that's what he named it – I told him it was tacky. But don't dally too much – the Church is coming, and although the estimates I've received say that we should have a few years, something tells me that we shouldn't trust such numbers too much. For now, I would suggest that you focus on the former most, as the game completely changes as soon as one becomes a Champion. Remember: there is no weak or strong path, there is only a path that you are weak or strong at. Good luck, and farewell for now. If you need me for anything else, do not hesitate to find me."

Hearing the speech, an expression of seriousness came on Daneel's face as he pondered on the statement from the old man about the Champion Path. He had never heard it before, but he could tell that it was a very important clue.

As for the rest, he was going to do these things anyway, while concentrating on implementing more schemes in Lanthanor to increase the satisfaction level, especially now that he had almost an unlimited amount of money to tap into.

Nodding, Daneel watched as the old man slowly started to fade away, but he suddenly became corporeal again before saying, "Oh, one last thing. The Big Four was given misinformation about the number of parts of the Grand Inheritance. As you must know, on Angaria, the number nine is paramount. To suit that, the Emperor also made nine parts, which are all scattered around the continent. Goodbye, now."

Dropping this last bomb, the old man faded away, leaving Daneel with his drooling elder brother whose dreams seemed to be getting more and more wild.

In the silence that followed, strange grunts started to come from Elanev, which made Daneel shake his head and leave the room to head to his quarters.

So there were nine damn parts, not six as the records had shown?

Why had the Big Four been misinformed, and who was even responsible for it?

As for the number nine, Daneel had noticed that when he came to Angaria itself, but he hadn't thought that this little fact would come into focus now.

Nine parts: two with Axelor, if the old man was to be believed, one with Daneel, and one in the Sect of his Hedon.

Where were the other five? And who where the other contestants in the race?

And finally, what was his Champion Path going to be?

These were the most burning questions to be answered right now, but Daneel could only shake his head once more and lie back down before closing his eyes.

One thing after another kept hitting him, but nothing said that he couldn't just sleep to forget about everything for the time being.

So, the King of Lanthanor drifted off to his own, tamer dreams, accompanied by the constant beating sounds of Drakos's heart.

The next day, Daneel woke up with a fresh mind and smiled before freshening himself up and walking out of his quarters.

The moment he did, he bumped into Eloise, who seemed to be waiting at the door for some reason.

"King – I mean, Daneel! You're finally out of closed-door training?!"

With a broad smile, Daneel said, "Yes, Eloise. And I must say that it was very fruitful. How is your training going?"

Saying so, Daneel glanced down to see that she was holding a tray filled with breakfast items that had been freshly cooked.

Famished, he had just been about to go grab a bite, so he asked, "Is that for me?"

Hearing him say this, a slight expression of panic passed through Eloise's face for some reason, before she said, "Yes, Daneel! Tuck in! It's so good to see that you're back! I'll go assemble everyone else… We should have a meeting!"

Saying so in a high-pitched tone, Eloise pushed the breakfast tray toward Daneel who caught it before she turned around and started to quickly walked away.

Munching on a piece of bread, Daneel first attributed her actions to perhaps feeling shy due to seeing him, before finally realizing something.

Wait… She couldn't have known that he would come today, right? Then how was she standing outside while holding a breakfast tray?

A second later, he got a possible answer.

He knew just how much Eloise cared for him, so he sighed, thinking that she must be bringing meals to him each and every day in the hope that he would come out.

Seeing such pure love and care made his heart feel warm, as he once again wondered whether he had made the right decision to say no to her as he hadn't felt anything special.

As Daneel began to think about the two gorgeous women who had both shown interest to him, but whom he had literally friend zoned – an act, by the way, which would definitely have made him a target of many beatings by many frustrated men back on earth, he saw someone appearing from the other end of the corridor toward which Eloise was running.

It was his elder brother, Elanev.

There was a big swelling on his face, so it seemed that he wasn't able to see very clearly.

Eloise had been in a hurry, so without noticing him, she had bumped into him which made Elanev realize who it was and say, "Hey, Eloise. Weren't we supposed to grab some breakfast together? Should we go to the Palace grounds, or should we take a walk like last time?"

Seeing him, Eloise froze like a reindeer in front of headlights, before she started cursing inwardly about this man's timing.

Meanwhile, Daneel had heard everything, and his eyebrows were twitching as he realized just how wrong he had been.

So… Eloise and his elder brother, huh?

It seemed that the King of Lanthanor had quite clearly overestimated his own charm, and as he remembered the thoughts that had just passed through his mind, he blushed crimson, feeling thankful that no one was here to see his awkward plight.

However, the next moment, he felt a tap on his shoulders before a snickering voice floated into his ears.

"You thought it was for you, didn't you? Ho Ho Ho, for some reason you remind me of that Emperor, who was so focused on his 'Divine Duty' that I'm pretty sure that he died a virgin. Something tells me you're going to have the same fate!"