Zenaria wrote down everything Enrico did in the fight. The grade she gave was an S-, and it would've been higher if she hadn't noticed that his mana was below half. It's always difficult for someone to perceive others' mana unless they have a natural affinity for it—which most elves awaken, and which she, Virelle, and a few humans also happened to possess.
'It's a shame he seems to have low mana… but that boy is undoubtedly a genius.'
All the students left, and only Serenya remained in front of her, reluctant to talk, but she had to because Zenaria wanted to address the thing that always bothered Serenya.
"Serenya, tomorrow I want you to finally accept the arranged marriage with the Hirta family."
Since childhood, Serenya had been offered as part of an alliance with the second-strongest family in her city, just below the Malquess family. But she never liked the boy she was supposed to marry—especially now that she felt strange around Enrico.
"Mother, I've already said I'll only marry someone with more potential than me."
"Serenya, he's in Class S, so why do you think you'll surpass him?"
"Mother, you know they've been doing rituals in that family to enhance his abilities."
"That's just speculation."
"But what if it's not? If you marry me off to someone without potential and have a grandson who's not strong—how will you feel?"
Serenya was right. Zenaria knew it. But they needed a strong alliance because of the growing threat from the neighboring city, which was getting stronger and sought to devour theirs. If her daughter were as strong as she wanted to be, she would've refused—but she wasn't.
"Serenya, no matter what happens, I'll train my grandson myself. And if he isn't born with potential, then just have another."
Serenya's hand trembled behind her back as she looked her mother in the eyes. No way would she let her child be trained by her—and she didn't want to have a child with that boy.
"Then why didn't you have another child besides me?"
"Serenya Malquess."
She flinched at hearing her mother speak her full name, but she didn't back down.
"The only thing our city needs is a strong alliance, right? And you want a grandson with potential to strengthen our family? I can have both."
Zenaria was thinking about what Serenya was going to say—and hoped it wouldn't be something stupid because she was already out of patience.
"What do you mean?"
"The Solcren Ferreira family."
Surprised by her daughter's words, she raised an eyebrow, knowing she was friends with Enrico—but it would be impossible for them to accept it.
"That won't work. That family would never accept marrying into a weaker family."
The Solcren family was formed by two families that merged in an agreement to stop the territorial war between Vesparello and Floravita. They were very proud; neither side agreed to give up their name, so they ended up combining both surnames.
"First, it's possible—because Enrico is my subordinate and right-hand man, so I'm sure I can convince him."
The fact that Enrico remained Serenya's subordinate despite being stronger surprised her a bit. That should only happen if it were a sworn oath.
"Second, his family doesn't care about him, so it could work. And third…"
Serenya looked down and gave a small smile. She'd been having strange feelings for Enrico for a while—especially when he came back. She had felt a little down, even with her subordinates and new companions during the past week. Upon thinking, she realized she had liked him for some time.
"I like him, Mother..."
Zenaria froze. She remembered saying those same words to her own mother when she met Serenya's father. Looking at her daughter, she saw a determined face. It had been a long time since Serenya called her "mother," but that didn't matter to Zenaria—since her husband's death, all she wanted was power.
"There's a problem with your second reason—lately, the second daughter has been coming to Class A asking for information about Enrico. I also heard they asked about him when he was in Class C."
Serenya suddenly gave an ironic smile. After ignoring and hurting him so much—now that he had shown potential, they wanted him back? To her, they were worse than her mother.
"Then I'll ask again—why do you think they'd want to form an alliance with a family weaker than theirs?"
"If that's the case, then I just need to prove I'm strong enough to be the right choice."
She answered quickly, smiling confidently without a trace of hesitation. Zenaria had to admit that ever since that boy began evolving rapidly, her daughter had tried to keep up—which satisfied her, since she was finally seeing good results.
"Alright. I'll give you just one chance."
"Thank you, Mother."
Serenya left the room, heading straight to the training area, while her mother watched, already planning. Because even if Serenya failed to secure that alliance, she would still evolve and grow stronger—which was a good outcome.
"Very well. Better bring this to the headmaster now… Who is this Enrico? Even being a Solcren, the headmaster is interested in him too."
Looking at the notes she had written about Enrico—and seeing how many big names were interested in him—maybe, instead of forming an alliance just with the Solcren family, it would be better to form one with him directly, since he was drawing so much attention even while still in Class A.
Elsewhere, Enrico sneezed while putting his hands on his knees, exhausted from the run he had just completed.
[What happened? Are you sick? I thought those artifacts improved your health too.]
"Huff."
'They do. It'll be hard for me to get sick—especially after drinking that stuff…'
Looking back, he saw the path he ran, marked by fire on the ground. Just like the fire punch, he had improved his kick, since it was based on the same concept.
"Alright, let's get back to training."
While he resumed running, with the system calling him a training monster, Valença watched from a distance—she had come here to practice magic.
''I can't let him get ahead of me that easily.'
She gripped her staff and immediately began taking notes—having realized Enrico had improved his magic, she would do the same, as his rival, and finish her new spell.