Chapter Four: A Beautiful Day
A new day… Rion opened his eyes to the sound of birds. Everything seemed to repeat itself once again. Chloe's mother called him for breakfast, and Rion came down immediately.
She was setting the table while the rest of the family sat and waited. Rion joined them, sitting quietly until the table was fully prepared. Chloe's mother then sat down and began eating with them.
They chatted among themselves until she said with a laugh, "Rion, it looks like you've been overworking yourself studying the language at night… You look lovely when you're tired!"
Rion glanced at Chloe, who was eating quietly, and replied with a tired but playful tone, "Maybe it's because someone made me train for seven hours straight."
Chloe answered, avoiding his gaze as she tried to provoke him: "With how stupid you are holding a sword, there was no choice! You hold it like it's a banana, you idiot."
Rion smirked, unbothered, "Hah… at least bananas don't hurt anyone. Unlike someone who was scared of a weapon for two months… just because she cut herself on the first day of training!"
Chloe froze, shocked. "Wait… who told you that?!"
Chloe's mother smiled, and it was clear who'd spilled the secret. Chloe grumbled, "I was just a little girl back then…"
Rion laughed, "Doesn't matter. As they say—the young—wait, how does it go?"
Chloe teased him back, "Learns faster than the old. Looks like you haven't mastered the language completely yet… but good job, you're learning fast."
Rion nodded, "Yes… I'll keep trying."
After breakfast, Rion and Chloe gathered their things. Rion headed to the guild for more training, while Chloe went off to the forest for some hunting missions to earn money.
Rion entered the guild and approached Penella, who greeted him with a smile.
"Want the same spot as yesterday?" she asked. Rion nodded, and she said, "Same direction. Go ahead."
He went to the training yard and trained for a long time until Penella approached, carrying food and a drink.
"This is for you," she said. "Consider it a gift… Chloe's friend is my friend."
Rion thanked her and sat down to eat.
"Don't you have work today?" he asked.
Penella sat beside him for a moment, "A new recruit arrived… I've got a shift helping her."
Rion congratulated her, and Penella left him to his training.
As the sun began to set, Rion finished and took his gear to the public bath near the guild. After cleaning up, he sat outside the guild waiting for Chloe.
She came from the city gate opposite the guild. When she saw him, she waved and approached.
"Finally," she said, "your rotten smell is gone!"
Rion, provoked, replied, "You could've told me, I would've kept it!"
She laughed, but Rion pushed on, "Why do you always go alone on these missions? Shouldn't you be part of a team?"
Chloe hesitated, then answered with a hint of unease, "Yes… well, I don't take on dangerous missions that require going deep into the forest."
They walked home together, chatting the whole way. Upon arrival, the family welcomed them warmly.
After dinner and conversation, Rion went up to his room. He lay on the bed, a light smile on his face.
But slowly, the smile faded, replaced by thoughts… many of them.
Everything kept repeating—events, steps, conversations…
Rion thought to himself: "Is everything repeating?"
It wasn't a particularly special day… but it wasn't bad either.
Still, one question hovered in his mind like a weight:
"Is this my fate? To live each day the same way? Is this what they call stability? Or is it blindness?"
He shook his head and scoffed: "Oh… damn. What am I even saying?"
He got up and studied the picture-based language book a bit more until sleep overtook him…
Perhaps he would wake to a new day— Maybe one just like this. Maybe not.
End of Chapter