Chapter 37: Partners

{Lyn}

"Yes? Uhm, would you like to make an appointment? Perfect. Do you have an escort in mind? Lindsey? Okay, I'll mark you down for… 5pm, is that okay? Wonderful, thank you, sir."

Lyn hung up the phone as she marked down the appointment in her notebook, all while trying her hardest not to pay attention to the chaos around her. Naked men and women, dancing, laughing, and drinking. Customers eyeing them out with naked lust. Lyn had gotten a little used to it recently, but she still felt out of her element.

"Ms. Asahiro!" A girl walked up to her.

"Hm? Oh, Cait, what is it?" Lyn asked as she remembered the girl's name. She was a cute brunette with freckles and thin lips.

"I brought you some water," she said as she put a bottle down in front of her.

"U-Uh, it's alright, I'm not..."

"It's okay, just save it for when you get thirsty!" She said with a smile before walking away.

Lyn was left alone for a bit, and she continued to sort through the different appointments set for the day. Soon, though, another interruption came.

"Ms. Asahiro!" A boy called out this time. He had a lean figure and ashy grey hair. He was a favorite among the few female customers.

"Hm? Tim?" She asked, raising her head.

"Want some cookies?" He asked as he held out a plate in front of her.

"O-Oh, I'm not hungry right now…" She lied.

"Don't worry, I'll leave them here, just in case."

Like the girl, Tim just walked away as Lyn sighed, putting a hand to her head.

[Oh, dear… These kids have too much energy.]

"I told you everyone likes you," she heard a woman say from the left and Lyn raised her head. Jay was there, bending over the desk and putting her elbows down on it. Today, she was wearing a black leather coat over a crop-top and black jeans.

Compared to her own clothing, which was quite literally just a white skirt and some sandals, Jay looked right at home in the brothel she owned, while Lyn couldn't look more out of place.

"Maybe, but it's only because I'm the new hire," Lyn shrugged with an awkward chuckle. "I'm like a new pet."

"No shot. If you were anyone else's pet here I'd be pretty mad," Jay replied, and Lyn raised a brow at that. But, before she could ask what she meant, Jay continued.

"Are you settling into the job alright?"

"Yes," Lyn said as she looked around. "I find it's fairly easy to be your assistant so long as I keep track of things well. You do so much on your own, already."

"Nah, making a ship get to where it needs to go is a multiple-person job," Jay stated. "But I do appreciate getting gassed up every once in a while, so, I won't argue with you on that."

"It's easy to do so in your case," Lyn chuckled. "There's much to compliment you on."

For a second, Jay just looked at her, before shaking her head and standing up straight.

"Have you heard from Rin recently?"

At that, Lyn shook her head.

"No. I sent her a letter a while back ago, but she hasn't sent any letters in a little bit. Perhaps she's busy."

"Adventurer stuff is no joke," Jay commented. "Even though they're annoying as shit, I can definitely tell they spend a lot of time working. So, yeah, give her some time."

"I agree," Lyn replied. "I do hope I hear from her so-"

She didn't finish her sentence though, as she started coughing. Jay gave her a concerned look as Lyn tried her hardest to force herself to stop, covering her hand with her mouth.

"Are you okay?"

"Ye-, yes," Lyn said. "Just… It's normal."

"… Okay," Jay replied, though she was clearly still a little worried.

To ease her concerns, and hopefully distract her a little, Lyn asked:

"Ms. Jay, how about we get something to eat later?"

"Yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"Anything will do, I just enjoy spending time with you."

"… Okay. I'll think of something then. For now, though, I should probably get back to work. Talk to you later."

"Right."

With that, Jay walked away, and Lyn took a deep breath. She looked down at the hand she'd been using to cover herself and found a bit of blood in her palm.

"… I should wash up first."

---

{Xhez}

Looking ahead, Xhez raised her right hand and pointed it at the small pond in front of her. Sitting by the dirt shore, with what had now become her own bag beside her, she cast the spellsign for [Fireball] as quickly as she could, and a sphere of flame shot out from her hand, landing in the water with a plop.

[I believe I am getting faster at it,] she thought, smiling. [Good. I am improving!]

She looked up and saw that the sun was beginning to lower, causing the daylight to turn a darker shade of orange.

[Hm… Rin still has not come back.]

With that thought, she considered whether she should walk out and look for her. However, Rin had only told her that she would be "running around for a while", which was so vague though that the sprite had no idea where to look if she did have to go out.

Thankfully, she wouldn't have to, as the brunette appeared from the trees ahead a few seconds after Xhez had stopped to consider this.

"Oh, you are back," Xhez said happily as she ran over to the woman. The human had, in her hands, those strange white berries that could be found all over this forest.

"Yep, brought some stuff back for us too. You're welcome. I know, I know, I'm awesome," Rin told her as Xhez took some of it and put it in her mouth. Sprites didn't really need to eat, as most of their energy came from the water they absorbed, but she still could taste and digest things, so she enjoyed the meal well enough.

"Such a strange taste."

"I've gotten used to 'em," Rin shrugged as she sat down by the pond. Xhez joined her. "So, according to that map, from here, it should be a straight line back to Libera, uh, my city."

"Good," Xhez smiled, happy for her.

"… So, I've been meaning to ask, but… What are you going to do?"

"Hm?"

"Well… At some point, I'll be getting back home," Rin stated. "So, when that time comes, what are you going to do about it?"

…

In all honesty, she hadn't even thought about this. She'd known, in the back of her mind, that her time with Rin couldn't last forever, of course. After all, she still had her mothers in that pond. In about three weeks, they would wake up and, if Xhez wasn't there, she knew they'd be worried sick about her.

Still, at the same time, she didn't want to leave Rin's side. In these last few days alone, she'd learned more about humans than she had throughout the entirety of her 23 years in this world. But, beyond that, she could feel a certain closeness to Rin. It was like, despite their being different species, they somewhat understood each other.

She loved that feeling, and she didn't want it to go away.

"I… I would like to continue traveling with you. However," Xhez took a deep breath, "I would also like to speak with my mothers. At the very least to let them know that I am alright."

Rin nodded, and Xhez couldn't continue. She had no answers to give her. She was caught between these two desires, and although one was clearly more selfish than the other, she still wanted to do it.

However, Rin spoke up:

"… If we go back there, could you tell them?"

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"Huh?" Xhez blinked. "U-Uh, to the pond?"

"Yeah. Could you wake them up or something?"

"… Yes," Xhez nodded.

"Well, if you want to, I'm okay with heading back. Just so you can let them know."

"But, we have been walking for a few days now. Are you sure you are okay with undoing our progress like this?"

Rin nodded.

"I had wanted to get back to Libera as fast as possible, but… I… Well…" Rin looked away.

"Yes?"

"… I don't really want to lose you. I mean, aside from the fact that I'm pretty bad at everything on my own, and I've started to accept that getting back quickly just isn't going to happen... I don't know, I like having you around. If it means we get to keep doing this together, I'm okay with taking a little detour."

Xhez's eyes gleamed, and she smiled at her.

"Then… In that case, please. Accompany me."

And that was the start of a brief journey in the opposite direction. Despite Rin's words, if they could save time doing this, she figured they should. So, they barely paused for breaks or rest on the way back to Xhez's pond.

Thanks to her naturally excellent memory, Xhez remembered the entire path back. Using the map they'd found, they were able to make the trip even shorter, as Xhez would tell Rin about a landmark they'd passed and she'd use the map to work out a way faster than what they'd done before.

This meant that, in the end, this was but a two-day intermission, as the two of them went back. They reached the pond soon enough, and here, Xhez told Rin to wait by the pond's shore as she spoke to her mothers.

Rin agreed and sat down. Xhez looked back at the pond and took a deep breath before walking in and shrinking her form down. Here, she looked for the white orb her mothers were keeping themselves inside of, and when she found it, she closed her eyes.

Allowing her Spirit to reach theirs, she tried to contact them. It took a few moments, but soon, their Spirit began to stir and Xhez's eyes opened.

The orb disappeared and both women woke up. They saw Xhez and looked confused. Xhez gestured for them to go up, and she swam to the surface before taking up her normal size again.

Her mothers soon followed.

Behind Xhez, Rin yelped and Xhez giggled a little, as she saw her mothers come out of the water.

"Xhez?" Saria was the first to speak. "Has something happened? It does not feel like a month has passed."

Beside her, Vortell yawned as Xhez shook her head.

"No, no… I wished to speak with you."

However, as she said that, Saria saw Rin and screamed.

"AH! A HUMAN!"

"Wha- whe- AH!" Vortell quickly pulled Saria and Xhez behind her as she stared at Rin. "Run!"

"Wait, wait, mothers," Xhez put her hands on Vortell's shoulders. "This… This is what I wished to speak to you about."

"What?" Vortell asked, not taking her eyes off of Rin. "Xhez?"

"She is a friend," Xhez quickly stated. "I met her a few days ago."

"… Xhez what are you talking about? That is a human," Vortell pointed out.

"Please, let me explain."

And so, Xhez proceeded to tell them everything about what had happened recently. From meeting Rin to her agreeing to allow Xhez to accompany her, to them finding Derain and entering the lost town. It was easy, of course, as she remembered most of it vividly, but even then, her mothers still appeared to be confused.

"How is this possible?" Vortell asked herself.

This entire time, Rin had remained where she was, sitting by her lonesome.

"You do not have to take my word for it, Rin," Xhez called out to her, "come over here!"

"I-I…" Vortell said, but as Rin walked over, both Saria and Vortell went silent, holding each other.

Xhez understood why they were so scared. She understood all too well. Still, she believed in this. So, she took one of Rin's hands as the girl entered the pool with them.

"Xhez, she smells terrible," Saria said.

"It's not like there's any soap out here…" Rin said with a blush.

"Mothers," Xhez spoke up, "I promise you, Rin is genuinely a kind person! I have learned so much about humanity, and she is willing to teach me even more! I…" Xhez took a deep breath. "I have made my mind up. I am going with her."

"B-But… Xhez…" Saria went up to her and put her hands on the girl's cheeks, looking into her eyes. "What…? This is so sudden."

"I know, but… Please, look into my memories and you will understand. Please."

Saria hesitated, looking back at Vortell. When her lover nodded, Saria took a deep breath and the two sprites let their foreheads press against each other.

And, here, Xhez, instead of telling her mother, showed her everything that had happened.

---

{Rin}

{Sometime later}

"I promise you if you hurt her I will…"

"Mother, stop it," Xhez said as Vortell, as Rin had learned, gave the human a glare.

"I know, I know," Rin nodded. "Loud and clear."

"… In that case," Vortell sighed and turned toward Xhez. "I, are you certain?"

"For the fourteenth time, yes, mother, I am," Xhez laughed.

"I just… I cannot believe this. Even though I saw everything the two of you have been through, I still cannot believe it."

"I will not be gone forever, mother," Xhez stated. "I promise. Just… Just enough to know for certain if we always have to be at odds with humanity. Once I have my answer, I will return."

"Please, stay safe out there, my baby," Saria said as she hugged Xhez tightly. "I will miss you dearly every day that passes."

"And I as well," Xhez said. "Farewell, mothers."

"We will remain in this area until you return. Be it in one year, or seven. Farewell, child."

Seeing Xhez give them one last hug, simply because she wanted to keep traveling with Rin, made her heart ache just a little. She felt like she was tearing apart a family, but despite what anyone would say, Xhez was determined to do this.

The sprite separated from them and turned toward Rin. She walked over to the human, waved one last time at her mothers, and nodded at her.

And, with that, the two left the area.

"… Oh, goodness," Xhez said, and Rin could hear her sadness. "This hurts."

She knew what Xhez was feeling right now. She felt the same way a short while ago when she left Dren.

"That said," Xhez continued, "I would not have it any other way."

"… Whatever happens," Rin said, "like I said before, I'm glad I met you."

"Hehe," Xhez giggled. "As am I."

"Well, okay, let's get back to it then."

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