Chapter 168: The Final Test, Part Four

The beastborn's ears twitched as Rin, or Triss, as the beastborn knew her, turned in her direction.

"Hey," Rin said with a smile. "How are you doing?"

Initially, Kate appeared to be too shocked to respond. However, as Rin arched a brow and she realized she was waiting for an answer, Kate shook her head and spoke up.

"H-Hey! Hi, I... Hello. I-I'm well! Thanks for asking..."

Rin couldn't help but laugh a little.

[Well, this turned a little more awkward than it needed to be. Kinda cute, though.]

"Um," Kate continued, "are you not... working tonight?"

"No," Rin replied. "I'm just hanging out here for a little bit before I, ehm, head back home."

[Unfortunately.]

She was still slightly annoyed at the fact that no one had shown up, but there was nothing she could do about that.

"Oh, I see," Kate replied, nodding.

"What about you?" Rin asked. "Are you here with someone?"

"Um... No," Kate quickly replied in turn.

"Hm... Wanna hang out for a minute, then? Don't worry," she whispered, "I'm not gonna charge you for it."

She gave Kate a little wink then as the beastborn's cheeks flushed slightly. The other woman sat down on the stool right next to Rin's, though, indicating that she wanted to take her up on that offer.

"Admittedly," Kate said quietly, "I don't plan on being here for too long. I just... wanted to get something to wet my throat with before I head down to a party."

"A party?"

"Yes."

Rin blinked.

"And, you're drinking before the party? On your own?"

At that, Kate chuckled.

"Well, I-I wanted to get something to help me loosen up a little if that makes sense. I don't..." She looked down at the cup in her hands, "I don't really know too many people who are going to be attending."

"Ahh, okay, I get it," Rin replied. She hadn't been to too many functions like that, but she'd seen clients back at the Rose do what Kate was doing now. One guy, in particular, had ordered Rin's services to use her as practice before he, hopefully, got laid later. So, Rin understood where Kate was coming from. She did, however, feel compelled to ask, "are you going on your own, or...?"

"No," Kate replied. "I have a friend I'm going with, but, he's pretty much the only one I know there. He, uh..." Kate scratched the back of her head, "he used to be a servant. Like me."

"A servant?" Rin asked. "What do you...?" She realized the answer to that question before she finished asking it.

[Oh. Like, for rich people?]

Immediately, Elisa came to her mind. Rin briefly wondered if she had her own beastborn servants before Kate elaborated.

"I... Well, my friend, he used to be a servant. I still am one," she admitted. "We were heading out to eat on one of my off days and he told me about it. I figured I'd check it out, but, before that..." The woman then turned away from Rin, picked up her cup, and downed all the contents inside of it in a couple of gulps. "Ah," she hissed, "I hate this stuff."

"Oh? So, why are you drinking it?" Rin asked. Her feelings were the exact opposite. For a long time, alcohol had been her one good friend.

"I need it," she replied with a giggle. "I'll be a nervous wreck, otherwise. I mean, I'll still be a nervous wreck, but I'll be one that might actually dance if someone asks me to. Before, ehm, before our thing," she said, turning toward Rin again, "I actually did drink a bit too."

"... I see," Rin responded as she took a sip out of her own cup. As Kate gestured to the bartender to see if she could get some more, Rin got to thinking.

[... Well, I might not have made any money the usual way, but... What if...?]

Getting an idea, Rin straightened up and put on the most confident expression she could muster before she leaned toward Kate and asked in a slightly deeper tone:

"Sounds like you could use another friend at this party. Could you... maybe bring one more?"

Kate smiled at her but shook her head.

"I'd like to. I mean, I'm... I like you, but, it's not up to me." As the bartender handed her another drink, Kate waved her hand back and forth in the air as she explained why Rin couldn't go. "It's this weird thing," she said. "You have to be invited. As in, by them, I mean. I'd invite you if I could, but, yeah. They have to invite you. They'll never let you in otherwise."

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"Hm. Looks like it's your turn to teach me a little~" Rin smirked. "How do I get one of these special invitations?"

Kate's smile only grew as her cheeks flushed faintly.

"I... Uh, how's this," she said, before turning toward Rin fully. "Tomorrow, I'm heading over to a little hangout spot. If you show up, I'll introduce you to the guy who invited me."

[That works.]

"Sounds like a plan."

---

Eventually, Kate felt like she was ready and left the bar before Rin did. Later, Rin felt her illusion finally beginning to expire and did the same. She went into an alley where the only other person there was a drunkard vomiting beside some garbage bins and reverted back to her regular self, before heading back to the academy.

A short walk later and Rin was opening the door to her room, walking in feeling quite tired.

That feeling left, however, as soon as she saw that Elisa was not only here, but she was still awake. Lately, Rin had gotten used to her classmate coming in when she was already asleep, and usually leaving before she was awake.

[Just how late is it?] Rin wondered as she closed the door behind her. At the back of the room, some slow jazzy music was quietly playing on Elisa's radio.

"Yo," Elisa called out to her.

"Hey," Rin replied.

"You look fancy," Elisa stated as her eyes scanned Rin's body up and down. "What was the occasion?"

[You can probably guess... Especially if you remember what I was wearing when I saw you that one Friday night.]

"I was just seeing some friends."

"Ah, nice," Elisa replied with a nod. "Should I turn the radio off?"

"Nah, it's okay."

"Alright, alright."

Rin went to grab her things and leave the room to change out of these clothes, but before she could do that, Elisa said:

"You know, I can just close my eyes or something," her classmate stated with a chuckle.

"... Fine," Rin replied, taking a deep breath and glancing at the woman. Elisa kept that smile on her face as she closed her eyes and Rin moved quickly.

Part of her was curious what Elisa's reaction would be if she peeked just now, but she was fully clothed in nightwear before Elisa ever thought to do that. Rin then hopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering if she should say something.

A topic came to her mind and, probably because of that unfortunate crush of hers, she tried to make some conversation.

"So," she began, "are you excited for the mission?"

"Hell yeah," Elisa replied, putting her hands behind her head and shifting in the bed, getting more comfortable. "I can't wait."

"Really?" Rin asked. "You aren't feeling nervous at all?"

"... Nah," Elisa shook her head.

"Damn. I wish I had that kinda courage."

"Heh, it's not courage," Elisa replied. "I just... I came here to see if I could be an adventurer. That's all. I'm not committed to the career, I just wanted to see the world, train for a little bit, and find out whether I have what it takes or not. I feel like, one way or another, I'm going to find out on Monday, you know?"

[Oh... Right.]

Rin had honestly forgotten about one little detail.

Elisa was to be a married woman soon. Apparently, somehow, that meant she wouldn't be able to pursue any sort of adventuring dreams. Her marriage was something Rin didn't think about too often, given that Elisa never really talked about it. She didn't know what to say. Luckily, she didn't have to say anything at all.

"Anyway, speaking of training," Elisa continued, "I'm going to be doing a lot of that tomorrow. So, I think I'm gonna call it here. Goodnight."

"... Goodnight."

And, just like that, the conversation was over, almost as quickly as it had begun.

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