Reiki glanced around his surroundings and thought. One on top of a building a few blocks on the left… Another one hiding in the gap between the buildings, with four more inside of houses… Moranor ruffled his hair and carefully mouthed the words, 'act natural'. She grabbed his left forearm, Moranor said. "How about you? Did you enjoy your time at the library?"

Both of them passed by a couple of houses as Moranor tried to take a left. Reiki used his weight to stop her, she turned her head towards him and made an imploring gesture with her hand. He let out a chuckle and said. "What about Melanor-san's shopping list?" Moranor looked completely confused, she said. "What?"

Reiki poked Moranor's forearm, he said. "The shopping list your mother told you to buy." Moranor blinked twice as she had no idea what he was talking about, Reiki continued. "If I remember correctly it was… Dandelion, Elder twigs, Animal hide, Dusty bone, she also wanted some Ent berries, Newt's eye, and Dark parchment."

He gave Moranor a blank look, Moranor looked at him oddly, she said. "Dandelion? Elder twig? Animal hide?..." Moranor's eyes turned cold for a split second as they immediately turned back to normal, she said. "Then where do you think we should go?"

He thought. Good, she got my message… Reiki smiled and pointed in the direction of the shopping district, he said. "How about we start in the district? Most of the things on the list should be there and if need be we could always ask around if we're lucky some elf might have them in stock."

Moranor rolled her eyes at him, she said. "You just want to eat something." Reiki shrugged his shoulders and said. "At least this way it would kill two birds with one stone." She let out an exaggerated sigh and said. "I guess I have no choice, let's go."

Second Floor Library

Both Elora and Melanor were holding a talisman in the palm of their hand. Melanor's talisman stopped glowing first, she placed it inside her pocket and said. "Looks like a few households are too eager to meet him along with a few elves from the old faction." The talisman in Elora's hand also stopped glowing as she placed it on top of the table, she said. "I called twenty of them but they'll need a couple of minutes before they can clean up."

Elora's eyes were cold as she looked at a wall, her pupils started glowing. Elora said. "Twenty elves are already on their trail… With sixteen of them being members of the old faction..." Her pupils stopped glowing as she moved her gaze to Melanor. Melanor said. "Same, my team needs a minute to gear up." Her pupils glowed as she looked at the wall as if she could see right through it, she had a worried look on her face.

Elora vanished from her seat and appeared behind Melanor's chair, she placed her hands on Melanor's shoulder to calm her down. Melanor said. "They'll be fine, she is your daughter." The glow in Melanor's pupils slowly faded, she let out a sigh and said. "Why can't I just kill all of them myself? It'll be easier and faster that way." Elora had a helpless smile on her face, she said. "We can't… At least not in our current situation… Those old fogies have one too many pairs of eyes on us and if we hide away from their skilled informants they'll have even more reason to stir trouble." She let out a frustrated sigh, Elora continued. "For the time being, we need all the time we can get. When the day finally comes, we'll kill every one of them."

Shopping District

Reiki and Moranor were next in line from a street vendor from an elf selling some mystery skewer. The female elf received her order of three skewers and left, Moranor and Reiki walked up to the vendor. Moranor said. "Four skewers, please." The male elf wearing a simple tunic and pants nodded, he twirled a few skewers on the grill as he picked up four skewers that had a good char on them.

He picked up a long banana leaf and rolled it in a certain way and made it into a cone. The elf placed the four skewers in them as Moranor handed him eight bronze elven coins. Both of them walked out of the line as Moranor passed Reiki a skewer, he took a bite as both of them stood in place. Moranor was holding a skewer in her right hand as she tried to glance around, Reiki swallowed and said. "Don't look."

Moranor turned her head to look at him and saw Reiki had some brown sauce on his lips as he had already finished the mystery skewer in his hand. He held the stick in his left hand, Moranor said. "You knew?" Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "You gave it away." He held out his empty hand towards her as Moranor looked at it and gave him another skewer. Before Reiki took a bite he covered his mouth with it and said. "They're here, don't make it obvious you know or they'll do something drastic."

Moranor pointed the skewer in her hands at him while Reiki took a bite of the one he was holding on to. Moranor said. "Then what are we supposed to do?" Reiki ate a wedged cut purple potato in one bite while chewing, he said. "Stall, right now all we can do is try to get more time."

Moranor took a bite of the red leak on her skewer, she swallowed and said. "What makes you think I can't beat them all by myself?" Reiki finished his second skewer and held both the wooden skewers in his left hand, he let out a small burp and said. "Excuse me. We're in public so you can't use your bow and the fact that you agreed to come in an area with other elves means you're not confident in beating all of them."

Reiki stared at the last skewer that was in the banana leaf cone, Moranor let out a scoff filled with annoyed pride. Moranor said. "Annoying brat..." Reiki pointed at the skewer in the leaf cone, he said. "Are you gonna eat that?" Moranor stared at him oddly, she placed the half-eaten skewer in the leaf cone and picked up the other one, and handed it to Reiki. Moranor said. "I don't have an appetite thanks to the current situation…"

Reiki devoured the skewer, using the sleeve of his tunic, he said. "All we have to do is stay with the crowd. If they're smart they won't risk harming any elves in the crossfire." Moranor narrowed her eyes as she looked at him coldly, she blandy said. "So you're using elves as a shield for your protection?"

Reiki scratched his cheek as he had a clueless look on his face, he said. "I don't-." Moranor let out a chuckle, she playfully flicked his forehead and said. "I'm messing with you… The elves are going to be fine, her majesty implemented a rule for them to be protected. Those who harm them whether intentionally or not are harshly punished, if a household gets caught they won't be able to shake it off. Of course, if an elf were to abuse this rule they would also be harshly punished." Moranor waited for him to reply as Reiki was glancing around using the corner of his eyes, he thought. There's a total of twenty of them now… And they're slowly inching their way towards us…

He noticed a couple of elves who were walking around the district holding nothing and while subtly hiding behind elves. Reiki grabbed Moranor's left hand as he dragged her, both of them started walking towards an area with more elves. He turned his head sideways and saw Moranor had a faint blush on her cheeks, Reiki said. "Good, you're acting natural-."

[System: User has received 103 Damage.]

Moranor karate chopped the top of his head as she walked past him and made sure to hit his left shoulder. Reiki quickly caught up to her as he massaged the top of his head, he said. "Got any food you'd recommend trying?" Moranor rolled her eyes at him, she said. "We're being watched by at least twenty elves and all you think about is food?"

Reiki shrugged his shoulders, he said. "I'm hungry, lunch isn't going to be served any time-." He immediately turned around, analyzed the surroundings, and thought. Bloodlust! And the number of elves has tripled!

Inside A Random House

An elf who was wearing black leather armor all over his body apprehended another elf that was wearing a long green robe. The armored elf was covering his entire face only revealing his eyes, the robe-wearing elf said. "Elves from Elora's faction…" An elf wearing a grey cloak had the hood cover his entire face slowly appeared in front of the robed elf. The cloaked elf said. "That's her majesty to you." The elf wearing leather armor glanced at the window.

The robe-wearing elf left hand immediately glowed as he spun around, dislocating his right shoulder and aimed for the elf wearing a leather armor face. The elf wearing leather armor easily caught his fist while he was still staring out the window, his eyes narrowed as he looked out the outside. He slowly turned his head to look at the robed elf and saw that the cloaked elf had already sliced his head off with a dagger. The elf's head fell, with a wet thud coming from the head that hit the floor.

The dead elf's head and body started spewing out blood as a large red puddle formed. The leather armored elf was still looking out the window while the robed one waved his hand as a talisman that faintly glowed appeared in his palm. The cloaked elf said. "Head of Division A." The other elf said. "Leader of Unit Zero." The robed elf continued. "One of the birds has been caught and had its feathers plucked. Awaiting your next order." A moment of silence as the cloaked elf just stared at the talisman in his hand while the armored elf eventually looked away from the window.

The talisman the cloaked elf was holding started burning as it turned into ashes, the cloak-wearing elf said. "What's so interesting outside?" The armored elf said. "Someone noticed my bloodlust outside." The robed elf said. "Another one from the old faction?" The armored elf shook his head sideways and said. "Human." With a faint hint of surprise, the robed elf said. "Reiki?" The armored elf nodded, while the robed elf continued. "We'll report it to her majesty later. Right now we were ordered to clean up and meet at the rendezvous point in three minutes."

Shopping District

Reiki turning around all of a sudden caught the attention of the elves around them, he thought. Whoever it was made a slip but now it's gone… And one by one-. No, two at a time. They're disappearing… Moranor stared at him oddly and tugged on his sleeve, she said. "Reiki, you okay?" He looked around and saw elves were staring at him, he let out a chuckle and said. "My mistake, I thought I saw a stall selling some ent berries."

The elves looked at him oddly one last time before continuing about their day, Moranor grabbed the collar of his tunic as the two of them went in line for another stall. Moranor said. "Whatever happened to act natural?" Her left hand blurred.

[System: User has received 42 Damage.]

Moranor smacked the top of his head as she continued. "What happened? Did you notice anything?" Both of them took a step forward as the line moved, Reiki looked around the buildings. He said. "I think it's clear…" Moranor had a small frown on her lips, she said. "How can you-." The talisman in her pocket glowed and floated out of the pocket in front of her.

Second Floor Library

Melanor was holding a talisman in her hand, she said. "Moranor? From your breathing, I'm guessing you didn't even enter battle. I'll make this short, we'll meet at her majesty's palace." Elora was on the other side of the table as her pupils were glowing, on top of the table in front of her were talismans. The talismans were neatly placed on the table as one by one they burnt and turned into ash. Moranor glanced at the talisman and continued. "Whatever you do, Don't engage with the two elves in the district… I've asked a few elves to deal with them. That's all-. One more thing, good work on adjusting the plan."

The talisman in her palm burned, as she calmly threw it. Before it could touch the ground it already turned into ash, Moranor looked at the last talisman on the table burning. Elora nodded as both of them stood up from the table. Moranor walked next to Elora, she held Elora's left arm as both of them vanished from the room.

Shopping District

Reiki and Moranor were next in line, the talisman in her hand started turning black as she immediately pocketed it. The elf in front of them walked away from the line after paying as both of them took a step forward, as the elf behind the stall said. "Your order?" Moranor quickly rummaged her pocket and took out a couple of silver elven coins, she said. "Two jumbo burgers, tofu. Please." Reiki looked around and noticed that not a single stall had a sign on them.

The elf behind the counter nodded as he took out two large buns behind the stall that had steam coming out of them. He continued to prep the food they ordered while the two of them talked, Reiki poked Moranor's right forearm. Speaking in flawless Elvish he said. "Why does none of these stalls have a sign on them?" The elf who was searing two large flat squares on the stove looked at him with surprise, a few elves in line also raised their eyebrows in surprise as they took a second look at him.

Moranor looked around, she said. "Two reasons, it's a waste of wood and expensive." Reiki thought. Coming from someone who has an entire house made out of wood, you don't get to say that. He looked up to her and said. "Then how do you tell what each stall is selling?" Moranor looked at him weirdly, she said. "With our sense of smell... How do you, humans usually tell?" Reiki raised a brow at her, he said. "Businesses usually use large signs to catch other people's attention."

Moranor crossed her arms, she glanced around her surroundings and said. "The more you tell me about your culture, the more I'm weirded out by it." The elf wrapped the two large tofu burgers in a thick ply of tissue. Haruka placed the two silver coins on the table as she took one burger while Reiki took the other one, both of them started walking toward Elora's house.

Reiki stared at the tofu burger in his hands, he thought. This thing is huge… Is this a burger or five pieces of flapjacks stacked on top of each other… He looked up to Moranor who already took a bite of the burger in her hands. Reiki unwrapped the burger and took a bite, he said. "Tastes like meat…" Reiko started devouring the burger while Haruka who was next to her smiled, she said. "That's because it's been-." She turned her head to face him and saw he had already eaten everything, Reiki looked up and was in the middle of chewing.

He swallowed and said. "Did you say something?" Moranor stared at him for a couple of seconds and let out a chuckle, she said. "Nothing." She took a couple of big bites of the burger in her hands as she passed it to him, Reiki looked up and said. "Are you sure?" Moranor swallowed as she wiped her lips using her thumb, she said. "You need it." As she let out a laugh.

Reiki took the tofu burger from her hands, he said. "Thanks." As he took off the thick ply of tissue, he noticed that Moranor had nearly eaten one-third of the burger, she saw him stop and said. "What's wrong?" Reiki shook his head sideways as he looked like he was inhaling his food. Moranor slowly stopped walking as she crossed her eyes and started examining him, she said. "How do you eat so much?..." Reiki let out a small satisfied belch, he said. "If you tried my exercise, you'll eat like me."

Luxurious Dining Room

Elora was sitting by the head of the table with Melanor on the side. Melanor let out one long sigh, she said. "We made it just before the illusion spell wore off…" Elora slowly took a deep breath making her large chest rise as Melanor took a peek. Elora said. "I told you we would make it." Melanor glanced at her from the corner of her eye, she said. "We would have come here on time if we hadn't argued about buying something in the district."

Elora rolled her eyes at her, she said. "All I wanted was a mystery skewer and a jumbo tofu burger. It's not like I asked for the entire world on the plate." Melanor massaged the temples of her head, she said. "You're the queen of the elves… How would they react if they saw you buying your food out in the streets!?" Elora crossed her arms as it puffed out her large chest, she said. "They're overreacting, it's not like the forest is going to burn down if I buy something."

Melanor pinched the bridge of her nose, she said. "That's not the point. If-." The door suddenly opened as the two of them immediately composed themselves, Elora said. "What kind of tea would you prefer for this meal?" Melanor pretended to think as she looked at the ceiling, she said. "I'll have a light brew with a bitter aftertaste." Enora walked in and closed the door behind her, she sat on her mother's left as she carefully massaged her eyes with her eyelids closed.

Enora let out a sigh dipping with stress, Elora turned her head to face her daughter. Elora said. "Still can't replicate the so-called formations he made honey?" Enora took a deep breath as she made a small nod, both Elora and Melanor smiled. Before any of them could say anything the door opened again as Moranor and Reiki walked in. Moranor walked to the empty seat by her mother as she sat down, Reiki closed the door and sat down on the empty chair next to Moranor.

Three elves stared at Reiki's hair that was still in a ponytail and he noticed the gazes they were giving him. He said. "Is there sauce on my face?" Enora stared at him for a couple of seconds, she said. "It's just our first time seeing your hair in a ponytail." Reiki felt his hair, he said. "I forgot." He slowly undid the black hair tie as pocketed it, Reiki looked around the table and said. "Did we miss anything?" Melanor and Elora glanced at each other, Enora was trying to burn a hole into him while he noticed Moranor faked a yawn. Reiki continued. "I guess not." Elora clapped as the door opened once again.

Arashi's Apartment

Arashi was lazily lying down on the couch as she stared at the flatscreen tv that wasn't even turned on. She was wearing her usual baggy t-shirt and jogging pants as she adjusted her lying position on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Arashi said. "Boring…" Her gaze turned sharp all of a sudden as she stared at the door, she said. "What do the two of you want? Asami? Kanzei?" Both of them slowly appeared near the door.

Kanzei kneeled as he took off Asami's two-inch heels and took a pair of indoor slippers from the rack. Asami walked towards the other large comfy chair and lazily sat on it making the chair slightly bounce. Kanzei took his black leather shoes off and revealed grey socks. He picked up another pair of slippers and stood next to Asami who was making herself at home. Arashi was still lying down on the couch as she crossed her arms making her clothes hugged her figure.

Asami had her usual smile on her face, she said. "Kanzei, some tea, please." Kanzei nodded as he vanished beside her and appeared by the stove, he took out his pouch and started taking out all sorts of stuff. Arashi was still glaring at her, Asami said. "I found out where he is."