{Later}

In the end, they put that trip to the springs on pause, as that message from Cara put a lot on Rin's mental plate.

"... Oh, so, could we visit Cradle, then?" Xhez asked as she and Rin laid down on the brunette's bed, in her room.

"I... don't know," Rin answered after a brief pause. "Maybe."

"I would love to see it," Xhez stated. "From what I have read, it seems majestic."

"Speaking of, it sounds like your reading's gotten better."

"Not just that," she quickly added with a slightly smug expression. "My writing as well," Xhez said. "I feel like I am understanding written language much better."

"Sounds great," Rin replied, forcing a smile. Unfortunately, it seemed like Xhez saw right through it.

"Rin? Is something wrong?"

At that, the adventurer sighed.

"No, no, just... Old things that won't stay in the past, I guess."

It wasn't that she had anything against her brother or her brother's memory, but she had done enough to make herself believe she'd properly moved on. Now, however, this latest bit of news was putting that to the test.

[I guess I can just see whatever they send me, once Cara writes them that letter. I'll...]

She'd been about to say, "I'll send it to mom after that", but she quickly decided against the notion. If Rin was having a wave of sadness pass over like this, she could guess all of her mother's recent mental progress would be outright erased.

[Uh, maybe I'll just keep this to myself... For now, anyway.]

At that moment, Rin remembered something and quickly got up, off of the bed.

"What time is it?" She wondered aloud before checking the clock on the wall. It was a little past 9. "Oh, okay, still got some time."

"For what?" Xhez asked.

"I'm gonna go do the, uh, thing, I usually do," Rin said with a wave of her hand, dismissively. "Can you cast your Illusion magic on me?"

"The white-haired version?" Xhez asked.

"Yep! That one."

"Right," Nodding, Xhez did just that as Rin was trying to get some clothes to wear.

[... It's gonna be hard to just set this aside, but I have to. I skipped out last week. If I skip again, those nobles might think I left town or something.]

And so, in a few minutes, Rin was leaving the Academy with a head of white locks and a slightly thicker body than what she actually had, walking down the street on her way to the train station.

All the while, she tried her hardest to push out the thoughts of her brother, and the memories they brought.

She could still vividly remember the day he first left to go do his adventuring. Looking back, she hadn't been able to tell at the moment, but he looked so scared. She could remember the first day he came back to pay them a visit after that, as well, and how much skinnier he'd looked than when he'd departed. And, of course, she could still remember what it had been like to hear the news of his accident.

[It's all in the past now,] Rin told herself. [You have stuff to do. Get your head in the game.]

Soon, she arrived at the train station and found that there were already two women there.

From here, all she could tell was that one had blonde hair, and the other was a smaller woman with hair that matched Rin's natural color. The blonde was wearing a boyish white suit while the other girl was wearing a black dress.

[Wait...] Rin squinted, as she heard her voice while she spoke excitedly to her friend. [Is that Gwen again?] She thought with a smile. She was genuinely rather fond of that girl, and the positive energy she seemed to carry. [Hold on,] RIn thought. [You don't know that. Hell, you don't know if they're there to meet you or not. Just walk up, greet them, and see how they react.]

With that in mind, Rin got closer, putting on a warm, kind expression as she approached the women on the bench.

But, as soon as they were close enough for Rin to see the details on their faces, she nearly tripped over and fell on her face.

[Wha... What!?] Rin thought, trying her hardest to hide the sudden anxiety running through her body as the two women drew their eyes up to meet hers.

"Hello," Rin waved at them, trying not to shake.

"Triss, hi!" Gwen said, waving far more eagerly. "This is her," she whispered not-so-subtly to the woman next to her.

The blonde then stood up, her heels clicking on the stone floor as she walked over to Rin.

It took every ounce of courage Rin had not to turn and sprint away.

"Hey," Elisa said, taking one of Rin's hands and planting a soft kiss on the back of it. "Triss, was it? It's a pleasure to meet you."

And Rin nearly fainted.

---

{Elisa}

{Earlier}

These events were starting to get to her.

She couldn't tell when it had changed. Whether it had been a result of her seeing more of the world on her missions, or if it was from having gotten to socialize a little with the other students, but today, as she sat in the midst of the two noble families involved in her marriage, it was harder to keep that fake smile on her face like she usually did.

Especially as the conversations going on around her made the reality of her engagement weigh heavily on her shoulders.

"Joint ownership of the Grand Railroad would be ideal, yes," Iris, Marvain's mother argued to her left. Beside her, to her right, Carliah nodded.

"On that, we agree, however, the definition of 'joint' needs to be worked out. I will not mince words. I understand that we stand to gain more from this arrangement than you do, however, that does not mean we will give away the entirety of our assets so easily."

"An understandable sentiment," Iris nodded. "I propose... Forty-five percent then."

"Forty," Carliah quickly countered. "Forty, and you have a deal."

"... Very well," Iris nodded, and Elisa hoped this meant she would be able to leave soon.

Unlike the usual family dinners Elisa partook in with these people, there were more than just two families here. In the distance, she could see a few other nobles sharing some laughs as the cold of the air seeped under Elisa's suit.

In particular, she spotted one girl who Elisa had wanted to speak with. Gwen was sitting just a couple of tables away, a wide grin on her face as she cackled at the jokes some of her friends told her.

Taking a sip from her wine, Elisa's eyes remained on her, until Maviain, who was sitting down next to her, squeezed her thigh.

"Riveting, is it not?" He asked, aiming a smile her way. "I daresay we'd have much more fun on our own than in here."

Although ordinarily, she'd go along with his suggestion, today, she just wasn't having it.

"Ah, sorry, but... I feel dreadfully sick," she told him. "If we do anything, I'm afraid I might ruin your wonderful clothes."

Thankfully, that seemed to gross Marvain out enough to where he immediately retreated.

[Can't use that excuse too often, though,] she thought. [But, for today, I definitely needed it.]

After a few more minutes of uninteresting negotiations, both families finally stood and began to leave the area. However, as they were in a public building this time, Elisa was allowed to go wherever she pleased now.

"Don't go causing trouble," Carliah told her. "Remember your image."

"I know," Elisa replied, and soon, she was left on her lonesome, with only the other families here to give her company.

And, she knew exactly who she'd be speaking to.

Confidently, with her mood taking a quick turn for the better, she walked over to Gwen's table and greeted her, and her friends.

"Good evening," she said. "May I?"

Of course, no one there was about to deny her request to join.

From there, Elisa allowed herself to relax. She didn't speak up much at all, settling mostly for just hearing Gwen interact with the others. Her bubbly nature allowed for some entertaining conversation, at least.

Slowly, though, one guest left after another, and soon, it was just Gwen and Elisa at this table.

And, that was when Elisa decided it was time to speak on the reason she'd really come here.

"So, Gwen, that woman you'd met..." Elisa smirked a little. "Could you tell me more about her?"

"Sure! Eep-" Gwen looked around, quieting down as there were still some others in the room. "But... I'd say, you should probably just meet her yourself."

[Way ahead of you on that one,] Elisa remarked in her thoughts.

"Such a chance is hard to come by, surely."

"Not really," Gwen shrugged. "Actually, why don't you come with me tonight? To meet her, I mean."

That was a suggestion Elisa hadn't expected.

"What?"

"Yeah," Gwen nodded. "By the Divine, I've been feeling so tired lately, I'm going to go see if she's around tonight. Though, a friend told me she wasn't there last Friday, but, meh. I'll go check, just in case."

"... I see," Elisa muttered, looking away.

"How about it?" Gwen asked. "It'll be fun!"

"..." And, at that, Elisa grinned. "Maybe."