Partnership.

Rasmus looked at his wristwatch and he noticed that his lunch hadn't been delivered to his room. When he was about to get out of his room, someone knocked on the door. He thought it was Videl who brought his lunch, but when he opened his door, he saw a familiar face that he hadn't seen since he came to Gratlan.

"Good afternoon, Instructor Blackheart. Do you care to have lunch with us?" The man asked.

Rasmus stared at the man's expression and hair that had a few gray hairs already. That man was the one who suggested Lenin consider Rasmus to teach at the academy.

"I'm sorry. I must have been rude," the man smiled with his eyes closed. "Garret Earnwind. It's nice to finally be able to meet you again," he offered his hand for a handshake.

"Rasmus Blackheart," Rasmus shook the man's hand firmly. "You said us, which means there will be more people?" he raised his brows.

"Two, there are two more people who will join us. I can assure you, that we mean no harm. We only want to have a conversation, to get to know each other a little bit more," Garret smiled gently at Rasmus. "Shall we?" he slowly took a step back and pointed his left hand at the hallway.

Rasmus grabbed his suit from the hanger and then walked out of his room. He followed Garret and since he was one of the executives at the Gratlan Academy, nobody avoided their eyes. It wasn't a good thing for Rasmus since it seemed that he was getting more favor from the executives. Their jealousy and hatred could be seen in their eyes.

They left the dormitory and went to the executives' dormitory, which was forbidden for anyone to enter. The building was the biggest compared to the other dormitories in the academy even though there were only a dozen of rooms.

When they entered the building, Rasmus was welcomed by a massive chandelier made of pure gold. There were paintings of all the current executives and the previous ones on the walls. He looked at the rug made of bear hides, couches made of high-quality leather, and decorations that were worth hundreds or even thousands of gold coins.

"I thought the staff's dormitory was amazing, but I didn't expect it would pale in comparison to this building," Rasmus said as he found the building to his liking.

"I know how you feel. I was like you back then, just an instructor," Garret smiled as he guided Rasmus to the third floor.

Rasmus noticed how young Garret was compared to the other executives. If he could make a guess, Garret was in his late thirties, and compared to the other executives, he could be at least a decade younger than them.

"You climbed the ladder quite fast," Rasmus pointed out as he followed Garret into the hallway.

Garret smirked without saying a word as he walked ahead of Rasmus. He then stopped right in front of the door and opened it for Rasmus.

"Come in," Garret said as he walked into his room.

Rasmus looked at the inside of Garret's room which was three times bigger than his. There were plants, partitions to separate a few rooms, and expensive plants in each corner. He then saw a woman in her late forties and a man in his mid-forties, having a cup of tea with the amazing scenery of the island next to the window.

"(Those two were the ones who didn't complain about me joining the academy. I knew they would be interested in me, but I wonder what they were after)" Rasmus thought as he looked at both of them.

"I brought the man," Garret smiled at his colleagues as he joined in and sat among them. "Come, join us, Instructor," he looked at Rasmus as his butler prepared the tea for him and Rasmus.

Rasmus walked in and sat among the executives, but he wasn't feeling nervous. He grabbed the cup of tea that the butler had given him, but he didn't drink it immediately, he looked at it and smelled it, making sure nothing was weird inside the tea.

"If we wanted you to die, we wouldn't use a cheap trick like that, Instructor," the old woman said in a calm manner and took a sip of her tea. "We have no intention to harm you in any way," she assured as she glanced at Rasmus.

Rasmus raised his cup of tea and took a sip to taste the expensive tea. It was bitter and yet so smooth. He had never tasted a tea that good in his entire life and wondered what kind of tea it was.

"It seems you have good tasting buds, Instructor," the old man smirked as he looked at Rasmus.

"So, Instructor, I believe you have done your research about us the executives already," the old woman looked at Rasmus with a gentle gaze. "Care to tell us what do you know about us?" She smiled at him.

The old woman's name was Esprella Bleuman, and the old man's name was Rouben Orbeliani. Bleuman family was a family of businessmen and women who had close relationships with the Ravenshroud family and the Ashenvale family which made the Bleuman respectable across Neva.

The Orbeliani family was known to be the family of genius inventors, and they were the ones who invented blimps. They also had a close relationship with the Ravenshroud family and the Ashenvale family because of what they did. Both the Bleuman and the Orbeliani were close to each other to the point they could monopolize the economy with the Ashenvale family.

The Earnwind family on the other hand was the core family in the Southern Neva because they were the ones who helped the Ardentis family end the civil war and united the South continent. The Earnwind family had countless connections with all nobles and royal families in the whole of Neva, including the North.

"That's all I know," Rasmus looked at the three of them after he told them what he knew about them. He could see the big smiles on their faces, amazed that he knew so much.

"So you connected the dots, didn't you?" Esprella narrowed her eyes.

"Just now. Seeing how the three of you seem close," Rasmus answered and took another sip of his tea. "I can assume that you invited me because you wanted something from me. As people who know how to make profits and satisfy their clients, I believe your intention is to make a profit, a long-term one, with me" he added as he looked at the three of them.

The three of them went quiet and stayed still for a moment before they shared a look. They all chuckled as they shook their heads, they were amazed by how sharp Rasmus was. They didn't expect how sharp he was and how he could read them like an open book.

"Well, you're not wrong, but I think it's too early for that discussion since our lunch hasn't arrived yet," Garret said as he leaned back and crossed his legs.

"He's right, that's why we should start with an appetizer. That thing on your wrist, what's that?" Rouben pointed at Rasmus's wristwatch.

Rasmus explained what it was and how it worked. The three of them could only blink their eyes because they didn't know what he was talking about. It was too complicated for them to understand how a wristwatch worked.

"You said you put a small amount of Mana into that thing and it worked? Why bother using your own Mana when you can put a small Mana stone into it?" Rouben tilted his head, confused by Rasmus's method.

"Do I look wealthy to you?" Rasmus raised his brows with a smirk on his face.

"Right, but for someone who was abandoned and exiled, you invented a lot of things, didn't you? That wristwatch and those attires of yours," Rouben looked at Rasmus's suit, shirt, and trousers. "Are you interested in making a patent on that wristwatch and that clothing you wear? I can make you rich in the blink of an eye as long as you agree to have a partnership with us, the three of us," he added.

"As long as I'm the owner of my inventions, I'm interested," Rasmus smiled at Rouben.

"Of course. We are good at making our clients satisfied just like you said," Rouben smiled as he offered his hand for a handshake.

"Let's talk about the details during our lunch," Rasmus shook Rouben's hand and nodded in agreement.