Rookies

Red didn't rush.

The goblins were dead. The girl was safe. The job was done.

There was no need to report the quest right away, he had days before the deadline, and no desire for guild chatter or questions.

He walked the forest path in silence.

Beside him, limping slightly but upright, was Rika.

She wore Red's old travel cloak over her half-destroyed armor, hood drawn low to shield her from the wind. Her blonde hair peeked out from beneath it, and her long ears twitched at every sound. Though clearly injured and exhausted, she kept pace with him—out of respect, pride, or sheer stubbornness, he couldn't tell.

She hadn't said much since he treated her leg and told her to rest. But her gaze never left him for long.

She didn't ask where he was going.

She just followed.

When the cabin came into view, Rika blinked.

"This is… your place?" she asked, her voice soft.

Red nodded.

Rika: "No guards. No wards. Just traps?"

Another nod.

Rika: "…You really don't like people, huh?"

This time, he didn't respond.

No reply, of course.

The forest clearing opened to reveal the cozy home tucked between stream and trees. Smoke curled gently from the chimney. A modest garden grew off to one side. The wooden porch creaked as two small figures ran out toward the trail.

"Red's back!!" Lia and Lana cheered in unison.

But then, they stopped.

Eyes wide.

Their gazes locked onto the elf behind him.

Shiny blonde hair. Slender ears. Pale skin. Bandaged leg. Light armor torn and clinging to her figure just enough to make young minds blink twice.

Lia leaned in and whispered, "Is that… a fairy?"

"No," Lana whispered back. "I think it's… a queen."

Selena stepped out next, drying her hands on a towel, followed by Hina from the window. Their jaws dropped simultaneously.

Even Lana whispered, "Pretty…"

Lia said, "No… really pretty…"

Even Hina, typically quiet and composed, murmured, "She's beautiful…"

Selena cleared her throat and stood straighter, folding her arms.

Red, as usual, said nothing. He walked past them all, headed toward the stream to clean his hands.

Rika stopped awkwardly near the porch. "Um… hi."

Lio stepped out next.

His eyes widened instantly. "Wait… are those ears real?!"

He rushed over with zero filter. "You're….an elf?! I've never seen one! I thought you guys were, like, three meters tall and glowing!"

Rika blinked. "Uh… no?"

Yuzu, who had just arrived with a small basket of fruit tucked under one arm, froze in place.

Her eyes locked onto Rika.

Her pointed ears.

Her luminous skin. 

Her elegant stride.

And her whole soul tilted sideways.

Who is this elf bombshell and why is she standing next to Lio!?

Her smile twitched.

Then vanished.

She looked from Rika, to Lio, who was practically circling the elf out of sheer curiosity, and back again.

Rika smiled politely and nodded to the group. "I'm Rika. Sorry to intrude. Red saved me."

"Red… saved you?" Selena repeated.

Yuzu's eyes twitched.

Lio, meanwhile, leaned forward with stars in his eyes. "Are you really an elf?"

"…Yes?" Rika tilted her head.

"That's so cool!" he said, completely sincere.

Yuzu narrowed her gaze.

He's fascinated.

He's already fallen for her.

He's...

"...So elves are real!?" Lio asked, wide-eyed.

Yuzu snapped.

Lia and Lana looked at Yuzu, then at each other.

"Oh no," Lia whispered.

"She's gonna explode," Lana added.

And then….it happened.

THWAP.

Lio dropped to the ground like a sack of wet grain, curled up, both hands between his legs.

Selena dropped a ladle. Hina gasped. Rika recoiled.

"What the hell was that for?!" he wheezed, voice several pitches higher.

Yuzu huffed and turned her back on him, cheeks puffed and face redder than an apple. "Idiot! That's what you get for flirting right in front of me!"

Rika tilted her head, utterly confused. "Wait… was that flirting?"

Lio whined from the ground. "I was just admiring the ears!"

"You flirt!!!" Yuzu hissed under her breath, pouting.

Selena looked at her closely now.

Then down at Lio.

Then back to Yuzu again.

She smirked.

Selena: "...So. That's why you visit every day."

Yuzu sputtered. "Wh-What? No! I mean ... .I just like the soup!!"

Lana and Lia blinked in unison, then burst into mischievous giggles.

"Oooooh," Lana whispered. "She's jealous!"

"Yuzu likes Liooooo~" Lia sang.

Lia and Lana both beamed and took Yuzu's hands. "You like big bro~!"

Yuzu: "I don't! Wait, no! I mean yes...NO...I mean I don't know!!"

Selena placed a hand on her shoulder. "Welcome home, Yuzu."

Yuzu blinked.

Yuzu: "…Home?"

The word hit different.

Especially when Red walked back up the trail, cleaned and silent, brushing a leaf from his shoulder.

He glanced at the group, Selena, Hina, the twins, Lio clutching his dignity on the floor, and Rika, still awkwardly holding her posture like a lost traveler.

Then Yuzu.

He didn't say it aloud.

But he didn't tell her to leave, either.

That night, Rika stayed.

She sat near the window with a warm mug of broth in her hands, glancing shyly around the room.

Selena helped her bandage her leg properly. Hina offered her a hair ribbon. The twins showed her their matching boots. Yuzu kept pouting. Lio… still limped.

Red sat at the head of the table, sipping his coffee in silence.

Another person.

Another presence in the house.

And yet, nothing felt wrong.

It felt like something was growing.

Quietly.

None of them knew yet that Rika would stay for good.

That she'd train harder than ever before just to one day fight beside the man who saved her.

That she'd watch him from across the campfire and wonder what it meant to follow someone not out of duty…

…but out of love.

For now, though, she simply sat in peace.

Selena. 

Lio.

Lia. 

Lana.

Hina.

Yuzu. 

And now, Rika.

The final one, accidentally recruited.

And Red… still didn't fully realize they were all following his lead.

He just drank his coffee, unaware that he'd just accidentally recruited his first rookie adventurer.