Chapter 142: A Fairy, a Human, and a Mission, Part One

"Good work out there," Trodon told her. Rin nodded at Olina and put her coin pouch away as she turned toward him.

"Thanks," she replied. Her hands were still unsteady. The fight had just ended a few minutes ago.

"I think you've got a bright future ahead of you, if you keep at it," the man stated. "And, hey, feel free to ask for advice every now and then. Not just from me, either. Most of us back here are always willing to help."

When she heard that, Rin looked behind him and scanned the room. There were a few impressed looks aimed her way.

"Respect is earned slow and steady," Trodon added. "But, once you've got it, it's a powerful thing. Good luck on your next fight, Rosecaller."

"Right, bye," Rin said as the man turned and walked away. With her reward held in the palm of her left hand and the fight over, it was time to head back to the Academy. She walked over to the door that led out to the stage, grabbed Xhez's bag from where she'd placed it, and waited for her illusion to fade before she walked out.

A few minutes later, once she was on the street, making her way back, a smile bloomed on her face.

[I… I guess that went well,] she thought to herself. [Thank the Divine.]

Of course, immediately, the first thing that came to her mind was the look on Elisa's face. She had no way of knowing whether Elisa had realized the truth yet, but now, she'd seen Rin in both of her disguises. 

[There's no way she hasn't figured it out yet,] Rin thought, blushing a little. [Doesn't matter, though. I'll... I'll deal with that if she brings it up. If she doesn't, then I won't say anything.] 

Thus, Rin tried to push the thoughts of the flame-haired woman away. 

With a second win in her pockets, Rin felt far more confident in continuing down this path. She understood, of course, that it wouldn't be easy. That she'd need to continue her training and make sure she didn't take any breaks from the Arena that were too long. However, she felt confident in committing to this. But, with this fight out of the way, there were a few other things she had to focus on. Mainly, her next Triss session on Friday.

[Hopefully, someone will show up,] Rin thought. [Even if it's just Gwen again, I'd be happy about that. I need to get back into the swing of things there too.]

---

{Friday}

{Eve}

On Friday morning, Eve woke up when the sunlight pierced through her windows and landed on her eyes. Tiredly, she stirred a little before she then remembered that she had her classes to attend.

[Hm, is it really time already?] Eve asked herself as she fully opened her eyes.

To her right, her roommate was in the middle of the room, getting dressed. And, apparently, Eve had caught her just as she started.

[By the Divine,] Eve thought as her eyes fell on Sara's body.

Her stoic, silent, roommate was standing there, naked. Toned, well-trained, and scarred.

In front of her, on one of her drawers, was her black armor, which the woman didn't just always wear, but also washed every single day. Just as Eve had spotted her, Sara put on her undergarments. Then, she slowly, methodically, began putting on her gear. Her pale hands strapped on her armor and her gauntlets, and then she put on her boots, all without making much sound, save for the occasional clinking of the metallic pieces of her armor. If the sun hadn't touched Eve's face, Sara probably would have gotten through this whole routine without waking the fairy at all.

[... I'm kind of being a creep right now, aren't I?] Eve thought as blushed a little.

But she couldn't tear her eyes away. The woman was as beautiful as her demeanor was scary. It wasn't the same sort of beauty that Rin or Elisa held though.

No, when Eve saw Rin, she saw the type of face and body combination that normally only appeared in high-quality paintings. Not in the real world, though. When Eve saw Elisa, she saw the kind of natural charm and allure that most people normally thought of when they heard the word "noblewoman". She personified that type of appearance.

When Eve looked at Sara, seeing her milky skin, smooth, flowing black locks, and general "don't you dare approach me" attitude, she saw the sort of cold, distant beauty that people back home usually spoke of when they talked about sirens in the forests or the lakes. An almost mythical, dangerous, aura, but one that begged the spectator to investigate further.

Unfortunately, she was also very perceptive. And, without turning her face to her, Eve saw the woman look at her through the corner of her eyes.

[Crap.]

Whatever reaction Eve thought Sara would have had to noticing her, however, she did not display.

"... Good morning," the woman said with a slightly raspy, deeper tone than normal. It suggested to Eve that the woman may have been more tired than she appeared.

"Uh, morning!" Eve said, sitting up. "W-What time is it?" She asked, hoping the redness on her face would fade in a little bit.

"7:34," Sara replied after glancing up at the clock on the wall.

"I-I see..."

Then, the woman looked back at Eve. Her expression didn't change but she then asked:

"Did you sleep well?"

Her words came out so softly that Eve nearly didn't hear her. Blinking twice, Eve nodded.

"Um, yeah," she replied, caught off-guard.

"... Good."

Eve sat there for a while, as Sara finished putting her armor on. It had happened a few times now, but lately, Sara had gotten just a little more talkative. Nothing too crazy. She wasn't engaging anyone in full, extensive conversations. However, every now and then, she would ask Eve something like "how is your day going?" or, "have you eaten yet?" Little things like that which the woman had made no effort to ask about earlier into the semester.

If Eve had to guess, she'd say this change began just after that mission Sara had gone on, with Rin and the other two on that team. She was still trying to get used to this.

"Um, I'm gonna take a shower," Eve felt compelled to say as she grabbed her towel and went flying out of the room.

"Okay," Sara quietly replied behind her and soon, Eve was out of there.

A while later, the classes were starting and, as per usual, Eve took her seat next to Rin while Harriton got ready at the front of the classroom.

"Hey," Eve whispered to the other adventurer, "we haven't gone out in a while. Wanna go have some dinner after classes are done?"

"Sure," Rin replied with an easy smile.

"Awesome," Eve stated with a little grin of her own before Harriton finally began speaking.

"Alright, so," he said as he clapped his hands together, "we've gone over a lot of different spellsigns and they all have two things in common. Can you guess what those are?"

He left that question up in the air for a moment before he nodded and then said:

"Simple, they have all had a beginning and an end, no matter which spellsign we've looked at. However, today that's going to change."

As a mage, this was the class Eve tried her hardest to pay attention to. With her little notebook in front of her, she raised her brows as Harriton explained the new spells in question.

"First of all... well, let me run this by you for a moment. Imagine that a healer and a fighter are running through the woods. In the process, they encounter a charger. The fighter does what they do best and tries to fight the thing. They win, but in the process, their body gets covered in injuries. What's the mage to do? Well, you've got to heal them! And, see, here's the thing about that," Harriton said as he began pacing from one side to another.

As he spoke, Eve snuck a glance toward Rin to see if she was focused. To her pleasant surprise, she was far more attentive today than she had been in previous classes.

"The thing about that is," Harriton continued, "sure, you could risk wasting all your Essence trying to cure each body part one at a time. But, there's a simpler and somewhat more time-efficient method you could use here. Just use the [Continuous Heal] spell," he stated. "As you know, drawing a circle casts the [Heal] spell."

He drew the spellsign in front of them, illustrating his point as his hand flashed white for a few seconds.

"However, here's what happens if you keep re-drawing that same circle."

Then, he did just that. Slowly, steadily, Harriton drew the same circle over and over again, showing off the way his hand glowed white as he did it.

"Doing this will create a continuous healing effect that's better suited toward dealing with a multitude of injuries, such as the case in the hypothetical I just gave you. The drawback," he explained as he stopped casting the spell, "well, actually, there are two. First, as you know, if you draw a spellsign incorrectly, your spell will backfire. This applies to continuous spellsigns, throughout the entirety of your drawing. Make one wrong move, and the spell will backfire. Second," he said, "because you're keeping your Essence activated, this method drains you of Essence far, far, faster than one quick spell would. So, you do need to get a feel for how much Essence you have when you're going to do something like this. Okay?"

At the back-left corner of the classroom, Alea raised her hand. Harriton smiled and pointed at her.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Does every spell have a continuous version?" She asked.

"No," Harriton shook his head. "If you try to cast a [Fireball] continuously, nothing will happen. However, certain types of spellsigns do have continuous versions. For now, the ones that are relevant for all of you are Healing spells and Telekinetic spells," he said, grinning to himself. "Make sure you pay attention because this will be in your end-of-the-semester test.

"Test?" Lisa asked, tilting her head to Eve's left.

"Yep! Test!" Harriton confirmed. "We aren't really a normal school, so, the others and I have been pretty lenient about that, but as the semester's coming to a close, we want to see if you've really been learning. So, though I guess I'm getting ahead of Cara here, you will be having tests at the end of the month for both my class and Zoology. When Cara tells you about it, just act surprised, okay?" He said with a wink. "As teachers, we look forward to these sorts of announcements so let her feel the satisfaction of seeing your shocked faces. Yes?"

He turned toward Alea again.

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"What does telekinetic mean?" She asked.

"Good question!" Harriton said to her before he then inhaled sharply and extended a hand toward Eve's chair.

[Huh?] The fairy thought as he then began drawing a spellsign, and activated a spell.

One that made her notebook rise up from where Eve had placed it. She outright gasped as she saw that. And, as she looked up at Harriton, the fairy noticed that the teacher wasn't finishing his spellsign.

"Telekinetic spellsigns fall under the Mundane category," he began to explain as he let Eve's notebook go back where he'd picked it up from. "They revolve around pushing, pulling, and manipulating objects. These spellsigns are powerful, really powerful," he stated, "but, they are some of the most Essence-hungry spellsigns out there. Hence why they're so rare. Again, pay attention," he said with a smile, "cause all of this will be in your test soon."

---

The evening came in a flash and once all their classes were done, and Rin had gone through that private training of hers with Maria, she and the fairy finally left to go take a stroll through the city.

"So, two tests," Eve muttered as she flew by Rin's side. "How are you feeling?"

"I... I'm definitely gonna have to spend some time reviewing my notes," Rin said with a nervous chuckle. "I've spaced out a few times. I've sort of had a lot going on these days."

"Anything you wanna talk about?" Eve asked, hoping the woman was okay.

"Nah, nothing that bad, just... Figuring stuff out. But, I think it'll be fine."

"Oh well, you're welcome to look at my notes if you ever need to."

"Thank you," Rin smiled warmly at her and Eve found herself smiling right back.

Eventually, the two of them arrived at a sandwich joint by the northern side of the city. A sleek brown-black building with glass doors, glass windows, and a smooth cursive sign outside that read "Bern's." Things were slightly pricier in this area than normal, but Eve didn't mind that too much. It didn't seem like Rin did either, as the woman casually handed over a couple dozen silvers for her order.

As Eve did the same, Rin asked:

"Do you have a job or something?"

"Why do you ask?" Eve tilted her head.

"You... I've seen you spend a lot since we've met," Rin said with a little smirk. "So, I'm just curious."

"Ohhh, nah, I just saved up a bunch from a job I had back at the Northern Clan," Eve stated as she and Rin were handed their food.

They sat down by one of the windows and Rin asked:

"Oh, what did you do?"

"I was a gardener," Eve said proudly.

"Really? What was the pay like?" Rin took a bite out of her sandwich as she listened intently.

"It was fine, but I only managed to save up a ton because I did it for a while. Oh, by the way, gardens back home aren't anything like gardens here. They're much, much bigger, and more complicated since there are a ton of Essence-filled plants people like to buy. So, yeah, it made me enough coin for a while."

"Wow. How long did you do that for?"

"A few years," Eve replied, looking away as she remembered those days. "Eventually, I got fed up with it and I decided I wanted to come here. Put some of my spellweaving skills to use."

"Hm..." Rin's next words seemed like they came out on their own. "I can relate."

"Really?"

"U-Uh," she caught herself, "kinda. A little."

Eve raised a brow at her.

"Hmph," Eve smiled as she chuckled a bit, "I definitely don't regret my choice, though."

"Yeah, neither do I."

"Okay, you can't say that kind of cryptic backstory stuff and not fill me in, come on!"

"W-What? Sorry, I was just... Thinking out loud."

Eve just rolled her eyes.

"Fine then. Keep your secrets. Hmph!"

Though, there was one thing she could say with some degree of certainty. These little moments, when she could just sit around and talk with Rin, were little pieces of her days that she cherished. The woman sitting across from her just had a strangely calming aura, one that Eve appreciated greatly.

[I really hope we get to work together one day. Even if it is for something small, I dunno. I feel like it would be so much fun!]

---

{Later}

{Rin}

"Thanks again," Rin told Xhez as the sprite put on Rin's disguise for her.

With her white hair, slightly curvier body, and somewhat bigger boobs, Rin was ready to bring Triss back to the city for another night.

Elisa wasn't here, thankfully, and Xhez seemed slightly energetic as she watched Rin get ready.

"So, tomorrow, do you wanna go pay June a visit?" Rin asked her as she put some stylish black heels on she'd bought with the money she got from her last fight. Her wardrobe was slowly but steadily expanding, which she was grateful for.

"Yes!" Xhez nodded eagerly. "I feel I need to speak to her."

"Oh, okay, I'll wake up just before nighttime then," Rin told her.

"Thank you!" Xhez said. Once the adventurer was ready, she took a deep breath and nodded to herself.

[I might be a little out of practice for this too, but, just like with the Arena, if I'm going to keep doing this, I need to stay in shape. Let's go,] she thought, trying to boost her own confidence.

When she turned toward the door, however, she paused.

What made her stop was the way Xhez was looking at her. The sprite was standing there with her hands behind her back, giving Rin a kind, fond smile. It was the kind of look Rin often saw people give their significant others when they were on dates. Then, Rin remembered.

"O-Oh! Sorry," she said, chuckling before grabbing Xhez's bag. "Here you go."

"Hm?" Xhez tilted her head. She seemed confused for a few seconds before she shook her head and walked up. "Oh, right."

[... Was that not it?] Rin wondered for a moment before Xhez jumped into the thing. [Oh well. Whatever.]

A while later, Rin was out in the streets wearing those black heels, and a dress of the same color. She carried with her a coin pouch with some varols as well, just in case anything that required some money happened. The streets were as cold and lonely as ever, though Rin appreciated that. It meant fewer people seeing her coming out of the Academy, and fewer people who could potentially see through her disguise.

As Rin reached the train station where she'd usually sat and waited, she calmed herself down and leaned against the back of a wooden bench, closing her eyes momentarily. She didn't move for a few minutes, content to just sit like that and relax.

Then, she heard some shoes clanking against the concrete and she opened her eyes.

[A customer?]

In all honesty, if the answer to that question was "yes", then she expected to see Gwen again. Instead, however, a girl walked up to her rather timidly.

She was holding herself, two arms crossed over her chest. As Rin looked at her up and down, she took in her appearance. The woman had short brown hair and tanned skin. She was thin and short, with an uncomfortable, reluctant expression on her face as her green eyes looked back at Rin. The adventurer also noticed she wasn't dressed at all like a noblewoman. Instead, she had on a grey hoodie and some jeans.

However, as she pushed her hood down, Rin saw her ears and her eyes widened just a little. Two wolf ears perked up as the girl cleared her throat.

"A-Are you Triss?"

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