Sunlight hits my face when I wake—too warm, too soft, too unfamiliar. Voices echo outside. Rose… loud again, trying to impress her uncle with whatever she thinks passes as skill.
I descend the stairs. The smell of cold food reaches me first.
"Hiro," Rose says, smiling as if the world bends toward her, "your breakfast is on the table. You overslept, so it got cold."
I don't answer. I sit, eat, and watch her laugh with Oliver. None of her shots land near the center. She's pretending she doesn't notice. I look away before the absurdity makes me choke—
Too late.
I cough, force air through my throat, press a fist to my chest. Water would help—but I don't ask.
My thoughts drift back to the village, to the distant horizon, to Lumineth.
Mother… will I really find the Three Meanings there?
The possibility forces a small, involuntary smile.
"Hiro?" Rose calls.
My shoulders stiffen before I even look at her.
"Uncle says we leave now. The coach is waiting. He needs to gather his friends first. Come on…"
I stand. I want a final look at the view—quiet, untouched—but her voice cuts through again.
"Hiro…"
I approach. She leans in, too close, invading the last bit of space I keep for myself.
"We're sailing across the sea for four days and seven nights," she whispers, tone gleeful—as if she expects me to break.
"WHAT?!"
I recoil. "You're joking. Tell me you're joking."
She shrugs. "I never lie. Ask Uncle."
I slump into the coach seat, cheek propped on my palm, gaze pinned to the passing scenery.
Silence steadies me—until Rose opens her mouth.
"My attacks hit the red mark eight out of eight, right, Uncle?" she announces proudly.
Oliver nearly laughs. She snaps toward him.
"UNCLE!"
"Yes, yes," he says.
Rose beams at me, expecting praise. "Hear that, Hiro? I'm that good."
"Sure," I mutter. "I'll pretend I didn't see the shot that almost hit the ground."
"HIROOO!"
The coach stops in front of the bar. Oliver steps out, enters the building, and—
With a single raised hand, the room falls silent.
Everyone looks at him like he's carved from authority itself.
Even Rose is stunned. And for a brief second, the quiet feels like something I could live in.
"My friends," Oliver calls out once the room hangs on his voice,
"LET US SET SAIL!"