Chapter 174: The Final Test, Part Ten

There were a few unique aspects to this mission that Rin noticed. The first was that, for the first time, there were no turns. All of the students departed at the same time, on their way to the teacher's designated mountain. The second was that having Elisa with her on this walk made it slightly hard to focus on the task at hand.

"What do you think we'll fight up there?" Elisa asked her.

"More kobolds, probably."

Elisa barked out a laugh at that.

"Hope not. I'm getting tired of cutting those things down."

"Well, think about it this way," Rin said. "You haven't cut them down with me by your side yet, have you?"

"Oh, I haven't," Elisa nodded. "You're right, I guess it would be worth it then."

With a light blush on her cheeks, Rin smiled as she and her roommate trailed the group, following from the back. Normally, Rin's eyes would be roaming to the sides, glancing at the strange broken-down cars and other foreign objects resting in the tall grass. Instead, she would glance forward, to make sure she wasn't about to bump into anyone, and then her eyes would naturally find Elisa's own once again.

"The world feels so much bigger every time I step outside like this," Elisa muttered. "Don't you think so?"

"I mean, there's nothing out here, so... Yeah, I guess so," Rin said with a laugh. Elisa shook her head, though.

"Nah, I mean like... When I'm in Libera or Cradle, or... wherever, it feels like there's so much on my shoulders. Out here, though, it all feels fake. Like it's just a dream."

"Oh... I think I get what you mean," Rin replied. "To me, though, it feels like this part is the dream," she stated.

"Really?" Elisa asked, turning toward her. "Why's that?"

Rin paused, trying to find the best way to word her answer to that.

"Well, like you said, whenever I'm here, I don't have to worry about anything. Doesn't that sound like more of a dream?"

When she heard that, Elisa's smile faded away a little. A more thoughtful expression briefly replaced the flirtatious smirk she had earlier.

"I... I guess you're right."

Her tone made Rin wonder if she'd said something wrong. Elisa's shoulders slumped a little and she looked pensive. Rin hadn't tried to flirt with anyone in a while. As in, actually flirt as herself and not a persona she invented for the sake of making money. It had been years since she'd genuinely crushed on someone like this.

[Did I just mess up?] She wondered, but that smile that could clutch Rin by her heart soon returned to Elisa's face.

"I wonder what people would think if they heard us talking like this," she said with a chuckle. "We probably sound crazy."

"I'd say we sound fun," Rin shrugged.

"Sometimes being a little crazy can be fun, though. You should try it."

"How do you know that I haven't?"

"Okay," she leaned in close and whispered, "prove it."

Rin's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. Elisa laughed loudly, making a couple of students turn toward them. Just like that, she was back to her usual self.

[Yeah, this is going to be bad for my heart.]

As she said that, though, the conversation stalled out for a brief moment, with the two of them doing nothing but smiling at each other. Thankfully, Harriton had something to say that caught Rin's attention.

"It's gonna be a short walk, but a long day! See that mountain over there? That's where we're headed! Prepare yourselves!"

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As Harriton pointed forward, Rin's eyes followed his gesture to find what almost looked like a pillar of snow, sand, and trees, with dark clouds hovering over it.

"I will be waiting for you at the mountain's summit," Maria stated as well. "Harriton will stay at the base to tend to anyone who chooses to retreat. As soon as all teams are accounted for, we will head back to Libera."

[... Holy crap, it's actually almost time, huh?] Rin thought as she saw the mountain in the distance, lightning circling above it forming a halo of electricity.

"You feeling nervous?" Elisa asked with a sympathetic tone.

"Yeah," Rin quickly admitted. "I don't know, it feels like just yesterday we started training. And, now we're here."

"You'll do fine," Elisa told her. "I've seen you kick more than enough ass in Maria's dueling sessions. You're a natural."

Rin giggled but shook her head.

"I don't think so," she replied. "I'll give it everything I've got, though. I don't want to let you down."

"You don't have to worry about that," Elisa told her. "Whatever happens, happens. I just want to have some fun."

"Maybe we will," Rin said with a shrug.

Elisa arched one elegant brow and asked:

"Will we?" With a voice that dropped an octave or two.

"..."

Rin couldn't quite respond to that.

---

{Eve}

The students were all talking to each other behind Eve, as the fairy flew ahead of them. Their chattering made it difficult for her to think clearly, as their voices were almost louder than her own thoughts.

One statement did continue to slash through all of the noise, though. Coming across clearly and repeatedly to the forefront of Eve's mind.

[I hope I don't fuck up, I hope I don't fuck up, I hope I don't fuck up.]

"Hey," a voice called out to her. Blinking a few times, Eve turned toward it in the air.

"Huh?"

She found Cara looking back at her. Her teacher nodded away from the group, gesturing for Eve to follow her. The fairy did just that and the two of them continued to walk toward the mountain, only with enough distance between them and the others to where they could not hear them.

"Are you ready for this mission?" Her teacher asked.

"I-I think so," Eve replied. "Um, depending on what I have to fight, I guess."

"Don't worry too much," Cara said to her quietly. "I'm not going to carry you through all of this, of course. It wouldn't be much of a "test" if I did. But, you're going to have my sword by your side when we're in there, and I'm going to help you out. So, be confident. Trust in what you've learned, trust in your own training, and you'll be just fine."

Cara's words struck Eve right in her heart. Her teacher often gave her this sort of encouragement, which the fairy always appreciated. Sure, she wondered why she did so. If she viewed Eve as being so pathetic that she needed these words.

But, she still appreciated them, because she absolutely did need them.

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