"Asher my good friend,
You are in trouble,
Big, Big Trouble."
Vaan spoke with a scary smile on his face.
Now that he saw Asher, new streams of memories rushed into his brain. Vaan was already used to this by now, also, the things he learned from these memories, it pretty much coincided with what he had already concluded.
Asher was also one of the people who knew how big of a pushover the previous Vaan was and often used him. He borrowed quite a lot of money and used his family status to get things he normally couldn't get, he even bullied a few people under Vaan's name.
Of course, these were soon going to be actions Asher would regret most in his life.
"W-What trouble are you talking about, Young Master Vaan?" Asher questioned as he tried to stay calm.
Vaan was a pushover, so he reacted strongly to even minor troubles, Asher wanted to believe that this was one of those cases as well but for some reason… he felt that wasn't the truth.
"You see, my mother looked at the injuries that I sustained after our spar and...
She concluded that some of the attacks were aimed at my life." Vaan spoke.
"Huh…?"
Asher's expression changed.
Seeing that expression, a small smile appeared on Vaan's face.
That smile Asher had combined with that tone when Asher said, 'Young Master Vaan!', those eyes that clearly looked down on him and mocked him inwardly, it annoyed Vaan.
Therefore, seeing that smile being replaced by this shocked and fearful expression, Vaan felt satisfied.
Of course, this didn't mean he was planning to end it here,
Rubbing salt on someone's wound was Vaan's hobby.
"You understand what I mean, right?
Sustaining injuries in a spar is not a problem, however, if those attacks were aimed at other's life, and that too, the life of the man who has Vesta's blood flowing through his veins…
You should understand the seriousness of the issue, right?"
Asher's face paled in fear.
Attacking Vesta's blood with an intention to kill… no matter how big of a pushover, useless, talentless, lazy, and simp of a person that was, it was no different than declaring war on the Vesta Family and that is something that could ruin not only Asher but the entire Zilayan Family.
"Y-Young Master V-Vaan, what a-are you talking ab-about? Aiming for your l-life? W-Why would a-any of us do that?"
Asher stuttered, he couldn't understand the situation.
How can this happen? They made sure not to critically injure Vaan!
They were just passing some time. Bullying someone from the mighty Vesta Family was satisfying, it was also one of the best ways for them to feel good about themselves and take out their frustration on him.
But that was it!
Why would they try to kill him!?
They had no enmity against Vaan!
Even if they were enemies, Asher and the other 4 clearly knew their limit,
They would never do such a thing!
"Why do you think I came here? You are one of my close friends, how could you possibly try to kill me?" Vaan spoke as he looked at Asher with a kind look on his face.
"T-That is correct! How can I possibly try to kill you?" Asher's face brightened up.
"Young Master, you have to help me out! Your mother must have been mistaken; you have to tell her that we are innocent."
Asher spoke up.
He was desperate. This can very well lead to the destruction of his entire family. Asher could not take responsibility for something as big as this. He had to do something.
"I know that and I tried to take your side, however, my mother just called me a pushover and dismissed my opinion. I can't believe she did that.
You tell me, do you really think I am a pushover?"
Vaan questioned.
"N-No… h-how could Young Master Vaan be a pushover?"
Asher stuttered. Even he himself couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Young Master Vaan is one of the brightest and most charismatic people I have ever seen."
"Right? I don't even know where she got that idea from."
Vaan crossed his arms and dramatically shook his head.
"I can't believe she would act like that, so what if she is my mother? So what if she is one of the strongest mages in this world? Does that make her right all the time? Even she can make mistakes sometimes, right? It is not like she is a God. I don-"
Vaan wanted to continue blabbering, however, the more he spoke, the higher Asher's heartbeat got, he could practically see the destruction of his family in front of his eyes.
He didn't have time to listen to this idiot's blabbering.
"Y-Young Master, y-you have to d-do something about it. I beg you, please help me out." Asher urged.
"Of course, that is what I am here for, after all." Vaan smiled politely.
Asher felt strangely irritated when he saw Vaan's smile.
Here he was panicking, trying to think of a way to save himself and his family, and then there is this man, laughing like an idiot without knowing the seriousness of the situation.
Asher wanted nothing more than to beat this idiot again.
"You can trust me, Asher. I will not let anything happen to my friends."
Suddenly, Vaan spoke up, and hearing those words, Asher glanced at Vaan and froze.
Young Master Vaan… for some reason… he didn't look annoying anymore… rather, he looked strangely dependable.
Asher started feeling bad for all those things he had done to Vaan in the past.
Vaan… he came here to save him from this predicament…
Asher was touched.
He wanted to put his trust in Vaan.
But suddenly, Vaan extended his hand.
"Young Master Vaan…? What are you doing…?"
Asher frowned in confusion.
"Hmm? You need me to make a move and help you, don't you?"
Vaan questioned back.
"Y-Yes yes." Asher nodded.
"You can't be expecting me to take a risk of going after my mother for free, right?"
"W-What?" Asher stuttered.
Then, with a most genuine smile on his face, Vaan spoke,
"20 Elemental Stones.
Hand them over and I will try my best to save you."
