Janna was innocently shooed off.
However, after Mr. and Mrs. Ivern calmed down, they politely invited the blue bird into their home, reserving a premium "bird seat" for her on the carved solid wood sofa in the drawing room.
Seraphine skipped over, wanting to sit next to her, but a single glare from her old father stopped her in her tracks.
"Levi, can you explain this?" Mr. Ivern still regarded the blue bird as Levi's avatar. "What exactly is going on?"
He was completely baffled.
How could an ordinary apprentice who was dutifully soldering circuit boards last night turn into a Zaunite macho man engaging in a bloody, bare-knuckle brawl with Aubrey in the morning, only to transform into a one-in-a-million, noble spellcaster in the afternoon?
It simply wasn't scientific.
To this, Levi's explanation was: "Because I am a Chosen One, enlightened by Goddess Janna and bestowed with extraordinary power."
This explanation was actually quite scientific.
In Runeterra, no other reason could more scientifically explain Levi's astonishing overnight transformation.
"Goddess Janna... alright." Ivern accepted it for now.
After all, Levi's spell of "incarnating as a blue bird" was undeniably real. Even if the goddess wasn't, there had to be some powerful master backing him.
However, why was this Chosen of Janna coming to him for business instead of going out to preach?
The entire situation reeked of bizarre anomalies.
Ivern maintained a polite facade, but internally, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with Levi.
'Asking a mortal like me to do business with a mage of unknown origins... isn't that like a mouse sharing a cake with a cat, or a pig partnering with a tiger—you provide the meat, they provide the stomach; you provide the money, they provide the gun?'
'A business partnership? Does he think I'm an idiot?'
Ivern was certainly no idiot.
But the problem was...
"Dad!" His precious daughter had already defected. "Take a look at our project proposal first!"
Without even waiting for Levi to speak, Seraphine eagerly pitched their business plan to her father.
"Dad! Trust me, this project is different from the others. Even I can tell from this proposal that it's guaranteed to make a fortune in the future!"
Ivern: "..."
'It's over. It's completely over.'
He wasn't afraid of his daughter being clueless about business.
He was afraid that she was clueless but had been brainwashed into thinking she was an expert, getting hot-headed and wanting to invest, wanting to start a 'second venture'.
*Sigh...* The old father was now firmly convinced that in the future, he absolutely had to recruit a live-in son-in-law with stellar character and a high IQ.
"Alright... let me take a look." Ivern took the project proposal with the heavy heart of a man walking to the execution grounds.
"Portable Pocket Cassette Player—"
"Walkman?"
It surprisingly wasn't some absurd scam like turning water into oil, a land-swimming device, or splitting the northern mountains to build a highway to Noxus.
This project called the "Walkman" actually looked profitable.
Moreover, it closely aligned with the business domain of Ivern's Hextech Audio Factory. As long as the relevant technical issues were resolved, it wouldn't be difficult to manufacture the product and pivot their business.
But were those technical issues so easily resolved?
Ivern himself was in the Hextech audio business. Of course he had fantasized about shrinking the size of audio equipment, making it portable so users could enjoy music anytime, anywhere.
When experts dueled, they would no longer need to lug around bulky stereos; bringing a pocket-sized Walkman would solve the problem. How great, how marketable!
He had similar ideas, and so did others.
But they simply lacked the technology to make it a reality.
If Levi only offered ideas without providing the technology, then he was still just here to swindle money.
Then came the part that shocked Ivern even more:
"Pocket cassette technology, miniaturized batteries, microprocessors, related Mithril circuit designs..." The core technical data required to realize this product was essentially integrated into this project proposal.
Although prepared in a hurry and only briefly disclosing superficial details, Mr. and Mrs. Ivern, as knowledgeable technical experts, could easily weigh the significance of this data.
This kid Levi...
He actually possessed the core technology!
And much of it consisted of high-tech innovations that hadn't even begun large-scale market application!
"May I ask, who is this Professor Viktor who wrote this project proposal?" Ivern realized that this Viktor was no small fry.
"He is Professor Jayce's colleague, Principal Heimerdinger's student, the secondary inventor of the Hextech Core, a Tenured Honorary Professor at the University of Piltover, and the deputy head of the Hextech Applied Mechanics Research Group..."
"He is currently staying at the academy, handling the specific technical preparation work for this project. As long as you are willing, you can go see him anytime. Of course, he will definitely come to see you later as well."
*Hiss...* Ivern drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
"Seraphine?"
"Hmm?" The pink-haired girl flinched.
"Where exactly did you go earlier?"
"The University of Piltover, Dad. Didn't you already know?"
Ivern: "..."
This project actually had real potential!
Ivern was somewhat tempted. "However..."
"Isn't this thirty-seventy equity split too overbearing? This Walkman project indeed has a lot of potential, but if I sign such a contract with you, wouldn't I be handing over the control of my family's factory?"
Of course, factory control was exactly what Levi wanted.
He was preparing to operate this factory as the temporary base for the Windguides.
"This is a reasonable price, Mr. Ivern," Levi replied.
"Although you will only have a thirty percent stake left, I can guarantee you that the profit dividends you receive from this thirty percent in the future will be ten times higher than your current annual revenue."
"Heh." Ivern chuckled. "Opening your mouth to claim profit dividends ten times the revenue... Levi, when you brag, do you ever think about how massive that number is? Or do you not even know the difference between the concepts of revenue and profit?"
"Frankly speaking... just this Walkman project alone is far from enough to deliver on these grand promises you've made."
"Unless Professor Viktor can produce an even more valuable project..."
Of course, there were more valuable projects.
But advanced tech like Steam Golems, Hextech Mechanical Prosthetics, Laser Cutters, and Gravity Field Generators—were those things a small audio factory could fully comprehend just by saying so?
Waiting for scientific research to translate into production, for products to smoothly launch on the market, and to start turning a profit... who knew how many storms they would have to weather during that period.
What Levi needed to make right now was quick money.
"That's why, aside from the Walkman, I have brought out another project."
"What is it?" It wasn't written in the document.
"There's no need to write it down; you'll understand as soon as I say it—the second project I hope to collaborate with you on is..."
"The publication, distribution, and cassette sales of music to accompany the portable pocket cassette player."
This concept wasn't hard to grasp.
Before the birth of Hextech, Ivern's business was traditional phonographs and records.
Now, the cassette business Levi mentioned sounded not far off from the record business.
"That business isn't so profitable."
"We record makers only earn a processing fee; the lion's share goes to the music copyright holders..."
"That's exactly why I brought it up." Levi revealed his trump card. "What we are going to do is the publication, distribution, and cassette sales of music—"
"In other words, from writing the songs to selling the cassettes, we will do it all ourselves."
"Do it all ourselves?" Ivern was slightly taken aback. "We'll handle the music creation ourselves too? Who has that kind of ability?"
"Me!" Seraphine excitedly jumped out.
"Huh?" The old father's eyes widened.
His daughter was born with superhuman musical talent and indeed had the potential to be an idol star.
Staying at home with nothing to do all these years, she had indeed written quite a few songs. Although most were just angsty teen pop songs, they actually sounded pretty good and had the potential to become hits.
But...
"You're using my daughter's songs to make my money?"
"You bastard! What kind of spell did you cast on my daughter..."
"Dad!" Seraphine pouted aggrievedly. "What are you saying... I volunteered!"
"Mr. Levi and I have already agreed that from now on, the two of us will..."
"The two of you will what?!" The old father instantly exploded. "No way, I absolutely forbid it!"
"Ahem, Mr. Ivern," Levi explained. "What Seraphine means is..."
"The two of us are going to debut together as a music duo."
"Seraphine will be responsible for the on-stage performances and singing, while I will handle the behind-the-scenes music 'creation'."
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