Kai was at the beach along with Giulio at his side, both building a sandcastle and competing to see who made the best one, while Camila, Valença, and Elaris drank orange juice and chatted.
"I'm still surprised you agreed to come with us, President Elaris."
"I wanted a break from the work I did at Astrong, so I simply took the chance when you invited me."
'And also to stay closer to you to recruit you... if Enrico were to join, I think it would be easier to convince them.'
Drinking her juice, Elaris noticed that Valença was rather quiet and sighed at times.
"You seem to be missing something."
"Yes, I wanted to stroke Enrico's hair... why did I come? I should have gone to meet my future in-laws."
"You're admitting your feelings so easily it's scary."
They had already been staying temporarily at an inn near the beach for days, and often they went to the city of Vesparello. Camila, noticing this, decided to change the subject, especially since she wasn't having any luck in love.
"This city really is very beautiful and wealthy, I think it's amazing how they focused so much on keeping it clean, even the small things."
"It makes sense if you consider that the first king was a cleanliness maniac and made a rule that citizens would be imprisoned for a week if they dirtied anything, and just so you know, for people from other territories the penalty doubles."
"...I have to be more careful."
She remembered almost dropping a piece of paper on the ground, but thanks to a premonition, she made sure to keep it with her.
"Ink Magic: Red."
"Giulio, that doesn't count."
"It's not my fault you were careless and let your guard down."
Giulio had destroyed Kai's castle; the sand showed a cut caused by his magic. Raising his hand, he shouted that since his castle was still standing, he had won.
"Crescent Slash."
"Wait Kai, it's just a game."
Kai didn't attack the castle to keep it even, he went straight to face Giulio head-on, who could only dodge the slashes sent at him. After a while, Giulio was on the ground with Kai's sword tip near his throat.
"If it were a fair sandcastle competition I would have won, so I won, got it?"
"Yes, I got it, sir, I'm sorry."
Putting his sword in the sheath, he sat on the sand still with an irritated face, especially since this was their last day at the beach before returning home to spend the rest of the vacation.
'Just a few more minutes before we part, what a shame... anyway, now it's time to focus on my training for the rest of the vacation.'
He could hardly wait to see Enrico again after vacation and show him his new magic. Of course, he also couldn't wait to see Enrico's magic.
'Still two weeks left to see him, and not just me, Valença feels the same way.'
Sighing, he stood up, and when he turned, he saw a shadow coming from afar. Focusing his eyes, he saw Enrico looking almost dead arriving at the beach, falling to the ground, and raising his hand in celebration of something.
"Enrico!"
"Where?"
Valença, immediately after hearing the name, turned, and upon seeing him on the ground, she ran past Kai, who was running to Enrico, and reached him first, kneeling and already putting her hands on his hair with a certain satisfaction.
"Thanks for the affection, Valença."
"Thank you."
Enrico moved, resting his head on her lap while enjoying the moment. During those three days of running, he had barely rested, so he was going to enjoy it now.
[Don't you feel ashamed?]
'I don't care about shame, I deserve this after these three days.'
With a poker face, Enrico enjoyed the moment. The others approached, surprised he was here, and the first to ask was Camila.
"Why did you come here, Enrico?"
"My father sent me to see what Vesparello, the homeland of their ancestors, was like, as a test, so I came."
"Could it be that your father sent you here because of a test?"
Nodding, he turned to Valença to stroke the other side of his hair and ended up seeing Elaris near them.
"Tsk, I thought you came because you finally accepted to be my subordinate."
"I only have one leader, so you'd have to talk to her first."
"I guess I have no choice but to ask Serenya to share you as a subordinate."
She didn't want to share subordinates and wasn't even sure if Serenya would accept it with that personality, but she wanted Enrico's potential, so she had to try since he was hard to convince.
'Tsk, I should have gotten here earlier when he was overweight.'
"Hey Valença, why did you push me? I also wanted to talk to him."
"I don't care, I'll always be ahead of you when it comes to Enrico, so a man can't surpass me."
"Whaaat? So if I just become a woman I can do that too, right?"
Everyone decided to ignore Kai's words, except Valença, who felt threatened and grabbed Enrico, hugging him protectively with a murderous look at Kai.
"Don't make things up, Kai, remember I'm your childhood friend, so don't interfere in my love."
"I don't care, Enrico owes me many rematches, so I'll surpass anyone who tries to stop me."
'I think Kai is misinterpreting things here.'
Giulio shook his head at the unnecessary argument between the two. He noticed Enrico tense as he looked up, and when he raised his eyes, he saw Angela flying with an upset face.
"Young master, we have many matters to resolve and you came to have fun?"
"I'm sorry Angela, it was urgent."
Enrico began to float in the air by Angela's magic while Valença seemed disappointed that he had to leave.
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to take him with me immediately, so goodbye, students."
She immediately disappeared, leaving everyone stunned, especially Kai, who couldn't even talk to his rival.
"Damn it."