"Since that's all settled let's move onto a new topic." Lance quickly moved things along without letting the conversation die. "So you plan to go on an expedition huh? Quite the coincidence."

"I just plan on exploring and mapping a location for some extra income, it isn't all that impressive. My main hope is to run into some strong magical beasts to fight." Owari didn't share everything about his plans, but he also didn't fully hide it either.

"Normally I wouldn't be allowed to risk going on an expedition because the agency is far too protective of me. But lucky for me in a nearby lake there was a mutated cloud fish that was spotted. Honestly if the initial investigations turn up that there is no mutant cloud fish they'll try to call off the expedition, but I intend to go anyway." Lance seemed a bit stir crazy sitting around doing paperwork and settling bills. He was probably more like Owari and preferred to go out and fight.

"A cloud fish? Should be a storm affinity fish if I recall. Pretty fitting, but it also has a high water affinity so there are probably more suitable and powerful magical beasts for a storm affinity. I take it that it's the water affinity you actually want." Owari instantly recognized the magical beast in question and analyzed the situation just as quickly. Honestly Lance was shocked, he had made the mistake of underestimating Owari's knowledge and wit.

"You're quite good. Yes, in order to go any further in the thunder spear mystic art I practice I'll need a water affinity. The mutant cloud fish also supposedly has a high lightning affinity which would help me so it was determined to be suitable. Even without it I intend to get a cloud fish because I can't afford to delay my improvements just so I can get the perfect magical beast. I can always just exchange them later if they are truly unsuitable. Though it would probably be better to just raise and evolve them than to do that." Lance didn't seem to have any intentions of hiding this information, though whether it was because he trusted Owari or if he just didn't feel like it was a big secret was unclear.

"If you need a water affinity then your mystic art probably is the self-destructive type. So I take it that the attack you used that drained you back then was something that you'd normally need the water affinity to use right?" Owari was quite knowledgeable when it came to affinities, even if he didn't know much about mystic arts outside of some of the stuff Noel told him, he was still able to make some guesses about things.

"So you can even figure that out." Lance didn't seem all that worried about it. "The thunder spear art that I practice uses lightning to enhance the body. Lightning is a very destructive energy so without water to counteract it and heal my body and dampen the backlash I could seriously injure myself if I'm not careful. The technique I used was indeed meant to use the water affinity to negate the damage to myself. Without it I had to carefully control it and even then if not for my resistance to electricity I would have died." He laughed it off as if it was no big deal but his words told the real story.

"That makes sense, no real modern mystic art would have such a double-edged sword of a technique even as an emergency move. Too many laws against teaching those kinds of techniques to make it worth the risk." Owari finally had an answer to a question he had after seeing that situation.

"True enough." Lance agreed with Owari on this, most people wouldn't be willing to risk people trying to bring the law into it if they taught such risky moves. "By the way, do you really not have any mystic arts?"

"I don't. I'm still not sure what affinity is most suitable towards my prefered style, not to mention most publicly available mystic arts are either average at best or way too expensive. Usually both." Owari had already come to terms with the fact that he'd have to make his own mystic art from scratch.

"That's quite bold of you. Even an average mystic art would make someone like you rise to prominence. I respect your dedication at least." Lance felt it was a shame but he could admire Owari's resolve to go his own way.

"I'm currently developing some sword techniques. Once I get them to an acceptable level I intend to turn them into mystic arts, but they'll do for now." Owari shared his plan in regards to his martial arts as he subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword. He was excited just thinking about the recent improvements he had made.

"So that technique you used back in the train tunnel was one of those moves of yours?" Lance hadn't been able to watch closely but he had certainly seen Owari slicing through those tough shells like butter. Even he wasn't confident in his ability to pierce so many of them in a row without a mystic art.

"No, that was an imperfect version. I recently used my gains from that time to get it to a workable level. I still need to improve it though." Owari was a bit dissatisfied recalling how crude his technique had been back then.

"I see." Lance smiled on the outside but he was a bit apprehensive internally. If that technique from back then was imperfect and an improved version was only passable, what would that make Owari's ideal version of the attack?

"Well either way I still need to do more training before I can start to feel confident in my ability to stay alive." Owari was very strict with himself, and Lance could see how harsh he was in regards to how he judges himself.

"Well as long as you don't push yourself so hard you break, I look forward to seeing what you achieve. Maybe one day we can fight as equals again, and by that time we will be true equals in battle." Lance felt some pressure as he faced Owari. While it was true that he was much stronger than Owari, he was also a few years older and had much more support. Yet he had only achieved so little in his training? When he thought of this he couldn't help but feel motivated and he decided to up his training in the future. He absolutely couldn't let himself be overtaken easily.

The two continued to talk over the next half an hour or so before Lance had to get back to work, he was a bit disappointed as he felt that he got along with Owari well but work wouldn't wait. Although they had opposite personalities in how they deal with social situations, the two were quite similar in many other ways. They were both introspective and liked to go with the flow, but while Lance was more proactive and cunning, Owari was very reactive and adaptable. They handled situations in different ways but would reach the same result, and because of this they got along very well. Lance especially played well into Owari's awkwardness as he was a natural talker who was good at keeping things going, much different from Noel who was just a chatter bug who talked about anything and everything and jumped around to different subjects. Both were good in their own ways and were a fit for Owari's more passive style.

Owari was glad that the first people he had tried to befriend in the city had been so complementary to his own personality. It would have been a bit unfortunate if he had met people like himself who didn't like talking. Though to be fair he didn't mind talking so much as he disliked having to deal with the complexities of interpersonal relationships. Unlike his previous friend Lucas who he didn't actually like too much and who shared basically no interests or personality traits with, these new friends were much more like him and so it was much more natural to talk to them. He had kind of been misled his whole life into believing maintaining a friendship was a one-sided effort, when in reality it was an equal effort undertaking and the more both sides got along and wanted to be friends the easier it would be to keep it going.

After having that misunderstanding fixed even if only a bit, Owari was much more interested in and excited at the prospects of making friends. It was a sad realization to have only had this late in life, but he had a lot of years ahead of him hopefully, and he wasn't really aware of how odd it was to only realize this now so he was in a good mood as he left. When he exited the agency building he had noticed the girl behind the counter throwing herself into her work wholeheartedly. He didn't really say anything or give her more than a casual glance, to him he had done everything he was required to and his job was done in this regard. He paid it no more mind and left just like that.

He walked home slowly and when he got there he ate a light meal before collapsing into his bed. He didn't go to sleep, instead he simply laid there and let his mind wander. Normally he would do things to distract him or meditate to close off a portion of his conscious thoughts and limit himself. He did this because if he didn't then his mind would seem to go into overdrive and he would overthink everything and make it into some overly complicated problem that needed to be solved. He prefers simple things so he would forcefully close his mind off and focus it through meditation or background noise. When he let his mind wander like this it seemed to kick into overdrive and he would be able to think of many things at once and consider many angles and factors, but he would lose focus easily and could never come to a clear answer to anything. Normally he hated this scatterbrained thinking that couldn't come to a clear decision, however his current conundrum wasn't something so clear cut that he could come to a single solution to it.

The topic on his mind currently was how to deal with the whole Noel situation. The reason he decided to use this method to think about it was because he already had the answer. He was going to be open and honest and the two would talk things through. What he needed now was to go over the many variables and possible scenarios that could occur between now and then. As he let his mind wander and as he considered the numerous factors involved he eventually decided on what to do and stopped before he went overboard and made some elaborate plan. He did however find that this was a good method of processing a lot of information, even if he hated using this method he shouldn't be so picky about his methods. If this topic has not been important enough that he forced himself to accept this he would have never been willing to consider using this method.

Since he had made the decision to use it Owari resolved himself and started to simulate his footwork method in his mind. He had done something similar while meditating, however he had controlled it more and had lost a lot of his raw processing power by doing it. By allowing his mind to run wild he could get a lot more raw data. When he had simulated enough things he would just compile the information and meditate to weed out the failures and remember the important parts. Although the starting point of his thoughts and the ending point before he went to sleep were vastly different as he lay in bed, this was merely a perfect representation of the kind of scatterbrained person he would be while not controlling and directing his thoughts.

Owari woke up the next day and showered before changing into clean clothes and putting on his training gear. He also took some time to clean his haori and make sure it was in a wearable condition. After that he left and made his way around town for a bit as he considered what to do. He had decided the night before to just go talk to Noel today, he was very direct and quick to act when he had decided to do something so there was no point delaying the talk. However he was still nervous and couldn't bring himself to actually go see her. As he walked around town he considered a few things before checking the time. It was still pretty early morning, but it had reached the point where most people would be up and getting ready to go to work.

Since he had made his decision Owari stopped hesitating and made his way to Noel's home. As he approached he was actually quite relieved as he saw Noel outside and preparing to leave. This meant he wouldn't have to work up the nerve and talk to the person at the reception. If he had to do that it would just add another chance for him to hesitate. Obviously since he had seen her she had also seen him, and when he saw her face light up he couldn't help but sigh internally. He had thought getting to know him would just make her less interested, but it seemed the more she learned about him the greater her interest grew.

He approached her with a steady pace, calming himself as he did so. Now that he had nowhere to run to he had lost all of his hesitation and nervousness and entered a calm state once again. "Are you busy?" Was the first thing out of his mouth before Noel or Morgana to her side could greet him.

Seeming to sense something was off about Owari today, Noel responded after a moment of thought. "I have some work to do, but nothing I can't delay a bit. We can also talk on the way if you don't mind riding in the car with me." She seemed to notice it was a sensitive subject as she brought up the car which was soundproof. A fact Owari only figured out late into their trip.

"That would be perfect." Owari smiled with relief and the two soon climbed into the car, Morgana didn't ask anything or even take the time to greet him. He nodded at her in thanks and she smiled as she closed the door.

"So I take it you have something important to discuss?" Noel asked with a bit of nervousness.

"It is important. I'm not really good at easing into things or subtlety, so I'll just say it. It has to do with your feelings towards me." Owari honestly laid it out there right away. It was like a bandaid, the faster they removed it the more it would hurt but the faster it would be over.

Noel noticeably froze up as she heard what he said before trying her best to act ignorant. "I don't know what you mean though?"

"There's no need to pretend. I'm not stupid." Owari laughed a bit as he saw her final resistance. "I just thought it was important we talked about it before it developed in an awkward direction. I enjoy spending time with you, and I don't want that to be ruined because we played ignorant and let things get out of hand."

Seeing how serious and sure he was Noel couldn't help but sigh before dropping her play and relaxing a bit. "When did you notice?" She asked curiously.

"I felt something off on the drive, but wasn't sure until the day out." Owari answered honestly.

Noel laughed as she heard this. "I had thought I was doing well at hiding it."

"I don't think you were as subtle as you thought you were. If even I noticed then I doubt anyone would miss it." Owari didn't hold back and immediately gave his ruthless feedback.

"I see..." She seemed slightly depressed hearing this but quickly recovered. "Well since you brought it up I take it that you have something you'd like to say about the matter yes?"

"I do. I wanted to be honest with you so I'll say right off the bat that I'm not interested in starting a relationship at the moment." Owari began with the most important part, and despite what he said Noel didn't seem at all surprised or disappointed.

"I figured as much. I am not as bad as you are at reading others' moods. I can tell you are still recovering from your previous heartbreak. I don't intend to try and force my way into your heart. I'm not such an impatient or uncouth girl as that." Noel didn't seem fazed by his declaration and immediately shot back with her own opinion on the matter.

"I thought that was the case." Owari was quite relieved to hear this. He had figured she wouldn't give up so easily, after all she was a lot like him. "I also want to add that while I'm not interested in a relationship, that isn't just because I'm recovering from my last experience. I also don't like to rush things and prefer to do things one step at a time. I haven't even had a chance to start my new life so the idea of beginning a relationship is way over my head." Owari wasn't afraid to admit when he was overwhelmed, and adapting to his new life was slightly overwhelming. He needed time, and he expected Noel was the same.

"I can certainly understand that. I too am having some trouble getting used to my new life here. There is a lot more paperwork than I expected." She cracked a joke as she thought of the stresses she had never expected and reflected on how sheltered she had been before.

"Since we've cleared that up I'm feeling much more relieved." Owari relaxed a bit, having finished discussing the main points so smoothly.

"I am feeling quite relieved as well. It was quite tiring trying to hide my actions behind casual conversation. I hope you are aware that by bringing it out into the open I will not be so subtle in the future." Noel gave a fearless smile as her competitive side seemed to be brought to the surface.

"That's fine with me, however I hope you don't let it take over all our interactions. I enjoyed just sitting around listening to you go on about whatever came to mind." Owari had already guessed this would be one of the outcomes and had prepared himself for it.

"Of course not. As I said before, I am not such an impatient or uncouth girl as that." Noel giggled as she repeated herself.

"By the way." Owari glanced out the window as he noticed they stopped. Morgana approached the door and was getting close to opening it as they arrived at their destination. He looked back at Noel with a smile as he finished his thought. "I'd like to clarify that while I'm not interested in a relationship at the moment that doesn't mean I don't have special feelings for you compared to other girls." As he finished speaking he timed it so that Morgana had opened the door to cut off Noel. He quickly shuffled out the door and waved behind him as he left.

Noel was left in the car blinking in shock as she realized Owari had purposefully waited until the last moment to say this. She had actually asked for this the moment she had shown her competitive side. When she did that it ignited Owari's own competitive side, and of course he would do his best to win. As soon as he changed his perspective to see this as a competition his usual awkwardness and ineptitude was wiped away and replaced by a calm and confident disposition. This proved that his problems with social interactions wasn't his actual social ability and had more to do with his attitude and lacking confidence. Realizing that she had lost the first round caused Noel to grow more determined to try harder in the future, but she soon reigned in her feelings and simply enjoyed the feeling she was experiencing as she thought of what he had said.

Since she was already special compared to other girls she had a head start, and she wouldn't waste such a head start. As she worked that day she was noticeably happier and complained much less while working. Morgana hadn't heard what they talked about so she had no idea what had caused this change. She also didn't let her mind wander as she was far too well trained and disciplined to do so. If Noel wanted her to know she would tell her. Unfortunately the girl in question was far too distracted to consider her confused but loyal maid as she did her best to get her work done.

Owari was also in a good mood as he had finally dealt with one of his few worries in his new life. He was also feeling good about his victory at the end. He had also managed to confirm his feelings for Noel a bit better after everything that happened. He truly did see her as special, it wasn't her appearance that caused him to feel this way. He simply felt she was a kindred spirit of sorts and the two had a number of similarities. They also got along well, and he enjoyed her company. That was more than he could say about Milly who he had believed he had feelings for in the past. He had only felt that way back then because he had never met another girl and spent time around them.

Compared to Milly who he had constantly worked to help out and shower in attention, someone like Noel who seemed just as ready to fight for his affection as he was for theirs was much more appealing. Of course he still maintained his desire to slowly build up a proper relationship first and get to know one another more. He also still had no interest in suddenly committing himself to someone when he barely had himself sorted out. Really their current relationship was only one step below that of a couple, but to them this was only natural. It was simply how they were, everyone had their own way of doing things and this way just fit them best. Some people jumped in headfirst and some people waited until they were absolutely sure. But to these two battle maniacs, the idea of turning the whole thing into some competition/training phase was way more their style.

Owari quickly made his way back home and meditated for the rest of the day. He intended to go out the day after tomorrow to continue his preliminary investigations of the forest. Although his social life experienced some massive changes recently, he hadn't changed a bit and simply continued his life as it was. Over the next two days he simply stayed at home and relaxed while meditating. Since he couldn't meditate so heavily while out in the wilds he would have to use his time back in the city to do so. Since nobody had come to see him over these two days he figured nobody had any pressing matters to bother him about and he told the person in the reception area, who happened to be the young man, that he would be out for the next three days on an excursion and to let anyone who came by to know that.

After that he didn't stick around and made his way straight back to the forest. A quick flash of his identification got him out of the city and a full-speed run got him to his destination in half a day's time. He had actually hoped to run into something interesting during this excursion, but he was sorely disappointed. The only thing of note that happened was his sword practice which he did on the final day, and even then he only managed to come up with some more movements to add to the various sequences he was building. He still had to work out the fundamentals and he was feeling the lack of progress. He would need a strong enemy to face to force him to improve or else he could only use this method to slowly improve. It was still leagues faster than others, but it was painfully slow for Owari who enjoyed the feeling of improving himself.