Moranor held the glass in her hand and looked towards the door, she said. "Why do I have to help?" She drank the remaining juice in the glass in one go and placed it on the counter. Moranor followed Reiki out the door as she closed the door behind her.

Both Enrel and Melanor stared at the door, Enrel said. "You better not take all the fruits in the fridge or touch the juice in that bowl." As she took a sip of the glass of juice in her hand. Melanor just stared at the contents of the glass, inside were coconut juice, thinly sliced pineapple giving it a strong contrast of colors, and some sugar.

Melanor gaze wandered to the glass in Enrel's hand to see some mint leaves in hers. Melanor said. "Can I taste that?" As she placed the glass in her hand down on the counter next to her daughter's empty one and stole the glass Enrel was holding while she was in the middle of taking a sip. Melanor stared at the glass she stole as Enrel glared at her, Melanor swirled the glass for a bit and took a sip as she passed it back to Enrel. Melanor said. "It has a refreshing after-taste…"

Her eyes narrowed as she picked up the glass she placed down. Enrel looked at her from the corner of her eye and coldly said. "That's what mint does." Melanor stared at the glass in her hand, she said. "Do you think he made this on the spot?" Enrel emptied her glass while swirling the ice inside, she said. "Possible, I never heard of a juice that mixed coconut juice with thinly sliced pineapple." 

Melanor let out a sigh, she said. "I don't know why I even bothered to speak with you regarding this topic." The sound of an oven making a loud ding indicating it finished cooking was heard. Melanor said. "Time for dinner." As Enrel just glared at Melanor for insulating her.

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At The Dining Table

Reiki already set up the plates and utensils while Moranor placed down a pitcher of water and a few wooden cups. Moranor walked to the nearest wall and leaned on it, Reiki leaned on the same wall on her left. Moranor looked at him using the corner of her eye and didn't react, she said. "What are you planning for dessert?"

Reiki stared at the dining table and said. "You'll find out later. This time I'll only be joining you three lovely elves for dinner since I've been-." He let out a yawn as he placed a hand over his mouth to cover it. Reiki continued. "Feeling the need to sleep." Moranor stared at him for a few seconds with a scrutinizing gaze, she said. "Can you at least give me a hint?" 

Reiki let out another yawn, before he could say anything the sound of footsteps were getting closer as Melanor and Enrel walked in the room holding a pair of lasagnas while wearing oven mitts.

Reiki had an odd look on his face as he stared at the bright pink oven mitts Enrel was wearing. Moranor let out a chuckle as she pointed at the oven mitts on Enrel's hand, she bumped her shoulder hitting Reiki's shoulder. Moranor said. "Looks like someone fell for mom's joke once again." 

Enrel placed down the two mini lasagnas on the table, she turned around to face Moranor while trying to get the mitts off. Enrel said. "What joke?" Melanor let out a suppressed chuckle. Moranor said. "We have another pair of oven mitts, we bought that as an inside joke for when visitors help in the kitchen." Reiki turned his head towards Moranor and looked up at her. He said. "You get visitors? I always thought your family was the type to ignore everyone around you." Moranor's gaze quickly switched to him, she smacked the back of his head.

[System: User has received 13 Damage.]

Reiki rubbed the back of his head, he said. "Ow." As he looked up at her. Moranor said. "Minor details." Reiko thought. I'm guessing it's their first and last time they've managed to pull this joke off… Moranor walked towards the table, she pulled a chair and sat down. Reiki walked beside her and sat in the chair on her left, she looked at him in the corner of her eye and stayed silent. 

Melanor sat down on the opposite side of her daughter while Enrel sat on Melanor's left. Enrel grabbed a serving spoon and started to place some lasagna on her plate. Reiki stared at the table for a couple of seconds, he said. "No bread or wine?" All three of the elves froze as they looked at him oddly. Reiki continued. "The wine would be for the three of you."

Enrel passed the serving spoon to Melanor. While trying to serve herself, she said. "Unfortunately I ran out. I could have baked in the early morning but then I noticed we were also out of flour." She passed the serving spoon to her daughter who tried to cut off a large portion of the vegetarian lasagna. He saw all three of the elves using a wooden knife and fork and thought. Fancy.

Reiki reached out for the mini lasagna and carefully tried to place it on his plate while watching Moranor try to place a large portion on her plate. He saw it was starting to slip off the spoon as he picked up his clean spoon and helped her. Enrel had a small smile on her face while Melanor just watched.

Moranor kept a straight face on her as she ignored what just happened. Melanor snapped her fingers as a wine jar appeared in her hand, she said. "Though wine is another issue altogether." A thin layer of mana enveloped her hand as she effortlessly pulled the cork off and started to pour the wine in three glasses. Reiki stared at it with a weird look on his face as he watched the elves grab a glass, he said. "Not using a wine glass?" Melanor let out a chuckle, she said. "It's just a fifty-year-old wine, nothing special."

Reiki ate a spoonful of lasagna, he thought. I wonder how they preserve those… Moranor was glancing at him using the corner of her eye, as she reached for a glass of wine and placed it beside her plate. Melanor took a sip while Enrel drank half her glass in one go. Enrel said. "Nothing special is an understatement, she's just being cheap. Whenever they come over to drop by my house I at least bring out wine that's a hundred years old, and here I am drinking half that age. I won't even call this wine, it feels like I'm drinking water." 

Enrel emptied her glass and placed it down on the table, she continued. "And another thing-." Melanor interrupted her and said. "The reason why I chose this is because my daughter is a light drinker, unlike you who's practically part dwarf." Reiki reached for the pitcher and filled his cup with water, he peeked at Moranor who took a sip of wine.

Enrel ate a bite of lasagna as she filled her glass with more wine and washed it down, she said. "That's the only thing which makes me question if the two of you are related." Melanor rolled her eyes and said. "You were outside the room when I gave birth to her." As she took a bite of lasagna. Enrel let out a chuckle as she stopped herself from taking a sip, she said. "I was talking about the fact back in the day even if me and her majesty combined, I still couldn't drink you under the table…" 

Enrel drank half the wine in her glass again, she continued. "How many glasses of wine did we order?" As she took another bite of lasagna. Melanor took a sip of wine, she said. "Fifty-eight and I drank forty-eight, the two of you combined only drank ten." Reiki leaned close to Moranor, he whispered. "What are we supposed to say in this conversation?" Moranor drank the remaining wine in her glass and said. "Just let them talk, they'll eventually stop… Hopefully…"

Enrel let out a scoff and said. "Now you're just lying. I drank six and a half bottles." Melanor let out a chuckle as she picked up the wine bottle and refilled her glass, she said. "You were drunk half-way through the third bottle." Enrel waved her hand as she took a bite of lasagna, she washed it down with some wine and said. "We were young and wanted to have some fun, no need to bring up the past."

Melanor passed the wine bottle to her daughter as Moranor filled her glass with more wine, she looked at Reiki using the corner of her eye and said. "That's one." As she placed the bottle on the floor. Melanor let out a chuckle and said. "You were the one who brought it up in the first place." Reiki leaned towards Moranor and said. "I don't know whether they're amazing or childish…" He stared at the red wine in Moranor's glass, she said. "Well, to be fair in their age they should be more or less looking for a suitor."

Moranor noticed Reiki's stare at the glass of wine in her hands, with a small smirk on her face she said. "Underage drinking is a big no for you humans." Moranor slowly took a sip in front of his face, she said. "Delicious." Reiki thought. I want a whisky… He rolled his eyes as he was about to eat another bite of lasagna, Reiki let out another yawn.

He rubbed his eyes as he ate, took another bite, and washed it down with some water. Enrel emptied her glass of wine again and placed it down on the table, she said. "What did we drink at that time?..." Melanor reached to her belt and pulled out her pouch, she rummaged and took out another bottle of wine. Melanor said. "It was a two hundred and fifty-two old bone wine."

Enrel placed a hand on her chin, she said. "Was it bone wine? I thought it was blood wine?" Melanor hands were enveloped with a thin layer of mana as she pulled the cork off, she said. "It was bone wine, trust me. I drank most of it." She passed the newly opened bottle of wine to Enrel and let out a chuckle. Enrel picked up the bottle and refilled her glass again, she said. "I'll just take your word for it."

A slow smirk slowly grew on Enrel's face, she turned her head to look at Moranor who was filling her glass with wine. Enrel said. "Do you want to know why her tolerance is through the roof?" Moranor nodded as she ate a bite of lasagna.

Melanor rolled her eyes as she ate another bite of lasagna. Enrel pointed at Melanor and said. "She used to be a complete lightweight, but for some odd reason, elves kept inviting her to drink on a nightly basis. And for some odd reason, she would wake up in-." A string of lightning went over Enrel's head just missing an inch from shocking her, a loud crackling sound was made. Enrel stopped for a second and continued. "Another room and she would notice small details. Her belt would be too loose, she felt strangely refreshed for the day, and she would notice a few things off about her own body."

Enrel winked as she let out a small laugh at Moranor's clueless expression and Reiki's straight face. Moranor's expression slowly turned into confusion, she said. "Couldn't she just refuse? And didn't this happen when… It was still whole?" Enrel let out another laugh as she saw Melanor's expressionless face. Enrel said. "The funny thing is, they've never asked, and I'm sure she knew full well what was going to happen the moment she accepted the invitation."

Enrel winked at Melanor as she let out a chuckle, Enrel continued. "The more days passed, eventually her body got used to a large amount of alcohol and it became too expensive to make her drunk for the night." Moranor still had a confused look on her face while Melanor was silently eating her lasagna as she cut it to pieces using her utensils.

Reiki kept a straight face and said. "Expensive?... You don't mean the… Individual noticed… Her tolerance for liquor kept increasing the alcohol percentage?" Enrel nodded as she emptied her glass of wine, she said. "More or less." As she flashed him an enigmatic smile. Moranor looked at Enrel and looked at her mother, Moranor said. "I don't get it."

Enrel had a small smile on her face as she refilled her glass with wine while Melanor continued to eat in silence. Moranor gaze wandered to Reiki, she said. "Can you use non-cryptic sentences so I could get a grasp of the conversation?"

Enrel ate a bite of lasagna as she watched in interest. Melanor rummaged through her pouch and took out another two bottles of wine, she took the corks off from both of them as she placed one of them on the table and started to drink straight from the bottle of wine. Reiki stared at Melanor with an odd look, he thought. How many bottles of wine does she keep on her?... And it looks like Enrel managed to pick a deep nerve…

Moranor pinched Reiki's cheeks which got his attention, she said. "Hey! Are you even listening?" Reiki grabbed her hand and slowly moved it away, he turned his head to look up to her and said. "You'll understand once you're older." An irritated look appeared on Moranor's face, she said. "I'm an elf, I am older than you." Reiki used the spoon to cut part of the lasagna, he said. "Yet here you are, asking someone, not even one-tenth your age for the answer."

Reiki ate a bite of lasagna as Moranor was reaching out to grab his forearm when Enrel interrupted and said. "Children please, no fighting at the dining table, and especially since you have such a beautiful guest."

Reiki washed down his food with some water as he picked up the other mini lasagna and carefully placed it on his plate. He said. "We do?" Moranor, who was about to take a sip of wine, placed a hand over her mouth and started giggling as she placed the glass on the table. Melanor had a big smile on her face as she managed to stop herself from laughing, Enrel's eyes widened as she stared at him, she let out a forced dry laugh and said. "Of course you do, you are looking at her." She reached for her glass of wine and was about to take a sip.

Reiki ignored her comment as he ate another bite of lasagna and refilled his glass with more water. Moranor ate another bite of lasagna and reached out for the regular one, as Melanor served herself the vegetarian one. Enrel noticed the lack of reaction in the room, she faked a cough and said. "Not one comment?" Enrel looked at Moranor who was slicing off a small bite of lasagna using a wooden knife and fork, her gaze switched to Reiki who was stuffing himself with lasagna that Moranor made.

Melanor passed the lasagna to Enrel and said. "Enrel-." But stopped when Enrel suddenly said. "See guys, at least my friend here knows how to appreciate beauty." Enrel turned her head to face Melanor and saw she was passing the lasagna towards her. Enrel said. "What is it?"

Melanor placed beside her plate while slicing off a bite of lasagna, she said. "I thought you would still be hungry and were going to try the vegetarian option after the plain one." Enrel stared at her plate and saw that there were a couple of bites left. Her gaze switched to the lasagna as she swiped the serving spoon and aggressively served herself a large portion. 

Enrel said. "Everyone in the world has terrible taste." Enrel filled her glass with wine to the brim and downed it in one go, she gave herself another refill and placed down the wine bottle.

Reiki was reaching for his glass of water as he let out a yawn, he thought. Is it me or do these two lasagnas have too much cheese?... Reiki picked up his glass and took a sip. He took another bite and stood up from his chair. All three of the elf's eyes suddenly shifted on him, He said. "Melanor-san I'll-." Reikie let out another yawn and continued. "I'll go ahead and prepare dessert." He started walking towards the door and let out a yawn, Reiki continued. "Put my leftovers in the fridge, I'll eat them in the morning."

Moranor ate another bite as she picked up her glass filled with wine and downed it in one go, she stood up and went after him. Enrel picked up her glass of wine and swirled it around, she said. "Do you think he's faking it?" Melanor stared at her glass on the table, she said. "We both know the answer to that."

Enrel let out a chuckle, she said. "No sudden spike of heartbeat, no fluctuations in his mana, and clean body language. He checks most of the boxes." He placed a hand on her chin and started to ponder, she turned her head to face Melanor. Enrel said. "You didn't put anything weird in his food, right?" Melanor picked up her glass, she said. "Tempted, but no. E-. Her majesty already decided what would happen to him tomorrow."

Enrel gave Melanor a meaningful look, Enrel said. "And?" As she used her index finger to tap on the table. Melanor rolled her eyes, she said. "I'll make sure to pass the message." A smile formed on Enrel's face, she lifted her glass and placed it in front of Melanor. Melanor picked her glass up as a soft click was made as the two glasses collided. Enrel said. "Cheers." Melanor let out a chuckle and said. "Cheers."

______________________________________________________

At The Kitchen

Reiki let out another yawn as he used his left hand to cover his mouth, his right hand was holding a cutting board with fruits he had already chopped before. He placed it on the kitchen counter with three tall glasses Moranor already set down. Moranor placed her hand on her hips and said. "So? What's for dessert?" Reiki carefully rubbed his left eye and said. "Parfait."

He picked up a bar of dark chocolate and started to roughly chop up half of it. Reiki placed the knife down and passed the heavy cream and a large metal bowl to Moranor, she said. "What's this?" Reiki picked up the knife and started to carve a long strip using the back of the chocolate bar, he said. "Make the whipped cream, I'll prepare one for each of you. Tropical for your mother, Enrel's blueberry mint coconut, and your chocolate strawberry cream."

Moranor ripped the top of the edge and poured the heavy cream into the bowl and started whisking, she said. "How come you called my mom's parfait tropical?" Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Reiki meticulously placing the fruits in the tall glass. Reiki said. "Well, Melanor-san did ask for pineapple, kiwi, and mango. The first thing that came to mind was tropical." He placed the knife down and walked towards the fridge and took out a large pitcher of yogurt. Reiki removed the top and took a small whiff, he placed the pitcher of yogurt on the counter and wore a single oven mitt on his right hand. He turned off the ice cream maker, took the bowl out, and made sure to remove the dasher. 

He walked towards the glass and carefully started pouring. Without taking his eyes off the glass he said. "How's the progress on the cream?" Moranor placed the whisk above his right shoulder as it had cream on the edge. She said. "You tell me." As a small smirk formed on her face. Reiki nodded as he took the bowl off her hands and picked up a spoon, he said. "I usually add some crushed cookies or sweet crackers, but since I was forced against my will this will have to do." 

Reiki placed a generous amount of whip cream on top, he said. "Your thoughts?" Moranor stared at the three parfaits on the counter. On the bottom of each glasses were chocolate, kiwi, and blueberry with some yogurt separating the next fruit was ice cream. In the middle were strawberries, mango, coconut with yogurt, and more ice cream. And the third layer had a large amount of ice cream, pineapple, and more ice cream, on top of the parfait were whipped cream while one of them had a mint leaf on top. Reiki said. "Since you and Enrel-san only gave me two ingredients, the third-." 

He let out another yawn and continued. "Third layer is just ice cream." Moranor stared at the parfaits, she said. "Did you make this?... It looks like something from a magazine that features desserts…" Reiki turned his head to look at the parfaits, he thought. I may have shown a bit too much skill. Reiki let out another yawn, he said. "I'm headed-." His entire vision turned blurry and soon turned black. Moranor easily caught him, preventing Reiki from falling onto the floor.

______________________________________________________

In A Dark Place

Reiki looked around and could barely see five feet in front of him. He said. "Finally, a face-to-face conversation."