Chapter 159 Just surrender.
"I didn't expect that you would make it this far, Elara. You have surprised me." Leif commented with a small smile on his face.
"I worked hard," Elara replied. Unlike Vaan who had a tongue so poisonous that even a snake would die of poison if he bit him, Elara's words were like honey.
Where most people dared not mess with Vaan fearing his harsh words, in Elara's case, things played out a little differently. No one tried to use words against Elara because of how well-spoken she was. Using rude words against her would simply make one a public enemy since almost everyone in the stadium cherished Elara.
This was the reason that till now, no one dared to mess with Elara.
However, there were always some exceptions in every scenario, and this time, Elara had finally met the exception.
"It is quite unexpected considering that you do not have the Vesta Blood flowing in your veins. Or is it that after eating and drinking in the Vesta Mansion for almost all your life without doing a single thing for the family in return, you have also stolen some of your talents? I must say, you are quite greedy."
Leif spoke with a big smile on his face and Elara had no answer to his words.
Of course, that didn't mean no one else did,
"The fuck are you acting like you have been making sacrifices for the family your entire life? Rather, aren't you bringing more shame to the Vesta Blood by just being someone else's Dog? How do you even have a face to point fingers at someone else, you little bitch?
And the fuck do you mean she is staying in the family without doing a single thing in return? She is my fiancée, she will be staying together with me for the rest of our lives. If you have a problem with that, then first kick your mother out of the family, she doesn't have the Vesta Blood either."
Vaan shouted, stepping up for his future wife.
The entire stadium turned silent as Vaan spoke these words, Leif already expected Vaan to speak, however, even he didn't think that the bastard would directly jump at his mother. Leif clenched his fists in anger, he wanted to retaliate, however, before he could do so,
Vaan turned towards Elara and,
"Elara, show this bitch that the talent you have is not something stolen from a second-rate bastard like him, show him the difference between a real talent and a dog who only knows how to lick others' balls for some scrapes."
Vaan shouted, cheering for his wife.
"Y-Yes." Elara nodded innocently as well.
Leif on the other hand, couldn't take it anymore and turned toward the judge,
"Why is he allowed to speak when he is not even participating in the battle? He is not letting me focus. Please tell him to go away."
"Haah!? What does that mean? If your focus is so shit, then why don't you just surrender? You won't be winning with that ass-like skills anyways."
Vaan, of course, wasn't planning on just staying silent.
How dare this bastard try and insult his wife? Actually, Vaan was dying to punch him with everything he had. If only he had the opportunity.
But then, something that even Vaan hadn't expected happened,
"Alright then."
Leif spoke.
"I surrender."
"Huh…?"
"What…?"
"He… surrendered…?"
Vaan blinked in surprise, not able to believe what just happened. Leif, however, just smiled as he turned towards Vaan and,
"I won't stoop to your level in order to deal with you. The Elemental Clash is a grand event where two Mages are meant to face each other, comparing their Magic to determine the superior. Conversations between Mages before the battle are a part of the mental warfare, and interfering with this undermines the event. If you choose to disregard this, I won't continue with this battle."
"…"
This was the first time ever since he came to this world that Vaan felt speechless.
This little bitch…
He was already walking away!
It wasn't just a warning saying that he would leave if he continued to speak, this man actually left! He was being serious!
"It ended…?"
"What…?"
And it was not just Vaan, the audience, the Mages overseeing the battle, everyone was surprised, even the judge seemed to be in a daze and didn't announce the result till Leif had actually returned and was out of everyone's vision.
"I… I was looking forward to the battle…"
"But why did he leave like that…?"
"Didn't you hear what he said?"
"I did but…"
The audience couldn't stop talking about it. The thing was, Leif Vesta was not a weak Mage, rather, with how he had overwhelmed almost all his opponents with his mastery over the wind element in the previous battles, many believed that he was actually one of the tournament's favorites.
This was the reason why everyone was looking forward to his fight with Elara, another tournament favorite, but to think he would just give up like this…
This made absolutely no sense.
…
While the entire stadium was confused, Leif, who was the reason behind the confusion walked back into the Hall with a satisfied smile on his face.
'Just as I planned.'
He chuckled inwardly, but then,
*Step*
Someone appeared in front of him.
"Leif."
Elric called out.
"Young Master Elric." Leif bowed with a respectful look on his face.
"What are you trying to do?" Elric questioned directly, not willing to play any games.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Leif tilted his head in confusion, acting ignorant.
"Why did you surrender?"
"Didn't Young Master Elric want me to surrender?"
"What in the hell are you talking about?" Elric was pissed. He didn't know why Leif was acting like this, however, one thing was for sure, he didn't like this one bit.
"Isn't Elara the woman Young Master Elric fancies, how could I possibly fight against her and harm her? Wouldn't that be similar to hurting my future master? Why would I do something as foolish as that?
With my action, Elara can now move to the Finals and there face Young Master Elric. Don't you think it is romantic to see the future couple fighting in the finals of the Fourth Tier of the Elemental Clash?
Now that's a story I would have loved to hear from my parents if I was a child."
Leif spoke with a bright smile on his face and the more he spoke, the deeper Elric's frown became.
He had been observing Elara's fight for a while now and honestly, in Elara's case, he wasn't sure that he could defeat her, of course, it was a different thing if he used his trump card, however, for some reason, Elric had this feeling that Elara had a trump card of her own.
This was the reason he wanted Leif to fight her and push her to the limits.
Leif was strong, Elric believed that even if he couldn't defeat her, at the very least, he would have made Elara use her trump card.
Now, however, that plan was flushed away in an instant.
And seeing the man responsible for this standing right in front of him, Elric found it hard to control his anger.
"When did I order you to surrender, you foolish bastard?" Elric shouted.
"What…?" Leif blinked in surprise, he couldn't understand why Elric was angry.
"You fucking bastard, did dog eat your brain when you were born!? Who told you to act on your own!? A story that you would have loved to hear!? Of course you would love to hear it! Since you never could! Your parents were shit who never won a single Elemental Clash! And you are the same!
Just what the hell is wrong with you!?"
Elric's frustration couldn't be clearer and he started cursing out loud.
Leif, on the other hand, didn't say anything, he just continued to bow his head, apologizing again and again, inwardly, however, his eyes had turned cold.
'Says the one whose mother lost against a woman 23 years younger than her.'
"Haaah…"
After cursing Leif as much as he could, "Get away, don't let me see your face again." Elric ordered him to leave.
Leif bowed his head again as he left. Then, as he turned his back towards Elric, a small smile appeared on his face again,
'This idiot is so predictable.'
There was a reason why Leif had surrendered and that was because his grandfather had told him to hide his true powers. His advantage over Elric was still not apparent, he may win against him if they fought, however, Leif still wasn't sure about it.
Therefore, his grandfather ordered him to bid for more time and wait till his advantage was absolute.
This meant that Leif still needed to act like a servant, he had already resigned to his fate, however, when he saw Elara's performance, a new plan formed in his mind.
Rather than being used as a pawn, he would ditch this Elric bastard when he needed him the most.
How entertaining would that be?
Looking at Elric's annoyed expression, Leif's smile widened.
'Very entertaining indeed.'
