Enrico spun both hands around the sword, making Kai spin along with it. A second later, he delivered a kick to his ribs, pushing him away.
"All right, that's enough. You'd better rest."
Kai sat down while Liam and the others went to check on him. Even though it had only been training, they thought Enrico had gone a little too far. While his injuries were being healed, Kai felt disappointed. After waiting so long for a rematch, what had actually happened was that Enrico had been training him.
He was grateful for that, but he could not shake the disappointment. How far behind Enrico was he? Now, however, he had another question to ask.
"How did you know about my magic?"
He knew that Enrico was a fan of his father, but he should not have known about a magic that neither he nor his father knew about. How could he know what type of magic it was?
"Because I know."
Liam, Giulio, and Camila were incredulous at that direct answer without any explanation. Kai sighed with a smile. It seemed that Enrico would keep it a secret, but it did not matter, because he trusted him.
After checking that Kai was fine, Enrico stood up and went over to where Yumeha was.
"Yumeha, let's begin."
"Yes, Master."
She was quite excited. So, she sat down and closed her eyes. Enrico sat right in front of her, giving her confidence.
When she closed her eyes, Yumeha immersed herself in her own mind. Deep within that place, she began thinking about how she would create her new Yokai. To her, Enrico had become someone who had managed to guide her down the right path, taking care of her and helping her evolve. To Yumeha, Enrico was like a sun that she would follow for the rest of her life.
A dark shadow appeared and began transforming into gold. From within it emerged a three-legged black crow with golden eyes.
When she opened her eyes and saw it, Yumeha made her decision. After thinking about its name, she spoke:
"Yatagarasu, you will be my first magic."
Yatagarasu bowed, as if saying goodbye. That made Yumeha a little sad. Then, it transformed into mana and began being transferred into her heart. Yumeha felt a warmth in her chest and pressed the area.
"Good job, Yumeha."
A hand was placed on her head. Upon seeing Enrico in front of her, Yumeha blushed and nodded.
He asked her to go to the middle of the field and test her new magic. The others, who were watching everything, were quite surprised. It was the first time they had seen magic of that kind. They had already seen Yumeha fighting and thought those were merely summons, but now they discovered that those creatures were related to her own magic.
Enrico created a large fireball in his hand, the same size as Valença's had been before her evolution, since her magic had increased after reaching Circle Two.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
He launched the fireball toward Yumeha, but closed his hand into a fist, splitting that magic into three still-large fireballs. He might have been using one of Valença's techniques without enhancement, but he would continue doing it his own way.
Yumeha saw the three attacks approaching from different directions and became a little nervous. Not wanting to disappoint her master, she gritted her teeth and used the first magic that came to her mind.
"Kōmyō no Hane."
Spiritual wings appeared on her back, increasing her reflexes and speed. Yumeha disappeared at the instant the three fireballs were about to hit her. Reappearing above Enrico, she raised her staff and brought it down with force.
Enrico raised his arm to block the blow. The impact caused his feet to sink into the ground, forming a small hole beneath them.
"That's very good, Yumeha. Let's continue."
Enrico smiled, excited by the result. Yumeha was also happy to realize that her new magic had greatly increased her abilities. Without wasting time, she advanced again.
She disappeared once more and appeared beside Enrico, trying to hit him with her staff. Enrico dodged by leaning his body backward and, before she could recover her position, spun his body and struck with his arm.
Yumeha crossed her staff in front of her body to block. Even so, the force of the impact made her slide several meters across the field.
She planted her staff into the ground to stop herself from being pushed back any further and immediately used her spiritual wings to accelerate again. This time, she advanced in a straight line, increasing her speed even further.
Enrico waited until the last moment.
When Yumeha got close, he dodged to the side. She passed by him and quickly spun her body, using her wings to change direction in the air. She returned toward Enrico and delivered another blow with her staff.
Enrico raised his arm to block again. The impact was even stronger and the ground beneath his feet cracked, but he remained standing.
"This is much better."
Yumeha smiled upon hearing the praise and continued attacking. The two began exchanging blows rapidly. Yumeha used her spiritual wings to appear from different directions, while Enrico dodged or blocked every attack, gradually increasing the strength of his movements to keep up with her growth.
The battle continued for another three minutes. Yumeha tried to advance once more, but Enrico dodged the staff and touched her shoulder with his hand, stopping the fight.
"All right, that's enough."
Yumeha stopped, breathing heavily. Enrico was also a little tired, but his condition was clearly better than hers.
The others, who had watched the battle, were amazed by the level of the two.
Kai watched in silence. He felt a little jealous seeing Yumeha being able to fight Enrico like that.
'Why are there so many people ahead of me?'
He also wanted to become strong enough to truly excite Enrico during a battle.
Liam moved a little closer, trying to memorize everything from that battle so he could improve. Perhaps he could use some technique he had seen with Yumeha's staff or learn something new by watching Enrico.
After the small battle, Yumeha rested on the ground, breathing heavily, while Enrico remained standing, with only a little fatigue on his face.
'As always, our levels are quite similar. Indeed, the bond reproduces everything and even gains characteristics from my improved body, even if that happens on a smaller scale.'
[It seems that the bond between the two of you can't reproduce your muscles at one hundred percent.]
'Yes. It seems I found a small weakness, even if it isn't much, because the more Circles she has, the better she'll become.'
Helping Yumeha stand up, Enrico went over to where the others were. After exchanging a few words with them, he was ready to leave with Yumeha, until Giulio, being cheeky, began asking about that day's festival.
"So, are you guys going with someone special today? Just so you know, I'm going out with someone, so I'm all good."
Liam seemed to become dejected, while Camila gave Kai a shy look. Yumeha's ears twitched when she heard about taking someone special. Curious, she asked a question, since she was not from that city.
"This festival, what is it?"
"Well, it's a day to have fun, but young people usually use this day to go out with people they like."
Yumeha looked at Enrico, who was taking some water that Liam had handed him.
"So it's like Love Day, Master?"
"In a way, yes. We can say it's an invention from young people five hundred years ago who wanted to have two special days a year. One of those young people was the future king of Sanos at the time, so he ended up creating this festival."
Kai seemed confused by that and asked a question, not understanding why someone would need a festival to go out with a special person when they could simply spend time with their own friends. Liam tried to explain, but soon realized that he was talking to someone who was completely lost when it came to romance. Kai was an idiot when it came to these things, something quite typical of protagonists like him.
[He's so innocent, unlike a certain someone.]
'Yes, he is. And he's also clueless when it comes to romance. Until the day he died, he never got together with anyone. A young man completely different from me.'
[Wait. So you've been with someone before?]
Enrico did not answer. He simply ignored the system and prepared to leave with Yumeha, who seemed quite excited to accompany him.
Before he could leave, however, he saw Camila approaching Kai. Apparently, she was beginning to experience her first crush after seeing all the effort Kai had shown during the fight.
"Kai, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What's your type?"
Upon seeing that interaction, Enrico smiled, already imagining the answer, just as it happened in the original story. Apparently, the first girl to fall in love with Kai had finally appeared.
"Come on, Yumeha."
"Yes, Master."
"Someone like Enrico."
Everyone immediately stopped.
It was as if they had turned into statues the instant those words left Kai's mouth.
Camila's head seemed to spin, completely unable to process what she had just heard. Kai, on the other hand, remained completely expressionless, simply looking at everyone in confusion, not understanding why that simple answer had caused such an exaggerated reaction.
Yumeha gripped her staff tightly and slowly turned toward Kai.
'It would already be bad enough to have so many girls around Master... And now a man? I won't let this happen.'
Enrico noticed her reaction and immediately grabbed Yumeha by the arm before she could do anything. Then, he simply waved at everyone and began leaving with her.
When they reached the academy hallway, Yumeha was still biting her finger, clearly irritated, while Enrico watched the system's messages, especially the last one.
[Tell me it's a lie.]
'I'm also a little surprised, but he's an idiot who knows absolutely nothing about love. Besides, it's fun seeing their faces like this, so I'll let it slide.'
[You're the one who seems like an idiot for letting this slide. And I hope you're right about what you said. He can't be corrupted by someone like you.]
With the system disappearing, Enrico looked at Yumeha, who was still showing jealousy. That could serve as another incentive for the girls to improve even further, so for now, everything was fine.
And if that situation ever went too far, he would be able to deal with it.
Therefore, Enrico decided to remain calm.