With his body already better, Enrico got up after six hours of rest—something he hadn't done in a while. The girls had come to visit him to help as much as possible, while people like Victoria and Kai came to ask how to reach the seventh circle, so he simply answered them in the best way possible for those two abnormalities.
"I'm a genius"
"Makes sense. Since I'm a genius too, I'll manage it as well"
"I'll start training immediately to catch up to you then"
Kai was the first to leave to begin training. Victoria asked why he had that dull look in his eyes, and he simply gave her the same answer he had given Elaris. She still left suspicious before going to train, and lastly mentioned that Ocirne wanted to talk to him, having been waiting outside.
"I asked her for a fight, but it seems she wants to fight you first…"
She looked to the side with disappointment in her eyes before leaving and letting Ocirne enter. The corrupted dark elf sighed in relief when she saw Victoria leaving the room. Carefully, she opened the door after a few seconds to check if anyone was around. Seeing no one nearby, she closed it and handed a box to Enrico.
"This is the item you asked for"
"Was it difficult?"
Holding it, he heard Ocirne say it was fairly easy thanks to the voice recording Enrico had placed on the communication stone when the war began—all thanks to Malunes, who had been making improvements to the communication stone when he mentioned he wanted to record Kaedryn's voice. Since she was an absolute genius, everything was done in less than a minute.
"Good work"
"Thank you, Lord—Great Master Enrico"
She stumbled over her words when addressing him with a title she thought would suit him better. To be honest, Enrico didn't like that title very much, but he let it slide, focusing only on the black box in his hand. This weapon was what he would use to kill Sairao. By using magic to activate the lever inside the box, it would transform into a magic cannon capable of absorbing the opponent's mana and attaching to his arm. It had the capacity to absorb magic from an eighth circle, but the problem was that it could only be used once in battle, which made it imperfect.
"I want you to deliver this to Malunes"
"Miss Malunes? I thought you would want to keep it, since it's a very powerful weapon"
"It is powerful, but it becomes useless after the first use, so it's better to give it to someone who can improve it and use it more effectively"
Malunes was the perfect mage to use items like that. It was certain that that genius alchemist would invent something better or further improve the mana cannon. Besides, he would strengthen an ally and at the same time strengthen his bond with her—something that would be useful in the future, because the closer they were, the more willing she would be to help him when he faced difficulties.
[I'm already her benefactor, you don't need to try so hard to stay on her good side]
'First of all, besides wanting to stay on her good side, she'll be the best user of this cannon I can think of in this world'
"I'll deliver it to her immediately, Great Lord Enrico"
Before he could ask her to stop calling him that, the elf had already left the room with the black box in her hands. It seemed he had gained yet another nickname. Standing up, he stretched—today had been a day where he had to explain a lot. Yumeha wasn't curious when he mentioned why he had suddenly grown stronger during training, but Rina had asked about it.
'Good thing she didn't insist too much'
He told her that he had temporarily reached the seventh circle during that fight, and to keep her thinking of him as someone unbeatable, he said he already knew how to reach the seventh circle quickly.
'If he put this in my hands, then I'll go all the way'
[He? You managed to talk to that Nartheis?]
'Yes, and as you saw, he put me in a difficult situation'
Now he had to reach the seventh circle as quickly as possible to push his companions to strive even harder. To Rina, he explained it that way and asked her to keep it a secret from the others, only allowing her to tell Yumeha. As for the rest, he wanted them to believe he had reached a higher level, because based on their personalities, they would find a way to evolve to that level.
Now he had to figure out ways to grow stronger. After thinking for a while, he remembered something that would happen in seven months—an arc none of the main characters would participate in, but something the author showed in a side story.
"If I go to that place…"
[That place? Where are you thinking of going, Enrico?]
Putting on his shirt, he left the room while about to answer the system, but Elaris appeared in front of him with a tired smile. It seemed she had passed Yumeha's trial and was already eager to tell him.
"So, what do you think of your new wife?"
She puffed out her chest with pride. Yumeha's test was about being the perfect wife. Yumeha had tried to teach her the customs of her homeland—how a wife should treat her husband. Elaris passed quickly but also failed in some parts of the test, like cooking or mastering the etiquette of Tsuyokuni. Still, since the others weren't perfect in those areas either, Yumeha let it pass.
"I think she's very beautiful"
Elaris blushed and almost choked in surprise at Enrico's words. Just as she thought, he was very direct in his relationships. Coughing into her hand as she tried to pretend she wasn't affected by being called beautiful, she looked at him.
"Grakka passed too, but since I passed first, she has to pass my test to join as well"
[She's already making trials? These girls interested in you are all crazy]
"…well, I'm glad you're enjoying this, Queen. So, shall we go out?"
Elaris was surprised for a moment, then nodded calmly, though a bit hurried. With her heart beating fast, she took his hand and began pulling him toward the garden she had been slowly rebuilding over the past few days—the garden where her mother used to spend time with her. Even if Elithia was part of those memories, she wouldn't abandon those happy days because of her sister.
[She's quite excited… but you still haven't answered me. Where are you going?]
As he was being pulled along by an excited Elaris, Enrico looked at the system with an eager smile forming on his face, because he had already decided.
'I'm going to one of the last two true dungeons available'
Two of the four true dungeons he had mentioned had already been completed without them when he was trapped inside that barrier, but now he would go to one of the last ones alone—especially because it was designed for only one person to enter, and depending on the outcome there, he could become a seventh-circle mage.