The news spread across the continent like a whirlwind. Astrong Academy had accomplished something absurd: just one week after someone broke the record for reaching the Third Circle, four more students had reached the same level. And to make everything even more impressive, all four had achieved it on the same day, breaking the record once again.
"Is this serious? Just how absurd is Astrong Academy?"
"They're not that absurd. In my opinion, they were simply lucky enough to find five prodigies."
"From the looks of it, we already know who's going to win the Tournament of Runes this year."
"Did you ever have any doubts? Most of the time, they're the ones who win. Astrong Academy always manages to gather the greatest number of talents."
"Yes, and it seems they've found five diamonds this time."
The entire continent was talking about the event. Hao had been responsible for allowing this information to spread, even revealing the names of the five students. After all, Victoria was already known to everyone, since she had been the first to reach the Third Circle.
In the director's office, Hao's laughter could be heard all the way down the corridor.
"Hahahaha! I want to see the reactions of the other academies across the continent. They must be going crazy! Hahahaha!"
Victoria had been the first to reach the Third Circle, followed by Lira. After them, Enrico, Rina, and Yumeha had also evolved, as always, practically at the same time, thanks to the connection they shared with him. The only difference was that Enrico had been in a dimension where time passed differently, causing the two girls to evolve between two and three hours before he left the warehouse.
Rina practically had stars in her eyes when she met Enrico near the dormitory. She immediately hugged him.
"My Ketsumei, you're amazing!"
Yumeha, right behind her, couldn't stop trembling with barely contained excitement.
"Master, while you were training, we could feel how quickly you were evolving. You're simply the best!"
Bruna, who was nearby, looked at the two sisters with a bewildered expression.
"Aren't you going to ask why you're evolving so quickly?"
"No. Why ask when we trust our master completely?"
"That's right, my Ketsumei!"
While Rina rubbed her face against his, Yumeha held his right arm. Both wore radiant smiles, carrying the certainty that there was no one who could be a better Ketsumei than Enrico, at least in their eyes.
Their father had also sent them letters congratulating them and had taken the opportunity to call Enrico his son-in-law. The messages had made both of them quite happy.
Yumeha blushed a little as she remembered that.
'Our father had already been secretly calling him that before, especially after Sister Rina performed the ritual with him.'
Now that Enrico was being recognized as one of the continent's great prodigies, the emperor practically only needed to shout to everyone that he was his son-in-law. He had already wanted to do that before, but had never found a suitable opportunity. Now, however, there was no longer any reason to hold back. The emperor wanted everyone to know just how exceptional his son-in-law was.
Even Rina and Yumeha's sisters seemed jealous, showing interest in coming up with some kind of plan for when Enrico reached their level.
Yumeha was still thinking about her family's reaction.
'It seems that, even with the restrictions, my sisters are still thinking about turning my Ketsumei into their Ketsumei. Well, it doesn't matter. I got to him first.'
In fact, their mother seemed even happier than she was to know that she had managed to find such a good Ketsumei.
'Rina's mother must be happy too.'
When Rina and Yumeha evolved, they had been eagerly waiting for Enrico's return in his room. However, there had been a small problem: when the two reached the Third Circle, the energy released during their evolution ended up destroying the room.
Fortunately, Angela had been nearby and managed to fix everything. She had also taken the opportunity to ask several questions about Enrico's condition, since the two girls could feel his evolution through their connection.
The three said goodbye to Bruna, while the future knight let out a sigh and looked at her own hand.
'The leader really is amazing... I need to complete his training so he can send me another one.'
Bruna turned to leave, but upon realizing what she had just thought, she grabbed her own head.
'Damn it, I'm becoming addicted to training. It's all your fault, leader!'
Meanwhile, Enrico listened as Yumeha and Rina explained what had happened.
"So you destroyed the room? It's a good thing Angela was nearby."
Yumeha lowered her head slightly.
"I'm sorry, Master."
Enrico simply extended his hand and gently patted her head.
"Why are you apologizing? If this were your fault, it would also be mine."
Yumeha was happy with the affection, but Rina, who was right behind her, didn't take long to show her jealousy. She immediately asked her Ketsumei to do the same for her.
Without showing any resistance, Enrico also gently stroked her hair, maintaining an amused smile. The two ended up laughing, satisfied with the affection they had received.
When he arrived at the dormitory, in the area where everyone lived, Enrico found the other girls training their magic. Judging by the determined expressions on their faces, it seemed they were trying to reach the next level as quickly as possible.
"What are you all doing?"
Serenya opened her eyes, interrupting the meditation she had been performing with her control magic.
"I'm training, subordinate. I need to concentrate to become stronger. I can't allow everyone to fall behind."
A few meters away, Aoi had summoned her blue fire fox, which had five tails.
"That's right, darling. If we aren't at your level, we won't be able to take pride in standing by your side."
Everyone was concentrating as much as possible, but the ones showing the greatest dedication were Seraphina and Valença. Both were sweating as they struggled to control the magic they were developing.
Yumeha and Rina exchanged glances and felt like teasing their rivals. Yumeha didn't make a provocative expression, but the small smile on her lips made her intentions quite clear.
"Looks like you've fallen behind, as always."
Rina, on the other hand, made no effort to hide her arrogance. With her chin raised, she immediately agreed with her sister.
"That's right! As long as we have a connection with my Ketsumei, we'll always be able to keep up with him. And even so, we'll continue training. Therefore, you'll never be able to catch up with me!"
Serenya pointed at the two, maintaining an extremely sulky expression.
"You two are just lucky to have a connection with the subordinate, you damn brats!"
Enrico realized that their training might end up destroying another part of the dormitory if they continued like that.
'I don't want to give Angela more trouble... So, what can I do? ...I know! I'll take advantage of this opportunity.'
Enrico took a step forward and calmly raised his hand.
"Would you like me to help with your training?"
Everyone turned their faces toward him. Aoi and Serenya were the first to speak.
"Really? Darling, you're amazing! Please, come help me!"
"Since you insist, subordinate, you may come."
Enrico asked everyone to go to the training room, explaining that he would help them train. Valença, however, was the quickest to react. Even while maintaining her neutral expression, she grabbed him and began dragging him along.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Of course I'm in a hurry! I need to get closer to your level again!"
The two dashed toward the training room, while the other girls ran right behind them. Valença kept part of her face hidden behind her hair, seeming deeply lost in thought.
"Why are you like that, Valença?"
"You... Why did you kiss them first?"
Valença gave him a dark look. Enrico had imagined that it was something serious, but apparently, she had simply discovered that his relationship with the other girls had progressed.
"Why didn't you do the same with me during our first meeting?"
Enrico didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned closer and kissed her on the lips while they continued running. He matched her pace so that the kiss wouldn't become uncomfortable, and for a brief moment, the two slowed down.
When he pulled away, he found Valença completely flushed. Enrico smiled before resuming his way toward the training room.
"If you want more, you'll have to become stronger, just like the others."
"Strong?..."
Valença touched her lips with a finger as she continued following Enrico. Little by little, she began imagining what it would be like to reach the power necessary to become the strongest person in the world. Her eyes seemed to come alive as an intense determination grew within her chest.
"I won't just be strong. I'll be the strongest in the world!"
An enormous flame appeared around Valença's entire body. The girl maintained her usual expression, but her determination was evident, almost tangible. Upon noticing that, Enrico simply let out a small laugh.
"I'll be waiting, then..."
"Subordinate!"
Feeling someone grab his shoulder, Enrico turned his head and found Serenya floating beside him. This meant she had learned to fly using her control magic.
Her appearance seemed almost demonic. After all, she had just realized that, among the six girls, she was the only one who hadn't received a kiss from him yet.
"My reward, now!"
Enrico observed that demonic aura and simply maintained a neutral expression, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.
"Okay."