The vacation had come to an end, and the students of Astrong Academy were about to resume their classes. They had returned to the academy at noon the previous day, a few hours after Enrico, and now there was only one hour left before activities began.
In the corridors, the students chatted excitedly about an important change: that year, the academy would no longer eliminate entire classes. Instead, students who failed to demonstrate sufficient improvement would be expelled individually.
"Now we have a better chance of building a better future!"
"Don't be an idiot. You can still be expelled if you don't improve."
"But now we have more time to get better! If we really put in the effort, we can go far!"
The most excited were the commoners from the lower classes, especially those who had managed to remain at the academy until then. Many finally saw an opportunity to continue studying without having to fear that their entire class would be eliminated.
On the other hand, some nobles weren't at all pleased. Accustomed to believing that their social status guaranteed them advantages, they considered it unfair that students from lower classes were being given more opportunities. However, since the decision had come directly from Director Hao, there wasn't much they could do besides accept it.
"I think this is good. You two must be happy about this decision, right, Kai and Valença?"
Liam had reunited with his two friends and was taking the opportunity to chat with them. It had been about a month since their last meeting, and they had plenty to catch up on.
"Yes, I'm quite happy."
Kai replied with a smile.
"After all, there might be some interesting opponents among these students to fight."
Valença nodded.
"I agree. Some of them might have hidden talents. If they're given more time to improve, we might discover some truly interesting people."
Liam watched the two for a few seconds before laughing.
"You two never change. You've just returned from vacation, and you're already thinking about fighting."
Kai looked at him with some excitement.
"Why wouldn't I? I trained a lot during this period, especially after our trip to the beach in Vesparello. This time, I devoted myself entirely to training, so I'm confident that I've become much stronger."
He clenched his fist, showing his enthusiasm.
"I hope Enrico accepts my rematch."
Valença looked at him with a calm expression.
"I think you'll lose again."
"Valença, you should be on my side!"
The girl looked away, searching for an answer. After a few seconds, she seemed to find a solution.
"If I fought Enrico, would you think I could win?"
"No."
Kai answered immediately, but soon seemed to realize the trap and decided to tell the truth.
"To be honest, I think I'd be rooting for him."
"Then we have the same thoughts. You'd better not judge me."
Kai placed his hand on his chin, reflecting on her answer. After a few moments, he nodded, acknowledging that she was right.
Liam, who had followed the entire conversation, wore a neutral expression.
"Aren't you two childhood friends?"
The two looked at him and answered simultaneously.
"Yes. What does that have to do with anything?"
Liam looked away, sighing inwardly.
'Enrico really is unbelievable. How did he manage to become so special to these two?'
Before he could continue thinking about it, he heard familiar voices approaching.
"Elian, Caelan! It seems we, the three idiots, have finally reunited after some time apart!"
Elian looked irritated by Enrico's words as he had just arrived.
"Why are you calling yourself an idiot?"
Caelan decided to protest against that nickname.
"Enrico, that's not a good nickname for us. We should be called the Three Incredible Ones!"
Enrico crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Sorry, but the Three Idiots is a nickname that can no longer be taken back after our first month at Astrong."
The three began arguing about it, completely ignoring the fact that they were wasting time on something so useless.
Liam raised his hand to call out to them, but Kai and Valença had already approached Enrico and joined the discussion. Upon hearing them, Valença looked at Enrico with an almost sulky expression.
"Enrico, you really shouldn't call yourself an idiot."
When he heard her, Enrico immediately turned around.
"Hi, Valença! It's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you too."
She smiled and seemed about to say something.
"You know, I'd like to invite you..."
"Enrico! Let's have our rematch!"
Kai interrupted the conversation without the slightest courtesy.
Valença slowly turned her head toward him, wearing an expression that seemed to announce her desire to kill him.
Meanwhile, Liam watched the scene with a completely neutral face. Shortly afterward, he saw Grakka arrive accompanied by Sylvia and Bruna. Their other friends also began approaching, and he decided he wouldn't be left behind.
Gradually, the group reunited, exchanging stories about their vacation and discussing the changes that had taken place during that month. Between teasing, laughter, and plans for their upcoming training sessions, time passed quickly.
Unfortunately, they couldn't stay together for long. When they realized there were only a few minutes left before classes began, they had to separate and head to their respective classes. Before leaving with the others, Liam waved at Enrico.
"Enrico, wait for us! We'll make it to Class S too!"
"I'll be waiting."
After saying goodbye to his friends, Enrico headed to Class S accompanied by Kai, Valença, and Grakka, who had managed to move up a class.
On the way, they encountered Aoi, who immediately ran toward him, trying to hug him. However, Valença reacted before she could reach him and grabbed her by the clothes with one hand.
"Darling, I've missed you so much! My mother asked me lots of questions about you and wants to meet you in person."
Enrico didn't seem bothered by the situation.
"Of course. That could be interesting."
Valença narrowed her eyes.
"Enrico, if you're going to meet her family, you also have to meet mine."
The girl's gaze was so cold that Enrico simply nodded without arguing.
"All right. I'll meet your family too."
The answer was enough to make her smile. Valença released Aoi, who immediately took the opportunity to hug Enrico.
"Darling, you're the best!"
"Don't you think you're standing a little too close to my subordinate?"
The voice came from behind Aoi.
Serenya had just arrived and was watching the scene with obvious irritation. Aoi, however, didn't seem to care about her presence at all, as if she hadn't even noticed her arrival.
This made Serenya force a smile.
"Apparently, he's going to meet your parents, right? What a shame. You're too late, because he's already met my mother, and she liked him quite a lot."
"Tsk. You're only lucky because she's our teacher."
"Exactly. So don't be so arrogant."
The two stared at each other again, ready to continue their argument. Enrico, however, was already accustomed to that kind of situation and preferred to look for other people.
His eyes swept across the classroom until he found Rina and Yumeha sitting in their seats. Both were looking at him with worried expressions, as if they were waiting for an explanation.
Enrico immediately understood why.
He walked over to them, accompanied by Kai, who was still commenting on how nice it would be to meet his friend's family. As soon as he sat beside them, Rina and Yumeha handed him small pieces of paper with written messages.
Enrico read the first one.
'Master, I didn't want to interrupt your conversation, so I waited. As for Rina being here, it's because she was with me at the time.'
Then he opened the second one.
'That's right. It's not her fault. If you hadn't sent a message through Miss Angela, we would have kept running until we reached where you were.'
Enrico understood the two girls' concern. They had realized what had happened during the Third Circle sacrifice and, naturally, feared that he was in danger.
He took another piece of paper and wrote a reply before handing it to them.
'Sorry for worrying you. I'll explain everything as soon as we're alone.'
After reading the message, Rina and Yumeha seemed a little calmer, although they were still eager to hear his explanation.
Enrico put the paper away and turned his attention to the front of the classroom.
"Good morning, students. Please be quiet."
As soon as they heard her voice, the students gradually stopped talking and returned to their seats. Professor Virelle gave Enrico a brief glance, discreetly greeting him before walking to the blackboard to begin the lesson.
'It's only the first day, and so much has already happened. Well, at least they're excited to see each other again. That's not a bad thing.'
With a small smile, Enrico began paying attention to the explanation.
However, from time to time, his eyes drifted toward Alenya, whom he intended to challenge, and Klaus Vigente, the student ranked fifth.
Enrico had plans for that day.
He intended to defeat both of them and claim fifth place, as he wanted to secure his participation in the qualifiers for the battle between the academies.