Michael thought that the Bartholomew Corporation would stir trouble when he explained his inability to fulfill the contract for a while and the problems that came with it. However, the shop manager merely called Helen Ascaln, who seemed to have already been informed about his situation.
["You won't be able to provide blueprints for a few months. That's what you were going to tell me, weren't you?"] Helen Ascaln asked Michael seconds after their holographic video call began, not bothering to small talk.
She didn't seem angry, or upset, which surprised Michael a little. He expected Helen Ascaln to throw a tantrum because they would face a scarcity of blueprints for several months just after Michael's investments started.
'She is really good at controlling her emotions. As expected from an Executive Director,' Michael thought, while faintly nodding toward Helen Ascaln.
["That would be quite problematic and it's not something we can accept. We've already adjusted our plans and are dependant on the stable influx of Agriculture-type blueprints."] Helen Ascaln added, causing Michael to sigh inwardly.
The ideas that had formed in his mind dispersed when he heard that they'd already adjusted the development plants of the Agriculture Project according to his influx of blueprints. It was only obvious, but it made the entire situation a little bit more complicated.
"Sorry about that. It's not like I ca-..." Michael was just about to say something when Helen Ascaln stopped him by raising her hand.
["There is no need for excuses. I never expected you to stay in the Saphirelake Military Academy until you graduate. You're young and full of potential. I researched you and figured that you would participate in the Battle Exchange. Though, I didn't expect you to participate this year. I thought this 'problem' would occur next year, not this year"] Helen Ascaln revealed, not hiding anything.
Compared to their last interaction, Helen Ascaln seemed much calmer than before. Michael actually thought that she would dislike him for taking away a profit share of 18% from the Agriculture Project. But the opposite was the case.
Helen stared at him with a trace of trust and respect. She respected his negotiation skills, his ability to procure so many Agriculture-type Blueprints in such a short amount of time, and the fact that he was already strong enough to participate in the Battle Exchange without a great family background.
["I've already sent one of our Awakened to the Saphirelake Military Academy. He should have already arrived. You will meet him once all the formalities have been completed. After that, he will be joining you to Meku. You'll be giving him your Agriculture-type Blueprints, and he will enter the Origin Expanse to hand them over to me. That way, you won't miss your monthly investments of blueprints – except if you're incapable of procuring enough blueprints in the first place."]
Michael had yet to say more than a sentence to Helen, yet his problems seemed to have dissolved into thin air.
"You sent an Awakened to the academy to follow me? That's…pretty smart," Michael acknowledged after a second.
He didn't even think about the possibility of using an Awakened as a courier to send the blueprints to the Bartholomew Corporation when he met the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs in Meku.
"Will I be responsible for his safety, or can he take care of himself?" Michael asked, revealing his only concern.
He didn't really have anything against paying attention to the Awakened, but he was also a busy man. Babysitting someone in Meku was not really something Michael wanted to do. He didn't have enough time for that either.
"You don't have to babysit me. On the contrary, it's more likely that I will have to take care of you if something happens," A hoarse, old voice rang through the small room in the back of the Bartholomew Shop.
Startled, Michael jumped up and turned around. His eyes glowed golden as Eagle Eyes was instinctively triggered, followed by six Qi Swords that manifested around him as well.
"Young lad, if I wanted to kill you, your head would be rolling over the table before you even realized it," The old sounding voice spoke again, this time next to Michael.
He felt something cold press against his neck, only for a wrinkled finger to appear in front of his face. Michael turned his head, where he saw an old man with short, white hair and a short beard staring intently at him.
The old man was short and wrinkles covered his hands and face, which was a huge contrast to his radiant eyes. His emerald-green eyes were clear and full of vigor, speaking volumes about his health and well-being.
His body had aged, but he was eons away from dying due to old age.
"O..okay…" Michael could only say, staring at the old man, and trying to find out how strong he was.
His gaze moved to the back of the old man's right hand, but all Michael could see was a glove covering the old man's War Rune.
The old man snickered when he saw Michael's gaze. He didn't say anything about it, but removed his left hand from Michael's face. Scaring the younger generation with his sneaky attacks was usually funny, but Michael's reaction had been boring.
It was almost like Michael had been prepared to fight against him, even though he knew that he was likely to die. There was no trace of hesitation or a sliver of doubt about his own survival in Michael's gaze – only the intent to face his opponent's head-on. It was like Michael was endlessly reckless and that was not something a young man such as Michael should feel.
Helen Ascaln had already informed him about Michael's situation, and the incident that happened between Michael, a few students, and one of the academy's teachers. The old man had done his own research, quickly finding out that Michael's brother died recently, and that the rest of his family had abandoned the brothers in the past.
At first glance, it looked like Michael was doing fine, but the intent in Michael's eyes right now was far from normal. If his fingertip had been a blade instead, Michael would have died the moment he sliced through his throat, yet Michael looked like he was confident to handle such a situation – which was definitely not the case.
There was no way Michael could handle the old man while merely being a Tier-2 Lord.
"Hello, Sir. I'm Michael Fang. Nice to meet you," Michael introduced himself calmly. He was still staring at the old man's right hand but found nothing.
He was still unable to tell how strong the old man was.
'I couldn't sense his presence and even Eagle Eyes was unable to detect his movement when he appeared next to me. That old man didn't even use origin energy to move through the room. His physical strength is manyfold higher than that of Mr. Klein.' Michael thought, concluding in his mind that the old man was most definitely a Higher Lifeform – an Awakened who had advanced beyond Tier-3.
He also concluded that the Bartholomew Corporation wanted to ensure that nobody could kill their golden goose – him – in Meku, or anywhere else. They considered the fact that Michael might face danger outside the Saphirelake Military Academy. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent over a weak-looking old man, who was actually a powerhouse with immense strength to act as the courier for the Agriculture-type blueprints.
"My name is Kraft Viton. Don't stir unnecessary trouble in Ketu. I don't want to move my old bones too much while I'm traveling around with you," The old man introduced himself. He grasped Michael's hand and shook it lightly, before his eyes turned cold as he added, "And don't even think of fighting others suicidally. I will beat the shit out of you if you think that you can handle dozens of Tekur on your own after the Battle Exchange."
The old man had seen how strong Michael was after watching the video recording of his fight against Mr. Klein, followed by the information Kraft Viton received after entering the academy grounds. He had also looked through Michael's battle records in the Colosseum just before arriving at the Bartholomew Shop, and could roughly guess why Michael was so confident in himself.
He had multiple powerful Soultraits and was clearly one of the strongest freshmen in the academy even without the support of his family. He was a self-made Lord, who made it much farther than many descendants of minor nobles, and other influential families.
Given the profit share he would obtain from the Agriculture Project, it was only a matter of time before Michael could invest a fortune into his territory just like other families spent a big portion of their fortune to nurture their children. Once the Agriculture Project took off and started making money, Michael would be on par with everyone else in terms of funding. By then, Michael's power would increase even faster than before.
That was why he was slowly growing a bit too confident, bordering arrogance. He was powerful and knew that he would grow even faster in the next few years.
But the Tekur couldn't be handled with a little bit of strength. Their combat prowess was incomparably higher than the power humans could display. It usually took six prodigies with high mastery of their 5-Star Soultraits to deal with a single Tekur at the same rank and Tier. If the Tekur was a genius with some combat experience even six Awakened with 5-Star Soultraits wouldn't be enough.
Participating in the Interdimensional Flag War with arrogance and overconfidence would lead to death, and that was something Kraft Viton couldn't allow to happen. Michael was the most important investor of the Agriculture Project, and the Bartholomew Corporation's means to succeed the Olympus.
He was their golden goose, their treasure.
He had to be protected by all means!
