Published: February 1, 2026
Quattro’s wake-up routine was relatively good.
If woken by surprise, he would react for a moment as if not understanding what happened, but naturally waking up posed no problem. As the morning sun rose, his eyes snapped open, and though slightly dazed, he had no inclination to fall back asleep and began moving.
Today, too, he awoke as light filtered through the gap in the window, straightening his body curled up under the blanket on the floor and sitting cross-legged.
“~~…”
A soundless voice, like metal scraping against metal, escaped from his throat as he leaned back.
His dull eyes blinked rapidly, as if shaking off the remnants of sleep. Ruffling his stiff, dull-colored hair, his gaze shifted to the bed right beside him. Since he usually slept on the floor by the foot of the bed, he couldn’t see the face of its occupant, but the rising and falling of a swollen blanket was visible.
“…”
He roughly pushed aside the blanket tangled around his legs, then moved on all fours across the carpet. Reaching the pillow, he peeked down at Rizel, who was likely buried there.
Rizel faced away, her face unseen. Quattro silently stood and moved to the other side.
“(...Not waking up)”
Slowly crouching to peer into the blanket-covered face, just as expected, he found Rizel sound asleep.
Indeed, she was surprisingly hard to wake. The first time Quattro shared a room and morning with her, he had no idea what to do as Rizel wouldn’t wake up. He spent ages pacing around the bed.
“(Does she sleep late?)”
Quattro always went to bed first, so he wasn’t exactly sure how late she stayed up.
However, when Rizel moved, her awareness flickered awake, so he wasn’t entirely in the dark. For now, she should be asleep before midnight at the latest.
He idly watched her thinly parted lips exhale soft breaths, thinking she probably wouldn’t wake up soon since she’d said no adventuring today. He tilted his head, a little disappointed.
“?”
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening came.
It was opened quietly, likely with consideration, making little noise. Quattro lifted his head and looked toward the door, where Jill stood, hand on the handle.
Stepping one foot into the room, Jill’s gaze briefly checked Rizel buried under the blankets. Because he knew she was asleep, Quattro hadn’t realized there was no knock.
Jill’s eyes then shifted to the crouching Quattro.
“Get ready quickly and meet me out back.”
A low, slightly hoarse voice whispered into the room.
The words were clearly directed at him. Quattro blinked and nodded once. Confirming that, Jill’s gaze glanced again at Rizel before leaving the room. Quattro watched silently.
As the door closed, Quattro shook his dull hair and stood.
“(Back… back there?)”
He wondered as he changed clothes.
The innkeeper often hung laundry in the space behind the inn. Quattro had heard from someone on a certain help day that Jill and Eleven sometimes sparred there.
He recalled hearing something like, “It’s so amazing it doesn’t feel real, I doubt they’re even human, adventurers are incredible,” though he didn’t quite understand.
“(Sparring?)”
Rizel had mentioned it last night. Quattro’s eyes faintly reflected light, wondering if Jill would spar with him.
His impression of Jill was not bad. It was comfortable that Jill didn’t push for involvement, usually answered questions, and unlike some others, didn’t shamelessly dig into his vulnerabilities.
He had also understood why Jill was called the strongest from watching him fight in the labyrinth. Although he hadn’t seen Jill’s full power, it was clear.
“...I’m off.”
Quattro finished changing, tying his sash around his waist, quietly muttering to the sleeping Rizel before leaving the room. He washed his face at the bathhouse sink downstairs, then headed to the back door of the inn empty-handed.
Opening the door, he was met by a slightly dim sky just after sunrise.
“What?”
In front of him stood a dark figure—Jill, putting on gloves.
As Jill stared at him, Quattro felt the sea breeze brush his cheek.