Leonel didn't have any answers. He lost himself in endless tinkering, working his way toward the completion of his Divine Armor.
The space rending abilities of the Terrain cities had given him exactly the enlightenment he needed to comprehend the core intricacies he needed to complete his first Armor. But, whereas this matter would have given him great satisfaction in the past, knowing that he had come a step closer to bettering his father in Force Crafting, currently, he completed every step with an almost eerie monotony.
Surprisingly, though, this very monotony, the disconnection of his emotions, made his every action even more perfect than they would be usually. He completed everything with a level of precision that existed beyond the realm of humans.
…
Aina entered the Lab Setting with a hint of worry on her face. Leonel never restricted her movements, so she could enter any location of the Segmented Cube just as easily as him.
Looking at Leonel's back, she wasn't really sure of how to comfort him. The only thing that Aina was sure of was that she didn't want Leonel to change, she didn't want him to become as cold blooded as the rest of this world. She had said as much when the two were in the Joan Zone together. In fact, that moment between them back then was maybe the most honest she had been with him up to that point.
However, now, Leonel was stuck in a dilemma he didn't know how to bring himself out of. And, it was exactly this sort of matter that Coach Owen had been so worried about.
A person without purpose was easily swayed by others. If Leonel had a one-minded pursuit, a dream that was rooted in himself and no one else, how could the words of others so easily sway him?? In fact, knowing Leonel, having such an aspiration would make him an untamable monster, an existence the likes of which existed above all others.
But at this moment, Leonel still didn't know exactly what that was. And, as though this wasn't bad enough, he wasn't even looking for it.
As the saying went, one didn't know what they didn't know. It was impossible for Leonel to see through his shortcomings if he wasn't even sure of what they were. But, ironically, if he was told of what he needed to look for, it just might have the opposite effect.
Something like searching for the purpose of one's life was a monumental task. There were many people in existence that would never find this purpose for themselves.
And, at this moment, it was unknown whether or not Leonel would be among these individuals.
The little mink hopped into Aina's arms, making small, worried purring noises. But, even with the slight commotion, Leonel didn't turn back. He was so engrossed that he probably didn't even notice that Aina had entered to begin with.
Aina sighed, not sure of what to do.
Her gaze drifted from Leonel's back to the numerous snowglobes on the wall. Even now, there were still hundreds. Some were filled with beast carcasses while the others were filled with various herbs.
Though Aina didn't recognize much of the herbs, after her ability had evolved with Earth's Metamorphosis, she found that she could somewhat read the life signatures of living beings she came across.
Aina wondered if this had to do with the Life affinity those trial overseers of Valiant Heart Mountain mentioned. But, she wasn't sure. Though she had heard of a Blood affinity before, she had never heard of a Life Elemental affinity. Yet, she had both.
Regardless, this ability to read life signatures allowed her to extend her ability. Now, not only did she know the perfect way to train her body to break its limits, she also knew what to consume to help break these limits as well.
The extension of this ability also gave her an instinct on how to combine and mix certain materials to benefit herself. Such a breakthrough made Aina realize that if she wanted to maximize this new ability of hers, she would have to spend some time reading many beast and herb compendiums.
In the past, the only reading Aina had done was for school. Outside of that, she didn't waste even a moment of time on anything other than training. In fact, although she had wanted to go and watch Leonel's games, she never had because she felt time was simply too precious.
But now, this studying would benefit her future, so she no longer had a choice.
'Leonel said that he never had much of an appetite when he was younger…'
Aina bit her lip out of habit as she scanned through the snowglobes.
Leonel never really put two and two together, but the nutrients packed into his father's vomit brew were so numerous that it would have been impossible for him to have any appetite. If anything, he had been overeating his whole life.
'… I wonder how many delicacies he's missed out on?'
Aina was the opposite. She had always loved food and often ate a lot of it.
Leonel had kicked himself for not realizing she needed more food. But, the truth was that wasn't his fault. Aina had purposely suppressed her own appetite in the Joan Zone subconsciously, maybe because she was worried about how Leonel would react.
However now, if she didn't have enough to eat, Leonel would practically stare her down until she did. With his senses, it was difficult for her to fake being full anymore.
The memories, albeit from a short time they had been together, brought a smile to Aina's face.
She looked back toward Leonel's back, but he had still not reacted to her entrance. After a hint of hesitation, she looked to the snowglobes once again, seemingly having come to a decision.
'I've never cooked before, but…'
Aina's meals had been handled by Yuri for as long as she could remember. She had zero experience cooking which was also why she always let Leonel handle it.
Though Leonel's cooking lacked flare and could only be described as mediocre, it wasn't terrible so the effort always brought a smile to her face.
Aina reached out and began picking out ingredients from the shelf of snowglobes, her mind spinning as it came up with several ideas.
Though her mind was filled with such thoughts, her heart was focused on something else entirely.. All she wanted was to share her love of food with the man she liked.