Jekel was smiling ear to ear as he watched Vincent on the screen. "Excellent job! He put out a test for his roommate, went out to survey his surroundings, got information for almost no cost, and could signal out the main threats." Jekel sighed in praise. Markus and the others rolled their eyes.
Caden still sat in his chair with his eyes closed. Richard had a subtle smile and nodded his head. Ryker had a concentrated look as he analyzed Vincent's actions.
"Excuse me, Mr. Jekel, but didn't Vincent place himself in the position of getting robbed? He painted a massive target on his back. Do you think he has some plan?"
Everyone groaned when they heard his question. "Shut up, the boy asked a good question. You are the next Grimm family head?" Ryker nodded in response.
"Listen up. Vincent planned to weed out the strong, weak, and desperate. He figured out who the strong were in three stages. The first stage was when he walked around the ship. He made mental notes of every person that made his instincts kick in. Did you see how his finger or his eyebrow twitched?" Jekel was now in his teacher mode. He took the remote and rewind Vincent's steps.
Ryker and the other's eyes lit up in realization. "The second step was when he very first entered the canteen. He looked around the canteen and made eye contact with everyone who looked in his direction. Those who looked away he deemed weak; those who smirked made his list. The third thing he did was make a big show of buying so many ingredients and supplies." He paused the video to when Vincent purchased the supplies.
"Look, see, some people who pretended to look away are now glaring and sneering at his back. He tricked them into revealing their true personalities. I am unsure who taught him how to cook, but he used his skill excellently to gain information. He saw who was desperate enough to eat what he cooked. The last thing he did was bring that girl and that boy to his side. He knows he will need a team or at least some decoys."
No one could speak as they digested what Jekel had told them. Vincent's other masters didn't care and just continued to eat. "Damn, maybe he isn't as dumb as he seems," Kye mumbled as he watched Vincent go back to his room.
The Spaceship.
Vincent entered his room and saw everything precisely the way he left them. His roommate was also in there. It was the girl who he sat next to before the ship took off. "I was waiting to see who left their things on the bed. I thought it was some idiot, but knowing it was you, it was probably some test."
Vincent smiled and raised an eyebrow at her. "Do not give me that look. Anyone who knows who you are will know that it was a test. Anyone that the harbingers of death can accept is not some idiot. Not only that, but you are also a Grimm. That makes you at least ten times more dangerous."
Vincent entered the room and stored everything in a ring on his finger. 'I should've thought about making a dummy storage space earlier. It's fine, as long as I learn.' He turned to the girl. "You know who I am, so who are you?"
"My name is Talia. Like you, I am from the Regorian Empire but from a different city. If we will be roommates, we must trust each other." She took out a contract. "Read this contract and see if you will sign it." Vincent took the contract and looked over it.
'Standard stuff. I can't give any information about her, I can't look through her stuff, and obviously, I can't touch her sexually in any capacity. It's not like I was thinking about doing that anyway. It also states that I have to take showers at certain times, and I can't be in the room at certain hours.'
Vincent tore the contract up and summoned his own. "I have no problem with the basics of your contract. It was the part of you telling me what I could and could not do. Trust is a two-way street, but I understand why you want a contract, so read mine." The girl frowned but took it and read it.
She sighed and looked at him. "This contract is fair, but the part about us helping each other is far-fetched. What if our system gives us similar goals to accomplish? How will we decide who gets what?"
"I put that in there. Mainly to enforce that we don't betray each other unintentionally. Think about it. What if people hunt us and find out we come from the same Empire? They would ask the other one questions. We both know we would give the other one up to save our skin."
"What about the part of us being in a team?" Vincent rolled his eyes. "Read the fine print and then tell me what you think." Talia took a closer look at the contract and sighed. 'No wonder you were chosen.' The fine print stated they were a team if they met on the planet they were going to, if the other party was injured, or if the other party was more powerful than the other.
"How do I sign the contract?" Vincent let out a victorious smile inwardly. "We use blood. My contracts not only tie us by blood but also our souls. If one party tries to break the contract, then they will feel unimaginable pain in their soul, and if they break it, then their soul is sent to hell or, worse case, erased from existence."
Vincent signed it first, as usual, since most people won't sign something that could potentially erase their souls. Talia signed the contract and felt her soul wrapped around by something chilling. 'I feel like I just signed a deal with a demon.'
"Here is some food. I fixed it myself." Vincent handed her the other plate. She didn't worry about it being poisoned since Vincent couldn't harm her. Her eyes squinted when she took the first bite. Vincent took out the two folders and placed them on the table between them.
Talia picked them up and read through them. "Why are you showing me this? This is valuable intel." Vincent gave her a big smile. Talia caught chills as she saw that smile. "Isn't it obvious? We are a team, silly. The contract said we must share all information and help each other."
Talia's eyes widened as she realized what happened. 'He tricked me! That last sentence. It stated that if the other party were more powerful, they would be a team. It never specified who had to be stronger!' "You tricked me." Her voice was somehow even more emotionless.
"No, I didn't. I reminded you of the fine print, and you still decided to sign the contract. Face it, we are both strong, and we are a team now. My instincts have been screaming at me the moment I stepped inside of the room. I also see that you aren't wearing that hair ornament any more."
Talia clenched her hands. 'Damnit!'