*Knock* *Knock*
"Who is it?" Vaan questioned as he heard a knock on the door.
"It is me, Young Master Vaan, Seraphina Stormweaver." Seraphina replied in a respectful tone.
"Oh, you are here." Vaan stood up.
"Wait there, I am coming out."
He then walked out of the room and seeing Seraphina waiting for him, a smile appeared on his face and, "You came here earlier than I expected."
"I came as soon as I got your letter. Making Young Master wait is the last thing I would do." Seraphina replied, not forgetting to butter Vaan up.
"Heh."
A smile appeared on Vaan's face.
Then he started walking in a certain direction and, "Follow me.", he ordered.
"Where are we going?" Seraphina questioned with a frown on her face.
"Be patient, woman." Vaan ordered and Seraphina's frown deepened.
Usually, they either met in Vaan's room or the Guest room, today however, everything felt different. It was the first time Vaan had summoned her himself, he even went as far as saying 'I need your help' which Seraphina found hard to believe because it went against his personality.
Initially, Seraphina thought that Vaan wanted more spell directories so she was about to bring around 50 more directories that she had piled up, however, Vaan later mentioned in the letter not to bring any books and only come as soon as possible.
Confused, Seraphina just did as she was told and now, she couldn't hold back her curiosity as Vaan was taking her to a completely different place.
"Where is this place?" Seraphina questioned as she walked into a white room. She didn't know what this place was, however, she could sense a rich feeling coming from it. She was not an exceptional mage, however, just from seeing the patterns inscribed on the white walls of the room, she could sense endless mysteriousness that once again made her aware that she was inside the strongest Magic Family's Mansion.
"It is a Magic Training room that my mother uses," Vaan answered.
"What…?" Seraphina questioned as a ridiculous expression appeared on her face.
Magic Training Room that the Vaan's mother used?
S-She was inside the Vesta Family Head's personnel Magic Training Room?
The moment these words started sink into her mind, her body started trembling.
Magic Training Rooms were already extremely rare, only strong nobles had access to them while the weaker nobles and commoners could only see them from afar. Although the Vesta Family did rent out these rooms to the general public, not many could afford to use them.
In these past 28 years of her life, Seraphina had only been inside a Magic Training Room 12 times and all those times, it was just her accompanying either her father or some other family members while they test out of the Spell they had learned.
Honestly, in Seraphina's eyes, Magic Training Rooms were a scam, they could simply pay someone to rebuild the room after they destroy it, or test their spells in the forest, there was no need to pay such an absurd amount just for some extra privacy.
She completely ignored the healers that the Vesta Family provided who could save you from potential death in case the spell goes wrong, but such was the mind of the poor.
The poor trusted their guts and went with it, things like paying extra to ensure their health, they couldn't afford such luxury.
Thinking about it, Seraphina just shook her head and sighed.
The Magic Training Rooms that the Vesta Family rented were considered low quality, it was a well-known fact that the Rooms that the Vesta Mages could use for free were of much better quality.
Today, however, she stood inside possibly the best Magic Training Room there was, a place where the Vesta Family Head trained her Magic, a legend in the community of Mages, a place most Mages would kill to get into, and the man who made it possible just casually sat on the floor and,
"What are you standing for? There are no chairs here, so you need to sit on the floor."
Vaan just didn't care.
He had already been to this place so many times that he was sick of it.
After all, who would like a place where he gets his ass handed to him every single day, no matter how much that place meant to others?
"W-What are we d-doing here, Young Master Vaan?" Seraphina questioned, she didn't know how to react. She finally recalled that the man in front of him was the only child of Vesta Family Head.
A true Young Master born with a golden spoon.
"As I said in the letter, I want your help," Vaan spoke.
"I am always ready to serve you, Young Master. What do I have to do?" Seraphina questioned, trying to calm herself down and be 'useful'.
"You need to spar." Vaan replied.
"Spar?"
Seraphina tilted her head in confusion.
She needed to spar?
Did he call her here just for that?
Why?
Although she was a 2nd Circle Mage just like Vaan, it was clear that she was no match for him.
After all, she wasn't known for her Magic Skills.
Despite having all these thoughts, in the end, Seraphina glanced at Vaan and nodded,
"Even though I may be lacking, I will give my best in sparring so Young Master can train well." She had no other choice.
"I am not the one who you need to spar with."
Vaan spoke with a smile on his face.
"Hm?" Seraphina tilted her head in confusion, however, before she could ask anything,
"Oh, you are here."
Vaan quickly stood up and walked passed Seraphina with an excited look on his face.
Seraphina turned around and soon, her eyes fell on a beautiful red-haired girl who just walked into the room and was hugged by Vaan.
"V-Vaan." And of course, the moment Vaan hugged her, Elara blushed.
She still wasn't used to all this.
Soon, however, Elara's eyes fell on the third person in the room and a frown appeared on her face,
"L-Lady Seraphina?"
"Huh? Why are you calling her Lady Seraphina? Just Seraphina is enough." Vaan quickly corrected.
"Bu-"
"Just Seraphina."
"Please call me Seraphina, or Sera, if you would prefer, Lady Elara."
Seraphina, understanding Vaan's intention, quickly bowed her head and spoke. S
"Why is she here?" Elara, however, turned towards Vaan and questioned.
No matter what, she still couldn't forget this woman and treat her normally. After all, she was the root of all her problems and nearly took everything away from her.
Elara was not comfortable around Seraphina and both Seraphina and Vaan could sense that.
"I called her for help." Vaan answered.
"Help?" Elara tilted her head in confusion.
"Indeed."
"W-What help do you need? I-I can probably do it as well."
Elara spoke, her face slightly red.
It was a bold statement that translated as 'You don't need her, just tell me what it is and I will do it.'
Elara was being possessive.
Vaan's heart smiled in glee.
Seeing his timid Elara acting so strong made him feel happy.
"Well, she is here to help you, not me." Vaan spoke and soon, a frown appeared on Elara's face as she glanced at Seraphina's face.
"Spar with her."
Vaan spoke.
"What?" Elara frowned.
Vaan then glanced at the two women and,
"The two of you,
Spar with each other."
"I need to spar with… her…?"
Elara's expression changed.
She didn't wish to say it out loud, however, Seraphina was not her match, at all. Even though she is younger than her, she was far stronger than someone like her.
Sparring with Seraphina was a complete waste of time.
And it was not Elara looking down on Seraphina, it was just a face. A fact even Seraphina agreed without any shame.
"Young Master Vaan, I don't think it would be a fair spar. Lady Elara is a 4th Circle Mage, she would not learn anything even if she spars with me 100s of times."
She spoke.
Vaan, however, just smiled,
"I am not talking about Magic Spar."
"Hmm?" Seraphina tilted her head in confusion.
"The two of you would fight each other,
Using your fists."
"What…?"
"Huh?"
Both women couldn't believe what Vaan just said.
"Fight each other, using Magic is not allowed.
Now start."
Vaan spoke, not willing to listen anything.
He was not a fool, he knew what his fiancée was capable of, defeating a second-rate mage like Seraphina was as easy as breathing for her.
However, the same was true for the people Elara faces in the Elemental Clash as well.
In terms of skills, Elara could overwhelm almost all Basic Mages who went around acting arrogant and taking pride in their strength, however, even if that is the case, she often loses most of her battles.
Why?
Because she was afraid to hurt others.
She is afraid that her spells might injure others, so she never uses them as freely as she can. Her ridiculous kindness and compassion, Vaan needed to work on them if he wanted her to win.
So the best way he came up with?
He placed Elara in front of the only person she hated and ordered her to punch the fuck out of her.
He would make her get used to hitting and injuring people, just like him.
He would make her the best gangs- mage there is.
