Last time in NWC-
Reno is released from the clinic and immediately returns to the FTG. He's crushed and swung around by Medusa for a bit before he acts like nothing happened. Luna displays her ability to better manage her energy as a result of regaining a portion of her power. Reno manages to ruin the moment again! Reno tells Luna about his deal with CeCe and Luna expresses her issues with it. Luna gives Reno her spiritual understanding of the spell 'Aqueous ' and Reno begins trying to cast magic, following the steps but producing nothing...
Reno stands motionless, his face getting progressively hotter. "Did you fucking lie to me?!" Finally, his embarrassment causes him to burst.
"I didn't! Your body wasn't born with the ability to cast magic. It's going to take more than me giving you my spiritual understanding of a spell and vague instructions for you be able to cast it. Once you learn the basics, like how to cast spells, it will be easier. But for now all we can do is have you practice."
"Man, this sucks." Reno grumbles to himself as he spends the rest of the day trying to cast magic. By the end of the day Reno is exhausted,. More so than usual. "What the hell, man. I feel like I could fall asleep right here."
"That's probably because you were using mana."
"But I didn't cast anything?"
"True, but that doesn't mean your body was trying. The mana must have been leaving your body, just not in the form of anything. That's a good sign, it means that you're more than capable of learning since your body can push out mana."
"I guess so. I'm so sweaty today. It's been getting hot lately, it must be spring. I'm gonna see if I can use the old man's shower today. I feel all gross. I'll be back."
"Ah, Reno, wait. What about having our own celebration?" Luna's voice becomes quiet so Medusa can't hear. "Medusa was looking forward to it."
"Damn, I forgot about that. How about you two get it ready while I'm gone and when I get back I'll light it up?"
"I suppose that isn't too much to ask. Be safe, Reno."
"Aww come on. I'm just going to the village."
"Yes, and the last time you went you didn't come back and I found you in a hospital bed."
Reno thinks to himself before speaking. "Alright, alright. I guess that's true. I promise to be safe. See ya' in a bit!" Reno makes his way to town. His attention is drawn to something down the road. Two figures stood in the middle of the road in front of one of the burned down houses. As Reno gets closer he is able to make out who it is. Before him was Lyn and the young bandit that was with her on the night of the attack.
Lyn, upon seeing Reno, says something to the boy before walking over to Reno with a smile. "It's good to see my favorite business partner is alive and well."
"Nice to see you too, Lyn." Reno sighs, expected to be taken advantage of again.
Lyn's expression shifts to one of genuine offense. "Oh, come now, Reno. I'm not here to strong arm you. Just because I did it once doesn't mean I'm going to do it every time we meet. I simply needed something to get business started, that's all."
"Sure, sure. What are you doing? Wasn't that guy with the bandits?"
Lyn motions towards the young man who seemed to be drawing floorplans. "I'll save you his sob story, but basically he's sorry and he wanted to make up for it. He's apparently got some knowledge of construction, and the mayor gave the okay for him to help. To be completely honest, with this kid around you might want to start looking for another job."
"Why do you say that?"
"He's quick and he knows what he's doing. This is a small village, and everyone knows you don't have any actual carpentry experience. Don't take it the wrong way, they're appreciative of what you do, but when it comes to the levels of repair we need, you won't cut it."
Reno looks over to the kid hard at work, making somewhat detailed floor plans to replace the burnt house. They watch the kid work, and it's apparent he's giving it his all. "You know, maybe that's for the best. He honestly looks like he's having fun."
Lyn chuckles and shakes her head. "I'd imagine he is. He isn't a bad kid, just a kid with some bad circumstances. Those bandits were paying next to nothing but it's apparently all he could find. The mayor agreed to pay him three times what they were, that's how little they paid him."
Reno continues watching him work. The kid has a bit of sweat on him, but he doesn't seem to care. He continues working, a small smile on his face. "What's his name?"
"Hector. Apparently named after his grandfather. He loves to talk, so be warned."
Reno approaches Hector. "What are you making."
Hector looks up, slightly startled. "Ahh, uhh, nothing much! Just some plans for a new building to be put here. I used to help my grandpa and dad make houses when I was a kid. I mostly only got to watch, but when I turned 11 they started letting me help! I helped them for 6 years, so I'm fairly confident that I'll be able to build a new house. The insides of this house in particular weren't the best. They made the bedrooms smaller in exchange for a bigger living room, but apparently the owners hate it. They asked if it was possible to make the bedrooms bigger so I'm trying to find ways to give them bigger rooms without completely taking away the living room. Their kid is apparently starting to grow out of the small room they're in now, so I was thinking about rebuilding this building as a two-story and making the upstairs a bedroom and play room so the adults could have their bedroom expanded, but also keep their living room. The mayor said the money to fix the houses would come out of the village treasury, so I don't want to get greedy and start making everything a two-story, if that makes sense? I don't know."
Reno listens intently, realizing what Lyn meant. "(You could have just said floor plans…)" Reno nods his head and smiles. "Cool! Good luck with that!" He quickly walks back over to Lyn and sighs. "I didn't think you meant he would just start randomly making everything into a long-winded speech. Has he ranting like that the entire time?"
Lyn sighs and nods her head. "He's gotten slightly better now that he has something to focus on. But when he takes breaks, it's just talk, talk, talk. Don't get me wrong, a girl loves a good chat, but when you start talking about a pet rock you had when you 6 and it takes you an entire hour to finish the story, it gets a little annoying."
"Well then, it sounds like I should go before he starts talking about anything else." Reno begins walking away but stops and turns back around. He flashes a thumbs up and small smile, nodding his head in approval. "Oh, and thanks for not blackmailing me this time." Without giving Lyn anytime to respond, Reno quickly begins rushing for the townhall.
"How does this village manage to have so few men but all of them are so infuriating?" Lyn shakes her head in annoyance before turning back to watch Hector work.
Reno enters the town hall, looking around. The mayor was at the desk, reading over some papers and not noticing Reno enter. "Hey, old man. How are you?"
The mayor looks up, smiling ecstatically. "Young Reno! It's so good to see you walking around already! You aren't pushing yourself, are you? You look a little pale, are you drinking water and eating? You look a bit thin, are you feeling light headed?" The mayor makes his way over and begins to check Reno's body like a worried parent.
Reno cracks up, finding the mayor's behavior to be quite entertaining. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm a bit sweaty though. I was wondering if I-"
Before Reno could even finish, the mayor speaks. "Yes, yes, of course! I've already told you that the shower's open to ya' anytime, boy! Go, go! You need it!"
Reno smiles as he goes and showers, not wasting any more time. Inside the bathroom he pulls his shirt up to inspect himself in the mirror. His bruise from Medusa had all but vanished, due to the constant dosage of mystery medicine. However, the stab would was still in the process of healing. It wasn't bad enough to warrant a wrapping it anymore. "Dr. Salt seriously is a miracle worker. I wonder why he chooses to live in a village like this, not that I'm complaining. But seriously, I thought it would have looked terrible, but this isn't half bad!" He begins admiring his improving physique. "And look at this handsome mother fucker! Who's abs are those?!" He playfully slaps himself in the stomach which causes him to keel over in pain. "Ughh… fuck me…" He finally manages to get back up and take his shower, trying to forget what he just did. He returns to the mayor who had returned to reading his papers. "Thanks again, old man."
The mayor smiles and nods, trying not to get too distracted. "Anytime, young Reno."
Reno wanders over and looks over his shoulder. "What's this? Floorplans? Did Hector make these?"
The mayor looks over his shoulder at Reno. "That's right. The boy's got some serious skill. He wanted me to check these plans and see if they were in budget. They're a bit more expensive than we normally build in Bambadale, but I was thinking this old village was in dire need of an upgrade anyway! Apparently the young man can build all of these!" The mayor turns back to the papers and nods his head in approval.
Reno watches the mayor as he works. He walks to the other side of the counter and places his hand on the desk. "Alright, old man, I've decided."
"Hmm" The mayor looks up Reno, who has a smile on his face.
"Since Hector is more qualified to be a carpenter, I've decided to try something else."
"And what would that be?" The mayor smiles, amused by this sudden change.
"Just like a certain old man; I'm gonna' be an adventurer!"
TO BE CONTINUED...