"So…your sponsor is Grant Holdensburg…"
"Yeah, he's quite the guy."
"What's it like being sponsored by such a figure? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised to say the least."
"Well, he's sort of an odd man, but he loves what he does. I met him by chance to be honest."
"No wonder you're decked out. He must've known what the dungeon would throw at us."
"That reminds me…what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Do you have someone sponsoring you…?"
Iris took a moment to reflect on his words before messing with her hair and looking slightly away from him. It seemed that the question gave her something to consider before she answered.
"You could say something like that…I was able to attend classes here after getting permission from my parents."
"I heard you're nobility, what's that like?"
"Uh, it's just a title that's all. If you don't have much to show for it, what good is a name…?"
"What do you like to eat?"
Iris began to feel bombarded with the onslaught of questions, wondering why he'd be so curious about all of these things now of all times. Her face scrunched at the idea of him not talking about anything seemingly worthwhile before he began to laugh.
"W-what's so funny!"
"I'm sorry, it's just that…I wanted to know more about you."
"Why…would you want that…?"
"Well, we're partners aren't we? I barely know a thing about you other than your name…"
She looked him in the eyes, sensing nothing but sincerity and truth in the moment. She couldn't help but let out a small sigh as she'd realized the feeling was mutual. She'd always wanted to learn more about others around her, but her attitude and standoffish nature would keep people away. Though out of everyone, he was the one consistently making an effort to talk to her. Not only out of obligation, but out of genuine curiosity.
"I'll try to be a bit…more open from this point."
"That's a relief to hear, it's kind of hard to be friends if both sides aren't trying."
"Friends…?"
"Yeah, friends."
He stuck his hand out as if to shake hers. She slowly began to reach out before hesitating once more, as her hand was still recovering from the previous spell. Though with the previous interaction and relating to having similar features, it helped establish a more common ground between the two. She ended up taking his hand and shaking it.
"We're…friends now…!"
"I'm glad!" Dante said with a bright smile on his face, causing Iris to turn away once more out of embarrassment of the moment. She'd made friends before, though they'd often go away for one reason or another, the only one that stuck around was Alma. Though with the thoughts of her previous experiences, coming to this school offered her something she'd never expected. Someone willing to put up with her antics.
The warmth of the fire stayed as the two sat with one another. Dante, seemingly chipper about everything, wanted to learn as much as he could while the opportunity presented itself. He looked at Iris, who seemed to have relaxed for the most part after some conversation. Her hair seemed to have dried off as the sound of water droplets stopped for some time. She placed her hands closer to the flames as she stared at the orange flickers, as if she was thinking about something.