A pair of footsteps got closer to both of them, Haruka looked around with her eyes narrowed as she kept her guard up. The cocoon of vines on Reiki shattered into tiny shards as he hit the ground with a soft thud, while he stood up he felt the trail of ice on the grass. He thought. That's cold enough to give someone frostbite if they're exposed for a short period… 

Reiki stood up as he dusted some dirt off his clothes, Haruka kept surveying the area around her as she couldn't find the source where the sound of footsteps was coming from. She said. "How about you two gain some courage and show yourselves."

Moranor appeared right in front of her while wielding a bow with an arrow on the string, with a calm expression and her eyes full of anger she coldly said. "Big talk from someone who's picking on a child." Haruka was stunned on the spot as she was surprised to see the elf in front of her very eyes, she said. "Lady Moranor…" 

Reiki looked up to Moranor, he crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow and said. "Lady?" Moranor ignored him as she kept her stare at Haruka, Moranor looked like she was ready to shoot an arrow at her face. Another elf appeared beside Moranor, Enora stared at Haruka with a narrowed gaze as if she was trying to remember something.

Haruka froze the moment Enora appeared as she almost stopped breathing, Enora placed a hand on her chin and said. "If I remember correctly… You're… Haruka… Watanabe Haruka." Reiki moved his gaze onto Haruka who looked at the ground and nodded, he said. "To cross over a river… Seems fitting." 

None of the three girls reacted to him, Enora continued. "Aren't you supposed to be… Doing something for us? I don't recall threatening and attempted murder being any of those." Haruka coughed as she took a deep breath to gather herself, she said. "I-I thought this-... This child had an illusion spell on him and managed to infiltrate the library, so I thought of handing him over to her majesty…"

Enora tapped her foot on the ground a couple of times as the ice started to visibly melt and turn into steam, Reiki thought. She's an ice caster… So wouldn't that mean her mother is also one… Haruka let out a nervous chuckle as she placed an arm around Reiki's neck and rubbed her cheek on his cheek, Haruka said. "It's fine, everything is fine. We've met before this is just how we… Play around…"

Moranor pulled the string as the bow was still pointing at the ground, Enora kept her stare on Haruka. Enora said. "Are the two of you friends?" Haruka immediately answered. "Yes." Reiki waited for her to answer and said. "No." Haruka tightened her arm around his neck as she softly placed him in a headlock, Reiki looked at her arm around his neck. Moranor coldly said. "Haruka was it? Get your hands off him now or the next arrow goes into your skull." Moranor aimed the bow at Haruka's head which made her reflexively back off as she let go of Reiki.

Reiki walked towards the elves as he stood in between the two of them, Haruka coughed, she pointed at the bow in Moranor's hands and said. "He's fine… C-Can you put that away now?..." Haruka stared at the bow at Moranor's hands, Reiki poked Moranor's elbow a few times before she gave Haruka another cold glare and reluctantly pointed the bow at the ground. Moranor snapped her fingers as the arrow and the bow vanished from her hands, Reiki stared at Moranor's hand where she held the bow. He thought. I need to learn that.

The vines from Haruka's satchel slowly receded as she took an empty jar out from her satchel as the moss jumped into it as she closed it and placed it back inside, Haruka kicked an invisible can in front of her and said. "So… Lady Moranor, Young majesty… H-How was your day?"

Enora placed her hands on her hips, she dryly said. "I was in a good mood." Moranor didn't answer as she just glared at her, Haruka moved her gaze onto Reiki she gave him a not so subtle cue to ask for his help which both the elves noticed. Reiki smirked at her and let out a chuckle which made the corner of Haruka's eye twitch, Enora clapped her hands. She said. "With that, I think it's time for us to go on with our day." 

The two elves turned around and started back walking to the town, Reiki stared at Haruka for a couple of more seconds as he started to turn around. Haruka stood still as she stared at the two elves, she took a deep breath and said. "R-Reiki?... Do you have some spare time? For a friend? I'll uh pay..." The two elves stopped mid-walk as both of them turned their head sideways to look at Reiki, Enora looked like she already knew his answer while Moranor shot Haruka a cold look. 

Reiki stared at her for a moment as the sound of birds faintly chirping and soft cool breeze passed them by, he said. "Sure." Which stunned all three of them, Enora placed a hand on her chin as she tried to replicate his thought process and started thinking, Haruka was confused by his answer while Moranor walked towards him and dragged Reiki by the arm, and started to walk towards the town. 

Enora was still in the middle of thinking while walking beside Moranor who had an annoyed look on her face, Reiki who was being dragged waved his free hand at Haruka. He said. "See you later." Which made Moranor walk faster while making Enora stop her thoughts to keep up with her. Haruka stared at the three of them in confusion, she said. "What just happened?"

…

Moranor was still dragging Reiki by his arm, while Enora was glancing at him from time to time. Eventually, Moranor let go of his arm making Reiki hit the ground with his back with a soft thud, both the elves looked at him with a straight expression as he stood up while dusting some dirt off his clothes. Moranor crossed her arms as she kept her gaze on him, Enora broke the silence and said. "What's your relation with her?"

Reiki patted a few spots behind his back as a small cloud of dirt was formed, he stopped and looked up to both of them and said. "Remember during lunchtime I said I met a girl who had ingredients to make something illegal if you don't have a license?" Enora raised a brow as she glanced in the direction they left Haruka, Moranor turned her head towards the outskirts of the town and said "it's her?!"

Moranor kept her gaze in the outskirts, Reiki nodded and continued. "Yep, she didn't exactly like it when I called her out on it." Enora moved her gaze onto him, she said. "Assuming you've finished familiarizing yourself with the library for the day, shall we have some more tea in the garden?" Moranor appeared right in front of Reiki, she placed both her hands on his mouth, Moranor said. "He's busy." Enora's smile widened, she said. "With what?" 

Reiki stared at Moranor's back and thought. What is with this family and placing hands over mouths? Before Moranor could answer, Reiki managed to get her hands off his mouth, he said. "Eating and studying." Moranor turned her head as she glared at him, Enora smiled brightly, she moved her gaze at him and said. "Then I could easily help you with that. What topic is it? Theory of magic? Or is it something human-related like thermodynamics?"

Reiki flashed her a smile, he said. "Nothing advanced, just some beginners guide. You'll only waste time if you want to teach me the very basic things." Enora's smile stiffened, which made Moranor let out a chuckle and started to softly giggle with a hand covering her mouth. Enora coughed and said. "I can teach all of those to you as well, the faster you learn the basics the more beneficial it is for you in the long term."

Reiki reached for the edge of Moranor's sleeve as he took a few steps towards Enora's house, Moranor started walking beside him. He said. "Thank you for your offer, but I think I'll learn at my own pace." Enora looked at his hand that was holding onto the edge of Moranor's green tunic, her eyes narrowed as she appeared on his left as the three of them walked back. 

______________________________________________________

First Floor Library

Haruka walked to the front of the library and stared at the front door for a moment, she inhaled and exhaled as she reached for the doorknob and walked inside. The same male elf behind the counter that changed shifts with Saria was sitting in a chair, Haruka walked towards the counter and said. "One small room please, for three days." The elf smiled at her and said. "Haruka, it's been a while. How's your search going?"

Haruka nodded at him, while the elf was searching through the drawers for something, she said. "The same as usual Morthil." Morthil placed down a silver key with a room number embedded in it, he moved it closer to Haruka who was searching through her satchel. She said. "It's six elven gold (¥230,400), right?" Morthil nodded, Haruka placed down two Japanese platinum coins on the table and reached for the key, Morthil picked up the coins and reached for his pocket, and opened a drawer with a lock.

Inside the drawer were dozens of elven coins from bronze, silver, gold, and a handful of platinum coins. He placed it in the same row of the platinum coins then closed and locked the drawer, Haruka looked at him and said. "Tell Elnar and Saria to bring me my usual, at the same time." Morthil smiled at her and said. "Consider it done." 

Haruka picked up the silver and turned around but stopped before she could take a step forward, she turned her head sideways and looked at Morthil, she said. "How much do you know about him?" Morthil was taken aback for a moment, with an unsure look he said. "You mean the young human named Reiki?" Haruka nodded, Morthil continued. "Nothing much, he's been here a few days and currently staying at her majesty's place." Haruka's eyes narrowed, she said. "I can buy a few things from the maids here, right?"

A sly smile appeared on Morthil's face, he said. "Though it'll cost you." Haruka looked at him for a couple of seconds before she walked towards the herbology section of the library, she picked up a few books of varying sizes and headed towards the designated area with elves who were reading. None of the elves moved their gaze away from their books except a couple who saw her from time to time gave her a polite nod to which she nodded back.

Haruka walked down a long hallway with rooms with numbers on them, after a minute or so of walking she came across her room number and rummaged through her pocket, she took out the silver key and unlocked the door, and walked inside the room. In the room was a decent-sized bed with two pillows with a nightstand on the right, a few light spheres that were floating around the ceiling, a workbench on the opposite side of the bed in the corner with a light crystal on top of it.

She carefully placed all three books down on the workbench and moved the light crystal to the side, from left to write on the covers. Preservation Of Herbs, Accelerated Growth, and How to Increase Quality after Harvesting. Haruka pulled the chair back and sat on it, the tip of her finger began to faintly glow as she tapped on the mana crystal and clapped twice making the light spheres visibly dimmer. Haruka reached for one of the books and placed her hand on top, she took a glance at the door, a moment passed.

Haruka knocked on the workbench three times in quick succession, a female elf wearing scouting gear, she had a green tunic with leather armor that covered the vital area along with green pants with a sturdier version of the leather boots everyone wore, walked in the room. The fabric of her tunic was visible thicker and more sturdy, from time to time it faintly glowed from the surge of mana traveling around it from the enchantments, on the left waist of the female elf was three daggers.

The elf smiled at Haruka and said. "Well well well, more money is never a problem with me. What do you need to know, Haruka?" Haruka let out a sigh as she immediately started to massage the temple of her head, she said. "Out of all the maids, why did it have to be you Fayeth?" Fayeth let out a chuckle as she leaned on the door and crossed her arms under her chest that was leaning more onto the small side. She said. "Don't be like that, all the maids here need money, and I'm no exception. You should be thankful I always keep my ears open when you visit here, any other elf would tell you half-lies." 

Haruka let out a sigh, she reached into her satchel and casually placed down five Japanese gold coins on the workbench, she said. "The boy." Fayeth stayed leaning on the door, her gaze wandered around the room and said. "Akihito Reiki… He's been here for a few days give or take, he was being chased by a small group of child abductors and managed to run into elven territory. Moranor killed all the abductors but their leader was carrying mini-bombs on him and managed to injure her foot, the boy distracted said leader which allowed her to kill him, as she brought him to her home for treatment."

Haruka's eyes narrowed, she said. "That's it? I paid you the usual rate." Fayeth shrugged her shoulders, she said. "Information about him is sparse…" Fayeth tapped the floor with her foot as she started to ponder about something, she continued. "And everything I know came from someone inside her majesty's place." Haruka reached for her satchel again and took out five more gold coins and placed it on the workbench, she said. "Which one?" Fayeth ignored the coins at the table and said. "She has a big resentment towards humans, she even threw some daggers at him." Haruka stared at Fayeth in silence, a few seconds passed as she said. "How much?"

Fayeth smiled, she tapped on the door using her fingers as she tapped a total of ten times. Haruka reached inside her satchel, but before she could take out more coins, Fayeth said. "Platinum coins." Haruka's eyes widened in surprise, she stood up from her chair and placed her hands on her hips. Before she said anything, Haruka took a deep breath to calm herself, she said. "Call yourself smart that you've never sold me any false information…"

Fayeth flashed her a smile as Haruka sat back down and reached in her satchel and placed down ten Japanese platinum coins on the workbench. Haruka said. "Talk." Fayeth rolled her eyes at her, Fayeth said. "There's a new rumor going around." Haruka raised a brow, Fayeth continued. "That rumor being Enrel had a big breakthrough in the field of inscriptions. It's been a couple of days since and, it's only been heard by a few groups. And wouldn't you know it, that rumor spread a day after that boy came here." Haruka frowned, she crossed her arms and said. "That can't be worth the price."

Fayeth smiled, she pointed at her and said. "Correct, that's the freebie. This is where it gets interesting, Reiki made a deal with her majesty and the weird thing is she hasn't answered, yet." Haruka's eyes narrowed, she said. "What deal did they make?" Fayeth unsheathed a dagger from the left side of her waist as she spun it around her fingers effortlessly, she said. "Don't know." The corner of Haruka's eye twitched, Fayeth let out a chuckle as she placed the dagger back in its sheath. Fayeth continued. "Remember the freebie? Here is part two, the one who created the discovery is the boy himself."

Haruka tapped her fingers on the workbench, she said. "Any way to confirm this?" Fayeth shook her head sideways, she continued. "A few scout elves saw him writing on some parchment, most of them swore to secrecy. This took me a lot of effort to get." Fayeth waved her hand as all the coins on the workbench vanished and appeared in the palm of her hand, she softly tossed it in the air and caught all of them in one go, Fayeth said. "That's all I have on me." She turned around and placed her hand on the doorknob. Haruka said. "Wait." 

Making Fayeth turn her head sideways to look at her, Haruka said. "Is this from the same source from before?" Fayeth's gaze wandered to the ceiling, she said. "I probably shouldn't be saying this but, yes." Before Fayeth could turn the doorknob she turned her head to look at Haruka and said. "I know this is obvious but, whatever grudge you have against him. It would be better to bury it and flip over to a new page. You've already seen it firsthand that a couple of elves with a lot of power are already quite attached to him, though one of them is more curious… But I'm getting off-topic. I'm fairly sure you won't do something stupid here since you saw the legendary white bolt firsthand."

Fayeth turned the doorknob and opened the door as she let out a laugh as she walked down the hallway and closed the door behind her. Haruka stared at the door for a moment as she took out a notebook and a long quill with white feathers, she opened a drawer and took out a bottle of ink, and moved the cork off the top using her thumb. Haruka placed the notebook on the workbench along with one of the large books and opened both of them. 

She dipped the quill in ink and remembered the moment she heard the sound of thunder furiously crackling. Thinking about the moment in her head, Haruka turned her head sideways and saw a ball of light rapidly increasing in size, its trajectory suddenly turning a slight left just missing her head. Haruka's arm slightly shook as she stared at the blank pages in her notebook, a few drops of sweat formed on her forehead as she felt a chill travel down to her spine.

______________________________________________________

Guest Room

Reiki was sitting on the edge of the bed while Morano and Enora were laying down on each side, he said. "I forgot to ask on the way here but when you said the next arrow. What did you mean?" Enora smiled while Moranor stayed silent and moved her gaze on the ceiling as she stared at it. Enora patted Moranor's right shoulder, Enora said. "I'll do the honors." 

She cleared her throat and said. "Moranor over here is one of, if not the best archer in the entire forest. Her father made a spell that was so fast all you could see was a ball of white, the moment you hear the sound of thunder furiously roaring already means it's too late to dodge." Reiki stared at Moranor for a couple of seconds, he said. "So that's the white light was in the corner of my eye… I thought it was the sun." Moranor eyes widened in surprise while Enora eyes were suddenly filled with interest.

______________________________________________________

Somewhere At The Arch Forest

With a large area scorched and dozens of trees burnt and turned into charcoal with a few of them being turned into embers, in the center of the blast were a handful of lightning strings furiously traveling around the air going from tree to tree. Melanor, Elora, and Enrel were standing by the side waiting for the magic to dissipate. Enrel had her eyes stuck on the center as she tried to study it intently, Elora placed a hand on her chin. Elora said. "White Bolt… So this is what it would look like if he could conjure lightning properly…" 

A stray lightning bolt was going towards the three of them, Melanor lazily raised her hand as its trajectory changed mid-air and went straight to her palm. The string of lightning traveled around her hand as she redirected towards the center, with a visible smile on her face. Melanor said. "She may not be able to do anything other than train, but as her mother, I am more than proud of her." She looked around the destruction with a nod of approval.