Enrel was standing in front of a couple of dozen empty chairs with Melanor and Moranor beside her. Enrel had a huge smile on her face, she said. "Perfect, don't you agree?" Melanor let out a scoff, with a small smile on her face she said. "You always were the one to present the projects of the group. And yes, that was perfect."
Moranor nodded in agreement and a bit on edge, she said. "Congratulations, now with this you can finally finish your… Concoctions and more experiments to come." Enrel had a smug smile on her lips, she lazily stretched her arms and said. "They've finally gone off to their secret rooms to experiment whether the theory holds water or not. And it should be right about now when word gets around the entire town."
Melanor rolled her eyes at her, she said. "Just remember the deal, Enrel." Moranor was looking in the direction of Elora's house with a worried look on her face. Enrel lazily waved her hand and said. "Yes, I will. Fifty-fifty. I won't forget, especially since I don't plan on burning bridges with a genius like him…"
With a serious expression, Enrel continued. "I'm guessing the incident at the library is true." Melanor nodded while Moranor didn't even respond and was too busy with being worried. Enrel placed a hand on her chin and with a smile on her lips, she said. "Now I need to plan on how to improve my relationship with him."
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Guest Room
Haruka was sitting on the floor with a completely out-of-touch expression as she stared at the area of the wall below the window. Reiki was already halfway through the bag of burgers and was finishing off another one in his hands. He turned his head to look at Enora who was lying down next to him with her left arm around his waist. Reiki said. "How much do you wanna bet Haruka will be like this until someone touches her?"
Enora had an intrigued look on her face, with a small smile she said. "You don't have anything of value let alone money." Reiki turned his head to look at the nightstand and picked up the gold library card, he said. "I can use this though."
The smile on Enora's lips grew bigger, she said. "Elves outside would backstab anyone for a single entry. Yet here you are betting it like it's some paperweight." Reiki ate the last bite of burger in his hands and reached for another one in the paper bag, he swallowed and said. "Are you in or out? No need to point out the obvious." She let out a chuckle which made her large breasts wiggle as he stared at them shamelessly without hiding it. Enora said. "Sure, you're on-."
The door suddenly opened as Moranor ran inside and shut the door behind her making a loud slamming sound. She saw Haruka was staring at a wall and noticed that Enora was getting too comfortable around Reiki. Moranor walked to the left side of the bed where Enora was and placed her right hand on her forearm. Moranor rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a talisman that was already glowing, Enora vanished from the bed leaving the large plate that was nearly empty, Moranor sat on the edge and untied her boots.
Moranor said. "What happened to her?" Reiki was unwrapping a burger, he said. "Reality happened." Moranor moved to the center of the bed, sat down with crossed legs sitting potion and placed her hands under Reiki's armpits, and lifted him. She placed him on top of her lap, Moranor said. "What did the two of you talk about?" Reiki was about to take a bite but stopped, he said. "Nothing much, I just explained Enrel's groundbreaking discovery to which she turned like that…"
Using his thumb he pointed at Haruka staring blankly at the wall holding a half-eaten burger with both her hands while sitting on the floor. Moranor nodded as Reiki moved the burger that had a few bites closer to her lips. She took a bite while he continued. "On a different topic, how was Enrel's grand reveal? How many elves asked questions with the hopes of debunking the theory?"
Moranor picked up the glass bottle and took the cap off and took a sip, she said. "All twenty-four of them had their questions to try and debunk it, they even went as far as demanding a live demonstration. You should've seen their faces when she managed to make a famous failed battery formation work right in front of their faces, it was priceless." Reiki stared at the burger in his hands, he looked up to Moranor and said. "Now they're racing to see who makes an exaggerated theory to debunk her, and here I thought humans are selfish. She should expect to have an entire team of scholars who'll undermine her achievement."
Moranor was playing with the glass bottle in the palm of her hand, she said. "This is what happens when individuals are too comfortable with what they have and have little to no accomplishments to their name." The glass bottle in her palm was slightly slanted and was being balanced by using the edge of the bottom. With surprise in Reiki's eyes, he said. "I thought you would've used this opportunity to improve the image I have about elves."
Moranor let out a chuckle, as she spun the bottle in the air and caught the neck of it. Moranor said. "Elves are prideful, they would rather stay with their mistakes and die rather than admit they are wrong in the first place. We may have our advantages but when no one is looking we tend to stomp on each other… We even have a few prime examples of elves we would love time to make everyone forget they existed." Reiki thought. Internal conflict even among elves… Wonder how deep they'll dig their graves…
Moranor glanced at Haruka from the corner of her eye and leaned closer to him, she said. "Is she alright?... It looks like someone knocked out her common sense…" Reiki took a bite of the burger in his hands as he looked at Haruka, he nodded and moved the burger closer to Moranor to feed her. He swallowed and said. "She's in the know and is currently questioning herself." Moranor took a bite and processed what he said, she glared at him with an angry expression and rapidly tapped his cheek expressing her disagreement with his choice.
Reiki ignored Moranor tapping as he took another bite of what's left of the burger in his hands, she eventually stopped and let out a frustrated sigh. Reiki looked up to Moranor and said. "I'll be visiting the library, call me when it's almost dinner." He tried to get off her lap with the half-full brown bag but was stopped by Moranor as she grabbed him by the collar of his tunic.
She swallowed and calmly said. "You're telling me you want to go to the library? After everything that happened?" Reiki nodded, with an innocent expression he said. "Yes, can I?" He had a hopeful expression that tried to coax her into agreeing with his request. Moranor was about to flick his forehead but stopped, she visibly reeled back and took a deep breath. She covered her eyes with her hand and said. "... You can…" Reiki let out a chuckle and hugged her, he said. "Thank you."
Moranor made a very small nod as there were faint traces of blushing on her cheeks. He moved to the edge of the bed and placed the brown bag on his right as he tied his shoes, placed the shiny library card in his pocket, and picked up the brown bag with his right hand. Reiki crouched down beside Haruka who was still staring at the wall, he turned his head to look at Moranor who let out a long sigh and said. "When Enora-san asks, tell her I poked her a couple of times for an interesting reaction."
Moranor lazily waved her hand at him, Reiki poked Haruka's left shoulder a couple of times and said. "Haruka, let's visit the library again." Haruka just blankly nodded along to what he was saying. Reiki stood up and lazily stretched, he said. "Then I'll guess you'll see the second floor tomorrow." He leisurely walked toward the door as Haruka's eyes suddenly widened as she stood up. Haruka appeared beside him, she said. "I have a spell that can spare us from walking."
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She placed her left hand on his right shoulder as both of them vanished. Moranor was lying down on the bed while pinching the bridge of her nose, she stared at the plate with finger sandwiches and took one. The door suddenly opened as Enora with disheveled hair was trying to calm herself down, her clothes were soaked in water as she glared daggers at Moranor. Enora managed to speak through gritted teeth, she said. "You teleported me to the bath…"
Moranor lazily nodded as she continued to eat finger sandwiches. Enora took one big deep breath, her clothes were sticking to her skin and showed off her hourglass-like figure. Enora noticed that Reiki and Haruka were gone from the room and said. "What happened to her?" Moranor picked up the glass bottle half filled with water and used it to wash down the sandwich she ate, Moranor said. "Reiki poked her." A moment of silence passed, the mana around Enora turned erratic as she was practically shouting. Enora said. "He cheated!"
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By The Library
Haruka was reaching for the doorknob while Reiki was beside her letting out a yawn. Both of them stopped and looked in the direction of the sudden surge of mana, Haruka said. "Are you going to be fine?" Reiki lazily waves his hand, he said. "I'll live." Haruka nodded as she opened the door, she looked around and noticed that the floor was empty except for Saria who was sitting behind the counter reading a book. Both of them walked inside while Haruka walked ahead as Reiki closed the door behind them. Reiki caught up to Haruka who was waiting for Saria to find a good place to stop reading, a moment passed as Saria managed to pry her eyes away from the page.
Saria saw Haruka and Reiki who placed his hands on top of the counter and effortlessly lifted himself. Reiki nodded at her and said. "How's your day been, Saria?" Haruka had a smile on her face as she nodded at her. Saria's eyes brightened when she saw Reiki, she cleared her throat and said. "Reiki, what can I do for you today?"
Haruka excitedly said. "The second floor. Lead us to the wall." Saria had a look of surprise on her face while Reiki took a shiny gold library card out of his pocket and placed it on the counter. Reiki had a helpless smile on his face, he said. "If that's not too much to ask." Saria reflexively stood up as the book she was reading almost fell to the ground as she caught it mid-air. Saria said. "I-It's fine, l-let me show you the way. This way, please."
Saria walked around the counter and led the way with both Reiki and Haruka behind her. They went toward the left side by the area of tables of chairs that were once filled with dozens of elves now empty. Reiki looked around the disturbingly quiet library, he said. "Is it always this empty this time of the day?" Saria glanced at him and said. "N-No, it's usually packed until nighttime. It's due to you altering formations that the other elves who didn't get one wanted to learn from it.."
Saria stopped in front of one of the shelves on the wall that reached the ceiling and ran her hand through the side of it. The entire shelves started to slowly fade and revealed the wall behind. Saria gestured at the wall and glanced at Reiki, she said. "This is as far as I can go, just take a step forward and it'll disappear." He took a step forward as the wall started to vanish and revealed wooden stairs leading to the second floor. Reiki had an impressed look on his face, he said. "Wow…"
He used his right hand and tried to touch the wall as it didn't hit anything, Reiki turned his head to look at Saria and said. "Thank you." As he headed up the stairs with Haruka closely behind him. Saria stared at his back and looked like she had something to say, she said. "R-Reiki…" He stopped and turned his head sideways and looked at her. Saria was staring at the ground contemplating something as she kicked an invisible can in front of her, she let out a long sigh and said. "If you need anything you know where to find me." She flashed him a forced smile, turned around, and walked back to the counter.
The wall started to slowly reappear as the staircase was hidden once again along with the tall shelf. Saria sat back down on her chair as she combed her hair letting out a stressed sigh, she glanced at the book on the counter and opened it, and went back to reading.
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Second Floor
The door opened as Reiki and Haruka walked in and saw the table that was surrounded by a dozen bookshelves filled with thick leather books. Haruka admired the scene while Reiki let out a yawn, she elbowed his right shoulder and said. "She had something to say. And you left it like it doesn't concern you…" Reiki nodded and looked around the room as he noticed the large light sphere on the ceiling. He said. "I'm planning on asking them if they can help her in the job department."
Haruka had a surprised look on her face as he continued. "She seems like a nice elf who has the odds stacked against her…" Reiki let out another yawn, he said. "And judging by how she reacts in her work environment, I'm guessing this place isn't a paradise as I originally thought it was."
Haruka nodded, both of them walked into the room while Reiki made sure to close the door properly. Haruka started going around the bookshelves looking for something, she said. "Correct, the only ones who have any sort of job here are desperate… No days off, ten-hour shift minimum, and no benefits. The elves who work here were tricked into applying or were forced due to various circumstances." Haruka walked near the table as she was already carrying three books with both her hands as she gently placed them down.
She turned her head to look at him and said. "What type of job are you going to ask?" Reiki walked to a random bookshelf, he said. "Something with a certain level of status... A being in the same circle with her majesty would be nice but nothing personal, just something to deter other elves from messing with her."
Haruka already took out her notebook along with a mechanical pencil, she sat down on the chair and started taking notes. Haruka said. "Ever heard about a representative?" Reiki picked a random book on the shelf, he looked at the front and saw beautifully written elven language. It had the word theories on it as he walked to the empty seat on Haruka's left and sat on it, he said. "Lay it on me."
Haruka was writing slowly as she didn't want to miss a single word in the book, she said. "There hasn't been a reason for a representative since the elves don't need to actively enter human territory. If you can make a reason, it'll meet the criteria you said and as a bonus increase her pay since she has to deal with humans." Reiki started skimming through the pages, he said. "With that, her problem is solved." Haruka slowly turned to the next page, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye and said. "What makes you say that?"
Reiki casually turned to the next page which made Haruka slightly wince, he said. "I already have a plan." He thought. Though with Saria… It'll go even smoother since she's genuinely nice to me. Haruka rolled her eyes at him, she went back to jotting notes in her notebook and said. "Look at you, going for three. I just hope those two don't know about this since…" She let out an amused chuckle and continued. "Nevermind."
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Guest Room
Moranor was lazily lying down on the bed Reiki was assigned to while hugging both the pillows while staring at Enora who was drying herself with a glowing talisman above her head. The talisman surrounded Her with hot air as the liquid in her clothes turned into steam. The talisman turned black and was swept by the wind as it turned into dust, Enora's clothes were completely dried as her long golden hair was completely frazzled. Enora rummaged through her pocket, took out her pouch to find a dark wooden comb.
She placed her hair over her right shoulder and started combing her hair while glaring at Moranor by the corner of her eye, Enora said. "Where are they?" Moranor shook her head and said. "Don't know." Enora almost broke the comb in her hands, she took a deep breath to calm herself, while fixing her hair Enora said. "So not only did you let him out of your view and out of the house? You didn't even have the common sense to ask him where he was going?" Enora continued to comb her hair while Moranor was lazily finding a comfortable position on the bed.
Moranor let out a yawn, she glanced outside the window and saw that it had a couple more hours before it set on the horizon before dark. Moranor said. "He'll be fine, the fact that you lost a bet to him proves it." As she let out a chuckle with an undertone of mocking. Enora stomped on the floor a couple of times making her chest jiggle, she was on the verge of shouting and said. "I! Did! Not! Lose! We didn't even finish finalizing the bet so technically the bet was never even in motion!"
Moranor lazily nodded while Enora pushed her long hair off her right shoulder as she was finished combing it, she pocketed her comb. Before she could say anything the door opened as Enrel who had a smile on her face walked in holding a pouch with her left hand. Enrel looked around and shrugged her shoulders and tossed the pouch toward Moranor who caught it. Enrel said. "There's his first cut, I'll be sending his share to you or your mother so be sure to write it down or something."
Before either of them could say anything she already vanished. Enora walked toward the other bed and took off her boots as she laid down on it. Moranor glared at her and said. "Why aren't you sleeping in your jumbo bed? I thought you would only lie down on a bed if it smelled like a flower?" Enora rolled her eyes at Moranor and said. "I just prefer to sleep with the scent of flowers around, it doesn't mean I can't sleep without it-."
The door suddenly opened as Melanor and Elora walked in, Melanor leaned on the wall by the door while Elora looked around. Elora said. "Where's Reiki?" Enora was about to say something but was cut off by Moranor who said. "Second-floor library." Enora sat up straight on the bed and turned her body as she pointed at Moranor using her right hand, she said. "You said you didn't know!" Enora slammed her right hand onto the bed as it made a soft thud.
Moranor ignored Enora and waited for Elora to speak. Elora nodded and said. "When he comes back tell him- better yet, take him to the garden. We have a few things to talk about with him." Moranor had a hint of concern in her eyes, she said. "Is he in trouble?" Melanor had a smile on her lips, she said. "He isn't, we just have a few things to finalize about. Like the restaurant menu among a few others."
Moranor let out a sigh of relief while Enora threw a pillow at her face which she caught. Enora clicked her tongue making a tsk sound, Elora let out a chuckle seeing her daughter's reaction. Elora said. "That's all, see you two at dinner."
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Second Floor Library
Haruka was diligently writing down everything she could in her notebook while Reiki had already read through two entire books. He flipped through the next page and said. "I'm not interested in what you have to say…" He turned his head and stared at a shelf and continued. "Revilor." Haruka stopped writing and looked at him oddly, she said. "What?" Revilor slowly materialized next to the shelf he was looking at, with a smile on his face, Revilor said. "Don't be like that."