Valença got out of bed. She had a dream about training with Val'Drakar, so she woke up feeling uneasy. Though the dream was intense, she hadn't slept much. Going to the bathroom, she began washing her face to stay awake and then started getting dressed.
"I have to help Enrico free the Elves, and we'll start from today."
She gave herself two strong slaps on the cheeks to get rid of any negative thoughts and left the room. As she walked, she saw Serenya up ahead, seemingly deep in thought.
'Is she thinking about how to get stronger?'
She passed by Serenya with a small smile that hinted she felt superior. If that was indeed Serenya's goal to get closer to Enrico, it was a pity, because Valença was confident she held the advantage. Serenya, noticing her walking by with that smug smile, grew irritated.
'Tsk, she better not get arrogant, because I'll surpass circle two too.'
Besides, she was the leader, and Enrico was her subordinate, so even if Valença had more power right now, Serenya believed she had the upper hand due to their already stronger relationship from the beginning.
"Besides, I'm prettier. Hohoho~"
"Why are you laughing, leader?"
Looking back, she saw Enrico, who somehow seemed healthier than in the past few days. She hadn't seen him look like this in a while—perhaps not since he went to visit his family months ago.
'Doesn't matter, this is good… he looks more handsome?'
Serenya turned her head, cheeks blushing slightly, trying to hide it as much as possible.
"I just remembered something, subordinate."
Enrico smiled at her, which made her blush even more. The two began chatting while walking down the hallway. Yumeha appeared right behind Enrico, like a bodyguard, eyeing Serenya as a new challenger. Though, to be fair, she was already married to Enrico—she just needed to make it official, so the others didn't really stand a chance.
'Of course, if Master wants more girls, I'll accept, but I'm the first one.'
With a happy smile, she followed the two, imagining herself supporting her Ketsumei in everything. She couldn't wait to turn eighteen.
Enrico said goodbye to Serenya, who mentioned she was going to visit her mother. He then walked with Yumeha to the training field, beginning to plan with her a new training session to create a new yokai. Yumeha nodded eagerly—she had just been waiting for her master to begin.
Upon arriving at the training field, Kai was practicing with a wooden sword. He struck a wooden dummy and split it in half without using magic. Enrico checked his stats and saw that just since Saturday, his circle had increased from 80% to 86%.
'That's insane. Is he really that excited to fight me? Must be one of those protagonist buffs when they're fired up.'
If he kept going like this, he'd reach circle two within the week. As Enrico approached, he saw Giulio, Liam, and Camila.
'They seem to have grown closer as friends. That's good.'
"Master, can we start creating my yokai now?"
She was really excited to discover her new power, and it was all thanks to her master. She was deeply grateful to whatever deity had placed him in her path.
"First, I'll start a different training with him—then you, Yumeha..."
Enrico pointed at Kai, who had just started resting. Yumeha pouted, but not wanting to leave her disappointed, he patted her head, making her blush. She began daydreaming again, imagining the two of them married.
Approaching Kai after calming her down, he overheard a conversation about Kai possibly being able to win the fight.
"Maybe you have a chance if he gets too overconfident."
"Yeah, maybe he'll lower his guard now that he's reached circle two."
"You guys don't know him that well," Giulio and Camila. "Let me tell you—Enrico isn't that kind of person... I think?"
Liam tried to explain, but he remembered how Enrico might've held back against Lan. He had to admit that ever since Enrico got slimmer in that dungeon and fought the way he did, he didn't know what Enrico's limit was—only catching a glimpse when he fought Elowyn and her subordinates.
Enrico, hearing this discussion, initially thought they were forming a strategy, but then realized they were trying to say Kai might have a chance against him. He looked at Kai, who seemed worried—but not about the fight.
'He's probably worried I'll hold back against him.'
He had to admit he felt a bit sorry for Kai—his friends thinking his only chance of winning was if the opponent lowered their guard. That pity quickly vanished. Kai was the protagonist, his second favorite character, and the one with the most potential. Pity? What Kai needed now was strength.
"Kai, shall we begin?"
They noticed Enrico approaching with Yumeha daydreaming behind him. Kai got up to grab his sword from the wooden weapons rack.
"Yes, I'm ready."
"Alright, just rest a bit more to be at 100%. From what I saw, you were training hard."
Kai sat back down. He wanted to fight right away, but Enrico was right—there was no point in having a rematch if he wasn't at full strength.
[Finally some action. Watching you make those girls blush was getting boring.]
'Is that jealousy I'm sensing from you?'
[I would never feel something like that. Now, more importantly, what are you planning to do with the protagonist?]
A demonic smile appeared on Enrico's face, making the system uneasy. Licking his lips, Enrico was excited—he had been waiting a long time to do this, but the protagonist hadn't been ready... until now.
'I'm finally going to awaken his first magic.'
[If that's all, then why are you making that smile?... You're not planning something bad, are you? Why aren't you explaining it to me? So annoying!]