Fatigue washed over him as he slowly opened his eyes and looked around, pondering his location as he wasn't in bed. He tried to recall what had happened before but only concluded by focusing his key on the desk.
Shortly after, he checked the time.
6:31 AM, Sunday,
The familiar feeling gradually faded as he got up from his couch. The couch as well as his training caused his muscles to ache unbearably, and he wished to relieve the discomfort. Yet, the unpleasant feeling wouldn't clear out no matter how he moved or positioned himself. Thus, he couldn't help but let out a soft yawn while enduring his soreness.
He noticed some disorganized items scattered across his desk, including something that wasn't there previously—a spaghetti with a fork.
Appreciating 'their' effort and preparation, a drastic sensation of drowsiness overcame him, momentarily ruining his appetite for a bite. For that reason, he let the spaghetti by. Rein began to clean his desk by putting the disorganized items in their designated spots, but only the plate of spaghetti was left on the table as he thought of eating it later and not completely wasting it.
After cleaning his desk, his key was the last item he grabbed. He grasped the key chain's tightly, afraid it might slip from his hands. He then wore it as a necklace and stepped out of his room.
The joyful chirping of birds filled the air, replacing the silence and easing the tension. For a moment, the calming melody of nature relaxed his mind, offering a bit of reassurance to his thoughts.
The dining table was empty, its surface untouched by any meal remnants. The empty table with a plate suggested that she probably enjoyed the meal he prepared. A small smile spread across his lips as the thought occurred.
Rein walked towards the window by the entrance door and peered outside, noticing the beautiful atmosphere and the warm light radiating into his home. He stood by the window to only look at the peaceful scene outside as the leaves swayed with the wind while the imaginary scent of the blooming flowers reached his nose.
Instinctively, his eyes flickered back to his home, then towards the door, debating whether to experience the nice weather or stay back and read his book.
As his thoughts wandered about the decision, he remembered the recent village ceremony at which the chief spoke with contentment about the new changes. The chief announced innovations to expand the village and to establish potential relationships with other villages.
Everyone in the village, including Rein, had always believed it was so small. But in reality, there are nearly 200 homes that can fit five people, with four independent rooms, one of which is the parent's room.
Rein didn't particularly have siblings since he only lived with his mom. This also means that there wasn't anyone in his home who could personally own these rooms. However, to not make the three remaining rooms useless, Rein's mother decided they should have their purpose in showing their importance in the house. Their importance is a small mini library, a guest room, and a room filled with family collections that contain a lot of pictures of him and his mom.
Most of these pictures were cute, mainly because Rein and his mother are seen to be either at their own home or somewhere outside playing. They make different smiles in every photo, each smile unique.
Some pictures show his growth throughout his years, and in those pictures, he never let go of his smiling demeanor, even though it seemed childlike. Yet it didn't bother him, as that 'childlike' expression is enough to show a genuine relationship with his mother. It had only made him happier.
But even though there were numerous houses in this village, some places—even if they were built long ago—play a significant role in the village's origins. It's also how a singular man, a man named Phatazyo, shaped the village alone.
In the tales of Phatazyo, it's mentioned that Phatazyo created this village from scratch and treasured it so dearly. It was even to the point where no one but his regular residents and close ones were able to get close to it without facing any near-death situations. Many who attempted were given a chance yet lost a limb as a warning to not repeat the reckless mistakes. At the time, corrupted citizens were destroying villages, and he wasn't going to risk any strangers coming into their village to do the same, so he never understood if those who wanted to come had harmful intentions or wanted a place to stay.
Before the rampage began, Phatazyo built six buildings in a minute, each aligned in a circle with a massive platform in the middle for the village chief. At the time, Phatazyo was the village chief. Moreover, it would take any regular person 5 months to finish nonstop. Phatazyo also built some homes, but primarily, the people who resided there built their own homes.
Phatazyo is known for his sharp intellect and serious demeanor. While he is not without flaws, his accomplishments express his outstanding leadership and dedication, which is enough to make him a historical figure. Among his many achievements, his contributions to Lachronia's success were due to his significance in creating a palace for the king, the queen, and their future descendants who could live in it. Phatazyo also helped the king bring millions of people to a vast land on which the palace was officially built.
Since Vastre I—the first king of Lachronia—admired Phatazyo very much, he offered to entrust him with all his possessions. However, Phatazyo graciously declined out of respect for him. They knew each other before the kingdom began, and Vastre I's admiration for Phatazyo only deepened when he realized his thoughtful and kind gesture occurred because of their long-standing friendship. During their time together, Vastre I saw Phatazyo as an older brother.
This is one of the main reasons why Lachronia has a great relationship with the village. They always suggest advancing the village in their own way, but the village always declines every offer as they want to advance independently.
The six places Phatazyo created are the building of Flerona, a hospital, a farm, an inn, a library, and a large garden.
The hospital is rarely used since there haven't been any serious incidents in this village. It's mainly used for those with minor injuries or old ones nearing death. The village then and now still acknowledges that anything could happen, so the ones working as doctors are professionally trained. The library gets new books every month and replaces the ones people aren't interested in or have already read. Then, it was primarily that since Lachronia had just begun, there weren't that many books. So, the village's residents mainly made books in the village library.
For the building of Flerona, most villagers are a part of the building of Flerona as they believe the god of nature, Flerona, created this planet. Even though the belief was founded nearly 3 thousand years ago, they think she is still wandering around this world to help those in need of help, which they acknowledge as a significantly powerful being. This same belief is a great reason why the village takes care of nature so much. Inside the building, the tales mentioned that Phatazyo was one of the only people who communicated with Flerona. Her spiritual presence alone was enough to unintentionally invigorate and awaken a magically dormant item. She quickly discovers this and demands that Phatazyo keep that magical item with him. He was also told to create a building to place that magical item in for others.
Nevertheless, during Phatazyo's reign, the rampage lasted 24 years before finally ending. Phatazyo began to bring in more people, and thereon, many houses began to be built.
The breeze reminded Rein of these thoughts, and after considering his decision for a long time, he chose to go outside.
He began his day by stepping outside, welcomed by the fresh morning air. He locked his doors and walked around to enjoy the nice sunny day. Each moment gave its unique scenery to please the eyes of all. The houses looked new as the years went on; meanwhile, many unfamiliar faces appeared, each expression filled with delight and wonder.
In the blink of an eye, it still seemed like the village had grown so much, considering he'd been living here for the rest of his life.
Rein couldn't help but admire how much had changed over the years. These changes had become so natural that he hadn't thought about them until now. The newly constructed gardens had drawn visitors to enjoy their serene looks, finding comfort in their soothing environment.
Yet, the sole purpose of this walk wasn't to look at gardens. A partial reason is to stretch and savor the flow of movement, and the other reason is to find different vegetables and fruits to surprise his mother with a meal different from what he usually cooks for her.
Rein thought of places where he could gather various ingredients to greet her with a welcoming meal upon her return. A suggestion from his neighbor mentioned a brand-new shop that had recently opened near his area. It opened a few days ago from a stranger and offered the perfect vegetables he needed to make…
Soup.
Hearing numerous praises, his expectations were high.
The walk took nearly five minutes, and he finally reached it. Although the store lacked a crowd, his expectations remained high since he wasn't the type to doubt one's critique.
…
A middle-aged man with dark red hair and dark brown eyes greeted the man standing before Rein. His gaze was keen, as though he were analyzing Rein with a daunting glance. After close inspection, the man returned to his previous demeanor, holding a compassionate gaze toward Rein.
"You seem like a new guest. Do these vegetables or fruits appear to interest you?"
The man wished to hold his attention through those simple words. He then pointed at the most commonly used vegetables and fruits within the village's taste. The items displayed seemed to catch his eye, as the green leaves appeared fresh as they came out of the tomatoes, the spotless radish revealed its stunning surface, and others displayed their natural appeal within the store.
As Rein gave a gentle bow, his posture remained respectful yet relaxed. "There are some vegetables I'm interested in."
"What do you mind getting?"
"The tomatoes and carrots."
"What do you plan on making?"
A strange question... but then again, most people in this village love to question a lot.
"Soup," Rein responded casually, "The traditional kind."
"The villages? It takes me back!" The man shared a small smile. "For as long as I can remember, this soup has been so beloved in this village. Anywhere I went, everyone had the same soup! I thought there must've been a special occasion, but it's just cherished by the community!"
"I thought you were new here?" Rein asked,"
The man shook his head, chuckling as if the question contained a bit of humor. "No, I'm just revisiting my family. It's only been years since I've had that same soup, so I've nearly forgotten about it!"
Rein smiled, nodding in understanding. "You're also not wrong. It does get repetitive, but it will never get old." Rein replied, "When I was young, my mother and I made plenty of soup in our free time. Most of my attempts to make it alone tasted horrible, and I always assumed I would die the minute I tasted it."
"Oh?" The man raised an eyebrow.
"Thankfully, I've improved over time. I want to show her how far I've gotten by making it for her."
"I'm starting to see some confidence in you." He said, chuckling louder than before. "If you want to surprise her, I got these chairberries to spice up your soup to a new level. The spice adds a lot of flavor, making it taste amazing, but it can be painful if you don't have milk afterward. Throughout all of the regions I've been to, surprisingly, this is the only region that doesn't have chairberries."
Chairberries are small, vegetable-like fruits that closely resemble strawberries. They exhibit a purple on the outer surface with bright green leaves sprouting from the top. Chairberries are typically known for their intense spiciness, but their ability to enhance the flavor of almost any dish is well wanted.
When handling spice, no one understood my mother better than I did…
There was a time when she had terrifying reactions to spicy food. It scared me, obviously, but what was most confusing was how she would always laugh afterward when she saw my expression, as if the experience she had just gone through was nothing.
I always wondered if she was truly possessed.
He snapped back to the conversation and carried it on with a reply.
"Is that a part of the chairberries' nature, or just a recommendation? I've heard of them before."
"A bit of both."
"How spicy can it get?"
"In my opinion, it's not that spicy. The village tends to overreact whenever they try to handle these vegetables, so I usually don't recommend it at all."
A silence filled the air, extending longer than expected.
"Why did you recommend it to me?"
"Because kids these days are always lazy! Pretending as if they have better things to be doing. And to add to that, my suggestion about milk works!"
"..."
The man noticed Rein fall into a deep, contemplative state.
"So… what do you say?"