Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Elora

Melanor turned the heat higher on the pot as she thinly sliced the stalk of some celery, carrots, a large white onion, she walked to the fridge and took out two large potatoes. She peeled both of them using the knife as she set aside two long potato skins next to the chopping board, chopping the potato into cubes she used the knife to scoop up the vegetables and placed them in the pot. Melanor opened a drawer and took out a wooden spatula and started moving the vegetables that were inside the pot making a loud sizzling sound.

She went to the fridge again and took out a rectangle-shaped object that was wrapped in some white parchment. She placed it on the chopping board and sliced off a generous amount of butter and placed it in with the pot along with roughly two and a half cups of water, lowering it to medium-low heat as she closed the pot with the lid and left it to simmer.

With her arms crossed, Melanor turned to face Reiki with a small smirk on her face, he placed a hand on his chin and said. "Do you have a small pressure cooker?" Melanor thought for a bit and said. "Unfortunately no, I did think about buying one but most of my recipes don't require it." Reiki said. "Potato masher?" Melanor nodded as she opened a cabinet and passed him a potato masher, he walked to the counter filled with dozens of vegetables and started picking about two to three each. He thought. She used… Potatoes, carrots, celery stalk, and white onion… I could use Belgian endive as a substitute.

He was looking at the pile of vegetables looking for something as both Moranor and Melanor were watching behind him. Melanor was staring intently as she was taking mental notes of what he was picking while Moranor looked like she was enjoying the show. Carrying all the vegetables he walked to the cutting board and skillfully started chopping and peeling everything which stunned both of the elves who were watching him, he stopped midway and turned his head around, and faced Moranor and said. "I need something to steam with, a large saucepan, and a wok." He started to peel off the skin of potatoes and placed the peel where Melanor set aside hers, he chopped the potatoes into discs and placed them on the chopping board along with the rest.

Moranor who was quickly opened a couple of cabinets passed Reiki a handmade bamboo steamer that had a single layer with a lid and a large dark grey saucepan, taking both the items he placed the potatoes into the bamboo steamer as he placed the wok on the stove and turned the fire on high. He opened a cabinet and took out a tall glass and filled it with some water from the faucet and placed two glasses worth of water in the wok and placed the bamboo steamer in the wok, using the same cooking oil he placed two tablespoons worth in the saucepan and carried the chopping board with all the chopped vegetables and placed all of them in the saucepan and turned the stove on to medium-high heat.

He opened the same drawer Melanor used and took out a wooden spatula and gave the contents of the large saucepan a good stir as he used the same glass and filled it with water in advance and placed it near him. He faced Melanor and said. "So, what are you two going to do within the half-hour?" Melanor answered. "We'll be reading a book here, while I keep an eye on what I'm cooking." She suddenly vanished as a split second later Melanor tossed a book to Moranor who was leaning onto a wall, easily caught it, and started reading, Melanor did the same as she but kept on standing. Reiki rummaged through his pocket and took out his tattered pouch and placed his hand inside as he took his notebook out.

~30 Minutes Later~

Melanor placed down three vegetable soup with golden broth that was crystal clear, you can easily see each vegetable and how they were sliced. Reiki placed down a tray and on top of it were three bowls that were his version of Melanor's vegetable soup, the three bowls were filled with white-colored soup and sliced vegetables. Moranor placed down six wooden spoons and said. "So how will the taste test work?" Melanor said. "How about we taste mine and then compare it with his." Reiki let out a small yawn and said. "How about I taste what you made and you two taste what I made?" Melanor had a small smile on her face and said. "I don't mind."

As she and Moranor picked up the white vegetable soup he made, Melanor took two spoons and passed one to her daughter. Reiki picked up the golden vegetable soup Melanor made along with a spoon, he said. "Itadakimasu." His first spoonful had a carrot on it as he tasted it, he thought. It's good… But it tastes like a mediocre imitation of french cooking… Melanor on the other hand was using the spoon to observe the viscosity of the white soup, it was enough to coat the back of the spoon similar to bechamel. Moranor was staring at her bowl and turned her head towards Melanor as she was about to taste it, she also ate her first spoonful.

Both of their eyes widened as they took their first spoonful, Moranor was already going for another taste as Melanor turned her head to see Reiki push her soup away from him as he was eating the soup he made. Melanor flicked Moranor's forehead which made her stop eating, Melanor faked a cough and said. "How was the soup I made?" Reiki was using the spoon to stir the white soup in his bowl and said. "Do you want me to be nice? Or do you want my honest opinion?" Melanor said. "I want to hear both." Reiki said. "It's good, crystal clear soup and the vegetables have a crunch to them but cooked through, anyone can see the meticulous care and experience you have when they try it. Honestly, average. It tastes like I'm eating at a french restaurant that opened up two months ago."

As he ate another spoonful of white soup, Moranor was also eating the white soup he made as Melanor stared at him for a few seconds in silence and said. "If you were saying this an hour ago I would have just brushed this off by laughing…" Her gaze shifted to the white soup he was eating and said. "What else can you cook?" She pulled out a brown leather notebook from the pouch that was on her waist, quickly flipping the pages she stopped. Melanor walked to the fridge and was about to open it but heard Reiki say. "Just give me your recipes and I'll write it on parchment of how I would make them."

Melanor closed the fridge as she turned around to see Moranor was finishing off the white soup and left hers untouched, she turned her gaze to Reiki and said. "Why would you need the recipe if you're going to completely remake it from scratch?." Reiki scooped the last bit of soup in the bowl and said. "I need to see what level your cooking skills are." Moranor's eyes lit up in amusement as she quickly changed her gaze to her mother, Melanor placed her right hand on her waist, she stared at him for a few more seconds as she threw the leather notebook in her hand.

Reiki caught it mid-air and pushed aside the empty bowl and opened it and flipped it at the first page, Melanor took two medium size parchments from her pouch and placed them next to him along with the bottle of ink. Flipping to the first page he dipped the quill that he placed in his pocket in the bottle of ink and started writing on the parchment, Moranor ate the last bit of soup and was staring at the Melanor's share that was right next to her. She looked at them while Reiki was writing in the parchment. Melanor was looking over his shoulder with focused eyes on what he was writing, Moranor kept her gaze on them as she carefully reached out to grab the other bowl with white soup.

Melanor raised her hand as Moranor turned her gaze to face the bowl and saw it was enveloped by a layer of mana as it suddenly appeared in Melanor's hand, placing it down as she didn't even raise her head to look at her. Moranor crossed her arms as she let out a small sigh, she stood up to look at the saucepan and took the lid off, and saw more. She turned the saucepan sideways and refilled her bowl as she leaned back on the wall again and started eating. 

The sound of a quill softly scribbling on some parchment was the only thing that could be heard as Moranor turned her gaze back on both of them, Reiki placed the quill down and slowly pushed everything towards Moranor as he stood up and went to the saucepan he used, opening the lid he saw that it was just enough for another bowl. He placed the rest of it into his bowl as he walked next to Melanor who was engrossed at reading the recipes he made. Melanor was softly mumbling to herself. "Mixing freshly squeezed milk and homemade mayonnaise to make a dipping sauce?... Using blood for a base for soup?..."

She turned around to face Reiki and continued. "99% of these are top quality… What's with the odd combination of the rest?!" As she pointed at the bottom right of the parchment, as he was about to have another spoonful of soup he stopped mid-way and placed the spoon back in the bowl and said. "Hey don't knock it, until you try it. I can guarantee you it'll surprise you."

He picked up the spoon and placed it back down as Melanor was comparing the recipes he made with her own, he said. "What's your take on pasta?" Melanor didn't move her gaze away from the notebook and just replied. "It's good but most of the dishes use meat, and that's this specific household's opinion. Most households heard of pasta and tried it, but didn't like it because of how bland it is and all they tasted was tomatoes."

Reiki ate a couple of spoonfuls of white soup and said. "I can easily change that, I can make mouthwatering broccoli and mushroom rigatoni recipe, along with a few other pasta dishes." Melanor kept changing her gaze on her notebook to the parchment and said. "Wouldn't buying flour be too costly?" Reiki said. "You can always plant a large plot of land with wheat." He turned his head towards Moranor and said. "She doesn't think when she's in the middle of cooking, doesn't she?"

A spoon was about half an inch away from Moranor's lips as she nodded her head and said. "Mom is always like that to hobbies, I can't complain because I'm like that when it comes to making a new training regimen and making a new strategy." Melanor carefully folded the two parchments as she placed them inside the notebook and closed it, she turned to face him and said. "Why are you helping us? And don't use that, because you saved my life as an excuse. I want the truth." Reiki scratched the back of his head and stayed silent for a couple of seconds and said. "I thought it would be funny if this managed to work." As he ate another spoonful of soup, Melanor had no expression on her face, she just looked straight into his eyes without saying anything.

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Moranor who was still leaning on the wall was just watching in interest, Melanor nodded and said. "Okay, I need to go somewhere for a moment. I'll be back before lunch with a few things and just make sure to soak the dishes in water, I'll do them when I'm home." Melanor walked to the front of the door leading to the front of the house, Reiki turned his head and saw that Moranor was looking around for something. He said. "If you're looking for the soup she brought the bowl with her."

Moranor jolted as she turned around to face him and said. "I was not! I was making sure there wasn't anything on the floor." As she hid the empty bowl and the spoon behind her back, he stared at her as he ate another spoonful of white soup and said. "How does it feel to be one-upped by a kid?" The smile on Moranor's stiffens, she said. "It's just cooking, I can do better given some time." Reiki emptied the bowl as he let out another burp, he said. "Excuse me, and didn't you have that chance decades ago?" Moranor was walking closer to him and said. "I had something better to do during those decades!"

She placed the bowl on the counter as she was standing right in front of him, Reiki said. "Now… Where were we in our previous conversation…" Moranor had a confused look on her face as he continued. "I remembered. You'll keep your word if my 'plan' succeeds?" Moranor was taken aback for a moment and remembered their conversation from last time, she nodded confidently and said. "That's right! If this 'plan' of yours miraculously succeeds, I will put on my best puppy dog eyes and beg my mom for your ten boxes of chocolate!" Reiki commented. "The containers aren't in the shape of a cube-." Melanor interrupted him and said. "They sell boxes! Mom decided to buy a smaller one!"

She placed her hand on her hips as she glared at him, Reiki maintained eye contact and said. "Why are you so afraid of a knife?" Moranor raised one of her eyebrows and said. "Huh?" He continued. "When you were slicing vegetables you were scared of the knife in your hand, kind of ironic when you effortlessly jammed a dagger into someone the other day." Moranor rolled her eyes and said. "Oh that, they're different." Reiki said. "Different how?" Moranor confidently said. "Simple. When wielding a dagger you don't place your other hand inches next to the sharp edge, up until this day I still don't know how mom hasn't lost any of her fingers."

She looked at her own hands and in between them Moranor saw that he was giving her an odd glance, she said. "What! You know I'm right!" Reiki gave her a deadpan glare and monotonously said. "You're afraid because of the sharp edges? I'll never know how you managed to pick up an arrow, you do know the arrow's head can easily pierce both of our skin." Moranor smacked the counter and on her left and said. "I am not afraid to get hurt! I just… Just don't like having a sharp object so close to my body."

He said. "I can teach you how to properly hold a knife." Moranor let out a soft scoff, Reiki continued. "If you learn how to, you can help around the kitchen and spend more time with her. Even with your long lifespan time will still take its course, Melanor-san might seem demanding to you but she's only trying to make sure you can look after yourself outside of combat."

Moranor crossed her arms as she glared at him, she was tapping her foot every few seconds. Reiki kept maintaining eye contact with her without changing his expression.

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In A Lavish Room

There was a large bed with violet sheets and four large purple pillows, the frame of the bed was made out of white wood, a nightstand on the opposite side of the bed, a single-window with some curtains, and each side of the bed was a white nightstand. The nightstand on the right was empty while the one on the left had a couple of pictures, one had two pictures of two female elves who were hugging, one of the elves was Moranor who looked visibly younger and was wearing a long green robe.

The other elf had golden hair reaching past her waist, sky blue eyes, pale white skin, and was also wearing a long green robe that had a few intricate patterns weaved into it, despite the somewhat loose robe it still couldn't hide her large bust. The room was painted blank white and almost everything inside was made out of wood, the only other contrast was the purple sheets, curtains that were undone, and the seat of the chair by the workbench. By one of the doors leading out of the room was a long golden scepter, the top of it had a subtly glowing crystal that looked like it was being absorbed by the scepter itself.

An elf with long golden hair and sky blue eyes was wearing a one-piece violet-colored see-through teddy, every step she took the bottom of the fabric would move almost exposing her lower half, she let out a small yawn that made her large breast jiggle and due to her choice of nightwear you can easily see her bright pink nipples. Her eyes were half-closed as she looked like she had just woken up not long ago, as she was about to take her little bit of clothing off Melanor appeared in the room by her bed.

Melanor let out a small cough which made the elf in her 'pajamas' turn around to face her, the other elves face turned cruel as her eyes were filled with fury she turned around as she was surrounded in mana, as she was about to say something she stopped and her expression turned one of joy and a smile. The elf said. "Melanor! You could have sent me a message from your talisman!" The elf ran towards her as she spread her arms, Melanor also spread her arms as the elf almost leaped to her embrace.

Melanor said. "Good morning, your majesty-." Before she could get out another word the elf in front of her instantly placed a finger on her lips and said. "Melanor we've had this conversation dozens of times before, Elora, like always." Melanor let out a helpless sigh and said. "Your majesty-." Elora replied. "Elora." Melanor had a helpless smile on her face and said. "Your ma-." Elora interrupted and said. "E. L. O. R. A." She had a bright smile on her face as she coyly hugged her left arm, Melanor let out another long sigh and said. "Elora…"

Elora let out a chuckle as both of them walked towards the bed and sat down simultaneously, she rested her onto Melanor's shoulders and said. "Is there a problem, Melanor? If there is, you know you have my permission to kill." Elora used her right hand to grab Melanor's left hand as she intertwined her fingers with hers, Melanor shook her head and said. "Nothing that needs that sort of drastic action… Yet… It's about that human."

Elora placed a hand on her cheek and said. "Human… Human… Oh that genius who lost his scholarship, Akihito Reiki. Did he show any hostile intent? Lies? Or did he show any signs of scouting?" As she played with Melanor's hand. Melanor said. "Ironically, no. The human this time is helping us in some way. I came here in a hurry because of this." She pulled out her quill that she lent to Reiki as she passed it to her.

Elora's pupils immediately lightened up and turned into an ice blue as she stared at the quill in her hands, as she looked at the residue that was left on the quill, and what she saw astonished her. She said. "This is!... Did he use this?" Melanor nodded and said. "Correct, he also broke my daughter's quill too." Elora said. "He broke little Mora's quill?!" She placed her hand on her lips and said. "You said he was helping, how?"

Melanor pulled out the same leather notebook from the belt of her waist and flipped the pages and showed her the floorplan he made, Elora reluctantly let go of Melanor's hand as she observed the floor plant with a scrutinizing gaze. She said. "He made this? How long did it take? Side comment but his taste in designs is… Lackluster." As she pointed at the simple designs of both of the parchment, Melanor let out a chuckle and said. "He made it in approximately three minutes, as for the aesthetics… I'll make sure to put my spin on things."

Elora let out a sigh as she gave back the parchment to her as she quickly grabbed her left arm again and said. "Was this that important to come all the way here without sending me a message?... Or maybe you just missed me?" Melanor placed the parchment back into her notebook as she returned it to her pouch, she said. "We could potentially use this to speed up our plan… And maybe even get something from him." Elora removed her head from her shoulders and said. "Tell me more."

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