While Thalen explained what had happened and why everyone was acting that way, Enrico could only think of one thing. Determined to say it to their faces, he maintained a neutral expression and opened his mouth.
"Are you idiots or something? Why should you worry about something that won't get you anywhere? Come on, men! You can move on!"
Caelan pointed at Enrico once again.
"You say that because you're not like us."
"What are you talking about? Don't tell me you're comparing yourselves to me..."
Enrico shook his head and brought a hand to his forehead, looking at his classmates as though they were pathetic, hopeless creatures. He seemed genuinely disappointed by their inability to understand something so simple.
"You shouldn't compare yourselves to someone superior. How many times have I told you that?"
"You bastard! Don't get so full of yourself just because you're our leader's right-hand man!"
"Shut up and die, you bastard!"
Caelan and Lan charged at him, but Enrico didn't even seem to take the threat seriously. He dodged the first attack with a simple movement of his body, and when the second tried to take advantage of the opening, he stepped back just enough to make him miss as well. The two ended up losing their balance, tripping over each other before falling into the hot springs with a tremendous splash.
Enrico didn't even look back. He simply settled down beside Elian as if nothing had happened, while the two boys emerged from the water furiously.
"You bastard! Face us like a man!"
"That's right! Take our blows!"
"Why should I accept blows from inferior beings who compare themselves to others over such insignificant things?"
Enrico ignored their protests and prepared to enjoy the rest of his bath. That was when he noticed Elian discreetly moving away, as though hoping to escape before the attention of that true monster turned toward him. The boy's face was red, and sweat trickled down his forehead.
Enrico watched his movements for a few moments. Upon noticing how embarrassed Elian was, a mischievous idea came to mind. Without giving the boy a chance to move any farther away, he grabbed his hand and made him stop.
"Elian, are you...?"
"What am I? Don't start with those jokes, you bastard! Y-you hurt my pride!"
"Your pride? Elian... You don't need to be proud around me."
Enrico slowly moved closer, reducing the distance between them until Elian felt a shiver run down his spine. His cheeks grew even redder, and he seemed to lose the ability to organize his thoughts. The scene was so absurd that Caelan, who had just emerged from the water, immediately stood up and pointed at Enrico, unable to keep watching in silence.
"Enrico, he's a man!"
"So what? He looks feminine enough to me."
Enrico answered with such absolute seriousness that Elian felt as though the world had stopped. For a few seconds, the boy remained motionless, trying to process those words, until he finally reached his limit and ran away, unable to endure another moment in that situation.
As soon as he saw Elian disappear, Enrico began laughing, satisfied with the result of his own teasing.
Liam, who had finally recovered from the earlier commotion, spat out the water still in his mouth and tried to hold back his laughter. His attempt didn't last long, as a much more interesting idea came to mind: telling Sylvia everything, since she was paying him to observe how that relationship developed.
He was about to leave to write a letter when he heard a strange noise coming from the wall separating the men's bath from the women's. The sound immediately caught his attention, and a shiver ran down his spine when he realized it wasn't an ordinary noise.
'Don't tell me... Damn it, I think my pride has been affected too.'
Liam raised his eyes toward the wall and found several holes that definitely hadn't been there before. For a moment, he imagined that one of the boys had come up with the absurd idea of spying on the other side, but he soon realized that something much worse was happening.
The culprits were the girls.
A tear rolled down Liam's face as he stared at the ceiling, trying to accept this reality.
'I'm sure they weren't watching this place because of us. They did this to see Enrico! I hope he dies!'
Judging by the expressions of the other boys, Liam wasn't the only one who shared that sentiment. Some looked indignant, while others simply couldn't believe they had been reduced to spectators of such a humiliating situation.
Kai, on the other hand, didn't waste any time lamenting. As soon as he noticed the holes and the eyes trying to find an opening through which to watch Enrico, he raised his hands and created several water shells, carefully positioning them to block every single viewing point.
"Kai, you bastard!"
"How dare this commoner interrupt my view?"
"I'm going to kill you, Kai, for preventing me from admiring my Ketsumei any longer!"
The protests from the other side soon began, but Kai remained indifferent. He continued covering the holes without showing the slightest intention of yielding, while the girls' screams grew increasingly furious.
'As if I would allow these girls to stain the honor of the person most precious to me since time immemorial!'
Convinced that he had fulfilled his duty as a knight, Kai pretended to hold a sword, even though there was absolutely nothing in his hand. He then turned toward Enrico and began walking in his direction, still determined to get a rematch.
Enrico merely watched Kai approach for a moment before returning to relaxing in the water.
[That was strange.]
'Why do you always try to ruin my fun whenever I finally manage to enjoy myself?'
[Enjoying yourself by bothering others isn't a good thing.]
'Am I actually bothering anyone in an offensive way? If not, stop trying to get in my way.'
The System didn't respond immediately, but Enrico didn't care. After all, this was his first experience at a hot spring, and he intended to enjoy every second of that rest. He had already refused Kai's rematch countless times that month and saw no reason to change his mind precisely when he could finally relax.
Meanwhile, on the women's side, Sylvia seemed to have found an endless source of entertainment. With blood running from her nose, she mentally recorded every detail of the interaction between Enrico and Elian, determined to remember that scene forever.
"Hehehe... I want to see more!"
'Why do I feel like I'm surrounded by lunatics?'
Camila brought a hand to her face, trying to maintain her composure in the face of this increasingly absurd situation. A visit to the hot springs was supposed to be a peaceful occasion when everyone could rest and enjoy the trip. However, at some point, everything had turned into a spying competition, and she no longer knew whether she should reprimand her friends or simply pretend she didn't know them.
The worst part was that all this chaos had started because of Aoi, who had mentioned that she had seen Enrico naked once.
"What do you mean, Aoi? You must be joking, right? If it's true, when did it happen?"
"It was on the same day I decided he was the right person for me. I was watching through the window when he took off his clothes, and I ended up seeing everything... Angela saw me too, because she punished me afterward."
Rina froze for a moment, as though trying to understand the gravity of that revelation. Then she grabbed Aoi by the shoulders and began shaking her from side to side, completely outraged.
"So that was one of the last requirements you wanted someone to fulfill? You idiot! Why didn't you call me to watch too?"
Around the two of them, four murderous auras seemed ready to finish Aoi off at any moment. The girl, however, didn't seem to understand why her confession had provoked such an intense reaction.
Before the argument could get any worse, several noises coming from the wall diverted everyone's attention.
Two holes had been made by Lira's magic.
Lira turned her eyes toward the newly created holes and seemed to consider the situation for a few moments. After all, if there was an opportunity to get to know her rival better, she had no intention of wasting it. Focusing her Ki magic, she created several new holes in the wall, expanding the possibilities for observation.
"If you're all so furious, you should make sure you're the next ones to see him, don't you think?"
Lira's provocation made some of the girls hesitate, but most soon realized she was right. If they didn't want to miss the opportunity, they would need to find their own viewing spots before all of them were taken.
Yumeha, on the other hand, didn't share their enthusiasm. As soon as she realized what Lira was doing, she began walking toward her, determined to pull her away before her master discovered this invasion of privacy. To her, protecting Enrico's privacy was an obligation, and she wouldn't allow the situation to continue like this.
"Wait, Yumeha!"
Aoi's voice made the girl stop and look back in confusion.
"What do you mean, Aoi?"
"Are you sure you want to be left behind by the others?"
Yumeha frowned slightly, not immediately understanding the question. However, when she looked back at the wall, she noticed that the holes were being covered one by one by the girls themselves, who had already found their respective viewing spots. The few remaining openings were about to disappear, and she still hadn't chosen one.
The realization hit her hard.
"Please forgive me, Master, for being such a terrible servant..."
With a guilty expression, Yumeha ended up stopping in front of one of the last available holes. Behind her, Aoi began laughing, pleased that she had managed to convince her to stay. In the end, Aoi herself was the last one to remain in that position.
Camila and Victoria were the only ones who didn't try to look through the openings. Even so, they couldn't help being curious when they heard the boys shouting that Enrico should die and the girls letting out perverted sighs.
Camila, however, remained firm in her decision, refusing to participate in that madness.
'I need to stay pure for marriage. I have to stay pure!'
Victoria also tried to preserve her dignity, although her eyes kept discreetly turning toward the wall whenever the sounds from the other side aroused her curiosity.
'I respect other people's privacy, unlike these perverts.'
The two repeated their justifications in silence, each trying to resist her own curiosity in her own way.
Meanwhile, Zenaria watched all the commotion while drinking peacefully, her eyes practically lifeless. After so many shouts, arguments, and unnecessary movements, she just wanted to know whether those young women would finally stop making noise.
At one point, however, her curiosity got the better of her, and she discreetly looked through one of the openings from where she sat in the water. It was only for a brief moment, enough to satisfy her curiosity before returning to her drink as if nothing had happened.
'Well, at least my daughter has a good future husband.'
"Kai, you bastard."
Zenaria's calm expression disappeared when she looked at the wall and realized that Kai's magic had covered the holes. Apparently, not even a hot spring could provide her with a moment of peace.