Chapter 103: Fists and Roses, Part Sixteen

"Well... That's one way to make a name for yourself," Trodon told Rin, as she looked down at the payment she'd received from her win.

"It's not like I did it on purpose," Rin muttered. By now, her sunlight hair had returned to its regular color. In addition, after that wardrobe malfunction, she was given yet another baggy white shirt to cover herself up with.

"Regardless, congratulations. It seems we all underestimated you to some extent."

As the excitement wore off, though, Rin felt differently. Ultimately, it was the strength that she'd accumulated during her training as an adventurer that allowed her to come out on top, but she felt like if she'd gone up against someone equally as powerful, she would have lost.

Still, as she sifted through the forty silvers she'd received, she did feel a small amount of validation.

"Will we be seeing Lyn Rosecaller again in the future?" Trodon asked. "Or, was that enough to satisfy your curiosity?"

"No, I'll definitely be back," Rin said. "When can I take another fight?"

"You gotta talk to Olina for that," he replied.

"Okay. See you next time. And, thanks for helping me get set up," Rin said, as she turned and walked out of the room.

"Don't mention it," she heard Trodon say, as she left.

Outside, Xhez was sitting by her lonesome, looking around at everything with a slightly annoyed expression which Rin attributed to the pungent scent of sweat in the air. Seeing that, with a small chuckle, she hurried her pace a little so that the two of them could leave soon. Before that, however, she needed to talk to Olina.

The woman looked up at Rin as she approached, bowing her head a little.

"Good work out there, fighter."

"Thanks," Rin replied. "So, when can I fight again?"

"Let's check," the older lady said as she looked down at her notebook. "I have... one fighter free on Wednesday. Another beginner, with two wins and no losses. How does that sound?"

"I'll take it," Rin replied.

"I'll jot you down for that spot then. Good luck."

With that done, Rin walked up to Xhez then, who looked up and stood as soon as she approached.

"Can we leave?" Xhez asked, as soon as Rin got there.

"Yes, yes," Rin said, laughing. "Sorry for making you put up with this."

"How can you tolerate this sort of thing?" The sprite asked. "My nose feels as though it is burning."

"Eh, you get used to it," Rin shrugged. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Finally, the two of them headed out. By now, the sun was going down and even though she hadn't done too much physical exertion, she felt more tired today than she had at any other point in the week.

[Can't wait to get back to the Academy. I need a nap.]

However, as she walked out into the street, she found Maria standing at the front, drawing the eyes of the various spectators who had come to watch the remaining fights.

"Maria?" Rin asked, approaching her with Xhez by her side.

"Hello," Maria said with a smile, as her eyes briefly went to the sprite accompanying Rin before going back to her.

"Hi," Rin said, a little confused. 

Then, she remembered the cinnamon-haired lady she'd spotted before.

"W-Wait, were you...?" 

"Ah, you noticed," Maria smiled. "Indeed. Did you think I wouldn't come to see how my student performed?"

Hearing that made Rin feel warmer for some reason, as she smiled widely at her teacher.

"What did you think?"

"I believe there are definitely plenty of rough edges we need to iron out, but, overall the fight did not grant me any knowledge I didn't already have. You are a fighter with much potential that simply needs to be brought out of you. All we need to do is keep working on that."

Rin could not be any more elated to hear that.

"I am, however, surprised you took her along," Maria added, as once again her eyes fell on Xhez.

"Why?"

"As I said before, Rin, you need to limit the number of times you take Xhez around the city," Maria explained. "If you happen to run into a mage of some sort, you could end up putting her at risk, and magic is something the nobility does indulge in at times. Nobles who sometimes come here, as well."

"I... Personally," Xhez added, "I would rather not come back to that place. I apologize."

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It was rare to hear Xhez be so decisive about something. Knowing that, Rin decided to be respectful of her wishes.

"Alright," she replied. "I won't drag you here again."

"Thank you," Xhez said, and a smile of her own quickly blossomed on her face.

"Now then," Maria quickly interjected, "a victory like this calls for some celebration, I would say. How about we go get something to eat?"

She opened her mouth to say "yes", but soon, she remembered the conversation she had just before leaving to go fight and stopped herself.

"Sorry," Rin replied. "I kinda might have something to do now, maybe?"

"You do not sound too sure of that," Maria raised a brow.

"Uh, well, yeah, but..."

"Don't worry," Maria said. "I understand. Still, maybe we can go out one of these days. Take a little break from the constant training."

At that, Rin nodded, feeling like things were firmly on an upswing.

"I'd love to."

---

Soon, Rin was back in her room, and Xhez was in her bag, already asleep. Elisa wasn't here, which did bum Rin out quite a bit, but as tired as she was, maybe that was for the better.

The fight played out in her mind a few more times, as Rin thought about what she could have done differently.

[I was way too slow to piece things together,] she thought. [Plus, I need to learn how to avoid getting put in those sorts of weird holds.]

Despite that, however, as she remembered the conclusion, even if it did come with a cold wind making her bare nipples hard in front of a drooling crowd, she couldn't help but smile.

The door opened then, as Rin pulled herself out of that daydream.

Elisa was there, wearing an elegant white dress and some heels that made her look much taller than she already was. Rin blushed a little, pulling her eyes away from the woman's strong, firm arms.

"Hey," Elisa said. "Sorry, I tried to get back here as soon as I could. Do you still wanna do anything?"

"I..." Rin considered it. She really, really, didn't want to get out of bed right now. "Give me a second? I just got back."

"Oh, okay. I'll take a second to change out of this, then," the noblewoman replied.

[Oh Divine, please,] Rin thought, as she kept her eyes on the ceiling. [I feel so horny right now and I don't even know why. Well, scratch that, she's hot, that's definitely part of it, but, I dunno. I'm just... in the mood all of a sudden. I would give all of the coins I just made to cuddle for a few seconds.]

As she had those thoughts, Elisa didn't exactly help the matter as she undressed right in front of her.

Rin nearly groaned with how much effort she was putting into keeping herself from staring.

"By the way," Elisa suddenly said, as she thankfully put some regular clothes on.

"Yeah?"

"... Are you sure we've never met?" Elisa asked, without looking at her.

Rin was caught so off-guard that all of her horny thoughts went right out of her skull.

"Are you really sure, I mean," Elisa told her. "I really can't shake the feeling that I've seen you before."

As good of a mood as Rin was in, she turned her eyes up to the ceiling.

[... Should I?] She wondered.

However, as soon as she asked herself that, she quickly rejected the notion. Elisa had been accepting of some things so far, but Rin had no way of knowing that she'd be accepting of Rin's former profession. Even if she had paid for those services herself, she didn't know how Elisa felt about it. If she viewed that as a regret of hers, something to be ashamed of.

If she did, all confirming her suspicions would do was ruin what they'd set up. And, now that they'd gotten this far, and now that Rin wondered how far this friendship could go, turning Elisa off like that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"No," Rin looked her in the eye, as Elisa sat down at the bed. "We haven't."

At that, Elisa raised a brow.

That subtle expression let Rin know one thing. The blonde in front of her surely did not believe what she just heard.

And yet, her response was:

"Noted."

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