Chapter 7: Introductions, Part Three

When Rin arrived at the cafeteria, the reaction to her presence was met with some laughter, some indifference, and, from Eve and Lisa specifically, pity. The brunette kept her head low and tried to locate the chef. What she found was a round woman with a large scar over her right eye, beckoning her to come closer.

"Aye love, what'll it be?"

"Uh, what are my options?"

"You got a salad, some rice, and beans, some beef 'n a sandwich. Take your pick."

[Oh, Divine, all of those sound good.] Her stomach grumbled in agreement.

"I'll take the salad."

"Gotcha. What's your name, love?"

"Rin."

"Rin. I like it. Name's Jessie. I'll call for you when it's ready, take a seat."

"Can I, uh, get some ice too? I took a bit of a hit..."

"Sure."

"Thanks."

Every other large table had people sitting on it already. The only one Rin saw that would allow her to maintain at least a little bit of her pride was the one right in front of the chef, where Sara was sitting alone. So, Rin cautiously took a chair, slid it back, and sat down. Sara didn't even have any food in front of her. She was just sitting there, looking down at her empty plate.

Various conversations were unfolding at the other tables. Rin saw Eve sitting with Lisa and Dylan. Their words traveled to her ears and she listened absent-mindedly.

"You did pretty well over there!" Eve complimented Dylan. "You looked really smooth."

"Thank you." The crimson-eyed boy bowed slightly in his chair.

"Did you train before coming here?" Eve asked.

"Yes." Dylan's face was stoic, almost emotionless as he continued, "I spent for a few years with the Red Trident."

"O-Oh... Holy shit." Eve said, smiling nervously. Rin had no idea what that was. "That's pretty hardcore."

"Do not worry, it was less troubling than you might believe," Dylan replied plainly. "That is why I am here now though. I wish to put these skills to use, is all."

To Rin's front, behind Sara, she could hear a few others speaking. Alea, Elisa, and Seth were all ahead.

"I have to ask," Alea said, "why are you here?" She aimed her question at Elisa.

"What do you mean?" The sunlight-haired woman responded, putting a hand under her chin.

"I mean that you're already rich. You're already a noble, you have a name. So, why are you here? You have nothing to gain."

Elisa shrugged.

"For fun, of course." The blonde replied with a smile and Alea raised a brow.

"Alright, don't tell me then." Alea shrugged right back.

"Is it so hard to believe that I might be here simply because I like to fight? Do you find that strange?" Elisa asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Yep," Seth interrupted. "I don't remember ever liking having my ass kicked," Seth mumbled as he ate.

"Personally, I've found that some of my favorite memories have been a little on the rougher side of things."

Seth smirked and Rin looked away.

She ate for a little while, in silence. Soon though, from Rin's left, Eve flew over. Rin took a deep breath. Her ego hadn't fully recovered yet.

"Hey." Eve started.

"Uh… Hey."

"Yeah, tough luck in that fight with Seth," Eve said and Rin scoffed.

"Can you really call it a 'fight'?"

"Okay, fair, but... You know, you're only starting out. It's okay."

"Doesn't really make me feel any better."

"My point is," Eve looked up at her with sparkling rainbow eyes. "You'll do better in the future!"

Rin sighed with a skeptical look, but she did give Eve a smile. The fairy made her feel marginally better with that.

"I dunno, maybe."

The meal itself ended up being pretty good. There was some strange sauce involved that Rin hadn't tasted before, but it was sweet. Sara never spoke. Everyone finished up and walked out, and eventually, Eve and Rin got up to do the same.

Just outside the room though was one of the last people she wanted to see right now. Elisa. She was leaning against a wall, unaware of Rin or the fairy until the two tried to pass by. Then, Elisa stopped them.

"Hey," Elisa said with a friendly look aimed at Rin.

[Oh, please tell me she doesn't remember, please, please!] The last thing she wanted was for the title of "whore" to be added on top of all this embarrassment.

"Yeah?" Eve was the one who asked, but Elisa didn't respond to her.

"That was rough back there." Her voice was detached but soft as she said this to Rin.

"Uh, mhm."

"If you're the type that freezes up in a fight, you should work on that. Won't do you any good out there."

"Y-Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." Rin gave a polite nod and tried to walk away.

Eve followed and looked back at Elisa once before asking:

"Whoa. The princess herself acknowledged your existence. At least something came out of all this."

"She's a princess!?" Rin asked a little too loudly.

"Quiet! And no, she isn't a literal princess. It's just what people call her." Eve told her and Rin calmed down. "She's the daughter of the D'Ana family."

"Who are they?"

"They're a noble family. They helped make the Grand Railroad, got rich off it."

"Wait, shit, really?" Even someone from the middle of nowhere like Rin understood the importance of that.

"Yeah. She's supposed to be next in line to inherit whatever they own." Eve continued but that made Rin wonder, [so, what's she doing here? Is this just a pastime until she gets her inheritance?] "Anyway!" Eve said, "I told you I'd show you around, right? Come on! Let's head into the city."

"You sure? Do we have anything else to do today?"

"Nah, at least, if we do have something else to do, no one told me about it. So, come on!"

"Uh…" Rin stopped. With the sun now in full force outside, the halls they spoke in were coated in orange. "Are you sure you wanna be associated with me?" Rin asked with a wry smile.

At that, Eve raised a brow at her.

"Hahaha, Rin... I'm a fairy," she said with some sadness that surprised Rin. "You could get knocked out by everyone in our class and they'd still have a better view of you than they do of me."

After that, Eve led Rin out of the academy. The two of them walked quickly over the stone path that cut through the lawn they'd been standing on this morning and exited out to Libera.

"Alright! So, first thing's first, you need to see the Market District. It's where we'll be buying all our equipment for the missions we go on."

[Oh, shit. Jay had said something about how we'd have to buy our own swords and stuff.]

"H-How much do these cost?" Rin asked, terrified to hear the answer.

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"I think it's like two or three gold for a basic sword."

Rin's jaw was acquainting itself with the ants on the ground. [What. The. Fuck? Three hundred silvers for a sword!?]

"D-Do we get, like, a student discount or something?" Rin asked with a chuckle.

"Not that I know of."

[Oh fuck, that's a problem.] Rin had used up all of her money to pay the tuition. At most, she had ten gold left and she was not even certain about that.

"Anyway, come on!" Eve grinned at her and Rin tried to hide her concern as she nodded and followed.

The city of Libera sure was a beauty though. Its streets and buildings had an almost artistic quality to them and, well, literal art was painted onto the walls. Murals, names Rin didn't know, surrealist images. The whole city was one big canvas. But, after a while, the street led to a space where all that life stopped.

At the square that Eve had taken her to, the buildings lacked color and the stone floor changed to the concrete that was reminiscent of Dren. There were several kiosks and stores here, just like the outside of the Silver Rose. [Some things just never change, huh. Rin thought.]

"This is where you'll be spending most of your money. Restaurants, medicine, supplies, clothes. Name it and there's probably a store for it here."

Rin couldn't resist.

"Is there a brothel nearby?"

Eve's face turned tomato-red and she looked back at Rin with awe.

"Wow. I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff."

"No, no, just wondering."

"Well… No." Eve's face regained its color. "At least, no official ones. Prostitution isn't legal here."

"Bullshit," Rin responded. "It's legal in Dren, and Dren belongs to Libera."

"Dren's a colony, not a true part of Libera, so no one really pays attention to Dren. They get to do what they want when it comes to that kind of stuff." Eve's voice was serious as she spoke. "Libera, this city has a… A really weird stance when it comes to people and their space. They're not as open-minded as they like to say they are. It's basically just Cradle, but colorful."

"And that means…?"

"It means that if you want to sing on the corner or dance in a public square like this one, you're more than welcome to. But, if you want to date someone poor, or you want to buy a prostitute or get drunk or smoke, all that is off the table. Well, some of those are technically legal, but if you do any of those publicly, you can expect to show up in the gossip parts of the papers."

"What the fuck…?" Rin hadn't ever expected to hear something like that.

"Why do you think politicians visit Dren so much?" Eve asked with a laugh. [That's not wrong, actually. A lot of my customers back at the Rose were Liberan politicians, just visiting the town.]

"That's insane." Rin shook her head. [I mean, I left the Rose, but that doesn't mean I'd ever like to see the girls, the guys, Felix, or Jay in chains. That's crazy.]

"Don't let anyone else hear you talking like that," Eve stated. "Don't get me wrong, I happen to agree with you because, you know, I'm a fucking fairy," Eve's chuckled. "I've seen where all that superiority bullshit can lead to firsthand." Then, she grinned wide and flew up a few meters off the ground. "But that's why I want to be an adventurer! So I can show all these idiots that no matter where you come from, or who you are, you can be the best!"

Rin couldn't help herself. She grinned at that.

"Okay, hotshot. You're getting eyes on you, calm down."

"O-Oh, right, sorry." Embarrassed, Eve flew back down to shoulder level.

At this point, they were at a market area to the north. Here, they ended up coming across two of the other students at the academy. John Ates and Carla Bianchi. The two of them were carrying a pair of cardboard boxes, walking in Eve and Rin's direction.

Rin had thought that they'd simply pass each other by in silence, but Carla saw her and quickly raised a hand up, off the box, greeting her.

"Yooo!" Carla jogged up to her and Rin just about recoiled at the energy she was presenting. "Didn't think I'd see you two out here, what's up?"

"Uh, just showing her around the city," Eve replied. "And you?"

"Me and Slick over here," she gestured at John, "were just buying our equipment."

"Couple of swords, some basic armor," John said. "And, of course, I have to carry most of it."

"Eh, you like doing that," Carla rolled her eyes. "Anyway, yeah, these are kinda heavy though. See you back at the academy!"

Just like that, like a passing storm, Carla and John were gone.

[Those two are... uh... something, that's for sure,] Rin shrugged.

In the end, Eve took Rin to most of the neat little stores nearby. The restaurant that sold mostly strange pasta, the general store where Eve actually took the opportunity to buy a few energy potions, and one kiosk where Eve showed Rin a bracelet she wanted to save up for.

The more she saw of this city, the more she understood what Eve was getting at. There were barely any specks of dirt on the ground, the walls, anywhere. Everyone outside was happy and stunningly sober. She couldn't see any homeless people anywhere either. Purity, huh? Rin sighed. If anyone here finds out what I used to do, that could be a major problem.

In one restaurant they entered, another fairy flew up to them dressed in an employee uniform. As she introduced them to the place and asked if they wanted a table or had a reservation Rin looked at Eve and noticed the disdain that was barely hidden on her face. Rin explained that they were just looking around and the fairy let them go with a smile, but Eve seemed pissed off for some reason.

"Eve?" Rin asked when they finally left. "What's the matter?"

"What?" She asked.

"You were giving that lady the death stare." Rin chuckled. "Did you know her?"

"Never seen her before in my life," Eve stated with clear annoyance.

"So... Why were you mad at her?"

"I wasn't mad at her, I was mad at what she represents."

"The restaurant is that bad?"

"What? N-No, I mean that what she was, that's all these people think our fairies can be. None of us can be heroes, you know? None of us can be out there, retaking the world. Actually, people don't talk about it, but when the Split happened and most of the world was wiped out, several fairy clans also just disappeared. Everyone just talks about how tough it was for humans, but everyone got screwed, you know?"

The Split was not something Rin thought about often. No one from Dren really thought about it. She knew what it was at a historical level because they taught her about it in school, sure. "The Split!" Her teachers would reiterate every now and then, "the event that decimated Aerum. A year in which most of humanity, something like 70%, died or disappeared overnight and monsters went on to rule most of the world."

But, to someone born and raised in Dren, to someone who considered the size of the world to be as small as the brothel in which she worked, it was impossible for her to fully understand the consequences of such an event. Of course, she didn't even know fairies existed until she came to Libera so she felt she couldn't be blamed for not knowing their plight, but still. Even in relation to humanity, to her, the Split was just a thing that happened. The reason the Grand Railroad exists, the reason no one travels to the east. She knew it was tragic and that it was a big deal, but that was all though.

"Really?" Rin asked and Eve nodded.

"You know, there are all sorts of old libraries that still exist from before the second era." Eve and Rin almost unconsciously started walking back to the academy. "And they're filled with a bunch of crazy stuff. That other species of humans existed before, that different kinds of fairies were a thing! I dunno, it just bothers me when all I hear is about how badly things went for humanity."

"I think I get it." Rin nodded and the two continued back to the school.

By the time they got there, the sun was just starting to descend beyond the horizon and the evening cold was starting to set in. They walked into the building and found a large piece of paper attached to the wall behind the secretary.

"Oh, it's our schedule!" Eve noted. "Let's see... We have Essence 101 as our first class at 8 am, then we've got Zoology at 9, then Culture at 10, Physical Conditioning at 11, and Combat Tactics and Dueling at 12."

"So, basically all of the mental stuff first and then all the physical stuff later? Okay. I guess that makes sense." Rin nodded.

"We'll be taking classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."

"Oh, okay. Fewer days than I expected."

"I think we're supposed to be training the rest of the week," Eve replied.

Both girls went up the elevator after that and Eve walked with Rin all the way to her room at 2-E.

"See you tomorrow! It was fun walking around, but don't be fooled, you've seen like 5% of Libera, Rin. This is a pretty big place."

"Alright, I guess I'll see the rest some other day. See you around." Rin waved at her and smiled to herself, as Eve floated away.

[I... I guess I made a friend. Honestly, she's really not half bad. Thank the Divine, I don't think I'd be able to handle going through this all alone.]

Then, just as Rin touched the doorknob and was about to push it open, she heard some shuffling inside. At first, she was worried someone had broken in, but she quickly remembered what the secretary had said about "roommates". [Oh, they're here.]

And as she walked in and looked to see who she'd be sharing the room with, she lost her breath.

[You're joking.]

"Oh?" Elisa asked with her arms up as she tied her hair into a ponytail, sitting on the bed opposite the one where Rin had put her backpack. "You must be my roommate. We've kind of already met, but I'll say it anyway. It's nice to meet you."

At that moment, Rin decided that if the Mother Spirit and the Divine were real, they hated her.

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