"See ya back at the Academy!" Fatera shouted as the chariots carried Wu and Lera away from the Academy. Her long muscular arms waving in the air. Augen, in the meanwhile, flashed his Winter Barks cards, creating a small whirlwind of snowflakes that combined into a beautiful pattern, acting as his way of saying goodbye to his new companions.

Ver, in the meanwhile, had already jumped through her Whirlpool Purple, entrusting the Kraken to take her through the vast distances all the way back to the Ethereal Realm. That left Wu and Lera alone for the good part of the journey, and the two ended up looking up at the bottom of the floating island until it became obscured by the clouds once more.

"So..." Wu said, looking over to Lera who was staring at him. She diverted her gaze, instead looking down as her mind wandered, "You miss home?"

"Do you?" Lera asked instead, "Compared to me, you are a lot further away from it."

"Maybe...just a little bit." Wu smiled, leaning back as his eyes became unfocused, "I mean...By keeping yourself busy and around people you care about, you feel a lot less alone and homesick. Yeah...keeping busy helps."

Then, he looked up at Lera who's face had magically become red. She knew Wu cared about her, yet his words still stirred something up inside. She blinked a few times, touching her own cheeks and feeling its warmth before hiding her face behind her hands.

"You okay?" Wu asked, seemingly understanding the origin of Lera's expressions as a smirk snuck up on his face, "I thought friends can care about one another."

"I know! I know..." Lera said.

"You know, on my world, there is a word for this." Wu said, chuckling and resting his arms on the railings of the chariot as the islands beneath started enlarging among the big wide ocean, "It's called being friendzoned, and it kinda sucks."

"Friend...zoned?" Lera tried to digest the meaning behind this new phrase, "You are more than just a normal friend to me."

"Cause I am the supposed Savior and you are my guardian?" Wu asked half-jokingly, the smile lingering though his gaze fixated.

"No...more than that..." Lera said, her voice becoming lighter as she started scratching her nails over the cover of her book of Casts. Her black and silver hair flowing in the wind, the beautiful strands occasionally covering up her gem-like grey eyes, "It's just...I don't know how to best...I don't know."

"It's okay." Wu said, leaning forward and resting his arms over his legs, "It's...okay. We have jobs to do, anyway."

It's okay, right? Wu thought as he looked down at his feet, his heart racing as his hands felt dry and his fingers sore. As insane as things had been, it's still the real world, still his real world, and eventually, things will regress to the mean. He had never had any deep connections in the past, and why does it all have to change here?

Right? Maybe what Lera's doing right now, drawing the line, was the right thing to do after all. It will hurt in the present, but eventually, it will be okay. They will be okay.

Licking his lips and lost in his own thoughts, Wu didn't even realize when the Chariot touched down on the beach. Lera stood up, leaping off it with her luggage in hand before conjuring up the pre-purchased Chariot from the island back to the Eastern continent now that the heavy influence of the Academy's Wave fields was out of the way.

The pre-set Chariot Cast took them through the vast calm ocean over three days, then, the hilly outlines of the Eastern Continent emerged from beyond the horizon as Wu and Lera simply slept most of the way there. The Cooling Cast within the main room making the journey filled with naps extremely relaxing, and the built-up fatigue from the weeks of intense training certainly helped in that.

"Lera~Lera?" Wu said, shaking Lera awake as she finally let go of his legs as a body pillow, "We have arrived."

Their pre-set Chariot was now one of many parked in the harbor, and their feet felt strange upon returning to solid ground again. Lera yawned and rubbed her eyes before dragging her luggage ahead, leading the way back home.

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It was another few days of journeying until they crossed into the Borders of Varous, and their special identity Cast given to them by the Twin Generals was quickly recognized before they were taken straight to the capital. In the meanwhile, Lita's face appeared over the communication Cast, her face looking glistening with life and a bright smile filled the projection the moment she saw Lera with Wu.

"LERA! You finally remembered to call me only after you have gotten back to Varous?" Lita asked, her big eyes staring into Lera as she blushed at the blunder of forgetting about her mother due to all of the things going on.

"I have been...busy, but I am back here now." Lera said, quickly moving on as her mother leaned in close and examined her face with one eye. Then, she burst into a smile.

"Welcome back." Lita said, turning her gaze towards Wu, "You too, Wu."

"Good to be back..." Wu said, looking out from the Chariot until he caught a glimpse of the Sonne City Bakery, "Great to be back, actually."

With half a dozen miscellaneous steamed sweet buns in hand, Wu and Lera continued towards Lita's new home near the Sonne City palace. When Wu and Lera stepped off in front of a guarded house and saw Lita stepping out from within, Lita was the one that came running towards Lera, giving her the biggest and tightest hug and a big smooch on the forehead.

"Oh...look at all the white hair you got..." Lita commented, massaging Lera's head.

"It's SILVER!" Lera protested, "It's silver!"

Then, the mother-daughter pair shared a chuckle and wrapped their arms around one another more.

There were swishing sounds coming from behind Wu, and he spun around to see the Twin Generals walking slowly towards him, their bodies rippling the shield Cast around the house ever so slightly. Lera's own Wave was registered with the shield Cast, and Wu, obviously, walked right through anyway.

"Long time no see~" Jolyne said, winking at Wu and giving him a wave and a smile as Joseph nodded at him before marching past, his gigantic shoulders holding onto a basket filled with fruits and vegetables.

"Ma'am." Joseph said, bowing slightly, "The palace chief was really happy with the fabrics you made, and would like to offer you our sincerest thanks by providing you with the freshest produce to celebrate the return of your daughter."

"Oh, Joseph! You didn't have to..." Lita said, taking over the basket from the sincere young man. The gigantic man had grown a beard over the past six months, making him look far more mature and aged than before.

"Um..." Wu cleared his throat as Jolyne moved towards him with nimble steps, "Is this what I think I am seeing?"

"Big bro’s just a lady’s man." Jolyne nodded with a playful smile before pushing Wu into the room as Lera followed Lita.

With Lita busy cooking up a storm within the kitchen, the smell of the stew slowly filling up the room, Joseph, Jolyne, Wu and Lera instead headed up to the balcony.

Scanning around instinctively, Jolyne then leaned against the outer walls of the balcony, crossed her arms and looked at Wu and Lera.

"So, what did you find out about PORA?" She asked, getting straight to the chase.

And so they told her, relaying all the information they have gathered so far. Jolyne and Joseph listened closely, the twin's having the same exact mirrored posture with one another with one arm crossed in front and the other rubbing their chin.

"The King is planning to watch the Summer Selections, particularly now that there are two Varous citizens participating within it..." Jolyne said, her voice slow and low, "But if the PORA is to act during Summer Selections, then it makes it all the riskier to go..."

"I agree." Joseph said before the brother-sister combo looked at one another and sighed simultaneously.

"What?" Wu asked, and Joseph palmed his face while Jolyne looked towards Wu and Lera.

"There is no way the old folk is going to skip this year...especially knowing that he can confront the people that harmed his kingdom..." Jolyne said, "Our king is not a coward, just an idiot."

"That's not nice." A voice came from above, and Wu looked up to see the King of Varous descending through the air, "But since it's my favorite twin, I will let it go."

"Sir!" Joseph said, throwing his hands out as the King let out an earnest laugh, "Favouritism is dangerous for the stability of the kingdom!"

"Then, let's be thankful you are my second favorite." The King smiled and turned his attention towards Wu and Lera who both greeted him. He put a hand up, waving off their greetings before walking downstairs, "This is a reunion of family and friends, not a meeting! Come, I cannot wait to feast on some potato stews."

Lera and Wu shared a weird glance, and they both realized that perhaps Joseph and Jolyne had taken their request to take care of Lita a little too...literally. But at the end of the day, dinner tastes better with more people eating together.

"Come." Lera said, tugging Wu by the sleeves and dragging him downstairs too, following Joseph and Jolyne downstairs.