"What's it look like? I'm smithing!"
"That's not craftsmanship, it's a hack job!" shouted Gasnor, reaching out to grab the priceless hammer from Jack's hand.
"Uh, uh, uh…" Jack nudged the large man aside with ease, not letting him dare to get close. "Don't interrupt my work. I've got a lot of pieces to make so I need to hurry."
"But what's the point of the schematic if you're not following it?" asked Moranti.
Jack replied, "It shows me how to joint them together and where to put the inscriptions for the empowering stage. Appearance doesn't matter if I can't have it ready in time."
"But… but… what about mobility?! If you aren't careful, you'll find yourself unable to wield a weapon while wearing such… crude, mistreated armor?!" Gasnon refuted.
"Why does that matter?" Jack asked, flooring the weaponsmith again. "So long as the armor's main functions work, that's all that matters to me."
"But--"
"No butts!" shouted Jack. "This will become the backplate but my butt will remain exposed. I thought you were reading the schematic?"
"You… That…"
Gasnon was under the pressure of turbulent emotions. His awe and respect for Jack's unbelievable resources were beyond anything he had ever felt as a weaponsmith. Yet that was paired with Jack's complete disregard for the integrity and beauty of those same resources. And all Gasnor could do was watch as Jack unevenly pounded away at what now looked like scrap metal, not a priceless and legendary ingot of refined roxite. The material of Gasnon's dreams was being cruelly punished by Jack's uncaring hands instead of being lovingly molded into a global treasure, the greatest of pains that Gasnor could feel.
"Done! On to the chestplate!" Jack walked toward the table and placed the slightly rounded, uneven backplate down. He grabbed another ingot and was immediately heating it up.
"That's what you call done?" Moranti picked up the scrap and blinked in bafflement. "This won't protect you at all!"
"So? What's your point?"
"Jack, what's the point of armor if it can't protect you?"
"Do I really need to answer that after you've already read the schematic? Remember, this armor is our secret. And what better way to hide the armor's special functions than making it look like trash!"
"But--"
"And it saves me time too! This is the perfect plan!" Jack then cut off the flames and began pounding away at the ingot, crudely shaping it to match the backplate but not caring enough to make both sides symmetrical.
This continued all day long. It was the perfect storm of Gasnor's wildest dreams and darkest nightmares. Moranti spent most of his time consoling Gasnon or cutting the various plates of roxite to somewhat fit together. Jack kept a smile plaster on his face the entire time, jubilant to get closer and closer to having his own personal armor.
They worked through breakfast and took a small break for lunch but as dinner neared, Jack received a telepathic message, 'Jack, hurry back for dinner.'
'But right now I--'
'Jack, our mom and sister are here to join us and I think you're the best one to comfort her right now.'
Sighing, Jack placed his hammer down on the roxite anvil, 'Alright… But I'm coming back the moment we're down eating and talking. I've almost finished making my armor plates.'
'Thanks, Jack.'
'Love you, Maura.'
Finished with his mental conversation, Jack turned to the crying Gasnon. "I'll be leaving for dinner. We've got guests that I can't say no to. While I'm gone, you're allowed to use my roxite setup, but no roxite ingots and no tampering with my masterpiece. Got it?"
"... Got it," sniffled Gasnon. The weaponsmith immediately picked up the hammer and began to feel better.
Waving to Moranti, Jack asked, "Keep an eye on things, will you? I'll bring you back some food."
"Will do." Moranti gave Jack a thumbs up and walked towards the now giddy Gasnon.
Jack teleported and instantly found himself in his courtyard. He spotted two familiar faces at the nearby table but was quickly tackled to the ground before he could greet them. "Lina… Aren't you a little too big to act like a child?"
"But you're my Big Bro. Now, you're the only person I can treat like this…" pouted Lina, showing her baby hydra eyes.
"Fine… But keep it under control. Don't be tackling me when we're out in public, okay?"
"Okay!" Lina helped Jack up and they sat on opposite sides of Lunara. "Cheer up, Mom! Dad will be fine."
Lunara sighed and showed a weak smile, "I know… It's just… It's been a while and I thought he had the perfect chance to strike during that battle…"
"According to Perchet, Halmut had torched all of Olympic Chateau during our giant battle," commented Jack. "I guess Halmut had caught on to Dad's plan to target him and wanted to protect himself."
"Then--"
"But don't worry, Mom," Jack continued. "Dad knows exactly what he's doing. Trust me. If you don't trust my word for it, then trust Daruun's. He said that Sterfen will be fine and that in the worst-case scenario Sterfen would just escape."
"I guess you're right…" Lunara remarked, showing a slightly brighter smile.
"Good, we can eat now." Maura's voice caught the attention of the table, getting them to see all three of Jack's wives carrying several platters of food. Maura led the way, adding, "Since we knew you were coming, we made sure to have plenty of portions. There are even more in the fridge, so don't worry about going home hungry!"
"Finally!" Lina shouted, already stabbing a pork roast and pulling it toward her mouth.
"Lina! You have to--"
"Mom, it's fine. Let's all just dig in!" Jack replied as the three women found their seats and started filling their plates.
All manner of foods were present on the table, from pork to beef, from chicken to duck, from Giant Spider to Briar Wolf, and more. A tower of plates had been set down in front of Lina and Lunara, making sure they wouldn't need to go to the kitchen anytime soon.