Chapter 26 Jackpot!
"So this guy can just barge in on anyone having, umh, fun?"
Such thoughts came into Daneel's mind as he carefully closed the door behind him.
Unlike what he was expecting, the room was not very lavish. Standard wooden floor and walls with a small window on the side. A bed for 2 which was in no way new or enchanted, due to how it looked like. A small bathroom.
Daneel had no idea that the Dwarve's Rum also had the option to rent rooms for long periods of times. Only, the owner had no choice but to handover the master card to such a distinguished member of royalty.
Locating the floorboard, Daneel got excited seeing that his step did sound different on it. His greatest fear was coming here and finding out that there was nothing inside.
Using the dagger to pry open the floorboard, Daneel removed the rucksack that was inside.
Inside was what he had finally been looking for. His eyes shone both with the reflection from the Ether blocks and his happiness on finding what he had come for.
1, 2, 3,.....10! 10 Ether blocks! He had really struck a jackpot this time!
This was equivalent to 100 Golden Lans, which was a staggering amount. Daneel had never even seen such an amount of wealth before.
Along with the Ether blocks was another map, made of a shiny silver material. There was also a diary.
Daneel wondered if he would find clues in it regarding why the thieves had chosen to rob a house in the slums after apparently completing a high-profile robbery. This had been bothering him ever since he had heard the news about the other robbery.
Later on, he had inquired with Elanev for more details. It turned out that it had been a puzzling case. The actual amount of wealth stolen was little, because the thieves had actually broken into the library of a minister like Elanev's father. The authorities had no clue regarding their motives. Some even said they had just gone into the wrong place, thinking it was the house's treasury.
After checking the library, it was found that nothing else was missing.
When Elanev had said 'little wealth', he had discarded it thinking it was a measly amount. Only now did he realize his foolishness. His "little" and Elanev's "little" were two entirely different things.
100 Golden Lans would enable a family to set up a business in the outer city and live a comparatively lavish life. But to fighters, mages and the true rich and influential, this was nothing.
Daneel decided to leave first, remembering the priest's warning. He put everything back in the rucksack and proceeded to the door.
Footsteps were heard in the wall just as he opened the door. It was a constable, who was running across the corridor while hurriedly putting on his pants.
He screeched to a halt in front of Daneel, noticing the royal crest on his coat.
"My Lord!", he said, and knelt to the ground. His pant promptly fell off, revealing blue underpants.
Daneel was petrified. He had no idea what to do. If the constable raised his head, he might recognize that he was not of the nobility by seeing his face. It was the duty of constables after all to know each and every member of the royalty by face and name.
The coin was in his pocket, and he could easily behead the man where he knelt. This would make sure that there would be no problems.
Yet, Daneel could not bring himself to make this decision. His mind told him that this was the logical option, but his heart insisted that there must be another way.
To ruthless kill someone just to avoid risk? This was something Daneel realized that he could not do yet. He had always thought that he could be ruthless if the time arose, but now that the time had come, he was frozen.
He was not as ruthless as he thought he was after all. What was worse was that he even acknowledged that killing him would be best, but he kept thinking that this man probably had a family just like this which would miss him dearly. How would he feel if his father just died one day?
Daneel was torn. He realized that this was a weakness. There was no way he would be able to dominate the world or even obtain justice for his father if he did not get rid of this weakness.
Only, at this moment, he just couldn't get himself to do it. He racked his brain for options and suddenly, an idea popped up in his mind.
"The audacity! You have sullied my sight with such a disgusting pose! Get out of my sight!", he said, immediately turning around.
The constable behind him who had stayed kneeling as per the protocol hurried got up and put on his pants.
"Apologies, my Lord. Thank you for letting me go!" , he said, before running towards the stair case.
Daneel heaved a sigh as he heard the constable's footsteps fade away. He had no idea if he had made the right decision, but he had at least identified a weakness in himself.
Only time would tell if he had made the correct choice.