Moranor rolled her eyes at Enora with sarcasm dripping in every word, Moranor said. "I wonder where you learned that." Enora flashed her a smile, she said. "I read one too many books." Melanor finished washing the dishes as she walked beside Elora who was sitting down enjoying her cup of tea. Melanor stared at Cherry who was on Elora's right shoulder.
Cherry was looking at Enrel, Melanor, and Elora with one side of her eye as if she was judging them, Melanor slowly moved her hand toward Cherry. Cherry glanced at Melanor's hand which made her stop. Cherry moved her gaze onto Enrel who was glaring at her. Melanor patted the top of Cherry's head, Melanor said. "What was the result of the contract?"
Elora and Enrel moved their gazes onto Moranor and Enora. Moranor smiled while Enora let out a sigh while crossing her arms making her breasts press against each other. When Moranor was about to say something Enora interrupted her and said. "There is none."
Melanor and Elora raised a brow surprise while Enrel gaze locked onto Cherry with unhidden interest, Enrel said. "Meaning if I form a contract with Cherry she would be my familiar?" The four elves glared at Enrel while she suddenly appeared next to Elora on her left. Enrel raised a hand as it slightly glowed, Cherry was enveloped with a thin layer of mana before she flapped her wings destroying the mana around her.
All of them were stunned as Cherry flew in the air as it let out a loud kaw while staring at Enrel. Cherry raised her talons as she was about to attack Enrel pupils glowed, Enrel said. "Don't push your luck, bird brain." Cherry froze as she flapped her wings in mid-air for a moment before landing back on Elora's right shoulder as she rubbed her face on Elora's right cheek. Elora let out a chuckle, she said. "What a smart crow." Enrel and Enora spoke in unison. "Too smart, if you ask me."
Melanor let out a chuckle as she poured herself a cup of tea. Moranor rolled her eyes at the two of them and said. "The two of you are just upset that you were outsmarted by a crow." Elora faked a cough and said. "Nora, Mora. Could you two give us a moment?" Moranor And Enora nodded as they walked out of the kitchen and headed into the living room.
With a serious expression on her face, Elora stared at her half-filled teacup as she stared at her reflection on the surface of the golden brown color. Elora said. "Spread the word to all the factions who support those senile old elves and those senile old elves themselves. That tomorrow a meeting will be held at the first crack of dawn. Queen's orders."
Elora gave Melanor and Enrel a cold look to which the two of them smiled. Enrel clapped her hands, she said. "Finally! I needed some spare cash recently." The smile on Melanor's lips grew, she said. "And if they refused?" The tea in Elora's cup froze solid as she placed it down, she coldly said. "Kill them if they refuse, less work for us in cleaning."
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First Floor Library
Reiki carried three large books with both his hands while waiting by the counter with Saria behind it who had a smile on her lips. Reiki looked up to her and said. "Thank you for passing the message to Haruka." Saria shook her head sideways, she said. "It isn't anything special, if you had called her via talisman the result would've been the same." The two of them can hear the hushed whispers from the elves sitting on chairs with tables filled with books. Reiki felt a hand on his left shoulder as he turned his head and saw Haruka holding two books in her left hand.
Haruka looked pale and with some faint signs of bags under her eyes, she said. "Consider your timing perfect, I was about to hit the hay. Feel free to use the workbench while I sleep." Reiki nodded and said. "Thank you." Haruka placed the two books on the counter, she said. "Saria, can you put this back on the shelves for me?"
Saria gave Haruka a nod, she said. "Sure, it's the least I can do for you." Haruka let out a big yawn as she covered her mouth with a hand, she said. "Thank you." She softly smacked Reiki's shoulder with the back of her hand, Haruka said. "Let's go." Haruka started walking with Reiki behind her, she let out a yawn while walking as the elves glanced at the two of them from the corner of their eyes. When the two of them were far enough while looking in front, Haruka said. "Someone's very popular."
Reiki let out a chuckle, he said. "They're probably hoping I could alter a formation for them." The two of them stopped by a door while Haruka took out a silver key, she let out a chuckle and said. "True." She opened the door as the two of them walked into the room. Haruka sat on the edge of the bed while she took her combat shoes off, she said. "How long are you staying?"
Reiki walked to the workbench and carefully placed the three large books on the table, he said. "For a while." Haruka let out a yawn this time not bothering to cover her mouth, she said. "Just make sure to lock the door before you leave." Reiki sat down on the chair and opened one of the books while Haruka laid down on the bed.
~Eight Hours Later~
Reiki closed the third book and placed it on his left on top of the other two. Ender said. Your two elves are going to have a fit when they find out where you've been for half the day. Reiki stood up from his chair and stretched to help his blood flow, from the corner of his eye he saw Haruka sleeping soundly. He thought. Why is that?
Reiki looked at the three books on the workbench, Ender said. Elves are very, very territorial. You've got your work cut out for you, good luck kid. Reiki's eyes widened, he thought. Wait! Why?! The door suddenly opened which made Reiki turn around as his head was covered in a cold sweat. Saria stood in the hallway as she looked inside the room and scanned around when her gaze locked onto Reiki. Saria said. "Reiki, I was ordered to pass a message for you."
Reiki thought. Ordered? Not ask? He wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with the long sleeve of his green tunic, Reiki said. "W-What is it?" Saria looked at him oddly as she glanced at Haruka who was sleeping soundly on the bed from the corner of her eye. Saria's eyes narrowed, she said. "We know where you are."
Saria tried to slam the door but remembered that Haruka was sleeping so she stopped and just gently closed it. Reiki stared at the door for a few seconds, he said. "Talk about opening a can of worms…" He let out a sigh as he walked toward the door and made sure to lock it from the inside. Reiki headed to the front of the library as he noticed a different male elf was standing behind the counter as he passed by.
He thought. Morthil, Saria, and that elf make a total of three who work at the library… Reiki ignored the gazes of the elves behind his back as he walked out of the library and closed the door behind him.
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Enora's Room
Moranor and Enora's eyes were cold, the two elves were sitting on the bed as they stared at a talisman in between them. The talisman faintly glowed, Enora reached her hand out to grab it when it suddenly disappeared. Enora looked at Moranor who was already holding the talisman with her right hand. Moranor said. "Reiki left the library and headed for the leather shop I showed him."
Moranor placed the talisman on the floor while Enora moved to the edge of the bed and started putting on her leather boots. Moranor said. "Don't bother going to the shop." Enora stopped as she placed the left boot down, she turned her head to look at Moranor whose eyes were still cold just like hers. Enora said. "He could be visiting another elf there. A female elf if I might add."
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Moranor shook her head sideways, she said. "The elves who work there are two males, one old and one young." She glanced at Enora from the corner of her eye and continued. "Right now our best move is to wait for him to come back and beat an explanation out of him." Enora glared at Moranor, Enora said. "And if he's meeting up with another female elf?" Moranor pointed at the talisman at the bed, she said. "We'll know, and if there is, we can just kill the elf."
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Inside A Leather Shop
Reiki closed the door behind him as he walked toward the counter and saw Orbryn appear behind it. Orbryn gave him a small wave and said. "You're a bit early, but master Maeglin has long finished your special gift." Orbryn gave Reiki a knowing wink, Reiki stared at Orbryn with an odd look making the atmosphere in the room awkward. Orbryn faked a cough and said. "He should be here shortly." Reiki nodded and said. "Never do that again."
Orbryn let out a sigh, he said. "I can't pull it off can I?" Reiki stared at his eyes and said. "Never in your entire life." Orbryn placed a hand on his neck, Reiki rolled his eyes at him and said. "If you want to impress a girl don't do anything that could be interpreted as odd or weird." Orbryn looked at him as he frowned, he said. "And you're supposed to have experience?"
Reiki thought. Too much. He said. "I'm on the right track at least." He pointed at the elf's head and continued. "You on the other hand are trying to make an omelet using rocks." Maeglin appeared right beside Orbryn as he was laughing from the top of his lungs. Maeglin placed an arm around Orbyn's shoulders, Maeglin managed to stop his laughter and said. "See, even a young lad such as Reiki knows you're doing it all wrong." Orbryn spread out his arm in defeat, removing Meaglin's hand around him in the process, Orbryn said. "Then what am I supposed to do?"
He glanced at Reiki from the corner of his eye. Maeglin let out a chuckle, he said. "It's simple, serenade the young lass. Write a song, poem, or whatever you can, but judging by your craftsmanship it won't be anything decent." Orbryn kept a straight face and spoke with sarcasm. "Thank you for the suggestion, while you're at it can you turn back to a few hundred years ago when it was popular?"
Maeglin slapped Orbryn's back and said. "Anytime." Orbryn moved his gaze onto Reiki, he thought. Why are you looking at me? Don't tell me you're going to ask for help from a child? Reiki moved his gaze to Maeglin who was staring around the empty store, Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "It's that bad, huh." Orbryn was about to say something when Maeglin placed a hand on his mouth, Maeglin said. "It's one-sided."
Reiki visibly reeled back and thought. Ouch, never knew I was talking to a dead man. As he looked at Orbryn who was staring at a wall to his right. Scratching the side of his head, Reiki said. "Then how about learning her hobbies for starters? You get to spend time with the girl and she'll get to know you better." Orbryn frowned as he fidgeted in place, he gave Reiki a pleading look and said. "Isn't there another way?"
Reiki dryly said. "Nope, unless you want to be single forever. You need to make contact with her, either that or you spend most of your nights with a box of tissues and some lotion." Orbryn's eyes widened in surprise while Maeglin beside him started laughing while banging the counter in front of him. Maeglin said. "Boy, do you even know what you just said?" Reiki shook his head sideways, he said. "Nope, I heard it from a couple of senpais-... Seniors from my school."
Maeglin pointed at him and said. "It means-." Orbryn places a hand in front of Maeglin's face, Orbryn said. "Nothing! It means! Nothing!" As he glared at Maeglin who was still laughing and smacking the top of the counter. Orbryn let out a long sigh as he rummaged through Maeglin's pocket and took out a pouch. From the pouch, Orbryn took out a dark brown quiver and placed it sideways on the counter.
Orbryn was about to say something but was pushed to the side by Maeglin. Maeglin cleared his throat as he let out a chuckle, he said. "I did a few simple adjustments, added an enchantment. Namely durability." He picked up the quiver and turned it on the other side revealing two pockets, one being as long as six inches and four inches wide separated into three different columns. The other only being half the size and was placed on top, both of them looked like it was sealed shut.
Maeglin tapped both of them and said. "Inside these pockets are some crystals and a few flint and steels." Reiki raised a brow and looked at Maeglin, Reiki said. "What kind of freebies cost twenty coins?" Maeglin gave him a mysterious smile, he said. "Don't worry about it, if you want to unseal it all you have to do is pour some mana in it. As long as Lady Moranor is the first one to pour mana in this quiver, it will be imprinted with her."
Reiki nodded, he said. "Do you have some parchment-." Maeglin raised his hand which made Reiki stop, Orbryn rummaged through his pockets and took out his pouch. Orbryn placed down a few pieces of parchment, a white quill, and a small bottle of ink. Maeglin let out a small laugh, he said. "I've already prepared it." Orbryn tried to hit Maeglin's shoulder to which he missed by Maeglin taking a step to the left. Orbryn said. "I prepared! I paid for this myself!"
Maeglin waved his hand in dismissal, he said. "I'll pay you back once Reiki is gone." Reiki ignored them arguing as he quickly picked up the quill and opened the small bottle of ink by taking the cork off. Orbryn raised his hand as he clenched it into a fist, he said. "How about you pay me my salary last month? I don't even know why you keep doing this since the shop has been doing well the past hundred years!"
Maeglin ignored him and looked at Reiki who picked the smallest parchment and folded it into two, Maeglin said. "Reiki, what's the rush?" Reiki dipped the quill in the bottle of ink, he said. "I have two very angry elves waiting for me."
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Enora's Room
Moranor was leaning on a wall with her arms crossed as she stared at the floor with a cold gaze. Enora was laying down on the bed with her legs crossed with cold eyes, she stared at the ceiling. The mana in the room was heavy as the two elves waited for Reiki, their long pointy ears twitched when they heard the sound of something flying outside the room.
They moved their gazes to the floor and saw a shadow on the small gap from the door, a few seconds passed before the sound of knocking was made from the other side. Neither of the two elves said anything as they stared at the door, from the other side of the room they heard Reiki speak. He said. "M-Mora? Nora? I-I'm back…"
A moment of heavy silence passed by, Reiki continued. "I-I'm going in… Is that… Am I allowed?..." After a few seconds of silence, Reiki turned the doorknob as he slowly opened the door. With a big smile on his face, he said. "I-I'm back…" The two elves glared at him which made him take a step back, Reiki thought. I think I just sensed a faint trace of bloodlust from both of them… The smile on his face turned into a wry one, he said. "W-why so glum chum?"
As he forced out a chuckle and glanced at their expression to gauge their attitude toward him. Moranor and Enora maintained their cold glare on him, Reiki thought. I do have my work cut out for me… He slowly closed the door behind him as he scratched the back of his head, Reiki said. "What would you like to know about my day?"
Enora and Moranor glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes. The two of them suddenly vanished, Enora appeared behind him while Moranor appeared right in front. The two elves looked down on Reiki with piercing glares, with an indifferent tone Moranor said. "Where have you been for the last eight hours and three minutes?"
Moranor slightly crouched down as she stared right into his eyes. Reiki made sure to maintain eye contact and said. "I've been in the first-floor library in Haruka's private room. I've read three books during that time." Enora placed her index and middle finger on Reiki's neck to feel his pulse, Enora said. "Can you tell us the three books you've read?" Reiki gulped and said. "Sure, they were. Blacksmith Beginners Guide, Potion Brewing One Hundred and One, and Introduction To Herbology. While Haruka slept on her bed from pulling an all-nighter."
The two elves glanced at each other while Enora nodded at Moranor. The cold look in their eyes slightly lessened, Moranor said. "Why couldn't you just book yourself a room?" Reiki carefully shrugged his shoulders making sure Enora's fingers on his neck didn't even move an inch. He said. "I don't have any money on me."
Enora moved her free hand onto his chin and slowly made him look up at her, seeing her cold glare. Enora said. "Why didn't you use the card I gave you? Even if you wanted to rent all the rooms you'd be able to do so for an entire month. You also have unrestricted access to the second floor." Reiki stared at Enora's cold eyes, he said. "Well…" As he paused which made their eyes even colder than it was before, Reiki had an awkward look on his face which the two elves noticed. He said. "No one told me that."
Enora and Moranor slightly froze in place, Reiki continued. "I didn't know how much money was in the card Nora gave me, but since I bought a map I thought I've already used up all the funds in it. For the gold library card, I didn't even know I had special privileges." Moranor glared at Enora who was slowly moving her hand away from Reiki's neck. Enora's eyes turned back to normal as she faked a cough, she said. "It seems everything is all a big misunderstanding."
Enora vanished as she appeared back on top of the bed, with a big smile on her face she patted the spot next to her and said. "Since the problem has been resolved let's move on to something else." Moranor's eyes turned back to normal, she pointed at Enora and said. "There was no problem!" Enora lazily waved her hand and said. "There is no problem now, it's been resolved by me."
Enora tapped on the bed next to her and moved her gaze onto Reiki, she said. "Reiki, be a good boy and get on my bed." Before Moranor could continue she felt him poke her forearm which made her look at Reiki. He said. "What just happened?" Moranor forced a smile on her lips as she tried to find words but let out an awkward chuckle instead, she said. "Simple… It's funny if I tell you… Enora did it." As she pointed at Enora who was sitting upright on the bed, Enora's eyes widened as she said. "I did not!"
Moranor quickly said. "Yes, it was. If it weren't for you not trusting him this wouldn't have happened." Enora stood up from the bed and took a couple of steps forward Moranor as a smirk slowly formed on Enora's lips. Enora said. "Three hours start now, now if you may be so kind as to uphold the bet. The moment you get out of my room we could get started."
Moranor was surprised for a moment as her pupils faintly glowed as she glared at Enora. Moranor said. "I think you may want to rethink that." The smirk on Enora's lips grew bigger, she said. "Then I can take this as you not keeping your word?"