Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Floor Plan

Reiki ate a spoonful of salad, burnt tofu, and chewy bread in a single go, he kept a straight face as he was eating like nothing was wrong. He reached out for the small ceramic sauce jug that was plain white, it contained some leftover vinaigrette that Melanor made, he placed half of it into his bowl and gave that salad a light toss, and ate a couple of spoonfuls that made an audible crunching sound every time he chewed. Melanor narrowed eyes were glued onto him, she thought. I didn't hear him walk inside the room… Moranor's hair was still covered by her eyes as she reached out for her spoon and started eating.

Melanor stared at him for a couple of more seconds and then started eating, after a single spoonful of salad she turned her head towards him again and said. "How is it?" Reiki was reaching for some bread and a wedge of cheese, stopped mid-way and turned to face her and said. "It's good." He took a couple of slices of bread and some cheese and placed them on the plate beside his bowl. Moranor was quietly eating her salad as she also took a slice of bread and filled herself with a glass of water. 

Melanor gave her daughter an odd stare as she turned her head to stare at Reiki with an expressionless look, she shook her head and said. "Moranor, how was your report?" Moranor moved her bangs to the side to reveal a normal expression and said. "Terrible, they kept asking every little detail worried about being asked a simple question by the queen… I don't even know why they do it. She doesn't even ask unless it's important."

Reiki was just listening and watching the two of them converse with each other as he ate the salad Moranor prepared in silence. Melanor formed a helpless smile on her face and said. "You know how those old fogies are afraid of change, especially when the last decision the queen made. Now they're desperate to keep what position they have and never change anything around them." Moranor shoved some salad in her mouth and washed it down with some water, she gently placed the glass down on the table and said. "I just can't wait for the day when those 'superiors' are finally replaced." 

She angrily ripped the slice of bread in half and ate the half and placed the other half down onto the plate. Melanor let out a cruel chuckle which sent a shiver down Reiki's spine as his eyes widened, Melanor said. "Don't worry about it for now dear, change is coming sooner rather than later. Whether they're with us or against." She used the small sauce jug and poured all the vinaigrette in the salad and gave it a light toss, she ate a spoonful of salad with some croutons and drank a sip of water. 

Reiki thought. Hopefully, I will be gone by then… As he shoved bread and cheese in his mouth and washed it down with some water and ate a couple of spoonfuls of salad, Moranor was staring at the bowl of salad in front of her while she took a few peeks at him when Reiki was stuffing himself silly.

Both Melanor and Moranor were staring at him using the corner of their eyes while eating, Reiki on the other hand ignored their stares and ate the salad Moranor prepared without a single complaint. After finishing off the three pieces of bread and half of the cheese on his plate the salad in his bowl was almost empty, he reached out to grab more bread and filled his glass with water and took a small sip, and continued eating. He noticed that both of them were having a conversation using their eyes, he ignored it as he continued to eat and finished what was left on his plate. 

Scooping off the last few pieces of unevenly cut lettuce and a quarter of a whole red onion he shoved it in his mouth using a spoon and chugged the rest of the water in the glass, letting out a satisfied breath followed by a small burp he said. "Excuse me. It was quite a feast." As he stood up from the chair and refilled his glass with water and drank it in one go, he tidied up the bowl, plate, spoon, and the glass he used. He said. "Are you going to use those plates?"

He pointed at the plates that were beside their bowl, Melanor had a faint smile and said. "You don't need to wash mine, I haven't used it yet." She passed the clean plate to him as he turned to face Moranor, she quickly avoided his gaze as her hair covered her eyes, she softly said. "I-I'll be doing my part of the dishes…"

Reiki nodded and said. "Understood." With the plates in his hands, he went to the sink and opened a couple of drawers, and took out the soap and the liquid soap again. He turned the sink on to soak the dishes to water and turned it off after a couple of seconds putting some liquid soap on the sponge he started washing the dishes.

…

Moranor was moving the salad in her bowl as Melanor was staring at her, she said. "Isn't it a good thing he kept his word?" Moranor snapped back to reality and shifted her gaze to her mother and said. "I-I was surprised to see that he kept his end of the deal… Never thought I'll be able to meet an honest human for once." As she nervously scratched the back of her head, Melanor gave her an odd stare as her daughter was staring in the direction of the sink using the corner of her eyes.

With the soft sound of the sponge scrubbing onto the plates in the background she can easily hear it without any effort, she quickly ate the remaining salad in her bowl along with the bread and cheese. The food got stuck on her throat as she immediately reached out for her glass of water to help the food go down, she stood up from her chair and brought all the plates she used, and went to the sink. Melanor stared at her daughter with a scrutinizing gaze as she ate another spoonful of salad.

Moranor walked to the sink with the used plates in her hands, she saw Reiki had his sleeves pulled up and were doing the dishes, standing beside him who was already reaching out to turn the faucet on to remove the foam from the plates, she placed the plates on his left as she opened a cabinet and grabbed a cloth waiting for him to set the wet dishes aside.

Reiki passed her a wooden bowl as she reached it and used the cloth to wipe the excess water off, Melanor walked behind both of them without making a single sound and vanished. The only sound that could be heard was a sponge being squished followed by the sound of water running, Moranor who kept quiet for a few more seconds and said. "S-So, how was it?" He passed her another bowl along with two spoons and a plate, he said. "The salad was good, I didn't need to get my stomach pumped, or was food poisoned."

She smacked her elbow against his ribcage as he used one hand to rub the spot where he was hit, he said. "What was that for?" Moranor placed down the bowl just enough to make a noise loud enough to make his eyes look at the bowl, she said. "Just because." Reiki rolled his eyes as he passed her another bowl as she rubbed the excess water off.

…

Melanor was back in her room as she was reading a folder intently as a picture of Reiki's face could be seen on a flipped page that was dangling on the right, closing the folder using one hand she mumbled to herself. "This is strange… He wasn't aware of the war between elves and humans which is impossible… His lack of general knowledge of a few things… And how he was so amazed by a low tier space magic despite being someone who once had a scholarship at Ishin… Something doesn't add up… This boy's knowledge is too skewed, he knows so much about a few things but when it came to other topics it looks like he's never even heard of them…" She placed the folder on top of the workbench as she suddenly vanished from the room.

…

Melanor was back in the chair and in front of her was the dining table and the bowl of salad. She picked up her spoon and ate another bite as she heard the sound of two footsteps getting closer. Turning her head she saw Moranor with her arms crossed with Reiki behind her whose face was covered in water. Moranor walked out of the room almost immediately, Melanor said. "Do I have to ask? Or are you just going to explain what happened?"

Reiki used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the water off and said. "We were just making small talk and I remembered that I left the chocolates at the dinner table last night, and when I asked her where it was she didn't answer. I tried to get her to get an answer out of her only to…" Melanor let out a helpless chuckle as she shook her head sideways and said. "For a genius who was able to get a scholarship at Ishin academy, you're pretty dumb on certain topics."

As she gave him a suggestive look, keeping his cool Reiki shrugged and said. "Well I'm young, I still need to learn." As he sat down on the dining table at the same chair while she was eating, she said. "Is there anything you need?" As she ate another spoonful of salad. Reiki shook his head sideways and said. "What are the prices for your restaurant?" Melanor stopped mid-way as she was reaching for a slice of bread, she said. "Excuse me?" Reiki said. "The dishes, how much is your cheapest dish and the most expensive one?"

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Melanor took a bite of the bread as she held it in her hand,  she swallowed and said. "Oh… You were serious about helping improve my restaurant… The cheapest dish we have is twelve bronze which is a family pot with a large tray of vegetables, the most expensive one we have is well… Everything that involves meat goes for one to five silver, though it's rarely ordered because no one comes here for their birthdays."

As she continued to eat the slice of bread in her hands. Reiki said. "How about other restaurants over there?" Melanor ate the last bit of bread in her hand, she took a sip of water and said. "They should have the same prices." Reiki's eyes widened as she answered the question, he said. "So you're telling me you opened a restaurant here that's a ten-minute walk if you live at the edge…" He gave her a state like he was looking at an idiot, Melanor sensing his stare, her smile turned rigid as she said. "Yes, now any ideas?"

Reiki inhaled and said. "Don't you see the problem, Melanor-san? You're trying to do what restaurants that serve the same thing as you do but are next to their homes, you need to give them a reason to go out of their way to eat here." Melanor rolled her eyes and said. "Do you think I'm that dumb to not have noticed it? I considered cutting my prices but in the long term I would be losing more money unless I get a large number of customers a day."

Reiki said. "That's because you're doing it wrong." Melanor grips on the spoon she was holding tightened, she took a deep breath and said. "Ideas, you claimed you wanted to help, not critique." Reiki nodded and said. "Has the thought of increasing the price ever crossed your mind?" Her grip on the spoon loosened a bit as she pondered for a few seconds and said. "Yes, but who would be dumb enough to pay for the same meal, go out of their way, and for a higher fee." Reiki smiled and said. "The view from the front yard."

Melanor placed the spoon down on the table, she said. "I'm listening." Reiki replied. "I'll take that as my fault, when I said to increase the price, what I meant was turn this restaurant into a lavish restaurant or what we call a fancy restaurant." Melanor placed her hand on top of her lips, she said. "Continue." With a small smile, he said. "All we need to do is change everything, chairs, tables, glasses, to the carpets and paint. And most importantly more tables and chairs that we can place outside. I haven't seen your menu but I can easily fix that by watching you cook and plate your dishes."

Melanor stayed silent for a couple of seconds, she placed her hand down and said. "I can understand changing the interior design, what's with you trying to make people outside? And you can forget about me making my signature dish in front of you." Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "Having a view like that and not taking advantage of it is how an individual eventually goes out of business. Trust me on this, I'll make a floor plant and… Are you allowed to trim some of the hedges, bushes, and grass?"

Melanor rolled her eyes as she gave him a look as if he was an idiot, she said. "Yes, if I wasn't the entire area around the house would have been overgrown by now." Reiki didn't mind the stare and said. "Perfect, now all I need is some pen, paper, and some of your non-signature recipes." Melanor stood up from her seat all of a sudden and said. "Sure, now I get to see how good you are with food." Reiki, who was still sitting on the chair, was surprised and said. "Now?"

Melanor, who was walking out of the room, turned her head to face him and said. "Now." He stood up from his seat and walked beside her. When he was next to her, Melanor said. "Take a guess where's the chocolate I gave you." The two of them walked down the hallway, he said. "Moranor's room." Melanor let out a chuckle as she vanished, leaving him alone looking at his surroundings.

…

Moranor was in her room as she was sitting on the chair from her workbench, her foot was up on the workbench next to the white container of chocolates while she was reading a book. Melanor was behind her with a sweet smile on her face, she looked at the chocolates and saw that there were only three pieces left, she faked a cough which made Moranor freeze in place as she slowly turned her head around to see her mother.

Moranor said. "I-I thought magic wasn't allowed in the house?" Melanor didn't say anything and just kept her sweet smile on her face with her eyes closed. Moranor continued. "M-Mom did-." She saw a thin layer of mana slowly envelop Melanor as her hair was starting to rise above her head again, Moranor hastily said. "I can help! What do you need me to do!" The layer of mana around Melanor disappeared as her hair fell back down, she said. "Reiki needs a quill and a couple of parchment." 

Moranor hastily stood up from her chair as she placed the book down on the workbench next to the chocolates, she dashed next to the bookshelf the reached the ceiling and opened a drawer, she took out a quill a small bottle of ink, and two pieces of parchment as she held it towards her mother using both her hands.

Melanor said. "Let's go." She grabbed her daughter's wrist as both of them vanished and appeared where Reiki was planking on the floor. Melanor gave him an odd stare and said. "... Are you okay?..." Reiki stood up and said. "I am, since I had nothing else to do I did some light exercise…" he turned his head to Moranor's hands and saw what he asked for, he continued. "Now that we have everything, to the kitchen?"

As Melanor walked ahead leaving as both of them walked behind her, Moranor walked beside Reiki as she looked at him using the corner of her eye. She said. "I'm sorry for eating all the choco…" Reiki turned his head to face her and said. "It's fine, I prefer dark chocolate. But that chocolate was indeed good…" He placed a hand on his chin and said. "Is it possible for me to bring ten boxes of those back home?" Melanor opened the door and went into the kitchen as Moranor stopped mid-step as Reiki also stopped.

Moranor turned her head towards him, she took a deep breath and said. "Do you have any idea how expensive those are?" As she placed her hands on her hips to try and intimidate him, he shook his head and said. "No." The corner of her eye twitched as she pointed her finger at his face, as she was about to say something she stopped herself. She continued. "If your 'plan' works. I'll put on my best puppy eyes and beg my mom."

As she walked towards the kitchen with the items in her hand, he rolled his eyes as he went in and saw the kitchen counter already had some seasonings, vegetables, and a whole rabbit, and half a pig. Melanor was sharpening a couple of knives as Moranor placed the parchment and the ink bottle on the farthest from the semi-frozen meat. Melanor placed the two knives on top of the chopping board and said. "The stage is all yours."

Reiki walked to the parchment and said. "Before that can you make the vegetable pot you mentioned. I'll just make a quick draft of the floor plan here." He grabbed the quill as he stared at it, the white feathers that gradually turned black as it got closer to the tip, turning his head to see Melanor grabbing an assortment of vegetables and placing it near the chopping board. He said. "... So I just dip it in some ink?"

Melanor grabbed a knife and started chopping, without turning her head away she said. "And be sure to apply some mana on it as well to save ink." Her eyes narrowed as she looked behind her using the corner of her eyes. Reiki stared at the quill for a few seconds and thought. I can do this… Just a small amount of mana. His hand was slowly enveloped by a very thin layer of mana as it slowly reached to the quill it suddenly made an audible cracking sound similar to metal snapping. The quill in his hand suddenly glowed blue as it started falling apart as it slowly fell to the floor. 

Melanor was shocked to see the quill break while Moranor was staring at the falling pieces with a confused expression, Melanor pulled another quill from her pouch that was pitch-black from the bottom and slowly turned to a fiery red towards the tip, without any expression on her face she said. "Here, you can use mine."

Reiki looked at the quill in Melanor's hand as his hand that held the quill slowly curled into a fist, five seconds passed as he stared at the quill as he let out a defeated sigh and reached out for it. He turned around to face the parchment as he let out another sigh and started to make a draft, Melanor who stopped chopping vegetables and continued as she skillfully prepared and sliced it with ease. 

She was already preparing the large pot to make the soup, as she turned on the flame and poured some oil in it as she was about to place down some diced onion she stopped as she heard Reiki say. "Done." He showed a detailed floor plan to Melanor as she lowered the heat from the stove, she saw 12 tables and each table as 4 chairs that were facing each other. In the floor plan, it had the measurements of the spacing, Reiki turned the parchment around and showed a flat glass roof that was slowly slanting upwards to the left with four stone pillars.

Melanor was amazed at what Reiki mocked up on the spot, she took the parchment off his hands and stated at the tables and chairs with a closer look she saw that all the tables had holes in the middle and said. "What's the purpose of the hole in the tables for?" Reiki said. "An umbrella, if the customer doesn't want to be exposed to the sun we'll use the said umbrella." Turning his gaze to the pot on the stove he continued. "Now it's your turn to impress me."

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