The doors of the council room clicked shut behind the raid team, their tired footsteps fading down the hallway until the only sound left was the soft crackling of the mana lamps mounted along the walls.

The Beast King core still sat in the center of the table, its dark energy pulsing quietly while the council members stared at it in complete silence.

Nobody spoke for almost a full minute.

Then the older councilman who had slammed his hand on the table earlier leaned back in his chair, letting out a sharp breath through his nose.

"Ridiculous," he muttered, shaking his head slowly. "A rookie Ranker killing a Beast King Anomaly? It is the most absurd thing I have heard in my entire career."

Several heads around the table nodded in quiet agreement.

The councilwoman who had pointed at the Captain folded her arms tightly across her chest, "I have sat in this room for over fifteen years," she said. "I have read hundreds of Gate reports, and not a single one has ever contained a claim even close to that."

She looked around the table, searching for someone to back her up.

"A Beast King is a catastrophe-level threat," she continued. "We have seen entire Guilds of elite Rankers get wiped out trying to deal with anomalies of that class. And we are supposed to believe some no-name boy just walked in and killed one by himself?"

Another councilman rubbed his chin, his expression conflicted, "and yet," he said slowly, choosing his words very carefully. "I have known the Captain for over twenty years. He served under my command when he was still a fresh recruit."

He looked around the table, his gaze steady.

"He is not a man who exaggerates," he continued. "He is not a man who lies to the crown. If he says the boy killed the Beast King, then we need to at least consider the possibility that he is telling the truth."

The room fell into an uneasy silence again, the council members exchanging frustrated glances with each other.

They didn’t want to believe it, but they also couldn’t just dismiss the Captain’s word outright. His reputation was built on decades of flawless service.

"Consider it?" the older councilman scoffed, gesturing toward the core sitting on the table. "Even if the Captain is telling the truth, how does that make any sense? What kind of rookie has the power to kill a Beast King? Where did this boy even come from?"

The King, who had been sitting quietly at the head of the table listening to the entire exchange, finally spoke.

"The proof is sitting right in front of you," he said, his deep voice cutting through the murmurs instantly.

Every council member went completely still.

The King leaned forward, resting his hand beside the dark core, "this is a Beast King core," he stated. "Every single person in this room can feel the mana radiating from it. There is absolutely no faking something like this, so let us not waste time pretending otherwise."

He let that settle over the room before continuing, his gaze slowly sweeping across the table.

"And I would also appreciate it," he added, his tone dropping noticeably lower, "if the members of my council did not speak so carelessly about a person I am personally sponsoring."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

The councilwoman who had called the report absurd quickly lowered her eyes, pressing her lips together tightly. The older councilman straightened up in his chair, his earlier confidence completely gone.

Nobody dared to say another word against the rookie after that.

Hajin walked down the palace hallway beside the Captain and Helen, his entire body feeling heavier with every single step. The report was done, the core was delivered, and the only thing left on his mind was his bed back at the inn.

"Alright," he said, letting out a relieved sigh. "That went better than I expected. Let’s get out of here before they call us back in."

The Captain gave a short nod, picking up the pace slightly as the three of them approached the main entrance hall.

Then a voice echoed from somewhere down the corridor, "and where exactly do you think you are going?"

Hajin froze mid-step, his blood running cold. He slowly turned his head to see Princess Didi standing at the top of a side staircase with her arms crossed, still wearing the thick robe Elina had thrown over her earlier.

Her hair was pulled into a messy bun and her eyes were locked directly onto him.

"Your Highness," he said quickly, putting on his best smile while raising both hands. "I was actually just about to come find you, but it is getting really late and I figured you would be asleep by now so I didn’t want to disturb—"

"You promised," she cut him off, her voice completely flat.

He felt the excuse crumble in his mouth. She was right, he did promise her earlier that he would tell her everything after the meeting.

He turned to the Captain, his eyes practically begging for help, "Captain, don’t you think we should head back to base first and finish the paperwork?" he asked desperately. "There is probably a lot of important stuff we need to—"

The Captain was already walking toward the front doors, not even looking back. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"You are on your own," the Captain called out over his shoulder, raising a hand in a lazy wave. "Good luck."

Hajin’s jaw dropped as he watched the older man leave without a single shred of hesitation. He quickly spun toward Helen, his last hope.

"Helen, come on," he pleaded. "Help me out here, we are teammates."

She gave him a small smile, patting him on the shoulder twice before stepping past him.

"You are a brave man who killed a Beast King," she said, walking toward the doors. "I am sure you can handle one princess."

She disappeared through the entrance without looking back.

He stood alone in the middle of the empty entrance hall, completely abandoned by his own raid team. He could hear Didi’s bare feet padding down the stairs behind him, getting closer with every step.

’Traitors,’ he thought, letting out a defeated sigh. ’Both of them.’

A small hand grabbed his wrist from behind.

"You are not going anywhere," Didi said, already pulling him toward the side corridor. "You are going to sit down, and you are going to tell me everything that happened inside that Gate."

"Your Highness, I really think it would be better if we did this tomorrow," he tried, stumbling after her as she dragged him down the hall. "I haven’t slept in almost three days and I can barely keep my eyes open, so maybe we could just—"

"No."

"What if I wrote you a detailed letter instead? I have very neat handwriting and I could—"

"No."

"I could tell you a shortened version right now and then give you the full story in the morning when I can actually think straight and—"

She stopped walking and turned around, staring up at him with the most terrifying expression he had ever seen on her face.

He shut his mouth immediately.

"That’s what I thought," she said, turning back around and continuing to drag him down the corridor by his wrist while his tired feet shuffled helplessly across the floor.