Out of the other side of the portal, they arrived inside Felix’s office. They were surprised to find it more cluttered than it was the last time they saw it. Six boxes were stacked near his desk while papers strew across the floor.

“This is a mess!” Ondine commented as she and the

“Look at all the paper!” Cantia commented while she looked around.

Felix chuckled and said “Please don’t mind the paper and boxes. Actually, sit on the boxes. We’re going to recycle them anyway so they aren’t anything important in them.”

“You want us to sit on paper made from trees? Seriously, Felix?” Lakshman asked him with both of his eyebrows raised.

Felix nodded and said “Good. Anyway, give me a minute while I send all these boxes away.”

He ordered several Phintex Rajas and had them take the boxes out of the room. Like following a prearranged chain of commands, the Phintex Rajas proceeded to take all the six boxes out of the room for recycling.

As the boxes were taken away, Felix produced four glasses from under his desk. He walked over to the sink and washed them briefly before returning and handing them to the girls. Then he pulled out a juice drink which was labelled “Stylish Mangos.”

“Stylish Mangos?” Emilia asked curiously as she look at the bottle.

“Yeah! It tastes really good. It’s pretty popular in the market even though it just got released like three days ago!”

“Let me guess, Wolfenstine made it,” Lakshman said as with an expression that made it look like he already knew it.

Surprisingly, Felix shook his head and said “It’s one of Wolfenstine’s ex-student called Mark Storm. He just got here and started his mango business, but the sales are rocketing! I hear he’s received more than hundred customers and he’s started constructing a drink store for the mangos.”

“Um… Is this like alcohol where people get drunk drinking mango instead of… you know… dangerous drinks?” Lakshman asked curiously which made Felix laugh.

“Anyway, you girls have some drink while I and Lucky fix up the floors.”

“Hah? Why me?”

“Oh, come on! It’s been a week since I last saw you and I want to see how you’re training’s coming along,” Felix said and he smiled at him.

Lakshman smiled back and said “I see. So a competition to see who picks up the most papers using Infinity Step. I’m in!”

“Okay. Go!” Felix said and the race began.

Both Felix and Lakshman zoomed around the room in a flash. To any untrained eyes, they would simply hear the sound of footsteps while not being able to see them. Even trained eyes of Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia had trouble keeping up with their movement as the boys picked up all the papers off the floor.

While they were racing each other, the Stylish Mango floated around and poured a minimum amount into the girls’ drinks. Looking into their glasses, they were surprised to see that the drink were green coloured. They glanced at each other and then shrugged their shoulders before drinking it in one gulp.

“Wow! This is really good!” Ondine exclaimed and she smacked her lips in delight.

“Tasty…!” Tetra said and she had a look of amazement on her face.

“Cool! This drink is so tasty and cool!” Emilia said

Cantia, on the other hand, did not say anything. She just closed her eyes and remained silently. As the other three girls turned to look at her, she flashed her eyes open and said “More, more, more! I want more!” The other girls laughed at hearing her response and they went for a second.

A few minutes later, both Felix and Lakshman came to a stop. The two of them slammed the heavy load of papers down on the desks as soon as they collected all the papers off the ground. The two of them looked at each other grins on their faces while breathing quickly.

“How many did you manage to collect?” Felix asked Lakshman.

“I got nine-hundred-and-eighty,” Lakshman said. Then he smiled and asked “How about you?”

Felix groaned and said “Mine add up to nine-hundred-and-seventy-six…!”

Lakshman could not believe it and he laughed before saying “Ha! Ha! Lost by four papers! That is funny!”

“Give me two so we can make this even!” Felix said, but he was grinning and Lakshman grinned back. Then Felix said “Alright, then. Phintex Rajas! Come and collect more papers for recycling, please.”

Four Phintex Rajas appeared and they split the load between them. Then they bowed to Felix and warped out of the room. Once all done, Felix and Lakshman sat down in chairs and breathed quickly.

“Not bad, but I think you haven’t gotten any faster than last time,” Felix said to Lakshman.

“Yeah, but I’ve been busy with studies. You know the deal; homework, assignments and more to read and learn,” Lakshman said in a tired voice.

“Yeah, I know what you mean, but don’t sound so tired. This is only the first week for crying out loud. If you’re tired already, you’ll never make it to the end of term in three months’ time.”

“All because there are twelve weeks per term. Then we only have a month of break before we get back to school. Just great.

“You need to feel happy. Each week, you’re getting four days of break after six days of school days. You should be glad.”

“Yeah, but the break is usually spent on homework and more stuff to study for next week. My Magic, Energy and Weapons teacher gave us so much to do, I’m tired just thinking about it! Don’t you agree with me?”

He had turned to ask the girls and they all nodded at him. It seems the work given out for the classes in Class 1C is a bit less than for those in Class 1A. It was making him work so hard every day and in during the free time he got, he did not have time to get together with his lovers.

“On top of that, I’m even forgetting what day it is now thanks to how busy I’ve gotten. In fact, if the principal hadn’t called me and informed me about the competition yesterday, I would’ve gone to school yesterday and today, then later wonder why no one showed up for class.”

“Lucky, now that’s just silly. Throughout the years, people have done the same things as you and the rest of your school mates are doing right now. So only you facing this trouble is a bit… you know...”’

Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said “I know, I know. I’m well aware of it, but I thought there should be a simpler way of knowing what day it is instead of having to keep track of counting the days! I never noticed this because I didn’t have anything real important to do for so long.”

Felix chuckled and asked “So how do you suggest we make it easier then?”

“Well… I actually didn’t come to speak about it, but… whatever!” Lakshman said and he jerked his shoulder and decided to speak about the main matter later. Then he said “How about we name the ten days of each week?”

Felix looked surprised and asked “Eh? Name the days?”

“Yeah! Like today is… uh… Barrit. Tomorrow is… um… Tygon and the next day will be Gabit. Because, as we all know, ten days from now, those names will come in the same order; Barrit, Tygon and Gabit. Actually, here’s my full list for the full ten days! Please pass me a paper.”

Felix looked surprised, but he took out a spare paper from a drawer and handed it to him. Lakshman took the paper and the pen Felix provided him with. Then he began to list down the names of each day.

Mondus

Dengum

Samen

Foden

Jeybun

Sadet

Barrit

Tygon

Gabit

Haket

Once he was done writing them, he passed them back to Felix. He looked at the sheet of names for each of the ten days per week. As he did, Lakshman spoke about it.

“Each week contains ten days which means each consists of forty days. With the number of days per month multiplied by the months per year, which is nine, we get the total number of days per year, which is three-sixty days. Just from these mere ten days, we can label the ten days of each week for an entire year!”

Felix was nodding his head as he slowly understood the plan Lakshman had in mind. He basically wanted to create a daily labelled system where people know what they it is. This enables anyone to easily recognise when what day it is today, tomorrow or in the near future which also helps in looking back days.

Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia looked amazed at the information Lakshman was proving Felix with. They and everyone around the world relied on the counting of day’s system instead of naming them.

Felix looked back at Lakshman and asked “This is a good plan, but how do you plan on implementing it? I mean… I could talk to the court and convince them to accepting this method of day’s system, but… how do you expect the people to keep track of them so easily?”

Lakshman smiled and said “Use a Yearly Calendar.”

“Use a… what?”

Lakshman went to speak and suddenly felt his throat go dry. With a request and a glass, the girls poured him some juice which they also did for Felix. Lakshman slowly drank the juice and really liked the taste, but he was in a serious mood and he quickly set it down to continue speaking.

“At home, we own a calendar that shows the year and the day. Like, if I remember correctly, the calendar would be read today as the hundred-and-twelfth of Aporos. Yet, the format of how the year, month and day are used constantly get changed each time I see it in different places like the Adventurers Guild and Hospital.”

“So what you’re saying is that you want only one standard format of the date, time and year?”

Lakshman nodded and said “Exactly! I’m getting tired of trying to figure out what is this, what is that and that hellish what is what stuff! That’s why I want a calendar system that follows a well formatted and laid out calendar system than the randomness that people come up with!”

Felix nodded his head at Lakshman as he understood his plan. Then he said “I see that you’re planning something good and I’m sure many will love it, but hey… remember there are two sides of a gold coin. For every good thing, there is a bad thing. There will be those that will be too stubborn to want to change and will fight against it.”

Lakshman looked shocked as he suddenly realised the problem. If the changes are not accepted, it will lead to a confrontation between the people. Through the history books of the past and novels, he was well aware of the kind of damage that will be done if that were to happen.

He looked down at his hands and closed his eyes unhappily. At that moment, Lakshman heard the voice of the Decisive Player speak in his mind. It had been a while since he heard the powerful voice of the one being who holds a great amount of wisdom.

“Difficulty occur all the time when changes and made, especially ones that are greatly disliked. This sparks the aggressive confrontation that brings out the old hatred and disputes. The eventuality will lead to a Civil War.”

Lakshman opened his eyes and suddenly found himself standing in a space covered in light while everything around was shrouded in darkness. He looked ahead and saw himself standing there, but he knew it was the Decisive Player standing there with his appearance.

“A Civil War?! No way! D-Doesn’t that mean… um… uh…”

The Decisive Player, who had his arms folded, chuckled and said “It will be repeat of the full scale war between the races that occurred eight-thousand years ago. It took the life of the Phoenix Titan and the summoned World Guardians to finally put an end to the war!”

Lakshman looked amazed before he looked confused and asked “You know that I still don’t know who these World Guardians, right?”

The Decisive Player smiled and said “The World Guardians are mythological and historical heroes that came and went since ancient times. They were the legendary figures that risked their lives for honour, respect, life and truth. This eventually led them to join the World Guardians that were created by the Mythological Gods of Freedom and Justice.”

“I see… So the Phoenix Titan, before me, sacrificed his life in order to summon them. If that happened again… would I be able to do it…? I wonder if I can do it.”

The Decisive Player remained silent for a moment. Then he said “The truth of the matter is, the Phoenix Titan had the power to stop the racial wars, but that was it. Something had happened that forced him to resort to that desperate measures. Something that happened eight-thousand years ago which I cannot remember.”

“Oh right. You told me this about you not being able to remember and how we were split because of whatever happened at that time,” Lakshman said. Then he smiled and said “Which is how you became the Decisive Player and I became the Innocent Player.”

The Decisive Player chuckled and said “In any case, the Phoenix Titan stands for freedom and justice which also includes the balance of the world. It’s like the sun and the moon which always goes around the world daily. If there was only one without the other, the balance is broken and the world will head towards destruction.”

“I know I have to keep the balance, but what about clashing of opinions? What do I do when that happens? Force them? Make them?”

The Decisive Player did not immediately reply, but he looked at Lakshman in silence. It looked like he was making up his mind about something. Then he nodded his head as if he made a decision.

“Regardless of what people think, feel and act, you are still the Phoenix Titan. Your duty is towards the world and to retain that balance. If the people do not heed your advice and believe you are a stupid moron, then hit them back.”

“Eh?”

“Over the course of history, many such problems occurred. So much pointless destruction and countless loss of life. Even so, the Phoenix Titan and his allies persisted to push for a peaceful solution. Always keep in mind that a peaceful solution only comes through reasoning and understanding.”

“What if words fail and they start raising their fists?”

”If you raise your fist to fight, then you are no better than those wild monkeys that swing off trees and scratch their armpits! Don’t care! Throw them away! The lives of the innocent and the world come first! Remember… Remember… Remember…”

The Decisive Player’s voice became distant and distance as the light glowed brighter and brighter. Lakshman finally found an answer to the problem of conflict.

He opened his eyes and looked up. Every one of them were looking at him anxiously.

“Did you fall asleep or something? Just say it. I’m boring and I’ll happily accept it,” Felix told him with a grin on his face.

Lakshman laughed and said “No. I was thinking about it and I finally got my answer.”

“Which is?”

Lakshman firmly faced Felix and said “I will face any and all challenges, whether they are big or small, through reasoning and understanding. Even if feelings and emotions outweigh the logical reasons, I will stand firm for what is right no matter what!”

“Even if something as simple as this might end up getting as big as turning you into someone the people hate?” Felix asked curiously.

“Even so, my answer will not change. I will give you the same answer as I have given today,” Lakshman said firmly.

Felix looked at him intently for a few seconds in silence. He could see the strong determination in his eyes and the firmness in his face. Lakshman had resolved himself to it and he was fine with it.

“Alright. I’ll get to speak with the rest of the Phoenix Clan. Then we will prepare for the declaration of the new calendar system. Okay?”

“Sure!” Lakshman said and he nodded at him.

Felix nodded back and he took the piece of paper from him. He took the pen and wrote down the list of what should be done. Then he placed it inside his drawer.

“Do you have any more ideas? Any other ideas to benefit the world, society, people and races?” Felix finally asked once he closed the drawer.

For a moment, Lakshman pondered about it. They all watched him curiously as if he was going to come up with something else.

“I’ll… think about it and let you know when I find think up more,” he said before smiling happily.