It was a quiet night in the middle of a vast meadow
Green grass stretched as far as the eye could see, broken only by a few small hills scattered across the land
Above them, countless stars covered the night sky, quietly glowing against the darkness
A gentle breeze swept across the meadow, making the grass sway like waves beneath the moonlight
An old man with thin white hair walked toward the middle of the meadow, guided by a young blonde-haired girl
"Is here, ok?" the girl asked
"Yeah, it's fine"
They both sat down on the grass and looked up at the night sky
"So… When will it start?" the girl asked again
"It should be any moment by now"
They kept watching the sky in silent
"I'm sorry for making such a childish request" the old man said
"No, it's fine"
"Instead, I want to see the meteor shower after all the times you've told me how beautiful it is"
"You said it only happens once every fifty years…"
"I don't want to miss this chance"
"But you have plenty of chance" the old man interrupt
"You're an elf"
"You could live longer than me"
"So even if you miss this one, you'll have another chance to see it"
"Meanwhile, I'm just a human"
"This is my only chance to see it"
"Could you not say things like that?"
The girl looked at him with a disappointed expression
The man laughed a little bit "I'm sorry"
"But there is nothing there I can do"
"Life has its own way of deciding when our time comes"
"It's only a matter of time before I leave"
"At least I could fulfill one of my dreams tonight"
"To see an event that only happens once every fifty years"
He slowly lowered his back and lay on the grass
He stared at the stars for a while before turning his gaze toward the girl
She was still looking down at the grass
"Hey, don't look so sad"
"You will saw one of the most beautiful things, cheer up"
"I know that"
"But you're the one who made me feel like this"
"You keep talking about how you're going to leave"
The old man smiled
"You're thinking about me too much"
"I'm not an expert about this"
"You may lose people you love along the way"
"And yes, it will hurt"
"But you can't spend the rest of your life staring at the place they left behind"
"You have to keep moving"
"Because if you spend all your time grieving what you've lost…"
"You might miss all the beautiful things that are still waiting for you"
He pointed toward the sky
"For example, those stars"
The girl slowly raised her head
At that moment-
The first meteor crossed the sky
Her eyes widened
Then another appeared
And another
Soon, the entire night sky was filled with trails of light
Countless meteors streaked across the darkness, shining like rivers of stars
"Its…"
"Beautiful"
"Of course," the old man said with a smile
"Don't worry about me"
"You still have a long life ahead of you"
"There will be countless beautiful moments waiting for you"
"So, keep your head up"
"And when we meet again…"
"Tell me about all the beautiful things you've seen"
They continued to watch the meteor shower
After a while, the final meteor disappeared beyond the horizon, and the night grew quiet once again
"So, what do you want to eat for breakfast tomorrow?" the girl asked
It was a long silent
She kept waiting for answer, but she didn't dare to look back
"And that's one of the stories that I can tell you" Sylffie finished telling the story
"Wow, S-sorry to hear that" Erin said
"It must be really hurt being left by someone" Laura added
"Well… kinda"
"Even now, I still haven't been able to forget them"
The three of them were chatting inside a magic shop
The store was full of magic items
Staves, books, scrolls, instant magic crystals, and various other magical tools filled almost every corner
"Was the meteor shower really that beautiful?" Erin asked
"Of course it was" Sylffie exclaimed
"It was way more beautiful than the firework we saw last month at the Elf Kingdom"
"You definitely have to see it yourself"
"Really? But when is it going to happen again?" Erin continued to ask
"You said the event only happened once in fifty years, right?"
"Hmmm… I don't know, but if I'm not mistaken, it should happen next year"
"As for the exact night, though…"
"Umm… I wish I could see the meteor shower too" Laura said
"What do you mean? You can see the meteor too" Sylffie answered
"Yeah, I know, but now that I'm working at the library, I don't think I will enough free time to see it"
"I mean you can just get a holiday and see the meteor, right?"
"Of course I can, but still, I'm not as free as you guys"
"You two can went to any good places and watches the meteor while adventuring"
Sylffie suddenly froze
Her expression darkened
"Oh yeah… adventuring…"
"What's wrong?" Laura asked
"Of course it was that bastard, having to work with him is a curse"
"He's annoying, and what the hell is wrong with the way he talks?"
"Last time when we took a bandit quest, he said my skill sucked just because I missed once"
"Argh…"
Laura laughed awkwardly
"I've barely had a chance to talk with him"
"But I think he's just cold"
"You know…"
"Like a cool person"
"He's not cool, he is as cold as an ice"
"And especially that face, I want to ripped his face off"
Sylffie clenched her fists in frustration
Erin quickly tried to calm her down
Just then, someone emerged from the back of the store
"Here, your staff is finally done"
It was the owner of the store
He was a tall man with dark brown hair, and every finger on his hands was covered with rings
In his hands was a magical staff almost as tall as Erin
At the top was a large chunk of white crystal surrounded by two metal rings
Another, smaller piece of the same crystal was attached to the bottom of the staff
The girls were amazed by the staff
"Wait isn't that thing too big? Can she really use it?" Laura asked
"It should be fine, I already casted a magic at this staff that will reduce its weight while being used" the owner explained
"So… she should be able to use it normally"
"Now take this"
Then the owner gave the staff to Erin
Erin took at and her eyes were full of excitement
"Wow… how much did you pay for this thing?" Sylffie asked
"75 gold coins" Erin answered
"Damn…"
Sylffie whistled
"Then let's go and try it out" Sylffie insisted
She was full of energy after seeing Erin's new staff
But her expression suddenly darkened again
"Oh yeah…"
"We have to meet him again"
Back at the Guild Bar, Rikka was sitting alone at one of the tables
But his appearance looked difference from before
He was wearing sturdier armor now
Dark red armor covered his chest and his shoulders
His attention was focused entirely on repairing his katana
The blade was already worn down and nearly dull
Then the door opened, it was Sylffie and Erin
They immediately spotted Rikka and walked toward his table
"Hey, what are you doing?" Sylffie greeted him
"Just repairing my sword"
"Again…?"
Sylffie looked at his sword
"Why don't you buy a new one?"
"Umm… it's not that easy for me to buy a new katana"
"You see, this katana was made from a special material which really good at amplifying my flame"
"And that's material kinda expensive"
"Besides, I already spent most of my money on this armor"
"So yeah, I'm going to keep using this katana for as long as it still works"
Then the guild door once again opened
It was Auel
Nothing changed from him
He was still wearing the same worn-out armor and carrying the same sword
He spotted his party and walked toward their table
"Let's take another quest" Auel said
"Yeah" Rikka stood up and sheathed his katana "But why don't you buy a new armor?"
"I don't think that armor will protect you from a single punch"
"I can't" Auel quickly replied
"Why?" Erin asked
Auel silent for a moment
"I'm out of money"
"What?!" the three of them stared at him in shock
"Wait, what kind of thing did you with those money?" Sylffie asked
"Didn't you get more than sixty gold coins?"
"It's none of your business"
"Quick, let's take another quest"
Auel walked toward the quest board
Sylffie grumbled and clenched her fist
"I really want to ripped his face off"