Arin and Tessa finally exited the Mission Building, with Arin still holding the square-shaped tag the woman had given him.
Arin kept stealing glances at her as she stared around, clearly searching for something. 'I bet she's taking this mission just to take her mind off what I showed her not too long ago.'
And he was right. The fact that Alex had used her parents and others—including children—for some kind of ritual was heart-wrenching. So, she needed to distract herself to avoid rushing to wherever Alex was and doing something irrational.
Tessa suddenly turned to look at Arin before speaking. "We'll have to take a carriage for this mission."
She paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Thankfully, the Academy provides carriages for missions like this."
"I see..." Arin muttered.
With that, she began walking towards a certain part of the Academy, with Arin following behind her, his hands in his pockets.
She was walking fast, so Arin had to increase his pace. Seconds later, without turning back, she asked, "What's your name? I think I've seen you in class before."
Arin raised a brow before replying, "Arin... Arin Vale."
Immediately, Tessa stopped abruptly, making Arin squint his eyes slightly.
'Arin...' Tessa thought. 'He's among those who use the Water Element in my class.'
She turned back to look at him. That's when she noticed his hands were in his pockets.
'Chaos also puts his hands in his pockets,' Tessa thought. 'Though I've seen some other boys do the same, it's rare.'
Moreover, since Arin could use the Water Element—the same Element that Chaos had—he became a suspect. Now, his hands were in his pockets, just like Chaos always did.
Tessa was lost in thought for a few seconds, so much so that she didn't even realize Arin was calling her.
'No...' she thought. 'I won't ask him about it. I'll just watch him for a while. It might just be a coincidence.'
"Tessa," Arin called out again, and this time, she heard.
"Oh, uh... sorry."
She was flustered by the way she suddenly heard her name, but quickly composed herself.
"Sorry, I was just lost for a few seconds," she said. "Let's continue; we're almost there."
She was right. In a few minutes, they arrived at an open space where many carriages were lined up. Two men were cleaning some of the carriages.
As soon as they noticed Arin and Tessa, one of the men walked towards them. He had short black hair, and his clothes weren't too clean—probably because of cleaning the carriages.
Tessa stretched out her hand, collecting the tag from Arin before speaking to the man. "Good day, sir. We have a mission to complete, and we'll need a carriage for it."
The man didn't say anything. Instead, he took the tag from Tessa and read the details of the mission. A few seconds later, he nodded and walked towards one of the carriages.
Arin noticed the man wasn't saying anything, but he didn't dwell on it and simply watched as the man untied one of the carriages.
The mission Arin had accepted was from one of the nearby villages. Apparently, bandits had been causing trouble for a while. After studying the usual time the bandits came, the villagers requested Mages from the Academy to take care of the issue on that particular day... and that day was today.
Arin noticed that the carriages in this open field were different from the ones they used for expeditions. These were smaller, and he was sure they weren't the levitating type, especially after seeing the horses in another corner of the open space.
After untying one of the carriages, the man walked towards Tessa. He looked at Arin, then back at Tessa, before speaking, "I'll be the one taking the both of you there. I'll wait until the mission is over and then bring you both back."
That was how it worked. Second-year students could take the carriages by themselves, but for first-year students taking missions that required leaving the Academy, there were men like him who would escort them to and from the location.
"Okay," Tessa said. "We're ready to leave now."
Arin nodded in agreement. 'I don't have any weapon now because my sword broke after the fight with Alex, but that doesn't matter right now.'
Even if the sword hadn't broken, he still wouldn't have used it for the mission, as there was a chance Tessa would recognize it. Nevertheless, he could still fight without a sword.
'This mission will help me in more ways than one,' Arin thought.
The man went to bring one of the horses and tied its harness to the carriage. After speaking with his colleague, he returned to the carriage.
"Alright, get in," the man said.
Arin and Tessa climbed into the carriage, and after giving the horse a command, the man guided them toward the Academy gate.
Arin rested his elbow on the small opening like a window and rested his cheek on his palm, while Tessa sat cross-legged with her arms folded.
They sat in silence for a few seconds until the carriage finally exited the Academy, at which point Tessa decided to speak.
"So, you claim to be at the Master Mage Rank, huh?"
Without looking at her, Arin replied, "I never said that."
"Oh," Tessa whispered. "I thought that was what the lady said."
"Yes," Arin said. "That was what she said, not what I said."
Arin was getting slightly annoyed by this exchange, but the silence was just as disturbing.
Tessa stared at him again before speaking, "Okay then, I'll just have to see what you can do when we get there."
Arin simply nodded in response without looking at her. He didn't know why, but he just wanted to avoid eye contact with her at all costs.
But what Arin didn't know was that Tessa had realized this.
'Short replies, hands always in pockets, indifferent expression, and distant gaze...' Tessa thought. 'Am I overthinking things, or does he really have similarities to... Chaos?'