It had taken a while for Rin to regain her composure after hearing that she'd had sex with Elisa's future mother-in-law, but soon she managed it. As Marvain and Iris spoke to Elisa, Rin pretty much just stood there, waiting for the conversation to finish so that she and Elisa could go and take a look around, as the woman had said they would. Marvain, however, apparently had a different plan.

"My love," he said, taking one of Elisa's hands. "I do feel so tired after my trip here, could we please, take a moment together just to rest?" He asked with what Rin knew many people would call a charming smile. Elisa, however, almost looked disgusted.

However, the tall woman answered:

"Yes. Right now?"

"Please," Marvain nodded. "We can likely find one or two good rooms."

At that, Elisa turned to Rin.

"It looks like... my fiance is in need of me," she spoke with a very frigid voice. "Remember what I said. If you feel like leaving at any point, just talk to the driver outside. He'll take you back to the Academy."

The way she said that it was like she was trying to make it clear to Rin that she was going to be away for a long while.

"Uh, okay," Rin nodded.

And, in a flash, Marvain all but dragged Elisa away.

[Hm. She did not look too happy about that.]

As Rin turned toward Iris, however, she caught the woman looking down at her chest. As Rin's eyes fell on her, she tried to pretend she hadn't been doing that, and Rin held back a smirk.

[... Well, good to know she doesn't just like me when I'm Triss.]

"So," Rin crossed her arms, making a point out of pushing her boobs out a little. "I'm sorry if this is something I should know, but I'm new to the city, uhm, what do you do?"

"Not much. These days, anyway," Iris replied, looking away. Her eyes scanned the party as she talked. "I used to manage a bank in Cradle, but upon certain things happening I've retired a little early. And you?" She asked.

"I'm training to be an adventurer," Rin smiled. "I met Elisa at the Academy, actually."

At that, Rin saw just the slightest hint of disdain appear in Iris's eyes. It reminded her of when she showed Rin her grandfather's armor, during their last evening together. However, she quickly let that expression fade and then smiled politely before she said:

"How interesting. Well, Rin, it has been a pleasure, but..." She looked down at her watch. Rin did the same, trying to read the time from here. It looked like it was just a little past 9. "There's a friend I wish to meet, and I do not know if she's here or not, so, I must take my leave."

"Oh, no worries," Rin replied, smiling back at her. "Goodbye. A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

Just like that, almost in a hurry, Iris walked away. Rin was left alone then, her hands held together as she looked around.

[Elisa's gone,] she thought. [Iris just went away. I don't know anyone else here, so... I don't really have anything to do anymore.]

Then, she tilted her head.

[... As myself,] she added. [I don't have anything to do as myself anymore. But, what if...?]

Then, she exited the building.

Remembering what Elisa had said, she quickly located the driver and entered the car, making the man flinch as she did.

"Hey," Rin told him, "could you take me back to the Academy? I suddenly feel tired."

And so, the man did just that.

Rin tried her absolute hardest to memorize the path back as he did. The car moved slowly enough to where Rin was able to make a mental note of every turn. It helped that there were parts of the city on this path that Rin had already explored. When she got back to the Academy, she let the driver know she wouldn't be coming back, and he drove off.

Rin jogged inside the building then.

She didn't see anyone but the secretary, who gave her a weird look as Rin went up the nearby stairs and made a beeline for her room. Here, she quickly tapped Xhez's bag and stirred the sprite awake.

"Hm? Rin?" She heard from inside the bag.

Rin tried to calm down, smiling down at Xhez.

"Hey, sleep well?" She asked.

"Ah," she yawned. "Yes. How are you?" Xhez asked.

"Uh, good, good," Rin nodded. "Hey... Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course," Xhez quickly replied. "What do you need?"

---

[Okay... It was this way, right?] Rin thought as she moved through Libera's streets, now with smooth white hair flowing down her back. Additionally, she was wearing the same dress as before, but she'd had Xhez change the color of her dress to white as well. Now, she almost looked like a ghost, but she looked different, which was all that actually mattered.

In the distance, she heard loud music playing, and people talking to each other. Gasping a bit, her heels tapped quickly against the ground as she hurried to see if she had found the building. Indeed, she had.

[Yes!] Rin thought, smiling to herself. [Now, let's see what happens.]

She almost felt like a different person when she was wearing this disguise. More confident, more cunning. There was a guard at the front that Rin saw giving everyone a look up and down. She hadn't noticed him before, but she guessed that was the person who was supposed to be making sure everyone was actually meant to be there, but he looked at her, gazed at her for just a few seconds and continued letting his eyes roam on everyone else. That only made the ego boost better.

When she walked in through the front door, the look she gave everything was that of a predator stalking its prey.

[Hello, everyone,] she greeted them in her mind. [Are there any lonely girls in need of some stress relief? I am willing to serve.]

She looked around, eagerly, trying to scout the place out. There were, of course, nobles all over the room, all drinking, dancing, chatting, or doing all three at the same time. This time, Rin wasn't going to take it easy. She had to see if she could squeeze out some money from this. And, if she could, then it was a good sign for the future.

Before she could find any prospect, however, she ran into someone.

Iris, who had been walking aimlessly from one room to another, nearly spotted her. Rin, however, ducked out of the way and hid before she could.

The reason was simple. If the two of them met up here she knew how it was going to end, and, as fun as it would be, she wasn't trying to have some casual sex tonight. She was on a mission. So, she waited for Iris to leave the area before she continued her search. Unknowingly, she'd ended up next to a thin, cramped set of stairs.

And, from this set of stairs, she heard a sniffle.

She turned toward the sound and found a woman, wearing a red dress with short black hair, sitting on the steps, crying.

[Hm?]

Out of reflex, genuinely concerned, Rin put a hand on her shoulder.

"Uh, are you alright?" She asked, her voice momentarily returning to her normal one.

The girl looked up at her and sniffled again.

"M-My apologies," she quickly stated. "I... You do not have to be concerned for me. I am..."

However, before she could even finish that statement, she sniffled again and Rin shook her head.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It is nothing, just... something silly. I will be okay, I promise."

"Well," Rin smiled at her, "if it's something silly, then you can just tell me, right? Get it off your chest."

At that, the girl looked up at her, with a pair of searching, intrigued eyes.

"I... I was dumped."

"Oh," Rin said. "Sorry to hear that."

"It is okay," she replied. "I just... Ugh! I came here with my boyfriend, because, you know, this is a Rose Party, and I thought it would be romantic and he told me he loved me before and I told him I loved him so I thought it would be cool if we saw this sort of thing together but when we met up he got here with some other girl and he went up to me and told me that he wasn't feeling it and I was like, 'but why?' And he was like, 'I don't know', and before I knew it he was leaving me there for that other skank, and I wanted to go back home but I can't because he was supposed to be my ride back and now, all I can do is walk but the streets are so scary at this time and I don't want to, but I have to, and, I don't know what to do!"

She stated, all as Rin listened, with her eyebrows raised. She blinked.

"Wow. That's rough."

"Ugh," the girl let out a sigh. "I'm sorry to unload on you like this, it's just..."

"No, don't worry," Rin smiled at her. "It's healthy. You'll be feeling better in no time, promise."

[Now,] she thought. [Back to the mission.]

However, as she looked away, the girl continued.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Triss," Rin replied absent-mindedly as she looked back out into the room.

"Nice to meet you. Uh, I'm Gwen." The girl reached up and Rin shook her hand. "Anyway, yeah. I swear, I almost just wanna fuck one of his friends or something to show him what he's losing out on!" She stated with malice lacing every syllable, and Rin stopped.

"..." Rin smirked a little, turning her eyes back down on Gwen. "Hey, Gwen."

"Yeah?"

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. But, you know what would really make you feel better? Trying something you've never done before," Rin stated.

"Like what?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Hm... Well, have you ever been with a woman?"

"W-With a woman?" Gwen asked, pulling back, her eyes wide. "What?"

"Yeah," Rin smiled, as she sat down next to her. "Have you?"

"That's unnatural," Gwen quickly replied. "I... I've been curious a couple of times, but I could never..."

"Unnatural? What's unnatural about two girls making each other feel better? I think that's as normal as breathing itself."

"... Wait," Gwen raised a brow at her. "So, you've...?"

"I have," Rin stated, and Gwen looked up at her, scandalized. "Plenty of times, actually. And, if you want, I could show you a little glimpse into what it's like."

Gwen looked back up at her, hesitant.

"I don't know," she said in a low voice. "You, this sort of caught me by surprise," she laughed awkwardly. "I..."

"If you don't want to," Rin added, "feel free to reject me. I'm only giving you an offer. I'm not trying to force you into anything. So, yeah, just think about it."

Hearing that, Gwen nodded. The two of them remained in silence for a little bit, as Rin looked out into the room. Through the corner of her eyes, she could see the woman checking her out, however.

[Hm... Maybe I came on too strongly,] she thought. [But, this is as good an opportunity as any I'll get tonight.]

"Uhm... What would we do?" She heard Gwen ask, and she held back a smile as she turned toward her.

"Nothing much," Rin stated. "We would seek some privacy, go into a room, lock ourselves in, and just... explore for a bit," she explained. "If you change your mind halfway through, we both walk out and it'll be like we never even met."

"I-I see..." She nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.

Again, Rin could tell she was, at least, considering it.

Now, however, came the hard part.

"But, if we are going to do it," Rin said, "I would need some sort of payment."

"What?" Gwen tilted her head. "You want me to pay you!?"

She asked that at an incredibly loud volume and Rin nearly ran out of the building when she saw a couple of heads turn their way. Still, she remained calm and said:

"Yes," she nodded.

"Why?" Gwen asked, half-indignant.

"Because," Rin took a deep breath, forcing her nerves to ease up. "I'm a professional."

When she heard that, Gwen looked confused. However, two seconds passed, and she put two and two together.

"You're... You're a wh-"

Rin put her hand over the girl's mouth.

"Correct," she stated with a smile. "A very good one, actually," Rin said, pulling her hand off the girl's face. She looked stunned. "In fact," Rin kept going. "I've been working for years at this. I started in Cradle," she explained, making up a story. "I've done this many times, Gwen. I've done this for people who have more money than you've probably ever seen. It's normal," she shrugged. "Sometimes, people just need some relaxation. Be it because they're depressed, or they're getting over a break-up, or they just need to spice up their daily routine. In those cases, you would call me," she winked. "And I would serve. And I still do, especially when cute, down-on-their-luck girls like you need someone. So, to that end, I can make all of your problems go away for about an hour. All I need is a little bit of gold for it, and trust me," she said, "I'll make you forget all about that asshole."

Gwen listened to all of this with parted lips and a shocked look on her face. When Rin finished, she looked down, at her own hands.

She took a deep breath, and Rin waited.

Obviously, she'd made that whole Cradle story up, but all that mattered was the confidence with which she spoke. She thought she did a good job, but now, all she could do was wait to hear Gwen's reaction.

[I gave it the best shot I could,] Rin thought. [If I have to run out of here and sprint back to the Academy, at least I'll know I tried.]

After a couple of seconds, Gwen looked up at her.

"Okay," Gwen said. "B-But, I'll pay you after we're done. And, if I'm not feeling it like you said, I'll get out and I won't pay you at all."

Rin let out a relieved breath, smiling back at her.

"Sounds good to me."

And, so, the two of them got up, and walked up the stairs, to look for some privacy.

---

An hour later, Rin was holding two gold coins in her hand, standing at the back of a crowd that had built up in the lobby.

Ahead, there was a man in a suit holding a microphone, and a woman next to him, their arms locked as they spoke to the audience with a pair of grins on their faces. They were, of course, the two who were hosting the party.

All the while, Rin looked down at the varols in her hand, smiling. To her right, Gwen was sitting next to her, holding her other hand, as she leaned her head on Rin's shoulder.

"Told you," Rin said, as the guy said something about the love of his life and the night they'd shared that led to this party's making.

"..." Gwen, although looking a little concerned, remained pushed up against Rin, awfully cuddly after what they'd just done. "So... May I ask something?"

"Sure."

"Triss, will I ever see you again? That was, I-I don't know, but, I think I'd like to do a second time."

"Absolutely," Rin replied, "as long as you've got the coin for it."

Hearing that made a slightly irritated expression appear on the girl's face, but she nodded.

"Where can I find you?"

"Hm... How about," she said, as she put a finger on her chin. "By the train station. Every weekend. Midnight. Tell your friends," Rin said with a smile. "Let them know, in case they're ever feeling bad too. I'll warn you, though," she said. "I do have a life of my own. So, I might be there, I might not be there. But, if I am, I'll show you another glimpse into heaven."

Then, the woman began tossing flowers into the audience. One of them reached all the way to where Rin was.

"Huh?" She asked as she picked it up. "What's this?"

"Oh, uh," Gwen said, "at the end of the Rose Party, the woman in the relationship throws flowers and, whoever catches them is considered, like, the next innocent girl who's going to find the person she loves. I thought it was going to be me, but," Gwen said, snuggling closer to Rin, albeit with an annoyed expression, "instead, I found you."

Rin raised a brow at the rose in her hand.

[Really?] She thought, smiling and shaking her head. [All it took was finding this flower, and now, I'm going to meet the woman of my dreams? What a deal.]