The Day I Met Him

After a bit of just wandering around the city without any aim, he took a seat at the large, prominent fountain that sat in the center of a luxurious promenade that produced a beautiful array of water.

As he sat there boredly, his attention was caught at the sound of something small dropping into the fountain water with a plop.

Looking up to his right side, he realized there was a young man, who seemed roughly his age, standing beside him, having flipped a bronze coin into the clear, sparkling water.

For a brief moment as he first saw the youthful man with curly, red hair and bright, blue eyes, he held an almost sad curve to his lips, but the moment the man noticed his gaze, that changed to a smile as bright as the morning star.

"Oh, sorry–did I distract you? My bad," the youthful man laughed, ruffling his own locks.

He was wearing a peculiar outfit; it was light, seemingly leather armor of an umber shade, not exuberant by any means, but well taken care of as his hands were also protected by black gloves. Behind his back, a white cape flowed, almost serving as a scarf as the bundled-up part around his neck seemed fluffy and warm.

"...It's fine," he said.

For some reason, he was left captivated by the youthful man.

"I see," the curly-haired man smiled.

To his surprise, a hand was extended down towards him, accompanied by a bright smile from the curly-haired stranger.

"Huh?"

"I'm Held! I'm an adventurer…though I'm only a silver-rank, I'm working hard to move up!" The man introduced himself.

He was so bubbly and bright, it felt almost difficult for him to stare straight at him as the light he produced was too powerful for the man that wanted to sulk in the darkness.

But, he accepted the extended hand, shaking it lightly.

"Elias."

"Elias? That's a nice name," Held said with a smile, seating himself directly next to him without any hesitation.

Though he usually didn't care much for conversation, it seemed he didn't have much of a choice as the man who was a nameless stranger just a moment ago chose to sit next to him without asking.

"Sorry, you just looked lonely, so I…" Held chuckled a bit.

"You don't have any filter, do you?"

"No, not really," Held laughed again, "I've been told it's a good thing! Well, most of the time, anyway. I guess sometimes I don't know when to shut up."

"I can see that."

"Woah! Harsh!" The red-haired man laughed more, acting playfully offended, "So, what're you up to?"

Is this guy for real…? He thought.

Looking at Held, he was met with a bubbly, almost infectious smile that was all too bright to stare directly at.

"...I'm waiting for somebody," he answered quietly.

He was somewhat trying to end the conversation, but a small part of him didn't want it to end–either stemming from the boredom of waiting there, or some other feeling he couldn't quite place a finger on.

Held looked at him for a moment with those shiny blues of his, "A friend?"

"Something like that."

"Are you new to town?" Held suddenly asked.

It was asked out of the blue, yet dead-on that he could only stare at the youthful man for a few moments in confusion.

Held laughed, scratching his cheek with a sense of bashfulness, "Sorry, it's just kind of easy to tell! Call it the intuition of somebody native to this town!"

"You're odd…" He mumbled, "but…yeah, I am."

"Really?! You should let me show you around, then! I know Garzgania like the back of my hand!" Held illustrated this point by raising his hand as if it solidified his words.

"Err, I don't know…"

Looking around, he didn't see any method of escaping from the eccentricism of his "newfound friend" who seemed intent now on showing him the city.

"Oh, right, you're waiting for somebody, aren't you?" Held's energy suddenly deflated as he sighed out.

"--"

"Right?"

The saddened, almost comical frown from the man who seemed like the incarnation of joy itself made him feel somewhat mad.

"...It's going to be awhile, so I might be able to look around a bit…" He muttered.

"Really?!" Held said with a bright smile, quickly jumping back to his feet.

"Well, it's not like I know my way around here," he said, standing up slowly as he rubbed his own head.

"Leave it to me, then!" Held pointed at himself with his thumb.

It was somewhat of an embarrassing experience as the red-haired, youthful man spoke with such passion that he drew concerned gazes of the passing crowd of the bustling city.

As they began to stroll through the streets, he was caught staring at the vermilion-haired, newfound companion of his.

"What is it?" Held asked with a smile.

Though he quickly averted his gaze, it didn't seem to be enough. But, he answered the man's question as they walked over the stone-paved road of the market-filled street.

"Why're you doing this?" He asked, "I mean, you have to have a reason, don't you?"

"Do I?" Held laughed.

"...I think you do," he nodded.

Held looked at him for a moment, rubbing his chin as if trying to find an answer–which surprisingly confirmed that it seemed he really didn't have much of a solid, tangible answer to give.

"Honestly, I was pretty lonely today, too," Held chuckled with a slight sense of embarrassment.

"I thought an adventurer would be pretty busy," he said, "And be pretty popular."

"Popular?!" Held laughed at his words.

He raised an eyebrow at the man with curly, vermilion hair as they walked together down the street.

"What's so funny?"

"You really aren't from around here are you?" Held asked with a smile.

"No," he shook his head.

"Well, being an adventurer isn't exactly something that makes you some super cool, respected person," Held explained, "Just about every boy tries to become one. A lot make it. But, what sets people apart is what you end up accomplishing as an adventurer. A silver-rank like me isn't exactly anything of note, really."

"Is that so?"

"Ah, so harsh! I wanted you to try and say the opposite!" Held laughed.

"Sorry, but I don't really know enough to do that…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just kidding–anyway…" Held stepped in front of him, "How about trying some food from Garzgania?"

He didn't really notice it by now, but they were in a different section of the city, surrounded by lavish, well-maintained establishments with little vendors occupying the street corners, though the enticing aroma of food filled the nice air of the warm day.

"...I guess I am a little hungry," he answered.

"Perfect! I know a great place around here–I'm sure you'll love it," Held gave him a thumbs-up.

He's…definitely weird. Between him and Klaus, are the people of this world just this nice? He questioned.