The Idle System (A LitRPG series Book 7): Family, Pegaz [learn to read books txt] 📗

him any trouble, so at least he should be willing to hear me out.”

“What do you want to do?”

“There’s priceless knowledge in this book from our ancestor! If we offer this bit of information to the immortal and it turns out to be true, it’ll help his cultivation and possibly get us in his good graces. That’s not including any of the other information inside this book, too!”

His son nodded and waited for his father to continue.

“He’s an immortal, so he might be able to give us immortality, or at least a few extra years to live!” A wicked grin slid onto the king’s face as he spoke. “Even if that’s not possible, just having an immortal owe us a favour would be well worth trading this book that’s been rotting away for countless years, no?”

His son decided he had to pull his father out of the clouds. Surely nothing good could come from trying to bargain with an immortal. “He’s still human! He’s not immune to greed and deceit! What’s going to stop him from taking the book by force? Who in this world can stop him?”

His father’s smile disappeared instantly. Without looking at his son, he gently closed the book and wrapped it back in its protective cloth.  “You’re right, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need more information before we make a move. I think it’s worth the risk because I’ve only got a few years left to live at most, but that risk shouldn’t involve you or Carola.”

He paused to lower the book into the hole and placed the fake tile back into its original position

“When the trade happens, everybody in the castle will have to leave for a while. You’ll go into hiding until I send word that it’s safe. If you don’t hear anything from me after a week, expect the worst.

“Let’s see if there’s a reply from Carola. She might have more information we’ll need if there’s any hope for the trade to happen.”

The son watched his father walk towards the exit. He lowered his head, thinking for a few seconds before he walked at a fast pace to catch up.

Chapter 18: Gathering Information

“Father, why don’t you go back to bed or start doing some paperwork? I’ll go check to see if there’s been a reply. If others see you doing something out of the ordinary, they’ll suspect that something is wrong.”

The old man stopped and turned to look at his son. After a few seconds, he nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I know I won’t be able to get back to sleep, so I’ll go pretend to work for a bit. Go see if there’s a reply and find me as soon as you receive it.”

“Yes, Father.” The son scurried away without looking back.

* * *

Hours had passed since the two men split up. The king sat in his working quarters and refused to take any visitors unless an important matter came up. Between infrequent knocks, he paced the plush carpet wondering why his son had yet to return.

Knock! Knock!

Upon hearing the knock at the door, the old man stood next to the window. “Enter!”

His son walked into the room with a large stack of papers in one hand. He closed the door with his spare hand and walked towards the desk in the middle of the room, placing the papers down with a soft thud.

“Finally! What took you so long? Was there a message?” the old man shouted while he walked towards the desk.

“Yes. I read the message and got all the necessary paperwork in order before coming to see you, Father.”

The prince held out his hand with a neatly folded piece of paper, but it was quickly snatched by the king with an impatient grunt. He carelessly unfolded it, ripping one of the corners as he started to read the note.

Father,

We’re at an unnamed town, southwest of the capital, quite a ways away. I sent one of my trusted men to gather information.

It didn’t take long for my subordinate to report that the woman with the golden eagle badge is the daughter of the doctor and knight in this town. She looks to be around my age, and according to some villages, she knows both martial arts and medicine thanks to her parents.

Her parents are missing from town, but it’s been said that the knight in town retired with your blessing years ago while the doctor is said to be the spitting image of the woman with the badge, only slightly older.

I will try to find out more, but my whore of a husband has taken quite the interest in the woman with the badge. If your warnings about the owner of the badge are true, then I fear my future husband will stir that man’s wrath.

The king stroked his beard and thought for a moment. “I always wondered why that man would need the badge, considering his strength. Turns out it was for his daughter.”

The king turned his attention towards the stack of papers. “What have you found out, then, since you took so long?”

His son cleared his throat. “As Carola mentioned, that town is unnamed. It was created over thirty-two years ago to expand into the jungle since there was a gold mine found nearby. The mine ran dry after a few years, and since then, the village was abandoned by us.

“That all changed when the knight and his wife moved there. Since then, merchants and thieves alike started moving to the village, and it eventually became what it is now.

“According to the records, it has passed the requirements to obtain a name and the name plaque has already been created. You’re actually scheduled to officiate the town eight months from now.

“The documents in front of me are all the knights that came from that town in the last fourteen years. If you go through them, they all say the knight who trained them is named Oxide Stint and they gave