Renjiro waved his hands at Irene, snapping her back to reality. "You okay?"
"I-I'm good!" she became startled.
She suddenly pointed at the bag with the sheathed blades.
"Fugo! Two of them you've already tried out in the Tower. I figured you'd want to practice with them during free time. I can't always be there to summon them for you."
She once again glanced towards Lina, realizing that too long a time had passed and she had yet to address her.
"Umm..." Irene struggled to find the right words.
Lina sat there, with both of her hands resting on her lap. She looked up, curious about Irene, who had just arrived. She fought the urge as best as she could. Irene could not help but feel a pang of jealousy as she compared Lina's body to her own.
Lina's smooth skin was blemish-free, while Irene had a rougher exterior with more muscles than the average girl.
It did not help that this person was married to Fugo, someone Irene had a crush on. Fugo was the first step to proving her life's worth as a blacksmith and as a person.
The thought that he was already taken had not hit her hard until now.
Sensing the rather long pause with Irene's words, Fugo cleared his throat, moving things along.
"This is Irene Cruz, she's the one I talked to you about. You two have lots of things in common, remember." Fugo said to Lina.
Lina nodded, "Hello Irene, it's great to finally meet you."
She reached out her hand, offering a handshake to the fellow woman present.
Irene took the hand, shaking it a little too firmly.
"Likewise," she said, her voice strained.
Kael, sensing the tension, picked up the bento boxes. "We should eat. I haven't had breakfast, and neither has Renjiro."
"Same here," Fugo admitted. "We started moving out early, so we didn't get the chance."
Renjiro clapped Irene on the back. "You're a lifesaver, Irene. Thanks for bringing food."
As everyone was handed a bento, Lina turned to Irene with a warm smile.
"Thank you for bringing this. It's very thoughtful."
Irene stuttered, "D-don't, mention...it"
Everyone went on to eat in silence for a bit, until Kael struck up a conversation with Irene. He did this with the intention of getting her head out of the gutter. He sensed the tension radiating from her, ever since she arrived.
"Irene" Kael started.
"You know by now that Fugo prefers knives over swords. I get that you love swords but, you should really cater to your customer's needs."
Irene, already on edge snapped back without thinking. "Shut your face! I already know that. It's in the works already. I want his new knife to be my best work."
She threw her chop-sticked hand up in frustration, "That's why I haven't given him one yet. For now, he'll just have to adapt to swordplay. Being adept with multiple weapons isn't a bad thing, right Fugo?"
"I don't mind the swords. As I said before Kael, this knife is mainly a good luck charm. I don't keep it around because it's my preference in a fight."
"Why do you still carry that junk around anyway? You have my magic weapons now, they're enough."
Fugo was about to respond then suddenly Lina's finger pressed on his lips. Stopping him from speaking.
"That's not very nice, Irene. That knife holds tremendous value to Fugo. Calling it junk is unnecessarily mean."
"Value?" Irene repeated, not quite understanding.
Kael took the opportunity to clarify, "That's the knife that saved Fugo as a child. I remember the story, Ericka Hersches gave it to him."
Irene froze, her face momentarily unreadable as the name hit her like a wave. She blinked with piqued curiosity, "Ericka? You're talking about the War Potential..."
"Then it might be a magic weapon. Have you tried activating it, Fugo?" Irene proposed.
"It's not, I tried channeling mana through it several times over the years. It's a normal knife. And yes, it really means a lot to me."
Irene paused her eating, trying to process the new information she had just received.
The awkwardness in the air shifted, causing her to let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry for my poor choice of words."
"But still, lend me that knife sometime. I want my mother to examine it...If you'd let us. I can't take your word alone that the knife isn't a magic weapon, since a person who is not compatible with it would not be able to tell anyway."
"At the very least, I could enhance it to be as good as the modern weapons."
Fugo smiled, feeling the tension slowly lift. "No problem, Irene," he replied.
"I'll think about it."
As the conversation shifted to more pleasant topics, the atmosphere in the room softened, the tension easing just enough for everyone to relax a little.
Renjiro was the first to finish his meal, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he stood up and stretched.
"Well, this place has potential. What do you think, Kael? Want to crash here tonight?" He cast a playful glance over at Kael, who, in turn, turned his eyes toward Fugo.
"No way," Kael replied. "Fugo deserves alone time with his woman."
"Thanks Kael, don't listen to him."
Renjiro dropped to his knees, "Come on, you can't take a joke? Anyway, this place is seriously lacking in furniture. We should hit up the shops as soon as possible.?
He went on to walk inside the house, taking in the empty space.
Lina was the next person to finish her meal, clapping her hands together like a ritual.
"Hmm, second place today. First time for everything."
Renjiro heard that remark and came back running. "Oh? You weren't hoping to finish first, were you?"
Lina's cheeks blushed bright red while admitting, "I usually finished first."
"Furniture can wait. All I care about right now is a bed honestly, and there's already one in two of the rooms." Fugo mentioned.
Renjiro's enthusiasm for shopping was shattered as Fugo's reply shot down his suggestion.
Fugo prioritized relaxing for today, nothing else held that much importance to him.
Around noon, Renjiro and the others left Fugo's new home. He walked them to the gate, and once they were out of sight, he turned to Lina. "So, what do you think of my team?"
Lina sighed, placing one hand under her chin. "That Renjiro fellow...doesn't he remind you of someone, from our childhood?"
"I wish I could have seen his face. Describe him for me."
Fugo started with, "Short black hair, black eyes. He's fairly built."
"And no, I don't recall meeting anyone named Renjiro or with that face before."
"I can't explain it, but he strikes me as familiar. Not in his voice but his presence. It's his personality. I sense something forced about him... A kind of forced positivity..."
"Forced positivity?" Fugo repeated, confused by the phrase.
"Yes, when you leave the estate, I have to put on a smile and pretend everything is fine, even though deep down. I was struggling. It feels like I was drowning, and no one could see it, no one was allowed to see it."
"To mitigate that awful feeling, one would create a positive force around them. Even if its forced."
Lina hugged herself, perishing the dark thought plaguing her mind all of a sudden. "Look after him Fugo...my intuition has a reputation, don't forget."
"That man's loneliness runs deep."
Fugo felt a jolt run through him with those last words. "Loneliness?"
He had never considered Renjiro in such a way, but now, as he began to reflect on his behavior thus far. Lina might be on to something.
Renjiro's eagerness to quickly recruit someone like Fugo was a concerning thought that frequently nagged him.
The way he chose the others as teammates was also strange, no hesitation at all. And his obsession with wanting his team to all be of the same age as him.
"I just wrote it off as him simply wanting some friends but...." Fugo trailed off.
Were those actions because he feared being alone?
He remembered Renjiro's repeated invitation for him and his friends to move in with him.
They had all seemed like jokes at first, but what if they weren't?
What if Renjiro had been trying to tell them something?
"He does not have anyone to go home to," Fugo sighed. "I'm going to set aside one day, where I visit Renjiro's home."
Lina liked the sound of that idea and gave him a supportive nod.
Her focus then shifted to Kael. "That other guy, he sounds pretty grounded. I find it hard to believe someone like him enjoys exploring much."
Fugo nodded, agreeing with her observation. "Yeah, he's more in it for the money than the thrill of exploring, I think."
"Oh, and that girl, Irene... She's pretty funny. And she likes you, Fugo. I can feel it. I can already imagine the days to come when she'll use her trade as an excuse to get closer to you."
Fugo's face flushed deep red. "You don't have to worry about her, alright?"
Lina smiled knowingly. "Oh, I know you too well, Fugo. We're already a fixed pair."