Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Coin Toss

Reiki was next to Moranor who was carefully trying to chop cucumber into even slices with her hand that was gently shaking, she was anxiously chopping the cucumber with her hands with Reiki on her left. Reiki said. "See, it's not even dangerous. Now, take a deep breath and make sure your fingers are always curled like a claw as you keep both the pinky and the thumb behind your other fingers." Moranor took a deep breath as she steadied her hand and slowly started to chop the cucumber that was on top of the wooden chopping board.

After a couple of chops, she was able to get into a rhythm as she continued until she was finished. She placed the knife next to the chopping board and stared at it for a couple of seconds with her hand that held it and was slowly curling into a fist. Reiki slammed his hand onto her shoulder which made her scream in pain as she turned her head towards him with a glare, he let out a chuckle and said. "See, simple."

He turned around behind them and stared at the pile of carrots, parsnips, cucumber, and some red bell peppers. He crossed his arms to look at each pile that was chopped differently, sliced, matchstick cuts, and strip cut. He thought. Her dexterity with her daggers is showing… He looked at the chopped vegetables and most of them were relatively the same size minus Moranor's first few attempts, she also turned around to look at the piles of vegetables and said. "What are we going to make with those?..." He turned his head towards her and looked up and said. "How do you prefer your sauce? Spicy? Sweet? Or sweet and sour?"

Moranor kept her gaze on the pile and said. "I did something new for the day and it turned out better than I expected to be… So… Make it spicy, but not burn my mouth off spicy." Reiki nodded and said. "Understood, Melanor would be shocked to see the progress you've made today." He walked to the fridge and took out a jug that was made out of glass that contained milk with a cork on top and while he was walking back to the counter he said. "Any chance you guys have any mayonnaise?"

Moranor nodded and walked to a cabinet on the top and pulled out a small tub of mayonnaise, she placed it on the counter and said. "You're not planning on making that weird mayo and milk dipping sauce are you?..." Reiki placed the jug of milk on the table and started opening cabinets on the bottom and said. "And that's coming from someone who served herself another big helping of soup." Moranor's had a small blush on her cheeks and said. "It wasn't 'that' good, I was just forcing myself to eat more because I didn't want to hurt your pride."

Reiki nodded as he placed three large red bowls with a flat bottom and three wine glasses, he placed the wine glass in each bowl. As Reiki picked up some vegetables and was about to place some in the bowl he turned his head to face her and said. "What are you just standing there for? All that's left is to place the vegetables in the bowls." Moranor's eyes widened as she pointed at herself and said. "I also have to help plate?" Reiki rolled his eyes at her and said. "Don't tell me you also have a fear of holding vegetables too close to your body?"

As he chuckled to himself and started to place an assortment of vegetables in each of the bowls with the wine glass in the middle, Moranor snapped herself back to reality as she tried to copy the arrangement he was doing on the bowl, he was carefully placing down the vegetables in the bowl without any of the colors of the carrots, red bell peppers, parsnips, and cucumber into a fan. He was doing the arrangement slowly as Reiki was aware that Moranor was watching him with the intent to try to replicate it, after a couple of mistakes she pushed him out of the way so she could get a better view of the arrangement.

It was simple yet had a good contrast of colors with a touch of elegance, the assorted vegetables surrounded the wine glass without a single one of it touching, while Moranor was trying to replicate it into another bowl, he thought. When was I pushed?... She stared at her back and continued his train of thought. I didn't even feel where she placed her hand to move me out of the way… After a few more seconds passed, Moranor said. "I did it!" And let out a sigh of relief, Reiki walked next to her to see her presentation and saw it was almost identical except for the places where the vegetables were placed. He said. "Yep, you did it."

As he walked towards the same cabinet again and took out a bowl and a spoon, and placed it near the jug of milk and the mayonnaise. Moranor gave him an odd glare and said. "You're not gonna mix both of those into a sauce… Are you?" Reiki placed three large spoonfuls into the bowl and was followed by three teaspoons of milk as he started to mix it, he turned his head to face her and said. "Do you guys have any salt and pepper? Oh, and where's the hot sauce?"

Moranor stared at him for a few seconds as she went to the fridge and brought out a small glass container with red paste that was packed with loads of chili flakes and placed it on the counter. She opened a few drawers and said to herself. "Where did mom last place those…" She brought out two containers that looked similar to a bento box and placed them on the counter, she lifted the lid of both of them and revealed salt and pepper.

She said. "Will this do?" Reiki walked next to her, he took a couple of sniffs and thought. That pepper is freshly ground. He said. "Can I?" As he pointed at the two containers, she nodded as she was watching him in interest, he used his thumb and his index finger to feel the texture of the pepper. He thought. Meticulously grounded too… Reiki nodded and said. "Yes, this will be more than enough." As he brought the bowl with the odd dipping sauce near it and added some of the red chili paste that had a similar texture to jelly, salt, and pepper to taste, and started mixing while making sure everything is incorporated properly.

Moranor was looking at the wine glass at all the bowls as she was trying to replicate what she did with the first bowl, she said. "What's with the wine glass in the middle?" Reiki while mixing the dipping sauce in the bowl, said. "That's where I'll put the sauce. I hate it when people use plates or put them on top or in the bottom of the bowl, your hands get messy. This way you'll be able to see how much sauce you have and it's easier to clean up after you're done eating in my opinion." Moranor was done as she looked at how she presented the vegetables.

She made a satisfied nod, while Reiki was using the spoon to place the dipping sauce into the wine glass. He said. "I would have wanted some garlic mayo with some bits of crispy fried garlic chips mixed in or even some french onion dip. But sometimes simple is the best way to go." As he placed a few spoonfuls on the last of the empty wine glass as he filled all three of them a centimeter away from being full.

Reiki let go of the bowl with the dipping sauce as he stretched for a bit and said. "Veggie sticks, a simple yet tasty light snack." As he used his hand to gesture towards the bowls filled with carrots, cucumber, parsnips, and red bell peppers. He continued. "Do you have any idea when Melanor-san will be back? I want to know so I can place her bowl in the fridge to keep the veggies crisp or should we wait for her-."

All of a sudden a woman's voice said. "I'm here, don't worry." Which made him reflexively turn towards the source of the voice, he said. "Melanor-san! Can you please stop sneaking up on me like that? At this rate, I'll have a heart attack." Melanor let out a chuckle and rolled her eyes and said. "So, what did the two of you make when I was out for an errand?"

Reiki said. "Moranor-san learned how to use a knife today." As he used his thumb to point at the three red bowls behind him, Melanor walked towards the counter as she looked at all three of them without a slight change in her expression. She made a small nod of approval and said. "Splendid job, minus a few odd ones the rest can be called identical." She changed her gaze to the wine glass that was filled with pinkish dipping sauce, she said. "Is that…"

Reiki took the bowl that Moranor tried to arrange the first time, he picked up a piece of red bell pepper that was sliced into a matchstick, he dipped in the pink dipping sauce, and said. "It is, it's fine if you make your own. It just means more for me."

He threw the bell pepper that was dipped into the sauce into his mouth as a soft crunching sound was made while he chewed with his mouth closed. Both Moranor and Melanor took a bowl each and picked up a carrot and a parsnip, they dipped the vegetable in the pinkish sauce and took their first bite. Reiki was watching both of them, he saw their expression turn to surprise when they tasted it while he dipped both a carrot and a cucumber and tossed it into his mouth. He swallowed what was in his mouth and said. "The looks on both of your faces are priceless, I wish I had a phone on me that could take a high-resolution photo."

Reiki continued to devour what was in his bowl while Moranor and Melanor took a different vegetable and dipped it in the pinkish sauce once again. Moranor was quietly enjoying it and continued eating, Melanor was staring at a carrot in her hand that had some pinkish sauce and said. "This is so… Awkward… I never would have mixed milk and mayonnaise together…" She ate the carrot and placed a hand on her chin. She turned to face Reiki who already ate more than half of what was inside his bowl. She said. "Do all your unorthodox combinations work?" 

Reiki left a cucumber in the wine glass with the pinkish sauce and shook his head, he said. "Nope, I had a few nasty ones before. I once combined mustard and Worcestershire sauce and… Let's just say I was on the toilet for that day."

Moranor let out a chuckle and was followed by a giggle, she had some pinkish sauce on the corner of her lips and was holding a carrot with some dipping sauce. After she calmed herself down she ate the carrot she was holding and continued watching both of them waiting for something to happen, Melanor was placing down a glass of water that was half full, as she was reaching out to her bowl of vegetables she said. "Reiki tomorrow the queen has requested your audience." She picked the bowl up and started walking to the front of the house, she continued. "No need to worry about your attire, the queen is not fond of formal clothing."

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As she closed the door behind her, Reiki was holding a carrot with some pink sauce in his hand that fell back into the wine glass as he stared at the door Melanor went through. He turned his head towards Moranor who was still eating normally and said. "Did she just say I was going to meet the queen tomorrow?!" Moranor ate cucumber and nodded then continued eating like normal, he thought. Fuck… My plan keeps changing... At this rate… I'll need to do more than just get on their good side… He ate the last few pieces of bell peppers and said. "Moranor-san, what's the queen like?"

Moranor picked up the half-full glass of water Melanor drank from and emptied it in one go, she placed it back down as she wiped her mouth which spread the pinkish sauce all over her lips. She said. "Her majesty?... Hmm… She's very forgiving to elves who are honest with her and loyal…" She gave him an odd look and continued. "At least… Her majesty is like that towards elves… I've never seen a human go into the castle and leave…"

He thought. Thank you for the vote of confidence, I'll be sure to ask you what you hate eating and then make a dish out of it. He said. "Then what should I do to at least make somewhat of an impression?" Moranor placed the bowl down and put a hand on her cheek and said. "Knowledge, I hate to admit it, I am impressed with how knowledgeable you are with formation. If not for the fact humans weren't so… Constricting with what people learn in school you could... No, you will be able to put most elves who are called scholars to shame, as long as you show your knowledge you'll be fine. Well, I can be too sure about that… It can at least guarantee you won't be tied to something with two rows of elves wielding bows at you in the firing range."

Reiki stayed silent and was still staring at her lips that had a large smear of pinkish sauce, he said. "I don't know how to break this to you but… You have a lot of sauce all over your mouth." Moranor narrowed her eyes as she used the reflection of the stainless steel counter to see herself and saw that both her mouth and her lips had pink sauce all over them. Her cheeks slowly blushed as she screamed. "Get over here! You talking ape!" And started sprinting towards him, Reiki bolted to the room heading deeper into the house as he closed the door behind him, Moranor quickly opened the door giving chase.

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Back At The Lavish Room

Both Melanor and Elora were sitting on the large bed, Elora was still wearing the see-through teddy and was eating the veggie sticks Moranor made with the odd pinkish dipping sauce. Elora said. "I'm surprised, never thought little Mora would be able to properly hold a knife." As she picked up a carrot and dipped it in the wine glass with the pinkish sauce, she continued. "You say this is supposed to be a mixture of mayonnaise and milk?" She ate the carrot while Melanor said. "Oddly enough it works."

Melanor picked up a parsnip, dipped it into some sauce, and ate it, Elora said. "Did you already pass the message to him?" Melanor nodded and replied. "Yes, he'll be here tomorrow in the afternoon, sometime after lunch." As she ate another veggie stick with some sauce. Elora lazily nodded as she laid her head on Melanor's shoulder and said. "Should we just… Kill him?"

Melanor was chewing on a slice of red bell pepper, she swallowed and said. "It's a bit early to do that… I've already told you all that I know… He didn't show any hostile intent, I kept my eye on him and the kid didn't even use any kind of magic… What do you think about his skewed knowledge?" Elora was playing with Melanor's hair and said. "It's like a piece of fabric filled with holes, we never killed a human who trespassed on our forest… We kept them alive for… Medicinal purposes and sometimes as a mana battery." Melanor placed the bowl on the bed and laid down, she commented. "It would be giving them a more humane death."

Elora laid down next to her and continued. "Based on what little information he gave us, it's more of a fifty-fifty chance. He's either genuinely helping us or trying to steal something to get back to Ishin Academy." Melanor was staring at the ceiling and lazily said. "Fifty-fifty… Like a coin toss…" Elora's eyes brightened as she used her arm to grab onto Melanor's hand and rapidly shook it, she excitedly said. "Coin toss! Let's do a coin toss! To see if we welcome him with open arms or have a firing squad ready!"

She quickly clapped her hands a few times to contain her excitement as both of them sat up on the bed, Melanor turned her head to face her and said. "... I'm fine with that." Elora hugged Melanor's arm and said. "Do you have a coin on you? I would search my pocket, but with my current attire, I only have one pocket on me. And I am positive it's empty." She leaned closer to Melanor's ear and said. "Unless you're willing to use your hand for a thorough search."

Melanor rummaged through the pouch on her belt and took out a golden coin, one side had two arrows in an 'X' shape while the other side was a quiver that had a dozen arrows with feathers at the end of them. She ignored her comment and said. "Heads we kill the kid, tails his welcome with open arms."

Elora lightly slapped her shoulder as she hugged her arm even tighter, Melanor placed the coin on top of her thumb and tossed it into the air. It quickly spun around mid-air, as the coin was about to fall she easily caught it and slowly turned her hand palm faced upwards, she slowly opened her hand to see which side the coin landed.

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Back At Melanor's House

Moranor was shouting at the top of her lungs, she screamed. "Stop dodging! You hairless chimp!" She threw a dagger towards his direction as Reiki barely sidestepped it, there were a couple of rips from the green tunic he was wearing as he was breathing heavily. The dagger slid into the wall as she ran towards the wall and effortlessly took the dagger out as the edge cleanly sliced through the wood without any friction. He said. "I-I'm calling a timeout!" As he started running around the living room in circles while avoiding daggers Moranor was throwing at him, Moranor breathing was still steady as her cheeks still had a faint blush on them.

She threw three daggers simultaneously as one of them cut off a few strands of hair passing a few centimeters in front of his face. As he turned around to run towards the hallway Reiki collided with something soft, he turned his head and saw Melanor was scanning the living room filled with holes and scratches from a dagger. He ran past Melanor and hid behind her and hastily said. "Melanor-san you're back! I know I said I would help your daughter but by the looks of things, I think it would be better to place her inside an asylum, with all the other crazies!" Moranor stopped the floor beneath her in fury and shouted. "Stop hiding behind her! You slimy gremlin!"

Melanor let out a chuckle as she turned her head to look at Reiki who was hiding behind her, she said. "An asylum you say?" He nodded his head and said. "That's right, she's been spouting nonsense ever since you left. I think it would be better since she would be able to get aid from a professional." Moranor threw a dagger between the small gap between Melanor's left armpit, the dagger slid through without even touching her green robe as Reiki barely dodge it as it left a deep scratch right under his eye.

[System: User has received 592 Damage.]

[System: User has tier-II bleeding effect. The user will receive 432 Damage every 5 seconds.]

Blood quickly started coming out from the wound under his eye as he used his hand to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Melanor didn't look away from him and said. "Moranor, get me my first aid kit." Moranor stomped the floor beneath her a few times as she walked towards the stairs, she continued. "If you had a last meal, what would it be?"

Reiki froze in place for a brief moment as he slowly turned his head to face her. Melanor didn't have any kind of expression on her face and just stared right into his eyes, it looked like she was trying to figure out what he was thinking when she spoke out her sentence. He thought. What did she just say...

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