Vincent Sensei

"Vincent. When can we start? I want the reward soon." Lupa asked in an impatient mood.

[How about you make a bet? The twins can show us around the city safely. What do you say?]

Vincent liked the idea. He tempted with a smirk, "I'm sure you two will lose, so why don't we make a bet? If we lose, we leave. If we win, you give us a tour around the city."

Lenn and Renn looked at each other with a frown. However, Tula made the situation worse by gleefully saying to Plow, "You hear that, Plow. We will go around the city, yey."

Lenn, "I accept."

Renn, "I won't lose!"

Vincent went back to his spectator seat and then loudly clapped while announcing, "Start the sparring session now!"

Lupa crouched, taking a predator-like fighting stance with her claws extended. On the opposite side, the twins did the same. They clenched their weapons and prepared for combat.

At first, when the fight started, Lenn and Renn seemed to have great teamwork, but they never fought against someone that moved frantically across the field. It wasn't easy to predetermine a path and make a swing.

Lupa used the twins to block their swings mid-swing, not to hit each other. She parried each swing with her sharp claws, and little by little, a smile was starting to show on her face. It appeared Lupa was having fun.

Vincent breathed a sigh in relief when Lupa could handle the twins or at least have a stalemated fight. Ester worried initially, but when she saw Lupa jumping from a tree and starting to smile, Ester didn't feel the need to worry anymore.

Lenn, "*Huff* Are you a... *Huff* monkey?"

Renn, "You're cheating! *Huff* Fight us like a man!*Huff*."

Lenn and Renn started to get winded after doing their best for five minutes against a hyperactive wolf rabbit monkey monster girl of boundless energy and speed.

"I'm not a man. Only my mate can be the Alpha of the pack. Come, let's play some more. This is exciting!" Lupa started to show her wolf instincts of a predator. A battle hungry wolf.

Kazumi started to worry about something and decided to ask.

[Did we make a mistake? Lupa isn't a battle maniac, is she?]

-I don't think so. I guess it's because of the reward. Lupa simply sees Lenn and Renn like a carrot on the stick and pushing for the reward. She is probably trying to get more rewards like she always does.-

[Are you sure, though? Well, I hope you are right.]

Doubts started to gather in Vincent's heart after this short conversation. Lupa only knew how to fight for her life up to this point. She never had a friendly fight in her entire life.

Was it because of this fact that instead of anger to kill, she started to become competitive? Vincent could only wait and see.

Slash. Slash. Thud. Thud. Sparks flew in the bright morning under the warm sun. The three combatants taxed their bodies with every action. Using real weapons against sharp claws was fair yet dangerous. Both sides kept caution, resulting in more stamina spent.

Two minutes later, for a total of seven minutes, Vincent got up and announced, "The spar is over. Stop so I can announce the winner."

Lenn and Renn immediately stopped and fell on the ground from exhaustion. On the other side, Lupa was breathing quickly with an excited grin on her face. Lupa also slyly winked at Vincent for a favorable result.

"Did big sister Lupa win?" Tula asked.

"Let's see what Vincent decides since it was a very close fight. But Tula, you should also care for your little brothers." Ester decided to try and encourage Tula to start treating Lenn and Renn like brothers.

Currently, Tula is barely talking to them, and the sour expression on their faces is easy to understand why. Strangers are treated better than siblings is what's passing through their minds.

Yula raised a slight smile at the view beside her. She thanked Ester in her heart for acting like a caring big sister to her daughter. Yula only hoped what any mother would wish that her daughter would be on good terms with her siblings.

"I'm sure we won, brother. The beastman must be a D Ranker, and we gave her a run for her money." Lenn felt pleased with the result, although he couldn't achieve a knockout or a surrender.

"We are rare awakeners for awakening at twelve years old, unlike others which are about sixteen and above. I bet she has been a shapeshifter for more than half a decade, and we still didn't show defeat." Renn continued, flaunting how they have awakened earlier than other people.

However, Beatrix awakened at the age of nine. The twins would probably have their ego shattered if this news reached their ears. Lenn and Renn thought they were strong and geniuses.

The twins wanted to stand beside their sister even if they were young, but their father kept insisting on passing his test to awaken the Blood Tempered Body trait before applying to the army.

Koss didn't seem to like the idea of having his children join at a young age. Maybe he wanted his sons to enjoy their life more and protect Lenn from becoming a second Kass.

Vincent faced the kitchen and said, "The audience will decide who the winner is. But I know who won without any preference for my wolf girl."

Ester, "Lupa wins, I guess."

Tula, "Big sister Lupa."

Yula, "This is a tough spot. I can't decide, but... I will support my sons."

Kazumi [Lupa wins for sure. They have no experience in actual combat.]

Vincent turned towards the combatants and said, "Raise your weapons, and they will tell you without the need to complain who the winner is. But as the others said, Lupa won this exchange."

"What do you meann..." Lenn raised his shield and immediately understood. The wooden shield had a hole carved in the middle. A bit more, and the shield would break.

"Even though she countered us a couple of times, if the fight continued, I'm sure we would have won... huh?" Renn was the last to realize what Vincent meant. The two swords in his hands possessed multiple dents, and one of the two didn't look usable anymore, even after intensive maintenance on it.

Lenn and Renn opened their eyes and stared intensely at Lupa's ten claws. However, her claws remained sharp and shiny. As if the claws weren't used to fight with. It seemed the claws grew stronger after they melted.

"Not only your weapons are about to break, but you were two against one. I was worried Lupa would get hurt, but thankfully, the two of you don't have any real-life experience, haha." Vincent laughed. He was happy no one got hurt.

"That doesn't count! She must be a D Ranker for sure!" Lenn protested.

"We only awakened two years ago. It's not that long ago." Renn added to their excuses.

"Haha. Lupa awakened less than two months ago. Also, we have an appointment tomorrow to register as an adventurer. We don't have a rank yet." Vincent destroyed what little ego the twins had remaining.

Lenn and Renn stopped talking. They were defeated both physically and emotionally.

"Here, Tula. Let me take care of Plow." Ester gently took Plow from Tula's lap and then continued, "Lenn and Renn are your little brothers. That means you are their big sister. Didn't you say you wanted to be a big sister one day? Go and comfort your brothers. Now is the time to get to know them."

Tula didn't know what to do. She was a bit scared of Lenn and Renn by how they presented themselves and how they didn't like Vincent. Tula then looked at her mother. Yula nodded with a warm smile giving Tula the courage to go near her twin brothers.

Tula approached her brothers, acting shy and cute. Then she placed her hands on their heads and said, "Here is a head pat from big sister Tula. Little brothers must not be sad about losing. Big sister Lupa is strong, and big brother Vincent was taught by my father. He is very strong."

Lenn and Renn suddenly turned their gaze on Vincent. Their eyes didn't show a hint of defeat anymore. Instead, they burned with curiosity.

Was the man who brought their sister trained by their father? Barely anyone would subject themselves to difficult training. Many wanted to become official soldiers and earn money instead of arduous training that made them hungrier than usual and force them to spend money on extra food.

Lenn, "Did our father train you?"

Renn, "What did our father teach you?"

"Koss taught me about all the adaption phases, but we were attacked before I could learn more. Also, the Bloodstone in the interrogation room revealed I had become Blood Tempered Body stage one. But now I don't know where to learn that Force Shock thing." Vincent answered.

Lenn's and Renn's facial expressions momentarily froze from surprise. On the other hand, Yula raised a warm smile. Her husband kept doing what he loved to do before his time abruptly came to an end.

Yula recalled how Koss always wanted to train a stronger new generation with his own two hands. Vincent was his final student, and he looked like a caring individual by how he acted up until now.

"Vincent... No. Elder brother! Please train us! " Lenn suddenly insisted.

"El-elder Brother. Help up become stronger and adapt our bodies. We need to join the army and seek revenge on the ants." Renn displayed a gleam of killing intent in his eyes.

[Wow. This is a sudden turn of events. What do you think, Vincent Sensei?]

-I feel like I'm getting roped into an annoying thing Kazumi Sensei.-

[What about teaching them Vincent Sensei? I guess it can be an excuse to have a roof under our heads for free.]

-...-

"No!" Vincent frowned as he angrily shouted at Lenn and Renn. "If you two go for revenge, who will take care of your mother and sister?"

The faces of the twins suddenly paled from realizing the most important thing they forgot. Their determination for revenge promptly subsided as they remembered their weak mother and young-minded sister.

Lenn and Renn looked at each other. Both nodded at the same time as if they could communicate and said, "We renounce our revenge and honor our father as a hero."

Lenn, "Teach us how to become stronger. Elder brother, please make us your students."

Renn, "We won't become soldiers if you desire. We will join the adventurers guild and take easy quests to stay with our family."

Kazumi wanted to say something, but she noticed there was no need. Vincent wore a determined gaze on his face. The idea of having the twins as training buddies and rivals in progress flashed in his mind.