Without a word , Rin mounted by herself , sat primly sidesaddle again and looked the other way . Manji pressed a hand to his abdomen for a moment , then straightened up with an apparent effort and mounted as well . They rode in fraught silence until they reached the outskirts of another small village . Rin spotted a roofed signboard posted by the road , with a couple of laborers peering at the printed notice .

Question: Why would Rin and Manji ride in fraught silence ?
Answer: It might be that neither are capable of talking .It might be that both forgot how to talk .It might be that neither are in a mood for talking .None of the above choices .