The dining room fell completely silent.
Jin stared across the polished black stone table at his aunt. Shara did not look like a smiling relative anymore. The playful mask was gone. The crystal lenses of her glasses reflected the cold, glowing light of the pearls on the wall.
She was a senior executive laying out the absolute terms of a contract.
"I will help you," Shara stated. Her voice was cold, sharp, and decisive. "I will navigate the academy bureaucracy. I will officially sponsor your admission into the Genesis Zenith Academy. I will give you a bed, and I will place you under the golden dome where your siblings cannot openly march an army to kill you."
Jin nodded slowly. "That is the initial capital I require."
"Do not misunderstand the limits of my investment," Shara interrupted smoothly. She leaned back in her heavy wooden chair. "I will open the front door. That is all. Whether you survive the curriculum or not is entirely your own problem."
She crossed her arms over her elegant black robe.
"The Academy is not a nursery, Jin," Shara warned. "It is a forge. The students here are the elite heirs of powerful bio-sects, wealthy merchant guilds, and ruthless mercenary kings. They spar with lethal intent. They scheme. They kill each other over resources and pride. If you die in the training rings, I will not save you. If Kaelen manages to slip a poisoned needle into your bed through a hired student, I will not avenge you. My protection ends at the admissions office."
Jin processed the terms instantly.
It was a perfectly fair contract. He did not want a bodyguard to hold his hand. He already had Nyx for that. He just needed a legal right to exist inside the neutral zone. He needed access to the Academy's vast libraries and biological resources.
"The terms are acceptable," Jin said flatly. "I will manage my own survival."
He did not beg for more protection. Shara's eyes narrowed slightly in approval. The Trash Prince was acting remarkably like a cold-blooded merchant.
Jin shifted his gaze. He looked at the girl sitting next to him. Luna had stopped eating. She was staring at her empty porcelain bowl, trying to make herself as small and invisible as possible.
"And what about Luna?" Jin asked.
Shara blinked. She looked at the small, fragile girl in the oversized grey tunic. She looked at Luna as if noticing a stray dog sitting at her dining table for the first time.
"The ledger keeper?" Shara asked dryly. "She is a mortal. She does not even have a Foundation Level 1 core. She is completely useless in a martial academy."
"She is my asset," Jin countered smoothly. He did not back down. "She understands supply chains, market saturation, and inventory management. I will need a reliable logistical aide if I am going to build my own power base here. She stays with me. Can you get her inside?"
Shara tapped a perfectly manicured fingernail against the black stone table. Tap. Tap. Tap. She thought for a second. She ran a rapid calculation of her own resources.
"Every Advanced Instructor receives a specific administrative privilege," Shara explained. "My employment contract grants me two direct-admission quotas every academic year. It means I can bypass the brutal entrance exams and instantly enroll two students of my choosing, regardless of their background or current cultivation level."
She looked back at Jin.
"I was planning to sell those two quotas next week," Shara admitted without any shame. "The wealthy merchant guilds in the Silver-Gate district pay absolute fortunes in high-tier Aether crystals to buy their lazy children a seat in this Academy. It is a highly lucrative secondary income stream for the faculty."
Shara sighed loudly. She adjusted her wire-rimmed glasses.
"But you are my sister's blood," Shara said. The tone of her voice suggested she found family ties highly inconvenient, but unavoidable. "I will use my two quotas for this year. You will take the first slot. The girl will take the second."
Luna gasped quietly. Her blue eyes went wide with absolute shock.
She was a common merchant's daughter. Attending the Genesis Zenith Academy was a myth. It was a place for gods and monsters. And this terrifying woman was just giving her a golden ticket because Jin asked for it.
"Thank you, Instructor Shara," Luna said quickly, bowing her head deeply over the table.
"Do not thank me, girl," Shara replied coldly. "Thank my nephew. He is the one burning my financial capital."
Jin noted the transaction. Shara had just given up a massive amount of personal wealth to secure their positions. In the corporate world, an executive never gives away capital for free. She expected a massive return on her investment eventually. Jin would have to figure out what Shara truly wanted later.
For now, the immediate objective was complete.
Shara stood up from the head of the table. Her black silk robes rustled softly. The business meeting was officially adjourned.
"Go get some sleep," Shara commanded. She pointed toward a long, quiet hallway branching off from the dining room. "The guest wing is down that hall. Choose any two rooms. Wash the rest of the outer-rim dirt off yourselves. You smell like a canyon."
Jin stood up. His Foundation Level 4 body was aching deeply for proper rest. The spatial jumps and the constant paranoia had drained his stamina reserves to critical levels.
"Standard classes begin the day after tomorrow," Shara added. She turned to walk toward her own private study.
She paused in the doorway and looked back over her shoulder. The crystal lenses of her glasses flashed in the pearl light.
"And do not forget," Shara warned, her voice dropping into a highly serious, heavy tone. "Tomorrow morning is orientation. You must attend the Principal's speech on the main academy grounds. Attendance is strictly mandatory for all new personnel."
"Understood," Jin said. "We will be there."
"Do not be late," Shara said. "The Principal hates tardiness more than he hates the Emperor. If you are late, the disciplinary committee will expel you before you even see a classroom."
Shara turned and disappeared into the dark hallway of the villa.
Jin stood at the table. He looked at Luna. The girl was still in shock, staring at her empty bowl. He looked into the dark corner of the room where Nyx stood silently, blending perfectly with the shadows.
"We have a schedule," Jin announced to his small team. "We have a secure base. We sleep tonight. Tomorrow, we scout the environment and assess the local management."
He turned and walked toward the guest wing. The hostile takeover had officially established a beachhead. It was time to rest before the real work began.