Warning: Yes, this chapter covers the Town Event "A Day In Leon's Life." Please note I deliberately put some of the events within this town event out-of-order compared to how it goes in canon. Just thought I'd put it out there for any Rune Factory 4 fans reading this that already accessed this event in-game!

31. A Recipe For Happiness

A few days passed since all the chaos of the matchmaking. Arganan soon found out that Vishnal and Frey were officially dating each other. Same went for, surprisingly, Margaret and Forte.

Doug and Dylas? Not so much. But hey, two out of three potential romantic couples wasn't bad. Not bad for a matchmaker who hasn't been in love before, indeed. Arganan couldn't help but laugh at that thought.

Arganan to get a letter from his niece. There wasn't anything for him in the mail today, however, so that disappointed him. Perhaps she hadn't bothered to write because the situation with Ventuswill was over. Or maybe she got sick of writing to him? Then again, she was Countess of Lazulis, now. She had a lot to do. Arganan wasn't sure what could be keeping her from writing another letter and sending it to him, but he hoped to hear from her in some form, soon.

The former Count had the day off today, so he was using his time to take a good walk around town. He hadn't talked to Leon much. Sure, the man went in and out of the shop a few times, in the past few days, but otherwise they hadn't chatted much. Arganan figured that Leon was still trying to get used to things, given that he was, apparently, 1. The very first Guardian that sacrificed themselves for Ventuswill, and therefore technically the oldest out of all the former Guardians and probably suffering from the massive time shift since his sacrifice, and 2. He was the only Guardian who hadn't lost his memory of his past, which probably didn't help the situation right now.

"Nag!"

"What did you just call me!?"

Arganan's gaze snapped towards the source of the voices, and he soon realized it was none other than Doug and Dylas, fighting as usual. A soft groan escaped the former Count. Someone had to break them up, right? He figured he might as well do so, starting to approach them.

"Let us use each other's words to talk."

Arganan blinked. He hadn't said that aloud. Nor had Dylas and Doug. Looking up ahead, he noticed Leon nearby, musing aloud. There was a soft grin on Leon's face, his gaze flickering towards Dylas and Doug, before continuing on with the random monologue. Arganan soon realized that it wasn't so much a random monologue as it was just Leon reading aloud from a book he had in his hands.

"I took my heart out, and placed it on a plate one day. I looked at it, watched it, and put it next to yours. Then we added a cup of argument, a dash of honesty, and a pinch of trust….and what would you know…we had both begun to smile."

Doug stared at Leon, completely distracted form his earlier argument with Dylas. "What…are you talking about?"

Leon smiled, looking up from the book and towards him. "It's the tale of a happy couple who would do that to make amends."

"Huh?"

"It's written right here in this book." Leon held up the book for Doug and Dylas to see.

Dylas just stared, dumbfounded, before sighing and leaving. Doug groaned, shaking his head. "Whatever…I don't feel like bothering with it now." With that, he also left.

Leon just decided to look at the book in his hands, examining the contents. "So, this is 'happiness.' Interesting."

"Happiness?" Arganan couldn't help but ask aloud, approaching the former Guardian. His curiosity was piqued, and he might as well do something to distract himself from the lingering thoughts of missing his niece's letters and trying to pay down a current debt. "Leon, what is this book called, exactly?"

"A Recipe for Happiness." Leon pointed out, looking up at him. "Apparently, a happy couple use this method to make amends when they didn't see eye to eye."

"Interesting." Arganan doubted he heard of that book before. It definitely didn't exist in Lazulis Island, for sure.

"Though," Leon chuckled, "When you think about it, it's just another mushy romance between a besotted couple."

Argnan could only sigh. "I suppose you have a point there, too."

Someone clearing their throat caught Arganan's attention, and he and Leon turned to face none other than Forte, approaching. She seemed tense, given her rigid posture, and her face emanated a certain urgency, given her furrowed brows and overall serious expression.

"Leon," She started, "I have something to ask."

"I see." Cue Leon starting to walk past Forte regardless. Forte blinked, gaze snapping towards him.

"H-hey! Why did you walk right past me!?" Forte called.

Leon stopped in his tracks, turning on his heel to face her with a teasing grin. "I don't recall you asking me to stop."

"Rrgh…." The knight could only sigh, before looking him in the eye. "I'll be brief. I hear you've been spending a lot of time speaking with Kiel. Can I ask you not to give him anymore odd or inappropriate ideas, please? I mean," She shook her head, "Just this morning, he nearly walked out the door with no shirt in order to mimic you."

Leon stared slightly back at her, before a chuckle left him. "What? He actually tried that?"

Arganan grimaced at Forte's statement. He, honestly, was glad that Kiel got caught. Firstly, it was fall. The poor boy would've been freezing right now if Forte didn't do so. Also, secondly…how did Kiel get that idea from Leon in the first place?

Then again, Arganan mused as he observed Leon's smile, that man is odd. Just like everyone else. And I'm not surprised that Kiel might be impressionable enough to try emulating him, given that he is one of the youngest people in this town.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Forte seemed to notice, and her glaring at Leon did not cease. "It's not amusing! What other disgraceful ideas have you put in his head? Spit it out!"

Leon simply smiled. "Whatever could you mean?"

Forte blanched, taken aback by the question. "Uh…."

Leon tilted his head towards her, trying to give her an innocent look. "What do you think I'm teaching Kiel, exactly?"

"Uh…" Forte swallowed, her voice growing smaller. "Things like, um, how to dally with women, and…"

He blinked. "Pardon? I can barely hear you."

"Uh…like I said!" Forte stumbled over her words, and Arganan couldn't help but internally sigh. Not surprised she's getting flustered over all of this.

"You know," Leon quipped, pushing a few blue locks behind his ear, "I personally believe ignorance is unhealthier than knowledge, regardless of the subject."

"That may be true, yes, but…wait." Cue her gasping, then glaring at him. "So you could hear me!"

Leon could only smile. "I recall saying I could 'barely' hear you, not that I couldn't hear you at all."

"Ugh! Just…stop putting those horrible ideas into Kiel's head. Thank you!" With that, Forte walked away quickly, but with obvious frustration evident on her face. Arganan could only hope that she would calm down a bit.

"You know, Arganan…" The former Count looked towards Leon, whose eyes were on him. "I was not impressed when I met that lady knight. I thought her stiff, formal, and uninteresting. But…" A smirk appeared on his face, "Who knew she would be such fun to tease?"

Arganan could only shrug. "It's true that she can be pretty formal. But I'd be scared of crossing her too much." He could remember how Forte fought in battle, from the couple of times he'd been adventuring with her and Frey. She had swordsmanship that was on par with Sir Therius, from Lazulis. He'd had to get on her bad side.

"I suppose you have a point. But it never hurts too much, once in a while." He looked down at the book in his hands, then up at Arganan. "You know, Kiel told me something interesting about the book, the other day."

Arganan blinked. "He did?"

Leon nodded. "Yes. He mentioned that the words 'let us use each other's words to talk' is actually a declaration by the author. See…" He looked down at the book briefly, "This book used to be in a language that hasn't been used in a very long time – one that might've been written from my own time. And that it might have been deliberately written in that language for someone who could understand that language."

"Like you?" Arganan pointed out.

Leon nodded. "Exactly. I sat down and took the time to understand what was written…so I should also take time to listen and hear what others are saying. Doing that helps you really see where the other person is coming from."

A sigh left the former Count. "That's something I wish I did sooner."

"Did sooner?" Leon frowned, and Arganan cursed internally. Right. He doesn't know a thing about me and Calista's relationship…if it could be called one.

"Do you know I used to be a Count where I used to live? I'm sure someone brought it up at some point." Out of everyone in Selphia, Arganan knew that Leon would have to be put up to speed with everything that happened.

Leon nodded. "I do recall Amber telling me that a couple days back. You keep in contact with your niece, the new Countess, correct?"

"Exactly. But she hasn't sent any letters since Ventuswill was returned to normal, and you coming back from your earlier sacrifice and all of that. Of course, I could assume she's busy, and I'm sure Calista is, but…" The former Count couldn't help but shake his head. "When I left Lazulis, she and I weren't on the best of relations, for many reasons I won't elaborate on right now. We had more than one cup of arguments, for sure. The honesty and trust, not so much." He couldn't help but chuckle sheepishly, at that. "Frey told me, a while back, that the fact that she's sending me letters was a good thing and it might be a sign things could get better, but if Calista hasn't written…does that mean she doesn't care, anymore?"

Leon was quiet, taking in all that information for a moment. His expression was unreadable, his mouth a thin line, but he spoke up after a moment. "I'm not in a place to tell how well your relationship with her is going. But I do think that you both would benefit from having the chance to talk. And speaking of that…" Leon took out a letter, before offering it to him. "Here."

"Huh?" Arganan looked donw at the letter, taking it from him, before seeing Calista's handwriting on it. "How did you get this?"

"It was mailed to the Bell Hotel by mistake. I've been looking for you all day, actually." Leon offered him a soft smile. "Illuminata told me that she gave you the day off work, so I've been wandering the whole town for that reason."

"And reading the book, while you're at it?" Arganan added.

Leon nodded. "Exactly. It is fascinating, after all."

Arganan looked donw at the letter, opening the envelope, only to realize it was already unsealed. He slowly looked up at Leon, staring at him. "Did you read my letter?"

"I got bored." Leon simply replied. "A Recipe for Happiness is fun, but I was also interested in what the contents of such a mysterious letter had to say. I won't tell anyone, promise."

Arganan could only sigh, before reading the letter.

Dear Uncle,

I know it's been a while since I last sent a letter, and I do apologize for the delay. I hope you have been well, here in Selphia. I've been busy arranging further trade routes with the Gurak since our peace treaty with them. Things are going well.

I also wanted to let you know, in advance, that I will be visiting Selphia in the upcoming Spring. Princess Frey invited me to the Spring Harvest Festival as a guest, and I realize I haven't made much of a visit to Selphia at all, so I immediately took the request. I will be arriving the day before, and staying until the day after the festival, so I'll likely run into you while I'm here.

I know things have been difficult between both of us. But I hope I can take this time, while visiting you, to speak with you face to face and maybe work things out regarding your stay here, as well as other matters.

Sincerely, Calista

Arganan looked look at Leon, who smiled. "What do you think of your relationship with your niece, now?"

"Well…" Arganan looked down at the letter one more time, then up at Leon, taking a deep breath. "I appreciate you getting this letter to me. Though, please, don't read my stuff next time you accidentally receive it."

"If it's as interesting as this letter, that will be hard. But I'll try." Leon chuckled at that. "Also, you didn't answer my question."

A sigh left the former Count, and he resisted the urge to roll his eye at the other man. "Well, it…certainly is hopeful, for sure. It's not the response I expected. But if she really wants to give this chance, the least I can do is take that chance and hope things work out."

"She hasn't forgotten you." Leon interjected. "No matter how painful that past is, especially when remembering, what both of you have still existed. You both lived knowing each other, being related to each other. Don't forget that."

When Leon put it like that, Arganan knew the other man had a point. No matter what happened, the past history between him and his niece would always exist. That was something that he'd probably have to acknowledge for the rest of his life, and he knew that too well from when he previously told Frey about it. But he also knew that he didn't want to live in that past forever. And, according to Calista's letter, she wanted to move forwards from that past, too.

He didn't think she'd ever give him a chance like this, ever. Maybe there's still hope.

"Thank you, Leon." Arganan swallowed, looking the other in the eye. "I really appreciate your words. They mean a lot." He vaguely wondered if Leon might speak from his own past experience, long before he even became the Guardian, but he decided not to ask.

He saw Leon smile. "You're welcome."

No matter what happened between him and Calista next, when Spring came, things between him and her would come to fruition in some way. Whether this opportunity presented itself for better or worse, Arganan didn't know. But he hoped, with this chance, things might just get even better.