Chapter 72: Exchange
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Reiki was sitting on the opposite chair of Enora, he was holding half a sandwich with a bite on it. He swallowed and said. "Quick question, what is with both of your names?" Elona slightly tilted her head sideways, she said. "Both? Our names?" 

Reiki nodded, he said. "Melanor-san, Moranor, her majesty Elora-san, and you." He pointed at Elona and continued. "Princess Enora-san. Why are both your names just a few letters different from your mother? I've never had the opportunity to know or ask a different elf their name-."

Enora let out a chuckle which made him stop mid-sentence, she stared at him for a couple of seconds in silence as she gave him an enigmatic smile. Enora said. "For me, the reason would be my mom wanted to name her first child after her."

While taking a bite of the sandwich, Reiki had an odd look on his face when Enora finished her sentence, she let out a small laugh and said. "Yes, herself. Not a grandmother nor an ancestor… Let me think…" Enora's gaze wandered to the ceiling as she tapped the table using her fingers, she continued. "If mother's first child was a boy he would be named Envora, if the child was a girl she would be named."

She pointed at herself by using her thumb and placed it on her chest, Enora continued. "Enora." Reiki ate the last bite of the sandwich after chewing and swallowed, he said. "Only the princess and Moranor-san are named after their mothers? Then can you give me a few examples of elven names?" Enora's eyes narrowed as she stared at him, she twisted the cap off her drink and took a sip. She said. "Male or female."

Reiki shrugged his shoulders, he said. "Either way." Enora placed down her drink and picked up a sandwich, she stared at the sandwich in her hand and said. "Volodar, Lamruil, Ena, and Fayeth." Enora took a bite of the ham and cheese as she stared at him. Reiki lazily stretched while sitting on the chair, he said. "Can you explain some details about levels?"

Enora lifted a finger as she placed the sandwich on the plate and took a sip of her drink, she said. "I knew some of you hu- I mean schools were backward but not this much… Which school do you attend?" Reiki crossed his arms and thought. I know that you know which school I go to. He said. "I go to that infamous trash academy." Enora's eyes slowly widened, she slowly but dramatically placed a hand on her chest, with an exaggerated tone she said. "You?! Inconceivable!?"

Reiki let out a chuckle, with a small smirk on his face he said. "Can you stop that? We're both smart enough to not play this game." Enora placed both her hands on her face, with a naive tone she said. "What game?" Reiki rolled his eyes and laid on the backrest of the chair, he said. "Fine then, until you stop this the conversation won't continue."

Reiki moved another stray hair away from his vision, he crossed his arms as he made himself comfortable. Enora placed an elbow on the table as she laid her head on her palm and stared at him, a few moments passed as the two of them stayed silent. Enora's eyes slowly narrowed as she kept her gaze on him, she let out an amused chuckle and said. "Fine, you win-."

Enora stopped mid-sentence when the door suddenly opened as Moranor, who still had wet hair and was panting, leaned on the door. Moranor deeply inhaled, breathing in between words she said. "Young majesty… R-Reiki… I-I… Didn't… Expect… To… See… You… Here…" Moranor tried to calm her breathing as she inhaled through her nose and exhaled using her mouth. She walked inside the library and stood on the right side of where Reiki was sitting.

Reiki turned his head sideways and looked up to Moranor for a couple of seconds and stood up from his seat, he said. "It was a pleasure talking to you princess." Reiki picked up all four books and held two on each arm, he climbed up the ladder and placed them back where he found them. Moranor furrowed her brow and said. "Princess?..." As she glared at Reiki who was climbing down from the ladder and walked next to her. Reiki said. "I asked if I should call her majesty or princess, she preferred princess."

Moranor frowned as she took a step closer to him and placed a hand behind him, she pinched his back.

[System: User has received 21 Damage.]

With a smile on Moranor's face, she said. "That's disrespectful Reiki." She pinched him harder.

[System: User has received 43 Damage.]

Moranor placed her head next to him as she happily continued. "Call her young majesty." Reiki kept a straight face, he nodded and said. "Okay, young majesty, hopefully we could continue our conversation another time." He turned his head to face Moranor, Reiki said. "I'll go to the guest room first. If you need me you know where to look." Moranor stopped pinching him as Reiki turned around and left the room and closed the door behind him, the sound of footsteps was getting farther and at the same time fainter.

Moranor stared at the door with her back facing Enora, with a cold glare Moranor turned her head sideways and stared at Enora who was still sitting in the chair. Moranor said. "What do you think you're doing?" Enora smiled, she said. "Don't be like that Moranor, we grew up together and-." Moranor's pupils glowed, with a frosty voice she said. "Stay away from him."

The smile on Enora's face grew, she said. "And who are you to tell me that?" Moranor clenched her hand into a fist, she said. "I know you too well… Everything that caught your interest always breaks when you're finished with them." Enora let out a chuckle, she said. "I didn't break them, I was only… Testing their limits." Enora stood up from her seat and lazily stretched causing her large chest to jiggle.

She walked past Moranor and headed towards the door, Enora reached for the doorknob and opened it. She turned her head sideways to look at Moranor who was still glaring at her. Enora said. "We've known each other for more than a century, we even have the same birth-." Moranor interrupted her, she said. "I'll repeat myself."

Enora's eyes widened, as she let go of the doorknob. Moranor took a deep breath and said. "Stay away from him, every time someone or something catches your interest. It always ended badly." Enora stared at her for a moment and let out a chuckle, she said. "You've never repeated yourself before…" A big smirk appeared on her face, Enora continued. "It only makes him even more interesting since you went as far as that."

She walked out of the room and down the opposite way of the hall, Enora said. "Goodbye, the three of us we'll meet at lunch." Moranor stared at the door that was slightly opened, her right hand that was in a fist started to softly shake as lightning started to envelop it, her pupils started to glow even brighter as the sound of crackling was almost deafening.

Moranor took a deep breath to calm herself as the lightning in her hand dissipated as the glow in her pupils slowly vanished. She reached out for the doorknob when the door was suddenly opened by a male elf wearing a simple green tunic and brown pants.

The elf's eyes widened as he took a step back and bowed deeply, he said. "Moranor-sama, pardon my rudeness!" Moranor massaged the temples of her head and ignored him. The male elf stayed in his bowing position and continued. "I saw young majesty walking away from the library and I was handed the task of cleaning this room." The male elf's hair color was a similar shade to sunflower but a bit darker he had brown eyes. Moranor let out an annoyed sigh which made his entire body jolt, she said. "I know you're just doing your job, just let me through, I need to… Talk with someone."

The male elf straightens himself as he makes way for her, the male elf said. "Yes, yes, please pardon my disruption." Moranor walked out of the room as the male elf walked inside, with her ears she heard the male elf let out a sigh of relief. Moranor took a right and stopped when she saw Reiki was leaning on a wall, he said. "Is it me or does that elf sound like he was scared of you?"

For a split second, Moranor was surprised, she walked next to him as she leaned on the same wall. She said. "It's not you, although rare some elves can't use any form of magic… The only resemblance they have is their long lifespans and their looks, they are responsible for simple work." Reiki's gaze wandered to the wall as he stared at a light sphere that was slowly moving around, he said. "That doesn't answer my question… Unless that's a subtle implication that they get discriminated against for the fact they can't use magic."

Moranor shook her head, she said. "They were once before I was born but mom and her majesty already took care of the problem." Reiki kept staring at the light sphere that was slowly going around the corner, he said. "Then I guess he might be scared of your status then." Moranor smacked the top of his head as a satisfying sound of a slap was made.

[System: User has received 7 Damage.]

Moranor moved away from the wall and started walking, she said. "Correct, but next time, use your inside voice." Reiki quickly moved away from the wall as he walked beside her, he was using his left hand to gently rub the top of his head. Reiki said. "What do you want for lunch?" Moranor kept her gaze in front, she said. "We're in the castle, our meals will be taken care of."

Reiki placed both his hands on the back of his neck as he interlocked his fingers, he said. "What do you plan during our short stay here?" Moranor gave him a sideways glance and said. "Nothing much, I'll just use my time to relax and enjoy the indoor onsen. It's not every day I visi-... Stay in a place as grand as this." Reiki looked up at Moranor, both of them took a left at the hallway as they passed by doors on both their left and right. A moment of silence passed as Reiki's gaze wandered to the side of Moranor's stomach.

He reached his hand out as he softly pinched the side of her stomach, Moranor let out a surprised yell. Moranor's cheek instantly blushed as she placed both her hands on the same spot where she was pinched. Reiki thought. So she does exercise regularly… Moranor looked around the hall and saw no one else was around them, her gaze went back to Reiki, and saw him looking at the hand he used which only deepened the blush on her face. 

Moranor almost yelled. "What do you think you're doing?!" Reiki ignored her and continued to stare at his hand, a small smirk appeared on his face as he let out a laugh. Moranor pulled her hand back and was just about to slap him again, Reiki said. "You seemed tense." The blush on Moranor's face slowly dissipated as a look of confusion appeared on her face, she said. "What?"

Reiki nodded as he tried to place his hands into the pocket of his brown pants, he continued. "After you left the library you seemed on edge for some reason, so I wanted- well, tried to make you forget about it even for a short moment… Wanna talk about it?" Moranor looked at him oddly, she raised her right hand and raised her index finger. Moranor said. "First of all."

[System: User has received 53 Damage.]

Reiki was suddenly staring at a wall, he felt a stinging pain on his right cheek as he placed a hand on it and he instinctively pulled his hand away. He moved his gaze back to Moranor who had a smile on her face, she placed her hand on her hips and continued. "Second… Just… Be wary of Enora… She will pull the rug from under you." Reiki nodded, he said. "Alright." Moranor raised her eyebrows, she blinked twice and said. "That's it?... No questions and no trying to convince me I'm exaggerating?"

Reiki carefully placed a hand on the cheek he was slapped as he gently rubbed it, he said. "Yup, I know you're just looking out for me so I'll just take your word for it." Moranor stared at him as she felt her lips curve into a smile, she faked a cough and placed a hand over her mouth. She said. "I-It's assuring you know how to listen to someone who knows better." Reiki rolled his eyes at her, Moranor continued. "An individual always struggles when it comes to this sort of thing, so the fact that you can do it at such a young age-."

She opened her eyes due to the sound of footsteps and noticed that Reiki was gone from her side leaning on the wall, Moranor turned her head and saw he was already walking. Reiko turned his head sideways and said. "Are you done yet? Let's go, if you have more to say we can continue this lecture in the guest room I was assigned in… With Enrel-san who brought it upon herself to stay in the same room…"

Moranor vanished from the wall and appeared next to him, the two of them walked down the hall. Moranor narrowed her eyes, she said. "I forgot about that…" She placed a hand on his shoulder as the two of them stopped walling simultaneously, Moranor continued. "What do you honestly think about her?" Reiki moved a stray hair away from his vision, he looked up to her and said. "When I first met her, I thought she was the type of elf who says 'don't bother me unless the world is ending' just to continue her research… Now, I think she's on the verge of her big break."

Reiki started walking as Moranor moved her hand away from his shoulder and walked beside him, she said. "That's it?" Reiki kept his gaze in front of him and said. "That's it." The two of them took a right of the hallway, Reiki looked up to her and said. "Do you want to know what I think about you?" 

A sly smile slowly formed on his face. Moranor let out a scoff, she raised her right hand closer to his face and said. "Do you want another slap?" Moranor crossed her arms as a smile appeared on her face. Reiki lazily waved his hand at her, he said. "Alright, alright. No need to resort to violence every time…"

Both of them stopped in the middle of the hall as they stared at the same door, Reiki said. "This is the guest room… Right?..." He looked up to her and saw Moranor nod. Reiki said. "How can you even tell the difference? Every door and hallway look the same to me."

Moranor reached for the doorknob and said. "You'll get used to it eventually." She turned the doorknob and walked into the room and saw Enrel who was sitting on one of the large beds and staring at a floating notebook in front of her while she was holding a small glass ink bottle with a quill inside.

Enrel ignored the door being opened while Moranor walked towards the empty bed, removing her thick leather combat shoes underneath Moranor's boots she wore white long socks. She laid down on the bed and grabbed one of the large pillows and hugged it. Enrel stayed silent as she stared at her notebook, Moranor said. "How long have you been doing… That…" Reiki walked towards the bed Moranor was laying down as he sat on the edge closer to the other bed. Enrel stayed silent as she looked like she was trying to stare a hole into the floating notebook.

Reiki stared at the notebook which had only a couple of sentences written on it, he said. "Is that a speech?..." Enrel nodded, she let out an exaggerated sigh as she placed the small glass of ink on the nightstand on the right, she slowly laid down on the bed as the notebook flew into her palm. 

She made herself comfortable and turned her body sideways to get a better look at the two of them, Enrel said. "It's been decades since the last time something of this caliber was created, especially in this day and age where every self-proclaimed scholar says we already know everything about magic." 

She let out a scoff filled with disdain, Enrel continued. "In reality, they just say that so the moment they discover something their achievements would be exaggerated." Enrel let out a cold chuckle, she said. "Well, forty years later almost all of them are on the verge of their deaths with nothing to show on their papers."

Moranor rolled her eyes at her as she made herself comfortable on the bed while adjusting her position. Reiki rummaged through the pouch Elora gave him as he pulled out a gallon of vanilla ice cream that had a missing lid, almost empty, and with a spoon inside of it. Reiki pointed at Enrel using the wooden spoon and said. "Aren't you one of them?" Moranor let out a chuckle as she tried to hog the entire blanket as she carefully shoved Reiki out of the bed using her foot.

Moranor hogged the entire blanket as he took a couple of sniffs, Reiki landed on the floor making a loud thudding noise. He laid on the wooden frame of the bed and looked up to Enrel, Reiki said. "It's just a speech, it's not like you're going to announce the end is near." Enrel smiled at him, she said. "To your eyes, it may seem trivial but to me, it would be the beginning of my unstoppable rise."

Enrel's gaze wandered to the ceiling as she imagined her life would be after the announcement, she let out a laugh as a smile slowly formed on her face. Reiki stood up from the floor and sat back on the bed where Moranor was busy hugging a pillow and the blanket, he ate a spoonful of ice cream and stared at Enrel oddly. Reiki swallowed and said. "Is fame all that you're after?" 

Enrel raised her hand and extended her index finger, she waved it sideways, she said. "That and I do want to complete my research within the next decade or so, your discovery would do more than give me the funding that I need. Of course, I wouldn't be… Borrowing your credit for free, I will make sure to help you to the best of my ability and my lack of resources." 

Enrel emphasized the word 'resources' as she gave him a meaningful look. Reiki had the spoon in his mouth as he was holding the large gallon of ice cream with both his hands, Moranor seeing this let out a laugh while Enrel kept a straight face.

Reiki moved the spoon away from his mouth as he placed it in the tub of ice cream, he said. "No, I didn't forget. Place parchment on my nightstand along with some ink and a quill and I'll write why and how the interval happens, creating the drawback theory, expect to see it after I finish my exercise in the morning." Enrel flashed him a smile, she said. "I'll hold you to it." 

As she adjusted her position and laid completely flat on the bed and let out a satisfied sigh. Reiki picked up a large spoonful of ice cream that was dripping in the bucket, he said. "Now that we got all the serious talk out, does anyone know what's for lunch?" Enrel closed her eyes as she relaxed on the bed, she said. "You're still thinking of food while eating?" Reiki placed the large portion of ice cream back into the bucket, using the spoon he tried to slice it into four bite-size pieces.

Moranor wrapped herself in the blanket while hugging all the pillows, she said. "Mom should be able to find us here and tell us." Her gaze wandered to the gallon of ice cream in Reiki's hands. Reiki carefully moved the spoon towards Moranor, for a split second she was taken aback as she opened wide and took a bite.

Reiki stared at the inside of the ice cream bucket, he said. "It will be interesting to know what-." The sound of knocking came from the door which made him stop mid-sentence, the doorknob turned as the door opened. Moranor instantly frowned while Enrel immediately stood up from the bed. Enora walked in saying. "Good afternoon."

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