"Ugh, finally, I am back. That was so fucking annoying. I just want to take a bath and wash this filth off myself-"

Mellisa complained as she walked back toward her mother’s room. She was here to ask permission to use the private baths that were only available after a hard mission.

She was so busy thinking of how she was going to enjoy these baths that she did not even realize when she collided with someone.

She only realized what was happening once her back hit the ground.

"Hey, watch where you are walking. Or do you want me to show you..."

She looked at the person she had bumped into and her words stopped in her throat.

The man she had bumped into had a hood covering his face, but she had been able to see a glimpse past the hood and it was a familiar face.

’What the hell? How can someone look so similar to Kalos Settlement’s leader? Are they related or something? But I am pretty sure that Mother said that Rin was an only child...’

By the time Mellisa realized what was happening and decided to ask the man her questions, the man in question was gone.

She also snapped out of her daze and quickly went to ask her mother these questions. If there was one person who could answer her, it was her mother.

"Mother, that man who just visited you... Do you know who he is?"

Mellisa asked as she entered her mother’s room without knocking.

Her mother looked up at her sudden entrance while rubbing her forehead.

"You don’t have to yell so loudly. I can hear you just fine either way. As for who that man was? I think I have a hunch. But I sincerely hope I am wrong about everything."

Madam Yao sighed and decided not to convey anything further. It made Mellisa feel like she had been left hanging.

"Mother, is that all? This is not fair! Finish your sentence." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The daughter whined, but Madam Yao gave her no answer. The only question Madam Yao had on her mind was whether she could contact Rin’s settlement or not.

__________

"We are back. Ugh, I missed home so much. I want to head to my bed immediately and forget the whole task."

Amelia complained as she stood on shaky legs and tried to move. But she had been so tense until now and had been moving on adrenaline.

She was too tired to move now that the rush had worn off and her legs were shaking as well.

"Don’t worry. This happens to everyone during their first task with a small group. I am sure you will be fine in no time."

Albus assured her while placing a hand on her shoulder. Somehow, that seemed to make Amelia’s shaking worse.

"I don’t think I want to get used to it. I don’t want to be in danger any longer."

Amelia complained back and Albus looked struck by her words. He tried to explain to her that it was fine, but Amelia was not willing to listen to him.

Rin watched this all from the sidelines and almost let out a chuckle at their amusing exchange. But he had other things to worry about at the moment.

Amelia and Albus looked fine, so he turned his attention to everyone else.

Shelly looked fine as well and she was also clinging to him, which meant that she was fine. But she was not the one Rin was worried about anyway.

The ones he was worried about were Teressa and Serena.

Teressa had collapsed during the mission and even though she said she was fine, it was clear to see that her complexion was getting worse.

But at least her corruption level was low enough for Rin to leave her alone.

The same likely could not be said for Serena.

Serena was pretending to be fine, but beads of sweat were forming on her forehead, showing that it was taking considerable effort for her to even stand at this point. But Serena was ignoring her discomfort and trying to help as much as she could.

’Serena is a powerful person. I don’t know how long I would have been able to hold on for.’

[Hey, don’t sell yourself short, Rookie. You have shown that you have great mental capabilities and adaptability. I am sure you would last a really long time under stressful situations.]

[But we can always experiment to find out what your limit is. What do you say? Do you want to try?]

’No, thank you. I think having you here is enough.’

Rin immediately backed off from the system’s experiment. He had a feeling that something bad would happen if he agreed to its request.

[Tsk, you are a coward. All this system did was offer you a way to experience what Miss Serena is going through.]

The system grumbled before backing off. Rin let out a sigh as he watched the system back down.

He was saved...this time.

"You all are finally back. We got the message that you completed the task. Is anyone hurt? Do you want me to take a look?"

Reina arrived not too long after and she immediately headed toward their group to check on them.

"I don’t think any of us are hurt. But I guess it won’t hurt to get checked out once."

Rin pointed out and Shelly’s grip tightened on his arm.

It did not hurt, but Rin had a feeling that Shelly was displeased with his decision to get checked out.

So he decided to volunteer her first.

"Here, you can check on Shelly first. She and Albus did most of the fighting, so they are the ones you might want to check thoroughly."

Reina looked at him with a blank look in her eyes that told Rin that she knew what he was playing at. He wondered if it meant that Reina would not do as he asked.

But Reina sighed and decided to humor him in the end.

"These two? I got it. I will check on them first and then get to you."

Albus yelped as he was grabbed, but he could not break the hold Reina had on him.

Shelly pouted as she looked at him with a pleading expression.

"Rin, do I really have to get checked? I promise I feel fine."

She tried to sneak her way out, but Rin shook his head to show that he was not budging on this topic.

"It will be better if you get checked out. Can you do this for me?"

He asked and Shelly finally gave in.