[Whoa,] Rin thought, as she and Eve arrived at the restaurant the fairy had picked out. [This is pretty fancy. Do I even have the money to buy anything here?]
Luxurious furniture, gold-colored decorative pieces, sleek black wooden tables, and bulky chandeliers were spread out all throughout the "bar" they'd arrived at. There was even slow, sensual music playing from speakers Rin couldn't see.
Many of the people here were strangers but, among them, Rin could see a few familiar faces. Varyn, Lisa, Dylan, and even Sara were all there.
Elisa, however, was not, which made Rin feel slightly disappointed.
Even now, the thought of just seeing her was enough to make Rin's heart race. After the talk the two of them had on that mountain, Rin wondered what was going to happen with the crush she'd held for three years now. She wanted to hope for the best, but, before she could get her hopes too high up, she and that blonde noblewoman needed to talk.
Looking around, Rin glanced at her classmates. Varyn, the beastborn boy with a pair of wolf ears on his head, was dressed in a white t-shirt and some jeans, which made him look slightly out of place. On the opposite side of that spectrum, Dylan and Lisa looked like they were going to a ball, as the man was wearing a white suit and Lisa wore a bright green dress, with her hair tied up into a ponytail and a lot more make up on her than she normally had on.
The person who really made Rin pause was Sara, though.
[... Wow,] Rin thought, blinking twice as her eyes fell on her classmate.
She wore a white, flared skirt and a low-cut, sleeveless top of the same color, showing off her thin, toned arms. With her long, silky black hair falling over her shoulders and the bored, somewhat lonely look on her face, she looked like an unapproachable model.
When Rin first met this woman, she had been slightly scared of her. Now, however, that fear was giving way to something else. Curiosity.
Tearing her eyes off her, Rin leaned toward Eve, who was hovering in the air beside her.
"Uh... Am I gonna have to sell an organ just to buy some wine here?" Rin asked Eve quietly as the two of them walked toward the counter at the back.
"Nah," Eve replied, laughing, hovering in the air. The fairy flew from one side of the room to another. "This place isn't actually as expensive as it looks. Though, your wallet is absolutely going to take a hit, but, it's not that bad."
"Well, that's a relief... It looks great here, though. How did you find this place?"
"I..." Eve looked away, "I was kinda planning on taking someone here."
"Planning? Did you change your mind?"
"Yeah," Eve replied. "Still, it made a hell of an impression on me. Come on, let's say hi to people."
"Sure."
The two of them made their way to where Lisa, Varyn, and Dylan were seated. Their classmates glanced up at them. Varyn appeared indifferent, but Lisa and Dylan both smiled politely.
"Hey!" Lisa greeted them. "Glad you could make it."
"I'm literally the one who invited everyone, of course I was gonna be here," Eve replied, giggling. "Did you guys order yet?"
"The food doesn't seem too bad, so we ordered some appetizers," Dylan stated. "Will you be having dinner as well, or are you just looking for some alcohol?"
"Yeah, I'm not gonna eat anything," Rin said, nodding.
"I might... Do you recommend anything?" Eve asked, looking at Lisa.
The healer grinned as she opened up the menu in front of her.
"Yeah, you could get..."
As she began listing off some options, Rin turned toward Sara, who was sitting on her own.
"Be right back," she said to the others before she walked toward her.
It looked as though Sara had her head completely in the clouds. She stared down at an empty plate in front of her as Rin approached. When the other student finally saw Rin, her eyes widened just a little and she straightened up.
"Hi," Rin raised a hand. "Mind if I sit down?"
"..." Sara simply shook her head, remaining silent, and Rin sat in front of her.
Sara appeared quite stiff, almost frozen as her eyes tracked Rin's movements.
"Did you eat already?" Rin asked.
"..." Sara's lips parted but, for a couple of seconds, no words came out. Then, she simply responded, "I ordered."
"Ah, what did you get?"
"The... The Cardanian pizza," Sara elaborated.
"Oh, why did you pick that out?"
"... Because it is cheap," Sara responded quietly.
Rin blinked. Then, suddenly, Rin started laughing quite hard. Sara raised a brow at her.
"Is that strange?"
"No, no, no," Rin responded, smiling at her. "Something about how you said that was just... funny to me. Sorry."
"..." Sara looked down at her menu again. "I see."
Moments later, a man approached the table carrying some food that smelled absolutely delicious. Rin had never seen a pizza before, though she knew of it as a supposed Cardanian delicacy. As always, however, she took anything designated as "Cardanian" with a grain of salt, since the overwhelming majority of people had never been there before. It was an easy thing to lie about.
As Sara accepted the food and picked up some cutlery with her elegant, yet well-trained, hands, Rin asked:
"So, how did your mission go?"
"It went well..." Sara replied as she cut a piece off of her meal.
"Ah... okay, good," Rin said, nodding as she looked toward the entrance to the bar. Though, calling this place a "bar" felt like doing it a disservice. It looked more like a high-class restaurant that just so happened to specialize in alcoholic drinks.
[... Still not here, huh?]
"... go?"
"Huh?" Rin turned back toward Sara. "S-Sorry, I didn't catch that."
Sara stopped her hand, just before the chunk of pizza at the end of her fork could reach her thin lips.
"How did yours go?" She asked again.
"Oh! Oh, uh, it went well too," Rin responded, chuckling a little awkwardly. "I... I saw some monsters I'd never seen before."
"... Is that so?" Sara replied after swallowing the bit of pizza she'd taken. Then, just as quietly, she added, "I am glad."
Rin couldn't help but smile upon hearing that.
[Sara does have a kind side to her, huh? But... I wonder what happened to make her this reserved. Well, then again, maybe nothing happened. Could just be how she is.]
At that moment, the front door to the bar opened.
Rin turned and froze as she saw who just came in.
Elisa strutted into the building. Her eyes scanned around the room until she saw Rin, and then, with a smirk, she gestured at an empty table to the right.
"Uh, sorry," Rin said to Sara, "I need to go, ehm, check on something... But, we should train together sometime," she offered.
"... Sure."
On that note, in more of a hurry than she should have been, Rin got up and walked toward Elisa, who sat down already. Calming her heart, Rin sat down in front of her, and Elisa crossed her legs.
"So," Elisa said first, "we... we have a bit to talk about, huh?"