Like this the two relaxed and grew more comfortable being themselves with one another, especially Noel who had still been trying to put on a front to impress him. It was only in hindsight she realized how ineffective this was not only because of the obvious in that he would just end up liking the wrong version of her, but also because he valued honesty quite a lot. As they talked the hours passed by quickly as they usually did. Noel did most of the talking as usual, bringing up topics about whatever came to mind. She shared some of her life as a member of the Silverblood family and what her childhood home was like. It was quite large, being as big as a district of Leviathan city and housing a massive branch of her family. She was the daughter of one of the top five of the previous generation and the grandfather she mentioned before was actually the head of the family. Even still she was treated the same as any other within her generation outside of being given some special treatment due to her condition, and even then only the kind of special treatment that would make life bearable for someone with her condition.

"Even with all of the benefits I was lucky to be born with, I'm not treated any better than even my most ordinary cousin. My family doesn't value luck or talent, they value results. My father for instance is only the fifth strongest in his generation of our family. Yet he was seen as having the second-best talent and gifts of his generation and the number one died along the way. Yet he isn't the number one. My family is well aware that even an ordinary and less talented person can come across some lucky encounter or discover their potential later in life and rise up. Among the top five two of them were considered average nobodies in their time. And those two are the top two. So even if I'm considered some heavenly gift I won't be given much focus." Noel discussed her family situation quite openly, Owari wondered if this was just common knowledge among most people or if she was just trusting him. He decided not to discuss these things openly either way though. He just listened carefully and patiently. He found the Silverblood family quite interesting and their ideals seemed to be similar to his own actually.

"I feel like I would get along well with your family if what you say is true." He even had a slight bit of anticipation to meet such people one day when he had the strength and skill to enter their sights.

"You probably would, though maybe not my father." She chuckled with a teasing tone as she made him come back to reality with a gentle nudge of her foot.

He looked around at their current situation and recalled their relationship and the specifics of it before giving a dry laugh. "Yeah you're probably right about that."

"I know I am." She grinned smugly as she laid her hands on her stomach and laid back even further, draping her legs across his lap. "My family are quite odd honestly. Though we get along well with a few other more honorable families, only one other family across the entire continent shares a similar ideal as us in regards to how to train the next generation. However among the many families our two have the strongest members of most generations. Yet nobody is willing to adopt our style of teaching. Too dangerous they say, think of the kids they say. Although I get that they want to keep their kids safe from danger, how often do their kids die because they lack discipline and think they are invincible or untouchable and provoke the wrong enemy? That was how my grandfather said it anyway." She sighed as she spoke about this topic, there was too much arrogance among the hunter families.

"I doubt that the reason they don't use your methods is because of fear of the kids safety. This lifestyle is dangerous regardless of who you are or how much one prepares. It's more likely they are afraid they wouldn't get as good results and will look bad." Owari gave his own opinion on the matter, and it was surprisingly pessimistic.

Noel looked at him with a hint of surprise. "I thought you don't pay attention to politicking."

"I pay attention to a lot of stuff, I just don't usually bother with or care about complicated stuff. That doesn't mean I can't." Owari already knew he couldn't run from it forever, and given how his relationship with Noel was progressing he'd be drawn in even if he didn't want to be. So he might as well prepare now.

Noel smiled as she read his intentions like a book. It helped that he didn't really hide it. After that she continued speaking about her family and the various people she knew. That included her aunts and uncles as well as cousins both Silverblood and married or adopted in. One thing of interest about her family was their acceptance of outsiders, they easily adopted young kids when they felt they had potential or felt pity for them. Their honor demanded they don't ignore those in need if they can help them and so they would. As for marrying in it was totally up to the person in question to choose their partner unlike some hunter families who had strict requirements like minimum mana capacity or a need for inherent affinities. Though even if you were free to choose your partner, whether the family liked them or not was entirely their own choice. Noel was especially sure to emphasize these points as she talked, trying to get Owari to grow embarrassed. But he just silently listened and only calmly smiled as though it had nothing to do with him. She was about to press the topic further when a knock came at the door. She was about to call out for them to come in when she recalled her current position.

She shot up and into a seated position before patting out her clothing and taking a deep breath as though she was a child caught doing something naughty. "You may come in." She also had to take a second to clear her throat and reset her tone and mannerisms as she had grown more rough around the edges as she opened up to Owari.

Morgana opened the door gently and stepped in. "It's lunchtime, I recommend eating a meal. Since you plan to celebrate later something light would be best." She smiled lightly as she saw the two sitting closely together as relaxed as ever. They showed no signs of their previous talk or actions.

"Is that so? It would be a shame to go out somewhere if we only plan to eat lightly and return." She thought it over a bit, she was also reluctant to make Owari move around since he was recovering. "How about a few sandwiches? I have everything in the kitchen and it is light and easy enough to prepare." She looked over at Owari as she asked this.

"I'm fine with that." He obviously didn't object. If he had been at home he would be eating smoked beef and fruit juice right about now.

"Alright, I can prepare them myself. You can go out and get yourself something Morgana." Even though it might seem foolish to dismiss her guard, really she couldn't hear inside the room anyway. Her sitting outside the room was more of a deterrent than anything, plus they were in the middle of the city.

"I see, I shall thank you for the break young miss. I hope you enjoy the meal she prepares young sir." She bowed to Noel and gave an equal bow to Owari right after as she spoke to each in turn before she turned and left.

"So you'll be making me lunch?" Owari asked with amusement.

"Do you not think I can?" Noel asked as she stood up and prepared to walk to the kitchen.

"I believe you can." He didn't say more but his face showed how amusing he thought the situation was.

"Didn't you ever hear you should always treat your cook well and to not bite the hand that feeds you?" Noel grinned as she walked in and started preparing the stuff she needed.

"I'm aware, I had thought I treated you well enough though. I allowed you to use my lap as a leg cushion for the last hour after all." Owari could still talk to her through the gap between the two rooms.

"I suppose that's true." Noel didn't seem at all embarrassed by what he said and she continued making the food as if what he said was normal behavior.

Owari didn't say anything else and just waited patiently. He felt like if he continued that topic he would definitely lose somehow so he avoided it. As he quieted down he heard Noel giggle from the kitchen but he ignored it and focused on recovering during the rare moment of quiet he would be getting today. He was always meditating to some extent, but he couldn't do it as deeply when he spoke to others. Unlike when he just listened to her one-sidedly speak for three days he was being more proactive in speaking with Noel so he couldn't just close his eyes and block everything out.

Eventually she finished making the sandwiches which didn't take long given they were very simple. She had made Owari a bologna sandwich with a decent amount of stuff on it. She of course knew his preferences from some of the talking they did during their first 'date' when they were getting to know one another. Although neither of them were picky they were both voracious eaters so when lunch and dinner came around their conversations had turned to food naturally. The two ate quietly but quickly and finished the meals only slightly filled. However they would be eating out tonight and even if Lance didn't buy enough for them to fill up they both ended up with the same thought that it would just be a good excuse to go out and eat together afterward.

After they finished eating the two of them ended up just lazing about for the rest of the day. In fact even Noel didn't talk so much and they just sat around relaxing and enjoying the comfortable silence. Other than the occasional moment when they shared some long-forgotten memory of their childhood that they recalled for one reason or another, they didn't actually talk so much. Neither of them were the type to just laze around and not focus on anything in particular. Owari was always too busy studying or training, and Noel would spend her days reading or more recently doing office work and training on what little free time she could make.

Because of this they never really took things slow and just did nothing in particular. Although this meant they were absurdly productive basically all the time, they also never rested fully and it showed based on how high strung and careful they were all the time. They gave off a feeling of needing to control everything and being afraid of losing control, and a lot of that had to do with their very strained nerves. Now that they were in a safe and relaxed environment with a trustworthy company who they enjoyed being around it was easy for them to just lay back and relax. Even Owari leaned back against the couch and stopped sitting like some monk trying to gain enlightenment. Although he found it more comfortable for sitting down for extended periods of time, things were different when Noel was splaying her legs and feet across his lap,

The whole afternoon was spent like this and they both felt quite relieved and stress-free by the time it started getting late. "I think I need to go get changed." Noel said halfheartedly, she was clearly still in a lazy mood and she didn't seem to want to get up as she was very comfortable.

"It would be a bit rude to be late. Did you already pick something out?" Owari also didn't rush her yet, mostly because it was still early enough that they wouldn't be late if they delayed a bit.

"I had picked out a few outfits, but I wasn't sure what would be appropriate for the occasion. If I dress up too much I might look overenthusiastic, but if I dress down I'll look like I don't care." She sighed as she started to work up the energy to go do something.

"The place we're going is slightly fancy, according to Lance it is more private and casual. At least that was the message I got this morning. You should wear something comfortable but fashionable to show you are happy to see your friend succeed." Owari voiced his opinion on the matter, however Noel looked at his curiously seeing his seeming expertise on the subject. "I already told you my mom was a seamstress, is it so shocking I know fashion? I just don't feel the need to dress up myself, and I'll never claim to understand why it matters. But if I have to I can dig up a bit of knowledge on the subject." He tended to prefer simple bland clothing because it fit him best more than anything. He could dress up if absolutely necessary, but it would have to be very important for him to do so.

"Can you help me pick something out then?" Noel mostly just wanted an excuse to dress up in front of him and get his opinion, but if he was actually any good at this stuff it would definitely help. She mostly had to rely on other people for fashion stuff because she didn't care about it much and had little experience in this subject.

"Sure, just go try on a few things and I'll tell you what I think. I'll warn you, my mother trained me to be a pretty objective critic since she didn't care about my attempts to flatter her when she made me do the same for her." Owari had done this kind of thing with his mother all the time whether it be for her to get another opinion on a piece she was working on or for her own personal wardrobe.

"Well I shall just have to try my best not to look bad then. I am not so sure my poor fragile maiden's heart can handle criticism after all." Noel stated sarcastically as she finally forced herself off the couch and towards her room. "No peeking." She declared as she glanced at him through the door gap before shutting it between them.

Owari turned and laid across the couch facing her room to relax as he waited. He was feeling a bit less sore all over thanks to spending the day doing nothing to aggravate them. Soon enough as he was thinking about whatever came to mind the door to Noel's room opened and she walked out. He sat up and carefully observed her. She was wearing a pleated skirt that reached her knees, with a pair of thin but dark leggings and simple red dress shoes. Her shirt was plain white, and she wore a red button-up sweater over it. She also wore some light black gloves and overall it looked like she was preparing for winter. However her albinism made her prefer clothing that covered her as much as possible. Owari looked her over for a bit before responding. "It fits the occasion in terms of style, but why red?"

"I just felt like I was in a red mood?" Noel didn't really know what else to say. She had picked it mostly on a whim.

"It should be fine if you don't really want to overthink it. I could give any number of reasons on why it isn't perfect but honestly you don't need perfect, just functional." Owari felt like she either had good intuition or she was just lucky when she picked it out.

"I thought you said you were the objective type?" She crossed her arms and gave him a challenging smirk.

"If that's what you want." Owari shrugged and decided to give it another shot. "Pants would be better since a skirt implies openness that you may want to avoid with new friends. Red is a color heavily connected to romantic interest and love and might give the wrong impression. The gloves should be thinner to match the same thickness as your tights since it gives off the impression that you don't pay attention to the smaller details." Owari mercilessly criticized her decisions with an eye for perfection. As he did so she was a bit shocked at first and then became slightly self-conscious. "However like I said you only need something functional since it's a small friendly get-together. Besides, you look cute and I like the color scheme. It goes well with your hair in a way that wouldn't be possible for anyone else." Since he knew if he left things as is she would start going through all her clothes looking for some mythical 'perfect' outfit he threw out his subjective opinion on the matter to distract her.

"You're just trying to make me feel better." She noted with sharp eyes. "However it worked so I guess I'll just go with this then." She smiled despite herself at his compliment, though now she was far more resistant to such things since he had given her a few of such compliments. He would need to be more careful with his compliments in the future to keep them from becoming meaningless.

"Well I'm glad you're happy. At least now we won't have to sit through hours of outfit picking." Owari was being honest with his praise, but normally he wouldn't have said it had he not been forced to so he could avoid the worst-case scenario.

"Well since I'm ready we should probably get going. I assume you plan to show up like that?" She gave him a once over as she said this.

"I don't care too much about appearances and as an independent hunter I don't need to watch my image like all of you guys do. So why not?" He stood up and the two of them walked over to the door to leave.

"I suppose that is fair, it must be quite nice being so free. I cannot wait to be able to go on a hunt. I've been itching to punch something." She closed her fist slowly and her knuckles cracked menacingly as she did so. It was hard to forget because of her small appearance but she was a powerful hunter who could turn a normal person into paste with a single punch.

Owari arrived at the door first and opened it, seeing Morgana off to the side calmly he wondered if she actually went to eat like she was told or not. However he didn't ask and he simply walked out to make room for Noel who followed him. Seeing them both leaving, Morgana smiled and spoke to them. "So I take it that the young miss and young sir intend to head for the celebration now?" She looked at Noel's attire for a bit and smiled. "Acceptable for a friendly gathering of so few." She nodded with slight approval having nothing good or bad to say about the matter. That was enough for Noel, however Morgana then looked Owari over. "However your clothing is a bit less acceptable. If not because it isn't my place to say so I would have you change." She chuckled lightheartedly as she said this.

"Luckily I'm in charge of my own wardrobe then." Owari laughed alongside her, she was probably being honest about her opinion but it was told as a joke. It was very in line with Owari's sense of humor so he thought it was funny.

The three didn't just stand around and joke, instead they made their way to the venue. Morgana trailed behind as usual, while Owari and Noel walked side by side. Unlike before where they maintained a respectful distance from one another however they were standing only centimeters apart. This showed the drastic difference in their stature as Noel was very small and even the relatively average Owari towered over her, though he had recently started to hit his final growth phase and was certainly going to be even taller soon. Despite the difference in stature though they both walked with a similar confidence, and Owari slowed his walk while Noel sped hers up to meet in the middle without the need to say anything. Noel pulled out her parasol and lifted it above and off to the side to block the sun without pushing Owari away and like this they made their way to the restaurant while making small talk.

They took less than 10 minutes to arrive, and the place was definitely impressive. It was a three-story building with a simple but stylish aesthetic, having sky blue colored bricking with white cloud-like patterns spread around. Not only was it cleaned but it looked like the clouds were hand-painted giving it some authenticity. There were windows spread across all three floors, however they were tinted making it impossible to see into them from the outside. The front doors were entirely glass and there was a small stone laid path leading to it with a small front yard like place with perfectly tended green grass evenly spread and cut. It gave off a very homely feel, but also a very professional one.

"Looks quite nice, simple and homely." Owari couldn't help but admire it, the building was simple so it fit his taste but it didn't come off as cheap. This was just his type of place.

"I agree, it looks like it is well maintained and cared for. Very professional." Noel gave her own view on the building.

"I'm sure the proprietress would be delighted to hear that." Owari and Noel casually looked over and saw Rebecca walking over to them from nearby with a smile. She was dressed casually in a skirt and shirt combo similar to Noel's save that she was wearing blue and her skirt was also blue instead of white. Her jacket was also less wooly in design and more of a suit jacket.

"Do you know the owner?" Noel asked curiously, based on Rebecca's tone that should be the case.

"I do. She was a member of the Sapphire agency. She retired due to age and loss of interest and opened this place in one of our cities of influence to make use of our name. I met her along with many others when I moved here, she was quite nice and seemed very proud of this place. It was why I recommended it when I heard what Lance was looking for." She seemed quite chatty as she approached, she always had a hint of pride whenever her agency was brought up.

"Well I look forward to seeing if the food is as good as the architecture. If it is then I suppose we will be having a wonderful meal tonight." Noel grew slightly more interested in this place after hearing what Rebecca said. Hunter's who live until retirement are always worth respecting after all.

"Did you two meet up on your way over perhaps? I noticed you approaching together." Rebecca asked offhandedly as if she was barely interested in the subject, however the curious glint in her eyes said otherwise.

"As a matter of fact we had already been spending the day together and so we naturally came together." Noel answered honestly with a calm smile.

"How nice. Spending a day off with close friends is always enjoyable." As she spoke she purposefully emphasized the word friend causing Noel to squint her eyes.

"You shouldn't tease Noel like that, we all know you aren't interested in Owari so why be so confrontational? Shouldn't we get along together?" Lance interrupted things with a chuckle as he came out from the restaurant itself.

"I'm simply joking around. It's a girl thing." Rebecca shook her head as she watched Lance come out, she had been here for some time now and had not seen him enter. Obviously he had been inside for a while getting things sorted.

"Please don't drag me into your jokes. I've seen how girls act when it comes to relationships with other girls." Owari recalled the many scenarios he witnessed back in school, especially the ones with Lucas as the center. Girls could be very vicious with one another when they wanted to be.

"Don't look at me. She's the one who brings you up first all the time." Noel gave a smirk as she glanced at Rebecca who responded with a similar reaction to Noel's just a few moments ago.

"I'm not even that interesting. Whatever, let's go eat. I'm hungry and this is supposed to be a celebration for Lance." Owari just sighed as he walked over to Lance. Although he liked battle, he didn't like social conflict much. Especially if he was the cause of it and it was getting in the way of two people becoming closer. It made him uncomfortable and a bit annoyed.

Seemingly noticing this fact both Rebecca and Noel shut up and didn't try to continue their jabs at one another. Lance also noticed Owari's mood shift, but he didn't say anything about it. "Thank you. I've already got a room ready for us all to eat in. This place is quite nice and has individual dining rooms that are soundproof so we can celebrate to our heart's content without worrying about others." Lance smoothly transitioned over to a new topic and put on a confident smile as he led everyone inside.

Noel sped up a bit and walked beside Owari like before, he didn't show any signs of being upset about what happened but she was a bit unsure about it. In fact everyone was a bit tense about the whole thing, none of them had really seen Owari be upset about anything really so it was definitely a surprise he felt so strongly about this. Or more specifically Noel and Rebecca had failed to properly consider how he felt about what they were doing and had done things of their own accord. At the end of the day nobody was perfect, so it was natural people made mistakes. Lance was honestly the one who had the worst luck here having gone through so much trouble to get everyone together and this was how it started.

However he didn't let it get him down, he was nothing if not optimistic and charismatic. He could fix this easily, and he had a feeling that this little group had good potential to get along should they get past this little hiccup. So he resolved himself to get things going during the coming celebration, after all having a group of close friends you can trust was important, especially in this line of work where you didn't know who you could trust and who you couldn't. They reached the room which was on the first floor quickly and entered it. Inside was a small six-seater long table. Four chairs were on either side and one at each end. The room was the size of a family home's dining room and was very homely with a very classical style wallpaper and soft lighting.

"I shall stand by the door and act as the go-between for your group." Morgana stopped outside, not only was this part of her position as a maid but she also felt it would be a shame to get in the way of this chance for these kids to interact and get along.

Everyone agreed easily, Lance and Rebecca were used to such things to a degree though they still seemed reluctant. What surprised them was how naturally Owari had accepted what she said. They had expected someone from the countryside to speak up about it at least, or show some signs of rejection. However he seemed to feel this was only natural, though they refrained from asking about it. After all there was no point and it was mostly just a curious topic for them. They all prepared to sit down, Owari and Noel took up one side of the table sitting beside each other quite naturally. Meanwhile Lance sat at one of the ends and not wanting to be left next to Noel at the other end or on her own on the other side, Rebecca sat next to Lance and across from Owari. After they all sat down they looked at the menus and everyone quietly began looking them over while thinking of what to order.

"You can order any full course meal you like, though I ask that you be kind to my wallet please." Lance joked to break the ice, and it seemed to work as everyone gave a chuckle and the tenseness from a moment ago was dispelled soon after. Although there might be some lingering feelings, at least everyone was able to put it aside to enjoy the meal which was good. Perhaps the night wasn't off to as bad a start as it had seemed after all.