"He is getting more than one…?"
Orion was shocked, he had been in the Academy ever since he was a child, and never once did he see or hear about one student getting more than one Excellence Star at the same time. After all, if a student did something incredible, like Vaan winning against Alex, that would be awarded by the Academy using an Excellence Star.
No matter how big the 'achievement' was, a single Star was all that was needed to reward it, however,
"Advanced circles that are never seen before, exceptionally good control over his Magic Spells, excellent precision, ability to move while casting a spell, ability to cast practice swordsmanship together with Magic,
These are only the feats that normal students could see, the more Professors analyzed the fight, the more and more things surprised them, imagine him revealing all these things one after another in different matches, all these things would reward him with an Excellence Star,
You think it would be fair to simply give him one star just because he showed all his skills together?"
Octavius questioned.
"…"
Orion turned silent.
He knew how much of a monster his son was, after all, he and Astra had seen him fight before, Astra even went as far as regarding him as someone who has the power to pick the Vesta Family from its tight position, destroy the balance of the world, and place the Vestas on the true top.
A level where they would have no need to worry about other families or powers attacking them.
"Heh."
In the end, Orion just laughed out loud.
"Father, you aren't doing this just so you can meet him faster, correct?"
He questioned in a joking manner.
"W-What are you talking about? I am a fair man, I do not make exceptions, even if it is for my own grandson."
Octavius was quick to deny.
"Right…"
Orion nodded, looking into his father's eyes without saying anything.
"What are you looking at?" Octavius narrowed his eyes.
Orion, on the other hand, stood up and decided to leave before he was kicked out by his father, "I will be taking my leave now, I need to train the kid again starting today, he had enough rest these past 2 days."
"So it was true…"
Octavius commented before Orion could leave the room.
Orion paused, "Hmm?"
"I was told that the swordsmanship Vaan used resembled something you created in the past, I didn't believe it at first, but you are teaching him your swordsmanship."
"Hmm? He is my son, everything I have will be inherited by him,"
Orion smiled.
The day he saw his son's potential was the day he decided that he would make him the best swordsman in the entire world.
Whether Vaan wanted it or not didn't matter, if he resisted, he would simply beat his swordsmanship into his body, and with his talent, everything would bloom on its own.
Seeing his son smile, Octavius narrowed his eyes,
"He cannot use Aura, Orion."
He commented.
Orion turned towards the Headmaster and the Headmaster continued, "He defeated his opponent today because the only thing Aura can do for the Basic Swordsmen is to increase their physical abilities, a 3 Star Swordsman has far stronger physical capabilities than a normal human, however, that is just about it.
The only reason Vaan could fight against Alex was because Alex was tired and injured by his spells, this trick, however, will not work once he meets more mature Swordsmen and I am not even talking about the Intermediates yet, just Basic Swordsmen like Isabel and Declan Dawnstars would never get in a position Alex was in.
How is Vaan going to face them using Swords?"
Octavius questioned.
"Are you forgetting it, father? Vaan is a Mage, not a swordsman." Orion smiled.
"No, I am saying this because I know it,
Vaan is a Mage.
You training him as a Swordsman, it may look cool but it is inefficient, it would be better if he spends time doing something else than creating a fake sense of assurance that he can defeat a swordsman in a close combat situation,
That will only endanger in the future."
Octavius spoke with a solemn look on his face.
"Trust me, Father. I know what I am doing, and that child knows it as well. As for Decan and Isabel, they are excellent students, I have been looking into them for these past few days, however,
Both of them are 4 Star Swordsmen and trust me, once Vaan forms his 4th Circle and reaches their level,
He will destroy them, even if it becomes a 2 vs 1 battle."
Orion replied with a confident look on his face.
"Heh."
Octavius, on the other hand, laughed out loud.
"It seems you still haven't done proper research on those two, Orion. Especially since Declan child, I have been keeping my eyes on him and every time I meet him, I can feel his emotional stability and strength that surpasses almost any person of his age I have met before.
Don't look down on other students of my Academy."
Octavius spoke and this time, Orion was the one who laughed,
"Come on, father.
You know I have always looked down on other students of the Agresia Academy no matter whether it was a few decades ago,
Or now."
Saying those words, Orion simply walked out of the room.
"Arrogant bastard."
Octavius, on the other hand, cursed at his child before shaking his head and smiling.
Vaan Astra Vesta versus Declan Dawncrest.
The Vestas versus the Dawncrest.
It was an encounter he was looking forward to.
…
"I will give you 5 minutes, ask what you want, say what you want, after that, I will be speaking my part."
On the other side, Vaan, who was sitting on the sofa of the living room of the Vesta House, spoke with a serious look on his face as he glanced at all the members of the Vesta Family, the Professors, and the Students, in front of him.
"Congratulations on your victory, you saved the nam-"
Vaelen was the one who started, Vaan, however, interrupted in the middle and,
"I do not need superficial words, brother. Everyone here is aware of how attached we cousins are to each other, the dynamics are not a big secret, so no need to pretend since it's all our people here.
I do not need congratulatory words from you, come to the main topic."
"…"
Vaelen turned silent.
He did not like how Vaan was talking, even if it was just for formality, he wanted Vaan to keep a fake front since they were all here as a team, not as enemies. They needed to remain united if they wanted to achieve something. Vaan's actions, however, would only make things more complicated for other members of the Family.
"Then let's skip the formalities all together,
I am sure you didn't come here just to have a little talk,
Say why you are here."
Lirael spoke with an expressionless look on her face, deciding to drop all the formalities.
Vaan glanced at her cousin, then looked at the members of the family and noticing that they had nothing else to say and were waiting for him to start, he finally pointed at Vaelen and started,
"You lost the Vesta House, you fucked up."
"Yo-"
Lirael tried to deny those words, however,
"You are correct."
Vaelen nodded in agreement.
"I failed to lead the Family in the Academy and I must bear the responsibility of losing the Vesta House since Lord Orion has already taken action, the Family will know about it anyway, I was wrong, and… I fucked up."
"Brother-"
Lirael wanted to defend her brother, Vaelen, however, simply raised his hand, stopping her and looking at Vaan, wanted him to continue.
He wanted to see if this man was here just to degrade him or… was it something else.
Vaan noted Vaelen's actions, momentarily looking into his eyes as the two tried to read each other,
Then, Vaan turned towards Elric and,
"You failed to win the Elemental Clash,"
Elric clenched his fist in anger but he couldn't deny those words.
Vaan didn't pay him any heed either, turning towards Lirael, n-)1n
"You failed to win the Elemental Clash as well,"
Then, looking at Leif, "And you… you have been acting like a dog all this while so I doubt you are planning to step up anyway."
Once he was done pointing at all the other Prospective Heirs, he glanced at other members of the Family and,
"I don't know how long you have been here in the Academy, however, I have not heard about any of you doing an outstanding job in your field, although your leader was inadequate, none of you have shown any sort of potential to change things either,
Therefore,
I will be taking over."
"What…?"
With a solemn and authoritative look on his face, Vaan repeated,
"I will be taking over as the new leader, all the Vesta Students and Teachers will be following my orders, the honor the Family had lost,
Under my leadership, we will reclaim it,
And our first goal will be to reclaim the real Vesta House."
