"Hello, my name is Raven. I have a business offer for you."

Raven said with a smile on his face, his tone calm yet holding a strange weight that made his words sound more serious than his young appearance suggested. His lips curled upward, but inside, he was carefully watching Hans' reaction, gauging how the man in front of him would respond.

And hearing that—

"...?"

Hans frowned, his face full of doubt and suspicion. His brows furrowed deeply, his eyes narrowing as if trying to pierce through Raven's composure. But then—

"Huh...? Wait... I know you."

The man's eyes widened slightly in realization.

He recognized Raven's face. I mean, how could he not?

Raven's face was in the news and was even scattered throughout the internet for days! It had been all over every feed, plastered across screens, and whispered in conversations.

It's just starting to die out now, fading little by little, but even so, there are still many articles floating around about him!

This is because of Leo— The Headmaster of [Lunar Academy]. And Jeanna— The Leader of the [Black Feathers]!

Raven immediately realized this, his brows twitched slightly at Hans' recognition, but he didn't let that affect his facial expression. He forced himself to remain composed, his smile still firm.

"Ah, well... You might've seen me on the internet or the news."

Raven said. Even as he tried to make it sound casual, he felt goosebumps crawling all over his body when he said that. For some reason, he was feeling embarrassed, a little awkward being reminded of his sudden infamy.

"Oh, right... I did see you in the news..."

Hans mumbled, his tone softer as memories resurfaced. He recalled vividly the moment he was sitting on the couch with his grandmother a few days ago, the television showing Raven's face as the headlines exploded.

And as he remembered where he saw Raven's face— he also remembered what Raven had done.

'He revealed the crimes of those entitled bastards who think they own the world. He dragged them down into the light where everyone could see their filth. And in the end, he destroyed their lives... They're living in hiding now, and apparently— they're all nowhere to be seen for a while now.'

Hans thought to himself, the memory filling him with complicated emotions. He felt a tinge of envy mixed in with admiration.

'I wish I could also do that...'

He muttered in his head, his hands tightening slightly at his sides.

Anyway, now that he knows Raven isn't some shady guy trying to lure him into something illegal— he puts his guard down, his shoulders loosening ever so slightly.

Then he opened his mouth.

"My name is Hans... Hans Zimmer, what do you want from me?"

He asked carefully, his tone more open than before.

Raven smiled even more after seeing that Hans is willing to communicate now. And without wasting a single moment—

"I actually know you, you're working in the [Fargo Company], right?"

He asked that directly, watching Hans' reaction.

"..."

Hans' eyes widened, his body stiffening. He frowned again upon hearing the name of the company he once worked for.

"How did you know that?"

He asked Raven, suspicion returning to his tone. The way Raven said it so casually caught him off guard.

"Well..."

Raven was struggling to think of an excuse, his mind racing. In that instant, he used [Calm Thinker] and [Thought Acceleration]. And in just a split second—

"[Fargo Company] is having a high growth recently, they've been steadily getting bigger for the past six years now. I read an article about the company a week ago and got curious."

"Then upon researching, I saw your face and name on most of the successful partnerships and done deals. It's basically saying that you're the reason why the company was thriving!"

Raven stated all that without stuttering, his face calm and his tone steady, as if it were the absolute truth.

"...?"

Hans tilted his head when he heard all that. His suspicions faltered slightly.

"You seem to have a lot of interest in the business world."

He muttered. He wasn't really suspicious of Raven's reasoning.

After all, [Fargo Company] is a fairly known and big company, and they did release some articles a few weeks back about them for the public. Raven's explanation was believable enough.

Anyway—

"Yeah, I'm really interested. I'm planning to start one of my own, after all."

Raven responded without missing a beat, his voice full of conviction.

"..."

Hans got silent. His lips pressed together as he studied Raven again. He doesn't know what to say.

Raven seems young, far too young to be throwing such heavy words about starting a company. But Hans' guts... they were telling him something else.

They were telling him that this kid could actually pull it off.

And Hans deeply trusts his instinct...

Anyway, Hans just let it go—

"Good luck, I guess."

He mumbled, though he didn't sound dismissive.

"By the way, if you're planning to make a connection with the company through me, then you're in bad luck. I just got fired."

Then he followed with that, his tone sharp and bitter. Raven could feel the suppressed rage in his voice, buried under his attempt to sound composed.

He smiled when he heard that.

"What? You got fired?!"

Raven exclaimed, acting surprised. His eyes widened slightly as he leaned forward.

"...?"

Hans looked at him weirdly, confused by Raven's reaction, but he didn't say anything.

"That's good news for me then!"

Raven quickly added that, his smile widening.

"What?"

Hans' brows furrowed, his confusion only deepening. He was about to say something—

"I was actually here just to have you teach me your skills and knowledge about business, I'm going to pay, of course. That was supposed to be my business offer."

Though Raven spoke first, cutting off Hans' chance to respond.

"But now that I learned of this—"

He paused for a second, letting the words hang in the air, and with a smile on his face—

"Why don't we just become partners?"

Raven offered that to Hans!

"Huh?"

Hans' voice cracked in disbelief.

"I'll take care of everything needed, the money needed to start it, the place, and whatever... While you will do the managing and everything else."

Hans was confused, his mind spinning with questions, but Raven didn't care and just continued speaking, his voice steady and confident.

"We'll do fifty-fifty in the income until I get back eighty percent of the starting money. Then after that, we'll do thirty-seventy, in your favor. If you're not satisfied with that, we can talk about it later."

He stated, laying down terms as if this were already a signed deal.

"..."

Hans was speechless once again. His throat went dry.

'What the hell is this kid on about?'

He asked in his head. Hans was about to reject Raven outright and brush it off as some ridiculous joke.

When suddenly—

"What do we know? We might even get bigger than the [Fargo Company] if everything works out for us."

Raven muttered that casually, his tone carrying both confidence and mischief.

"..."

Hans suddenly stopped.

The rejection he was about to spit out to Raven got stuck in his throat. He turned to him, and this time—

"What do you say?"

He saw a mischievous smile on Raven's face. It didn't look like the smile of a kid... or even a teenager. It looked like the smile of someone who had already decided his path.

"... Are you serious with everything you just said?"

Hans mumbled, his words heavy. He found it absurd to even ask someone so young this question.

And Raven—

"Of course."

He confidently answered, not caring what Hans was thinking.

"Is [20 Million Zeals] enough as a startup?"

Then he followed with that as he casually showed his balance to Hans!

=====

<Balance>

[50,686,853] Zeals

=====

"...!"

Hans' eyes widened when he saw that. His jaw almost dropped. He can't believe that someone so young can have that amount of money casually sitting in their account.

"If this isn't enough, I can get some more."

Then Raven casually said that! Not bragging or whatever, it was a genuine statement. His tone carried no arrogance, only certainty.

"Haha..."

Hans laughed in disbelief when he heard that, shaking his head. He was overwhelmed, unable to process what kind of kid he was talking to.

But he immediately regained his cool upon remembering his grandmother... and his bastard ex-boss.

"..."

The weight of reality settled on him again.

Hans didn't say anything for a while, and Raven just waited for him patiently, leaning back slightly, letting Hans take his time.

Then—

"I'm willing to do forty-sixty later on, I'll work tirelessly... Just get my grandmother in a good hospital, I want her to wake up."

Hans suddenly declared that, his voice heavy with determination, looking at Raven with a resolute look that came from deep inside his chest.

Raven smiled at his expression, then with a casual shrug—

"Consider it done."

He said that and extended his hand toward Hans, firm and unhesitant.

Hans took it without a moment of hesitation—

Fwip-

"I need [30 Million Zeals] for starters, where do we sign the contract?"

Then he asked that, his tone sharp and resolute.

"Haha, I like your enthusiasm."

Fwish~

Raven replied to him as a mana contract appeared in his other hand, glowing faintly as it took shape in the air.

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