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Meanwhile At The Living Room
Moranor stared at the spot Reiki stood for a few seconds in silence, her hand slowly clenched into a fist as they softly shook in frustration. Enrel stared at the half-eaten parfait on the table and turned her head towards Moranor. Enrel said. "You should get ready."
Moranor snapped back to reality as she stared at her own hands and hesitantly nodded. Enrel seeing Moranor's hesitation made her eyes narrowed, Enrel said. "Don't do anything stupid. You don't know what kind of outcome would happen because of your actions…" Moranor's entire body froze, she slowly looked down as she stared blankly at the floor.
Enrel walked next to Moranor and placed an arm around her shoulder to comfort the young elf. Enrel said. "Just to make sure… I'll stay by your side for the time being… Hopefully, my presence would prevent you from doing something drastic…" Moranor didn't answer as she just stared at the floor. Enrel patted Moranor's shoulder, Enrel said. "Let's go, your mother already has your bow with her." Silence permeated the entire room as a moment passed before Moranor nodded.
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Throne Room
Elora stared at Reiki without blinking. Melanor suddenly appeared next to the throne standing, with her eyes narrowed she stared at his very soul. Reiki stared at Elora with a straight expression, he thought. Fuck… Now, which card do I play?.... Reiki slowly moved his hand behind his head and scratched it.
Melanor's eyes were like a hawk scanning his every movement and would strike at the very moment she senses something wrong. Reiki raised his hand again, he said. "Your majesty, can I explain?" Elora placed her elbow on the armrest of the throne with red cushions, she lazily placed her head on the palm of her hand and lazily nodded. Elora said. "You may."
Melanor placed both her hands behind her back. Reiki faked a cough, as he was about to say something he could faintly hear the sound of footsteps around the room which made him look around. He thought. Footsteps… Reiki looked around the room with a neutral expression, Both Elora and Melanor's eyes narrowed from his reaction.
Melanor clapped her hands as Reiki turned his head to look at her, Melanor said. "Reiki, her majesty is waiting." Reiki scratched the back of his head and thought. No last meal? He let out a forced chuckle and said. "Your majesty I did indeed, uh… Destroy a part of the forest." An amused expression appeared on Elora's face while Melanor had an odd like on her face. With an enigmatic smile, Elora said. "Usually you humans would do everything to keep your reputation clean… Yet here you are confessing your crimes to a leader of an entire race that lives in a forest."
Reiki stretched the collar of his tunic using a finger, he said. "Rather than denying my crimes, I think it would be better to admit it. But in my defense my intention was never to destroy the forest, it was only the result of my carelessness with trying to learn a new spell." Melanor had a complete poker face and was listening intently while Elora had an amused smile on her face. Elora said. "Is this your way of appealing to my good side-?"
Reiki shook his head and interrupted her, he said. "Nope." A surprised look appeared on Elora's face while Melanor narrowed her eyes. Reiki continued. "If I were given the chance to possibly change that, not all humans lie through their teeth as naturally as they breathe. I would take it."
The smile disappeared on Elora's face, with a monotone voice she said. "Even at the cost of your life?" Reiki let out a chuckle, he said. "If only it were that easy…" Elora placed a hand on her chin as she was trying to see through him while Melanor kept a straight face beside the throne.
Elora waved her hand, she said. "Moving on… I'll be asking you a few questions, I hope you won't mind and cooperate for a few minutes." Reiki looked around the room and saw nothing out of the ordinary, a large red carpet leading to the throne and a couple of heavy wooden doors on each side. He said. "Yes, your majesty."
Elora fixed her sitting position as she sat straight up on the throne, a heavy atmosphere suddenly filled the entire room. Using her right hand Elora tapped the armrest, she said. "What is your relationship with that princess you traveled with previously? And what was your intention when you destroyed a part of the forest?"
Reiki looked up to the ceiling and saw a large ball of light, he scratched the back of his head using his left hand and said. "In a way, the princess hired me to protect her, though what little relationship we had soured the moment I told them I have an affinity with earth magic."
For a split second, a look of disappointment appeared in Elora's eyes before turning back to normal. Melanor looked at him oddly with narrowed eyes. Reiki continued. "As for the forest… It's a small accident when I was trying to cast a wind spell I once read… In hindsight doing it without supervision was already a sign it was a terrible idea…"
Elora's eyes widened as she made a very small nod of approval, a small smile almost formed on her face as she managed to suppress it. Melanor placed a hand over her mouth as she started thinking. Elora faked a cough and said. "You claimed you were an earth mage in front of the princess yet here you failed to cast a wind spell? Is it safe to assume you have an affinity for both yet in public you use earth magic but in reality have a higher affinity with wind?"
A smile formed on Reiki's face, he said. "No your majesty." Elora had a surprised look on her face while Melanor was still deep in thought. Before Elora could say anything Reiki held out his hand and said. "If I may, your majesty?" He thought. Focus… Mana is a particle. Picture the state of matter and command the mana… A few inches above his hand a few pieces of dirt started to solidify and merged forming a bigger rock sphere.
[System: User has created an Earth sphere. Mana Cost: 940.]
From the remaining dust and earth particles in the room, a rock the size of a baseball appeared mid-air and was floating. Reiki moved his hand away from the floating earth sphere and started to form another one, using some of the moisture of the room.
[System: User has created a Water sphere. Mana Cost: 1,160.]
A few drops of sweat started to appear on Reiki's forehead, he thought. This is bad… The consistency is completely different… Moving his hand away from the water ball he started to gather a small storm in his hand, a small gust of wind started to appear in his palm as he tried to focus. He thought. Shit… The wind is more unstable than I thought… For a few seconds the area above the palm of his hands was only creating a small gust of wind, he slowly took a deep breath as his eyes turned semi-hollow.
[System: User has created a Wind sphere. Mana Cost: 4,230.]
Reiki's breathing turned erratic as he moved his hand away from the ball of wind, he thought. Remember what Enrel said… Agitate mana it turns into light agitate it more it turns into fire… Meaning you need to shake the mana particles enough to create a fire… Reiki slowly inhaled as he concentrated, after a few seconds a small ball of light appeared and was slowly growing in size and stopped when it was roughly the same size as a baseball.
[System: User has created a Light sphere. Mana Cost: 500.]
Reiki kept his gaze on it and thought. Now slowly agitate it… Elora had an amused smile on her face as her eyes slowly widened in realization. Melanor's train of thought came to a halt when she saw what he was trying to do. Reiki gritted his teeth as a small line of drool came from the edge of his mouth.
[System: User has turned Light sphere into a Fire sphere. Mana Cost: 7,350.]
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Reiki felt his entire right hand go numb as it slightly shook beside him, a few strands of hair stuck to his face as he tried to control his breathing. He thought. Why was that so hard?... I did it so effortlessly at school… Was it the size?... The amount of mana? Or maybe it was me casting spells one after another…
Reiki almost fell but managed to force himself to stand using his feet, both Elora and Melanor stared at the fireball that was burning mid-air. A moment passed by as no one in the room said anything as the only sound heard was Reiki's breathing, slowly the four baseball size spheres started to break.
The earth ball fell to the floor and broke, the water ball popped as it made a small part of the red carpet damped, the ball of wind burst as it sent out a gust of wind in every direction visibly moving both Elora's and Melanor's hair, while the fireball brightness was affected by the gust as it fell to the ground as was extinguished by a wind blade.
Reiki stared at the spot where both the carpet and the stone floor were cut cleanly by the wind blade, the cut was easily five inches deep and was only half an inch away from his foot. He wiped some of the sweat using the edge of his sleeve and turned his gaze onto Melanor who with her hand lazily raised at shoulder level. Melanor said. "I apologize for the damage I caused you majesty." Elora lazily waved her hand, she said. "Don't mind it, I'll just pay someone to fix it." Both their gaze slowly focused on the boy whose tunic was drenched in sweat. Elora's eyes narrowed, she said. "You seemed to have struggled with the last one… Care to explain?"
Reiki slowly inhaled and exhaled, he said. "I tested out the method I overheard Enrel-san spoke about." Elora had a confused look on her face, she said. "Enrel?..." She placed a hand on her mouth for a couple of seconds and moved it away, Elora continued. "You mean Enrel, Enrel? The same one who buys luxury Enrel? When did you overhear her speak about this specific topic?"
Melanor's eyes widened as she faked a cough, she said. "Your majesty, I think we're getting off-topic here." Elora ignored Melanor's words as she kept her gaze on him. Reiki from the corner of his eye saw Melanor briefly panic, with a straight face he said. "Last night." Reiki saw Elora's lips stiffen as he also noticed her jaw tighten. Elora said. "Last night?..."
Reiki nodded and continued. "Yes, your majesty. Last night when they were having dessert and drinking some fine wine, Melanor-san managed to get a lecture from Enrel-san and I just happened to hear it." The atmosphere in the room stiffened, Elora's hand gripped the cushion on the armrest, she said. "Wine and dessert…"
Elora slowly turned her head to face Melanor who had a calm expression. Elora with a bright smile on her face she sweetly said. "I just remembered that I have some extra work for you later… So I'm going to need your help."
Keeping a calm front, Melanor said. "Y-Yes, your majesty…" Elora kept her gaze on Melanor as her gaze wandered onto Reiki with a smug look on his face. Reiki mouthed the words. Remember what you did to me with Moranor? Enjoy your 'work'. A bright smile appeared on his face which pissed off Melanor.
Elora eventually managed to look away at Melanor as her gaze went back to Reiki. Elora faked a cough and said. "Explain." Reiki nodded, he said. "Enrel-san said something along the lines of agitating mana you can turn it into light, continue and it'll turn into fire-." Melanor stared at him with a baffled expression. Elora raised her hand to which Reiki stopped talking, Elora said. "Wait, do you understand what you just said?" Reiki shrugged his shoulders, he said. "Isn't it just another inefficient way to cast spells?..."
He spoke with a question yet naive tone, Elora and Melanor turned their heads to look at each other as both of them had a conversation with their eyes. Reiki thought. Yep, they are… Close friends alright… Melanor looked at him using the corner of her eye while Elora glanced at him twice, after a few seconds both elves looked at him with a blank expression. Elora placed an elbow on the armrest and placed her head on her palm, she stared at him as a moment passed by.
A smile appeared on Elora's face, she said. "I've asked what I wanted." She clapped her hands as a male elf appeared roughly next to Reiki, the elf had short hair wearing partial leather armor and a green tunic. The male elf was kneeling while he had his hands cupped towards Elora, the male elf didn't speak. Elora moved a stray strand of hair away from her face as she stared at the ceiling, she said. "Bring him to the dining room."
Elora lazily glanced at Reiki, she said. "Reiki, Melanor and I will be there with you in a few minutes… I just need to clear a few things with her." The male elf slowly stood up as he appeared in front of Reiki and started walking towards the heavy door on the right. Reiki nodded and followed the man in silence, the door was easily opened by the male elf as he held it in place and waited for him to walk through.
Reiki poked the door and didn't manage to budge it, he thought. It's heavier than it looks… Keeping a straight face he walked through as the male elf carefully shut the door. Elora stared at the ceiling as she tapped the armrest of her throne using her fingers, Melanor stayed quiet letting her continue with her thoughts.
Elora turned her head to look at Melanor, she let out a frustrated sigh and said. "You were wrong… He's more… Out of touch than you thought…" Melanor eyes narrowed as she placed a hand on her chin, she said. "Your-." She stopped as she saw the glare Elora was giving her, Melanor let out a sigh and continued. "Elora… How so?" Elora let out a chuckle, she said. "What's the first thing you think when you hear the word royalty?" Melanor answered. "Status."
Elora nodded, she continued. "Usually when humans meet someone with more wealth, power, and status they tend to treat them differently… They tend to treat them with either complete disdain for who they are, or with utmost respect along with ulterior ideas…" Melanor slowly came to a realization. Elora stared at her using the corner of her eyes, she said. "That's correct, his lack of reaction to everything… I even threatened to take his life with a straight face yet all I got from the boy was a chuckle…"
Melanor walked to the throne and sat on the armrest on the left. Elora moved her head as she stared at a wall, she said. "When you said he had a lack of reaction to everything and a few loose screws… I thought you were exaggerating… Now that I've met him in person he feels…" Melanor moved a hair behind Elora's ear and said. "Off-putting?" Elora shook her head, she said. "Incomplete… Yet somehow… Fake…"
Melanor had a confused look on her face, she said. "Can you explain so I could see what you're shooting at?" Elora moved to the right side of the throne as she pulled Melanor to sit on the left, she held onto Melanor's arm. Elora said. "When we had that conversation a couple of minutes prior… The way he spoke to me was neither arrogant nor humble… It was like he was speaking to me like an equal… It's as if he already has plenty of experience meeting people with power…"
Melanor rolled her eyes as she made herself comfortable, she said. "He wasn't arrogant that's for sure, but what makes you say he wasn't humble? From what I saw he was calling you majesty and-." Elora leaned on Melanor's shoulder, using her right hand Elora touched Melanor's cheek. Elora said. "My precious Mela… It seems he even managed to slip under your nose…"
Elora gently rubbed Melanor's cheek. Melanor frowned and said. "How so?" Elora chuckled as she moved her hand and placed it on Melanor's thigh, Elora said. "Did you notice his bearing? Or in other words his presence?" Melanor thought for a bit as she remembered Reiki standing near the edge of the red carpet. Melanor said. "He didn't have… One…" Elora moved closer to Melanor as she took a sniff of her hair, Elora said. "Correct, no body language, his mana flow was cleanly hidden, and even his eyes which are the hardest part to hide emotions were blank."
Elora raised a brow and continued. "I want to say Reiki-?" As she stopped and turned her head to look at Melanor nod. Elora said. "If I were to describe him… He feels… Hollow..." Elora stared at the carpet as she held Melanor's arm, she looked up to Melanor and continued. "We should kill him…" Melanor raised a brow as she stared at Elora, Melanor said. "Changing your mind?"
Elora nodded, she said. "The boy right now is… A complete variable… The last time I could barely read someone was when I was young and dealing with those senile old elves… Here comes a human on my territory and I don't know what he's aiming for." Melanor leaned her head onto Elora's, Melanor said. "Did you sense any hostile intent?"
Elora stayed silent as she was thinking for a moment, she said. "No… If he did have the slightest intent he would never be able to hide it completely… More like no one on this earth can hide their emotions on command. If he did I would have been able to notice it immediately... The tone of his voice, heart rate speeding up, and how he looks at the things around him."
Melanor looked up to the ceiling and stared at it, she said. "Final verdict?" Elora played with Melanor's hand in silence, she placed it down and looked at the spot where Reiki previously stood. Elora said. "You said he helped you in our plan?" Melanor kept her eyes on the ceiling and nodded, she said. "Indirectly though, we do need his help if we were to move forward the schedule."
Elora leaned her torso onto Melanor as her large breast was sticking to her shoulder. Elora's eyes were slowly filled with suspicion, she said. "And the boy is helping us with nothing in return?" Melanor shook her head, she started to play with Elora's long hair and said. "I think he wants us to do something for him, but his priority is to prove his worth first."
Elora placed a hand on her chin, she said. "I'm listening." Melanor continued to play with Elora's hair and continued. "He's in the middle of unknown territory, we can kill him without any effort if Reiki's as smart as we think his first goal is to give us something we can use."
Elora hugged Melanor's arm as she watched her play with her hair, Elora said. "If I were to guess… Access to the second-floor library." Melanor let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head, she said. "We both know that's not what the boys after." Elora let out a chuckle, she said. "Have you been pouting since he swept little Mora off the floor?" Melanor let out a scoff, Elora laughed and said. "I am too since we promised they would marry the same husband…"
Elora's eyes turned cruel, she continued. "But the moment I sense he has ulterior motives. I'll snap his neck myself." The mana in the room turned heavy as the entire room turned dark. Melanor poked Elora's cheek as the room turned back to normal.
Melanor said. "We shouldn't keep him waiting, you can use this as an opportunity to probe him." Elora reluctantly let go of Melanor's arm as she stood up, she said. "Letting the queen do all the work?" Melanor rolled her eyes as she stood up from the throne, she reached out to hold Elora's hand as they vanished.
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Dining Room
Reiki was sitting on a beautiful hand-carved wooden chair with soft cushions by a square wooden table with three more chairs like the one he was sitting on. By the ceiling, dozens of light orbs were emitting enough light to light up the room combined with a window by the wall. The entire room was made out of light and dark wood of different shades that complement each other.
He thought. Now should be my only chance to put my offer on the table. Elora and Melanor appeared by the door as Reiki stood up and greeted them, he said. "Your majesty, Melanor-san." Elora and Melanor walked towards the chair and sat down. Elora sat on the opposite side Reiki sat down as Melanor sat on Elora's right.
Reiki stayed standing, Elora had an amused look while Melanor's eyes narrowed. Reiki said. "Your majesty, are you interested in a business venture?" Elora's eyes widened as she shook her head in disappointment. Melanor was about to say something but stopped when Reiki said. "Will you at least hear me out, so that I don't make a complete fool of myself?" Elora glared at him as for a split second the atmosphere turned heavy.
Melanor just looked at him with pity in her eyes, Elora let out a long sigh and lazily nodded not paying attention. A smile appeared on Reiki's face, he said. "Some basic magic equipment for my school, a small amount of money, and a few other things for five percent. Do three other things for me and I'll give you another five percent of my potion empire." Elora was lazily nodding at the beginning before he caught her attention. Melanor's eyes were slowly filled with suspicion, He thought. Perfect. Reiki continued. "It's simple."