Chapter 236 An opportunity?
"What in the hell is happening here…?"
Vaan blinked a few times as he glanced at the scene in front of him.
"Sir Vaan!"
"Young Master Vaan!"
"Please choose me, Sir Vaan!!"
"Hey! Why are you even here!? Do you think a 2nd Circle Mage like you deserves to enter the Ancient Ruins!?"
"Haah!? You aren't even a Mage, what the hell are you talking about!? Why would Young Master Vaan choose a Swordsman over a Mage? Go away! Make some space so that I can stand!"
"Why? Is your body too weak to stand here in this crowd? Are you worried that you might somewhat clash with some 'swordsmen' like me and might break some of your bones?"
"No, I am worried that I would get too annoyed and cast a spell and harm other students. I don't want to go to the Disciplinary Hall when the Academy just started."
"Heh, and you think others would just let you do that? Don't you think you would have your bones broken the moment you try gathering mana?"
"Oh, can you shut the hell up!? Young Master Vaan won't be choosing a Swordsman like you anyways!"
"Sure, a Mage like you must be extremely rare to catch his eyes!"
"You!!"
"What? You want a fight!? I am down!"
"…"
"I believe it should be clear by now, but they are here because they want you to take them to the Ancient Ruins with them."
The man who was responsible for taking Vaan out of Octavius's room and bringing him to the Teleportation Portal answered.
Vaan's expression changed.
He recalled how Declan was smiling at him when he was talking about how he was given a chance to enter the Ruins and in an instant, Vaan understood why he did that.
'Well this… is troublesome…'
Vaan couldn't help but think.
He needed to make a decision and of course, since he couldn't choose everyone, he would be disappointing the majority of the students in the Academy while it may not directly put him in any harm's way, being a public enemy wasn't good, especially when he has a force he is supposed to represent.
As the 'Hope' of the Vesta Family, he needed to take care of his 'image.'
"I look forward to how you will tackle this, Vaan Astra Vesta."
The man standing next to Vaan whispered with a smile on his face.
Vaan turned towards him and, "What are you, my mother?"
"…"
The two stared at each other with deadpan looks on their faces.
"How did they even know that I was here?" Vaan questioned.
"Well, I saw some swordsmen roaming around the building, if I am not wrong, they were in Dawncrest Faction."
The man answered and Vaan closed his eyes as his mouth twitched in annoyance.
"That little bitch is really planning to see this through the end, huh."
"I believe you mind your language, Sir Vaan." The man spoke, Vaan stared at him again, and,
"Stop being my Mother, will you?"
"I do not understand what Sir Vaan is saying, I can't possibly become Lady Astra, first, I am a Swordsman, second, I am not nearly as talented as her, third, I am not the Head of one of the most Influential Families in the entirety of Agresia and fourth, I am a man."
"Oh! So that was your fourth point! That's fair, it wasn't much of a strong point either. I wouldn't even mention it if I were you.
But again, I can't be you, because, one, I am not a retard!"
Vaan snorted as he then turned towards the students standing in front of him.
"So? How do you think I should get out of here?"
"Well, retards generally do not have a solution to most problems, sorry, I cannot help you."
The man answered and Vaan turned silent.
"You… what is your name?" he questioned.
After all, there weren't many people who could stand firm after bickering with him, the dude was exceptionally good at it. Vaan felt like he could learn a thing or two about how to be annoying.
"Luke Ava-"
"Luke is enough." Vaan interrupted.
"…" Luke didn't say anything and he didn't seem to be offended either.
"Does the Academy not have a system to prevent situations like these from arising?"
"We do not restrict our students in any way."
"So you allow students to randomly gather anywhere?"
"Well, if they directly or indirectly cause any harm, the Disciplinary Hall will take Action, however, if they do not, then at most, their respective professors would simply mark them absent for the day and they would be losing attendance since no leaves would be provided by Academy since it was not an official event."
"Please, like that would make a difference when the required criteria is barely a fourth of the total classes." Vaan sighed.
Knowing that he had no choice, he walked through the glass door and raised his hand. In an instant, silence fell over the place.
Everyone was eager to listen to what Vaan had to say to them,
"As you all probably already know, only 6 people are allowed to enter the Ancient Ruins." Vaan started as he looked around, carefully reading their expression while thinking about what to say next.
After all, it wasn't the situation he was used to, he couldn't rule through fear here, he needed to be… tactful.
Something he wasn't exactly good at.
"That means I can only 6 people to enter the Ruins, well, adding myself and my fiancée, only 4 spots are left.
Before the Induction, when I was told that I would be entering the Ruins and would need to choose 6 people, I thought I would simply choose it randomly, this way, I would get to know other randomly chosen students while we explored the Ruins.
Now, however, after hearing Declan's words in the Induction, I understood how important this opportunity was and the pressure suddenly increased.
I need to consider every little aspect before I come up with a decision.
I have no names in my mind right now, however, I would only want to choose the best students so that we can get the best possible results from the Ruins.
Honestly, I am even thinking about asking Declan about it, after all, what better option would I find than the 'strongest swordsman' of our Academy? I was even thinking about getting his suggestion in order to choose the rest of the members of our team."
Vaan spoke and in an instant, the students' expressions changed.
Vaan, on the other hand, smiled lightly as he then stepped forward and,
"Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go to my room."
Vaan and Luke walked out, the students made way for them.
Vaan continued to smile and Luke, who was observing him from behind had a strange look on his face.
Soon, a small smile appeared on his face as well.
'You definitely impressed me, Vaan. You indeed carry Lord Orion's blood in your veins.'
Luke was impressed.
Vaan, of course, couldn't care less about it. He just walked towards the Teleportation Portal and soon returned to his Mansion.
He and Elara then ate food and just as they were about to walk to the training room, a guest visited.
It was Vaelen.
"What am I hearing?"
"Huh? How am I supposed to know? It is your ears, not mine."
Vaelen momentarily turned silent, then, he just shook his head and,
"You want Declan to enter the Ruins with you?"
"Ah, that…" Vaan realized.
"Are you seriously going to allow a Dawncrest to enter the Ruins with you?"
"Calm down, will you?" Vaan sighed.
"Right, you must have had your reason to say that. I apologize, I overreacted." Vaelen sighed.
Vaan nodded as well. He then asked Vaelen to enter, Tea was served, and then,
"So who do you plan to take inside with you anyway?"
"Elara."
Vaan answered.
"Yes Yes, I know that already, you don't have to announce that again and again."
"I haven't thought about anyone else."
Vaan spoke and then suddenly,
"Young Master Vaan," Seraphina called out.
Vaan turned towards her and the woman continued,
"I believe you can use this opportunity for your benefit."
Vaan tilted his head, interested in what Seraphina was thinking about. Seraphina however, glanced at Vaelen, and understanding what she was trying to say, Vaan shook his head.
"Don't worry about him, you can treat him as an ally and say whatever you want."
Seraphina glanced at Vaelen in disbelief.
Vaan just chuckled, "Well, turns out my brother isn't as big of an asshole as I initially thought he would be, surprising, isn't it?"
"…"
"…"
Both Seraphina and Vaelen had no clue what to say.
"C-Can you explain what you were thinking?" Vaelen spoke as he glanced at Seraphina.
"R-Right." Seraphina nodded quickly. Jumping at the chance to bring the conversation back to the main Topic.
"You can use it to unite the Vesta Family and bring most students on your side, well, at the very least, you can plant the roots."
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶