Trisha walked to the meet spot with the same serious expression on her face.
It was, as she expected, at the very Inn that she and her classmates lodged in when they first came to the Adventurers City. Staring at the luxurious building, and then returning her gaze to the piece of paper in her hand, she confirmed the address despite having no need to.
Upon walking into the building, all eyes fell on her, but she ignored all of them and went to the flight of stairs that stood opposite her.
In no time at all, she was at the very top.
Her lips were tightly knit together. Her thoughts were silent. With every step she took, the only sound she heard were the crunching ones her boots made.
Until, finally… Trisha arrived at the entrance.
"I'm coming in." She said with a normal voice before twisting the knob open and entering inside the large room.
Silence greeted her as she stepped in, looking at the ten beds that were lined up in a straight row. Suddenly, the place seemed much larger than it actually was.
Maybe it was because, unlike before, she wasn't here with her friends. Three out of the ten in this room were now dead, and the remaining were somehow fractured.
One was in an eternal sleep. One went on an unknown journey. Trisha was in a different city, with the rest being in the Capital.
She stood there for a moment, taking all of it in.
Then—
~SWOOSH!~
Instantly summoning her blade and twisting her body so she could slash whatever presence she felt behind her, Trisha moved with grace.
The sharp sword nearly scraped the cheek of the stationary boy before she stopped, still having a cautious look on her face as she looked at him.
"What do you want… " With narrowed eyes, her words seemed dipped in bitterness. "... Rey?"
The boy who she now faced was taller than she was, with dark hair that swayed ever so gently. He had an eyepatch covering his left eye, and even with his sweatshirt and joggers giving him a casual appearance, he still had a certain presence around him.
It was a presence Trisha couldn't ignore.
"It's been a while. You don't look surprised at all…" Rey said with a small grin. "Guess my name gave it off, huh?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Yeah. It's an even dumber pseudonym than Ralyks."
After she said this, she noticed Rey's expression remained he same. There was something awfully mechanical about how he remained stoic. He never blinked, and his face looked so calm.
Sure, she was also putting up a calm front, but it seemed his facade was a lot more effective than hers.
'Or maybe this is just how he is, and he was just fooling us with those expressions in the past.' She told herself, shaking her head slightly.
"Is this a clone of yours?"
"Hm? No. What makes you think that?" As Rey said this, Trisha walked past him and went straight to the door.
"Wait. I wanted us to have a talk… if that's fine with you."
Rey's words lacked desperation or pure emotion. Trisha could tell the difference between the tone he used to have from now.
Right now he seemed more composed. He never stuttered, and even his display of hesitation seemed more like an attempt to articulate himself accurately, rather than evidence of nervousness.
Where did this new version of Rey stem from? Confidence? Or was it something else? Trisha wasn't sure, so she paused and looked at him.
For what would be almost a minute she just looked at him, building up the tense atmosphere in the air. During this period, Trisha looked into his eye.
'Why is he using an eyepatch? Did he suffer permanent damage? How come he has gotten so tall? Why does he seem so composed and calm? His presence too… it's different.'
Even with all his differences she could still tell of his identity, and while she had several unanswered questions, she couldn't ask them.
Instead, as she opened her lips and a sigh proceeded from them, she turned away and kept walking away from him.
"Trisha—"
"Come with me." Her voice shot out as she left the room, leaving the door open.
Rey's expression changed, albeit slightly, into that of relief. However, Trisha was not present to see it, neither did she listen to the soft whisper he gave under his breath.
"Thanks…"
**************
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})'She's mad at me, isn't she?'
That was Rey's thought as he trailed behind the beauty that walked ahead. He felt guilt, mixed with a bunch of other emotions, but he had to shove all of them down for his safety and sanity.
Rather than dwell on that, he watched Trisha move with a certain rhythm that was hard not to notice.
As Rey stared at her back, he found his eyes going lower and lower, until…
~Master, what are you looking at?~
'Ah!'
His gaze instantly shifted right back up, especially since Trisha turned her head slightly to look at him. He tried his best to straighten up and even smile, but once their eyes met, she somehow seemed to enter a worse mood.
She scowled and began to walk even faster.
Of course, closing the distance between him and her was no problem for Rey, so he did just that.
"So… where are we going exactly?" He asked.
"...."
"You didn't even look surprised to see me. I thought you'd be more stunned that I finally woke up. Everyone else was stunned by—"
"Justin told me about it when I called him the other day." The moment Rey heard this, he narrowed his gaze and sighed.
'That Justin… I guess he just can't help spilling stuff.'
"Also, Grandmaster Conrad informed me that there was a chance you'd come get me for the walk around the Capital and the Gala this night and then drop me off later." Trisha added, her gaze still focused in front of her.
"Eh? Really? He never told me that, though."
"He said your servant told him. Ring any bells…?" She glanced slightly at him, which made Rey's thoughts go to a single person.
'Ater? Was he the one who… ah, I see now. Well, I suppose it's a good idea to have five Otherworlders instead of four in the Capital.'
"Yeah, I think I get it now."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"It seems you weren't informed of this before. Doesn't feel very good to have things kept from you, does it?"
Rey felt the burn instantly, and he decided to act on it.
"Trisha, about that—"
"We're here." She interrupted him, finally stopping in front of a building—one that stood right behind the main Adventurers Guild structure.
This annex was the Training Center, and also where Adventurer Exams were taken. Trisha stared at the entrance for a fair bit before proceeding inside, leaving Rey puzzled.
'What are we doing here?' He wished he could read her mind, but he had no idea what was going on in her head.
~Master, who is this woman? Why is she bringing you here?~
Rey ignored Emil and followed Trisha's lead. He watched as she picked a sword from the armory, and then proceeded further down the passageway.
He followed silently.
Finally, after walking for a few seconds in silence, Rey and Trisha finally arrived at a wide expanse—a place that he recognized too well.
'This is where Adonis took his Heroic Rank Exam!' Once again, he had to wonder why they were here.
"Catch."
As Rey heard this, he saw Trisha fling a blade towards him, and he caught it with his quick reflexes.
"What is… why are you giving me a sword?"
"Your body is fast, but your mind is slow, huh?" Trisha said, creating some distance between the both of them as she pointed her own weapon at him.
"Take your stance, Rey." She bent slightly and adjusted her posture until it became a well-balanced battle stance.
'Hold on… is this what I think it is?'
Rey's suspicions were correct, and Trisha's determined gaze showed that she wasn't messing around here.
"Let's have a match."
