The morning sun filtered through the stained glass windows of the Silverhaven Adventurer Guild Tavern, casting soft patches of color across the wooden tables and polished floors. The scent of grilled sausage, fresh bread, and eggs filled the air, blending with the constant chatter of adventurers and the occasional clink of tankards.
At one of the corner tables, Lio was already on his third plate of breakfast, eyes sparkling as he devoured everything like a boy who'd fought off starvation with a spoon.
Selena, primly cutting her eggs with a fork and knife, watched him with a mix of horror and fascination.
Sarah, meanwhile, leaned over the table, chin in palm, eyes fixed dreamily on Red, who, as always, was sipping his black coffee in silence, unmoved by the chaos around him.
Lio shoved a piece of toast into his mouth.
Lio: "Gowbin qwests ash tuff, bu' breakfast is worth it."
Selena narrowed her eyes.
Selena: "Chew before you talk, slime for brains."
Lio swallowed, grinning. "You're just jealous I can eat like a real adventurer!"
Selena raised her butter knife. "Say that again and I'll butter your eyebrows."
Before the next round of sibling-level bickering could begin, the heavy oak doors of the guild swung open with a dramatic creak. A gust of cool morning air swept in, along with the soft rustle of leaves, and then they entered.
Four elves.
The room quieted. Heads turned.
Leading the group was a tall elf with flowing azure-blue hair, tied loosely behind his back. His cloak was stitched with silver thread, and across his back rested a massive Mithril Great Bow, its string humming faintly with magical resonance. Each of his steps was light, but deliberate. His name? Blue, Adventurer Rank: Black Mithril, the stuff of whispered tavern tales.
Behind him were his companions, each a picture of elven grace and lethality:
Maya, with hair like fiery autumn leaves braided into a royal crown.
Miyu, the tallest of the three, with pale green hair coiled into a waist-length braid, like a vine ready to strike.
Mayu, sharp-eyed and sleek, with a midnight blue bob cut and violet eyes that looked like they'd seen everything, and judged it all disappointing.
As they walked in unison toward the receptionist desk, whispers rippled through the tavern.
"Black Mithril… That's the Sniper Blue!"
"Are those his hunting maidens?"
"Didn't he slay a Flame Wyvern with a single arrow last winter?"
Selena tilted her head. "Who's the pretty elf guy? He walks like he owns the place."
Sarah leaned forward. "He's kinda cool-looking... but not as cool as Red."
Lio, mouth half-full again, pointed with his fork.
Lio: "Ooooh, look, elf babes."
Red, meanwhile, had already turned away from the window and pulled his hood lower over his face.
He sipped his coffee.
Selena frowned. "Red? You good?"
Red calmly took another sip. "...Nope."
Blue scanned the room, sharp eyes sweeping the tavern like a hawk searching for prey. When he spotted the hooded figure slouching in the far corner, nursing a mug like it was his only salvation, his face lit up with pure, desperate hope.
"Red!"
The entire guild turned again.
Red audibly exhaled through his nose.
Blue strode over, his long elven legs making short work of the distance, and knelt next to Red like a man on death row begging for a priest. He clutched Red's cloak with trembling hands.
Blue: "Brother-in-law, you have to save me."
Selena blinked. "Brother-in-law?"
Sarah tilted her head. "Wait, his brother-in-law? Red's?"
Lio choked on his juice.
Blue: "Volette found me," he whispered in panic, his face pale.
Blue: "I was scouting the Western Range for silk-fanged wyverns and missed one dinner. Now she's on the warpath. She sent me a letter... with my bowstring knotted into a heart... and then burned it."
Red looked at him over the rim of his mug.
Red: "How long's it been since you went home?"
Blue flinched. "...Elven weeks."
Red: "Human weeks."
Blue: "...Two months. But in my defense, wyvern nests don't scout themselves!"
Red sighed. "You idiot."
Blue grabbed Red's arm.
Blue: "She's your sister! Can't you talk to her? Be the voice of reason? Be the bridge between me and my beautiful, terrifying lioness of a wife?"
Red stood. His shadow loomed.
Red: "Go home. At least once a week."
Blue let go as if burned.
Blue: "You too? You fear her too?!"
Red didn't answer. He simply turned to refill his coffee.
Selena, utterly lost, leaned toward Sarah. "Wait, who the heck is Volette?"
Sarah shrugged. "No idea. But I think I like her already."
Lio raised a hand. "Can I just say I'm very glad I'm single?"
From across the tavern, Mayu called out,
Mayu: "Blue, are you still on your knees begging like a child?"
"Don't rush me!" Blue snapped, standing with a dramatic hair flip.
Blue: "This is a delicate family negotiation."
Maya sighed. "More like your weekly therapy session with Red."
Miyu just crossed her arms.
Miyu: "He's lucky Volette didn't use the lightning arrows this time."
Selena turned to Red, her brow furrowed.
Selena: "Wait, you have a sister? Married to him?"
Red sipped his coffee. "...Unfortunately."
Sarah giggled. "I hope I meet her someday."
Blue paled again. "No! None of you must speak her name in vain! Volette the Valiant, She Who Roars, Mother of Lightning Bolts!"
Selena snorted. "She sounds like a handful."
Red finally cracked a faint smile.
Red: "She is family."
Inside the Silverhaven Guild, things had started to return to their usual hum after the morning commotion. Or so it seemed.
Lio, sitting near the back with a pastry half-stuffed in his mouth, had his eyes locked on Mayu, the sleekest, sharpest, and most intimidating of Blue's three elven companions. Her short blue bob cut shimmered as she moved, her violet eyes scanning the room like a hawk searching for weakness.
Lio leaned toward Selena and whispered,
Lio: "Dude... she's so cool. I think I'm in love."
Selena deadpanned. "You also said that about the baker's daughter, the librarian, and that statue in the central plaza."
Lio ignored her. He sat up straight and gave Mayu his best charming smile.
Mayu turned, very slowly and met his eyes with hers.
The room dropped five degrees.
She walked toward him in perfect silence, every step deliberate, her sleek armor gleaming faintly with deadly grace.
Lio's grin faltered. "U-Uh…"
She leaned down close enough for him to smell the faint scent of lilac steel polish.
Mayu: "You like looking?"
Lio gulped. "Uh... maybe…?"
Mayu tapped her quiver, filled with perfectly arranged violet-shafted arrows.
Mayu: "Want me to poke your eyes out so you can imagine me forever?"
Lio yelped and launched backward off his chair like it was on fire, flipping the table and hitting the ground with a clatter.
Selena burst out laughing. "Serves you right, eyeball goblin."
Sarah sipped her tea. "Elves are scary…"
The guild doors creaked open once more.
This time, there was no dramatic gust of wind, no flurry of leaves.
Just a simple entrance, with a woman stepping lightly into the guild hall, Volette.
She was breathtaking.
Dressed in a violet-black outfit that shimmered with embroidered threads, her long black hair with violet streaks cascaded over one shoulder. Her violet eyes glowed like moonlight in a stormy night.
The room fell silent again.
Even the rowdy adventurers froze.
She smiled, a gentle, sweet, terrifying smile.
Volette: "I missed you, darling~"
Blue, halfway into an escape attempt behind a barrel, froze.
He turned slowly, already sweating.
His three elven companions? Gone.
VANISHED.
Chairs still spinning.
Blue: "...Traitors."
Volette walked over, casually grabbed Blue by the collar like a toddler caught stealing cookies, and leaned in sweetly.
Volette: "Two months."
Blue: "I can explain! The wyverns! The scouting! I was about to send a letter!"
Volette: "Oh, darling… you already did. With your bowstring."
Blue: "N-no wait, that was a joke! Symbolic! Poetic even!"
Volette: "You'll have plenty of time to write poetry at home."
She turned and began dragging Blue by the collar, heels scraping against the wooden floor, out the guild doors like a strict mother hauling her mischievous child.
Blue: "Brother-in-law! Help meeee! This is abuse of marriage privilege!"
Red sipped his coffee in the background, unbothered.
The guild burst into laughter.
Selena, wide-eyed, leaned toward Red. "So that's your little sister?"
Red nodded. "...She takes after our mom."
Sarah giggled. "She's my new idol."
Lio peeked from under the flipped table. "I'll never date again…"