{One Week Later, Monday}
[Am I ready?] Rin wondered as she sat at the edge of her bed, dressed in the same leather armor that she'd worn when she was taken away. Only, this time, that armor was worn-out and torn in a few places from just the one month that she'd spent out in the wilderness.
She clenched her fists tightly, looking down at her hands.
[All I can do is give it a shot, I guess.]
This was to be her second attempt. And, now, she'd really see if she had what it takes to be an adventurer. Provided, of course, that no other mysterious robed figures showed up. She didn't know what she was going to be doing, but she was going to try her hardest.
Before she could leave, however, she wanted to tell Xhez something. She tapped a little on her bag, trying to wake the sprite up gently, and then, she looked inside. Xhez was looking back at her.
"Hey," Rin greeted her. "Good morning."
"Good morning!" Xhez replied, and she seemed energetic. Rin put aside her anxiousness so she could talk normally to her.
"So, listen," Rin started. "I'm going to be leaving for a few hours today, alright? I have some adventurer stuff to do."
"Oh? Good luck," Xhez told her.
"Thanks, but, I was just trying to say that, if you wanted to come out of your bag today, you can. Harriton, the only other person here who should be able to see through your disguise aside from Maria, he's going to be out. So, I'm gonna leave the bag open for you to get out, walk around, and all that."
Additionally, unlike before, the order of the students who would be going out was revealed beforehand. Which was how Rin knew that she and Elisa would both be out of the room for the entirety of the morning, most likely. Since the blonde wouldn't be here, she figured Xhez would be safe to get out and cast her spell.
"A-... Alone?" Xhez asked.
"Yeah," Rin nodded. "I let the dean know yesterday about you, as my 'sister', I mean, and he said that it's fine for you to run around here, for a bit. So... Yeah. Try not to go anywhere else though," Rin told her. "Just in case."
"Got it," Xhez nodded. "I do not like the idea of being separated from you like this... But I will try to put it aside."
"I'm just giving you the option. You don't have to leave this room at all, if you don't want to," Rin assured her.
"... I understand. Thank you," Xhez replied. Rin nodded, and, with that, she took a deep breath.
"Well... I'm going now. See you later, Xhez."
"Goodbye," Xhez waved at her from inside the bag and Rin waved back, pausing for just a moment before exiting her room.
The others were already gathered at the front of the Academy. Rin walked out of her room, down the stairs, and came out to find her classmates standing before the teachers. Maria, Cara, Eli, and Harriton all stood out in front of them, and when they saw Rin, Cara stepped forward.
"Okay, you all have your next mission today," Cara said. "By now, I'm sure you understand how this goes, but I'll give you a little reminder. We're gonna take you to a place where you can find some low-tier monsters, and all you have to do is clear them out as best you can. Due to..." She paused, "recent events, Rin," she called out to the adventurer.
"Yeah?" She blinked, surprised.
"You'll be with Maria, this time."
"Y-Yeah, I know," she replied, as she'd been told yesterday.
"Okay. With that being said, Rin, Elisa, Aleah, Varyn. All of you, step forward. You already know who you're going to run with. The others, wait at the Academy until we return."
As Cara finished speaking, those adventurers walked forward and the others went back into the building.
"Rin," Elisa called out to her.
"Y-Yeah?"
"Good luck!" The sunlight-haired woman told her with a smile as Rin walked over to Maria.
"Thanks, um, you too!" Rin replied. As she approached the Rank S adventurer, Maria took a deep breath.
"Have everything you need?" Maria asked.
"Yep. I'm as ready as I'll ever be... I think."
"Then, come with me," Maria said. "Let's move."
---
{Xhez}
A small amount of time passed after Rin left the room, and Xhez played back her words in her mind.
[I... I suppose I should try to get a feel for this place on my own.]
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Even though she said that to herself, however, the thought alone caused a chill to pass over her heart. It was ironic, of course, that she'd been so eager to do the same thing out in the forests, but now that she was here, she was scared.
That feeling clashed with her curiosity, both tugging and pulling at her desires, until, finally, she decided to just try it.
At least, for a short while.
Xhez swam up to the top of the bag and looked around, before promptly launching herself out of the water and getting into her regular size. Without Rin to be here to receive her, Xhez only had the cold air to focus on. So, she quickly cast that Illusion spell on herself, and searched for Rin's clothes, finding a brown shirt, some underwear, and black pants neatly folded on Rin's bed.
[She left those for me,] Xhez realized, and the thought made her smile.
A moment later, she was fully dressed and in her human disguise, trying to prepare herself for this.
[It will be okay,] she tried to tell herself. [Just... Take that first step. All of the others will be easier once you do.]
And so, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it, and as she walked out into the hall, she was bathed in sunlight. She took a deep breath, feeling a warmth invade her body, as she looked around.
[... Goodness,] she gulped. [Alright. Now what?]
A few places quickly came to her mind. She remembered the library, but she couldn't read the books anyway, so she discarded that option. She had no interest in that physical training place that she saw behind the Academy, and, she couldn't think of anything to do in the Meditation Center where she and Rin had spoken to Maria.
So, that left her with one option. The cafeteria.
She ended up deciding on that, for now. If she could get some more of that strange human food before Rin came back, she'd consider it a victory.
As she walked up the stairs, some of the adventurers glanced her way for a few seconds, but no one really paid her too much attention. So, she entered the cafeteria and found it nearly empty.
There were only a handful of people there. One was the lady who had given them their food when Rin and Xhez last came here, another was that fairy Xhez had met, and, to the back of the room, she saw *him*.
The non-human boy, Dylan, reading a book, alone.
Xhez blinked twice before walking over to Jessie, the lunch lady.
"Excuse me," Xhez said, trying to sound as normal as she could. "Could you give me some normal, average, human food?"
"... What?" Jessie asked, completely stunned, looking up at her. After an awkward pause, however, she made a surprised face. "OH! You're Rin's sister, ain't ya?" When she said that, Xhez nodded.
"Yes, I am."
"Ah, alright. Here you go, then."
And, very quickly, the lady slapped a few strange things onto a plate and handed it to her. The plate had been covered in tiny white specks with a few, small, but slightly larger, red, pebble-like items beside them. She hadn't seen anything like this, but she took the spoon and bowed to her.
"Thank you!"
With that, Xhez turned around and stood in front of the tables.
Right in front of her, Eve was sitting with her head in her arms, as though she was asleep.
"Hm?" Xhez got closer.
[Is she okay?] The sprite wondered as she leaned forward a little, to check on her. Then, the fairy raised her head a little and slowly half-opened her eyes.
"... Rin?" She asked, however, after shaking her head and blinking a bit, she promptly lowered her head again.
[Maybe she's sleepy,] Xhez wondered.
Shrugging, she left her alone and continued searching the room.
Once again, her eyes fell on the non-human at the back, Dylan. He looked bored, as though reading that book in his hands was just a way to keep his eyes occupied more than anything else. Despite the darkness Xhez felt coming from his spirit, she was curious enough to want to speak to him. She had felt a similar aura coming from the ghost she and Rin had spoken to before, and he turned out to be fine, so she felt she had reason to believe people could be okay in spite of that sort of thing.
[I suppose now would be a good time to investigate...] Xhez told herself. [I doubt he would attack me here, however, if I were to make him angry. There are a few people around us, after all.]
With that thought in her mind, she walked forward.
The boy looked up at her, narrowing his eyes briefly, and Xhez cleared her throat.
"Hello!" She tried to sound friendly.
"..." Dylan paused. He stared at her inquisitively for a second. Then, his skeptical look faded and he smiled, as his expression completely changed.
"Greetings."