Shiro looked at her friend oddly, she said. "What about Onee-chan?" Yuki picked the pint of ice cream back up from the bed as she ate a spoonful of ice cream. Mio stared at the pint of ice cream in her hands, she said. "... We just want to know her better…" Yuki nodded in agreement as she emptied her pint of ice cream, she said. "Exactly… Has she always been like that?" Shiro pondered for a moment as she placed the spoon on the pint of ice cream, she said. "I don't know why, but as far as I can remember. Onee-chan always had a sharp intuition…"
Yuki placed the empty cup of ice cream down on the floor with the spoon inside of it, she said. "Can you give us a few examples?" Mio ate a scoop of ice cream while she waited for her friend to answer Yuki's question. Shiro said. "There was a time when I tried to skip school by pretending to be sick. But before I could even come up with a plan Onee-chan knocked on my door." Mio and Yuki glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes. Mio faked a cough and said. "What about the other two situations?"
Shiro tilted her head sideways and closed her eyes, she straightened her sitting posture as she opened her eyes. Shiro said. "When I tried to search for my older sister's secret cookie stash, she was suddenly behind me. And the last one is when I tried to hide my report card by hiding it in my bag… She quickly found it…" Mio and Yuki simultaneously thought. How pitiful… She doesn't even know the real reason why.
Living Room
Ketsueki had her arms around her little brother who was sitting on her lap with his head in between her large bosom. Reiki scooped some ice cream using a spoon and moved it closer as he fed his older sister, he glanced at the show on the tv and thought. There's nothing good on… Ketsueki opened her mouth as she let her younger brother feed her, she thought. I could get used to this. Reiki lifted the empty tub of vanilla ice cream and used the spoon to scrape the remains and finished it off. Ketsueki watched him with a small smile on her lips, she let out a chuckle and said. "Reiki, do you want another one?"
He gulped down a mouthful of ice cream as he placed the spoon in the empty tub, Reiki shook his head between her large chest and said. "I'll pass, I don't have the biggest sweet tooth. Plus the image of you three eating everything I baked yesterday makes my teeth ache." Ketsueki playfully pinched his forearm.
[System: User has received 5 Damage.]
She spoke with a hint of coquettish in her tone and said. "Are you calling me fat?" Reiki carefully tossed the empty tub onto the coffee table, he glanced at his older sister and said. "Depends…" Ketsueki's eyes in disbelief, she thought. I'm going to-. He continued. "On what part of you I'll describe." He placed his right hand on Ketsueki's thigh and felt it while thinking. Soft and supple, it's going to be a challenge to decide between her and Arashi. Ketsueki immediately blushed as she slapped his hand away from her thigh.
[System: User has received 101 Damage.]
She beratingly said. "Where do you think you're touching?!" Reiki quickly shook his right hand and saw a faint outline of the slap, he placed his hand back on her thigh and said. "Here." The blush on Ketsueki's face turned redder as she pushed him away from her chest and slapped his little brother's cheek.
[System: User has received 127 Damage.]
Ketsueki said. "I wanted an answer! Not a demonstration!" Reiki rubbed his cheek with his right hand which still had faint traces on the back. He tried to look up at his older sister but felt a hand on top of his head and forced him to look at the television instead. Ketsueki took a deep breath to calm her emotions as the blush on her face lessened, her cheeks were still a rosy red color as she forced her little brother to look at the tv.
Ketsueki thought. I don't mind his behavior toward me… But what if he grows into a complete scoundrel who does this to other girls? If I indulge him in this he'll think it's normal… Reiki watched the show where everyone was overreacting to a man getting a question wrong, he thought. Don't they get tired from all that smiling and bad acting? Ketsueki kept her hand on the top of her little brother's head as she shook her head sideways, Ketsueki thought. I don't need to overthink this when the solution is simple.
Ketsueki cleared her throat and spoke in a commanding tone, she said. "Reiki, I hope you know you're not supposed to be doing this to any girl." She added force to her finger that was clutching her little brother's head.
[System: User has received 76 Damage.]
Reiki placed a hand on his older sister's wrist and tried to move it away from his head, he said. "Onee-chan, that hurts." Ketsueki added a bit more pressure to his head
[System: User has received 99 Damage.]
He placed his other hand on Ketsueki's wrist and tried his best to pry it off from his head, Reiki said. "I get it, Onee-chan. I-I'll only do it with you-." Before he could even finish his older sister let his head go as her lips curved into a smile, she said. "Good boy." She patted him on his head while Reiki tried to stand up as she quickly wrapped her arms around him, preventing him. Ketsueki's lips turned into a slight frown, she said. "Where are you going?" Reiki pointed at the empty tub of ice cream on the coffee table and said. "I was planning on throwing that into the trash and I hear the little ones coming out of Shiro's room."
Ketsueki's ears perked up as she heard the sound of three pairs of footsteps coming from the second floor. She reluctantly moved her arms off him as Reiki picked up the empty tub and made his way toward the kitchen. From the stairway, Yuki walked down holding onto an empty pint of ice cream as she noticed Reiki making his way toward them. He held his right hand toward her and said. "Yo, Yuki. I'll take that off your hands." Mio and Shiro made their way down the staircase as they stood behind Yuki who was blocking the way.
Using both of her hands, Yuki passed him the empty pint of ice cream with the spoon inside to him. Yuki said. "Here-." She was interrupted by the sound of her stomach grumbling. Yuki had a faint blush on her cheeks as she tried to keep her cool, she said. "Ignore that." Mio and Shiro stared at the back of their friend's head while Reiki let out a chuckle. Yuki put the empty pint of ice cream into the tub of ice cream he was holding.
Yuki placed a hand on her stomach and with a stiff smile, she said. "So, when's lunch?" Reiki smiled at her and said. "How about I make us some hotdogs?" Yuki made way for Shiro and Mio to walk out of the stairway as the two of them placed their empty pints into the large tub. Yuki had a hint of drool coming from the corner of her mouth while Shiro's eyes sparkled as she looked up at her older brother. Shiro said. "Onii-chan, hurry up and make them." Mio pondered for a moment as she looked down at the floor, she looked up at him and saw the smile on his face.
Mio said. "As long as we're not intruding too much, I could eat." Reiki gave them a nod and gestured at the couch where Ketsueki was sitting, he said. "Give me a few minutes and take a seat." He pretended to be ignorant of the glare his older sister was giving him.
Melanor's Restaurant
Inside were dozens of elves filling up every empty chair at all the aviation tables making the large room seem small. A few elves were wearing simple black and white uniforms similar to a butler, serving food using a large wooden tray. Each table was filled with different dishes filling the entire room with a smell of irresistible aroma.
A couple of elves made their way inside wearing the same uniforms while carrying empty trays. One of them said. "Lady Melanor, we still need four orders of cream puffs and one order of rigatoni outside." The elf made their way toward the large glass pane where you could see half a dozen elves constantly cooking and baking. One of the elves sitting raised their hands and said. "Excuse me, can we have some more water?" The other elf that recently walked in hastily said. "Yes! Coming right up!"
The elf quickly went into the kitchen followed by the other elf who said they needed more food outside. One of the three elves carrying a tray with food stopped by a table and started placing food in front of the elves. A female elf had an understanding smile on her face and said. "Umm, we didn't order this." The elf quickly placed the food back onto the tray and said. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." The female elf pointed at the other elf wearing a uniform on the opposite side of the restaurant and said. "I'm pretty sure that's our order."
One of the tables in the middle a male elf raised their hand and said. "And that extra-large order of lamb chops is mine." The other three elves who were sitting with him gave him odd looks, as the male elf continued. "What? I brought those lamb chops myself." The only female sharing the table with them raised a brow and said. "Have they already run out of meat?" The elf wearing a uniform quickly made his way to the middle of the table and started placing the food down, he said. "Pardon my small mistake."
One of the three males elves sitting said. "It's fine, with the number of customers you have every day. I'm surprised you can function with so little staff." The other elves quickly walked around in between the tables to serve the food while. The elf who ordered the lamb chops moved his eyes to the female elf and said. "After the third day, they've announced that you can only order meat dishes if you bring your own game." The four of them picked up the silver cutlery while the female elf looked at him oddly and said. "Are there that many elves who order meat?"
She glanced at her friend who ordered a large portion of lamb chops and said. "Don't answer the redundant question." The four of them went on with their meal, the door leading outside opened as Moranor walked into the restaurant with dread all over her face. She reluctantly made her way into the kitchen while receiving glances from all the elves eating, Moranor thought. Why did mom make me wear that humiliating uniform? It was fine the first day since Reiki was-. Moranor was inside the kitchen as she quickly shook her head sideways, she continued her train of thought. What am I even thinking?!
Melanor was adding the finishing touches to a large order of broccoli and mushroom rigatoni, she said. "Dear, you came at a perfect time. Wear your uniform and help out with serving food." A female elf was carrying a large deep pot and tilted it into the sink that had a large iron siv sitting in the middle. The female elf poured boiling water into the sink as the pasta was caught by the siv. A make elf used a small white towel draped on his neck to wipe some sweat as he went back to kneading dough.
Two elves were in the other sink constantly washing dishes, one was wearing a pair of oven mitts as they had their eyes constantly on the oven. The elf opened it revealing freshly baked large portion-sized cream puffs, the other one was constantly whisking a large metal bowl filled with cream. Moranor made her way to one of the cabinets and opened it as she took out a piping bag along with a wooden spatula, she said. "Mom, do I have to wear that? In front of so many people?"
Moranor made her way to the fridge while the elf who was in charge of the oven placed the tray of freshly baked cream puffs beside Melanor. As he made his way beside the elf who was kneading that had a few trays of cream puffs resting beside him. Moranor took out a large metal bowl of whipped cream and made her way beside her mother who was adding some red wine sauce onto a few plates of lamb chops. Melanor said. "Mora, that outfit isn't-." Moranor placed the metal bowl onto the long steel table as it made a soft thud, she said. "No, I felt a few gross stares from a few male elves here and there. They should consider themselves lucky that I didn't whip out my bow."
Moranor started placing the piping bag with cream using the wooden spatula while the elves working around them pretended to not notice them. Melanor let out a chuckle and said. "I mean, they are paying-." Moranor glared at her mom and firmly said. "Mom, I don't have an ounce of respect for Enora because of her bad attitude and she's royalty. Do you think I'd respect them just because they buy our food? Especially how they look at me?"
Moranor picked up a cream puff fresh from the oven as she felt the warmth of it and started injecting it with cream using the piping bag. Moranor continued. "If Reiki was here…" She suddenly turned quiet as she filled the cream puff while Melanor placed a few plates of lamb chops on the side. The door opened as an elf carrying a wooden tray quickly picked up the plates of lamb chops and placed them on the tray. Melanor reached down the steel table that had another layer on the bottom that had plates stacked neatly. She placed half a dozen plates and said. "Is that the last round of lamb?"
The elf holding a tray quickly nodded and said. "Yes, lady Melanor. Right now we're behind on pasta and cream puffs." The elf quickly made his way out while Moranor was filling cream puffs with whipped cream while blankly staring. The female elf picked up the large metal siv from the sink as she carried it toward Melanor. Melanor took it off her hands and said. "Thank you." The female elf weakly nodded at her as she made her way to the sink that had a large deep pot filled with water.
Melanor placed it on the steel table and said. "Fine, you don't have to wear your uniform while serving." She let out an exaggerated sigh and continued. "Look at you, I took care of you your entire life and he only needed a few days for your heart to be stolen." Moranor blushed as she added more force into the piping bag overfilling the cream puff in her hands, she said. "MOM!!" Melanor let out a chuckle and said. "Now now, dear. I'm right next to you." She turned her head sideways and said. "Someone get me a saucepan and a serving spoon so I can place pasta on these plates."
Enora's Room
Enora was laying down on the bed with her stomach face down as she stared at the talisman she held with both hands, she said. "Why hasn't he called?" She was wearing her usual green tunic with a short skirt that looked like it was a size too small for her. She changed her lying position as she laid down on her back while she kept her gaze on the talisman, Enora said. "Considering his age he shouldn't be that busy and their school hours are only eight compared with our ten…" On the side of the bed were thick leather shoes with a pair of white long socks on top of it.
Enora placed the talisman on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling, she muttered to herself. "And they even have a break between classes… He should've at least used the talisman during it…" She suddenly sat up straight as the talisman fell on the bed while she reached down for the pair of socks. Enora kept stealing glances at the talisman as she put on the long socks that reached to her thigh. She let out a long sigh and thought. Why is this bothering me so much? Enora quickly put on her leather shoes and tied her shoelaces, she spoke to herself. "That's right, I can always ask mom to call him." She closed her eyes and concentrated her senses, Enora slowly opened them and said. "In the garden." She reached for the talisman on her bed as she suddenly disappeared from the room.
At A Large Garden
Elora was sitting on a chair admiring the surroundings while enjoying a cup of tea, she glanced at the sparkling pond and enjoyed the serenity. Enora appeared by the entrance as she made her way toward the table, she said. "Mom." Enora placed her left hand on the table and showed her a talisman. Elora stared at the talisman her daughter was showing her and said. "It's the talisman that Reiki can use to contact us." She took a sip while Enora slammed the talisman onto the table making the tea kettle slightly shake. Enora said. "Mom, I'm not here for jokes."
Elora rolled her eyes at her and placed the cup of tea she was holding onto a coaster, she said. "Nora… Reiki's young, he has school, homework, and responsibilities-." Enora grumpily sat on the other chair and with her arms crossed made her large breasts press against each other, Enora said. "What kind of ten-year-old has responsibilities?" Elora gave her daughter a wry smile, she said. "You have tasted his cooking, honey. He may be responsible for making meals and looking after his younger sister." Enora let out a scoff while Elora waved her hand as another cup of tea and a coaster appeared in her hands. Enora said. "I doubt it."
Elora placed the cup of tea and the coaster on the table as she picked up the kettle and filled it with tea. Elora stared at the faint reflection of herself on the brown liquid and thought. Reiki's doing everything in his power, so he could stand next to you as an equal, and yet… Enora glanced at the pond from the corner of her eye and said. "Mora probably told him not to call." Elora carefully pushed the teacup she filled toward her daughter and said. "Maybe if you were honest with yourself and acknowledged your love-."
Enora was about to take a sip of tea as she slammed it back onto the coaster while blushing, she said. "Love?! As if! Maybe I would allow it with your permission and…" She looked at her mother for any visible reaction as Elora kept a straight face as she picked up her cup of tea and took a sip. The blush on Enora's cheeks turned redder as she smacked the table once and continued. "Why aren't you saying anything?!" Elora held her cup of tea and stared at her blushing daughter, he thought. For someone who can make complex plans at the drop of a hat, you can't read signals very well.
Elora said. "Do you want me to say anything?" Enora was surprised for a moment as she looked down at her cup of tea on the table and softly said. "But… I'm the princess… Don't I have to…" Her voice turned into a whisper as if she was hoping her mother wouldn't hear her, Enora continued. "... Marry another elf…" Enora felt something grab her heart and squeeze it, she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself as she did her best to keep her emotions in check.
A few seconds passed by that felt like an eternity to her when she was surprised by what her mother said. "Do you want to marry an elf?" Enora's eyes had a hint of hope in them as she looked at Elora and said. "I-Isn't that the rule?..." Elora gave her daughter an enigmatic smile and said. "Hmm… I wonder…" She placed the teacup on the coaster and pretended to think, Elora continued. "I used most of my time trying to get rid of those old fogies so we could embrace change…"
