Raymond next met Qulia a month later.
After patrolling the borders for several months, he was rewarded with a vacation.
He made his way back to his town, and crossed the snowy streets to reach his home.
It was winter now.
He knocked on the door, and an elderly woman answered. When she opened the door, her eyes lit up with joy and she hugged Raymond tightly.
"It's nice to see you too, mother", Raymond gave her a warm smile.
"Brother!", a small voice called out, and a little girl came running out of the living room.
She was his little sister.
"Come here you little gremlin", Raymond picked her up in a warm hug.
This was his family, his everything.
Everything he had done after his father had died, all the hardships he had faced and all the efforts he had put in, it was all so he could help them live a better life.
A life where they wouldn't have to starve for days or freeze in the cold winters.
"Oh, and how's Qulia?", Raymond asked his mother.
"She is doing well. It was a bit awkward between us at first, but she soon started warming up to everyone", his mother replied before calling out to Qulia.
"I'm even teaching her our language!", his sister said proudly.
The three of them continued talking as they walked towards the living room. But then, someone came out of the kitchen as they were passing by it.
"Auntie, look what I've made—", Qulia came rushing out with a freshly baked pie, not realizing that someone was standing just outside the kitchen.
She rammed into Raymond, splattering the steaming hot pie all over his face as they both fell down.
"Oh no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!", Qulia apologized incessantly while trying to explain herself in an incoherent mix of words from different languages.
She then tried to wipe it off his face with her apron, but only ended up spreading it around.
Raymond was annoyed at first, but seeing that she was on the verge of crying made him feel a bit guilty, so he tried to lighten the mood.
"Mmm, pretty good", he said while licking the pie on his face, "Can I have another serving? Although, maybe not on my face this time".
Qulia paused for a moment, before chuckling as she got up and wiped her tears.
She said something in her native tongue and went back into the kitchen to bake another pie.
There were a few more memorable moments of Raymond's time with Qulia.
There was the time when they were shovelling snow off of the pavement together.
Qulia tried several times to strike up a conversation, but Raymond's responses were stiff as usual. He would rather focus on the work at hand.
"Ugh, you know, you don't really have to be so uptight all the time. You should lighten up a bit", Qulia said with a bit of annoyance.
Raymond didn't respond, bending down and piling up some snow instead.
Qulia sighed in frustration before getting back to work. But then, a snowball struck the back of her head, and she could hear Raymond laughing from behind.
"How's that for being lighthearted then?"
He laughed, but his laugh soon died in his mouth when Qulia looked back at him with a murderous gaze, carrying a dozen snowballs in her arms.
Raymond gulped, realizing that he had incurred the wrath of a woman, and ran as he was pelted by a barrage of snowballs.
Then there was the time of Qulia's birthday.
Raymond had gone out of his way to throw her a proper birthday party, and even invited some friends over to celebrate.
As he introduced Qulia to the guests, he saw Wallace come in with a woman and went to greet him.
"Wallace, nice to see you again. It seems you've gotten quite busy after getting promoted again".
Raymond paused, looking at the woman standing besides Wallace.
"And it seems you've also gotten yourself a wife after that. That's good, since you were starting to get a bit old", Raymond nodded thoughtfully.
"For the last time, Raymond, she's not my wife! Martha's just a bodyguard that my father assigned for me", Wallace retorted.
Raymond laughed, he enjoyed teasing Wallace like that. It seemed that some of Qulia's lighthearted personality had rubbed off on him.
"Well, it wouldn't be a bad idea to marry such a beautiful woman", Qulia said with a smile.
Martha smiled back, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes
"Sure, but there are plenty of beautiful woman out there", Wallace threw a furtive glance at Qulia, much to Martha's annoyance.
"Alright, alright, now let's put all that aside and get on with opening the gifts", Raymond said as he handed Qulia the gift he brought for her.
Wallace's eyes lit up with a mischievous light. Knowing Raymond's choice of gifts, Wallace would soon get a chance to tease him back.
But his eyes widened when Qulia took out Raymond's gift.
It was a beautiful bracelet adorned with small, blue gems that were arranged in the shape of flowers.
Raymond had had that bracelet custom-made from a rare gem he found on one of his missions.
He smiled proudly as he saw Qulia wear it on her wrist.
Wallace's jaw dropped out of shock.
Martha, meanwhile, glared with a hint of envy.
"It's beautiful! Thank you!"
Qulia jumped with joy at the sight of the bracelet and hugged Raymond, causing his face to turn red.
And then there was the time when the two of them climbed up a nearby hill.
"Come on, slowpoke!", Qulia cried out.
"I'm coming, I'm coming", Raymond replied as he climbed up the hill.
"For god's sake, how can you be so slow?", Qulia rolled her eyes.
"I'm a soldier, not a mountain climber", Raymond laid on the ground as he tried to catch his breath.
Qulia laid down nearby, and the two of them looked up at the night sky.
They had come here to gaze at the stars, after all.
Looking up at the vast tapestry of light, Raymond felt a sense of awe. He realized why Qulia insisted on watching the stars so much.
Soon, a shooting star streaked across the sky, leaving a glowing trail behind it.
Raymond pointed up at it and said, "You should make a wish".
Qulia thought for a moment, but then shook her head.
"No, I don't think I have anything to wish for".
"Really?", Raymond raised an eyebrow.
"Really", Qulia replied,"I'm quite happy with how things are already. I like living here with you— err, I mean, all of you!", her eyes widened as she realized what she had said, and she hurried to correct herself.
Raymond chuckled while Qulia looked the other way to hide her blushing face.
And just like that, time went on. A few months had long since passed, and many more continued to pass by. Raymond hadn't been able to find another house for Qulia, but honestly, neither of them cared about it anymore.
They were perfectly happy with living together, so they kept on doing just that, experiencing many memorable moments and sharing each other's joys and sorrows.
He always stood by Qulia's side, and she always did the same.
She was there to share his grief when his mother died of an illness, she was there to support him as he continued to struggle financially, she was even there to help him when he needed to arrange money to send his sister to a renowned academy in the Capital.
Both of them were always there for each other.
Having Qulia by his side always filled Raymond with hope.
She had been through a lot in her life, just like him. And yet, she kept on going with a smile.
So, Raymond decided to do the same.
It was strange. In just a handful of years, Qulia had gone from a complete stranger to the person he held most dear in life.
And that was why that day, atop a hill under the starlight sky, Raymond did what he had never thought he'd do.
"Qulia, I know we haven't known each other for a very long time, but over that time, you've become someone very precious to me...".
He spoke exactly according to the script his sister had helped him prepare.
Or at least, he tried to.
He had been fine while practicing, but now, saying it here while he was face to face with Qulia, he was starting to slip up. It really didn't help that she somehow managed to look even more stunning under the dim starlight. He had to force himself to not get distracted by her beauty.
Which he was failing at.
"...Your presence washes away all my worries. When you smile, it looks like the chickens, no, I mean, the heavens are smiling..."
Qulia covered her face, struggling to suppress her laughter.
Raymond fumbled with his words as he tried to continue his little romantic speech.
But before he could continue, Qulia interrupted him, "Yes!"
"Huh?", he tilted his head.
Qulia rolled her eyes, "You're going to ask me if I'll marry you, and my answer is yes! Now hurry up and give me my ring already!"
Laughing, Raymond happily obliged, and soon, they both got married.
And so, they continued to live happily together, despite all the hardships they faced. It wasn't easy, but they both endured for each other's sake.
Raymond worked day and night to make sure he could provide for Qulia's need and keep her happy.
She too, never failed to bring happiness into his life. And then, one day, she gave him the greatest happiness of his life, when she gave birth to their child, their daughter Yuna.
Yuna's presence, and the joy he got from watching her grow, motivated Raymond to work harder than ever, so that he could provide for his family's every need and make sure that they lived happily.
He hardly noticed when another three years passed by.
"Higher! A little higher!", Yuna strained her voice as she tried to reach towards the tree branch.
Raymond, who was lifting the little child up, asked in a concerned voice, "Sweetie, maybe that's enough, you could get hurt."
But Yuna was determined, "No, higher! Please, daddy~"
Unable to refuse to his daughter, Raymond sighed and kept trying to raise her higher up.
He was standing on a stool, which was rocking back and forth as he tried to keep his balance.
Hearing all the racket, Qulia rushed over, her eyes widening when she saw them.
"What in the world are you two doing?!"
Yuna continued to stretch her tiny arms up, and then pointed up at the tree branch with one of her hands.
"Kitty!"
Indeed, there was a cat that seemed to be stuck on the tree branch. The moment Yuna saw it, she started begging Raymond to help her bring it down.
"Oh, oh no!", Raymond panicked as he felt the stool under his feet tip over, struggling in vain to stop it.
"Careful!", Qulia ran to them, but before she could do anything, the stool tipped over and both Raymond and Yuna fell down on top of her.
Startled by the noise, the cat, who had climbed up the tree to sleep, woke up. Looking at the humans who were causing all that ruckus, the cat rolled its eyes in annoyance before jumping down and walking away.
"I...suppose it didn't need our help, after all", Raymond scratched his head with a sheepish smile.
Yuna, meanwhile, started giggling uncontrollably.
However, she soon stopped when she noticed Qulia narrowing her eyes at her.
Yuna gulped, and frantically looked at her dad, hoping that he would save her, but he simply shrugged helplessly.
"Come here you!", Qulia tried to grab Yuna.
The little girl squealed and ran, laughing as she tried to escape into the house.
Qulia too, couldn't hold back her laughter as she tried and failed to catch the little gremlin.
Watching the two of them, Raymond couldn't help but smile.
He had come a long way. He started out as an orphaned boy struggling alone against countless hardships, and now he was living a peaceful life with a beautiful, loving family. He felt that, together, they would really be able to make it through these hard times.
And, indeed, things would soon become easier for them, because Wallace had assured Raymond that the higher ups were considering finally giving him a promotion.
It seemed like their hardships were finally coming to an end, and that they would be able to continue living happily forever.
But sadly, fate had other plans.