{Rin}

As Rin woke up, she found that Elisa, Maria, and Eve were all still asleep. Xhez's clothes were neatly folded on the seat next to her.

[We're probably about to reach Cradle, aren't we?] She thought to herself as she glanced out the window and saw that the sun was beginning to break out.

Rin leaned down and tapped Xhez's bag. The sprite woke up and stretched her arms, which Rin could just barely see in this dim lighting.

"Hm?" The adventurer heard her faint voice from inside.

"Um, Xhez," she whispered, looking around to make sure no one was seeing this. Most others on the train were either asleep as well or had their backs turned to the girls' position. "I think it's time. You should get your disguise back on."

When she heard that, the sprite visibly stirred.

"Oh," she answered. "Yes."

Rin took the girl's clothes and the bag with her to the back of the train. There was a balcony-like structure that was empty at the moment, and, here, Xhez jumped out and emerged in her full size, naked. Quickly, as Rin dealt with a mild headache, she took her clothes and cast the Illusion spell. In the meantime, Rin looked inside the train and checked if the coast was clear.

In a moment, Xhez was standing before her in her human form, naked. The sprite stretched her body a little and Rin's eyes traced a path down from her chest to her hips.

[... I want to squeeze them.]

If Rin was acting weird, Xhez didn't notice. She put her clothes back on and then the two of them went back to their seats, where they found Maria sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Maria looked between the both of them and said:

"It seems we will be arriving soon," Maria muttered, turning toward the windows and looking out. Her voice wasn't terribly loud, and yet it still managed to wake Eve in the seat next to her.

"S-Spriggans..." The girl muttered, shaking her head as she woke up, as though she'd been having a nightmare. "Huh?" She yawned at a high pitch, stretching her small arms. "Are we there yet?"

"Not quite. Might be just another few minutes," Maria replied.

"Mm..." Eve blinked a few times, looking out through the window at the passing terrain before she pulled her eyes back up to her teacher and yawned. "I'm tired."

"Get used to it," Maria said with a smile. "Tiredness is one of the main feelings you'll have when you're out in the field."

Eve nodded a bit and then looked out the window once more. When she turned around, she asked:

"Have you ever had to walk to Cradle? From Libera, I mean."

"I could, but I'd rather not, so, I tend to avoid putting myself in a position where I'd have to," Maria answered quickly. "The Railroad has really been a blessing for people like us. A blessing for the world in general, honestly. I imagine this thing is a big part of why there hasn't been a war between Libera and Cradle since before its creation."

"... There's so much of the world out there, though," Eve replied as she looked out the window behind her with a slightly dreamlike expression. "I wonder how much of it we're missing by taking this ride."

"Well," Rin cut in, resting her head on Xhez's shoulder, "considering I'm literally turning into a vampire as we speak, I'm happy we are."

"R-Right!" Eve said. "I was just saying..."

"I understand," Maria stated, crossing her legs. "You are right. There's much to the world that all of you haven't seen," she said as she made a sweeping gesture that included Elisa. "That said, don't worry. Once your missions get going, you'll be seeing more of the world than you could possibly dream of."

---

Finally, the train arrived just as the sun had fully shown itself over the horizon. The massive vehicle slowed to a halt and the other citizens on board began getting off. Rin wondered if, perhaps, they would wait till everyone was gone to make the exit more comfortable, but Maria had a different idea.

"Come on," she said to them, "let's go."

"Hm? Wouldn't it be better to wait until everyone's out?" Elisa asked.

Maria subtly glanced at Xhez and then glanced back at Elisa.

"No," she said, leaving no room for discussion, without adding a single extra word, but Rin got the message immediately.

[Oh, yeah, that makes sense,] she thought as she stood up along with her teacher and the two of them took their things off their seats. This prompted the others to do the same, and soon, they were walking out of the train, mixed in with the other travelers.

Although there were a few people standing in her way, Rin still got enough of a view of the city to be left stunned. She stood still for a couple of seconds, taking it all in before someone told her to "get out of the fucking way" and Rin continued moving forward.

This city, from what Rin could tell just by this portion, was Libera's complete opposite. Gone were the colorful walls, brick streets, and overall artful atmosphere. Cradle's architecture was far more regal and self-righteous, with nothing but tall white-grey buildings with cracked walls that loomed over the people walking by them, as though trying to insist that they walk in and see just how old they are.

The streets themselves managed to be even more cramped than Libera's, which Rin hadn't believed was possible up until now. Though, she supposed there was a chance it was because they were at this station.

"Here we are," Maria said, gesturing forward. "Cradle."

"Wow..." Xhez let out an awed noise as she moved up to where Rin was, placing a hand on her shoulder like she was trying to keep herself grounded. "This is beautiful!"

"Yeah, it's something," Elisa said in a slightly quiet tone.

"The Mages' Guild isn't too far from here," Maria told them. "We can check in at a hotel first, just to drop our things off, and then head over there."

[Right. So Xhez doesn't get caught.]

Remembering this potential problem made Rin check her surroundings. There were several guards looking around, inspecting each of the people who had come in. A couple of them had their eyes narrowed in their general direction, but none looked like they were going to be walking forward to interrogate them.

Thankfully, the girls were allowed to move down the street with no trouble. As they did, Rin looked around and saw some beastborn wearing iron collars around their necks, tied to posts, and standing around with melancholic expressions.

[Huh?]

As weird as these sights were, Rin kept her focus on the road. She didn't want to end up running into the wrong person. Eventually, they arrived at a hotel that looked like it was dropped between two much bigger buildings. Here, the girls walked inside and found a clerk at the front next to an elevator. Maria handled the paperwork quickly and they all went up to the third floor.

"Alright," Maria said, as they all stood in the elevator. "First things first, let's get Rin taken care of. Elisa?" She looked at the blonde.

"Yeah?"

"Could you take Xhez to the Eternal Library? Just... So she gets to see the city a little."

"Sure," she replied, nodding.

"Thank you. The rest of us will just go straight to the Mages Guild. After that, we can walk around a bit before we head back to Libera, maybe visit the Adventurer's Guild too, and, yes. That'll be that."