Express Station, Ocien.

"We are here!!" An excited voice rang around as three beautiful ladies emerged from the station. One look at them, and it was very clear that they were not some ordinary people. And, if one had ability, they could definitely discern the powerful auras secretly guarding them.

"I wonder what the theme for the competition will be.." Janet asked with an excited look on her face as she looked at the two other girls. These two were someone very familiar. It was Elly and Aria.

"Don't jump around like that. People will take you for a crazy person.." Aria shook her with a little smile on her face.

Elly on the other side stood there as she looked at the city.

"What's wrong?" Aria asked as she looked at her.

"Nothing.." Elly shook her head, and then smiled at her.

The three of them were here, and as for why they were here, well..

Lora had been pretty depressed lately because of Lear's condition. Janet came up with a plan to cheer her up, and hence decided to bring her out to watch the next event taking place in Ocean.

And, she asked Elly, Lisa and Aria along since they had a greater persuading skill. Lisa couldn't come as even though she wasn't participating in the event in Ishtar, with Axel gone, she was the one in charge.

Elly too wanted to refuse, but Janet drew her in with Lora as bait. She couldn't ignore that after all but the plan failed in the end, as Lora insisted on staying in Ishtar.

Even though the plan failed, Janet still dragged them along here since the tickets, and the arrangements were done.

Elly actually just wanted peace around her for a while. There had been too many things going around her, she wanted a moment of rest from all of it. Within this time in which she had been alone; she had time to look back on herself. And, she had realized many things.

She had reflected on a lot of things, especially her relationship with Max.

In her mind, she wanted to go ahead with her life, but she knew in her heart that unless she faced her past, that wasn't possible. The shadow of her past would always be over her, and influence every decision she made in the present, just like it had been until now.

So, she decided to have a good talk with her grandfather, and things finally seemed to be a little clearer for herself. And, surprisingly, this change in her had been accompanied with a rapid growth in her abilities as a Druid as well. She had no idea why there was such a change. But, it might be because of the change in her behavior, and acceptance towards her own past self, and her own identity.

Did she hate her own parents for what happened in the past?

If you asked her questions like that, then she might not be able to outright answer you. But, she definitely understood where it all came from, and how it happened. The memories still hurt her every time she thought about it, but she was no longer afraid to think about them.

'I wonder if I will be able to meet him..' She muttered inwardly thinking about Max. She wasn't going to seek him. But, if she met him, then she definitely had something to say to him, and this time, she was going to speak her heart.

On the other side, Aria seemed to be observing Elly's expressions as well.

'I heard from Lisa that he is here..' She obviously hadn't forgotten to talk some sense to Max. To be honest, she was waiting for an opportunity. She had given up on her feelings because she didn't want to hurt her friend, but that guy dared two times and that too with both of her friends.

This was not something that she could tolerate. She had planned to grab him in Ishtar, but she never found him there. In the end, she tried to get it out his whereabouts from Lisa, and finally managed to find that Max was in Ocean. And, it was not a top secret news. As long as one wanted to find out about it, it could be done very easily. It was not like Max was hiding.

Hence, unlike Elly, Aria was determined to find Max, and talk some sense to him.

...

Noble's Palace, Central District, Ocien.

This was a fancy restaurant if described in simple words. It was a place where the kids of the nobles and rich families came to squander their money. It had everything one needed to enjoy.

From food, to gambling, to bawl rooms, it wasn't lacking, and was a popular place among the young spoiled brats who had nothing better to do but find a place to waste their money.

"Are you kidding me?" Max muttered in disbelief when Synthia paid the entrance fee.

Synthia gave him a look as if she was looking at some bumpkin. To her that much money was nothing, and it was very normal. But, Max obviously was not the same. Even though he wasn't lacking money now, he still had a different perception of money as he had seen hard days.

"Fix that grumpy face of yours. It was just a little money, and I paid it to begin with." Synthia glared at him a little. She was still angry at him for earlier.historical

Max just sighed, and then shook his head before fixing the look on his face.

"Wait a second? Won't Preston doubt us? I mean wouldn't it be odd for us to come to a place together when I have no interest in guys?" Synthia asked as he looked at Max.

"Well, you know that, he knows that, but does he know that I know about it as well?" Max asked her with a smile. "Let him think that I am just trying my luck with you.."

Synthia was a bit surprised, "That's right..so you are pursuing me then, am I right?"

Max frowned a little when he saw that smile on her face. He suddenly had a bad feeling about it.