Chapter 64: A New Business
Despite Noella speeding along, her friends inside the hovercar remained silent. They only held tightly onto their seatbelts, glancing out the windows, each lost in their own thoughts.
Even Sonny, who was usually so oblivious, knew to keep his mouth shut. He could only whimper from time to time whenever Noella suddenly made a turn.
Meanwhile, Shani occasionally glanced at Jeryon’s gloomy face, the King’s hurtful words still fresh in her mind.
’If His Majesty is still treating him like this now that he has a baby beast, what was it like before?’ Shani let out a heavy sigh.
’What should I do for Jeryon? At the very least, I want to make him happy.’
Shani wasn’t the type to interfere in other people’s business, but without realizing it, Jeryon was no longer just someone else to her.
What Shani knew was that Jeryon had helped her a lot at this academy, both directly and indirectly.
’Without Jeryon, my status as an F-Rank would have made me an easy target for bullying. It’s not that I’m afraid of it, but having a normal academy life gives me more time to study and prepare for my business, like I’m doing now.’
The five students arrived back at the academy with their minds in turmoil. They immediately returned to their respective rooms to sort through their thoughts.
Kiran and Shani, whose rooms were the farthest from the elevator, walked side by side.
"Shan, if His Majesty takes action because of what happened earlier, I’ll ask House Blackwood to protect you," Kiran said when they arrived in front of their rooms.
Shani gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Kiran. I hope His Majesty won’t be that petty."
"Yeah, I hope so too," Kiran replied before saying goodbye and entering her room.
Shani went into her room as well. She immediately threw her tired body onto the bed.
Nyx hopped closer and nuzzled against Shani’s arm with a sweet, coaxing meow. As Shani stroked the little panther’s soft fur, her restless thoughts slowly began to settle.
"Nyx, what should I do to help your father?" Shani murmured.
The little black ball of fur meowed enthusiastically. Shani had no idea what Nyx meant, but it was enough to make her smile.
Just then, Shani’s smartwatch rang. Mina’s name appeared on the screen. Several chat notifications were visible on the top bar, messages she had ignored earlier.
Shani quickly accepted the voice call and asked anxiously, "Mina, are you okay?"
"Shan, you haven’t read my messages?" Mina asked.
"Sorry, I didn’t have the chance. I just got back from outside. Can you explain it to me, or should I read them first?"
"It’s okay. I’ll explain..." Mina spoke quickly. "Remember the inheritance problem my mom was dealing with?"
"Uh-huh. Is something wrong?" Shani immediately panicked.
"Calm down, Shan." Mina quickly reassured her. "Mom and Dad realized they can’t keep dealing with the harassment from Mom’s family, so they decided to move."
"Move where?" Shani wasn’t too surprised. If they couldn’t fight back, the only option was to get away.
"They discussed it with me, and I suggested moving to Aurelis. Mom’s family doesn’t have any influence there..."
"Here? Did they agree?" Shani immediately sat up. Her voice rose an octave, filled with excitement and hope.
Mina chuckled, having already expected Shani’s reaction. "They agreed!"
Shani was overjoyed. She picked Nyx up with one hand, then hugged and kissed the baby beast. Nyx meowed in exasperation but didn’t resist.
After Shani finally calmed down from her excited state, Mina continued, "Once they get there, Mom and Dad want to start a new business. Dad’s previous business doesn’t really suit the new location."
"Oh, what kind of business did he have before?"
"My adopted dad was the owner of Mortis Bio-Stock and Logistics," Mina answered without giving a long explanation since Shani should already know about it.
Mortis Company was well known in the Borderline as a company that purchased rare materials from wild creatures. During winter, young people would form groups to hunt wild creatures and sell the rare materials they obtained to the company.
To Shani, Mortis Company was already a huge business. But if Mina’s late adoptive grandfather considered that company insignificant compared to his own, just how massive had Mina’s grandfather’s company been?
’No wonder the fight over his inheritance is so intense,’ Shani thought.
"So, what kind of business are they planning to start in Aurelis?" Shani asked.
"While running his old company, most of the rare materials Dad acquired were ingredients used for baby beast feed. He knows quite a lot about that industry, so he wants to get into the baby beast feed business."
Mina’s answer stunned Shani.
’What a coincidence... Red Worm Jelly is ready to hit the market. The only thing holding me back is my unfamiliarity with Aurelis, and I’ve been too busy to do any market research myself.’
’If I work with Mina’s adoptive parents, they can handle all the business-related details. I’ll provide the recipe for Red Worm Jelly and invest capital to strengthen my shares.’
Shani’s face lit up at the opportunity, but a few seconds later, her brows furrowed. ’Can I trust them?’
The face of a young man suddenly appeared in Shani’s mind. ’Aster!’ she shouted inwardly.
Shani continued talking with Mina, asking for details about when they would be leaving for Aurelis.
After ending the call, Shani immediately called Aster. When he didn’t answer, she sent him a message saying that there was something urgent she wanted to discuss.
Only then did Aster answer Shani’s call. "Are you okay, Shan?" Aster asked worriedly.
"I’m fine, but there’s something important I need to talk to you about..." Shani got straight to the point, afraid their call would be interrupted before she had the chance to explain everything.
She quickly told him about her conversation with Mina, then explained her plan to work with Mina’s adoptive parents.
"I haven’t told Mina yet. I wanted to get your approval first before talking to them."
"Building a company from scratch isn’t easy, Shan," Aster said, his tone hesitant.
"I know. But we have the owner of Mortis on our side. He has experience, and I’m sure he has connections, too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be planning to expand here."
"Maybe he already has a complete plan, and all we need to do is provide the most important part, the main product." Shani tried to persuade him, her voice calm yet confident.
"I don’t doubt your abilities, Shani. But I... I’m just a young man from the Borderline." Aster’s voice grew quieter, lacking confidence.
"Aster!" Shani suddenly shouted, seemingly making Aster jolt. "Listen to me. We both grew up in the Borderline. If you believe in me, then you should believe in yourself too."
"Aster, don’t let other people’s words affect how you see yourself." Shani said this because she was sure Aster’s uncle’s family had said plenty of unpleasant things to him.
"Don’t limit yourself, Aster. You have to believe that you can become someone greater than you’ve ever imagined."
Aster fell silent for a moment before finally agreeing. However, his voice was still filled with doubt.
"I don’t have enough money to get there yet. If Mina’s adoptive parents pay for my transportation, it’ll make them see us as the weaker party."
Shani smiled when she heard Aster starting to think like a businessman.
"Don’t worry. When I received compensation from the royal family, I invested it, and I’ve already started seeing returns."
Of course, Shani was lying. She didn’t have time to research the stock market, and she knew all too well that quick returns came with sky-high risks.
She continued, "I’ll send you the transportation costs and cover your living expenses while you’re in Aurelis. I’ll also look for an apartment or a house you can rent."
"There’s no need, Shani! I have some savings to support myself there. I can also find a part-time job during my free time," Aster quickly refused.
This time, Shani didn’t argue. She simply agreed, even though she had no intention of changing her plans. She could persuade Aster after this childhood friend arrived.
After discussing the details of Red Worm Jelly, they ended the call.
Shani then contacted Mina and told her about her plan, asking Mina to put her in touch with her adoptive parents.
Mina sounded extremely excited about Shani’s plan, completely unaware that Shani was actually nervous. After all, this felt like opening a new Chapter in her life.
Shani could hear Mina explaining the business plan to her adoptive parents. Not long after, the voice call switched to a video call.
"Hello, Shani. You’re Mina’s good friend from the orphanage, right?" Mina’s adoptive mother greeted her warmly.
Seeing their response, Shani felt more at ease. She formally introduced herself and chatted with them like someone who was practically Mina’s older sister, having cared for her ever since she was a baby.
From there, Shani learned that Mina’s adoptive father was named Toby Mortis, while her adoptive mother was Bella Miller.
After that, Shani explained her business plan in greater detail than Mina had earlier, including several points meant to persuade them.
Their response seemed lukewarm, perhaps because they were simply showing courtesy to the person who had once taken care of Mina.
Then Shani added, "I don’t just want to provide the product recipe. I also want to invest in this new company."
At that moment, Shani could see Toby and Bella’s expressions change. There was a spark of interest in their eyes.
...