The rain stopped at last.
The morning sun pierced through silver clouds like a blessing, warming the drenched world below. Puddles sparkled across the grass. The training yard, once a pit of mud and chaos, now glistened in the light of a new day.
Inside the house, the rookies stirred slowly, bodies aching but spirits unusually light.
For the first time in over a week, Red hadn't knocked.
There was no order to assemble.
No call to train.
And yet… they all rose early.
Habit had taken hold.
Selena was first to stretch outside, barefoot on damp grass.
Yuzu followed, rubbing sleep from her eyes, staff in hand.
Rika emerged with her hair already tied, fletching an arrow as she walked.
Lio stepped out behind them, yawning but geared.
Hina carried tea.
Even Greenie bounced into the sunlight, blinking as if he hadn't seen the sky in years.
But Red?
He was already gone.
They found him two hours later in the hills north of Silverhaven.
He stood in the center of a clearing, calmly field-dressing the corpse of a large, feathered beast.
It had the thick body of a flightless bird, mottled blue and gold plumage, and huge drumstick-like legs.
Yuzu gasped. "Is that… a Kokoroko?!"
Rika blinked. "I thought those things were impossible to catch…"
"They're not," Red said without looking up. "If you're quiet. Patient. And smarter than your prey."
Lio knelt beside it. "It's huge…"
"It's dinner," Red said.
They helped him carry it back on a small sled made of wood and rope. Greenie insisted on riding atop the bird like a conquering general.
"Poyo~!"
"No," Rika muttered, "Shut up Greenie."
Back at the house, Red built a stone-lined fire pit in the backyard.
The rookies gathered kindling. Rika lit the fire.
Selena fetched extra water.
Yuzu prepared herbs and vegetables from the stockroom.
Hina pulled out a bundle of spices she'd saved from her apothecary shelf, smiling gently. "Today's special."
Even Lio, who usually avoided kitchen duty, volunteered to help skewer the meat.
They cooked it together.
Slowly.
The Kokoroko was lean and firm, with dark, flavourful meat. Red seared thick cuts over the flame while Yuzu basted with honeyed herbs. The smell alone could've brought the guild running.
As the sun dipped low, painting the sky with streaks of gold and pink, the feast began.
They didn't eat inside.
They didn't need to.
They sat around the fire, still muddy, still bruised, still not fully healed, but glowing.
Selena bit into her drumstick and hummed. "This is better than anything we've had."
"Is this what high rank adventurers eat?" Yuzu whispered.
"No," Red said. "This is what survivors eat."
Lio raised his bowl. "To surviving, then."
"To surviving," they echoed.
Even Greenie, who somehow created a mini-stew within his own gelatinous body, burbled, "To tasty times!"
The mood grew lighter as the fire crackled and the moon rose.
Rika told a story about her first ever failed shot, which ended with an arrow stuck in her own foot.
Yuzu recalled setting her old teacher's beard on fire.
Selena, reluctant at first, shared how she once tried to sneak into an all-knight parade and got caught by tripping over a banner rope.
Hina, smiling more than usual, told the story of her very first herb mix, which accidentally made her entire orphanage sick for a day. "It was supposed to be a cold remedy…"
Lio laughed so hard he choked.
And then it happened.
As he wiped tears from his eyes, Selena tossed a grilled leg toward him.
He caught it midair, only to find that it had no meat left. Just bone.
Lio: "...Really?"
"Training for your reflexes," she said.
"Next one's going to your face," he replied.
She raised an eyebrow.
Rika leaned over to Yuzu and whispered, "Round three?"
Yuzu flushed. "He's not my!!!"
Red, across the fire, sipped from his wooden cup, and said nothing.
But his expression was softer than they'd ever seen it.
After the fire dimmed and plates were picked clean, the rookies lay sprawled on the grass, bellies full, eyes toward the stars.
The air smelled of roasted herbs and crackling wood.
Yuzu rested her head on her staff.
Selena lay with her arms crossed behind her neck, shield beside her.
Rika traced constellations with a finger in the sky.
Hina had dozed off, soft breathing in rhythm with the wind.
Lio sat with Greenie curled up in his lap, finally silent.
"I don't feel like a rookie anymore," Yuzu said.
"You still are," Red replied, standing nearby, arms folded.
They looked up.
"But now," he added, "you're rookies worth something."
Selena sat up slightly. "Because we can fight now?"
"No," Red said. "Because you stopped chasing coins and started chasing meaning."
They were quiet after that.
Not because they were confused, but because they understood.
Finally.
This was what it meant to begin.
Not glory.
Not riches.
Just growth.
Earned, not granted.
Step by step.
Bite by bite.
Rain by fire.