Chapter 285 For the Country
Once the three men took their seats, they began to discuss the matter of Prince Paul's plan. Cups of tea and coffee were laid on the glass surface for the men's refreshments. "But still, I could not believe that Rick was the one helping us the whole time. That explains why we gained possession of these revolutionary devices." "Well, Sir Rick is an exceptionally talented man. His inventions and ideas have made a greater impact on the country."
Paul and Robert took a glance at the table and saw a few magical items that were invented by Rick laying on top of it. Not long ago, Rick handed those devices to Duke Lancer for their plans as well as serving as presents for him.
One of the devices was an item that greatly resembled a tablet notebook that displayed a map with a blinking dot in the middle. That device actually had a global positioning system that locates invisible Rick whenever they have meetings.
"By the way, how did the two of you meet?" Paul asked. "And why did Rick want to help us?" "Hm. Actually, Your Highness, it was Rick who approached me." "Really?" "Truly. It all started when a mysterious letter fell on that exact table." Robert then glanced at his office's table, which made Paul turn his head. "I was alone that time, so it left me in wonder. I read it and the rest is history."
"A falling letter? Isn't that how the emperor obtained the information about the location of that illegal slave market or something?"
"That is right, Your Highness." "Oh, wait." Upon being struck by the sudden realization, Paul looked at Rick with eyes wide open. "Does it mean that Rick is actually the mysterious person who gives valuable information regarding that notorious underground organization?"
The underground syndicate Five Headed Hydra had been lurking under the continent's shadow for a long time, succumbing the ones on the surface with darkness. Operating with different divisions, the organization was undoubtedly the biggest criminal group on the continent. Their existence was near unknown to the public and even the government, until a letter containing their information along with the evidence mysteriously fell on the table of the dwarf king, which eventually led to the downfall of one of the organization's heads.
Months later, the same phenomenon occurred in Dixon's emperor room. At that time, the letter was composed of information and location about a division of the syndicate. After forming a coalition with other countries, the empire led the operation to raid the headquarters of the organization's slave trafficking division, which was operating within the corrupted nation of Astley. Thanks to the information acquired from the messages, the operation was successful and the culprits were arrested. The nobleman who protected them, a count of Astley, was coerced to be executed by the kingdom to somehow confute their involvement with the organization. "You are quite updated with the current events, Your Highness." Rick confirmed the prince's question. "Yes, I am the one who has been giving information about the syndicate." In reality, it was the members of the Myriad Wings who found out the existence of the organization. However, the party had been officially disbanded and the members were currently having their own lives, like Gabrielle getting married to the Raevender family. In their stead and their peaceful lives, Rick took credit for their work and claimed to be the one who was investigating Five Headed Hydra. "Okay, that was surprising..." Paul was perplexed by Rick's revelation and fell into deep thoughts. "Let me clarify first: are there other people with whom you shared this information other than us?" "To be honest, only Your Highness Paul and Duke Lancer were the people I told my identity to."
"But why us of all the people?" Paul expressed his honest feelings. "Why isn't someone higher like the emperor or the church?" Not only him, but Robert was questioning that matter as well. The fact that Rick had that much knowledge and only revealed his identity exclusively to them was odd. Paul and Robert began to think there was a catch and Rick was into something else.
"I know that you still have doubts about my authenticity and won't probably believe in anything I will utter, but there is one thing I want you to know: the same as you, I am a denizen of Astley as well." "Rick..."
With a palm on his chest, Rick declared those words with conviction in his voice. Both Paul and Robert were moved by it and immediately believed him as if he was a divine preacher. Rick's innate charisma turned out to be effective. "And as a resident of this country," Rick continued, "I cannot just bear myself seeing my country slowly getting destroyed by the rulers' greed and incompetence. That is why I show myself to the two of you, the few of you loyal to the country, and hope that my knowledge and skills will help the country escape from this hell." "But, Rick, are you certain you could actually trust us?" "Yes, Your Highness, I trust you and Duke Lancer. I know how much effort you two have been exerting in order to prevent this country from its demise, as much as putting sleeping potions into the king's booze so that he could attend parties less frequently." "You know that much, huh?" Paul caressed his beardless chin, impressed and terrified. "You are quite a beneficial and dangerous asset, aren't you?" "I am well aware." Without Rick telling them, Paul and Robert were aware that he was watching every detail of the kingdom at all times. He even knew that things they had done to limit the movements of the king.
With his immense intelligence gathering and advanced inventions, they uniformly concluded him as a valuable asset and a threat, depending on who he sided with. Thankfully, Rick chose to team up with them. "Alright, I appreciate and recognize your skills, Rick," Paul said as he stood up and reached out his hand. "From now on, we will work together and save our country from its inevitable destruction." "Same as here, Your Highness." Rick grasped his hands anew. "It's an honor to be working with you."
"Yeah. Let our efforts come to fruition and make change for the Kingdom of Astley."
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