Even with the system apologizing, Enrico had an irritated expression as he walked toward where the companions he had chosen were waiting.
[I already said I'm sorry. Why don't you say anything? Besides, it was an accident... come on, the real blame must be your bad luck.]
No matter what the system said, he didn't reply, just walked forward, erasing the irritation from his face and smiling at the system as if it didn't matter.
'One day I'm going to kill him.'
[You know I can hear your thoughts, right?]
'No, I won't just kill him — I'll lock him in a prison and keep firing magic at him nonstop.'
[You're scaring me. Stop thinking such terrifying things.]
Opening the door, Enrico entered his room, seeing his four companions — Caelan, Elian, Serenya, and Yumeha. One could say this was the team he formed because they were his first companions.
'Except for Yumeha, who came later, these are the ones I want to help evolve — and Yumeha definitely had to come since she's my first subordinate.'
He brought these four so they could grow stronger during this fight, as there was no space for them in other teams he'd tried to balance as much as possible with the original story.
"How are you all? I hope you give your best today — we need to make our leader proud."
"That's right, let's be the best!"
Both Enrico and Caelan raised their arms, with Elian being the last to follow after receiving their confused looks for not joining in right away.
"That's right, let's do our best…"
"…Elian, don't tell me you're still nervous because of what I said that time?"
"It's not that—"
"Yes, it is. This guy's been trying to ignore you whenever he can. He's too much of a coward to admit his feelings."
Before Elian could reply, Enrico's mischievous grin returned as he began pinching Elian's cheeks with playful amusement in his voice.
"Why act like that with me, Elian? You should know I accept your feelings."
"That's right, Elian. Enrico isn't the type to reject you."
"…You two…"
Elian's expression turned angry while the other two laughed nonstop at his reaction. Yumeha, standing beside them, saw Elian as a threat, while Serenya approached and placed her hands on Enrico's shoulders.
"I've decided — I'm taking Elian shopping for clothes. You'll come pick what you like best, right?"
"Elian, wearing what kind of clothes?"
"Girl's clothes, of course. We'll pick what suits him most."
Enrico tilted his head for a moment, giving Elian a brief hope that he'd refuse — but the smile that spread across his face was devilish, as if he'd just received the greatest reward in the world. He turned toward Elian.
"Of course I'll come. I'm curious too."
'Damn it, everyone here is a demon disguised as a human.'
It was unbelievable how much Enrico and Caelan enjoyed teasing, while Serenya took it so seriously — all to please Enrico in any way, even though she was technically the subordinate.
'I don't want to be part of this.'
Yumeha, who had previously seen Elian as a threat, seemed to start having second thoughts after seeing how much Enrico enjoyed teasing him that way.
'Tsk, even so, he'll always be last.'
"Team Ten, here are your combat uniforms."
Several maids entered, carrying the combat outfits — the same ones Enrico had worn before, only now improved in appearance. The girls entered the room to change while the boys dressed there after the maids left.
"Please, Enrico, turn around. I don't want to lose my dignity again."
"Your dignity was already thrown away, my dear Elian."
"Don't call me that, you bastard!"
"Seems someone's weak against words. I expected more courage from you, Elian," Caelan teased.
After his remark, Elian turned around to see both of them already fully dressed while he was still shirtless.
"How shameless, Elian. We're supposed to do that when we grow up."
"Damn it, Elian, I didn't think my best friend would be like this."
With a tearful face, Elian dressed in silence while the two realized they might have gone too far and tried to make him forget it — at least until they could tease him again later.
"We're ready, Master. How do we look?"
"We must look amazing, right, subordinate?"
"Amazing doesn't even begin to describe your beauty."
Blushing at Enrico's words, the girls seemed pleased. All four wore noble white combat outfits with a badge bearing the number Ten in the center.
"Of course, you look great too, Elian."
"Why are you trying to annoy me so much today?"
"Because it's fun."
Leaving the room, they were gathered in the castle zone, where their flag was already placed — the one they had to protect. The rules for this phase were simple: destroy the other teams' flags while defending your own. The only two rules were that the flag couldn't be removed from its spot — forcing teams to split up to destroy others — and only two teams could remain. If three were left, everyone in that zone would be eliminated and not advance to the next phase.
"Looks like the others are ready too."
To Astrong Academy's great luck, all of its teams were separated from one another, meaning they could only face each other in the second phase. The protagonist's team was almost the same as in the original story, except for one difference, while the others were quite different.
Team Seven: Leader Elaris, Kai, Valença, Rina, and Liam.
Team Nine: Leader Elowyn, Narisse, Deymon, Grark, and Velka.
Team Six: Leader Lira, Danyana, Grakka, Aoi, and Sisaka.
Team One: Victoria, Seraphina, Alenya, Klaus, and Roberto.
With everyone in their zones and positions set, the start of the first phase began — their minds all focused on taking first place in their respective areas.