"Of course, you can always reject since… well, you are not your mother. Not every mage from the Vestas can be like Astra Elysia Vesta, now can they? There are times when even the Prodigies give birth to less unfortunate." Professor Levander spoke with an amicable smile on her face.
"Hmph! What an obvious provocation!"
Professor Asil snorted.
"Although no one would fall for such a provocation, I have to say, a Professor trying to provoke a Student, that too in the Disciplinary Hall, it is quite a disappointing sight."
"I am simply stating obvious things, I am not trying to provoke anyone here." n.1.In
"Haah! As if anyone here would believe that.
The Professors in the Swords Division sure have gotten much more brazen, to think that you would suggest a duel between a Mage and a Swordsman even though it is a well-known fact that Mages are used for their high attack power and are weak in one-on-one battles. Swordsmen on the other hand excel in one-on-one battles, the duel you are suggesting is unfair.
If you really wish to compete, then how about we compete in Mystic Power Tournament? How about it?"
Professor Asil questioned with a smirk on his face.
Mystic Power Tournament was one of the few tournaments where the Mages reigned supreme. In this Tournament, an Artifact created by the Magic Engineering Division, which is supposed the calculate the strength behind a certain attack, is used.
Different Students display their best attacks and the one with the highest evaluation wins.
And of course, Mages, who were given all the time in the world to cast the strongest of their spells, always win this tournament by a large margin, even the Star Students from other Division perform nowhere close to even the weakest Mages that participate in the tournament.
"Heh, and to think you called me out on being unfair." Professor Levander snorted.
There was no way she was going to accept such a challenge.
"If you do not wish to duel, then you can simply reject it, there is no need to come up with absurd suggestions.
We can let the people of Disciplinary Hall proceed with the case as it is supposed to be.
No rule restricts the entry of Students of a particular Division to the buildings of another Divisions. Your student was the one who attacked my student first, let the case proceed and I am sure the real offenders will be summoned soon enough."
Professor Levander spoke dismissively.
She wanted to take the students of her Division and leave, but then,
"Wait, we had an option to duel it out all along?"
Vaan spoke with a frown on his face.
Professor Levander momentarily froze before a small smile appeared on her face as she turned towards Vaan,
"Since two people have a problem with each other, then isn't battling it out like true warriors the best way to solve the problem?
All the students in the Academy are here to compete with one another anyway, no?
Why burden the Disciplinary Hall over minor matters like these? Simply battle it out, the winner becomes right, while the loser is put in the wrong. Just like how things play out in the real world.
The only question is…
Are you willing to face this reality of the real world right now, or are you going to face it when the real world itself shoves it right in front of you?"
It was another subtle provocation in hopes of getting Vaan to accept the challenge, honestly, even Professor Levander herself didn't have any expectations, after all, no mage would accept a one-on-one duel against a Swordsman.
The only reason Professor Levander had any hopes in the first place was because Vaan was a new student and from the way he carried himself, he looked conceited.
An overconfident Young Master who has just left his Family and entered the Academy, he didn't have any time to get used to this academy or see how things play out here. The chances that he was still in a similar zone like when he was inside the Vesta House were there.
Vaan, having never fought an actual swordsman before, might actually accept the challenge because of his usual arrogance.
And,
That was exactly what Vaan did,
"So I only need to fight this guy and this entire thing farce be over?" Vaan questioned as he turned towards the lead officer of the Disciplinary Hall.
"Of course! If you fight and win, not only the matter regarding your fiancée using Mana inside a classroom would be dropped, but my students would also accept their mistakes and will offer a public apology."
Seeing that Vaan was actually biting the bait she threw, a big smile appeared on the Professor's face.
Professor Asil, on the other hand, quickly turned towards Vaan and,
"Vaan! What are you doing!? He is a Swordsma-"
"Yes, teach, I know he is from the Swords Division. I was actually disappointed that I would need to wait for an Inter-Division Tournament to kick his ass but to think that there is such an interesting option available all along.
Not only do I get to beat him up, but it will also solve all the problems.
The Academy is indeed an interesting place."
Vaan had a bright smile on his face.
"Right? The Academy always promotes such competition amongst the students, after all, this is how one would grow, no?" Professor Levander smiled brightly.
At the same time, she was also holding her Aura to stop Alex from acting out.
She momentarily looked back, staring right into Alex's eyes, she could feel his frustration, however, she needed to solve this matter first.
Also,
Wasn't it better to get your revenge in front of a big crowd?
Not to mention that defeating a Vesta, not just any Vesta but the only son of the Family Head, it would also be seen as an achievement.
"…" Alex, who understood what his professor was trying to do turned silent and decided to hold it in.
Vaan on the other hand, glanced at the people from the Division Hall and questioned,
"Does this mean that I am allowed to do anything here and as long as I beat that person up, I will be proven right?"
"It depends whether the other party accepts your challenge or not, if they do not and you turn out to be guilty in our eyes, then you will be punished according to the rules of the Academy."
"Ah right, there is also an option to reject the challenge.
Some bitches would do that, I agree."
Vaan nodded in understanding.
"…"
The man observed Vaan for a while and didn't say anything.
Vaan was arrogant, he had already established that fact in his mind. He could also tell this would not be his first time seeing this student here.
What he was much more interested to know, however, was whether this student was simply too arrogant to face reality and would often be led on by others who would try to take advantage of him, or did he actually have what it takes to back up his arrogance?
'Orion Ravenshadow's son huh…'
The man muttered inwardly as he glanced at Vaan.
He was looking forward to seeing how things would play out from here on out.
"Anyways, when are we doing it?"
Vaan turned towards Professor Levander and questioned.
"Tomorrow."
Professor Levander smiled.
"Tomorrow?" Vaan seemed surprised.
"You can tell me if you need more time to prepare."
"Oh not at all, I was just surprised to see things moving forward this efficiently, you see, I normally don't find people insane enough to schedule their defeat as quickly as possible.
I am more used to them trying to delay it, but I do agree with the way the Professor thinks,
It's better to lose quickly, humiliate yourself, and get done with it, rather than trying to postpone it and continuously dreading the day when you would run out of ways to run away."
Vaan nodded with a smile on his face.
This time, even Professor Levander's mouth slightly twitched in annoyance when she heard Vaan's words, however, she did not lose control over her emotions. She kept her usual smile on her face and,
"Alright then, Vaan Astra Vesta, the details regarding the challenge will be updated on your SIC by evening,
I wish you luck for tomorrow's battle."
"Mhm, I won't wish you luck since that would be a waste, but I hope you do well in life in general, Professor."
"Sir, as you can see, the two parties have come to an agreement, the Disciplinary Hall does not have to investigate this matter any further."
Ignoring Vaan's words, Professor Levander turned towards the people from the Disciplinary Hall and spoke.
The man nodded, the two parties soon excused themselves and returned to their respective Divisions.
Vaan and Elara attended their last class of the day and as they returned,
*Buzz*
Vaan's SIC vibrated,
Just like Professor Levander said, the details of tomorrow's challenge were updated on his SIC.
