I almost ran back to my room. I have never once looked back at Ioannis after we left the attendant''s quarters. I installed a mana mechanism on my door. It is much like a lock and key but with a spell. I injected mana on to the door and it opened. I then asked Ioannis to touch the door and exert some mana on to it saving his details as someone who can open the door. I saw him do what he was told then I went inside the room and closed the door quickly.

    I placed all the things given to me by Mr. Greg and Mr. Jonas on the study table near my bed. I sat on the edge of my bed and looked at Ioannis. When our eyes met, he immediately placed his bag down on the floor and then kneeled in front of me like how people worship royalty. I was surprised but did not ask him to stand up. He then spoke carefully, "Did I do anything to upset you, master? Please punish me accordingly." I then curtly replied, "Why?" I saw him shiver a bit but he did not respond.

    I stood up and walked towards the table and took the academe points booklet and the wooden slab that was given to me. I walked back and sat on the bed again. I thought for a bit and saw a screen in front of me. This time the points show "Luna - 8,705, Ioannis - 128,500". I then spoke, "Care to explain your number of points?" I was thinking about what are the things he had to do to earn this much and what exactly is he planning to use the points for. He looked up and saw the points on the screen with visible surprise. He then said, "I did not know I had that much. I have been working in the academe since I as 15 so that''s a little more than 5 years now. I kept taking tasks since the previous saviors that chose me only kept me for a few weeks so I had to do other things to earn points. I was saving for my freedom. I need 300,000 so I can get rid of my slave status and cut ties with the academe. If I don''t save enough by the time I turn 25, I''ll have to continue working here till I die. That was the condition set when we were marked as slaves."

    After hearing about it, I got confused even further so I asked, "You will work for 10 years but still have to pay 300,000 academe points by the end of that period to be free?" He said, "Yes. It is payment for education, food, shelter, clothing and protection. It is a very steep price and it is very rare for any of us to be bought out by our masters so you have to do everything if you want to be freed."

    I was silent and looked down for a while as I digest this ridiculous set up. He kept kneeling and was silent as well. After a few minutes, I looked up and told Ioannis, "Stop kneeling and sit beside me." He hurriedly stood up though he stumbled a bit, having kneeled for some time. I then told him, "Don''t ever kneel for anyone even towards me, understand?" He just nodded and sat next to me.

    I played with the wooden plank with my hand and then spoke, "Thank you for being honest about your future plans. Now, it''s my turn to tell you what''s mine." I set the plank on top of my left palm and with my right hand, I conjured two tiny orbs of blood. I saw Ioannis staring at me intently and then he asked, "Where did you- Is that blood mine? Are you sure you want to bind with me for life?" I then nonchalantly replied, "I collected it last night as a souvenir. I have a small vial of it. I have said that you''re mine. Any objections?" His eyes widened, shook his head sideways then he blushed. I guess he remembered which part of him bled. I then proceed with placing the orbs on each indented part of the plank. The plank burst into flames then turned to ashes. At the same time, on the table, the slavery certificate burst into flames and turned to ash as well. What is happening?

    Ioannis then spoke, "I am bound to you unconditionally for life. That is a higher binding than between a master and a slave so that paper wasn''t needed anymore." I then asked teasingly, "Does that mean you are my husband now?" His ears turned red and stuttered, "I- That''s- That''s different. I am just yours. Umm, I don''t have a rank yet. Marriage is- That needs a special ring to bind souls. That ring is expensive so... Most men are just given a lover or a concubine rank or most of the time no rank at all. The woman sets that rank for each of her men in a household. Only the rich can take in official husbands."

    I lifted my other hand and said an incantation, "Sanare Sakri Mert". The room we are in was then protected by a mana layer that will keep all the details of what we will discuss a secret. No sound can come out and no form of detection can pry in. I don''t want people knowing and meddling with my long term plans. I''ll keep this protecting my room indefinitely. I will use this to train my rapidly growing mana pool as well. He looked around and I am sure he felt the changes but he chose not to ask.

    I looked up at the screen and saw his points and mine increase by 2000 each. Wow, is that because I chose to bind him to me? Is it like a bonus? He also looked at the screen before looking back to me. I then spoke, "I''m going to help you reach the 300,000 points as soon as possible. You will accompany me out of here when I graduate. We have to study how we can earn academe points faster which is why I requested for this." I lifted the booklet off my lap. I then continued, "I am planning to be rich in this world and the first step would be through academe points. As per the student handbook, the student who graduates with the most number of individual points will get generous rewards. I am very open to prizes and freebies if they give any to me. Academe points can be converted to money. That money, I can use to invest and earn even more money. You understand where I am going right?"

    Ioannis looked at me seriously and said, "Yes. I will help you too. I will be useful to you. Just teach me and tell me what I need to do." I looked at him, "That''s perfect. I don''t need men who are only useful in bed. I apologize in advance for being blunt but I don''t intend to take in burdens. If a man can only offer his body for bedroom duties, I am not interested. I heard that I can pay for that in the red light district with no strings attached." He looked at me and what I saw was not disgust or anger but fierce determination. He took it not as insult but a challenge to prove that he can offer so much more. I am liking him even more. I think I am starting to feel infatuated. I sighed and he looked at me in confusion. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    I then continued, "I am planning to look around the city for the next few days to check for opportunities to earn more money and also learn how this world works. As for you, I want you to check on the list of courses and classes offered in this academe. I want you to make a list of subjects that you want to study. When I come back, I''ll check it and add on things that you may have missed. I will help you schedule classes so ours are aligned." He then nodded. I asked him, "You know how to read and write, correct? Any other skills, hobbies or interests? Anything you want to learn in particular?" He answered, "Yes, a bit. It doesn''t hurt to learn more. I want to learn how to fight and protect us. I also want to learn business and how to handle affairs of a household." I laughed a bit and teasingly said, "So... you want to be my personal assistant, bodyguard and our house butler at the same time?" He looked at me with wide eyes and said, "I- I think that''s a good way to put it. I can be way more useful that way. I don''t want to give you reasons to regret your decision of taking me in." I clapped a bit and said, "Good job! If you work hard and we become rich, I will give you that expensive ring." I then winked at him playfully. He looked at me in disbelief and with a shy smile on his face he said, "I will work hard for that ring."