The plates chimed as they clashed with one another in the kitchen sink, the splashes of water from the Casts warmed not only the plates but also Lera's hands as she aided her mother in the washing up.

In the meanwhile, Wu, Jolyne, and the King were joking about something as Joseph stepped away from the living room and into the kitchen with the piles of plates held up by a single hand.

"Thank you, Joseph." Lita smiled as the latter nodded firmly and walked out, giving Lera and Lita the precious time they wanted with one another.

"So..." Lita said, kicking off the conversation, "How's things between you two?"

"I knew you are going to ask that..." Lera chuckled and shook her head. During dinner, Lera and Wu had shared the more standard part of their adventures, including what they have learnt about PORA. It was certainly a strange conversation to be had during dinner, which explained its brevity and short-lived-ness. Mostly, they talked about Lera's Winter Wars battles just because neither the King and Lita could contain their excitement.

"Come on~ I am curious!" Lita said, turning to look at Lera as her hands expertly wiped away the plates before rinsing them, "My little daughter is in love! How could I not be?"

"...Not really in love." Lera said, lowering her head, "We...both agreed that it's not the best idea to be...like that. We are just going to be companions on a journey, and nothing more. Nothing...more."

"Oh." Lita raised her eyebrows, though she read Lera like a book despite her words. Lera swallowed hard and reached for a glass of water nearby, "Did something happen?"

"Sort of?" Lera said, reflecting, "Something must have happened...It's...complicated."

"I am sure it is." Lita said, putting the dishes down, "Come, let's go for a walk.

As Lera walked past Wu, Joseph, Jolyne, and the King sitting in the living room, the King was just sharing a story about how Joseph got jealous of Jolyne when they were small and training in the palace. From Jolyne's amused look to Joseph's big blushing face to Wu's unhinged laughter, Lera wanted to just go ahead and sit down next to Wu. However, Jolyne's currently occupying that space, and her shoulders are suspiciously close to his...

Shaking her head, Lera marched out with Lita, who told the others that they are going for a walk.

"On my world, Kings are typically heavily guarded wherever they go." Wu commented, looking at the King who lied back on the couch without a single care in the world.

"Well, I am heavily guarded." The King gestured towards Joseph and Jolyne, "There are no one I trust more in this kingdom for my safety. Right, Jolyne?"

"Ok you are just taking a piss now, old man." Joseph rolled his eyes and picked up the wine cup from the table.

It has now been nearly ten months since Sonne city experienced the devastating attacks from the Inverted Questions, which was the event that kickstarted this whole story. The rebuild had been the primary focus of the kingdom after the investigations cleansed the Kingdom's capital of the rebellious spirits. However, not all things that were destroyed could have been rebuilt.

Lera conjured up her Car way before Lita asked her to, and she shook her head, instead taking her daughter's hand as they strolled along the streets on foot. The Twin Generals made sure to resettle Lita among the residential districts, and its nights are quiet and peaceful with streets brightly lit by Casts. The two of them walked slowly and quietly, listening to the sounds of chatter seep through the windows as families gathered to enjoy their nights together.

"Where are we going?" Lera asked, and Lita gave her a mysterious smile before she started running. Lera could obviously keep up with her mother, and they trotted all the way up to the top of the hill when the dazzling outline of something that was once familiar emerged from beyond the horizon.

It was the Pinnacle Research Institute, or at least what was left of it.

Lera felt her body tense up, her eyes widen, and she held her breathe slightly as Lita squeezed her hand, bring her daughter back to the present.

"It's okay." Lita said quietly, and she guided Lera to the outer perimeter, where a plaque was risen in front of sets of statues held together by a structure Cast. Lera looked up, as the individual floating stones connected with lines of Wave formed the outline of a human, and the human moved from one heroic pose to another, retelling the stories of that day.

"What is this place...now?" Lera asked, and Lita grabbed hold of her hand before taking her through the wide-open gates. As they continued moving through the parks, Lera's eyes travelled from one moving statue to another, until she caught onto that of Professor Richard. He was in a roaring pose, shielding the students when the initial explosions went off. However, that roar only reminded Lera of something else entirely.

Then, Lita stopped short of another statue near the demolished site of the Tower of Constellation. That statue looked oddly familiar, as it is of a girl flying through the air with her arms reached forward. The girl's hair is shoulder length and tied behind her, and she gritted her teeth as if she's doing the hardest thing that she has ever done.

Turning her gaze, Lera then saw a stone tablet meters in front of the girl.

"That's..."

"You, Lera." Lita said, her hands gently touching Lera's shoulders.

"No way..." Lera blushed, her eyes immediately shifting around to look for any signs of Wu, but there were none, "Why isn't he here...?"

"Well...who knows..." Lita shrugged, "I can think of a few reasons."

"Right..." Lera smiled lightly, turning to look at her own statue as it felt like a strange out-of-body experience to see herself like this. The artist's rendition was absolutely spot on, even capturing the Book of Casts that nearly slipped out of her hand during that one moment that changed her life forever, though, it was a rendition after all.

"Mom, why did you take me here?" At last, Lera had to ask.

"To show you how far you have come." Lita said, placing both hands around Lera's chin before giving it a little squeeze. Absolutely adorable, "and to let you know how much further you will go."

"When you lost during Winter Wars, I cried for you..." Lita said, bringing Lera close, "Not because you lost, but because of how sad you looked after you lost."

"I wasn't that sad." Lera said, shaking her head and rubbing her chins over her mother's slender shoulders.

"Sure~" Lita giggled knowingly, "You have been pushing yourself so hard for so long, and you think that it is the only way you can fulfil your duty, right?"

"...I know that is the only way for me." Lera said.

"And when you couldn't win, what did you do?" Lita asked, tilting back and looking into Lera's eyes, "Did you try to punish yourself instead?"

Lera's eyes widened and she blinked rapidly as her breathe became irregular.

"That's what I would do..." Lita said, caressing Lera's face as she continued, "Whenever I failed because of some factors I couldn't control, I would just punish myself, because even if we couldn't control our environments, we could at least control our own pain."

"That's...not true..."

"Lera. Is your relationship with Wu really the one thing that's hindering your strength? Or is it just your way of punishing yourself?" Lita asked, as Lera stumbled back, her eyes lost. The two of them sat down in front of her statue as memories flooded back into Lera's head.

"I...I..." Lera stuttered, her fingers gripping into her arms as Lita watched her closely, "I...wasn't just punishing myself...but I was also punishing him..."

Lera thought her closeness with Wu was what led to her reliance on Wu, and that's why she was weak. But that couldn't be further from the truth, because of the way the two of them tended to work with one another. Wu needed a skilled pair of hands and someone smart to bounce ideas off, and Lera had been trained to use her utility Casts in battle all her life. If anything, those were the things that made her strong.

Worse yet, their relationship outside of the battlefield had never had any bearings on the way they fight together, and it was almost as if Wu had a switch reserved for when they are in battle. When she told him that they should just be...friends, he looked so hurt, and the expressions and forced smile on his face were only just returning from the buried parts of her memories.

"No...no...he is going to hate me...he is going to..." Lera said, scratching her hair frantically.

"I am sure he understands." Lita said firmly, "Just...be true with yourself. Be true with you own feelings, and...part of growing up is to learn to love yourself, and love others. It's hard. I know it's hard, some might say it's the hardest thing anyone will learn to do, but once you are able to do it...It will be the most rewarding thing in the world."

Lera listened, and she slowly took it all in. Her past with Wu, her present with Wu, and her future with Wu, all spiralling around her here and now. She blinked a few times, seemingly making up her mind before pressing herself to standing.

"Thanks, mom." Lera said, wiping away something from her eye before hugging Lita, "I love you."

By the time Lita and Lera returned from their walk, Joseph and Jolyne had already accompanied the King back to the palace, and Wu was waiting for them in the living room, Lera's Book of Casts in his hands as he tried to decipher some more of her Casts.

"Oh, welcome back." Wu smiled and waved his hand as Lera walked up to him with fists clenched and face beet red, though he seemed amused by her look.

Lera's just too embarrassed to say anything, and she wanted to apologize to Wu right away, but it only looked like she is about to punch him in the face from Wu's point of view.

"Wu." Lera said, licking her lips and trying to force the words out, "I...can I have my book back, please?"

"Oh, of course." Wu said, handing Lera's book back, "Please don't punch me."

"I NEVER WILL!"

Hearing that, Lita hid behind the kitchen wall fully, knowing that her daughter is still some distance away from being completely honest with herself. But at the very least, it will be a start.