Reiki, Melanor, Elora, Moranor, and Enora appeared in the room. Moranor was visibly shivering and wearing the two coats, she hugged herself to stay warm, Enora took off the thick brown winter coat and passed it to her mother. Melanor was able to control her shivering as she passed the two coats she was wearing to Elora who placed them all into her pouch. Reiki noticed Enrel standing by the bed holding a glass of wine, he looked up to Elora who was standing next to Melanor, and said. "You two were right, she did raid the wine cellar."

Elora placed a hand on her hip as she had a small frown on her lips, she said. "That better not be a hundred years old." Enrel shook her head and said. "No… I couldn't be bothered to use more materials to bypass the barrier so I only took a couple of seventy-year-old wines." The corner of Elora's eye twitched while Melanor crossed her arm at her, Melanor said. "Whatever happened to you saying, this will be the last time?" Reiki, Moranor, and Enora were watching the three of them argue. Reiki tapped Moranor's elbow as she was still slightly shivering, he said. "I think we should use this opportunity to escape."

Moranor nodded in agreement as she took off the coats she was wearing one by one and placed them on the workbench. Moranor and Reiki walked toward the door as he reached for the doorknob and opened it, Enora was observing them from the corner of her eye as she stood beside her mother. Before they could go outside, Moranor said. "Excuse us." As none of the three of them reacted and continued with their conversation. Enrel said. "Why is it such a big deal? I've been… Borrowing some things from the two of you for centuries." Melanor had a frown on her lips, she said. "That doesn't give you the excuse to steal it from us just because you want to."

Reiki moved his hand away from the doorknob as he looked up to Moranor, he said. "I bet they're not listening." Moranor looked at him and said. "How so?" Reiki moved his gaze onto the four elves, Elora was pinching the bridge of her nose and said. "Mela, just forget about it. She's always been like this…" Enora was quietly watching all three of them argue, Melanor clenched her hand into a fist and said. "That's why she's like this in the first place! You keep letting it slide!" Reiki took a deep breath and spoke in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear inside the room, he said. "We're on our way to burn half the forest." Enora's eyes widened as she moved her gaze onto him with interest in her eyes.

Elora waved her hand at the two of them, she said. "Good luck." Reiki looked up to Moranor and flashed her a smile, the corner of Moranor's eye twitched as she grabbed him by the collar of his tunic and opened the door, and walked out of the room. Reiki made sure to properly close the door on their way out, Moranor was still slightly shivering but was able to manage. 

While being dragged around the hallway, he reached into his pocket, let out a yawn, and said. "Now what?" Before Moranor could say anything both of them suddenly appeared back inside the room, Enora and Enrel were gone leaving Elora and Melanor inside. Moranor looked around in surprise and let go of his collar as she turned around to face them, Reiki pulled out his tattered pouch from his pocket and grabbed a brown paper bag from the inside.

Elora was sitting on the edge of the bed while Melanor stood beside her, Elora said. "Reiki, I have a couple more requests that I need you to do-." Reiki held the paper bag in his hands, without letting her finish, he said. "Consider it done." Melanor rolled her eyes at him while Elora raised a brow, Moranor smacked the back of his hand with her hand.

[System: User has received 13 Damage.]

Elora let out a chuckle and said. "You don't even know what my request is and you're agreeing right away?" He had a smile on his face, Reiki said. "I trust you." Melanor let out a scoff as she tried to hide a smile on her lips, Elora rolled her eyes at him and said. "I need you to enhance the Haemir household formation." Melanor wasn't even hiding her frown expressing her disagreement, Elora continued. "I need it to be strong enough, so they don't get suspicious of you and then point out its weak point-." 

Reiki raised his hand indicating he wanted to say something, he said. "Why don't I just make a backdoor?" Elora raised a brow while Melanor and Moranor looked at him strangely. Moranor said. "Uh… Reiki, what are you talking about?" He thought. Those don't exist?...

The frown on Melanor's lips deepened, she said. "Just think of this as me venting. I don't know what your plan is but my impression of you is going down." Elora raised her hand and said. "Continue." Reiki placed a hand on his chin, he said. "I can eliminate the process of having to show you the weak point and just make… A sort of controller that could force said formation to shut down." Both Melanor and Elora were surprised as it was immediately replaced with a smirk on their lips, Moranor placed an arm around his shoulders. 

She lifted him off the floor and turned around as the two of them had their backs exposed to the two elves. Moranor had a serious expression on her face, she whispered. "Reiki… I know you have your unique method of making formations… If you're making this up I can help you apologize."

Melanor and Elora looked at each other, Melanor pointed at her daughter with a helpless smile on her lips. Reiki flashed her a smile and patted the top of her head, Moranor was stunned and didn't know how to react. He said. "It's fine, I'm happy that you worry about me so much but you do have to learn not to protect me from every little thing." Moranor had a slight blush on her cheeks as she let him go, she screamed. "GO DIE IN A HOLE!" As she opened the door and ran outside, Reiki stuffed his ears with his fingers to drown out the sound. 

Melanor and Elora had a knowing smile on their lips as they had a mental conversation, he slowly turned around and saw both of them had an indifferent expression. Reiki moved his fingers out of his ears as Elora faked a cough and said. "Then how long would it take to make a controller?"

Reiki placed a hand behind his ear to see if he could hear properly, he said. "If I needed to make the backdoor using the original formation, one month." Melanor had an unimpressed look on her face, she said. "If you use your altered formation?" Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "Fifteen minutes." Elora raised a brow not hiding her surprise, she said. "That seems a bit long considering you alter formations like those machines." 

Reiki lazily stretched, he said. "Five minutes per controller, one for the three of you. If you want I can make a couple more so your daughters can have one each." Melanor looked at him oddly, she said. "I understand why the three of us should have a controller… But why would our daughters need one?" Reiko had a serious expression on his face all of a sudden, he said. "You never know what kind of items they've amassed over the years. Especially since they're capable of entering the second floor."

Melanor was about to say something but stopped from not finding any flaws in his logic. Elora nodded in agreement and said. "Five controllers then, a representative from the Haemir household should contact you soon. You can keep the coins they give you." Reiki leaned on the door behind him, he said. "I'm guessing you used one of your many methods of making this setup happen." Melanor and Elora flashed him a sweet smile, he took a step back and thought. Figures. Melanor looked at Elora and said. "Did you forget anything?" 

Elora shook her head as Melanor continued. "Tomorrow at exactly nine in the morning my restaurant will have its grand reopening. You'll be lending a helping hand that's anything related to cooking tomorrow." Reiki stared at her oddly, he said. "It's already finished renovating?" Melanor flashed him a proud smile, she said. "If you have money and connections, tasks like this are simple."

He thought. I know, I used to protect and kill people like you. Melanor continued. "Take this as a sign for you to work hard and never slack off." Reiki let out a yawn, he said. "I can only do one or the other." Melanor let out a chuckle while Elora placed a hand on her chin, she said. "How would you take measures against neutrality?"

Melanor glanced at her from the corner of her eye and noticed her serious expression. Elora stared at him who was lazily leaning on the wall, Reiki moved his gaze around the room as he took a good look at it. He said. "Simple, with neutrality." Elora raised a brow while Melanor was slightly confused by his answer, Melanor said. "Fight neutrality… With neutrality?..." Reiki glanced at them from the corner of his eye, he said. "Want to hear my honest opinion on the Haemir household?"

Melanor slightly frowned, she said. "We didn't say-." Elora placed a hand on her shoulder, she said. "By all means." Reiki pushed himself off the door he was leaning on, he said. "I think they should be eliminated." Both of them were surprised by his answer, Melanor had a small smile on her lips as she quickly hid it by clearing her throat. Elora, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed, wasn't convinced by his words, she said. "And your reason?" Reiki pretended to think, he said. "Their greed."

He let them think for a moment as he noticed thinking of something, Elora and Melanor glanced at each other before moving their gaze on him. Reiki continued. "The only way to guarantee to have them cooperate is to pay them, with either resources or coins. But how long can you rely on them? How many resources are you willing to give them before they become too strong? Resources and coins that could've been used for improving the lives of the elves under your care or for the loyal elves who agreed to serve you wholeheartedly."

Elora had her lips pursed, she said. "But-." Reiki pointed his finger at her and finished her sentence, he said. "Isn't that fair? That is what you're going to say." Elora's eyes were slightly surprised while Melanor sat next to her on the edge of the bed. He continued. "Sure, you may have years of handling and dealing with them here and there… But will they agree to work with you when everything is on the table?" Both of them had a serious expression on their face while listening to him, Reiki continued. "The thing is, you two aren't the only elves who are trying to convince them to get on their side." 

Elora and Melanor glanced at each other, Elora said. "Do you know anything about… Our plan?" Reiki shook his head and said. "Nope, just consider this my long word of warning. Never place your hopes on neutral forces, when you need them most and pay them a large amount the others will pay double. So not only did you throw resources down the drain you also exposed your back to someone more than willing to backstab you for profit."

Elora looked at him with an indifferent expression, she said. "Then how would you pit neutrality against itself?" Reiki placed a hand on his chin as he pretended to think, he said. "Treat them normally." Melanor frowned, she said. "How so?" Reiki continued. "No matter what kind of relationship you have with a certain household… Whether you want to burn them to the ground, persuade them into joining your side, or have given their entire loyalty to you. Treat them all equally, so they have no right to complain." 

Elora let out a short laugh, she said. "Behind the scenes, I can give them something extra." Reiki shrugged his shoulders and said. "Your words not mine." As she flashed her a small smile. Elora let out a scoff, she said. "Amusing brat." Melanor slowly stood up from the edge of the bed, crossed her arms, and walked up to him. Melanor looked down at him and said. "Little kids should head to bed early, especially you since you have a big day ahead of you."

She picked him up by the collar of his tunic and opened the door behind him, Melanor placed him on the other side of the door and let go. Reiki landed on the floor with a soft thud, he said. "Anything you say, grandma." He let out a laugh and sprinted in a random direction of the hallway. Melanor froze and turned around with a cold glare on her face, Elora let out a laugh which made her large chest bounce. Melanor clenched her hands into fists as she slammed the door shut, Elora said. "That's what you get when you insult someone."

Melanor let out a scoff, as she let out a sigh followed by a small chuckle. Melanor said. "Last time I was called that was when Mora was angry at me for forcing her to go to school." Elora gaze wandered around the room as she reminisced, she said. "Ahh, memories…" She suddenly moved her gaze on Melanor and continued. "Still your fault, granny."

Melanor let out a frustrated sigh, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She suddenly appeared right in front of Elora as she held her chin with her hand, moving her head slightly upwards to face her. Melanor said. "How about you say to me again, this time slowly."

______________________________________________________

Somewhere In The Hallway

Reiki let out a yawn as he wandered down the never-ending hall, he looked around and said. "You know the drill." Fayeth silently appeared in front of him and immediately led the way to his room. Before they could even pass the first turn Enora appeared behind him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder smashing his face into her large breast. Enora flashed Fayeth a smile and said. "I'll take it from here." Fayeth quickly turned around from hearing the familiar voice, she said. "Y-Young majesty?" With an indifferent expression, Enora said. "What?" 

Fayeth immediately took a step back, she said. "Pardon my rudeness!" As she turned around and immediately vanished. Enora had a smile on her face while she dragged Reiki down the hall, her pupils glowed as she looked at every turn. He tried to move his head away from her chest, Reiki said. "What are you planning now?"

Enora flashed him a smile and said. "Nothing special." Reiki managed to escape from having his face smashed against her chest as he reached in the paper bag and took out a burger wrapped in tissue. He placed the paper bag back inside his tattered pouch as he tore a small piece of the tissue and threw it on the floor when Enora wasn't looking, Reiki took a bite of the burger in his hands and swallowed it. He said. "Where are you taking me?"

Enora took a quick left and was carefully looking around and used her pointy long ears to hear for someone. Enora said. "My room." Reiki tore another small piece of tissue and threw it on the floor trying to make a makeshift trail. He said. "Why?" He already ate more than half of the burger in his hands while leaving bits of tissue on the floor.

Enora took a right turn and passed more doors that looked the same one after another, she said. "Just because, and can you stop leaving a trail of tissue for Mora to find?" Reiki took a bite of the burger in his hands, he thought. Knew it… He inhaled the remaining burger and rummaged through his tattered pouch that was inside his pocket and took out another one. While unwrapping it Reiki said. "So why am I being dragged to your room?" Enora took a left, from the corner of his eye he saw another wooden door that had subtle carvings of flowers on the edges. 

Enora quickly reached for the doorknob, opened it, walked inside the room, and made sure to close it. Reiki looked around and saw a large bed with a nightstand on each side. A dark brown door leading to somewhere. There was a workbench on the corner of the room near the nightstand that had a few books on top of it along with some ink bottles, parchment, and a long white feather.

One of the walls had a window that had green curtains that were undone blocking the sun from coming in. On the ceiling were three light spheres the same size as basketballs lighting up the room. The walls were painted a simple white while everything that was furnished was a healthy dark green to compliment it, Reiki thought. Nice room. He noticed there was a medium-sized crystal on each nightstand, one was a warm red while the other was a soft icy blue. 

Enora was looking for anything weird in the room, she said. "W-What do you think?" Reiki stopped himself from taking a bite from the burger in his hands and said. "Is this even your room?" Enora walked toward the bed and sat on it while taking off her thick leather shoes as they landed on the floor with a loud thud, she said. "Yes, why?"

While reaching into his pocket that had the tattered pouch inside he took out another burger, Reiki said. "I expected it to be a lot grander." Enora sat on the bed with her legs crossed, when she was adjusting her position her white panties were exposed from her skirt fluttering. Enora said. "It's a lot grander than most rooms I can promise you that." With a hopeful expression, Enora patted the spot next to her bed. Reiki walked toward the bed and sat on the edge, Enora watched him eagerly as he untied his shoes and took them off. 

Enora lifted him and placed him beside her, Reiki looked up to her while unwrapping the burger in his hands. He said. "Now what do we do?" Enora looked at him and blinked twice, she said. "I didn't think about that…" Reiki took a couple of big bites from the burger he was holding, he moved it closer to her mouth. With a mouthful, he managed to say. "Want some?"

Enora raised a brow at him, she let out a playful scoff and said. "I'm the princess of the elves. I eat handpicked fresh fruits and meat that are domestically raised-." He interrupted her and said. "More for me then." Before he could move his arm away Enora placed a hand on his wrist, she was looking at the wall and said. "... I didn't answer yet…" Reiki noticed a very faint blush on Enora's cheeks, as she slowly turned her head to look at the burger he was holding. 

She took a small bite as she intentionally avoided his gaze by looking around the room. He swallowed and stared at the fillings of the burger, Reiki said. "What do you usually do in your free time?" Enora swallowed and cleared her throat, she said. "Well, I usually wake up at the first crack of dawn. Teach all the elves under my care and-." Reiki interrupted her and said. "And the truth is?" Enora froze for a second before she turned her head to look at the wall again, she said. "I… Just laze around all day…"

Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "Was that so hard?" As he took another big bite of the burger in his hands and moved it closer to Enora to feed her again. Enora let out a sigh and turned her head to face him, she stared at the burger and said. "How are you doing it?" Reiki looked up to her and said. "Do what?"

Enora looked at him oddly and gently pushed his hand that was holding the burger away, she said. "Every time I'm around you I feel… Safe for some reason… It's like when I found a new toy I want to play with… But instead of playing you, I always end up treasuring you in some weird way…" Reiki thought. She's getting there. The door suddenly opened as Moranor was on the outside of the room with her pupils visibly glowing.