Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Herbology

Enora stood up from her seat and walked at him, Reiki didn't back down and made sure to maintain eye contact. Enora looked away and stared at the wall, Elora had a look of expectation on her face. Enora said. "J-Just a little…" Reiki smiled at her and said. "Then maybe I'll miss you just a little bit." Elora had a smirk on her face, her daughter looked at him with an expression of disbelief all over her face. Enora stomped the floor a couple of times and said. "What kind of answer is that?" Reiki let out a chuckle followed by a big yawn, he said. "It's also your answer."

Enora grabbed him by the collar of his tunic and lifted Reiki as both of them were at the same height. With a sly smile on her face, Enora said. "If my answer was I love you?" Without missing a beat, Reiki said. "My answer would've been I love you too." Enora completely froze as her grip on his tunic slowly lessened. Reiki safely landed on the floor with a soft thud as he turned around and walked toward the door, without looking back he let out a yawn and said. "If you need me I'll be in my room."

Enora was trying to process what happened while Elora stared at her daughter who was having a meltdown. Elora lazily stretched while on the chair, she said. "You okay dear?" Enora didn't respond as if she was trying to process something, she said. "Since when did humans say things like that so casually?" 

Elora rolled her eyes at her, she said. "Almost there… Just a little step toward the edge." Enora had a confused look on her face, she said. "What do you mean by that?" Elora shook her head, she stood up from her seat and walked beside Enora. Elora placed an arm around her daughter's shoulder and said. "How about some wine dear?"

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Somewhere In The Hallway

Reiki was leisurely walking and taking his time observing his surroundings, he thought. Nope, no matter what I do this hall looks the same as the last one… He looked around and said. "Fayeth." A few seconds passed of nothing happening, Reiki let out a chuckle and continued. "I know it's your shift, no use in trying to pretend like it's not. Or do you need me to have a word with-." 

Fayeth appeared right in front of him with her arms crossed, she said. "I hate you." Reiki nodded and playfully slapped her forearm, he said. "And I never liked you, lead the way to my assigned room." Fayeth started leading the way, she softly whispered. "All you're capable of is hiding beneath someone's skirt."

Reiki had a cruel smirk on his face, he said. "Then let's see what happens when I complain about you to those skirts I hide under? I wonder where you'll end up? Frontlines? The middle of nowhere? Or maybe even-." Fayeth softly said. "I'm sorry…" Reiki let out a chuckle as the two of them walked in silence.

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Shopping District

Moranor was outside a shop with a small wooden sign on the side of the door written in elvish saying chocolate. With her left hand, she was holding a large brown paper bag that had steam coming from it. The door opened as Melanor walked next to her daughter who was looking at her, Melanor said. "Three days." Moranor slightly jolted, Melanor placed her right arm around her daughter's shoulder to console her. Melanor said. "Think about it this way, you have seventy-two hours to spend time with him and make more memories." 

Moranor nodded as the sadness in her eyes was apparent, Melanor ruffled her daughter's hair in an attempt to get a reaction out of her. Moranor didn't even care, Melanor placed her left hand on her chin and said. "Come on Mora, it's not like he's dying. You can always give him a long-range talisman so you can call him whenever you want."

Moranor took a deep breath and nodded, she said. "I know… I just didn't expect it to be so…" Melanor finished her daughter's sentence, she said. "Hard? Difficult-?" Moranor rolled her eyes at her mother as she moved Melanor's hand off her shoulder with her right hand. Moranor said. "I get it… I always knew this would happen and I just stowed it at the back of my mind hoping it would never become a reality…" Melanor softly flicked the side of Moranor's head, Melanor said. "I get it. You can't stand to stay a day without him." 

She let out an exaggerated sigh and continued. "It's not like eight years is the same as sleeping for some of us. It's not even adding the fact he lives within teleportation distance." Moranor had a faint blush on her cheeks, she said. "We should get going, I don't want the food to be cold when…" The blush on her cheeks became more prominent as she started walking back towards the palace.

Melanor let out a hearty laugh as she appeared beside her daughter and started walking. Melanor said. "Just look at you, a week ago I would never have imagined you holding a knife, and now when you learned he was going back. You took the initiative to ask me to teach you how to cook." Melanor let out a fake sigh and said. "Love is strange in so many ways…" 

Melanor turned her head to look at her daughter who was trying her best to keep her cool as they walked past a few elves who were glancing at them. Melanor continued. "Why the sudden urge to learn? Is it because you want to cook something edible for your boy? Hmm?" She playfully nudged her daughter using her elbow, Melanor said. "I'm right, aren't I? Before he goes back you want him to taste something he won't forget." Moranor turned her head to the left, she softly said. "... Yes…"

Melanor had an artificial smile on her lips, she said. "I'll be honest with you, three days isn't enough time to learn how to cook. But I can teach you how to make one simple dish that'll leave a lasting impression." Moranor turned her head to look at her mother as both of them slowly stopped walking, Moranor said. "What is it?" Melanor let out a chuckle, she said. "You're favorite. Vegetable stew."

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Guest Room

Reiki was lying down on his bed with his shoes on the floor beside the nightstand, he stared at the ceiling as he enjoyed the silence. He thought. Three. Two. One. He glanced at the door. The doorknob slowly turned as Haruka peeked inside the room and saw him, she opened the door and walked in the room making sure to close it behind her. Haruka was staring a hole into him as she waited for him to say something, Reiki rummaged in his pocket and took out a shiny gold library card. 

Haruka's eyes widened as she ran toward it and used both her hands to grab his wrist admiring the card in Reiki's hands. Haruka said. "No way… They gave you unrestricted access… Here I am, barely got a regular one and in the middle of jumping through a dozen hoops to get restricted access…" Haruka had a friendly smile on her face, she said. "So, how about it?"

Reiki stared at the ceiling, he said. "Thirty minutes. I'm not going back there when elves are going to surround me the moment I open the door." Haruka reluctantly let go of his wrist, she sat down on the floor beside the bed and rummaged through her satchel, and started reading. Reiki thought. How big is that thing? He placed the shiny card on the nightstand and lazily changed his lying position on the bed and hugged one of the two large pillows. Reiki let out a yawn, he said. "Which topic of Herbology is it this time?" 

While carefully rubbing his left eye. Haruka flipped to the next page, she said. "Right now I'm trying a couple of methods to improve the quality of the yields… I've tried a few simple textbooks, one using high tier monster fertilizer while trying to see if I use a mix of elements to stimulate growth. Another method that I made is using bursts of mana to agitate it so it'll absorb more mana in its surroundings."

Reiki adjusted his position on the bed and turned to the left as he read parts of the book, he said. "How well can you control the frequency of mana?" Haruka turned her head sideways to look at him, she said. "I have a couple of machines to do that for me." 

Reiki let out another yawn, he said. "Then how about you try this method. There's a saying that talking to plants helps them grow faster, though I'm pretty sure it's from the carbon dioxide when we breathe. Expose the plants to pulses of mana in intervals, this way you have more control of the outcome and if something unexpected occurs like bearing too many fruits, etc." 

Haruka had a serious expression on her face and pondered for a moment, she rummaged through her satchel and took out a plain white notebook along with a mechanical pencil. Haruka said. "That… Sounds feasible… Depending on the results of the plant I can either increase or decrease the interval between and experiment with the type of mana itself…"

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She was quickly writing in her notebook and continued. "Are you sure about plucking excess fruits? What if the plant is capable of bearing high quality? Then wouldn't it be a waste since we took them off?" Reiki sat up straight and shook his head, he said. "You said you wanted to increase the quality? Then you need to stop finding the balance between quantity and quality." 

Haruka eventually slowed down her writing, she placed the pencil in the middle and closed the notebook with her left hand, and started to think. Haruka said. "But what if I wanted to alter a plant completely??" She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, Reiki placed a hand on his chin. He thought. Alterations... He said. "What kind? Natural or artificially?" Haruka had a hint of expectation in her eyes, she said. "Both."

Reiki scratched the side of his head and said. "Then the best bet would be… Slowly adjusting the plant's natural growing environment to something drastic… Like…" Haruka opened her notebook as she listened intently and prepared herself to write. He continued. "If you were to plant a six-petal fire dandelion you would find them in caves where the deeper you go the hotter the temperature... If you suddenly decided to plant it on top of a volcano since it's a natural source of heat and mana the plant would die to the sudden change of the environment. Instead, you slowly expose it to higher temperatures over time making sure it stays alive while exposing it to the pulses of mana." 

Reiki waited a bit so that Haruka could write everything down. She tapped on the edge of the page to signal him to continue, He said. "For the artificial route, I suggest slowly injecting said plant or the soil in small doses of whatever you're planning then increase the quantity and concentration each generation."

Haruka stopped writing, she turned her head sideways and said. "Generations? You don't recommend using the parent." Reiki nodded, he said. "Yep, when the plant finally drops its seed or bears fruit, use those instead. They have already been exposed to whatever you've injected and possibly have their genes altered in a small way. With each generation take notes of every detail, height, color, and test its potency in some water-."

The door suddenly opened as Moranor was holding a large brown paper bag that had residual heat coming off from it, her eyes narrowed when she saw Haruka was in the room. Reiki noticed the brown bag in her hand as his gaze locked on it. Moranor walked to the opposite side of the bed where Haruka was sitting, Moranor sat on the edge and placed down the paper bag on the floor, she took off her combat shoes, revealing thick cotton socks.

Moranor picked up the paper bag and sat next to him, she lifted Reiki and crossed her legs, and had him sit on her lap. She placed the brown bag in front of him as he immediately took out a couple of large tofu burgers wrapped in thick tissues. Reiki tossed one to Haruka and unwrapped the one in his hands while Moranor stared dagger at Haruka who hesitated. Reiki took a bite of the burger, he thought. It's made out of beef this time… Reiki raised the burger so he could feed her and he looked up to Moranor. 

He gave her a meaningful look as she let out a sigh and took a bite, Reiki lowered the burger and took a bite. He scratched the side of his head and said. "Where were we?" Haruka slowly unwrapped the burger in her hands, she said. "Testing the plant parents and using the seeds for the new generation." Reiki already ate half the burger and raised it to the same level at Moranor's lips as she took a bite, he nodded and swallowed.

Reiki said. "Oh yeah… Use the seeds after the parent of the plant bears them, grow them until they bear seeds or fruits. Rinse and repeat." Moranor had a slight frown on her lips, she said. "Hasn't this method been overused for the last decade? The odds of the plant being mutated is almost nonexistent." Haruka took a couple of bites of the burger in her hands as her eyes widened from the taste. Reiki was holding what's left of the burger with his left hand and stared at it. 

The beef patty was oozing out juices, it had some pickles, tomato, and a couple of pieces of cabbage, and some mayo. He shoved the burger into his mouth and reached in the brown paper bag for another one, while Moranor pulled out a glass bottle of water from her pouch. Haruka swallowed and said. "It is, but we're doing a slight adjustment to it." Reiki took the glass bottle out of her hands and took the cap off, he washed down the burger in his throat and let out a burp. He said. "Excuse me. She's going to expose them to bursts of mana while injecting whatever concoction she cooked up."

Reiki placed the cap back on the glass bottle and carefully placed it on the bed, he started unwrapping his second burger. Moranor started thinking, she said. "So you stimulate the plant with mana and inject it to increase the odds of a mutation occurring… Then using its seeds that were already exposed for a better result… Sounds doable, but you'd still be hoping for a mutation to occur." Haruka nodded, she slowly turned around while sitting on the floor as she placed her burger on the nightstand away from his library card. Haruka said. "True, but this is where quantity comes into play. 

The higher the number of plants the higher the chance for it to occur." Reiki thought. Sounds like a bad gacha. Reiki swallowed and raised the unwrapped burger in his hands closer to Moranor, he said. "It also means the upkeep will be higher, more mana crystals, and more time to tend to them individually." Haruka picked up her burger she placed on the nightstand as she was sitting on the floor facing them, she said. "I have a few funds lying around to use and a couple of helpers to lend a hand."

Moranor was chewing as she picked up the glass bottle and took a sip to wash it down, she said. "You could also-." The door swung open as Enora walked in, she said. "What a surprise, I was walking down and-." Reiki thought. And then there were three… Enora's gaze locked on Reiki who was sitting on Moranor's lap, she walked toward the bed and lazily waved her hand. Enora said. "Make some room." 

Haruka's eyes slightly widened as she watched in interest. Moranor's eyes narrowed, she coldly said. "Why?" Enora let out an exaggerated sigh and said. "I want to lay down." Moranor pointed at the other empty bed, she said. "There's one over there." Enora placed her forearm on Moranor's ribcage and started pushing, she said. "I'm not going to be the only one out of the conversation." She tried to use the floor to push both of them out of the bed but couldn't even make them budge.

Reiki had a half-eaten burger near his mouth as he looked up to Moranor, he said. "I'll move if you move, knowing her she'll do something drastic if we don't comply." Enora was still trying to push them, Moranor used her arms to lift both of them as Reiki picked up the brown bag. Without any effort, Moranor was able to maneuver both of them to the right side of the bed. Reiki raised the burger in his hands at the same level at Moranor's lips as she took a bite. He let out a small scoff and said. "Show-off." 

Enora sat on the left side and quickly took her boots off, she accidentally hit Moranor a couple of times with her elbow while trying to find a comfortable position to lie down. Moranor was glaring daggers into Enora's direction, she said. "Why are you here?" Reiki turned his head to look at Haruka who was eating her burger and watching intently, he said. "Is this the kind of drama you watch on tv?"

Enora flashed Moranor a friendly smile and said. "Just making sure everything is fine with our guest, can't give him a wrong impression of us elves." Haruka wiped some mayo on the corner of her lips using her thumb, she said. "Drama on tv is scripted, this on the other hand is the real deal. Now do me a favor and entertain me." As she took a bite of the half-eaten burger in her hands. The two elves were staring at each other having a mental conversation using their eyes and expression. 

Eventually, Moranor let out a sigh, she said. "There's no food for you here." As she placed her arms above Reiki's shoulders and folded the brown paper bag in his lap. Enora rolled her eyes at her, she said. "Don't worry, I already sent my order to the maids. I'm expecting my food to arrive shortly, feel free to continue with the conversation you three were having beforehand."

Reiki ate the burger in his hands like it was inhaling air, he moved Moranor's hand away from the paper bag as he took out another one and unwrapped it, and took a bite. He thought. Venison… He glanced at the burger and noticed the bun had a slightly darker color, the fillings inside were some green herb sauce on the bottom, raw white onions, a few slices of crispy bacon. He looked to his left to watch the two elves continue with the argument, Enora was glancing at how intimate the two were.

Moranor was massaging the temples of her head, she said. "Of all the irresponsible-." The door suddenly opened as a male elf pushing a trolley walked into the room and handed Enora a large plate of finger sandwiches with the crust sliced off. The male elf gave all of them a respectful bow and pushed the trolley out of the room and carefully closed the door.

Enora placed the large plate on the bed, she picked one up at random and took a bite. She glanced at Reiki and with a friendly smile on her face said. "Want one?" Moranor's eyes narrowed as she tried to see what game she was playing. Reiki shook his head, he said. "I'll pass. The burgers are good enough for me." Moranor had a surprised look on her face before a gloating look took over as she taunted Enora. Haruka was watching everything with interest while sitting on the floor when the door suddenly opened. 

Reiki thought. Why is everyone always opening my door without knocking? For a race about class and knowledge, you'd think they've known about basic etiquette. Enrel walked in and was wearing a long green cloak made with subtle yet eye-catching patterns on the edges, she said. "Mora it's time for my grand reveal." Moranor slightly jolted as Enora flashed her a bright smile, Reiki raised a brow and said. "I thought it was already over?"

Enrel was admiring her cloak, she said. "You can't present something wearing something tacky, I specifically ordered this to be handmade." She waved her hand in dismissal and continued. "I don't have much time to accept your admiration for me. Mora, let's go. I got you and your mother's front seats." Enrel appeared on the edge of the bed and touched her forearm. Moranor appeared beside her standing on her left while Reiki landed on the bed making it bounce. 

Enrel waved her hand and said. "I'll be borrowing her for a moment." As both of them vanished. Haruka quickly stood up, wiped some crumbs off her clothes, and said. "Reiki, let's go. We don't wanna miss a historic event." Reiki and Enora looked at each other, he said. "Should I tell her or should you?"

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