Renzou kept his gaze fixed on Enrico for a few more seconds. He took a deep breath and nodded slightly, as if he had reached a final decision within himself.
"Very well... you may begin the ritual, Yumeha."
Yumeha bowed to her father and approached nervously, her head lowered. The members of the Akirama family watched attentively, trying to understand the intentions behind Enrico's choice. Even among the elders, their expressions showed confusion and, at the same time, curiosity.
Renzou looked at Yumeha. She remained with her head slightly bowed, as if afraid to believe this was real — maybe it was a dream, maybe she would finally stop being useless to the family.
'Please, let no one interrupt.'
Yumeha took a deep breath. The words she had memorized, trained in secret and with hope. She extended her right hand and gently touched Enrico's back, exactly where she felt the flow of his energy, aligned with the heart. Her hand trembled slightly, but she forced her fingers to remain firm.
"For this promise that does not belong to time,For this bond that not even fate could cut,I dedicate my essence, my risk, my fire,
To the bearer of the sealed name — Ketsumei..."
A soft glow rose from the floor like ethereal dust, and then a magic circle, formed of unknown characters and ancient symbols, appeared around the two of them. It was wide, delicate, and full of layers — as if carved by the magic of the world itself.
Suddenly, a translucent magical chain slithered from the circle, rising like a snake of light, briefly wrapping around Yumeha's arm... until it reached Enrico's hand, who shuddered slightly as he felt pain and a chain forming from his heart to hers. The chain spun quickly around Yumeha's hand and then embedded itself with a bright red glow, leaving behind the image of a tattoo in the shape of a chain, glowing in black and gold tones, fused to the flesh as if it had always been there.
Enrico exhaled, and Yumeha did too, relieved — and then she felt it.
She looked at her own hand, where a more delicate symbol like a small flower-shaped chain now pulsed on its back. She felt that her compatible magic had finally awakened and sensed a strength rising from within her.
"So this is the first circle…"
Before she could say anything else, the magic circle around them began to dissipate, as if slowly evaporating, leaving behind only silence and the echo of a new bond formed.
'Now, I'm no longer just a stranger… now I'm part of the Akirama family.'
[Wait, what do you mean by that?]
'Well, usually the Ketsumei and Musubinin always marry, and I'm already halfway there — just waiting to make it official at eighteen.'
[So you're married… I need to step out for a moment…]
Enrico suddenly felt in a good mood from being free. Yumeha knelt and gave a deep bow, nearly crying.
"Thank you for choosing me, Master Enrico."
"You don't need to thank me, Yumeha, and please don't call me master."
"Sorry, but I can't help it — at least until I'm eighteen."
Yumeha had only one thought not to disrespect the chance given to her. She would become much stronger to prove she deserved that trust — and Enrico knew it, because in the future, when a demon believed in her just once, she followed him to the very end.
"Very well then, Enrico, you should rest. I'll send people to help you with the dungeon today."
"Thank you. And sir, I'd like you to pay very close attention to the last part of the letter."
Renzou nodded and looked at Yumeha, who avoided his gaze.
"Accompany him properly, daughter."
"Yes, Father."
Enrico left the room with a bow, and Yumeha followed him. Then Renzou looked at all the members of the Akirama family, but before saying anything, he read only the last part of the strategy — and in it was a code that only the Tsuyokuni should know. But that didn't surprise him. What surprised him was that this code revealed that his son, Akirama no Soushi, was a traitor who had been leaking information to Tianlong.
"Everyone except Rina, leave."
Everyone left, and Renzou gave a signal to Daigo to watch Soushi. Daigo was confused at first but understood it had something to do with the letter, and disappeared. Renzou needed to be sure he was truly the traitor — but so far, Enrico had not lied once.
He looked at Rina, who stood with her arms crossed. Her eyes were narrowed, her expression calm, but inside, she seemed to boil with a mix of frustration and confusion.
'Why her? Of all people... Yumeha?'
She was the youngest to master the first Circle in Tsuyokuni — the one with the greatest chance of becoming the next clan leader or empress if her father chose to give the title to her older brother. She had always exceeded every expectation.
"Rina."
Renzou's firm voice called her back to reality. She raised her head, standing tall and alert, but with a glint of slight incomprehension.
"Yes?"
Renzou watched her for a moment, as if reading beyond her appearance. Then he walked slowly toward her, stopping just a few steps away.
"I know what you're feeling. But this choice didn't seem to be about talent... it seemed to be about destiny."
Renzou's confidence in his daughter was so strong that he told her everything about Enrico's abilities. Rina said nothing, but her gaze hardened slightly.
"Maybe something in the future happened that made him choose Yumeha… but even so, I don't intend to leave you out. In fact, I want you to accompany Enrico in the dungeon he requested help for."
She raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"Me...? But isn't it a Faizes-level dungeon?"
"Yes. And don't worry. You'll go with Takeshi, five of our elite guards, and your friend."
Rina blinked slowly. She knew who he meant — Aoi, her training companion, who had recently started showing signs of awakening to the second circle, just like her.
"And more than that, Rina."
Renzou stepped a little closer, lowering his tone.
"I want you to form a Musubinin–Ketsumei bond with him."
She was surprised but nodded, which made her father smile.
"Very well, daughter. You may go prepare."
She bowed and left. She completely trusted her father's words, so she understood Enrico's potential. Now, she couldn't let something like that slip through her fingers. If it really was destiny, as her father said, she would not let it interfere with her own growth.
"Very well… I won't let my Ketsumei get away."