Nick looked at the desk in front of him with furrowed brows as Wyntor looked at Nick.
Then, Wyntor turned to Vernon.
"When did I tell you?" Wyntor asked.
Vernon's eyebrows rose in confusion. "Eh, you didn't."
"So, why do you think I'm going to sell Dark Dream to Kugelblitz?" Wyntor asked casually.
Vernon was taken aback, and his expression seemed like he had just heard the weirdest thing.
"Why wouldn't you? This is all about the inheritance anyway," Vernon said.
"It used to be," Wyntor said.
"So, it's not anymore?" Vernon asked.
Wyntor nodded.
Nick almost felt like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, and some hope appeared in his heart.
"What am I supposed to do with 0.05% of Kugelblitz?" Wyntor asked. "Sit on my ass and just watch other people do the work for me?"
Vernon chuckled a bit. "That's what everyone wants, isn't it?"
"Then, why are you in this office?" Wyntor asked. "Do you really need to be here?"
Vernon furrowed his brows.
Plenty of arguments shot through his head.
"I need to keep watch over my investment."
"I need to make sure that everything runs."
"It is my duty to oversee all of this."
Yet, Vernon was a very experienced and powerful businessman.
All of these arguments were disingenuous.
He could easily delegate all of his duties to the area managers and chief executives, and the company would not suffer one bit.
"You want something to do? That can be arranged. Having you in business planning would help us a lot," Vernon said.
Wyntor just chuckled. "Would you be proud of wealth that you inherited? Wealth and power that you had no hand in creating?"
"Our positions are different," Vernon said with a neutral voice. "You can't argue matters of taste with people with vastly different pasts."
"I'm not," Wyntor said. "What's there to argue about when we have the same taste in this thing?"
"Are you saying that you're not happy with the inheritance?" Vernon asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Happy or unhappy isn't relevant," Wyntor said. "Having or not having isn't important."
Vernon remained silent as he looked at Wyntor with interest and skepticism.
"Initially, I only did this for the inheritance," Wyntor said, "but things have changed."
Vernon just listened.
"When I saw Dark Dream taking form and becoming bigger, I felt so accomplished. This little thing that I created with Nick was growing bigger and more powerful."
"I had more things to do, and I could feel that my decisions and actions had a great impact on the lives of others, mostly my employees."
"I've never felt anything like this before, and I don't think I want to give this up."
Then, Wyntor smirked.
"At least not until I have a similar level of power and responsibility somewhere else."
Wyntor grabbed his own cup and also took Nick's cup before walking to the coffee machine.
"Now, if I got a seat on the board of directors, things would be different," Wyntor said with a devious smirk.
"A seat on the board of directors," Vernon repeated with a flat tone.
Wyntor put the dirty cups beside the coffee machine and went back to his earlier spot.
"Are you serious?" Vernon asked.
"I am," Wyntor answered.
"This is not some kind of trick to gain my sympathy or something?" Vernon asked.
"Do I look like Ardum?" Wyntor asked.
"You do. You're brothers," Vernon said.
Wyntor's smile dropped as he looked at his father without amusement.
"Yes, yes, just a joke," Vernon said with a small chuckle.
Wyntor rolled his eyes.
"Yes, I'm serious," Wyntor said. "I'm not interested in the inheritance. At least not while you and mom are still alive."
Vernon leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his chin in thought.
"So, you want to earn your money," Vernon said. "Because we both know that you're not getting a seat on the board of directors with 0.05%."
"You have to have at least 5% of equity in the company."
"To buy that, you would need to exchange about 50% of something the size of Ghosty's Lab. That's wealth that even I respect," Vernon said.
"I know," Wyntor said casually.
Vernon just looked at Wyntor for a while.
While he was doing so, he was reminded of his own past.
Vernon had been hired as a Zephyx Extractor in a company that didn't exist anymore.
At one point, he lost his job after messing up while working with a Specter.
Sometime later, he got scouted by a much smaller Manufacturer, and he joined as their Chief Zephyx Extractor.
Many years later, he gave the job to someone else since he noticed that he was much more talented in the business end of things.
Of course, that Manufacturer was Kugelblitz.
Back when Vernon joined Kugelblitz, Kugelblitz was barely worth as much as Solace was worth today.
Vernon often looked back on his life with a fond view.
He was happy where he was today, but he also missed the days of rapid progress a bit.
He had been so full of energy back then.
Vernon looked at his coffee machine.
Nowadays, the most exciting part of his day was drinking his coffee.
He just sighed.
"Are you sure about this?" Vernon asked, looking at Wyntor.
Wyntor nodded. "I thought long and hard about this."
Vernon sighed again.
"I made you work so hard for the inheritance, and now that I can finally give it to you, you don't even want it anymore," Vernon muttered.
"Just give it to Samar," Wyntor said. "She's already basically your assistant."
"She's an Extractor, not a businesswoman," Vernon said.
"Even better," Wyntor answered. "At least she has the power to back up her wealth."
Vernon snorted a quick laugh before sighing again.
After that, he looked at Nick.
"Well, seems like you don't need to move to the Inner City anymore," he said with a bitter smile.
"And I was so excited to have someone who shares my passion for coffee."