"Is that so?" Maria asked as she and Rin sat across from each other.

"Yeah," Rin replied. "We'll be leaving tonight."

Several days had passed since Rin had reported the events of that initiation party to Cara. Her teacher had then told the others about what happened and informed the Mages Guild as well of the Scorned's presence in Libera, though she kept Rin's involvement in the discovery of that information under wraps.

After Rin had told Xhez about heading out, the sprite told Rin to let her rest for a few days in a row, so that she could have the energy to embark on the long journey ahead.

It was currently the 10th of December, with the winter break in full swing. Though Rin knew that she needed to make some money before the next semester started, she wanted to get this done first, as this was the best chance she and Xhez would have for it.

She also figured she owed her friend this much, given how much she'd helped her over these last few months.

"I see..." Maria replied, looking away. Any mention of Xhez tended to make the woman's face turn eerie, but she had continued to be accepting of her presence, thankfully. "Will she be coming back?"

That question made a small pain stab at Rin's heart.

"Uh... That's up to her," Rin responded quietly. It's not like I'm her owner or anything. If she wants to stay, then... she will."

"Is that what you want?"

Rin didn't bother hiding it.

"No," she stated. "I'd like it if she stayed with me."

"You have to acknowledge that being with you does mean being in danger as well, for her."

"I know. I think I've done a decent job of taking care of her so far, though. Not to mention how Xhez can learn spellsigns so easily. I'm sure she'll be the one taking care of me in a little while."

"Hmph. Be that as it may if she does end up deciding to remain by your side, just don't let your guard down. We're going to be diving into some interesting stuff once you come back. I'd rather not lose my apprentice before that."

"What do you mean?" Rin asked, surprised.

"More advanced techniques," Maria declared with a smile. "Your body's developing nicely. You're strong enough to learn more complicated things. We'll get to work on that as soon as you're back from this trip. How does that sound?"

"I'm looking forward to it!"

"As am I."

Rin said goodbye to her then and left the Meditation Center.

She had a few people she'd wanted to see before leaving. Maria was one of them, and the next would be meeting Rin at a hotel downtown in about an hour.

And so, Rin went back to her room and got ready, putting on some black leggings and a white shirt.

Part of her wanted to dress up a little before seeing Elisa, but after what happened at the party, Rin didn't want to attract too much attention to herself. So, she tried to wear the most basic outfits possible.

She doubted that would diminish the lust that woman felt for her, anyway. The desire to put on a more elegant attire was more so just Rin wanting to impress her.

Even if she knew their situation couldn't evolve past where it was right now.

After a short while, Rin was out and walking through Libera's streets.

Admittedly, the existence of the Scorned in the city made Rin's eyes remain on those around her for longer than they would otherwise. She couldn't help but worry that anyone around her could be one of those psychos.

It made Elisa's comforting embrace all the more appealing, right now.

While she stood outside the colorful hotel, her mind began to wander. Surprisingly, she began thinking about the woman who'd fought by her side a few days ago.

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[I wonder what Sara's gonna do over the break,] she thought. [Not like she needs to train that hard, honestly. She's really good at fighting already.]

Still, she could imagine that a woman like that would probably spend most of her time either working out or in the Meditation Center with Maria regardless.

Rin was half-jealous. She liked those training sessions, where the two of them got to practice at the same time. She hoped more times like that would come around soon.

"Agh!"

Rin gasped.

A pair of warm, strong arms snaked around her waist from behind.

"I'm sorry~" Elisa whispered into her ear. "Did I surprise you?"

Calming herself down, Rin turned around where she stood and wrapped her own arms around Elisa's back.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," Elisa said before she pressed a kiss to Rin's lips. A kiss that was far too soft and lingered for far too long for two fuck buddies like this.

"Uh, no. I just got here a little while ago," Rin murmured. She couldn't hide the faint blush on her cheeks. Her meek reaction earned a giggle from the flame-haired woman.

"Ah, good then. Haven't seen you for a few days now. How about we get a room and catch up?"

"... Sure."

What followed after that was what had quickly become "the usual" whenever these two met nowadays.

"Oh fuck."

Rin let out a quiet moan as Elisa fingered her from behind.

"Heh, come on. Let me hear you," Elisa said, her lips grazing against Rin's right ear, warming it up. "No one else is here. Nothing to be ashamed of."

With her other hand squeezing and groping her breasts, Rin kept her eyes closed. Every individual sensation she was feeling right now felt like it was overwhelming her. Most of all, the slow push and pull of the two fingers Elisa had inserted into her.

[Why the fuck is she going so slow? Ah!]

"You really missed me, didn't you?"

Elisa pushed aside Rin's hair and kissed the back of her neck. At the same time, her left hand pinched one of Rin's nipples gently.

It was all just a little too... Sensual.

Though, maybe Rin was imagining it.

"Can you..."

"Yes?" Elisa asked.

"Can you go faster?"

Elisa giggled.

"Maybe if you beg me to," Elisa answered and Rin could hear the smile on her face from how she sounded.

"You're cruel."

"And you love that."

Swallowing, Rin took a deep breath and rephrased her question.

"Please, could you...?"

"Could I what?"

"... Could you fuck me harder?"

"It would be my pleasure. Yours too, I guess."

Instantly, Elisa finally picked up the pace. Rin was so wet her hand slipped in and out easily. Just as she got going, though, Elisa did what she had purposefully not been doing since she started.

She began hitting Rin's g-spot.

"Ohh fuck, oh fuck," Rin moaned out.

Wordlessly, Elisa kept going, increasing her speed with every dozen seconds that passed.

That was one of the advantages of having sex with an adventurer, Rin realized. Her stamina was no joke.

The way she kept that hand moving, someone else might have gotten sore by this point.

"You're getting close, aren't you?" Elisa asked.

They had barely even started and yet, she was right on the money.

Rin nodded and Elisa went even faster.

Elisa pulled Rin back by her hair until her body was resting on top of Elisa's. Putting her chin on Rin's right shoulder, her chest pressed into Rin's back as she brought her other hand down to work on Rin's clit.

"That's good. Go ahead and cum. We've got plenty of rounds to go."

As though happy to hear that she had permission, Rin did just that. A sharp, quick orgasm spread through her, making her abs clench up.

"A-Agh..."

Rin took deep, steady breaths as Elisa slowed down, but the woman didn't pull her hands away from Rin until she was certain the pleasure had passed.

"You were pretty pent up, huh?"

"Kinda," Rin replied.

[... I might turn into a sex addict if we keep this up.]

The two of them laid down on the bed and Elisa cradled her. Again, the gesture seemed much more affectionate than Rin felt was appropriate for the situation.

Finally, now that there was a break in the action, Rin felt like it was appropriate to bring this up.

"... I won't be in the city for a few days. Maybe a week. Or more, even."

"Why's that?" Elisa asked. "Heading up to Cradle?"

"No," Rin responded, without looking at the woman behind her. "I'm taking Xhez to see her parents. It's, ehm, been a while."

"Oh." Elisa sounded surprised. "How has Xhez been doing lately?"

"Mostly sleeping. She said that's a good thing, though. Helps her stay 'charged'."

"Is that so?"

Elisa wrapped her hands around Rin's body then.

"I'm jealous."

"Why?"

"She's still living in that room with you, right?"

"Yeah."

"She gets to stay so close to you, and all she does is sleep. Feels like a waste."

Rin sighed.

[... If Elisa was still at the academy... It would probably be hard to walk after a while, from fucking so much.]

And, yet, Rin wasn't too sad about how things were right now. If they couldn't be together, it was probably best to keep this distance between them.

"Uh, how are things on your end?" Rin asked.

"Same as always. Same as always..."

She didn't elaborate on that.

Naturally, the two of them kept going until the night came. Once it did, they put their clothes back on, set a date two weeks from now, when Rin thought she'd be back, and went their separate ways.

Just like that.

Rin kept her head low the entire way back to the academy. She could almost feel Elisa's hands still on her.

[Whatever. Just enjoy it for what it is.]

On that note, Rin pushed that matter, and her complicated feelings, outside of her mind.

---

The next morning, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon, Rin woke Xhez up.

"Is it time?" Xhez asked with a smile, once she was out of her bag, as she cast that illusion spell onto herself.

"Yeah," Rin replied with a nod. "It's time. Let's go."

And just like that, the two of them got ready and walked out of the academy together.

Rin didn't know what would be the result of this trip, but as long as it made Xhez happy, she felt she didn't mind.

Even if she did carry a few selfish hopes in her heart.