"We need a leader who can unify our strength, I aim to become that leader before I face the Dawncrest Family, and now, is the best time and opportunity to do that." Vaan spoke with a solemn look on his face, an expression completely different from the usually careless and easy-to-go Vaan. "How did you know that the Dawncrest Family was behind it?" Orion questioned.
"The Classes were boring, but that doesn't mean I was sitting around doing nothing, I did my own bit of research," Vaan replied.
"Heh, talking with your classmates does not count as research." Orion chuckled.
"As long as you get what you want, everything can be called research."
Vaan snorted.
Orion just smiled as he stared at his child, then,
"Hope of the Vesta Family,
You do realize that once you accept that title will be akin to you accepting that the Vesta Family is falling, right?" n-(-(-//--.--I/)n
"Father,"
Suddenly, Vaan called out.
"Father,"
Suddenly, Vaan called out.
"Mother is taking care of the Main Family, so it still stands strong and will remain strong for a long time since the mother will only continue to grow stronger from here on out,
However,
Our Family has lost the House that we have been living in for Generations, just the fact that a mere Club agreed to post such article about our Family is enough to prove that…
Vesta Family's status has indeed fallen in the Agresia Academy."
"…"
Orion turned silent.
He was observing his son's expression, he wanted to find out whether all of this was just him playing around like he usually does, or if he was thinking through his plans and calculating his future steps.
He wanted to see just how serious Vaan was, therefore,
"Elric, Leif, Lirael, and Vaelen, all of them have been in Academy longer than you have, don't you think it would be fair to take this role instead?"
"It is as you said, they have been in the Academy for so long,
Since they couldn't do anything all this time, what could they possibly change now? They do not have what it takes to go against the Dawncrest House and Declan Dawncrest, if they did, we wouldn't be in a situation like this anyway."
Vaan simply shrugged.
"Alright then, 'Hope of the Vesta Family',
I am looking forward to your performance tomorrow and I know that I do not have to clarify it,
But if you lose,
There will be hell to see."
"I was born to win."
Vaan replied confidently.
"Heh." Orion laughed out loud as he turned around and walked away.
Confirming that his father had gone away, Vaan exhaled deeply, then, he walked into the bathroom, freshened up, and returned to his room.
"What took you so long?"
Elara, who was making the bed, questioned with a confused look on her face.
"Hmm, I was thinking about something important."
Vaan replied.
"Is it about tomorrow's challenge?" Elara questioned. A worried look appeared on her face, after all, she was still blaming herself for this entire situation.
"I said I was thinking about something,
Thinking about what to say after I win tomorrow is not very important, I can come up with it on the spot."
With a playful smile on his face, Vaan walked towards Elara.
Noticing the smile on his face, Elara could tell something was wrong, her movements slowed down as Vaan closed the distance between the two of them,
"Have you freshened up?" Vaan questioned with a small smile on his face.
"Y-Yes?"
Elara replied.
"Is there anything else you have to do now?"
"I-I need to make dinner."
"We have maids that will do that for us,"
"I-I also wanted to practice Magi-"
"You said you would do it starting tomorrow."
"…"
Elara finally turned silent.
"So there is nothing else, correct?" Vaan questioned, Elara didn't answer and finally, Vaan hugged his future wife.
Elara's heartbeat started racing.
She was embarrassed, but at the same time, staying in this position felt so comfortable that she didn't want to leave. She always tried to avoid this because of her conflicting feelings, however, whenever Vaan gets close to her, her resistance falls down.
Suddenly, Elara felt Vaan's forehead touching hers, she automatically closed her eyes, she could feel Vaan's breath on her face, the two of them were close, so close that their lips might touch any moment now,
Thinking about this, Elara's lips started quivering, she wanted to move forward and touch her lips with Vaan's, but suddenly,
Vaan picked her up like a princess, moving his face away from hers in the process.
Then, he gently placed her on the bed and crawled next to her. The couple looked into each other's eyes, Vaan then placed his hand on Elara's cheek and,
"You don't have to blame yourself for what happened, okay? You should already know that Alex is not strong enough to defeat me.
Those people are simply setting up the stage for me."
As one of the closest people to Vaan, she knew exactly how strong Vaan was. Honestly, Elara couldn't imagine Vaan losing tomorrow's battle, the only worrying factor in her mind was the opponent. Neither she nor Vaan had faced a swordsman before while the other party seemed like it was used to fighting mages. She was worried that it might take Vaan by surprise, however, with Vaan reassuring her like then, Elara decided not to think about it and trust Vaan.
"mm."
Elara nodded.
Vaan smiled, he continued to knead Elara's cheeks, under his caresses, Elara closed her eyes, she then moved forward, burying her face into Vaan's chest like a little cat. Vaan placed his hand over her shoulder and he closed his eyes as well.
He really was glad to choose this place instead of going to the Vesta House.
It was probably the best decision he had taken in a while.
With a big smile on his face, Vaan entered the dreamland.
…
The next day, Vaan and Elara woke up, today however, since he was excited about the challenge, Vaan didn't make things difficult for Elara and got ready without wasting any time. The couple then left their mansion, their destination?
Mystic Coliseum.
It was the name of the Battle Arena where Vaan was supposed to fight against Alex.
Yes, although they did have regular classes today, Vaan was given an Official Leave from the class. It meant that even if he didn't come to the class, it would not affect his attendance.
Elara wasn't given anything like this since she wasn't participating in any battle and technically, she should be attending the class right now,
Vaan, however, didn't even bother telling her to go since he already knew that she wouldn't.
Elara was unreasonably stubborn when it came to things like this.
And… Vaan also wanted his fiancée to watch the battle.
After all, wasn't it a man's dream to beat people up in front of the person they like? Who didn't want to be a Hero?
As the couple walked out of the Teleportation Portal,
"The two of you will find the Mystic Coliseum as you walk forward." The student working there informed. "I wish you luck, Sir Vaan."
Vaan nodded at the student with a smile, then, holding Elara's hand, he walked in the direction the student pointed at, and soon, his eyes fell on a Big Arena with a huge line in front of it.
"All these students are here to watch the battle?" Vaan was surprised.
"But there are still two hours before the battle starts…" Elara seemed surprised as well.
"I guess I am quite popular, eh?" Vaan chuckled.
Of course, he knew the real reason behind it was the Article that was published yesterday; however, he didn't mind minor details like these.
After all, the larger the audience, the better.
"Let's go," Vaan spoke.
Elara nodded, the two of them walked forward, crossing the huge line.
"Hey! Where are the two of you going!? Can't you see the line!?" One of the students called out in anger.
"Yes! Get in line! Don't think you two are someone special!"
More and more students got riled up until…
"Hey…
Isn't that Vaan…?"
"What? Vaan? Vaan Astra Vesta?"
"Y-Yeah, I saw the picture in the Article…"
"Yes! That's Vaan!"
"So he is Lady Astra's only son? Doesn't seem very special to me."
"Well, we will…"
The students continued to pass comments, Vaan and Elara, however, simply ignored them all and quickly entered the Arena.
"Vaan Astra Vesta, please follow me, I will take you to your room. Will she be coming with you?" A student approached Vaan and questioned.
"That is correct." Vaan nodded.
The student nodded as he glanced at Elara, then, he took the two of them to a room.
"You can stay here till you are called." The student then turned towards Elara and,
"If you wish to watch the battle, you do not have to leave the room, you can see it from the balcony, it is one of the best places to view the battle. We have already prepared the seating arrangement, there is also the system of ordering refreshments in between the battle."
"That is quite some preparation." Vaan complimented.
"That is because we are from the Arcane Assembly Club, one of the Top clubs that manage events such as this regularly." The student replied.
"Is that so…" Vaan nodded.
"Well, then I guess this won't be the last time I will see you,
I'll make an effort to remember your face."
