Regardless of why the Mendel administration was going out of its way to help the people of the slums, it didn't particularly matter to Cæ or to Trinity Housings. What truly mattered was the fact that it was helping the people of the slums and did increase their purchasing power substantially.
Feidin turned, swivelling in his chair as he threw a suspicious glance at Cæ.
"Is this what you learned ahead of time in your conversation with the Headmistress of the Elendir Institute of Magic when she convinced you to pursue this partnership?"
Cæ huffed lightly, shaking his head.
"No, of course not."
He wasn't fond of the fact that he had to lie about this detail, but he couldn't divulge that this was indeed the information that he had gotten from the Headmistress. The sheer gravity of knowing such classified and confidential information put him at too much liability. It was just best for them all if he didn't ever dare to confirm this detail ever again.
"However, this works in favor of our plans," Cæ remarked. "Soon, funds will start flowing into the slums at a remarkable rate, allowing them to afford things that they would not otherwise be able to, and a much larger proportion of the slums will be able to afford our haven units."
Up until now, they had estimated that only ten percent of the slums would be able to afford the haven unit. However, with this new credit program for the people of the slums, there was no telling just how many more would be able to afford to purchase the haven unit.
Seliphaz turned to him with a curious expression of anticipation. "When will the Elendir Institute of Magic be ready to commence the talent acquisition program in the slums?"
Cæ's eyes narrowed with seriousness. "Very soon. The task force is almost done with all final preparations, and we will soon begin identifying and extracting magic talent in the slums. The operations will be elementary and simple simply by virtue of the fact that we didn't have much time to prepare particularly sophisticated strategies."
Feidin threw a knowing expression.
"It's not going to be easy running two programs at once, Cæ."
Cæ heaved a sigh. "I know, it's what I've been doing ever since we agreed on the partnership. And it's what I'll need to do if I want to make the most of the opportunities that we have."
He directed his sharp dichromatic gray eyes towards Feidin and Seliphaz.
"I hope that you will step in to cover for me whenever I'm unable to be there."
The two of them nodded with a serious expression.
"We will."
The work day ended on a positive note as the numbers of the sales and the announcement of the credit program heightened their prospects for prosperity in the future. Cæ flew back to the Elendir Institute of Magic, enjoying the cool, chilly breeze of the night.
RUMBLE…
His knowing gaze shifted towards the dark sky, covered in a sheet of thick clouds from within which thunder roared and lightning flashed, before his gaze returned to the cityscape. The magic lights of the inner city illuminated the neat and clean streets and sidewalks, the homely homes of the suburban areas of the inner city.
He gazed at the peace and tranquility of the districts with a hint of envy, even as he flew right by, heaving a soft sigh and shaking his head.
"Focus."
Now that the sales of the Trinity Housings had reached a sustainable and viable level of profit, it was all uphill from this point on with the credit program of the Mendel Administration.
There was only one thing that could possibly impede their profits from this point forward.
His eyes grew serious.
"A failure of the talent acquisition program."
The security that he gained for the distribution of the goods and services was contingent, to an extent, on the success of the talent acquisition program. Headmistress Lenolia was not kind or naive enough to just hope that he would do a good job. The contract they signed detailed an incentive structure that gave him the necessary incentives to work towards genuinely ensuring that the program was a success.
"From this day forth, I need to pay more attention to it now that Trinity Housings has hit a solid and promising start," he mused inwardly. "My role in regards to the commercial strategy of Trinity Housings is largely complete, I can leave the rest to Feidin to manage and execute."
Of the three owners of Trinity Housings, Feidin was the executor and manager. It was now his turn to shine and implement the deeper expansion of Trinity Housing into the slums.
WHOOSH
His attention shifted to his physical environment as he spotted the Elendir Institute of Magic in the distance. Its gigantic campus was no less eye-catching at night than it was in the day. The massive enchanted walls of the institute brimmed with magical power that vastly dwarfed anything Cæ could have possibly cashed out.
STEP
He arrived before the entry gate, guarded by mags, before pulling out his institute-issued ID. It wasn't too long before they let him inside.
His gaze shifted about, sweeping across the entire campus with a knowing expression as he studied the notable changes that the Elendir Institute of Magic had undergone to accommodate students from the slums.
Numerous signs detailing rules and regulations, explaining basic information and knowledge. There were even signs with instructions so basic that even Cæ couldn't help but feel a little insulted.
Then he thought back to his entire life in the slums and recalled why they were needed.
"…They don't have the basic civil sense that virtually everybody in the inner city has."
It wasn't their fault, of course. He recalled how alien the customs and sense of public order of the inner city were and how challenging it had been to unlearn the habits he had cultivated his entire life to adapt and not stand out in the slums.
Headmistress Lenolia had clearly foreseen the problems that could occur and was essentially trying to prevent any mishaps.
After all, in the next academic year that was about a month away from unfolding, the students of the slums would soon be participating in the society of students within the campus. The Headmistress was surely anxious to avoid anything that could serve as a source of friction.
"Good luck with that," Cæ couldn't help but snort with a hint of contempt in his tone.
His background had led to an attempt at murder, even if by an immature adolescent. He truly had braced himself for the sheer amount of conflict and heat that was undoubtedly going to emerge between the students.
As a member of the student council who was now a certified apprentice mage, he was going to start being responsible for campus order. It was a fate that he truly was not looking forward to.
He shook his head.
"None of that matters right now."
For now, he had only one agenda on his plate, and it was to ensure that the talent acquisition proceeded smoothly. He immediately returned to his dorm room in the apprentice wing and got to sleep as soon as possible.
By the time dawn arrived, he was already out of bed, freshening up with a refreshing shower and donning his old student uniform, carefully donning the elaborate three-piece formal gray suit with a crisp custom-tailored overcoat that fit him like a glove. His red Student Council badge shone prominently on the chest of his blazer.
CLASP
He tightened his belt, examining himself in the mirror before immediately wearing the formal footwear of the school uniform. Within minutes, he had departed from his locked dorm room, heading towards the executive block of the administrative wing of the Institute, basking under the warmth of the morning Sun before the clouds of storms inevitably shielded the entire city from it. His loud footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, devoid of any human activity.
Most of the students returned home to their families during the break between academic years. Most of them didn't remain in the magicademy during the break unless out of some extra-curricular academic pursuits or, like himself, were members of the Student Council.
STEP
It wasn't long before he found himself in the special meeting room of the task force headquarters in the executive wing. A large set of wooden doors, checkered with encrypted runes, locked with a magical lock, recognized his Institute ID card when he placed it before the screen of the lock, magically unlocking the door for him.
CLACK
He opened the door to find himself before the familiar sight of a conference table centered at the very middle of a large, spacious conference room that extended away into the individual workplaces for the various members of the student council.
The vast, spacious workplace was much larger, extravagant, and luxurious than the headquarters of Trinity Housings and its workplace on the second floor above the manufacturing floor.
Despite that, Cæ found Trinity Housings to be much more comfortable.
Perhaps it was because the environment was filled with people he trusted.
The same could not be said for the members of the program task force.
"Am I late?" Cæ directed a sweeping gaze across the gathered members who sat around the conference table, with several documents scattered around the table.
"Not at all," Sorenon smiled at Cæ, seated in one of the seats beside the very head of the table, as he shifted his glasses.
He had grown much taller than when Cæ had met him, as well as Natana and Kelton, about a year ago at the start of the academic year. His body had grown more developed, and his voice had deepened.
He was among the only one of the three friends that he had made in the apprentice program who had stayed behind during the holiday to partake in the student council to replace some of the outgoing members from the senior program the previous year.
He had also immediately chosen to apply for the task force from the very beginning, having known that it was being led by none other than Cæ.
The other students seated at the table turned as they nodded and greeted Cæ with a nod and greeting as he circled about before taking his seat at the very head of the large conference table.
The members of the special task force each leaned in as their attention grew focused on Cæ.
"And we will now commence today's general meeting on the agenda of the Outer District Talent Acquisition Program," Cæ remarked with a serious tone. "In the past few weeks, we have, to the best of our ability, planned and prepared the program operations to, as the official objective of the program states, search for, identify, and compel individuals with magic aptitude to join our institutions. We have charted out a plan within a week of the commencement of this task force, and have spent the past two weeks making the relevant preparations for the operations. And today…"
His eyes sharpened with seriousness.
"We will be completing our final preparations for slum talent acquisition operations."
The air grew serious as the members of the special task force, all comprised of commoner students that Cæ had picked to ensure that there weren't any obvious conflicts of interest, nodded at his words.
"In the past three weeks, we have prepared the inventory of supplies regarding magic testing equipment and have acquired the capital needed to set the incentive structures needed to draw the people of the slums to actually accept committing to the magic aptitude test and going through the process," Cæ continued. "We have gathered the needed supplies of the educational content on the matter. We have also secured the necessary land in each district to set up our district bases. We have acquired the labor, albeit largely through the Elendir Institute of Magic, and have ensured that we have the needed security, in the form of magic and mages, to secure the physical security of our operations and our members."
His eyes sharpened.
"We have arrived. And it is time to commence the operations as soon as possible and ensure that we extract as much talent from the slums as we possibly can."