Like a stone sinking towards the bottom of the ocean. The haunting presence of the man vanished into the crowd the moment that Wu and Augen retreated away from the floating library. However, Augen still couldn't shake the eerie feeling hidden behind Mus's smile.

Their primary suspicion is that perhaps Mus is one of those figures that impacted the trajectory of their shared fate so much that he had become part of Augen's visions of the future.

However, even as Augen recalled his visions while Wu described Mus's angelic appearances, nothing came to mind still. Perhaps it was a false alarm? Or perhaps...it was something else entirely...

“I...really didn’t see that coming…”

The communication Cast embedded underneath Augen's shirt sleeves vibrated, and the position of the Cast immediately reminded Augen of its purpose. He cursed something under his breath, swirled his fingers, and folded away the paper that Wu and Augen were writing over before standing up.

"Follow me." Augen said without explanation before he pushed the door open, "Let's do something else."

"Like what?" Wu asked, chasing after Augen who vaulted over the chariot's railing and landed softly within it.

"You will see."

Wu will see alright, though he didn't expect Augen to enjoy an activity such as the beauty pageant without...you know, the ability to see. Perhaps he is just appreciating all of the lively Waves and personalities on display? Feeling his body sinking into the soft seats under his back, Wu tried to relax when the light to the main tent was dimmed, and spotlights were focused on the figures moving as shadows behind the curtain.

Then, the pair of curtains swung wide open, revealing the group of ladies all dressed up in various elaborate and elegant traditional clothing from each of their cultures. There are also projection Casts right behind each of the girls as they shifted smoothly from one post to the next, simulating an activity they will authentically do in those environments.

"These are clothes made from long and white thin cloths from the Yarka Kingdom, wrapping around one of the girl's body as her bright round lips and deep red eyes are the only hints of color over her body. The white spiraling clothes wrapped firmly around her body, emphasizing its curvature while creating a sense of depth. However, the clothes themselves are sewn onto one another, so the wrapping is merely an illusion. A brilliant yet simple contrast of red and white...such authenticity from the girl representing the Yarka Kingdom!" One of the judges explained, a small yellow orb floating in the air according to her control.

The girl spun around in a circle before bowing slightly, earning cheers from the crowds.

Then, the judge continued on to the next participant, a working-class girl from the Kingdom of the Eastern Sun, which in itself seemed like an oxymoron due to the patriarchy existing in that particular culture. However, due to influence from the rest of the world, there had been a new movement within that country that honored the hardworking women, the girl's clothing representing that story.

Wu listened to the judge's explanation as his eyes slow scanned across the rows of contestants, appreciating the vast unique cultures of this world when suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a familiar sight. The endless rows of bright yellow crops of the Happy Valley...and standing amid those crops is a girl with black and silver hair. She looked up, the pair of grey eyes looking blandly into the crowds.

Wu swallowed hard as he blinked, and Augen clearly heard the change in Wu's breathing before he reached into his sleeve and tapped along the Communication Cast.

Is that...Lera? Wu wondered, those eyes and hair are something he could never forget, let alone mistaken, yet he had never seen Lera like this... Wu looked straight at her, even as she seemed to be searching for something in the crowd. Then, Lera's eyes suddenly widened as if someone's talking behind her.

She blinked and nodded slightly, then slightly reaching her hands up, conjuring up a tiny Scouting Eye that floated above her when she finally spotted Wu.

She blushed slightly and tried to look away from him, though the recognition is unmistakable. The voice of the judges and the crowd slowly drowned out from around them, and Wu almost felt uncomfortable sitting down and watching her.

Something tensed within Wu's chest, and he grasped towards it, not realizing that he had been holding his breath for this long. Lera looked at him with concern, though Wu patted his chest and gave her a thumbs up in return.

The judge said something about Lera's clothing from the countryside of Varous, all according to the script submitted by Ver and Augen, then she moved on to the next. Apparently, Lera's supposed to be doing a small demonstration of her 'authenticity, but she forgot about it as she locked eyes with Wu.

After what felt to be an instant, the pageant itself is over, and the voting process has begun. Then, the results were announced, and the crowds started dispersing after the end of this activity. However, to Wu and Lera, as time and people passed right by them, they seemed to have been frozen in time by a forbidden Cast.

"Hey." Ver's voice suddenly came from behind him, breaking his trance as Lera's face turned red before she turned and ran into the back room.

"What...what are you doing here? Wait..." Wu was a little startled by Ver as she giggled. Then, she wrapped her arm over Augen's shoulder and dragged him away.

"Go." Ver said, tossing a security Cast behind, "You got something to say to her, right?"

Of course he did. There are always things Wu wanted to talk to Lera about.

Wu nodded, taking the Cast which has the number 15 written over it. Heading into the back room, Wu then found himself surrounded by countless tents, each of them with a massive number painting over it. Wu tracked down the 15th tent, and his heart raced before he reached forward with the security Cast.

The entrance of the tent glowed slightly before the shield softened, allowing Wu to lift up the fabric. There were sounds of rustling clothes, and when he moved in, the sounds were hushed immediately.

"Why did you make me do this...?" Lera asked, her arms wrapped behind her back as she tried to wrestle herself loose from the clothing, though something is stuck right behind her. She caught a glimpse of Wu through the mirror, and she jumped up before running around, hiding behind the shining surface even as her arms were still behind her back, 'Ahh! Why are you here?"

"I...Ver gave me...I am sorry..." Wu said, not knowing where to put his hands or himself for that matter. He scanned around quickly before turning around, "I will wait outside!"

"...Wait!" Lera said, poking her head out and her face now becoming as red as a tomato, "I...I am stuck..."

Wu swallowed, and he slowly spun around yet again as Lera shuffled her feet out before nearly stumbling back. Wu moved immediately, his body cutting through the small tent with remarkable speed before he grasped his hands around Lera. However, her momentum wasn't halted by Wu in the slightest, and she landed on Wu's chest as he broke her fall with his body.

"Ouch ouch..." Feeling something in his back, Wu groaned slightly as Lera became even more flustered. In that instance, Lera's scent filled Wu's nostrils as her hands pinned behind her back struggled to break free, "It's...okay. I got this."

"Are you okay?" Lera asked, slowly sitting up as she shuffled while sitting on top of Wu still. Then, Wu reached forward, his fingers dancing around her back and undoing the cute knot that Ver tied up which gave her so much trouble.

"Yeah." Wu said quietly, his fingers moving back once again now that Lera's out of her predicament, "It should be loose now."

"Thank you..." Lera murmured, sliding the blue outer layer down and dropping it to the floor before she turned around with her arms guarding over her chest, "...What...what did you think?"

"About the knot? It didn't seem to hold the form very well, and could be a bit of a tangle at the end." Wu said, looking at his fingers and feeling glad that he was able to disassociate that mess in the first try.

"No!" Lera shook her head and closed her eyes, "I meant...the pageant..."

"I...I couldn't look at anyone else..." Wu admitted, his heart somehow beating even louder than before as blood rushed around his body, "I...never saw you look like that before-"

"Is that right…?" Lera lowered her head, hiding her eyes as her arms dropped to her side.

"-You don't look that comfortable, right?" Wu asked, and that caught Lera's attention, "I think that's supposed to be representing the working clothes back at the Happy Valley, but nobody wore anything like that back then."

"Right?!" Lera cracked into a smile and looked straight into Wu's eyes before she hopped happily towards Wu, stopping just shy, "Did I take your breath away?"

Wu stared into her grey gems, and he swallowed before nodding.

"You didn't have to wear anything to take my breath away."

Lera's eyebrows raised, and she tilted her head before letting out a loud chuckle.

"Wait. I didn't mean it that way." Wu quickly tried to explain himself, but Lera's laughter was so loud that it filled the room, "I meant-"

"I know what you meant." Lera smirked, pressing into Wu's chest, "You perv."

"So...who made you do this?" Wu asked, "Ver's idea? Augen seemed to know about it too?"

"Yeah..." Lera said down on a chair before Wu followed beside her, "She wanted to get us together...Wait...what I am even saying..."

She looked up at Wu, and his face is as red as hers. However, he sewed his mouth shut, waiting for Lera to continue. That look of anticipation mixing hints of sadness and hope and Lera clenched her fist tightly before pinning it against her legs.

This time, she will do what she wanted.

"Hello?! Occupant of tent 15?" A voice called from outside before the security Cast of disabled, "Please get changed and exit the area, so the participants of the next Pageant can get ready!"

Lera turned over towards the tent's exit, and she nodded towards it.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."