"Here. You now have 958 Honey points." After adding the points, Miya handed Kai's card back. Taking his employee card, Kai headed out.
Seeing Kai leave, Miya thought for a while and then walked toward the owner's room.
Just as she was about to knock on the door, a voice came from inside.
"Come in," Lyra called, sensing Miya's presence.
"Cousin, how have you been? I haven't seen you since this morning, so I thought I would come by and say hello," Miya said in a nervous tone.
Although the two of them were cousins, their statuses were worlds apart—one was the proud daughter of the Heavens, while the other was a talentless fairy struggling to make ends meet.
"Get to the point, Miya," Alchemist Lyra said, noticing Miya beating around the bush.
"Fine. It's about the human named Kai." Sensing that Lyra wasn't in the mood for small talk, Miya got straight to the matter.
"The one with the weird hair?" Searching her memory, Alchemist Lyra recalled the human named Kai.
"Yes, him. He's planning to buy the broken Knowledge Sea and use it as his own," Miya quickly reported.
When Kai first signed the contract and became an apprentice alchemist at the shop, he displayed exponential talent in alchemy. With his potential, becoming a Master Alchemist was practically guaranteed.
"So what?" Alchemist Lyra asked, not understanding Miya's concern.
"He's the one Master Stardew said has a strong chance of becoming an Alchemist Master," Miya reminded her, feeling that Lyra might have mistaken Kai for someone else.
"I know that. But what's the problem with him using a broken Knowledge Sea?" Alchemist Lyra asked, confused about what Miya was trying to convey.
"If he uses a broken Knowledge Sea, wouldn't the shop lose an Alchemist Master?" Miya tried to express her concern.
"Cousin, it looks like you're forgetting something: he's a human. Him becoming an Alchemist Master has nothing to do with us.
His Majesty assigned us as caretakers, not babysitters. We're here to manage things, not play favorites. Even if we wanted to invest in him, can anyone guarantee that the humans will survive?"
Alchemist Lyra explained. Kai's talent in alchemy was among the best—even Lyra herself fell short in comparison.
Who wouldn't want to invest in someone with the talent to become an Alchemist Master? Forget Lyra—even the family backing her had considered investing in Kai.
Ultimately, they decided against it. Because in the Ascension Program, there could only be five winners. The rest would either be eliminated or become slaves.
Knowing the detailed information about the other races, Lyra and her family considered humans weak—if not the weakest.
"However, if he is willing to sign a Tier 2 contract, that will be a different story."
Neither Alchemist Lyra nor her family were interested in investing in doomed humans. However, if Kai was willing to sign a Tier 2 contract, then that was a completely different matter.
Although a Tier 2 contract might appear to be a standard work agreement, in essence, it was a subordinate contract.
By signing it, Kai would become a subordinate of the fairy race, and the life or death of the human race would no longer concern him.
A subordinate contract was akin to leaving one's own race and joining another as a second-class member.
If Kai became a member of the fairy race, then according to the rules of the Ascension Program, the fairy race would have every right to protect him as one of their own.
This was why Alchemist Lyra and her family were hesitant to invest in Kai without him signing a Tier 2 contract. If, one day, humans were defeated and either killed or enslaved by another race, all of their hard work and investment would be for nothing.
On this matter, the fairies were very clear: without signing a Tier 2 contract, they would not support anyone—no matter how talented they might be.
Hearing Lyra's words, Miya chose to remain silent. She knew the only reason the fairies had paid a huge price to become the caretakers of this session of the Ascension Program was to scout and claim the geniuses of other worlds.
If they couldn't poach them, then what was the point of investing in them?
"Cousin, what you say is correct. However, don't you think we should use a lighter approach? Anyway, I'll take my leave." Sharing her thoughts, Miya flew out of the room.
—————————
Meanwhile, Kai had no idea what had transpired after he left the shop.
As usual, he stopped by the Kato Bakery; unfortunately, it was closed.
"Why close so early? It's only 8 p.m.," Kai muttered, a little annoyed, before heading back to the inn. After eating dinner, he went to his room and slowly drifted into sleep.
[Ancient Calendar: 11 April 0001]
The next day, Kai woke up, freshened up, ate breakfast, and headed to work.
Along the way, he stopped by the Kato Bakery again.
"Kai, you're early. We just opened the shop. It'll take some time for the muffins to be ready," Alex greeted him as he walked in.
"Then give me some cookies." Muffins were Kai's favorite, but trying something different once in a while didn't hurt.
"How many?" Alex asked while massaging his shoulder. His right arm was still sore from the day before.
"Give me five. Also, what happened to your shoulder?" Kai asked, noticing Alex's strange movements while packing the cookies.
"It's nothing. Yesterday, our team came across a lone Silver Wolf. Let me tell you, the skin of a Silver Wolf is incredibly tough. Even armor-piercing arrows could only scratch its fur.
We thought we'd have to run away, but fortunately, one of our members had a Gift that allowed him to bypass the Silver Wolf's defenses.
Even then, it took us nearly a day to bring it down. My arms are sore from all the stabbing and slashing I did yesterday," Alex said, trying his best to paint a vivid picture of the battle.
"Stop trying to brag. Your strong point is your defensive Gifts. How could you possibly deal any damage to the Silver Wolf?" Alex's father, Mathew, commented as he brought out freshly baked cookies.
"But Dad, I told you—I'm good with the sword! With my defensive Gifts, I don't have to worry much about injuries," Alex refuted.
"As you say." Placing the cookies on the counter, Mathew went to the back to get the rest.
"So, you didn't go hunting today?" Kai asked as Mathew disappeared into the back. Usually, hunting teams head to the forest early, because once the sun rises, the heat makes it difficult to hunt monsters.
"No. My Ki is about to reach the thousand mark, so I'm staying home until I pass the Third Heavenly Trial," Alex answered.
"Congrats! Do you have any Gift in mind?"