"A day without a sun, a night without a moon, clouds without rain and a land without life. Be wary of your future in which you will only suffer."

"Amilia. Amilia, wake up!"-said Yuuji poking Amilia
"Yuu..ji. Yuuji you're safe!"-said Amilia with tears in her eyes looking at Yuuji
"huh? Of course i am we just arrived in Winterville"-said Yuuji confused

Yuuji was confused about Amilia’s reaction but he chose to not ask her as it might have been a nightmare just like the one he had on the island

“Asking her might trigger that dream for her again. It’s probably best not to ask her”-thought Yuuji to himself as they were passing through the city gates

Upon their arrival, Boryana was waiting for them at the gate to welcome them back and to escort them to the mansion where they will be meeting with Thoka.

“You’re very late!”-said Boryana annoyed at Yuuji
“Well it took us a while to figure out the situation in Aetherland. Oh! by the way, This is Allen and Kazuma they joined our party while we were in Aetherland”-replied Yuuji introducing the new party members

“I can’t let her know that Allen was from the organization it will only cause for trouble”-thought Yuuji to himself
“Right, Hurry now Thoka-sama is waiting for you”-said Boryana

They started walking towards the mansion together to go and meet Thoka who’s been waiting for Yuuji’s return to discuss matters with him and for him to give her reports about the situation in Aetherland.

“Man, It’s been so long since i came here i kinda miss the place”-thought Yuuji to himself
“Yuuji, Want to take a walk around the city again after the meeting is over ?”-said Amilia interrupting Yuuji’s thoughts
“Ah, Sure! I was just thinking about how much i miss this place. It feels like you were reading my thoughts there, Amilia”-replied Yuuji with a smile on his face and a slight giggle
“We’re here!”-said Boryana

In front of Yuuji was a new mansion unlike the one he saw when he was in Wintervale before

“Hey Borya-”-said Yuuji getting interrupted by Boryana immediately
“I know what you’re going to ask. This is a secret mansion that is owned by the Rüdiger family. This is for secret meetings.”-said Boryana clearing everyone’s confusion

They entered the mansion. The door was big, The walls were white and the floor was made of marble. A good place to hold meetings if you are a country’s leader.

“Welcome back, Yuuji-dono”
“Ah! Thoka hello!”-said Yuuji looking at Thoka who was coming down the stairs
“Let’s keep the chit-chat to when we get to the meeting room. I’m sure there are plenty of things you want to discuss with me and ask about”-said Thoka encouraging the party to go upstairs to the meeting room

The party goes upstairs and are accompanied by Boryana too. They sit down around the table and are ready to talk.

“So, Yuuji-dono. What’s your report ?”-said Thoka with a calm tone and a smile on her face
“Well we were able to stop the harbinger that was there and also gained knowledge about the next destination we should be heading to.”-replied Yuuji
“Thoka-sama, Can you provide us with any information about Denki?”-said Kazuma
“Hmm. Denki.. I did visit there once before on a diplomatic party however..”-said Thoka
“However ?”-replied Yuuji confused
“Their ruler isn’t really someone you would want to get involved with or rather get on her bad side”-continued Thoka
“How so?”-asked Kazuma
“She’s really hard-headed and has several rules there that makes the place suffocating”-said Thoka clearing the confusion
“How long will it take us to get there by a fast boat ?”-asked Allen
“Hmm.. Maybe about 5 days by a fast boat. I have never taken one to be completely honest with you. The last time I went there was just 2 years before fast boats were a thing. Sorry i can’t help answer that.”-replied Thoka
After chatting a little and catching up and finally introducing Allen and Kazuma properly. Of course Yuuji refrained from telling Thoka about the true identity of Allen “That concludes the meeting. Sorry that you didn’t get to rest”-said Thoka ending the meeting Everyone gets up and leave heading to Amilia’s house where they will be staying over for 2 days until a fast boat is ready to sail. “Hey, Yuuji.” “Hm? what is it?”-replied Yuuji “Are we still going for a trip around town tomorrow?”-asked Amilia in a shy tone “Oh! Yeah! I bet Allen and Kazuma will like i-”said Yuuji being interrupted by Amilia “No, i want it to be only the both of us..”-said Amilia in a really shy tone At that moment Yuuji realized how lonely Amilia felt from him being too busy training or fighting or being with Allen and Kazuma all the time. “Alright! Only the two of us! But you gotta treat me to some good food”-said Yuuji with a cheerful tone Amilia’s eyes lit up in happiness and it clearly was something really big for her. “It’s the man’s job to treat the woman!”-replied Amilia in an annoyed yet excited tone “This time I’ll believe in equality”-said Yuuji with a slight laughter in his tone They all arrive at Amilia’s house to rest the night.