Once Valyr heard from Arcenne’s mouth that the man that was accompanying her was not only the Stelyra clan’s leader, but her father as well, only shock remained within his body, filling it to the brim as he looked at the man slightly aghast with his mouth agape. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to recover his senses, closing his mouth before looking at the man behind Arcenne with a light smile and a nod.
In response, Aster lightly nodded back, glancing at Arcenne for a brief moment before opening his mouth to speak. “Although my daughter has already given you an exemplary summary of my accolades, let me introduce myself properly.”
“My name is Aster Valerion Stelyra, the 10th and current patriarch of Astella City’s Stelyra clan. I am also a Marquis of the Astella Region, which is a title that has been bestowed to me by His Royal Majesty of the Algerie Kingdom.”
“Nevertheless, those accolades pale in comparison to the fact that I am this young woman’s father, something I will always be proud and grateful for.” Saying these words, Aster could not help but have a light smile on his face, with Arcenne’s face becoming slightly red from her father’s final statement.
After that, Aster moved closer towards Gabriel and Valyr, shifting his gaze towards the former as an apologetic smile adorning his face. “I apologize for intruding upon your conversation. May I have a word with the man you’re talking to? It’ll only be for a while, I promise.”
“You would have to ask the man beside me, Marquis Stelyra. If it were up to me, I would’ve readily said yes,” said Gabriel in response with a bitter smile. Nevertheless, he decided to distance himself from both Aster and Valyr, giving the two enough space to talk.
With that, Valyr was finally able to see Aster from up close, inwardly nodding as he finally obtained a conclusion to the shock he experienced earlier once he found out this man was Aster Stelyra. ‘Indeed. This is the Aster I know from my previous life, only younger.’
‘Since that’s the case… what happened in between the beta version and the first public version for his appearance in the latter to have changed so much?’ As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr could not help but recall the Aster Stelyra he knew from his previous life.
Though the aura emanated by both Asters were the same, commanding a great amount of respect and awe from those who stood close to them, the Aster in his previous life looked more like someone who already had a foot into the grave.
A slightly hunched back, a sparse head of white hair, a face filled to the brim with wrinkles, as well as an expression that told anyone who looked at him that he was tired of it all, that was the Aster Stelyra Valyr knew from his memories.
On the other hand, the Aster that stood before him seemed like a different person altogether. Though he seemed like he was already past his prime, his body still exuded great amounts of energy as an air of nobility that inspired both terror and awe to those who knew him emanated out of his body.
Aside from that, he had a full head of jet-black hair that complemented his jade green eyes, as well as a visage that showed the wisdom and experience he had accrued through multiple battles and hardships in his life.
“Care to introduce yourself to me, young man?” Aster lightly smiled at Valyr. “I just want to make sure if you’re the man I’m looking for.”
Though he did not know why Aster was looking for him, Valyr decided to answer anyway, knowing that his queries would be answered in due time.
“My name is Valyr Zeihardt, a Rank 1 blacksmith, as well as a Knight of the Astella Region. It is an honor to meet you, Marquis Stelyra.” After saying these words, Valyr lightly bowed towards the man, with his actions and his earlier words causing the eyes of those in the room to slightly widen in surprise.
In response to Valyr’s introduction, Aster could not help but let out a light chuckle before patting the former’s shoulders. “Indeed. You’re the young man I’ve been looking for. Care if we continue our conversation somewhere more secluded?”
Hearing Aster’s question, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr’s face as he shifted his gaze towards Gabriel. “It seems we’ll have to continue our conversation some other time.”
“No worries, no worries!” In response, Gabriel hastily waved his hands back and forth as he lightly chuckled, telling Valyr that there was no problem. “Take as much time as you need.”
“Is it fine you stay here for now, Arcenne?” Soon after, Aster looked at Arcenne and posed the question to her.
“My response is the same as Gabriel’s.” Arcenne could only smile in response. “Take as much time as you need. Father. Valyr.”𝞸𝑣𝔩xt.𝗇𝓔t
With the two lightly nodding to her words, Valyr and Aster then made their way out of the room, heading to a more secluded portion of the combat training hall. In the meantime, Gabriel could not help but look at Arcenne in shock.
“I know you’re part of the Stelyra clan and all that, but why didn’t you tell me your father was the leader of your city’s Stelyra clan?!” Gabriel could not help but ask, causing Arcenne to look back at him with a slightly confused expression.
“Would you have believed me if I did?” As these words came out of Arcenne’s mouth, Gabriel could only respond with silence, bitterly smiling at the former before letting out a long sigh soon after.
“Now that I think about it, why is your father looking for Valyr? Is it because he’s a Combat Elite at Rank 1?” Gabriel asked, allowing his imagination to run wild as he asked another question after that. “Is the Stelyra clan recruiting combat prodigies or something?”
“If they did, I would have already given the entire combat training hall a heads-up weeks in advance.” In response, Arcenne lightly shook his head. “However, that’s not the reason why my father was looking for him. It’s for an entirely different reason.”
“Then again, I didn’t expect Valyr to obtain a rank of nobility after he left Clossbay,” she added, causing Gabriel to ask what she meant by that. In response, Arcenne explained the entire process of obtaining nobility, leaving Gabriel at a slight loss for words as he gained newfound respect for Valyr.
“Do you know what the two are going to talk about?” Sometime later, Gabriel allowed his curiosity to get the better of himself, deciding to ask Arcenne the question that had surfaced in mind. Unfortunately for him, Arcenne shook her head in response, her next words only making him let out a sigh.
“He may be my father, but even I don’t know what’s going in his mind sometimes.”
“Our only choice is to wait and find out from them once they come back.”