After the picnic, everyone parted ways as they each did their individual preparations before they departed.

But because they had nothing much to do, Lily and Mika strolled around in Fuera.

Keeping each other at arm’s length, the two silently looked at their surroundings. Despite the announcement of the war, the people in Fuera did not seem worried nor did they panic. Contrary to that, they continued their daily life here as if they put all their trust in their queen to protect them.

"..."

Both of them had much to talk about but none of them opened their mouths.

"Are you prepared for your mission?" Mika finally asked.

It was not the topic he had in mind but at least he started a conversation.

"Huh? O-oh, yeah..." Lily replied surprised.

After that short answer, it was silent again.

"I..."

"You don’t have to say it. I can roughly guess what you want to ask." Lily cut him off, smiling coldly at her feet.

"..."

Mika stared blankly at her.

"You want to know what happened to me during the last two years, right?"

"Yeah."

When the group finally had the chance to talk with each other last night and to catch up, Mika noticed that everyone aside from Lily talked a lot. Even Belian, who was mostly quiet, had much to talk about. And yet, Lily only listened and gave short replies.

Everyone from the white class trained hard during those years, dedicating their academy life only to getting stronger.

However, Lily took it up a notch.

"Similar to you, I felt restless doing anything else that didn’t involve improving myself."

Not only did Mika leave them behind but also Sylvia, who died in front of their eyes.

"I couldn’t accept my helplessness and weakness. That’s why I spent every single moment with training until I couldn’t move anymore." Lily said sternly.

In the beginning, she searched for the most difficult quests on the bulletin board at the academy and took on multiple such quests per month. But after a while, she noticed the change in her powers and even did some quests on her own although it was forbidden by the rules to head out alone.

Lily accepted a quest, completed that quest, returned to Loogam and then searched for the next one. She repeated that process while still paying attention to the academy and catching up on the lessons during her travels.

And if she still had energy at the end of the day, she used up all her remaining magic to invest in her fire creatures.

"The reason for getting stronger... Is it Sylvia?" Mika asked.

"Yes." Lily responded without hesitation.

"I see."

"Do you plan to stop me, too?" Lily wondered, sharpening her gaze a little.

"Is it possible to make you reconsider?"

Mika gazed at her indifferently.

"..."

Lily frowned even more.

"I thought so." Mika sighed.

"I received your message from last time, you know?"

"Message...?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Shortly after that, Lily raised her eyebrows as she remembered the incident during her last quest where she also happened to meet with Olivia and Sara. Back then, Lily dealt with a demon whom Sara and Olivia were chasing as members of Hunters.

"They told me that you wanted me to decide if I wanted to take revenge for Sylvia with you or not."

Lily realized that she did not hear his response to that question yet.

"Then..."

She looked at him with high anticipation.

"Ack!"

"Why did you have to make it sound like I didn’t want to take revenge?" Mika sighed once more after he flicked a finger on Lily’s forehead.

She rubbed her forehead while staring at him in confusion.

"I know that nothing can change your mind."

Mika stopped in his tracks and deeply looked into her eyes.

"So let’s both take down Leviathan for Sylvia." he declared.

They were close friends back then but due to two years having passed, Mika and Lily naturally turned distant from each other, be it physically or mentally. Their personalities changed as well as their actual ambitions. However, there was one thing that still tied them together.

And that was their common interest in killing Leviathan as revenge for their late friend, Sylvia.

"..."

Lily smiled faintly.

"Then, let’s do that once we beat Lucio." she suggested.

"Yeah." Mika replied, nodding his head firmly.

Then, two days passed.

Once the sun was starting to rise on the horizon, everyone gathered in front of Fuera’s castle while wearing robes that covered their entire bodies.

They talked with each other as they readied the carriages and horses.

"Be careful, Sara, okay...?" Cylia said worriedly.

"I know, I know... You don’t need to be so concerned, Mom!" Sara replied exhaustedly.

Lily was surrounded by her fellow white-class comrades.

"Hey, Olivia. I know it’s late but is it really alright for the queen to leave her nation even though it’s highly possible for her nation to get attacked?" Elsa asked dumbfoundedly.

"Heh, no problem. After all, there’s someone who can temporarily take that position for me." Olivia replied smugly.

"?"

Olivia glanced at Mika.

"He can act as the king." she stated bluntly.

"Huh?"

Elsa was not the only one who was stunned.

"What are you talking about?"

Even Mika was confused.

"Well, you’re the only one who’s clearly stronger than me, right? So where’s the harm?" she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Can you really hand him that position so easily over...?" Ophelia wondered, doubting her older sister.

Olivia sighed.

"It’s just a joke, okay?" she admitted disappointedly.

"My people don’t need me here as long as Mika is here." she added.

She walked over to Mika.

"You hear me? I’ll leave my nation in your hands so take care of it during my absence!" she said with a grin as she bumped her fist against his chest.

"Understood. In return, you will all return here." Mika responded indifferently.

"..."

Olivia huffed as she turned her back to him.

She headed toward her dedicated carriage.

"Mika."

"?"

Ophelia suddenly embraced him in her arms.

"What’s the matter?" Mika asked unfazedly.

She let go of him.

"I just had the urge to hug you. Sorry." she said with a soft smile.

"..."

Mika noticed her hands slightly trembling.

"You will be fine, Ophelia. After all, you have three other reliable comrades on your side." Mika said, smiling faintly and comfortingly at her.

He held her hands which surprised her for a moment.

"Yes... You’re right..."

She touched their hands with her forehead gently.

In her life, Ophelia encountered many foes and dangerous situations, however, none of those experiences came close to the current one. Albeit being confident most of the time, she was scared this time.

"Please lend me your strength..." she muttered relaxedly before letting go of him.

After Ophelia went into the carriages, Sara and Lily waved their hands at him and then entered.

"..."

Mika’s faint smile disappeared as he saw their carriage departing.

"Let’s go." Elsa announced calmly, heading toward their carriage without looking back once.

"Yes."

Lereon followed her obediently.

"..."

Cylia, too, entered the carriage proudly without hesitation.

"I suppose we won’t see each other for a long period again, huh?" Harik joked lightly.

"Does it matter? I mean, after this war is over, we can take all the time we need for whatever we want as a group." Lisa giggled.

"Yes, that’s right."

"?!"

Mika hugged the two of them.

"M-Mika...?!"

Lisa was blushing.

"H-hey..."

And Harik as well.

"Prioritize your own lives. Promise me that." he whispered.

"..."

The two were agape.

Then, they patted his back.

"We promise!" they declared reassuringly.

Satisfied by their answer, Mika distanced himself from them.

"Then, have a safe trip." he said gently while the others waved them goodbye.

Harik and Lisa nodded their heads and turned to the carriage.

"?"

However, Lisa quickly turned around to Mika again.

"Mika..."

She seemed hesitant.

"Hm?"

"I... You see..."

Her face reddened.

She tried to finish her phrase but it appeared like her words were stuck in her throat.

"We... We will see each other again, right...?" she asked, staring intensively into his eyes.

"Of course we will." Mika replied confidently.

"Hey, are you coming?" Elsa shouted from inside the carriage.

"W-we’re coming!" Harik answered hurriedly.

"..."

Lisa looked at Mika and the others one last time before she picked up her pace to the carriage alongside Harik.

"Was that really what you wanted to say to him?" Harik asked with his gaze directed to the front.

But Lisa did not answer.

She felt both embarrassed and cowardly.

"W-what about you...? Don’t you want to say something to him, too?"

Harik just smiled.

"I have nothing to say to him. After all, we will see him again, right?"

"..."

Lisa also had to smile.

"That’s true."

Thus, they entered the carriage which shortly left afterward.

"Everyone, let’s head inside and prepare ourselves, too." Mika announced sternly as he turned around.

Belian, Rachel, Zhen and Ren quietly followed Mika’s lead.

And once again, the group split up as they each headed in different directions.