Finally, it was the last full day of the three-month-long exchange program.

The gang around Mika would depart tomorrow morning. Thus, there was nothing on their schedule for today aside from bidding the people here goodbye.

They attended the academy of Youra and wearing their Loogam uniforms after such a long time again, Mika and the others were warmly seen off by everyone there.

Following that, Mika and the others scattered from there and each one of them did their own thing. Harik, for example, was seen together with Asak and other students, while Belian was swarmed by energetic students who wanted to spar with him one last time.

Mika, in turn, sat on a bench and looked at the cloudless bright sky after strolling a little around in Youra. His eyes narrowed when he saw something akin to a bird flying. Unlike other birds, that one looked quite unusual. Because of the brightness, Mika could only make out its silhouette which was flackering.

"Is that how you spend your last day here? How boring."

Elsa sat down beside Mika while she made fun of him.

"What do you expect me to do then? Throw a party?"

"Jeez, sometimes I wonder if you’re really a teenager..." Elsa remarked with a sigh.

The two watched the locals minding their own business.

"Anyways, I came to you to remind you of the Grand Order meeting. We will head to Fuera right after we arrive in Hafor." she switched the topic and turned more serious.

"I didn’t forget. Is that all?"

"I don’t know how much you were told yet but in that meeting, every member will be present and this time, it was decided that every one of us has to introduce someone who could take our position, in case we leave the Grand Order."

"Yes, I think we were called candidates for the Grand Order." Mika said.

"That’s right. Each one of us needs one candidate. Well, setting aside Olivia, who actually intends to introduce you and her sister, the rest of the Grand Order has already found someone."

"Then, who do you plan to make a candidate for your position." Mika wondered.

"Initially, I wanted to appoint Arnold as a candidate but since a while ago, I’m wavering..." Elsa admitted pensively.

"?"

"I’m quite interested in Sylvia."

Mika raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. She may be weaker than Arnold now but I can see a lot of potential in her. If I were to train her even further, then she could even possibly reach or exceed me." Elsa stated as she began to smirk fiercely.

Then, Elsa stood up.

"Well, I just wanted you to know because you seemed close to her."

She proceeded to leave the place.

"..."

Mika looked at her back which grew smaller and smaller the further she walked.

"Sylvia, huh?"

[It is not surprising that she caught the eyes of her.]

Of course, Mika knew that. Sylvia was someone very strong after all. It was only a matter of time before she would take the next step in her career.

He snickered.

For a short moment, he thought of the scenario where he, Sylvia and Lily or Belian were to join the Grand Order. They had all the potential or the desire to join that group. Obviously, he could not leave out the others from the class yet as they could all grow even further in the next years.

But Mika thought that it may be quite entertaining if the Grand Order would consist of him and many of his classmates in the future.

Mika, too, stood up and continued his stroll.

However, he shortly came across a familiar person.

"I was looking for you, Mika."

"Sylvia?"

Sylvia stood in front of Mika with her arms crossed and a relaxed and indifferent face.

"Meet me at the front of our inn five hours from now." she stated.

Following those words, she instantly turned her back on Mika and walked away with a high pace.

"What...?"

Mika did not even have a chance to say something for her to hear. Instead, he could only catch the sight of her reddened ears.

He sighed as he ignored the urge to think about it deeply.

"Oh, my."

"?"

Hearing that voice, Mika looked back.

"That must have taken a lot of courage for her to say."

"..."

Behind him, Elya and Arnold appeared.

While Elya seemed amused, Arnold looked like he was holding back his complaints.

Those two were Sylvia’s parents and were people from the North. In the beginning, the North and the people in Youra were at odds with the locals here mostly being displeased with their appearance in their town despite all the attempts of Cylia trying to patch things up. However, as time passed, the public grew less displeased after seeing that the North changed under the guidance of Elsa.

Now, neither the North nor the locals were bothered by the stares each party would give the other.

"It’s unfortunate that it’s already your last day here but I’m sure that we will meet again someday." Elya stated gently.

Mika nodded his head.

"We will leave our girl in your care then, Mika." she added with an amused smile.

"..."

But those words seemed to trigger the grumbling Arnold even more.

"Sure..." Mika replied, not knowing what she meant.

Elya was happy to hear that.

"Then, enjoy your date later." she said as she and Arnold left.

Mika tilted his head.

"Date?"

There were many occasions when he would spend time with someone else alone but labeling those as dates never crossed his mind.

"..."

If it was Mika from a few months ago, then he would be pretty nervous and excited about the idea of having an official date, however, he changed.

"I wonder... What kind of face I’m currently making?" he muttered apathetically with a very small smile.

Another hour passed.

Mika was on the rooftop of the academy and looked over the town.

"Am I interrupting you?"

This time, it was Lily who came for him.

"How did you find me?"

"I used my pets to locate you." Lily replied, scratching the back of her head awkwardly.

"That explains that bird..." Mika murmured.

Earlier that day, he noticed a strange bird following him. Most likely, it was a fire creature Lily summoned.

"So you’re calling them pets now?"

"Yes! I didn’t particularly like calling them something crude like creatures or beings of mine..." she stated with a gentle smile.

"Well, that sounds like you, I guess?" Mika sighed.

"So? Did you want something from me?" he asked.

"A-ah, yes!"

Suddenly, Lily turned nervous and started to blush.

With her hands behind her back, she was constantly fidgeting around with her fingers.

"I-in four hours... Could we meet up here again...?"

"In four hours? Actually-"

"S-see you then!"

In a rush, Lily slammed the door to the rooftop shut as she ran away.

"This could be a problem..." Mika murmured.

Again, hours passed with only one hour left until he had to meet either Lily or Sylvia.

He tried to find them but his efforts were in vain. Now, he rested in his room in the inn.

[What will you do now?]

"..."

Mika was staring at the ceiling, pondering about his decision with an apathetic expression.

"Maybe I will meet up with Sylvia first. I’m already at the inn after all."

[That makes sense.]

"..."

However, deep down, Mika felt dissatisfied.

"Does it have to make sense though...?"

[What do you mean?]

Was it the right move to rely on logic in this situation? Mika did not know.

"Nevermind. I will choose spontaneously after a short nap."

His eyes were closed but he could not sleep. He was thinking about the right decision. He was thinking about whom he wanted to meet.

"They set me up, huh...?" Mika muttered.

They proposed Mika to meet up at different locations at the same time. It was also no coincidence that they did not wait for his response and that Mika could not find them afterward.

Those two wanted Mika to choose.

Constantly pondering, Mika actually turned sleepy and dozed off.

[Mika.]

It was only after the system called out to him that he would wake up.

"What...?" he replied drowsy.

Mika still had some time left until the meeting but he sensed something strange as the system’s voice sounded sterner and more concerned than usual.

His eyes noticed the words in the air.

"A new quest?"

But compared to the other quests, the quest stated something different in the beginning.

[Choose between those two quests. The reward and the penalty will be the same, no matter what you choose.]

[Reward: Sixth installment.]

[Penalty: Death.]

"..."

Mika was reading carefully.

[Option 1.]

[Main quest: Fight Leviathan until it retreats.]

"Somehow, I expected something like that..." Mika lamented, dropping his shoulders.

Not knowing what awaited him, his eyes wandered to the second option.

[Option 2.]

[Main quest: Fight the demon in your village until it retreats (3 minutes and 34 seconds passed since its arrival there).]