Kael discovered something terrifying.

Being famous was exhausting.

Especially when fame came with nobles, merchants, and journalists trying to buy your life before breakfast.

He barely managed to survive the first few hours of class before a teacher appeared beside his desk.

"Kael Veyron."

Kael looked up slowly.

"Yes?"

"The headmaster wants to see you."

Aurelion smiled.

"That never means anything good."

Darius nodded.

"Definitely not."

Seraphina closed her book.

"I’ll go with him."

The teacher sighed.

"The meeting is private."

Seraphina stared at him.

The man was silent for a few seconds.

"I suppose one more person won’t hurt."

Luna appeared from under Kael’s desk.

No one asked how she had gotten there.

"I’m going too."

The teacher looked at the girl.

Then remembered who her brother was.

He decided not to argue.

The headmaster’s office was much busier than usual.

Besides the headmaster, there were three teachers and several documents scattered across the table.

Everyone looked tired.

Very tired.

The headmaster pointed to a chair.

"Sit down, Kael."

Kael obeyed.

The Little Fat King jumped onto the table and settled on top of some important papers.

No one dared to move him.

The headmaster cleared his throat.

"We need to talk about your situation."

Kael felt a sense of dread.

"What did I do now?"

"Nothing.

Yet."

That was worse.

Much worse.

One of the teachers opened a folder.

"Your summon is no longer just a student matter."

Kael blinked.

"What does that mean?"

The man looked at him seriously.

"It means you’ve stopped being just a student.

Now you’re a political factor."

Silence.

Kael looked at Seraphina.

Then at Luna.

Then at the cat.

Finally back at the teacher.

"I didn’t understand any of that."

The headmaster sighed.

"What we’re trying to say is that your actions have consequences.

The great noble houses are watching you.

The guilds are watching you.

The Church of Order is watching you.

Even the government is interested in you."

Kael felt a chill.

He didn’t like how that sounded.

Not at all.

Another teacher slid several documents across the table.

"These are some of the offers we’ve received in the last twenty-four hours."

Kael took the first document.

He read it.

Read it again.

Turned it over.

Looked for the catch.

He didn’t find it.

"Is this a joke?"

"No."

He looked at the second.

Then the third.

And the fourth.

The figures were absurd.

Ridiculous.

Incomprehensible.

More money than he had seen in his entire life.

More money than he would probably see in ten lifetimes.

He looked up slowly.

"Is all of this for me?"

The headmaster shook his head.

"No."

Kael felt a strange disappointment.

"Ah."

"It’s for the Fat King."

The Little Fat King opened one eye.

Clearly interested.

Kael looked at the documents again.

Each offer included impressive benefits.

Funding.

Resources.

Training.

Protection.

Access to exclusive expeditions.

But they all had something in common.

Conditions.

Many conditions.

A teacher pointed at several paragraphs.

"Supervised access to the summon.

Periodic evaluations.

Mandatory participation in official events.

Movement restrictions.

Study rights over the creature."

Kael frowned.

"Study rights?"

"They want to research the Fat King."

The cat lifted his head.

His ears moved slowly.

He didn’t look happy.

Another teacher intervened.

"Some proposals include permanent supervision.

Others request priority access to future summons."

Kael felt an uncomfortable pressure in his chest.

He already understood what all of this meant.

They didn’t want to help him.

They wanted to control him.

Control the Fat King.

Control anything he might summon in the future.

Seraphina watched the documents with a neutral expression.

But the temperature in the room dropped slightly.

Luna began writing furiously in her notebook.

"Suspect list updated."

The headmaster ignored the comment.

"We can’t decide for you.

But we believe you need to understand the situation."

Kael looked at the Little Fat King.

The cat was looking at the papers.

His golden eyes narrowed.

He looked offended.

Deeply offended.

And Kael understood.

No one in that room was talking about the Fat King as a living being. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

They were talking about him as a tool.

As a resource.

As a valuable object.

Not as a partner.

The office door opened.

A elegantly dressed man entered, accompanied by two guards.

He wore a smile that was too confident.

"I hope I’m not interrupting."

The headmaster frowned.

"Lord Vesper. This is a private meeting."

"I’ll only take a minute."

The noble made an exaggerated bow.

Then approached the Little Fat King.

He took out a small velvet box.

Opened it.

Inside rested a diamond necklace.

The stones shone intensely.

Kael was pretty sure that necklace cost more than his entire life.

The noble smiled.

"A king deserves ornaments worthy of his greatness."

The Little Fat King looked at the necklace.

Then at the man.

Then back at the necklace.

Everyone held their breath.

The noble stepped forward.

"Allow me to put it on you."

The cat raised a paw.

WHAP.

The sound echoed through the entire room.

The necklace went flying.

Crashed against the wall.

And exploded into hundreds of shiny fragments.

Absolute silence.

The noble’s eyes went wide.

The teachers’ too.

Even Luna stopped writing.

The Little Fat King turned his head with evident disdain.

As if he had just rejected garbage.

Kael tried not to laugh.

He failed.

Aurelion would have enjoyed that scene very much.

Lord Vesper paled.

"That necklace was a family heirloom."

"Now it’s a broken heirloom."

The headmaster pointed at the door.

"This meeting is over for you."

The noble left in silence.

Clearly devastated.

Kael looked back at the offers on the table.

The figures were still tempting.

Very tempting.

He could help Luna.

He could stop worrying about money.

He could solve many problems.

But the price was too high.

He took a deep breath.

And shook his head.

"I don’t want any."

The teachers exchanged glances.

"Are you sure?"

Kael nodded.

This time he wasn’t tired.

Wasn’t confused.

Wasn’t improvising.

He had made the decision consciously.

"I don’t want them to control the Fat King."

He looked at the cat.

"And I don’t want them to control me either."

The Little Fat King watched him for a few seconds.

Then closed his eyes.

As if he approved of the decision.

The headmaster smiled slightly.

"Then we’ll reject all the offers."

Luna gave a thumbs up.

"Correct decision."

Seraphina nodded.

"I agree."

Kael felt something strange.

For the first time since he had obtained the system, he felt like he had made an important decision on his own.

Not because someone told him to.

Not because chaos forced him to.

Because it was what he wanted.

The meeting ended shortly after.

When he returned to his room that night, he was exhausted.

More exhausted than after a dungeon.

More exhausted than after a fight.

The Little Fat King jumped onto the bed and settled beside him.

Kael dropped onto the mattress.

Finally.

Silence.

Peace.

Rest.

Then a blue window appeared.

[Estimated arrival: 48 hours.]

Kael closed his eyes.

The window didn’t disappear.

He sighed.

Then a second line of text appeared.

[The Second Compatible Entity has detected high stress levels.]

Kael slowly sat up.

That was new.

Very new.

A third line appeared before him.

[Recommendation: prepare a safe area.]

Silence.

Kael looked at the window.

Then at the Little Fat King.

The Little Fat King looked back at him.

They both shared exactly the same thought.

This wasn’t going to end well.