{Rin}

The pain in her muscles from running Essence through her body could only be compared with her elation at the outcome of the mission. When it was all said and done, the mission was completed with only a handful of mistakes made by Rin and her team, and she felt like that was the best she could hope for.

[Maria had said we were going to be teaming up again, in the future,] Rin thought, as she walked behind everyone. Looking at each of her allies, Varyn, Alea, and Sara, she figured things might not be that bad. [Sure, we aren't friends, but I think we can work well together. At least there's that.]

They arrived back at Libera just as the day turned to night. At the city's northern gates, Alea wordlessly walked away, in a direction that looked like she wasn't going back to the Academy just yet.

Varyn turned toward Sara, Maria, and Rin.

"Good work back there," he told Rin. "Bye."

"See ya in class," Rin replied, and he walked away as well.

That left Maria with two students here, who she looked at with a smile.

"Well, both of them left before I could make the offer," she chuckled. "I'd say your performance calls for a minor celebration. How about we go get something to eat? I'm guessing you're both starving, aren't you? We've been walking around all day."

"Sure," Rin nodded.

Sara though paused.

"There is food at the cafeteria," Sara said.

"Uhm, yes," Maria replied, "but, maybe I could treat you to something a little nicer. How does that sound?"

"I..." Sara said softly, and she looked away.

Noticing this reaction, Rin leaned close.

"Maria has great taste," Rin argued in a whisper, winking at her. "She took me to eat a while ago and, yeah, it was great."

Looking up into Sara's eyes felt strange. Although the girl's face showed no emotion at all, the more Rin talked to this girl, the more expressive her eyes felt. Seeing them right now, Rin felt like maybe she was considering it. Eventually, she nodded, and Maria grinned.

"Great, let's go!"

Soon, the Rank S adventurer led them to a nearby establishment. It was a quaint-looking place, one that looked a lot less expensive than the restaurant Sye had taken Rin to a while back, and yet, she knew Maria probably had far more money than that mage did, just from being such a high-rank.

[I guess she's just frugal like that,] Rin thought, as they walked inside. There were a few round tables spread out, and a counter at the back where a man was waiting patiently for customers.

"Take a seat," Maria instructed both girls and they did as she asked, sitting by a nearby window. Rin sat closest to the glass, while Sara sat down opposite her.

As Rin glanced up, she found that, again, although others might say that Sara's face was the same as ever, she was starting to see little details that hinted at how Sara actually felt. The way her eyes would go down to the table, meet Rin's for just half a second, before returning to it. The way her hands were tightly placed on her own thighs. How she almost flinched anytime a sudden sound, like the door opening or a small bell ringing, emerged.

[Hm...] Rin put her right elbow down on the table, resting her chin on it. [What is up with her?]

As much as she felt like the girl was a little uncomfortable, Rin knew she wouldn't get any answers if she just asked. She'd tried it before, after all. So, instead, she said:

"Hey," she said, in a slightly low voice, trying not to startle Sara. The girl's eyes snapped up at her, this time remaining there.

"Yes?" She asked quietly.

"I'm still kinda curious about your training," Rin said with what she hoped looked like a polite smile. "I'd love to know more."

When she heard that, Sara looked away again.

"..." She paused. "I-I..." Her voice sounded slightly strained. "I trained with my father."

[Oh. Okay, now we're getting somewhere,] Rin thought, as, in the background behind Sara, Maria was waiting for their meal to be prepared so she could take it over to the table.

"Ohhh, cool, was your dad a soldier?"

At that, Sara shook her head.

"He..." She paused again. The way she spoke, it was as though every word required her to build up the energy to deliver it. "He was an enari."

"... A what now?" Rin tilted her head.

"Enari," Sara said again.

"I, uh, don't know what that is."

"Hm?" That seemed to surprise Sara. "The enari were the protectors of my village."

Little moments like these, when someone managed to get a genuine reaction out of Sara, Rin noticed that she was able to string together more words than usual. And, honestly, she found it adorable.

"Oh, what were they like?" Rin asked, feeling like she'd managed to tap into a good conversation. She was curious, but more than anything, she just wanted to keep the girl talking.

Rin doubted she could be friends with Alea, or truly get familiar with Varyn, but if she could make a friend here with at least one teammate, she'd be happy.

"They... they dressed like this," Sara replied, spreading her arms, and looking down at herself. "They were very strong. And, they were very skilled."

"Hm... And, your sword?" She asked. "Is that an enari thing too?"

That question made Sara's expression turn just a bit sadder, and Rin felt like she'd messed up.

"Yes, and no," Sara replied, shaking her head. "It's... special." 

And, just as Rin was about to ask why it was special, Maria arrived, holding a large plate that had three small bowls on it.

[Dammit!] Rin thought. [I was making so much progress with her.]

"Some yariko soup," Maria told them, as she sat down next to Sara. "Genuinely delicious. Try it."

"Thanks," Rin told her, grabbing one of the bowls and one spoon. With it, she scooped up a bit and put it in her mouth, and the taste made her eyes pop out. "Oh, that's really good!"

"Hehehe," Maria looked a little smug. "I know how to pick 'em."

Sara took a sip herself but had no visible reaction.

"Well, Rin," Maria continued. "How do you feel? Another mission, more fighting, and you're still in one piece."

"Yeah," Rin smiled at her. "Mostly thanks to you, so, yeah. Thanks again for all the training."

"I'm always willing to help," Maria replied. "That goes for you too, Sara," she told the girl next to her. "You need anything, or if you just want to train a little, you can always ask."

Sara nodded.

[Back to silence again,] Rin thought. [Oh well. At least I think I get how she works. I really do wanna learn more about her. Maybe I will soon.]

"Now," Maria looked up at Rin. "You can't let yourself settle, just because you're finding success. Once you're past this initial stage, where you stop bumbling around and you actually know what you're doing, you need to work on those fundamentals. Sharpen those up, and soon, you'll reach the next stage."

"The next stage..." Rin mumbled. "About that, when are we actually going to be doing missions?" Rin asked.

"Hm? You mean, official guild missions? For money?" Maria asked.

"Yeah."

"Next semester," her teacher quickly answered. "Early January, most likely. Though, they will all be low-level missions, so don't get your hopes too high up."

[Just a couple of months away,] Rin noted. [Okay, that sounds fine. Hopefully, I'll be ready by then.]

"The first semester is meant to give you a foundation," Maria added. "After that, you can start building on it. Some people drop out of the Academy at that point, and head up to Cradle, or go from one village to another, going all over the world and doing missions. As for you students, though, if you stay at the Academy, which I highly suggest you do, you would be doing smaller missions here in Libera, in between training and classes."

"Okay," Rin nodded. "Looking forward to it."

Then, just before Rin went back to her soup, she remembered something.

"By the way," Rin said after she cleared her throat.

"Yes?"

"... Water sprites," she threw the words out, and Maria's brows raised. "The ones you've seen."

"... What about them?"

"Do they normally have monstrous hands and a bunch of fangs?" Rin asked. "Because I saw one like that, at the water north of the fortress."

When Maria heard that, she sighed.

"Yes," she answered. "Yes, they do."

---

The meal was done a short time later, and all three of them went back to the Academy.

Maria explained to Rin something that was keeping her mind busy throughout the entire walk back though. Apparently, every water sprite Maria had ever seen fit that description that Rin gave her. All except for Xhez, which went unsaid of course, as Sara was sitting next to them.

It made Rin wonder a few things, however.

[Is Xhez just one exception? How many of those monster-like ones are there?]

Though, one thing was for sure. She'd finally learned why sprites were treated like monsters.

It was because, as far as most adventurers knew, they simply were all monsters. She knew that already, of course, but now she'd seen why, personally.

"See you tomorrow, Rin," Maria told her as they walked into the building. "Rest up."

"Yeah, goodnight."

Maria left. Rin and Sara walked up to the second floor, where Sara's room was first. They paused in front of it, as Sara put her hand on the doorknob.

"Good stuff, Sara," Rin told her, trying to be charming. "Maybe we can train together sometime soon? You're really skilled, I'd love to."

"..." Sara looked away. "Sure."

Her voice was so faint, Rin almost didn't hear it. Then, she opened the door, and walked into her room, closing it quickly after.

Rin giggled as she saw that.

[Okay, I guess I was wrong. She's not scary at all.]

And, with that thought, she went to her own room.

Elisa hadn't come back yet, which meant the room that welcomed her was empty. Rin put her backpack down by her bed and Xhez's bag atop her drawer. Then, she took all of her armor off and stretched her arms.

Half-naked, with just a bra and her underwear on, she walked over to her bed and laid down. Covering herself, she stared up at the ceiling and put her hands behind her head as she tried to take stock of everything.

[Between what happened at the Rose Party and this mission, I feel like I'm finally making good progress.]

A smile bloomed on her face then, as she realized that.

[You know what? I haven't completely failed yet, and that's a win in my book. Now, I just need to keep it going. Let's see what happens.]