Reiki, who was trying to control his breathing said. "A… Minute, please." He slowly inhaled using his mouth and slowly exhaled from his nose. He let out a long sigh, he said. "Can you repeat the question, I was too busy having a panic attack from Moranor trying to put me into cardiac arrest…" Melanor crossed her legs and said. "What happened this time?"

He turned his head to face her, he said. "I was asking if she would hand over the sequel for slutty maid." Melanor's eyes widened as she quickly said. "You already finished the first one?! What are your thoughts?" Reiki slowly pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on, he said. "It was leaning on the slow burn side of things, but other than that I'll score it a seven out of ten."

Enrel joined the conversation, she said. "I would recommend, she is my master. It's faster-paced but the people who read it are all… Niche audience…" He turned his head to face Enrel, as he was about to say something Melanor interrupted and said. "Anyway!.. If you browse through the shelves, there's one called-." Reiki held both his hand in the air, he said. "I would have read them if your daughter." He made a gesture towards Melanor and continued. "Wasn't so… Biribiri…"

Melanor placed an elbow on her thigh as she leaned her head on to her left hand, she said. "... Biribiri?..." He turned his head towards Melanor and blinked twice. Reiki's eyes widened a bit as he realized his mistake, he said. "Sorry, I meant shocking. Biribiri is just another word in my language that could be used to explain the loud crackling sound her lightning was making."

Enrel stood up and made a gesture towards the chair she was sitting on, as she walked towards Melanor and sat on her left. Enrel said. "That explains why there were bits of white light coming through the floorboards." Reiki walked to the chair and sat on it. He said. "Both of you knew what was happening and decided not to intervene?" Melanor flashed him a small smile and said. "My daughter can't kill you while you're here…"

She trailed off as Reiki nodded as he was about to say something but was cut off by Melanor saying. "That's where my knowledge comes into play. I know hundreds if not thousands of methods to keep someone from crossing that line." She let out a chuckle and continued. "You could even say this is one of my many specialties."

Enrel made a small clap with her hands and said. "On to more important matters." Reiki thought. Melanor just indirectly told me she has experience in torturing people and you're just gonna sweep it under the rug… Enrel faked a cough while ignoring the stare Reiki aimed at her. She said. "That movement spell of yours was… Odd… I've never heard of one being able to avoid making any residual traces of mana as well as being used multiple times in quick succession." He scratched the back of his head, he said. "Oh, that. The movement spell is from my notebook-."

Melanor immediately moved and covered his mouth with both her hands. She gave him a meaningful look and turned her head to face Enrel who was giving her a suspicious glare. Melanor said. "You're still at it with your old tricks, asking the young about their magic then you replicate the process." Melanor felt something poke her hand, she turned her head to see Reiki give him an odd glare while pointing at her hands that were still covering his mouth.

Melanor gave him another meaningful look as he returned the look with a deadpan expression, she moved her hand away from his mouth. Reiki wiped his mouth using the long sleeve of his green tunic, he said. "My mouth was open." Melanor looked at her hand that made direct contact and saw a bit of drool, she wiped her hand using the edge of Enrel's green dress. Enrel reached for Melanor's hand as her hand was enveloped by a thin layer of mana, Melanor let go of the edge of her dress and crossed her arms. The layer of mana around Enrel's hand slowly dissipated as she gave Melanor a cold glare and said. "I see your habit of using the closest thing to wipe something off you still hasn't changed."

Melanor rolled her eyes and said. "Send me the letter and I'll reimburse you." Enrel slapped the bed as it absorbed the impact, she said. "This is my favorite dress! You-." Melanor waved her hand in Enrel's face and said. "You always say that." Enrel's eyes slowly started to glow a bright blue, she took a deep breath and exhaled as it turned back to normal. She placed two fingers on the temple of her head and slowly massaged her headache away.

Enrel let out a long sigh and moved her hands away from her head. She looked at Melanor who gave her a small smirk and looked at Reiki who kept a straight face. Enrel said. "Interesting…" The smirk on Melanor's face disappeared, she said. "What is?" Enrel slowly grew a large smile on her lips, she said. "Did you still remember our 'conversation' earlier?" As she gave Melanor a meaningful glance, she continued. "Just make sure that whatever you plan on doing tomorrow, make sure to remember my offer. Name the price and we'll have a deal."

She turned her head to face Reiki, her smile turned smaller but stayed on her face. Enrel said. "Can I call you Reiki?" Reiki nodded, he lazily stretched while sitting on the chair and let out a small yawn. He said. "I don't mind." Enrel sat up straight on the bed and leaned closer towards him and said. "What do you do in your free time?" Melanor narrowed her eyes and glared at Enrel, she said. "What are you-." Melanor was suddenly muted but continued talking. Enrel waved her hand towards her and flashed her a smirk, she said. "Old habits die hard."

Melanor glared at Enrel, her mouth was moving but no sound was produced. Reiki was lip-reading and kept his thoughts to himself as he read what Melanor was saying. He thought. Enrel I am going to kill you! If you think this is over you have another thing coming! I'll make sure to break all of your concoctions that you hid under your bed in the safe!" Melanor was still talking but was still muted. Reiki turned his head towards Enrel, he said. "Is it safe to keep her like that?" From the corner of his eyes, he saw Melanor's eyes were cold. Enrel nodded as the smirk on her face was replaced by a warm smile, she said. "Don't worry, she won't do anything."

Reiki was still glancing at Melanor from the corner of his eye, he said. "A-Alright…" He started lip-reading again, he thought. You can have your enjoyment now… I'll be at your lab for a bit. Melanor stood up and slowly walked towards the door. Reiki turned around to look at Melanor, he turned his head to look at Enrel behind him. He said. "Are you sure you want to let her get away?" Enrel confidently nodded, she said. "She can't do anything that could-." Reiki interrupted her and said. "Melanor-san said, she would be rummaging through the safe under your bed."

Melanor froze mid-step as she was almost at the door, Enrel saw her reaction and snapped her fingers. Enrel said. "How did you know about that!?" Melanor turned around and stared at Reiki, this time her mouth moved and she was able to talk. "You can read lips?" Enrel stood up from the bed as she walked towards Melanor, Enrel said. "Don't avoid the question!" Melanor ignored her as she placed her arm on her shoulder as Enrel vanished for a split second and appeared on Melanor's left, her eyes were still on him waiting for his answer. Reik said. "I was able to read some of the words but I struggled to make out a sentence because of how you say one word that could easily be interpreted as a different one…"

He scratched the back of his head with his hand, he continued. "For example, if you say good morning in elvish. If I use lip-reading I can interpret it as you saying, how are you. Does that make any sense to you?" Before she could say anything, Enrel poked Melanor's shoulder and said. "You still haven't-." He barely noticed Melanor's hands moved from her sides as Enrel suddenly fell as she was caught by her. Melanor carried Enrel to the bed and placed the blanket over her.

Melanor sat on the edge of the bed, she placed a hand on her chin and said. "Hmm… So the lip movement in elvish is similar to other words and a challenge to read a sentence." Reiki shook his head, he said. "I don't think that's the reason." Melanor turned her head to face him, she said. "Go on." Reiki continued. "I think knowing multiple languages is a part of it, but mostly not being used to elvish entirely." Melanor narrowed her eyes and said. "Multiple languages?"

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Reiki stayed silent for a couple of seconds, he said. "Well, if you think about it I can speak Japanese, elvish, and common tongue." Melanor was still giving him a suspicious look, she said. "Then you should have said, I know how to speak three different languages." Reiki smiled and placed his right hand behind his head, he said. "It doesn't sound that impressive and to be fair not a lot of people can speak another language fluently, let alone three."

A smile filled with confidence appeared on his face as he brushed his hair back as it became even more unkempt and scraggly. Melanor stared at him for a moment as she turned her gaze onto Enrel who was knocked out, she looked at him from the corner of her eye. She said. "We'll leave it at that…" Enrel who was lying on the bed began to stir as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, she looked around the room and said. "W-Where am I?..."

She slowly opened her eyes as Enrel's vision turned back to normal. Enrel's glance turned cold as she turned her head to face Melanor on her left. Reiki saw Melanor was blocking her ears using her fingers and did the same, Enrel shouted. "You little-!" The door suddenly opened as Moranor walked inside and said. "I finally found you!" Both the elves inside turned their head towards her, while Reiki was staring at the floor ignoring everything that was happening.

Moranor had a sweet smile on her face as she slowly walked closer to him, she placed her left hand on his shoulder as the air around her made a couple of crackling sounds. She easily picked him up from the chair as she started to walk out of the room, with her head sideways as she looked at her mother and said. "Don't mind me." As she took a step in the hallway she felt Reiki move and turned her head to face him. She saw that he was holding on to the wall and stared at Melanor, he took a deep breath as he placed an innocent expression on his face and pleadingly said. "A little help, please."

Melanor chuckled as a smile formed on her face, she said. "Liars need to be punished." Moranor reached towards Reiki's hand that was holding the wall, the air around her hand started crackling. Before her hand was five inches away from his hand he let go, Moranor dragged him out of the room and reached for the doorknob. She said. "Excuse us." As she closed the door, the sound of a boy screaming was heard followed by flashes of white light coming from under the door.

…

[System: User has received 1,209 lightning Damage.]

[System: Skin around the user's right forearm is burned.]

[System: User has received debuff Muscle Spasm.]

Moranor held Reiki by his right forearm a couple of feet off the ground. There were a few small streaks of black smoke coming from the top of his head while a couple of small bolts of lightning traveled around his hair. She let go of him as he fell to the floor and revealed an outline of her hand that was surrounded by charred skin, he landed on his feet and wobbled. Reiki barely managed to balance himself as he felt his thighs twitch but managed to force himself to stay standing. His entire body was twitching uncontrollably, he looked up to face Moranor and said. "W-Was this necessary?"

He twitched as he felt his knees go weak. Moranor grabbed him by the waist before he could fall, she said. "That's what you get from hiding from me and trying to be a smart mouth." Reiki looked at his right forearm and saw that the long sleeve was ruined, he ripped off the piece of the fabric that was falling off and burnt and saw his charred skin and an outline of her hand.

He touched the charred area of his skin with his left hand and felt it, he took a couple of whiffs of the charred area and smelled it. He said. "It smells like burned flesh and feels like a scab." He was trying to scratch the edge of it as he took a small peek underneath it and saw a thin layer of blood.

The fabric he ripped off from the sleeve of his tunic, he applied pressure on the area he scratched and looked up to face Moranor and said. "Your control over lightning is impressive." Moranor flicked his hand that tried to peel the scab off, which left a small red mark.

[System: User has received 2 Damage.]

Moranor had an odd look on her face and said. "Most people would be afraid of me, for what I've done to you." Reiki let out a chuckle, he said. "Well, I'm not like most people. And besides, It was only a few layers of skin, it'll heal itself." A look of surprise formed on Moranor's face, she said. "You're not mad at me?" Reiki rolled his eyes at her and said. "Nope, I expected something worse when I tried talking back at you and running."

He looked at the black scab on his right forearm. Moranor's grip on his waist softened for a bit and became firmer, she said. "I thought hum-... You'd be afraid of death." Reiki let out a self-deprecating chuckle, he said. "Hey, I've already lost a promising future. It'll take more than a high shock voltage to scare me." Moranor eyes narrowed, she said. "You should-." Reiki interrupted her by waving his hand, he said. "Don't worry. I do value my life, I still have to give the entire world to two people back home." A small smile slowly appeared on his face, Moranor seeing this swallowed her words and stayed quiet. She said. "I-."

Reiki interrupted by pointing at the doorknob for the guest room, he gave her a meaningful look. Moranor narrowed her eyes as she reached out for the doorknob and suddenly opened it revealing both Enrel and Melanor listening in on their conversation.

Reiki poked her hand and said. "I need a medkit and some gauze." Moranor froze on the spot, her cheeks slowly blushed as she tried to keep a straight face, she looked at both of them as her mother flashed her a smile while Enrel nodded at her. Taking a deep breath, Moranor dragged him by the waist as they headed to the living room, while the two walked away, Melanor said. "The medkit is in the kitchen on the top cupboard."

Melanor reached for the doorknob and closed the door, she walked towards the workbench and sat on top of it. Enrel pulled the chair near it, she said. "You caught him lying right at your face." Melanor chuckled and said. "No, the truth is I can't tell if he's lying or not. So I just messed with him by letting my daughter have her way. If he's telling the truth he won't be nervous if he's not… Well, I'll try to send him your way if you can afford it."

Enrel let out a scoff as a smirk slowly formed on her face, she snapped her fingers as a ball of water appeared out of thin air and splashed all over her. Enrel said. "Payback." Melanor had a sweet smile on her face that sent a shiver down Enrel's spine. Melanor spread her arms and said. "It's been so long since we saw each other." The air around Melanor began crackling as she moved off the workbench and slowly walked towards her.

Enrel immediately stood up and ran towards the door, she tried turning the doorknob and saw a thin layer of mana around the entire room. She turned around to see Melanor was slowly walking towards her with her arms spread out for a hug, Enrel said. "W-We can talk this out like." Melanor's wet clothes had a few strings of lightning going around as she was completely unharmed. Enrel said. "Stay back Melanor! I-I will tell her majesty!"

Melanor stopped mid-step, Enrel let out a sigh of relief as a small smile appeared on her face. Enrel said. "You still haven't changed a bit, even until this day… You're still the same as when I first met both of you in the library. Still too scared to-." Melanor was bathed in lightning as loud sounds of crackling reverted in the room. She suddenly appeared right in front of Enrel and gave her a bear hug and lifted her off the ground. Enrel screamed from the top of her lungs but due to the layer of mana around the room wasn't heard by another elf.

----------------------------------------

Living Room

Reiki was sitting on the couch reading my sluty maid: just desserts, it had a black cover and white writing with the word desserts in pink. He flipped to the next page as the sound of footsteps was getting closer. Moranor walked towards the couch and saw him reading erotica, she smacked the top of his head and said. "Glad to see being hurt didn't scar you as deep as I wan-. Thought." Moranor sat down on his right with a medkit in her hands. She opened the medkit and took out a five-inch needle and moved it closer to the edge of his charred skin.

He moved his hand away from the needle from her hands as he closed the book and placed it on the coffee table, he said. "What are you doing?" Moranor had an annoyed look on her face, she said. "I'm trying to tend to your injury." He pointed at the needle at her hand and said. "With a needle that's probably used for acupuncture?! If you're planning on removing the scab, at least use a scalpel." She grabbed his right hand and pulled it closer to her, she skillfully twirled the needle with her fingers and made sure he won't be able to move. She said. "Don't worry about it."

She carefully tried to pick the edge of the burned scab while Reiki said. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who's prone to be punctured by a needle." Moranor kept her eyes on the scab and tried her best to concentrate, she said. "Stay still. If you keep moving I might-." She stabbed the edge of the scab a few times as it suddenly started to slowly fall to the floor. Moranor stared at the charred skin that was on the ground and turned her head to look at his forearm.

Reiki's forearm was already healed with a small outline of dead skin that could be safely peeled off, Moranor peeled the layer of dead skin and examined his forearm. She noticed there weren't any signs of scarring or a slight difference in skin color, her eyes narrowed as Moranor's pupils started glowing for a split second and returned to normal. She said. "It's not an illusion…" Reiki picked up the scab on the floor with his left hand and looked at it. He thought. She burnt a few layers of my skin with lightning… It should've taken months or a full year to heal…

Moranor turned her head to look at him, she tried to speak but couldn't utter a single word. She took a deep breath and said. "Reiki… Are you completely human?" He placed his scab on the coffee table next to the erotica, he crossed his arms and said. "I am, despite what just happened." Moranor's eyes narrowed as she stared at him, she said. "Then have you ever received a blood transfusion before?"