Stanley blankly shook Ulia’s hand as he stared at her to get a good look.

Ulia was blonde, or at least it looked like it, but the roots of her hair had black in them. Her face was hard to see for some reason despite it being right in front of him.

She was tall and had curves around her body that seemed unnatural compared to the girls back in his town. She wore the same tight-fitting black clothes as Sheila did, only hers was even tighter, emphasizing her curves.

Her bright green eyes seemed to capture him entirely, making him focus nowhere else.

He only woke up from his stupor when she let go of his hands. He looked at his hand and back at her before normal thoughts came to him again.

"Are you Sheila’s friend?" he asked.

"Hmm, yes... and no," the girl said. "I’m more of a senior to her. I have taught her a few things, so you can also call me her teacher without being wrong."

"Oh," Stanley said. "Greetings, I am Stanley."

"Greetings, Stanley," the girl said. "Do you want to say goodbye to Sheila before she leaves?"

"Before she... leaves?" he asked. He panicked a little. What was he going to do if she left him alone? How was he going to traverse this new world alone? Would he have to find someone else?

For some reason, he had believed that in the outside world, it would be Sheila that would help him. Not only survive the Shadow Nova but also get used to this new world.

However, hearing that she was now going to leave left him in quite a shock.

"I waited for you so I can let you have a quick farewell. I do not know where you come from, but surely you two have been through a lot to have reached here in such a state," the girl said. "Unfortunately, this is the last you’ll be seeing of her."

"But..." Stanley was speechless.

"Let me bring her out," the girl said and walked into the room before using the same thing the police officers had used to bring her out of the room.

This time around, she was in a different set of clothes, with her eyes still closed from the fever. The girl brought Sheila over to Stanley and did something that made Sheila wake up.

Sheila was in a drowsy state, her hands moving to block the blinding light from the ceiling. He looked around her in the same drowsy state as his eyes fell on Ulia that was standing right next to her.

"Hello!" she said excitedly. "Are you feeling okay?"

Sheila stared for a few seconds before realizing who it was. "Ughh, just let me die instead," she said.

"Hehe, I see you’re doing perfectly fine," Ulia said. "Come on, lil bro. You must have something to say to her before she leaves, right?"

Sheila was somewhat confused about what was happening, and her mind barely understood that she had called Stanley over when he appeared in front of her vision.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh... yes," Sheila said, while still in a daze. "I’ll be fine. What happened? Where am I?"

"You’re in a hospital, young lady," Ulia said. "This boyfriend of yours carried you on his back all the way to the city from... god knows where you were."

"Oh... thank you," Sheila quickly spoke to Stanley. "You saved my life."

"It’s fine. I would’ve lost mine if not for you," Stanley said.

"Alright, say goodbye," Ulia spoke. "We need to leave."

"Oh... uh... thank you for bringing me out of the town," he said quickly. "I will never forget this favor."

"Okay...?" Sheila’s mind was still having a hard time grasping what was happening at the moment.

"Time to leave. It was good seeing you, young man," Ulia said and started dragging Sheila away.

Sheila’s eyes followed Stanley as he moved away from her, and that was when she realized what was happening. She moved her right arm on instinct, but there was only a small stump there.

Then, realizing her mistake, she moved her other arm and grabbed Ulia by her arm. "Stop!" she shouted as loudly as she could.

Ulia stopped and looked at her. "What’s up? You need a little more time with your boyfriend?" she asked.

Sheila dragged her close so she could speak. "He’s coming... with me," she said audibly.

Ulia paused. "What do you mean? He can’t come with us," she said.

"No," Sheila said. "He’s... he’s my 50 percent."

Ulia paused for a moment, her expression finally changing to a serious look. She quickly turned around, looking at Stanley from top to bottom.

"Him? Your 50%? How?" she asked.

"I’m not telling you until we’re back," she said.

Ulia deliberated for a while, but she couldn’t stop herself from not accepting Sheila’s request. It was one of the association rules after all.

"Fine, I’m curious how he is your 50%," she said and turned around to Stanley. "Young man, come with me."

Stanley was surprised, so he quickly ran up to the two girls. "You guys are taking me?" he asked.

"Circumstances have made it so that I now must take you with me no matter what," Ulia said. "Alright, come with me."

Stanley nodded. "Are we going somewhere far away?" he asked as the girl started walking with Sheila by her side.

"To another country," Ulia said.

"Oh... is that... what was it called? Pandene?" Stanley asked.

"Yes."

"No."

Both of the girls had opposite answers to the question.

Ulia looked at Sheila, and said, "You are not going to Pandene now."

"Huh? But I need to debrief. That was where I was briefed," she said.

"Yes, but we are now going straight to Starhall with no breaks in between," Ulia said. "Gray’s order."

"Oh..." Sheila’s voice toned down a bit after hearing the name. "Okay. If that’s what he wants then I suppose I have no choice."