Morning broke over Silverhaven, casting golden rays through the bustling capital. The smell of fresh bread, iron, and horse sweat filled the air. Red walked alone, as he often did, cutting through the noise like a shadow. He had a short list of things to do, restock potions, sharpen his blades, and pick up a few dried rations before taking on another quest.
He moved efficiently through the merchant quarter, unbothered by crowds or stares. The city, lively and loud, rarely left space for quiet contemplation, but Red's presence drew a respectful circle of silence around him.
As he passed the inner city temple, a place where clerics blessed nobles and healed the occasional injured guard, he paused.
A figure lay crumpled at the bottom of the wide marble steps.
A girl.
Her long pink hair was tangled and dusted with dirt, skin pale, limbs thin like old branches. Her clothes were threadbare, stained with rain and mud. She looked no older than sixteen. She wasn't unconscious, but barely moved, her lips trembled, her fingers twitching against her chest.
Starving.
Red glanced at her for only a moment before turning away.
But ten paces later, he stopped. He turned around, walked to a nearby food stall, and returned holding a warm sweet bun wrapped in paper. Without a word, he crouched beside the girl and placed the bun next to her.
She didn't respond. Just stared ahead, unfocused.
Red stood and left.
He didn't look back.
The day passed like many others. Red took a mid-tier guild request, escorting a merchant convoy past the southern farms where bandits had been spotted. Routine work. He completed the job swiftly, leaving the stunned convoy guards whispering in awe behind him.
Evening rolled in with a warm, dusky sky.
And as he returned along the same temple route, Red noticed movement.
The pink-haired girl now sat upright, the bun half-eaten in her trembling hands. She glanced around in confusion, her gaze flicking across the passing city folk who ignored her, then landed on him.
Her eyes widened.
Red didn't speak. He simply met her gaze, then gestured with a small tilt of his head.
She hesitated.
He walked away, not waiting.
For a heartbeat, she stayed there. Then, shakily, she rose, clutching what remained of the bun. Step by step, barefoot and nervous, she followed him.
They arrived back at the inn, the same worn-down, quiet place where Selena, Lio, and the twin girls now rested.
Red pushed open the door and stepped inside, motioning for the girl to follow.
Lio looked up from a bowl of stew at the small table. Selena leaned against the window, brushing her silver hair. Both turned toward the new guest.
Another stray.
Selena arched an eyebrow. "Another one?"
"She was starving," Red replied flatly.
Lio put down his spoon. "She looks… bad."
The girl stepped just inside the room, clutching the front of her clothes nervously. "I… I'm sorry. I don't want to be trouble. I didn't mean to follow. I just..."
Selena stood up and walked closer, her silver eyes scanning the girl. "What's your name?"
The girl bowed her head. "Hina…"
Selena: "Are you sick?"
Hina: "No. Just hungry. I haven't eaten in days."
Lio tilted his head. "You from the slums?"
Hina shook her head.
Hina: "No. I used to live near the eastern wall. But when I got too weak to work, they told me I was just another mouth to feed. They left me behind…"
Selena's expression softened.
A sudden wet cough came from the next room, one of the twins. The sound was harsh, rattling.
Lio moved instantly, rushing in. "Lana!"
But before he reached the bed, Hina had already moved past him. Her legs wobbled, but her hands were steady as she knelt beside the bed and placed her palm gently on Lana's forehead.
The room fell quiet.
A soft, golden glow shimmered from her fingertips.
Selena's eyes widened. Lio froze.
Lana stirred. Her coughing slowed. Her breathing steadied. She opened her eyes with a faint blink.
Lia, still curled beside her sister, stirred weakly as well.
Hina leaned back, breathing a little faster from the exertion.
Hina: "I… learned a little. I wasn't a full healer. Just a trainee. But I remember enough."
Selena took a step forward. "You just healed her."
Lio looked stunned. "That… that was incredible."
Red nodded once. "She's a healer."
Hina looked at him, fear still lingering in her expression. "Why did you bring me here?"
Red: "You need a place to live," he said. "And we need someone like you."
She looked between Selena and Lio, then back at the sleeping girls she had just helped.
"Are they… your children?" she asked Lio quietly.
"My sisters," he said. "They're all I've got."
Hina smiled faintly, the first time her face showed any kind of warmth. "They're lucky. You're brave."
Selena watched the interaction carefully. She recognized something in Hina, not just kindness, but pain. The kind of quiet sorrow that only came from being discarded.
"Do you want to stay?" Selena asked softly.
Hina looked at her. "...Yes."
Later that night, the inn was still. The girls slept peacefully. Lio cleaned dishes near the water basin. Selena brushed her hair silently.
Red stood by the window, arms folded.
Selena joined him. "You're building something, aren't you?"
He said nothing.
Selena: "First me. Then Lio. Now Hina." She exhaled.
Selena: "You're not just picking up strays."
"No," Red said.
Selena: "Then why?"
He looked out into the streets, voice low. "Because the world won't wait for legends to come back. It needs people strong enough to stand when we're gone."
Selena looked down. "You think we can become strong?"
Red: "Maybe, Let's just see..."
In a forgotten inn on the edge of the capital, the foundations of something fragile and new began to form.
Red, the silent master of black blades.
Selena, the silver-eyed girl learning to trust again.
Lio, the slum boy with fire behind his eyes.
Hina, the quiet healer who still believed in kindness.
They didn't know it yet, but this was where it truly began, not on battlefields, but in small acts of mercy, and in choices made without glory.