Ha-neul set the board on the ground. Using it as a crutch, he hobbled the few feet of distance between him and the boy. He bowed as low as he could in his current state, "You're right that we got off on the wrong foot. Let's have a do-over. I am Sargent Jung Ha-neul. It's a pleasure to meet you." Ha-neul had only stepped forwards to cover up for the look on his face. He had a terrible poker face and so made a big movement with his arms to cover up for it. He didn't really have any opinion's on harem's one way or another. It was more the way he said it. It was the same tone people used before kicking him out of their house. Like they regretted it, but stood fully by their decision.
Tomatsu awkwardly bowed back. He said, "it's good to meet you, too, as well."
Ha-neul turned to Zalgoe next. He was determined to hold on to proper decorum as long as possible. Stalling would make him look merely overly formal, but could also save him from fully misreading the situation. Or at least he hoped so. He bowed low and said "It's a pleasure, Mrs. Zalgoe. I owe you my life, without your magic I would be dead right now." He watched her reaction as he said 'Mrs.', but didn't catch anything. Were these three truly married?
Zalgoe nodded and said, "saving you came at a cost to my mana and medical stores. I expect you to prove to be worth the trouble."
He nodded. He was fairly certain he could pull his weight, especially with whatever magic he had gained. "I'll try my best, Mrs.-" Should he call her by Tamotsu's family name? Did Japanese women take their husband's name? He wasn't sure. He decided not to. This was not someone to play games with. She planned to chop his head off and eat it. He simply trailed off, and paused a moment too long while thinking.
She crossed her arms and said, "you better."
He bowed for a third time, "Mrs. Mebb, It is a pleasure to meet you."
She curtsied, "I am Lady Mebb of Whitestone."
All he got from her greeting was more questions. What does lady mean in this context, and where was Whitestone? Was that this castle? He sighed and then was thrown by a horrible coughing fit.
Mebb asked, "are you feeling alright?"
"I've been better, but I can walk it off." He caught his breath and turned back to Tomotsu. "I'll just say, I have a lot of questions for the three of you. I figure you have some good questions to ask me as well. Is this the right place for them though. There was an Undead here. Is this place safe?"
Zalgoe said, "because you unbarred that door, enemies could come storming in at any moment. They could come from outside as well. If they heard us, they would come from both directions at once."
Ha-neul re-barred the door as fast as he could.
Tomatsu cleared his throat and said triumphantly, "but do not worry, I am strong. I can protect us all. I have struck down many enemies, I'll have you know!" Tomatsu put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. Ha-neul couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. If it was a joke, no one laughed. Zalgoe nodded, and Mebb had turned away, seemingly uninterested in the conversation. He felt like he kind of got where Zalgoe was coming from, but Mebb was truly an enigma. Did her opinion mean so little that she didn't even bother to speak, or was it something else. How was he supposed to know the delicate social web of a harem? He was a bull in a china shop here.
Ha-neul sighed and then forced himself back into the current issue, "so, should we go somewhere else?"
Tomatsu nodded, "it's already past a bit past noon. We were only this high up to look for supplies anyways. We arn't in a massive hurry though. Something's been bothering me, Jung."
"Please. Call me Ha-neul."
"Right, something's been bothering me, Ha-neul. Where is the Undead you fought?"
"I stuffed it into a barrel or two."
Tomatsu looked at the pull of barrels and smiled. "I see. That's one way of doing it. Well, why don't we check this kitchen for supplies and the head down. We'll discuss everything at base camp."
"Are there more people there?"
Tomatsu laughed, "as of now, there are only four living things in this terrible ruin, everything else is Undead and frozen." With that, he walked into the kitchen.
Ha-neul struggled to follow them. Without his makeshift crutch, he had to lean on the walls for support. He got used to balancing on his damaged legs pretty quickly though, and hobbled into the kitchen. Tomatsu inspected the barrels, while Zalgoe headed straight for the metal tub. Ha-neul shuddered just thinking about the horror that lay in that tub. He almost warned her, but figured she wouldn't listen to him. She would have to see it for herself.
When she looked down into it, however, she did not look away. Instead, her shoulders sagged and she stared down, forlornly. She looked devastated. Ha-neul watched her closely.
Tomatsu seemed to have noticed as well. He stepped away from the barrels and asked, "what's in there?"
She said nothing. Instead, she reached down towards the dried blood. Ha-neul was frozen with horror as she did so, deeply disturbed by even the thought of it. A moment later she pulled out the meat cleaver.
"Ah," said Ha-neul, "that's my knife." He didn't really know why he said it, but it was clearly a mistake. It was the misstep he had been trying to avoid all along.
Zalgoe scowled at him and hissed, "what?" She was shaking with fury, her fingers gripped the blade so hard they were white. She suddenly seemed much more terrifying and grand than before. She was emanating blood lust great enough to be matched only by monsters. She had horns on her head. So maybe she was a monster all along. Even Tomatsu looked worried. Then suddenly she looked back at the tub and all her fury melted away. She shook her head and then looked back up at Ha-nuel, sharply. She asked, "What is the name of this blade?"
He spoke before realizing he knew the answer, "it's name is Bloodbath."
She nodded and then tossed the meat cleaver to him. He caught it, and then feeling the need to prove ownership he spun the blade in his hand. Then he threw it up in the air and caught it with two fingers, behind his back. He figured he picked up that skill so fast because of his magic.
Honestly, he didn't really know what just happened. He had gone from confused to terrified, back to confused so quickly his brain couldn't keep up. What was going on with Zalgoe?
Tomatsu, who had been looking at him with his mouth open, finally spoke. "What. You own a cool named meat cleaver? Can I see it?"
Ha-neul shrugged. He figured that them giving him a weapon was as much a trust exercise as him letting go of it. Although it wasn't that he trusted them, and more that he didn't really have another choice. He held the knife out for Tomatsu to take and inspect. He'd read somewhere that rarely, magic weapons could be taken from monsters. Did he think the knife was his because he had bested its previous wielder?
It was made out of a single piece of highly polished metal, even the handle. For some reason it didn't seem to get fingerprints on its shiny handle. Tomatsu seemed to have forgotten entirely about everything around him and was engrossed in every detail of the knife. Ha-neul turned his attention back to Zalgoe.
He decided to stop failing to play mind games and just be direct, "what was all that about. I thought you were going to kill me for a second there."
She shook her head, "I realized that you are much too young to have been the one to use this blade. You owning it is a new thing, right."
He nodded and looked away, thinking about what she'd said. At that moment Mebb came into the room and tapped Tomatsu on the shoulder. He ignored her and kept swinging the knife around, trying to spin it like Ha-neul had. She tapped his shoulder again, and he sighed and turned to face her.
She said, "It's time to leave. We've been here far too long."
Tomatsu peeled his eyes from the blade and said, "you're right. We need to get out of here!"