The corner of Moranor's eye twitched, she turned her head as she stared at Enora. Moranor said. "What?" Elora smiled and watched the show unfold while Melanor refilled both of their glasses to full. The smile on Enora's face widens, she said. "Don't be like that."
She pulled back the empty chair on her left, Enora continued. "It's been so long since the last time we had a proper chat and spent time together." Her gaze wandered to Reiki who was next to Moranor, Enora said. "If you don't want to, that's fine I'll settle for-."
Moranor vanished from Reiki's side and sat on Enora's left, she sat on the chair and crossed her arms as she kept a blank expression. Reiki stared at the chair next to her and took a step and stopped when he heard Enora speak, she said. "Too bad Reiki but, you're going to have to sit with Enrel who's currently moping about... The situation she dug herself in."
Reiki stood in place for a moment before he shrugged and walked to the chair next to Enrel and sat down, Enora who was sitting on the opposite waved at him while Moranor kept a straight face. Reiki forced a cough to break the current atmosphere and said. "So uh… What's on the menu?..."
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Kiru's House
Asami, Arashi, and Kiru were sitting in front of a table filled with delicacies. The table was filled with lobster, dozens of king crab legs, and a large platter of both sashimi and sushi using the best parts of tune such as Otoro and Chutoro. There was also a large bowl of oxtail stew while Kanzei was on the side of them while carefully cooking three large pieces of dragon steak that were releasing an overwhelming fragrance.
Asami picked up a leg of a king crab, using her hands she broke the shell cleanly in half and ate the crab meat with a smile on her face. Kiru was using a pair of chopsticks and had a plate full of tuna sashimi and sushi while Arashi sat in her chair with her arms crossed making her breasts push against each other with a visible frown on her face.
Kiru turned her head sideways to see Kanzei gently seasoning the steak with some salt and pepper, Kiru said. "Kanzei, how long until the steak? Oh, and do we have some leftover fugu fish? I want to eat some." Kanzei looked up while he carefully flipped all three steaks simultaneously, he said. "Thirty seconds Ojou-sama, and we do have some more. I'll fillet a couple when I serve the steaks on the table."
Asami looked around the table with a glass in hand, she said. "Where's our drink?" Kiru's eyes widened as she realized she had yet to place something to go with their food, she pulled out her pouch and rummaged through it, and took out a wine bottle. Kiru said. "Seven-year-old bone wine, it's nothing special but it should at least pair well with the food we have in small sips."
Arashi let out a scoff, she said. "Cheapening out on us?" Asami passed her glass to Kiru as she filled it with wine, Kiru passed the glass back to Asami. While filling her glass with wine Kiru stared at Arashi and said. "It's nothing compared to your clan's tiger blood wine… By the way, when will I receive my bottle?" Arashi gritted her teeth as the whites of her eyes turned faintly golden yellow, she clenched her hands into a fist so hard that her knuckles were making popping sounds from her joints.
Arashi slowly stood up from her seat while she placed her hands on the table, Arashi looked like she would pounce on Kiru any moment. Asami's plate was filled with dozens of king crabs' legs shells, she snapped a lobster tail off and said. "Girls, no fighting while there's food on the table." Asami glanced at Kiru and continued. "And Kiru please stop provoking her, even I can't promise you that you'll be in one piece if you keep pushing Arashi's buttons like that."
Kiru raised an eyebrow, she said. "I will be wary of her in the future when she's officially recognized as the heir to the tiger clan announced by her mother Ikari and when she masters all their techniques. But right now she's no different from a cub." She pointed a finger at Arashi and waved it side to side, the color yellow of Arashi's eyes turned even more evident. Arashi sharply exhaled using her mouth as her fangs turned noticeably sharper, Asami narrowed her eyes and commandedly said. "Tora, sit."
Arashi took a deep breath as she sat down on the chair and crossed her arms, her eyes slowly turned back to normal while she glared at Kiru. Asami let out a chuckle, she said. "I'd be careful if I were you, Kiru…" Asami turned her head at Kanzei and saw he had his hand in his pocket, Asami continued. "You too Kanzei. Arashi already is the heir to the tiger clan."
Kiru eye's narrowed as she stared at Arashi up and down, Kiru said. "Weren't the two of them supposed to learn all the techniques from the current leader? And learning then would at least take eighteen years minimum as they start at the age of sixteen." Asami smiled, she placed an entire lobster down on her plate next to the dozens of leg shells of the king crab. Asami said. "Eighteen years to at least get an understanding, but…"
She glanced at Arashi who was trying to calm herself down, Asami continued. "When she started her training, after what felt like a day passed, Arashi went to report to the leader and say could already do the stances and use them in battle." Kiru shook her head sideways, she said. "Impossible, it has eight stances with each stance having its unique footwork and-."
Asami lazily waved her hand which made Kiru stop, Asami used her left hand to pick up her glass filled with wine and took a sip. Asami continued. "Two weeks passed. Arashi trained for two entire weeks without stopping, the leader wanted to see her progress, and to her surprise, she did learn them already."
Kiru had a pondering look on her face while Kanzei walked towards the table with three dragon steaks on each, while the third plate was balanced on his forearm. Asami took one of the steaks and moved her plate full of shells to the side, she said. "I'll give you two a short description…" Asami turned her head towards Arashi, she said. "And I'll make sure to compensate your clan for spreading this bit of information."
Asami placed a hand on her chin, she continued. "In short, Arashi here is a genius of martial arts… In the future, she will be as strong as me, and be careful she doesn't just break the seals placed on her and snap both of your necks." Kanzei placed a plate of steak each in front of Kiru and Arashi, Kanzei walked towards a door and opened it as he made sure to close it behind him. Kiru stared at the ceiling, she said. "I can believe the first one since you said it yourself but… What about those seals? Weren't they supposed to learn how to control their power?"
Asami picked up a knife and fork, she sliced the steak into bite-size pieces, she said. "Let's just say Ikari owes me a favor and if Arashi decides to break the seals… Expect the entire reserved forces of the tiger clan and the clan leader herself to be here in five minutes flat." Kiru moved her gaze to her plate of steak, sashimi, and sushi and continued eating, using her chopsticks she picked up a piece of sashimi and said. "I appreciate the word of warning."
Asami rolled her eyes at Kiru, she reached her hand towards Arashi and placed it on her shoulder. Asami smacked her shoulder a few times and said. "Arashi make sure to eat up, I don't see why you're so grumpy when I took you here for free food." She glared at Kiru, with a monotone voice Arashi said. "I'm not hungry." Asami placed a large amount of king crab legs and two entire lobsters on top of her empty plate next to the steak. Asami said. "Don't be like that, think of it this way, this meal represents the two of you making up… Hopefully..."
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Large Dining Table
Five elves and a boy sitting in chairs in front of a table filled with food. Reiki stared at the whole roasted pig at the table that was on top of layers of vegetables, half a dozen plates filled with shellfish piled on top of each other, three large bowls of salad with different types of salad dressing in bottles, and another half a dozen plates filled with a few whole roasted rabbits, cured meat cuts, half a wheel of cheese, and a few loaves of wheat bread. Reiki thought. That's a lot of food… I hope Onee-chan and Shiro are doing fine…
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Using the wooden fork in his hands Reiki moved some vegetables and some cured cuts around on his plate. Reiki picked up a couple of slices of cured meat and tomato using his fork and stared at it, he thought. And Arashi will also demand an explanation for disappearing… I want to go back soon… Onee-chan will be furious with what I did, so I need to make it up for her somehow… So much for being responsible for all the housework…
He took a bite of what was on his fork as he chewed while staring at the table filled with food with a blank expression. Moranor was glancing at him from time to time while Enora was staring at him without hiding it, intrigued by his expression. Enrel didn't notice and continued with her meal, while Elora ignored him and stared at her glass of wine pondering something. Melanor cleared her throat, she said. "Reiki, is there something wrong? Is there anything you don't like?"
Reiki had a fork in his mouth as he shook his head sideways, he moved the fork away from his mouth and said. "No, it's delicious. I'm just thinking about something…" Melanor ate a piece of cheese and picked up her wine glass and waited for him to continue while everyone else on the table continued with their meal. Before Melanor could say anything, her daughter. Moranor said. "What are you thinking about?" She stabbed a few pieces of vegetables using her fork.
Reiki picked up a slice of bread and stared at it, he said. "A girl I met once." The fork Moranor was holding broke into two as a loud snapping sound was made as an amused expression appeared on Enora's face. Elora almost dropped the glass in her hand as she managed to keep a hold of it as she stared at him oddly while Melanor had a surprised expression on hers. The hand Moranor used to hold the fork snapped in two was slightly shaking, she took a deep breath to calm herself and said. "And you're thinking about her because?"
Reiki placed some cheese and vegetables on top of the slice of bread, he reached out for another slice and said. "I caught her gathering some herbs for something illegal, potions that you're not allowed to brew unless you have a license for it…" All five expressions of the elves on the table froze while Enrel turned her head to face him while she was taking a sip of wine.
For a split second, Moranor was confused before her lips curved into a smile. She said. "So what happened to her? Got arrested? Or did you report her to the authorities?" Reiki shook his head, he said. "Nope, she looked like she didn't care enough to get caught so I'm guessing she has some status or an organization that backs her up…" Elora stood up from the head of the table, she said. "Feel free to enjoy yourselves, for I have something to do in my room."
Elora walked towards the door while Reiki stared at her empty plate, he turned his head to look at Moranor. Reiki said. "Didn't we just start?" Moranor let out a chuckle, she said. "Her majesty eats fast, having a busy schedule means having less time for leisure activities." Moranor picked up a slice of wheat bread, with the glass of wine in her free hand she swirled it around and took a whiff as she took a sip.
Reiki looked around the table and saw every single elf had their glasses filled with wine, he thought. How common is wine here?... Reiki took a bite of the vegetable and cheese sandwich he made, Melanor stared at him and said. "What's your current opinion on us elves, Reiki?" Reiki's face had some crumbs on the side of his lips while his cheeks were half-filled with the sandwich he was eating.
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Elora's Room
Elora was sitting in the middle of the bed while resting her back on a dozen pillows, with a wave of her hand the curtains came undone while the room became darker. She pulled out a red talisman as it started glowing and floated in front of her, a large rectangle appeared from it after a few seconds Asami's image appeared. Asami said. "Elora! Darling! It's been so long!" Elora rolled her eyes at Asami, Elora said. "Stealing one of my most prized possessions of a century-old thousand flower wine yesterday, is considered long? A single barrel of those cost 559 platinum coins."
Asami pouted, she said. "I left a note saying I came to visit and promised to pay you back." The corner of Elora's eye twitched, she said. "You broke the seals and the gate that leads to the cellar, now both of them need to be replaced…" Elora's eyes narrowed, she continued. "And what about the other one hundred and twenty-eight, century-old flower wine you promised to pay back?"
Asami lazily waved her hand at her, she said. "No need to live in the past darling, that's how you get wrinkles at an early age." Elora inhaled deeply, with a serious tone she said. "Asami…" Asami moved closer to the talisman on her side, as it took up most of the screen on Elora's view. Asami said. "Is that a wrinkle I see?" She had a look of scrutiny on her face while speaking in a concerned tone. Elora's eyes widened as she placed both her hands on her face, she said. "Where!?"
She cupped her hand together in front of her face as a thin layer of ice mirror appeared and showed her reflection. Asami started laughing which made Elora freeze on the spot as she destroyed the layer of ice using one hand. Elora massaged the temples of her head, she said. "Moving on to the next topic." Asami smiled, she said. "See, what's that small bit of money among lifelong friends?" Elora took a deep breath to calm herself, she said. "You owe me 71,552 elven platinum coins, which is about two point five times higher than the value of platinum coins in Japan. If you can't do that math it's ¥64,396,800,000. And that's not including the one you recently bought."
Asami made an exaggerated frown as she placed a hand on her chin, she said. "Why is it so expensive? Can't I just pay you in resources or mana crystals?" Elora clenched her hand into fists, she took another deep breath and said. "The last time we had this conversation you claimed you needed every small bit of resources on hand, and every time I ask for payment you always-!" For a split second Elora's eyes turned bright ice blue as the entire room was completely frozen in a thin layer of ice.
Elora's hair was covering her eyes as she tidied her hair and took another breath to calm herself, the entire room began to thaw as she stood up from her bed as the ice turned into water and immediately changed into white steam. Elora walked towards the window and opened it, she lazily waved her hand as all the white steam in the room was pushed outside by a strong gust of wind. Elora snapped her fingers as a long thin layer of an ice mirror appeared in front of her as she evaluated herself, with a small nod she walked back towards her bed that was already dry and laid back down.
With another deep breath, Elora said. "I'll give you a two percent discount if you tell me about someone." Asami had a bored expression, she said. "Got a name? Picture? Grudge?" Elora's eye's narrowed as she observed every little detail of Asami's face, Elora said. "What do you know about a boy named Akihito Reiki?" Asami's bored expression was slowly replaced by a frown as she narrowed her eyes, she said. "Where did you learn that name?" Elora's pupil's widened, she flashed her an enigmatic smile and said. "I thought you don't ask questions about this sort of thing."
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Large Dining Table
Reiki and the four elves were sitting in their respective chairs while Enrel was tapping on the table using her fingers as she glanced at Reiki from time to time. He let out a sigh and said. "Enrel-san if you have something to tell me, just tell me." Enrel faked a cough, her gaze wandered to the ceiling. Enrel said. "Remember when I promised to help you when I have more resources on hand?"
The mother and daughter pair had an amused expression on their faces while Enora watched in boredom. Reiki kept his gaze on the three elves as he nodded his head and said. "I remember something along the lines." Enrel tapped on the table twice as she picked up her glass that was one-third full of wine, she said. "Now I'm getting fewer resources-."
Reiki lazily waved his hand, he said. "Sounds to me you're twisting the truth, you get what you deserve." Moranor tried her best to suppress her smile while Melanor let out a chuckle. Enora slowly waved her head sideways as she glanced out of the window from time to time. Enrel froze for a split second before she could say anything else, the sound of knocking came from the door.
Enora vanished from her seat as she appeared in front of the door and quickly opened it, a male elf wearing a simple green tunic and brown pants with a straw hat was holding a white card roughly the same size as a credit card. Enora took the card off the elf's hands as she gave him a small nod and closed the door, before the elf could bow the door was already shut in his face as the sound of footsteps was slowly getting farther.
Enora appeared next to Reiki as she placed a hand on his shoulder, she placed the card on the table in front of him and said. "Here's my end of the deal." Reiki saw the white card with his name on it with a black stamp of two arrows making an 'X' with a quiver in the middle as it was surrounded by a circle. He picked the card up and stared at it, Reiki thought. Feels like cotton.
Enora was rummaging through her pouch as she pulled out a small dagger, she said. "Let me just." Enora moved the dagger closer towards the hand Reiki was holding the card as she tried to place a small cut on the right side of his thumbprint.
[System: User has received 231 Damage.]
[System: User has received debuff Minor bleeding. The user will bleed 108 Damage every 5 seconds.]
Blood came out from the cut on Reiki's thumbprint, it covered a small part of the lower right of the white card as he calmly placed it back on the table and turned his head towards Enora. He said. "What was that for?" Reiki placed his thumb in his mouth to prevent the blood from going everywhere.
[System: Debuff Minor bleeding has been cured.]
Enora rolled her eyes at him, she said. "Don't worry about your thumb, it should already have healed by now. You didn't flinch from the pain yet ask? And ... Interesting…" Reiki moved his thumb away from his mouth and saw that it didn't even leave a scar, his gaze wandered to the card on the table and saw the black writing and the stamp briefly glowed a light blue before turning back to normal.
Melanor filled her glass with more wine as she watched the two of them continue with their conversation, Moranor was by the side trying to act disinterested but was glancing every few seconds. The smile on Enora widened, she said. "Teatime." Moranor stood up from her seat as Enora placed a hand on Reiki who was holding the white card again with one hand as the two of them vanished. Melanor lifted her glass and the bottle of wine from the table as Moranor smacked her hand making the table violently shake. Moranor almost shouted saying. "I'm gonna!" As she ran through the door.