Chapter 112: The Spark of Ambition, Part Four

{Cara}

With her class done, Cara felt like she didn't really have too much to do for the rest of the day. There was no paperwork, no students were coming in and asking for tips, and she didn't feel hungry enough to justify walking downtown.

[Hm...]

She sat in her office, her legs crossed as she leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, wondering what would be the best thing to do with this sudden free time she'd acquired, as outside, the sun hung over the city as though watching her search for options. Eventually, though, something interrupted that process.

Someone knocked on the door, and Cara cleared her throat.

"Come in."

The door swung open promptly after that and Cara raised a brow as one of the three adventurers they'd had come in for student questions walked into the room. Cara straightened up a little, taking a more respectable posture as Miri sat down in front of her.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, uh, ma'am," Miri shook her head with a smile. "I was just wondering about one of your students."

At that, Cara narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, I just wanted to check because," she said, speaking very quickly, "I thought I heard a name that I recognized. Is there a girl named Rin here?"

The question made Cara pause.

[Rin isn't in danger, is she?] Cara wondered as she looked the woman up and down. [Hope she didn't get involved with the wrong people or something.]

"... Yes," Cara answered hesitantly.

"Rin... Asahiro?" The woman followed up, and her expression changed to being one that was a little sad, though she still wore that smile on her face.

"Mhm."

"Oh, well," the woman quickly continued, "I just wanted to make sure she knew that some of her brother's things were still up in Cradle."

"What?" Cara asked, leaning forward. "What are you talking about?"

"Uhm..." The girl tilted her head. "If Rin hasn't spoken much about it, then it's not really my business to speak on it..."

"Just give me the summary," Cara stated. "I'll go ask Rin in a bit."

"... So, from what I know," Miri started, "Rin's brother, a man named Tristan, used to be an adventurer. One day, he went missing, and all of his stuff was sent to his family. But," she quickly added, "some of it wasn't. I-I uh, saw it last time I was at the Adventurer's Guild in Cradle. You know the storage spot, right?"

"Of course," Cara nodded. What Miri was referring to was a place where they would put things the adventurers owned when they went missing, which happened often enough to justify the room's existence. In the event that they were found, they would be given back their belongings from there.

"Well, last time I was in Cradle, I saw some of his stuff," Miri told her.

"... How come you remembered it?" Cara asked. "Seems like the sort of thing that wouldn't really stand out."

"Because," she said, "his stuff has been sitting there for a while. A couple of years, at least. Everyone who's been to the Adventurer's Guild recently has probably laid eyes on it all a few times."

[Which is why I haven't seen it myself, then,] Cara looked away. [I haven't been up there in any serious capacity in a while.]

"Did you know her brother personally?" Cara asked. "She'd probably want to hear this from you."

"... No," Miri said silently. When Cara raised a brow, as she doubted what she'd just said very much, Miri added to it. "Well, he used to date a friend of mine before... yeah."

"Oh."

"So, yeah," Miri stood up, that energetic smile reappearing on her face. "She can probably just send them a letter and have everything brought over here. Or, she can take the train up there and pick the stuff up herself, though it's not a lot. Anyway," she said quickly, "that's all. Thanks!"

"I see. Thank you."

Just like that, Cara's office was silent once more. This time, she had a bit more to think about than what she was going to do.

[Come to think about it...] She scratched her chin. [Wasn't there some famous case about a kid who went missing after going into a Rank S ruin a while back?]

She knew about it because it was one of the few cases that people talked about almost as much as the colossal failure that was her and Maria's search for a dragon.

[I don't remember his full name, though... I should probably look into it.]

Standing up, she dusted herself off and began to walk out of her office.

[For now, I should just let Rin know.]

---

{Rin}

Every punch she threw during her training with Maria now came with some extra fire behind it. After the students had left, and most of them were already in the cafeteria, Rin wanted to squeeze in a few extra minutes of practice before she did the same.

Maria entertained that notion and now, the two of them were exchanging blows in the middle of the Meditation Center, with sweat flying off of Rin's body from how hard she was exerting herself.

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Ironically, however, she was landed hits way less frequently than before, and soon, Maria put a stop to the current session altogether when she caught Rin's fists in her palms.

For a second, Rin was back in the Arena, mentally, remembering how Seth had done something similar before pulling her in and giving her an elbow that knocked her lights out.

"Rin," Maria said, and she had a slightly scolding look on her face. "Calm down."

"S-Sorry."

"You're doing a little too much," Maria elaborated. "It's great that you're putting this much passion behind your strikes, but you don't want to let your movements go into the realm of what's uncontrollable, otherwise, every punch you throw has as much a chance of being your own downfall is it does the enemy's."

"Got it, sorry," Rin said again.

At that, Maria patted her on the head and her expression changed into a sympathetic smile.

"Stressful week?" She asked and Rin deflated.

"Kinda."

"Anything you want to get off your chest?"

"No," Rin quickly answered. "Just the usual doubts and all. I'll get over it."

Somehow, that didn't seem like the answer Maria wanted to hear.

"How about, later today, we head into the city and visit the hot springs? Just so you can unwind for a bit. We can even take Xhez with us if you'd like."

"Uh, hot springs?" Rin raised a brow. "What's that?"

"You didn't have those back in your hometown?" Maria asked, tilting her head. "They're a place where you can take warm baths with friends, but," she quickly added, "they're enchanted to... Sort of, massage your skin, let's say. It's strange, but you'll understand what I mean when we go."

"Yeah, that sounds..." She stopped.

Rin blinked, as what Maria said made a thought pop up in her mind.

[Oh, so I'll get to see Maria naked?]

As soon as that appeared in her mind, a deep blush passed over her cheeks. 

[Stop. She's your teacher, Rin, seriously.]

"Good! S-Sounds good, I mean."

"Wonderful," Maria replied, and if Rin's teacher had any idea that Rin's mind was venturing into places it certainly shouldn't have been, she didn't show it. "Now, are you-"

Then, someone knocked.

Maria raised a brow.

"It's open," she called out and the person who'd done so walked in.

Cara was there, with a stoic expression on her face as she looked over at Rin.

It was almost funny the way Maria's face went from a friendly smile to a deep scowl.

[... I wish they could just get along, honestly.]

"Rin, a moment?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Rin nodded.

"Be right back," she told Maria as she walked outside with her other teacher.

In the hall, Cara crossed her arms and said:

"So, I heard you had a brother who was an adventurer, is that right?" Cara asked.

Of all the things Rin thought she was going to hear, this wasn't even close to being on the list.

"Y-Yeah."

"Hm. Well, apparently, some of his belongings are still up in Cradle. Somehow, they failed to deliver them to you. Do you want me to write them a letter so they can bring it all over here?"

Rin froze, as she simply was too stunned to say anything for a few seconds.

"Sure," she then replied quietly.

"Alright. I'll do it right away, then," Cara promised and with that, she walked away.

[... Tristan's stuff is still up there?] Rin wondered. [But, they'd sent us all his armor and... I mean...]

Shaking her head, she tried to set this aside, for now, walking back into the Meditation Center, but she couldn't stop the questions from running circles in her mind.

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