Having spent most of the ride back spacing out in front of the window, Anise hadn't really kept track of how long they'd been on the road. Luckily, Guy seemed to have a decent idea as to how much farther they had to go. An uphill trek definitely wasn't the worst obstacle they could face.

When the question of Tear's whereabouts came up, Anise thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No... I didn't see her. It's pretty hard to keep track of people during field trips, though," she quickly added. She didn't want the group's morale to take a plummet just because they weren't sure about something that was hard to confirm in the first place.

Looking on the bright side, the monsters didn't seem to be pursuing them at the moment. Anise wished she could take that as an opportunity to relax, but when an old twig made a loud snapping sound under her feet, she couldn't help but cringe and give her surroundings another long, wary look.