"Impossible! Are you really that good-for-nothing? Guard, are you sure it's him?"
Taíra approached Enrico and squeezed his cheeks with her small hands, unable to believe what she was seeing. The only one who showed no surprise was Platinum, who had already seen him several times at the academy, although always in secret.
"I told you he had changed, little sister."
"Why are you all so surprised? Didn't you watch the battle between the classes?"
Angela stepped forward and asked curiously. Enrico's current appearance should already have been known to everyone, so why was his family reacting that way?
Matteo was the first to recover from his surprise.
"Well, we could say that we focused all our attention on the academy's three best students."
Angela was slightly irritated by Matteo's statement, as he spoke so casually about his own son. Without showing that reaction, she simply nodded.
"Analyzing potential prospects for the future? Well, I think the director was also partly to blame for not showing the territories his fight against Miss Danyana."
Enrico's appearance and performance had aroused considerable interest, mainly because he had demonstrated considerable power in front of the princess and her subordinates. The king himself was interested in him, especially after hearing about the speed at which he had progressed in just a few months.
Angela's eyes turned toward Enrico.
'Although he wasn't the only one. Everyone around him has undergone an absurd amount of growth.'
Titanza approached and carefully examined Enrico's face. After gently moving Taíra aside, she placed one hand on her chin and became thoughtful.
"So it really was true... You've lost weight."
"He must be a fake! There's no way he's that good-for-nothing!"
'What an annoying girl.'
Enrico was beginning to get irritated by Taíra's comments. He was even starting to feel like smacking her on the head, but that wasn't important at the moment.
"Hello, Taíra."
Upon hearing the greeting, the girl hid behind Titanza, staring at Enrico suspiciously. Her unique ability allowed her to identify people's levels through the Zara ranks, and she was certain that this young man was strong.
'He's at the level of a Level 1 Faizes at maximum power, and it seems he could advance to Level 2 at any moment.'
This meant he was on the verge of reaching the Third Circle.
That was precisely why Taíra couldn't believe what she was seeing. How could someone considered useless just a few months ago progress so much in such a short time? To her, it simply made no sense.
"Enrico, sit down."
Upon hearing Matteo's voice, everyone who was standing sat down, with the exception of Angela and the guard. Matteo asked a maid to bring tea and then turned his attention back to his son, examining him carefully.
"Did you happen to make a contract with a demon?"
'Coming from someone like him, who has a contract with a prince of hell, that question bothers me a little.'
It was true. The man before Enrico had secretly made a contract with a demon, without his family's knowledge, in order to become more powerful than Titanza.
"No, Lord Matteo. If you want, you can ask anyone at the academy, and they'll all confirm it. You can also speak with the director."
Angela stepped forward to affirm Enrico's words.
"I can confirm that he hasn't made any contracts. I've been watching him closely for a long time."
In truth, Angela was still keeping an eye on him, although she now had different reasons for doing so.
Upon noticing her presence, Matteo turned his gaze toward her and recognized her from the images his subordinate had sent him regarding Virelle's family.
'From what I've been told, she's an extremely important and loyal subordinate. It seems Virelle's interest in him is genuine.'
Titanza also seemed to notice something. She had her own subordinates, responsible for investigating anyone who might pose a threat to her. Deciding to pretend she knew nothing, she asked Angela for her name and, after receiving it, began speaking with her more calmly.
'This woman is already trying to get close to powerful people, just like in the original story.'
Upon realizing that no one had changed and that everyone was still following the same path as in the original story, Enrico began devising a route to eliminate them. After all, they would all eventually become villains at some point in the story.
Well, there was one exception: Matteo was the only family member who had already begun his path as a villain.
'If I can find a way to get them on my side, that would be better... I'll try to make them follow a different path, but if there's no alternative, I'll finish them off.'
[Already thinking about how to kill them or change their fate. As always, a thinking idiot.]
'I need to find a way to make them useful. The more allies and fewer enemies we have, the better our situation will be.'
Of course, new enemies who had never appeared in the original story could still emerge and complicate things. For that reason, Enrico was already devising some plans to prevent that from happening. One of them involved establishing alliances between territories, continents, races, and perhaps even worlds.
Watching Titanza approach Angela as they continued their conversation, Matteo continued.
"If it's confirmed that he hasn't done anything wrong, then we can rest easy."
"I'm not the only one who can confirm that. The director can as well."
"Well, if that's the case, I don't think there's anything else to discuss. Aside from asking my son what kind of training he underwent."
Great. Now Enrico would have to reveal at least part of his training. Fortunately, he only needed to tell a few half-truths to make them believe he was a prodigy whose potential had remained hidden for a long time.
Besides, there was another reason not to reveal everything: if Angela discovered the details of his training, she would pay even closer attention to him, making sure he didn't cross certain limits.
"I simply worked harder on physical training and focused on learning to handle my magic better."
"I'd like to know more about that."
Apparently, they wouldn't let him leave until they were satisfied with his answers. So, Enrico began explaining a small part of his training, omitting the most important aspects and revealing only those he considered less problematic.
For several minutes, he answered his parents' questions. Gradually, Matteo and Titanza seemed a little more satisfied with their son's progress and training methods.
"It seems you only needed to focus to awaken your potential... Very well. You should rest now. Lady Angela, could you stay and talk with us?"
"Of course. I have a few things to discuss with Lord and Lady Solcren."
Hearing her title as Solcren, Titanza simply smiled politely before making a request.
"Add Ferreira to my name, Lady Angela."
"Of course, Lady Ferreira."
Realizing that the adults were about to begin a private conversation, the children started heading upstairs. Platinum, however, was the closest to Enrico—in fact, she was a little too close.
'Now that I've become useful, she'll probably try to use me. But nothing she says will work on me.'
"I bought some high-quality vases... Would you like to see them?"
Upon hearing those words, small cat ears appeared on Enrico's head, as if a sudden curiosity had awakened within him.
That offer had affected him in an unexpected way. All this time, he had cared about the vases found in the dungeon and had gradually begun to develop a genuine attachment to them. Therefore, hearing Platinum mention new vases immediately piqued his interest.
"Where?"