As the king looked toward Qasim, his red eyes seemed to analyze the boy from head to toe.

For a moment, Qasim felt as if the king could see straight through him.

Then the king returned to his paper and began speaking.

"First of all, Valen and the kid Qasim will receive the reward I promised. Ten platinum coins each. You will also be allowed to ask me for one favor, which I will fulfill as long as I deem it appropriate."

Valen stepped forward and lowered his head.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."

He then looked back at Qasim before stepping aside and gesturing for him to come forward.

Qasim took a breath.

He stepped forward, bowed to the king, and reorganized his thoughts before speaking.

"Your Majesty, I understand that the scientists are currently the kingdom’s top priority when it comes to its safety."

He paused for a moment.

"But during one of my missions, I stumbled upon what could possibly be another dangerous threat."

Qasim then briefly explained what had happened.

He didn’t go into unnecessary details. He only mentioned what mattered.

The Saviour.

And finally, the death of the wolfman, especially the moment when he was about to reveal something important.

The king listened calmly.

When Qasim finished, the king finally spoke.

"Do you have stronger evidence that the death of that wolfman is related to the so called Saviour?"

Qasim swallowed.

"There is a connection between the Saviour and the organization that approached the wolfman. They called themselves the Zookeepers."

At the mention of that name, Yorness couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

Qasim immediately looked toward him, irritated.

"Silence."

The king’s voice instantly killed the laughter.

Yorness shut his mouth.

The king continued.

"Kid Qasim, what you just said is not strong evidence. Do you have any real evidence to support your accusation?"

Qasim felt dizzy.

For some reason, the king’s voice seemed to put pressure on him.

And it didn’t help that everyone was watching.

So he just said the first thing he thought about.

"I have feeling..."

Suddenly, all team three expressions seemed the same.

Mocking him.

Even Qasim felt embarrassed by his own words.

*I’m so stupid.*

*Why did I even say that?*

Then the king spoke again.

"Silence..."

He looked at Qasim for the second time.

"Since you are a Mahik, I suppose your ’feelings’ are stronger than they used to be. But you need to understand that a Mahik’s feelings are not prophecy."

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty. I apologize."

Qasim answered quickly.

"But I beg you to at least take some—"

"Don’t worry, kid Qasim."

The king interrupted him.

"I will take the necessary precautions and order an investigation regarding your concern."

Qasim’s eyes widened slightly.

"T-Thank you very much, Your Majesty."

"Mmm."

The king looked down at his paper again.

"Now, since all of you are done, you may leave."

The four groups bowed respectfully before turning around.

Team One left first.

Aurora followed shortly after, although she looked to be in a rather bad mood.

Team Three followed.

Finally, Qasim and Valen began walking out together.

They had barely left the room when a familiar voice came from behind them.

"Well, well, well... Looks like our boy is a genius at feelings, I see~"

Yorness and his team started laughing.

Qasim immediately clenched his fist.

He wanted to turn around and hit him.

But Valen stopped him with one hand.

"They’re trying to get into your head on purpose. Stay calm. Don’t fall for their tricks."

Valen then looked toward Yorness and smiled politely.

"By the way, Yorness, are you still at the Third Step after all this time?"

Yorness smile remained, but the laughter disappeared.

"Well, a Hilal-Awal will never understand what it takes to reach the Fourth Step."

He laughed again.

"Hahaha!"

Valen smiled.

"Ah, I see."

He closed his eyes.

"Then when I reach the Third Step, I’ll understand?"

Yorness’s smile twitched.

Valen continued with a wicked smile.

"Well, I don’t think it will take me much longer anyway."

He opened his eyes.

"Remember, Yorness... just five years ago, I was only a normal human. Now I’m the leader of a Black Seed team just like you."

His smile widened slightly.

"But the difference between you and me is that you took ten years to do it."

The smile faded from Yorness’s face.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at Valen.

Then he spat on the ground.

"Disgusting Maker user..."

He turned around.

"Come on, boys. Let’s leave."

Yorness and his team walked away, leaving Qasim and Valen alone.

Qasim felt embarrassed.

He couldn’t even look at Valen.

"Valen... I’m sorry for embarrassing you and Team Four today."

Valen suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha! Embarrassment?"

He looked at Qasim.

"Boy, you didn’t see what I did one time. Trust me, this is nothing."

Qasim finally looked at him.

"If anything, I think you did great."

Valen whispered to himself.

"Now I know that the king is interested in you."

---

After leaving the capital, Qasim met up with Melissa and Kevin.

He told them that he had met the king and received a reward for his actions during the academy incident.

Of course, he carefully chose his words and avoided anything related to Black Seed or the other secrets.

Kevin and Melissa were both curious.

"So... what did you get?"

Qasim answered casually.

"Ten platinum coins."

Kevin’s mouth dropped open.

"That’s insane! Qasim, congratu—"

Melissa suddenly pushed him aside.

Her eyes sparkled.

"You MUST invest in some new businesses!"

Qasim stared at her.

"I..."

He honestly hadn’t expected that reaction.

After several minutes of explanation, Qasim finally understood.

Melissa had always had a business idea.

The problem was that she had never had the money to actually start it.

And she didn’t want to borrow money from her mother.

She wanted to build something with her own hands.

"And your idea is...?"

Melissa’s eyes lit up.

"Using mana stones to create a realistic drawing of a certain moment in your life!"

Qasim blinked.

Melissa continued excitedly.

"We all know how boring it is to wait for a painter to paint your face, or the face of someone you love."

"So why don’t we create an artifact that can capture your moments much faster, with more detail, and make it small enough that people can carry it wherever they go?"

Qasim froze.

*This sounds like a camera.*

He stared at Melissa.

*Did this girl just come up with the idea of the first camera in this world?*

He quickly asked.

"Do you know how to make it?"

"Nope."

Melissa smiled.

"But that’s where the money comes in. We can pay a skilled teacher to figure it out!"

Qasim thought for a moment.

Then he looked at Kevin.

"What about Kevin here? I think he can do it."

Kevin’s eyes widened.

"Can I?"

Melissa looked between them.

"He can? Why are you asking me, Qasim?"

"Well, I think instead of wasting money on a whole team to research this, the three of us could make the project work."

"Kevin is smart, so he can figure out how to make it."

"You’re good at marketing, so you handle that."

Finally, he pointed at himself.

"And I..."

He shrugged.

"Well, I have the money, I guess."

Melissa thought about it.

"Hmmm... Sounds fine to me."

Kevin smiled.

"Well, there is only one problem..."

The two looked at him.

"I’ll actually be leaving this kingdom in the next three months."

Qasim’s smile faded slightly.

"Wait, for real?"

Kevin nodded.

"You’re going back to your family?"

"Well... no."

Kevin shook his head.

"Not this family. Not even this continent."

He looked toward the distance.

"I received an invitation from my uncle. He wants me to come live with him in the Alge Country, in the Acir Continent."

Qasim listened quietly.

"My uncle is a well-known scholar there."

Kevin paused.

"I want to learn from him."

"Oh..."

Qasim didn’t say anything else.

For some reason, hearing that Kevin would leave made him feel a little...

Disappointed.

He had never really considered the possibility that Kevin wouldn’t always be around.

But after a moment, Kevin smiled.

"Still, I’ll work on this during the time I have here."

He looked at Melissa.

"It sounds interesting."

Melissa’s smile returned.

"Then it’s settled!"

Kevin nodded.

"It’s settled."

Melissa proudly puffed out her chest.

"Don’t worry, boys. Leave the paperwork to me. I’ll register our idea and take care of the necessary steps."

Qasim laughed.

"Alright, then."

He looked at the two of them.

"Let’s make it happen."

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