Their eyes met. Rion froze as the woman continued to stare at him in silence.
She looked to be in her late thirties, with long curly brown hair cascading over the back of her chair. Her dark brown—nearly black—eyes reflected Rion's face, and her pale skin was dotted with freckles.
"How'd you get in?" she asked.
"Uh, the door was… um, open."
A confused look came over the women face before— "Ah, I forgot to lock it when I came up here to read. Rookie mistake." She palmed her face with a sigh.
"If I'm not supposed to be here, I can leave," Rion said awkwardly, his hand still on the doorknob.
The woman shook her head. "No, it's fine. But why did you come up here in the first place? Are you a thief? If so, I'm sorry to say there's not much up here worth stealing. If you want a profit, I'd recommend the bank just down the stree—"
"No, no, no! I'm not a thief! I'm an adventurer, see?" Rion quickly flashed his Adventurer's ID. (He didn't really need to, but he'd been waiting for an excuse to show it off.)
The woman set down her book and clapped her hands together. "Wow, that's amazing."
Rion grinned. "Right!?"
"Even though you're Class Five," she added.
"Yeah, even though I'm only—" He coughed into his fist. "A-anyway…" Quickly stuffing his ID back into his pocket.
"I came up here because… well, as embarrassing as it is, I got lost. I figured if I got a good view from up here, I'd be able to find my way."
"Ohhh, I see. So where are you trying to go?"
"The guild!" Rion said excitedly. "I'm gonna accept my first-ever quest!"
Hearing this a warm smile spread across the woman's face. "Sounds nice… well in that case, let's go." She stood from her chair and made her way to a door leading outside.
"Oh, right!" Rion hurried after her as the two stepped out onto the lighthouse gallery.
"Ah, man, it's gorgeous…" Rion exclaimed as the wind blew through his hair. The entire town of Waneir stretched out before them, bathed in the light of day.
"Haha, isn't it? My favorite part of manning this lighthouse."
"Manning? You mean you're in charge of it!?"
The woman nodded. "Yup. I'm Clair, ruler of the lighthouse," she said, her tone sarcastic.
"That's amazing!" Said Rion.
"Heh, it's no big deal… More importantly look down, There's the guild."
Rion followed her gaze and spotted a fairly large building that stood out from the rest.
"W-wait—that's where I just was!" he shouted. "How'd I not see it!?"
Clair burst into laughter. "Hahaha! You're funny, Rion."
"Wha—how'd you know my na— Oh, my ID."
"Bingo." Clair leaned against the railing, her gaze began to soften. "Hey, Rion."
"Yeah?"
"It's fine if you say no, but I was wondering if I could talk with you for a little while longer. It's not every day I get visitors, and, well… you're pretty asy to talk to." She smiled. "So, what do you say?"
Rion crossed his arms and thought for a moment. Lie said we'd meet at noon, so I still have time… why not?
"Sure! I'd be happy to."
A wide smile spread across Clair's face.
"Great! Then how about we head inside and I make us some coffee?"
Rion gave her a thumbs up, "Sounds good!"
(And thus, Rion's adventure continues…)