"Thank goodness." Lance sighed with relief. "I was afraid of what to do if you refused."

"It wouldn't be hard for you to find some way to convince me." Owari wasn't afraid to admit his lack of skills at social manipulation. He'd never do something against his morals or beliefs, but convincing him to do something he wasn't fully against wouldn't be so challenging for someone who knew him a bit. "Anyway I'll warn you now, I don't exactly have a lot of money so if you go somewhere expensive don't be surprised if I can't afford to go."

"No need to worry, since I'm inviting everyone I obviously intend to pay for everyone." Lance chuckled. "I got a good bonus since my prospects are much better now that I have a mutant cloudfish tamed beast." He threw in some meat to feed the fish in question as he said this.

"Alright, when is it?" Owari just hoped he didn't plan it to be too far off in the future.

"The three of us already made plans to be able to have it whenever. So we can do it tomorrow. Actually Noel said if you came either yesterday or today you'd probably hope it would be tomorrow so it was because of her we planned things out like this. You two seem to be getting along well." Lance diverted the topic to the thing that interested him at the moment. He was able to tell Owari wouldn't linger too long on the previous subject too long so he switched while he had the chance.

"Seems like it. Thankfully we opened up about the situation early on otherwise it would still be a bit awkward. Things are much better this way so I should thank you for the advice last time." Owari was actually very thankful to Lance for his help on this, he had found that since he and Noel started to interact more openly about their feelings his previously overwhelming thoughts about Milly had practically disappeared. He felt it was a bit too quick considering he had supposedly had feelings for her his whole life, but after talking to Noel he realized his interest in Milly was only because she was the only girl he regularly interacted with, not to mention he had put so much time and effort into their relationship. Now that he was released from the chains of his childhood crush and the weight of years of effort he could be more objective in his feelings and he realized he didn't actually like Milly for herself.

"Well you're welcome for the help. I'd prefer if my few friends in my new home got along. I didn't have much time to talk to her and also it would have been a bit awkward to ask her, so I was wondering how things are going." Having a hand in how things were he was a bit more forward about asking then he might otherwise have been considering how he and Owari still weren't too close.

"That depends on what you mean. I'm not really good with implied meanings, it's best if you just ask directly." Owari shook his head as he thought about the many meanings such a question could have. He didn't feel like thinking too deeply about it so he just asked for clarification.

"She didn't mention it and so far you seem to be avoiding it, so I was wondering if you two were in an actual relationship or not." Lance decided to just be direct, knowing the actual state of their relationship would be important going forward as he interacted with them more anyway.

"It's not really a dating thing." Owari started with this before thinking, how exactly did he go about describing it? "It's complicated, but basically neither of us are ready for anything serious. So we just decided to let things develop naturally." In the end he wasn't sure to explain it.

"Sounds complicated. Seems like you're basically going through a trial relationship to test the waters or something like that?" Lance responded after a bit of thought.

"Trial relationship?" Owari thought about this term, it seemed a bit fitting. "Not quite that direct but it sounds about right." He shrugged and accepted the term, though he probably wouldn't ever call it that openly. He wasn't that dense or stupid to not understand how it might be taken by Noel if he referred to their current situation as that.

"Well as long as the two of you are doing well then it's fine." Lance found it funny to see Owari as he was now, he seemed to like avoiding complicated stuff but relationships were nothing if not complicated so he had no choice but to accept it.

"I'm certainly happy with how things are." He admitted.

"She seems to be too." Lance smiled as he recalled Noel's obvious shifts in tone and mood when talking about Owari, it was strange to see someone so composed react so drastically to any subject. In fact Owari was the same, his usual calm and confident tone changed to be slightly unsure and hesitant whenever he talked about Noel. "So how has your expedition been going? I take it you haven't gone out for the real thing yet." He smoothly moved on before the conversation died.

"I just finished the preliminary work. My next time out will be the real thing, but I still need to recover." Owari pointed to the bandages on his face.

"I was going to ask about that, run into trouble?" Lance knew most people didn't like talking about their injuries since it indicated failure so he wasn't sure how Owari felt about it and thus didn't bring it up himself.

"Just a swarm of knifehead beetles. They were helpful in fixing up some flaws in my technique and sold for a decent penny." Owari didn't really dwell on the injuries they dealt him and instead looked at the benefits he gained from them.

"Knifehead beetles? How big was the swarm?" Lance did have some knowledge about magical beasts so he recognized them a bit.

"A little over a hundred? Should have been a high copper to low silver rank threat if you were curious." Owari recognized Lance's face as the kind someone makes as they try to work out something, he guessed correctly that Lance was trying to work out the threat rank of the swarm to calculate Owari's current skill level.

"Even I would need to put effort into taking down a threat like that. Swarm types are annoying to deal with using my mystic art as well. Not as much anymore though, but still." He chuckled as he realized that Owari must have grown considerably since he last saw him fight. It shouldn't be too surprising though given that he was talented and put his life on the line so often. His current injuries showed this after all.

"Well I'm doing my best to make up for my weaknesses. Whenever I find a flaw in one of my techniques I do my best to fix it. Luckily I'm in the perfect environment to improve myself, otherwise who knows how many years of training I'd need to perfect such simple techniques?" Owari shrugged off the compliment without appearing too self-deprecating. It was important to be humble, but he needed to realize his true capabilities and recognize his actual abilities. He couldn't afford to get caught in others perceptions of his ability, if Lance had said that he was strong directly instead of speaking of his own ability then Owari would have definitely refuted him.

"Humble as always. Well I'm glad that you're improving, it makes me want to improve myself. Lately I've been too caught up in paperwork. I need to take my training more seriously. Luckily I can start perfecting the next level of my mystic art now." He looked at the cloud fish fondly as he spoke his true feelings. Not only had Owari pressured him a bit even before he left, now that he had a more proper understanding of how fast he was improving he was pushed to do better. He was never more thankful to have the agency by his back, otherwise he would have to copy Owari and put his life at risk to improve not to mention the difficulty of finding and taming a suitable magical beast such as this mutant cloud fish without help. He had taken for granted the difficulty of magical beast acquisition before due to his luck with the thunderbird.

"Maybe we can spar one day once I get a proper mystic art." Owari said with a smirk, however this smirk of his caused Lance to smile a bit forcefully as he recalled Owari's savage nature in the train tunnel fight.

"Maybe." He responded noncommittally. "I think I'm about out of time though unfortunately. How about we talk more tomorrow when we meet up with the others to celebrate?" He seemed disappointed but he was a responsible manager so he wouldn't allow personal matters to interfere with his work. He could at least justify his meetings with Owari as him keeping up a relationship with a talented independent hunter even if that was just an excuse. However if he let it interfere with work his superiors wouldn't be as willing to turn a blind eye.

"Alright, I should go get some early rest. The quicker I heal the quicker I can start my proper work. See you later then." Owari didn't bother to think too hard and just agreed. After a quick goodbye he left and made his way home leaving Lance chuckling. It was a breath of fresh air to find someone so unwilling to let power and prestige compromise him, if Owari hadn't saved everyone's lives back then his attitude might come off as haughty or arrogant, but because they had been willing to dig deeper and get to know him not only Lance, but Rebecca and Noel had learned that he was just simple and straightforward. By learning this they had each also learned the valuable lesson not to judge someone solely based on initial appearances. After all had they allowed themselves to be put off by his aloof personality they might not have ever really put him in their eyes.

None of that mattered to Owari who of course didn't care about any of this, and instead he just walked his way home carefully to avoid aggravating his injuries. Once he got home he read until he was too tired to keep going and then fell asleep without trouble. It was a restful but dreamless night and he woke up in the morning feeling refreshed but a little sore. He had walked around too much the day before and carried too much, not only the materials he sold but the groceries back home. He hadn't torn any wounds thankfully but they were a bit sore from his carelessness. He didn't really care much outside of the annoyance that it would take longer to recover if he wasn't careful. So he decided to be more careful in the future as he got out of bed and decided what to do today. Since he didn't have much to do except study and try to think about how to improve his combat he wondered if he should just focus on that.

He had recently had a flash of inspiration in combat regarding how his attacks could kick up a decent wind, and he had a few ideas about that. On top of that he had a lot of research to do in regards to mystic arts. It would be very unlike him to procrastinate, however as he thought about doing them he had two problems. Firstly his injuries made it hard for him to properly picture certain maneuvers in his head since he usually moves his body even if it's only slowly and deliberately. Since his body was sore and he needed to be careful he was feeling rather lazy in regards to his martial studies. This in itself wasn't enough to delay him since he wasn't the type to let a little laziness stop him from improving. However lately he had been losing focus as his mind drifted to a few subjects, not the least of which was Noel though there were a few others such as how Erica's studies were going and how his mother was doing, and even what had happened to Lucas and Milly who would have likely moved to some further off city with more safety.

He was uncharacteristically out of focus this morning for some reason. Although he would like to say he didn't know why he was very self-aware and knew exactly what the problem was. His old life and new life were clashing in his mind, even if he was mature and calm he would still have some trouble transitioning. He had so far been dedicating all his thought and effort into training and growing. However his attempts to move on from his old life and make new friends and acquaintances was forcing him to face reality. This wasn't a bad thing and he knew this day would come eventually, the problem was how lethargic it made him feel. He knew he would have to face this and trying to ignore it would just make it worse. However he had a strong urge to do so anyway and just lay in bed and sleep.

Since he knew he would do just that if he stayed here thinking about all this stuff he got up and got dressed before leaving. He didn't like complex thoughts that got in the way, so he decided to face things head-on. If his mind refused to move on from his old life due to his attachments then he just had to prove to himself that his new life was just as good if not better. The first part of doing so was to make his way to Noel's home where he sat down out front nearby and read a book about magical beasts which didn't require much thought and was mainly memorization unlike martial topics which needed focus and contemplation. Since he had spent some of the morning wallowing in self-doubt it didn't take long before he heard the familiar sounds of footfalls that Noel made which were light but solid, a very odd and unique sound.

"You know if you keep waiting in front of my home so often people may begin to talk." A slight teasing tone came from her as she said this.

Owari closed his book calmly and looked over at her for a moment, seeing her in her work attire which cut quite the serious figure if not for her small size and albinism which made her look frail. "Not that I care much what random people say about me, but I don't have much alternative if I want to see you. After all I don't know where you work nor when you come home. As for going in, wouldn't it seem even more suspicious to onlookers if I go into your house so early?" Owari joked back a bit, though it was an honest and blunt type of humor which he was best at.

"You seem a bit different today." Noel noted as she carefully inspected him, she was quite sharp at reading people.

"Lance plans to have his celebration party tonight." Owari didn't answer her and changed the subject, this caught her attention as usually he would just honestly say what was on his mind.

"I heard, he sent a letter last night. As long as Rebecca is able then we should be able to get together tonight." Noel carefully inspected Owari as she spoke, the more she looked the more she felt something was slightly off. "Morgana, if I recall I shouldn't have any meetings today correct?" She suddenly turned to her maid.

"That is correct young miss." Morgana answered back professionally, not showing any free thoughts as to why Noel would ask this.

"Owari, are you free today?" She turned back to Owari and suddenly asked.

"I don't have anything in particular to do." He smiled as he figured where this was going.

"Good, would you mind spending the day with me then? I've been quite busy as of late and I could use a distraction." Noel said this with a hint of expectation in her eye that even Owari could read.

"Alright, but I'd prefer if we didn't do the usual walking." He easily agreed though he had to cut a certain line in the outing this time due to the circumstances.

"Huh? Is something the matter?" She was elated when he agreed but grew a bit hesitant after hearing his condition.

"As you can see I'm a bit injured and I don't want to aggravate the wounds by walking around town." He lifted his arm and showed the bandaging a bit for emphasis.

"Is it that bad?" She couldn't help but grimace a bit as she also noticed the bandaging under his collar and the fact that he was wearing rather loose clothing all over.

"There weren't any serious wounds, but I have a lot of minor cuts spread around my body so I have to be careful." He answered back nonchalantly, it wasn't a big deal but he did have to be careful, was what he was trying to get across.

"As long as it's nothing too serious I suppose it is fine." She did her best to reign in her worry. "Why do you always seem to be injured?" She couldn't help but sigh.

"I have to put myself in danger to grow, honestly I get off pretty lucky considering the things I do." Owari readily admitted he was doing rather dangerous things though he showed no remorse nor sign of stopping.

Noel sighed when she heard this, she had guessed it before but she had hoped he would play dumb instead of openly admitting his dangerous lifestyle. Clearly he wasn't the type to try and give her peace of mind, not that he had any real obligation to nor did she need to be protected from reality. She chuckled as she thought of all this. "Well I suppose soon enough I shall be doing similar things myself so I cannot judge. Since you can't move around much we can simply spend the day relaxing and talking, since we are already here how about we go to my home?" She asked the question but didn't bother waiting for the response as she turned around to walk inside. She knew Owari didn't sweat the small stuff and preferred efficiency and simple things so it was obvious they would go to the closest available place.

"Alright." Owari shrugged and stood up quickly but carefully with practiced ease as he followed her.

The two entered the building side by side and prepared to make their way up to her room. This was actually Owari's first time in the building, but he didn't start looking around like he was some country boy who had never seen fancy things in his life. He gave the room a once over and gave a few spots an extra glance or two and that was all he needed. The lobby was decently fancy with gold and silver-lined furniture, though obviously only a small amount of it was actually made of gold and silver. The drapes by the windows were made of silver dyed cloth with gold rimming, the couches and chairs were the same. The few coffee tables and side tables were made of dark wood and had golden or silver lining. The floor was made of white marble-like stone, but Owari could tell it was only a similar material that was likely a cheaper alternative, though still decently expensive.

The whole place gave off a feeling of trying to look slightly more high class than it really was, but the person who put it together was good enough to make it all work together. If Owari wasn't such a perfectionist with a critical eye and objective stance he certainly would be fooled, if he lacked even one of those it would be hard to pick out the incongruity. It also helped that he didn't care how expensive the stuff was nor how good it looked and that he only cared how it felt. He was actually impressed by this knockoff rich design, more than any authentic version of this design. It was easy to look impressive with money at your back, but it was harder to match and catch the same impression with a budget. Owari sighed in his head as he realized his current mood was causing him to be distracted and think about such unimportant stuff. When would this stuff ever matter to him in the future?

As the two made their way through the rather impressive lobby Owari noticed a man behind the counter. He was instantly even more impressed by this place for their choice in staff. He was an older gentleman in his late thirties to early forties and although he was above average he was clearly not handsome. Owari had started to get sick of seeing pretty girls behind every counter in town, he didn't have a problem with the fact that girls were getting jobs. What bothered him was that they were all very conventionally attractive and clearly taught to act to their strengths. Honestly he wondered how anyone other than attractive girls got jobs in this town. He stopped thinking there, he didn't feel like going down that rabbit hole and he also didn't want to keep getting distracted.

As they approached the stairs Owari walked as confidently and naturally as usual, as if he himself lived here. The man behind the counter was surprised since he had just watched Noel leaving and knew she had not once forgotten anything even after a month here. Seeing Owari to her side walking as confidently and naturally as any of the rich youths who come through these types of places he was hesitant to speak up. Although Owari's appearance looked sickly and weak, even Noel was the same in many ways. The man dared not judge Owari based on his appearance alone, not to mention who was by his side. He kept quiet and to himself, only nodding in deference as the two walked past. Noel smiled kindly, she had always had a good impression of this hardworking gentleman and his actions now only made her opinion grow. Owari nodded back as calm as ever, even slightly respectfully. Morgana who trailed behind slightly smiled at the man and slipped him a note she had just finished writing as she followed the two up the stairs. The man read the note quickly and breathed a sigh of relief before going about his work as if nothing happened.

"Thank you for your hard work as always Morgana." Noel chuckled as they walked up the stairs. "You should also send someone to let those at the branch office know I will be at home today."

"Your praise is reward enough young miss. I've already sent one of the guard detail to relay the message." She replied with respect, though she also let out a light laugh to show how relaxed she was. It was clear she truly respected Noel but that she was still comfortable interacting with her on a more personal level.

"As skilled as always. You've been so much help." Noel sighed as she thought of how annoying all this work she had would be without such a top-notch helper by her side. Morgana smiled in response but said nothing. The group of three climbed to the proper floor and made their way to Noel's place. She grabbed her key and prepared to open the door when she stopped and had a thought. "Owari would you mind waiting over there while I take care of some things in my home?" She gave a small smile as she said this. It was similar to Owari's own smile when he was annoyed or angry.

"Alright." Owari walked over and sat down in a spot that would give him zero visibility into her home. He could guess what she was worried about, he was actually glad she had thought of stopping as he had not really thought about it before that moment. She had had a month by this point to turn her new home into her own personal space, so any number of embarrassing things could be left out so he was glad he didn't have to deal with the awkward aftermath of walking in on that.

Noel entered her room with Morgana and Owari noticed that there was no sound coming from within, clearly it was soundproof as with this distance he would have heard their footfalls at least. That meant whatever they talked about would be kept private at least so there was no need to worry too much. Owari entered a semi meditative state as he waited, he didn't really know how long it would take to deal with everything in there after all and this would speed his healing if only by a bit. However there was only so much one could plan for in life, even if you avoid many mistakes by being cautious and calm there will always be mistakes.

Owari heard a door open nearby, and the sound of two sets of footfalls. One was heavier than the other and had confidence and strength, while the other was hesitant and light. He didn't open his eyes and instead had the ghost eye moth peek out as sneakily as possible and look to see a man and woman come from the door two spots down the hall. The man was tall and had broad shoulders with a build fit for a real warrior and not made of wasted muscle mass like many bigger men. He was dressed in a suit but he still had a longsword at his side indicating he was a licensed hunter. He was also quite handsome and looked to be in his late twenties. The woman was dainty and small, had a cute appearance and was clearly only just out of her teens if even that, but she was dressed in fancy clothing that was both improperly fitted and worn and also slightly ruffled. They both stunk of a stench that made Owari uncomfortable, clearly the girls ruffled clothes weren't from poor ironing. They hung off each other disgustingly close as they stumble walked their way down the hall.

However after only a few steps when the door had closed they noticed Owari sitting near Noel's door meditating. The man looked at Owari's appearance and his face shifted to disgust as he spoke up with a tone of arrogance. "Who let a street rat into this establishment?"

Owari opened his eyes and stared the man down and responded calmly. "The same people who let a sexual deviant who never learned to shower."

Hearing his bold and confident reply caused the man to freeze for a moment. He wasn't used to people talking back to him. Not to mention that Owari being here despite his seemingly bland and ragged appearance meant he had indeed been let in. The man had said what he did out of habit when he saw someone in his way that looked to be below him in status. Still coming down from his high he had only now realized where he was and what that implied about Owari. However he was reminded of the soft feeling in his arm by a sudden movement from his companion and after glancing over he saw here looking between him and Owari uncertainty. To someone like him looking weak in front of a young lady was unacceptable so he had no choice but to double down. "What was that brat? You think just because you know someone here or could rent out a day or two in a room that you have some status? I'll let you know there isn't anyone in this building who scares me." He flashed a confident grin as he let his own words persuade him.

Owari gave him a once over and understood immediately what gave them man confidence and even explained his actions. On his left breast pinned to his suit was a wolf howling to a moon, the symbol for Howling Wulf. "Howling Wulf huh?" He said dismissively. He didn't fear any agency or organization. Not only were there laws to prevent them from taking direct actions against people like him for this specific type of thing, he knew how to make the hunt to kill him not worth the effort of any group that may want him dead for such petty grudges.

"Hmph, you know and don't act afraid? I wonder what gives you your confidence." The man snorted in contempt, but his words contained a trace of uncertainty. He wasn't as foolish as he appeared and his statement had been an attempt to find Owari's backer.

"You and I both know you can't do anything to me except growl and bark like a chained puppy. Don't try to act all big and tough because you have a bigger dog chained beside you." Owari closed his eyes and stopped paying as close attention to the man, though he left his moth's eyes on him so he could react if he needed.

"Acting all tough, seems you're mistaking yourself for me. The bigger dog for you is the law enforcement. If not for them I could kill you, and don't forget in the wild they don't exist." The man regained all his confidence just like that, he had seen Owari's type before, or he thought he had. People who were confident the law would protect them.

"Then come after me after I leave the city and find out what happens." Owari said evenly without opening his eyes. The man suddenly felt a prickle on his skin, which he recognized as fear.

However men like him, who think themselves wolves, don't like being made afraid. "Oh don't worry, I will. I wonder whether magical beasts would even eat the remains of such a sick looking kid." He grinned fiercely as he dragged the woman past Owari and towards the stairs.

Owari pretended not to hear this as the man walked past, however after they were past him and had no way to see him his face broke out into a ferocious grin as his eyes turned sharp. The man suddenly stuttered a step as he felt a horrifying feeling of imminent danger and he turned his head to look at Owari. However by the time his head turned the feeling was gone and Owari was back to meditating calmly. He didn't dare stare and dragged the girl off and down the stairs. However in his eyes were a similar glint to Owari's but it was far more primal and animalistic, in fact it was far less intimidating as it was more uncontrolled and wild. It was like he was a predator and he didn't like Owari running around in his territory.

Owari on the other hand realized he had made an enemy, but he was excited as he wondered what kind of growth this enemy would bring him. The man had been right about one thing, in the woods the law doesn't exist, but neither does his agency's protections. Out there it was survival of the fittest, and something he seemed to forget. Owari let such things leave his mind quickly however, he was in the middle of something more important and that kind of stuff could be left for later after his wounds healed. Soon enough the door to Noel's room opened and she walked out in a light tank top and baggy pants, likely having changed inside.

"I hope nothing went wrong while I was away." She smiled and spoke offhandedly as if she didn't think anything would happen in such a short time.

"It was fine, nothing of note happened." He chuckled as he stood up, and even though it might seem like a lie he was being honest. To him everything he said before was unimportant at the moment, already left to the back of his mind. "You look more natural in casual clothes, it fits your style." He was more focused on her new choice of wardrobe which he hadn't seen before.

"You think so? So you like this more than the dress?" She smiled coyly as she lifted one leg and shook the baggy pants from side to side.

"Why do I have to like one more than the other? The dresses make you look prettier, those just make you look more at ease." Owari said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Just come inside already." Noel lost her composure and turned around as her face went bright red. She hadn't expected for him to refer to her as being pretty so directly, and so she had completely broken her usual sophisticated dialect as she stomped into the room. Owari followed after her with a slightly teasing smile that she couldn't see.