Inside Belle's tower within her lounge, she remained seated on her sofa with Reginald and Aela still at her sides but in silence. No one spoke a word since Aron denied her offer and left. If he knew she was still processing his refusal he'd be surprised by his impact.
'In all my life, no man had dared reject a request from me....' Belle thought to herself but remained calm. She then took a deep breath and stood from the luxurious sofa. "I'll be going to my private quarters, you two, go associate with the new students and promote my faction whilst doing so," Belle instructed without facing the two and left.
Once out of sight, Aela furrowed her brows and clicked her tongue in displeasure. "That fool had the gall to reject lady Belle's offer," she muttered with gritted teeth, still upset over the issue but Reginald simply shrugged his shoulders uncaringly. "What's happened has happened, there's nothing we can do. Let's just go do as lady Belle instructed." Reginald brushed off Aela's thoughts on the matter and left the lounge with her in toll.
Belle had her fair share of frantic admirers; it wouldn't be an overstatement to call them worshipers even. Considered by many as one of the most beautiful women in all Ettenheim. Although Reginald acknowledged her beauty and power, he wasn't obsessed, he only wanted her backing and resources.
Sometimes in life one must be realistic, Reginald knew he didn't stand a chance in courting lady Belle, so why waste his energy and strength trying to get noticed? As for Aela? He couldn't really tell what drove her to admire lady Belle to the extent that she does.
Meanwhile, Aron and Evanora were quietly making their way out of Galos Academy. The usually quiet Evanora turned her head to Aron and spoke what was on her mind. "Is a faction bad?" she asked curiously, causing Aron to cast her a short glance without turning his head.
"It depends, for the weak, being in a faction is a smart choice, but to the strong it's no different than being shackled down. From what Hilda told me, a faction can be formed by anyone who is rank four and above," Aron explained as simply as he could and Evanora nodded in her agreement while rubbing her chin, a habit she observed from Aron. "Evanora doesn't see the point." As much as she thought, which on its own wasn't much, she found no reason a faction should exist.
"The simplest answer I can give you is common interests. I'm actually going to form a faction of my own once the returning students are back," Aron suddenly revealed while Evanora tilted her head at him as if questioning why. Seeing the curiosity on her face, Aron proceeded to explain.
"I need a faction to apply to be a Vanguard," Aron replied but Evanora remained lost.
A Vanguard was a special role given to rank four and above students. They were essentially Galos Academy's explorers, being granted permission to explore the vast world for new knowledge and sometimes recruit talented individuals on behalf of their faction.
Pesia had less than one thousand years of written history. Not many people know much about the past and in this generation not many concerned themselves with it. However, from time to time, ruins or hidden labyrinths of sorts have been discovered bringing new knowledge to the world, a great example being airships which have revolutionized travel.
As for why most people didn't go about exploring, the answer was simple, mana beasts, pirates and competing forces from both within and other nations. Most would steer clear of this but as for Aron. Aron's interest was piqued.
The lack of history made it impossible for him to know why his ancestors purposefully migrated to the hell that was Limbo. If anything, the ruins and labyrinths could provide him the answers he seeks or even better a way out of Pesia.
Most advancements were thanks to these discoveries which meant they were far more advanced, perhaps even advanced enough to have gateways to Limbo like Argos had.
"The longer I stay here the more my plans are getting adjusted but at least it's for the better," Aron muttered in a low tone, the satisfaction in his voice very clear. "Evanora thinks forming a faction sounds hard." Evanora frowned at the mere thought of all that work.
"The basic requirements to being a Vanguard is having a ship, a pilot, ten or more students to act as the crew, and a supervisor in the form of a professor or inquisitor. Finding a capable professor or inquisitor may prove to be a challenge since they're nobles and I've already rejected their offers to teach me." Aron couldn't help but sigh at the thought. He'd been constantly adjusting his plan to suit the situation while being cautious and preparing alternatives as well, it was only natural he felt slightly fatigued mentally.
Meanwhile at the group being oriented....
"Wow! This place is gigantic and luxurious too!" Lucas couldn't help but exclaim in amazement while glancing at the Galos Academy architecture alongside Sharla and Mirai. "Sharla, Mirai, why aren't you saying anything, don't you see how amazing this place is?!" Lucas turned to the two lovely elves behind and asked with vigor in his voice, but Sharla only placed her palm on her face and shook her head.
"I'm sure it's wonderful," Mirai commented in a gentle voice making Lucas realize his blunder as he turned to see the beautiful blind elf showing him a gentle smile. "Oh...I-I'm sorry, I got too excited," Lucas apologized and held his head down while calling himself stupid numerous times in his head, Mirai however took no offense. "It's quite alright, how about you make it up to me by describing what you see?" Mirai requested softly, causing Lucas to instantly agree, and come closer.
Sharla only smiled and shook her head a bit while also enjoying his narration, although short the Journey had indeed brought them closer together. When individuals face life and death circumstances together it's bound to forge a bond.
This was especially apparent for Sharla who seemed to harbor a dislike for most humans, Lucas however, was like an innocent child who sought to make the world a better place and both Mirai and her admired that.
As the tour continued, a group of girls whose attire clearly showed they were commoners began walking close to Lucas while gossiping about earlier events.
"To think he was a commoner like us!"
"Eek! I know, he looked so charming and mysterious. Not to mention he's stronger than nobles even."
"I heard he even beat Brutas of the Vonstein family."
"Oh yes! I saw it with my own eyes."
The girls carried on with their chatter energetically, Lucas didn't even need to hear a name to know who they were talking about. When he thought about this individual all he felt was anger.
"He's nothing but a heartless monster," Lucas muttered drawing the girl's attention but before he could speak, Sharla glanced at him and shook her head, gesturing him not to say more.
The girls only looked at him with narrowed eyes and once they saw elves next to him, they hmphed and walked away. Elves and humans normally didn't get along naturally because of their history, in fact, seeing an elf on the continent of Drotzi was rare as the discrimination against them was quite heavy in some parts.
"Why did you stop me?" he asked as he began to calm down, Sharla sighed at this and gave him a pat on his shoulder and showed a gentle smile. "Speaking now will just cause people to think you're being hateful because of his success, give it time. They'll soon see his character and their vision of him will change." She comforted and he nodded.
'Just you wait, in a few weeks' time I'll prove just what I'm capable of as well,' Lucas swore to himself before showing a smile and continuing with his narration.
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