On the day Rita was set to depart with Special Affairs Bureau for Lania Kaia's undersea volcano, she received the tenth reward from Eleanor—a set of three steaming crab roe soup dumplings. Once again, there was no message, and Rita silently accepted them without responding.
She often wondered if her "awkwardness" was inherited from Eleanor. After all, she could guess what the older woman was probably thinking. Eleanor might feel guilty about not having cared for her before, and now that Rita had become powerful and a regular on the ranking boards, any affection or attention might easily be seen as opportunistic or her trying to "cash in" on Rita's success.