Principal’s Office
Reiki and Sutekina were sitting on the couch while there was an empty bag of potato chips in between them. Sutekina had an intrigued expression on her face, she said. “What if the artist who sang one of your all-time songs gets arrested with a serious charge? Do you stop listening to their songs altogether?” Reiki had the large gallon of milk on his right as he tapped on the cap, he said. “I think it’s important to separate the art from the artist. Sure he or she did something that ended their careers, but that doesn’t mean we should condemn their music.”
Kireina was sitting behind the desk as she stared at the two getting along on the couch, she thought. How?... She hated him from the bottom of her heart… Reiki felt something in his pocket vibrate as he took out a flip phone and said. “With that, I have somewhere to be.” He took off the cap of the milk as he lifted it up and stood up from the couch, Reiki continued. “I hope you lovely ladies have a great day.” He started chugging down the large plastic carton of milk, the container started to crumple.
Reiki chugged the entire milk jug in one go as he placed the empty jug on the couch and said. “Thanks for the snacks and milk.” He made his way out of the room while Kireina was staring at her younger twin with an odd look. Sutekina raised a brow and said. “Sis, what is it?” Kireina stared at her for a couple of seconds and said. “What happened to being tempted to skin him alive?” Sutekina stood up from the couch as she snapped her fingers as the empty bag of potato chips and the jug of milk vanished.
She said. “The last time I talked about music with you. You asked me why I had so many headphones and why my favorite rock band had long hair and wore something like white spandex.” Sutekina glared at her older twin while Kireina couldn’t find anything to say for a few seconds. Kireina said. “I’ll give the song a second chance.” Sutekina rolled her eyes and said. “Let’s just go home and start preparing a few things.”
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Private Room
Ketsueki was making herself comfortable on the chair as both her feet were on a round wooden table, she glanced at the bento her little brother made for her that she placed on her lap. She thought. How long does it take to buy drinks at the closest convenience store? The door leading out opened from the other side as Namida and Sachi walked into the room. The tip of Sachi’s index finger was enveloped in a thin layer of mana as she lazily waved it around as the door closed behind her.
The two girls walked to the table where Ketsueki was, Namida sat down and said. “We’re back, I know you're mad about being late. But in my defense, blame Sachi.” Ketsueki sat up straight on her chair as she moved her gaze onto Sachi while Namida placed her bento on the table. Sachi rolled her eyes, she said. “It’s not my fault that the atm stopped working.” She glanced at Namida from the corner of her eye and continued. “And don’t pin the blame on me. You were being pissy about how not all beers taste the same just because they didn’t have the brand you like.’
Namida felt the gaze from Ketsueki while Sachi snapped her fingers as a tall bottle of green tea appeared beside her. Namida had a hard time finding something to say as she gave up and gently slammed her hand on the table, she said. “I’m still right about beers not having the same taste!” Namida took out a tall bottle of ice-cold water and threw it at Ketsueki who easily caught it mid-air. Sachi snapped her fingers again as the bento Reiki made for her appeared on the table in front of her.
Ketsueki stared at the bottle of water with a slight frown on her lips, she said. “My boy made bentos for both of you and all I get is a bottle of water?” Namida’s pocket seemed to easily stretch as she took out an entire bento, she let out a chuckle and said. “Yeah, Reiki made the bentos for us. You won’t be able to guilt either of us of buying you anything other than that.” Ketsueki avoided making eye contact with both of them, she thought. It was worth a shot. Ketsueki placed the bottle of water on the table and said. “I would at least appreciate it more if you two brought me green tea.”
She picked up the bento on her lap and placed it on the table, Ketsueki said. “What’s today's gossip?” She turned the cap of the bottle of water as she took a sip while Sachi shook her head sideways and said. “Nothing interesting, I heard a few people around here are planning to put money into their offshore accounts to avoid taxes.” Namida quickly took out three tall cans of beer, she said. “Don’t they do that every month?” Sachi nodded and said. “Yes, they do. Which is why nothing interesting is happening.”
Namida took out a tall bottle of water while Ketsueki took off the lid of her bento. Her lunch had a bed of white rice, a few large pieces of croquettes that had some tonkatsu sauce on top, a side of thinly sliced cabbage. Next to the cabbage were thinly sliced cucumbers that were diagonally sliced and slightly blistered cherry tomatoes, a few pieces of tamagoyaki shaped into hearts. Ketsueki’s lips curled into a slight smile, she thought. Reiki made my favorite. Namida took the lid of her bento and said. “Ketueki, we bought a few side dishes. Want some?”
Inside Namida’s bento was plenty of chutoro with some otoro mixed in between every few slices and a decent amount of rice on the side. Fried vegetable tempura, a dozen pieces of assorted sushi neatly organized, and a handful of nishime. Namida raised a brow at her lunch and thought. Oh? A traditional meal? I’m going to be the judge of that. Sachi nodded as she took off the lid of her bento, she said. “I had some money to spare and bought a few side dishes too.” In her bento was a bed of rice with a piece of umeboshi in the middle.
The umeboshi in the middle was barely visible due to the one side of a filled saury that was deboned and grilled covering it, with a side of sweet and sour jumbo shrimp with the tails removed. A couple of rolls of tamagoyaki that were uncut and a small green salad at that side lightly seasoned with a dark vinaigrette. Sachi looked at her lunch with an interested expression, she thought. No fish bones and shrimp tails, Reiki got rid of all the tedious work.
Namida and Sachi glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes while Ketsueki said. “Itadakimasu.” She used her chopsticks to pick up a croquette and took a bite out of it while Namida quickly took out something from her pocket while Sachi snapped her fingers as something appeared near her. Namida placed a large rectangular wooden box that had at least a dozen grilled eels that were covered in sweet soy sauce, she said. “It’s not much but you can have some.” Sachi gestured to a round plate that had a sky blue color with the fish so thinly sliced it looked translucent, she said. “I remembered that you wanted to give fugu a taste.”
Ketsueki placed the croquette back in her bento as she picked up her bottle of water, twisted the cap off, and took a sip. She swallowed and said. “So that’s why you two were late… All that effort, just for some elven chocolate.” She put the cap back on the bottle while Namida waved her hand as a pair of black chopsticks appeared in her palm, she said. “Don’t think of it like that. We as your friends decided to buy something nice for lunch.”
Sachi used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of thinly sliced fugu, she said. “I prefer not to dip fugu into plain ponzu. It would taste better with some green onions, grated daikon, the usual works.” She ate the piece of fugu while Ketsueki stared at the two food platters on the table, she raised her chopsticks with the intent to take something from either of them. Ketsueki slightly moved her chopsticks forward as a see-through barrier of mana appeared blocking the food platters, she moved her gaze onto Sachi and Namida as they had smiles on their faces.
Sachi intentionally took a slow sip of her green tea as she ignored the cold gaze Ketsueki was giving her. Sachi placed her tea down and said. “We played our cards, now show us yours?” Namida ate a piece of the nishime, she thought. Hmm… Tastes even better than the chefs make back home. Ketsueki raised a brow and said. “Show us yours? Fairly sure you two already seen me naked from taking a shower here on the account of Namida not replacing the lock she broke.” Namida had a piece of otoro pinched in between her chopsticks as she used it to point at her friend, she said. “I’ll do it next week.”
Ketsueki and Sachi glanced at her as they spoke at the same time, they said. “You said that six months ago.” Namida rolled her eyes as she ate the fatty tuna on her chopsticks. Sachi used her chopsticks to pick up one of the sweet and sour jumbo shrimp, she said. “Where’s my elven chocolate?” Namida opened one of the tall cans of beer as she gave Sachi an odd look and said. “Your elven chocolate?” She quickly moved the top of the can closer to her mouth to stop the froth from spilling on the table.
Ketsueki ate one of the heart-shaped tamagoyaki, she thought. I’m tempted to just take both of their lunches and eat it myself… She swallowed, let out a sigh, and reached into her pocket under the apprehensive gazes of her two friends while they ate. Ketsueki took a familiar wooden box as Sachi and Namida’s eyes glowed. Ketsueki placed it in the center of the table near what her friends placed as the mana barrier slowly disappeared, she said. “There, you two happy?” Sachi gave her a sweet smile and said. “Very.”
Namida reached her hand out as she took the lid of the wooden box off revealing elven chocolate in various shapes. She was about to pick up a heart-shaped chocolate when Sachi’s hand blurred as the back of Namida’s hand partially turned red as she reeled it back in pain and said. “Fuck! Ok, you are on a sadistic streak as far as I’m concerned.” Sachi took a small part of the grilled saury on her bento, she said. “The heart shape is mine, go play with the other ones.” Ketsueki shook her head sideways her lips formed into a smile, she thought. Yeah… Real friends.
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Outside A Building
Reiki was standing by the front of the building with two floors as he stared at the sign that said Kyoko, he thought. Nice choice of style. Cherry was on his right shoulder as she flapped her wings and let out a caw. Reiki looked up to her and said. “You want to fly around?” Cherry let out another caw as he nodded, Reiki said. “Sure, just make sure to stay close.”
Cherry turned into a streak of white as his gaze wandered onto the sign had a simple red that was slightly dark with the ink black words Kyoko looked like it was written using a large brush. Chishiki and Akemi went near the double glass front doors as it automatically slid open, they made their way to Reiki. Chishiki glanced around them and said. “So, when do… They arrive?” Reiki let out a laugh while Akemi tried to act calm while glancing at the streets using the corner of her eye.
He looked up to the two impatient women and said. “That’s the third time you asked me. Aren’t you two tired from walking back and forth?” Chishiki let out a long exhale, she said. “You can’t blame me, the last time they decided to make a business here it blew up in smoke when they got screwed over by humans.” Reiki kept a straight face and thought. They never told me about prior investments with humans. He said. “What was venture about?” Akemi moved some stray hair that was covering her eye and said. “It was a luxury slash general store.”
They moved their eyes onto her, Akemi continued. “It sold goods like the… Chocolate you got us, wine, and more importantly cosmetics they use.” Reiki rolled his eyes and thought. Of course, it was makeup… The corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile, he continued his train of thought. That does sound like a good way to earn money… He said. “What happened?” Chishiki turned her head to look at him, she said. “They reluctantly sent a large quantity of the products and never received payment. Thanks to whoever did it, they’ve never made any contact with any parts of Japan let alone visit.”
Reiki let out a small yawn and thought. Whoever did it I thank with the bottom of my heart… They just gave me a monopoly. Akemi let out a sigh, she said. “Reiki, at least cover your mouth.” He moved his gaze onto her as Reiki stared at her for a few seconds and said. “Okay, mom.” Chishiki started laughing while the corner of Akemi’s eye twitched as she stared at the young boy who called her mom, she said. “I hope the next time you yawn you swallow a stink bug.”
Reiki put on a hurt expression on his face and said. “Mom… Why are you so mean to me?” Chishiki started laughing harder as she pointed at Akemi whose hands were visibly shaking from fury. Akemi thought. Keep your cool, don’t hit him. If the elf saw him with a black eye he WILL put the blame on me. She let out a long sigh while Chishiki’s laughter slowly died down. Reiki moved his gaze onto the building, he said. “I see you two found a building that fits all the criteria, well done.”
Akemi let out a hmph, she said. “Well done? Do you have any idea how hard and expensive to find a five hundred two-floor square meter building? Especially with the added condition of being in a good neighborhood?” Reiki shook his head sideways and said. “No, that’s why the task was for you two girls…” Before Akemi could say anything else Chishiki placed a hand on her shoulder, she said. “I think you should stop before all your hair falls out.” Akemi let out a long exhale, she said. “Fine, fine…”
Chishiki glanced at the building and said. “We paid quite the price to buy this building.” Reiki glanced at the building and saw it was newly renovated, he said. “How I see it there was plenty of leftover budget spent on renovations… And why is it completely empty?” Chishiki placed a hand on her hip and said. “One, that old dingy building needed a renovation. Two, meeting them is better kept under wraps, so I had Akemi tell everyone that a foreign investor wants to drop by and gave them the day off.”
Reiki smiled at her, he said. “I don’t mind the renovations, it looks good.” Chishiki stared at him for a few seconds and said. “Reiki… Jokes aside for a moment, I have a slight concern.” Akemi moved some hair behind her ear as she glanced at them from the corner of her eye. Reiki had a relaxed expression on his face, he said. “What is it?” Chishiki gestured at the building and said. “This building is… Not exactly what I had in mind.” Reiki stared at her for a few seconds while Akemi was intently listening to their conversation.
He said. “That’s because this isn’t the main building, it’s a side branch. They’ll give us the funds for it once production is in full swing and they started making a decent profit.” Chishiki and Akemi’s eyes slightly widened, Chishiki said. “... Then where would the main building be? And can you tell me the scale?” Reiki scratched the back of his head and said. “I told them that the heart of Japan is Tokyo and… I need to think for a few seconds, I forgot about parts about that conversation..” The corner of Chishiki’s eye twitched while Akemi massaged the temples of her forehead, the two of them simultaneously thought. Don’t casually forget such an important conversation!
Reiki pretended to think, he said. “If I recall they wanted a thousand five hundred square meter building to two thousand square at least…” Akemi’s and Chishiki’s eyes lit up while Reiki continued. “They never specified how many floors so I think we’ll have that conversation next time I drop by.” He looked up to them and saw their expression, Reiki thought. It’s so easy to lie to people when you have some form of proof. A five-foot-ten figure appeared next to them as they were wearing a jacket with a hood covering up their face.
Reiki looked up to the hooded figure and said. “That was quick, shall we head inside and have lunch?” Chishiki quickly seized the new individual with her eyes as she looked at them from top to bottom, she kept a straight face and thought. Perfect, it’s a male. Hopefully, he has little to no experience with women to make negotiations easy. Akemi’s eyes faintly glowed as she stared at the hooded figure from top to bottom, she thought. … He’s strong… The three of them made their way into the building as they felt a burst of cold air when the double glass doors automatically opened.
Reiki turned his head to look at the girls and said. “Can either of the two of you lead? It’s the first time I’ve been here.” Chishiki and Akemi took the lead while Chishiki slightly shook her head sideways and said. “You would’ve known where our office is if you dropped by more.” Akemi glanced at the hooded figure from the corner of her eye and noticed he stayed beside Reiki by a certain distance. The group made a right turn while Reiki gently poked the back of Akemi’s forearm and said. “Did you two prepare some yakiniku for our guest right?”
Akemi nodded while keeping her gaze in front, she said. “We even bought a mini gas stove grill to cook the meat on.” After passing a couple of doors Chihiki placed her hand on the doorknob of the next door they came across and opened it. Reiki gestured for the hooded figure to go inside as he casually walked in. Chishiki and Akemi went in after as Reiki walked into the room last as he closed the door behind him. The room had a corner made out of large glass panes that let sunlight in brightening up the room.
In the center of the room was a large office table that was already set along with a mini gas stove in the middle at least a dozen wooden boxes, and a few large plates of assorted high-quality sushi. Akemi snapped her fingers as chairs and empty glasses appeared out of nowhere, floating in mid-air as the tableware started setting themselves. Chishiki sat down first and gestured at empty seats. Chishiki said. “Boys, take a seat and dig in.” Reiki stared at the glass pane, he moved his gaze onto her and pointed at the panes using his thumb. Reiki said. “That’s one way to leak out secrets.”
Chishiki smiled at him and said. “I’ve already put up barriers and inscriptions on all the windows. All of them were made by yours truly.” Akemi snapped her fingers again as a pitcher of ice-cold water appeared mid-air, she grabbed it while making her way to the table and started pouring water into the empty cups. Reiki looked up to the hooded figure as he pointed at his own face to indicate that it was safe. Chishiki had her best friendly smile on her face while Akemi let go of an empty cup as it flew beside Chishiki’s plate, she glanced at the hooded figure who was about to take off the disguise.
The hooded figure pulled down the hood of the jacket as the illusion came undone revealing long sunflower hair, long and pointy ears, a brown cloak, and a simple green dress underneath. Chichiki easily maintained her smile, she thought. … A woman… Need a different approach but I can still get my desired result. Akemi let go of a cup she filled as it floated toward one of the plates, she stared at the elf with awe in her eyes and thought. A real elf…
Chishiki took a small sip of water as she spoke in common tongue, she said. “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m-.” Before she could finish Saria had an awkward expression as she raised her hand and spoke in broken common tongue, she said. “Common. Can’t. Speak.” Chishiki had a hint of confusion on her face, she thought. Then how are we supposed to communicate? Akemi was filling the last cup of water as the two of them were shocked by what they heard, Reiki spoke in perfect elvish. He said. “Saria, Thanks for coming all the way here.”
Akemi turned her head to face them as Chishiki’s gaze immediately zoned onto him. Saria nodded at him as she had a slight smile on her face, she said. “Don’t mention it, if anything I have to thank you for getting me this job and out of that book-filled hellhole.” Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “The job itself wasn’t that bad, you just hated the people who harassed you during work hours.” Akemi didn’t notice that she was overfilling the glass with water as she spilled some on the table, the pitcher of water she was holding vanished as she quickly wiped the water on the table.
Saria had a pondering expression on her face as she thought for a few seconds and said. “... Yeah… I loved the library, that job gave me the perk of being able to read all I wanted. I hated those guys who kept making fun of how much I earned.” Reiki smiled at her, he said. “Now you get to make fun of all of them.” Saria’s lips curled into a slight smirk, she said. “I already do.”
Akemi and Chishiki glanced at each other from the corner of their eye as they didn’t know what to do. Reiki nodded at the table and said. “Wanna eat for free at those two expenses?” Saria’s brows furrowed, she said. “That depends, is raw fish the only thing on the menu?” Reiki shook his head sideways and said. “Don’t worry, we’re having grilled meat.” The two of them made their way to the table as Akemi snapped back to her senses and took the empty seat beside Chishiki. Reiki and Saria sat next to each other on their own chairs while Saria stared at the assorted sushi.
Saria said. “I just can’t get used to its texture.” Reiki took the lid off one of the wooden boxes revealing different high-quality of different cuts of beef, he said. “That’s fine, I did say I’d treat you to lunch so eat what you want.” Reiki spoke in Japanese and said. “Akemi, can you turn the stove on?” Akemi stared at him for a few seconds and quickly nodded, she said. “Sure…” Reiki placed his hand an inch above the grill of the mini gas stove. Saria picked up her glass of water and said. “Is this all I have to do? Show up speak some elvish and eat?”
Reiki nodded his head, he said. “Simple as that.” He picked up his pair of chopsticks and started placing meat on the grill. Akemi let out a cough which got Saria and his attention, she said. “... Reiki… Can you introduce us to your friend?”
Principal’s Office
Reiki and Sutekina were sitting on the couch while there was an empty bag of potato chips in between them. Sutekina had an intrigued expression on her face, she said. “What if the artist who sang one of your all-time songs gets arrested with a serious charge? Do you stop listening to their songs altogether?” Reiki had the large gallon of milk on his right as he tapped on the cap, he said. “I think it’s important to separate the art from the artist. Sure he or she did something that ended their careers, but that doesn’t mean we should condemn their music.”
Kireina was sitting behind the desk as she stared at the two getting along on the couch, she thought. How?... She hated him from the bottom of her heart… Reiki felt something in his pocket vibrate as he took out a flip phone and said. “With that, I have somewhere to be.” He took off the cap of the milk as he lifted it up and stood up from the couch, Reiki continued. “I hope you lovely ladies have a great day.” He started chugging down the large plastic carton of milk, the container started to crumple.
Reiki chugged the entire milk jug in one go as he placed the empty jug on the couch and said. “Thanks for the snacks and milk.” He made his way out of the room while Kireina was staring at her younger twin with an odd look. Sutekina raised a brow and said. “Sis, what is it?” Kireina stared at her for a couple of seconds and said. “What happened to being tempted to skin him alive?” Sutekina stood up from the couch as she snapped her fingers as the empty bag of potato chips and the jug of milk vanished.
She said. “The last time I talked about music with you. You asked me why I had so many headphones and why my favorite rock band had long hair and wore something like white spandex.” Sutekina glared at her older twin while Kireina couldn’t find anything to say for a few seconds. Kireina said. “I’ll give the song a second chance.” Sutekina rolled her eyes and said. “Let’s just go home and start preparing a few things.”
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Private Room
Ketsueki was making herself comfortable on the chair as both her feet were on a round wooden table, she glanced at the bento her little brother made for her that she placed on her lap. She thought. How long does it take to buy drinks at the closest convenience store? The door leading out opened from the other side as Namida and Sachi walked into the room. The tip of Sachi’s index finger was enveloped in a thin layer of mana as she lazily waved it around as the door closed behind her.
The two girls walked to the table where Ketsueki was, Namida sat down and said. “We’re back, I know you're mad about being late. But in my defense, blame Sachi.” Ketsueki sat up straight on her chair as she moved her gaze onto Sachi while Namida placed her bento on the table. Sachi rolled her eyes, she said. “It’s not my fault that the atm stopped working.” She glanced at Namida from the corner of her eye and continued. “And don’t pin the blame on me. You were being pissy about how not all beers taste the same just because they didn’t have the brand you like.’
Namida felt the gaze from Ketsueki while Sachi snapped her fingers as a tall bottle of green tea appeared beside her. Namida had a hard time finding something to say as she gave up and gently slammed her hand on the table, she said. “I’m still right about beers not having the same taste!” Namida took out a tall bottle of ice-cold water and threw it at Ketsueki who easily caught it mid-air. Sachi snapped her fingers again as the bento Reiki made for her appeared on the table in front of her.
Ketsueki stared at the bottle of water with a slight frown on her lips, she said. “My boy made bentos for both of you and all I get is a bottle of water?” Namida’s pocket seemed to easily stretch as she took out an entire bento, she let out a chuckle and said. “Yeah, Reiki made the bentos for us. You won’t be able to guilt either of us of buying you anything other than that.” Ketsueki avoided making eye contact with both of them, she thought. It was worth a shot. Ketsueki placed the bottle of water on the table and said. “I would at least appreciate it more if you two brought me green tea.”
She picked up the bento on her lap and placed it on the table, Ketsueki said. “What’s today's gossip?” She turned the cap of the bottle of water as she took a sip while Sachi shook her head sideways and said. “Nothing interesting, I heard a few people around here are planning to put money into their offshore accounts to avoid taxes.” Namida quickly took out three tall cans of beer, she said. “Don’t they do that every month?” Sachi nodded and said. “Yes, they do. Which is why nothing interesting is happening.”
Namida took out a tall bottle of water while Ketsueki took off the lid of her bento. Her lunch had a bed of white rice, a few large pieces of croquettes that had some tonkatsu sauce on top, a side of thinly sliced cabbage. Next to the cabbage were thinly sliced cucumbers that were diagonally sliced and slightly blistered cherry tomatoes, a few pieces of tamagoyaki shaped into hearts. Ketsueki’s lips curled into a slight smile, she thought. Reiki made my favorite. Namida took the lid of her bento and said. “Ketueki, we bought a few side dishes. Want some?”
Inside Namida’s bento was plenty of chutoro with some otoro mixed in between every few slices and a decent amount of rice on the side. Fried vegetable tempura, a dozen pieces of assorted sushi neatly organized, and a handful of nishime. Namida raised a brow at her lunch and thought. Oh? A traditional meal? I’m going to be the judge of that. Sachi nodded as she took off the lid of her bento, she said. “I had some money to spare and bought a few side dishes too.” In her bento was a bed of rice with a piece of umeboshi in the middle.
The umeboshi in the middle was barely visible due to the one side of a filled saury that was deboned and grilled covering it, with a side of sweet and sour jumbo shrimp with the tails removed. A couple of rolls of tamagoyaki that were uncut and a small green salad at that side lightly seasoned with a dark vinaigrette. Sachi looked at her lunch with an interested expression, she thought. No fish bones and shrimp tails, Reiki got rid of all the tedious work.
Namida and Sachi glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes while Ketsueki said. “Itadakimasu.” She used her chopsticks to pick up a croquette and took a bite out of it while Namida quickly took out something from her pocket while Sachi snapped her fingers as something appeared near her. Namida placed a large rectangular wooden box that had at least a dozen grilled eels that were covered in sweet soy sauce, she said. “It’s not much but you can have some.” Sachi gestured to a round plate that had a sky blue color with the fish so thinly sliced it looked translucent, she said. “I remembered that you wanted to give fugu a taste.”
Ketsueki placed the croquette back in her bento as she picked up her bottle of water, twisted the cap off, and took a sip. She swallowed and said. “So that’s why you two were late… All that effort, just for some elven chocolate.” She put the cap back on the bottle while Namida waved her hand as a pair of black chopsticks appeared in her palm, she said. “Don’t think of it like that. We as your friends decided to buy something nice for lunch.”
Sachi used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of thinly sliced fugu, she said. “I prefer not to dip fugu into plain ponzu. It would taste better with some green onions, grated daikon, the usual works.” She ate the piece of fugu while Ketsueki stared at the two food platters on the table, she raised her chopsticks with the intent to take something from either of them. Ketsueki slightly moved her chopsticks forward as a see-through barrier of mana appeared blocking the food platters, she moved her gaze onto Sachi and Namida as they had smiles on their faces.
Sachi intentionally took a slow sip of her green tea as she ignored the cold gaze Ketsueki was giving her. Sachi placed her tea down and said. “We played our cards, now show us yours?” Namida ate a piece of the nishime, she thought. Hmm… Tastes even better than the chefs make back home. Ketsueki raised a brow and said. “Show us yours? Fairly sure you two already seen me naked from taking a shower here on the account of Namida not replacing the lock she broke.” Namida had a piece of otoro pinched in between her chopsticks as she used it to point at her friend, she said. “I’ll do it next week.”
Ketsueki and Sachi glanced at her as they spoke at the same time, they said. “You said that six months ago.” Namida rolled her eyes as she ate the fatty tuna on her chopsticks. Sachi used her chopsticks to pick up one of the sweet and sour jumbo shrimp, she said. “Where’s my elven chocolate?” Namida opened one of the tall cans of beer as she gave Sachi an odd look and said. “Your elven chocolate?” She quickly moved the top of the can closer to her mouth to stop the froth from spilling on the table.
Ketsueki ate one of the heart-shaped tamagoyaki, she thought. I’m tempted to just take both of their lunches and eat it myself… She swallowed, let out a sigh, and reached into her pocket under the apprehensive gazes of her two friends while they ate. Ketsueki took a familiar wooden box as Sachi and Namida’s eyes glowed. Ketsueki placed it in the center of the table near what her friends placed as the mana barrier slowly disappeared, she said. “There, you two happy?” Sachi gave her a sweet smile and said. “Very.”
Namida reached her hand out as she took the lid of the wooden box off revealing elven chocolate in various shapes. She was about to pick up a heart-shaped chocolate when Sachi’s hand blurred as the back of Namida’s hand partially turned red as she reeled it back in pain and said. “Fuck! Ok, you are on a sadistic streak as far as I’m concerned.” Sachi took a small part of the grilled saury on her bento, she said. “The heart shape is mine, go play with the other ones.” Ketsueki shook her head sideways her lips formed into a smile, she thought. Yeah… Real friends.
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Outside A Building
Reiki was standing by the front of the building with two floors as he stared at the sign that said Kyoko, he thought. Nice choice of style. Cherry was on his right shoulder as she flapped her wings and let out a caw. Reiki looked up to her and said. “You want to fly around?” Cherry let out another caw as he nodded, Reiki said. “Sure, just make sure to stay close.”
Cherry turned into a streak of white as his gaze wandered onto the sign had a simple red that was slightly dark with the ink black words Kyoko looked like it was written using a large brush. Chishiki and Akemi went near the double glass front doors as it automatically slid open, they made their way to Reiki. Chishiki glanced around them and said. “So, when do… They arrive?” Reiki let out a laugh while Akemi tried to act calm while glancing at the streets using the corner of her eye.
He looked up to the two impatient women and said. “That’s the third time you asked me. Aren’t you two tired from walking back and forth?” Chishiki let out a long exhale, she said. “You can’t blame me, the last time they decided to make a business here it blew up in smoke when they got screwed over by humans.” Reiki kept a straight face and thought. They never told me about prior investments with humans. He said. “What was venture about?” Akemi moved some stray hair that was covering her eye and said. “It was a luxury slash general store.”
They moved their eyes onto her, Akemi continued. “It sold goods like the… Chocolate you got us, wine, and more importantly cosmetics they use.” Reiki rolled his eyes and thought. Of course, it was makeup… The corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile, he continued his train of thought. That does sound like a good way to earn money… He said. “What happened?” Chishiki turned her head to look at him, she said. “They reluctantly sent a large quantity of the products and never received payment. Thanks to whoever did it, they’ve never made any contact with any parts of Japan let alone visit.”
Reiki let out a small yawn and thought. Whoever did it I thank with the bottom of my heart… They just gave me a monopoly. Akemi let out a sigh, she said. “Reiki, at least cover your mouth.” He moved his gaze onto her as Reiki stared at her for a few seconds and said. “Okay, mom.” Chishiki started laughing while the corner of Akemi’s eye twitched as she stared at the young boy who called her mom, she said. “I hope the next time you yawn you swallow a stink bug.”
Reiki put on a hurt expression on his face and said. “Mom… Why are you so mean to me?” Chishiki started laughing harder as she pointed at Akemi whose hands were visibly shaking from fury. Akemi thought. Keep your cool, don’t hit him. If the elf saw him with a black eye he WILL put the blame on me. She let out a long sigh while Chishiki’s laughter slowly died down. Reiki moved his gaze onto the building, he said. “I see you two found a building that fits all the criteria, well done.”
Akemi let out a hmph, she said. “Well done? Do you have any idea how hard and expensive to find a five hundred two-floor square meter building? Especially with the added condition of being in a good neighborhood?” Reiki shook his head sideways and said. “No, that’s why the task was for you two girls…” Before Akemi could say anything else Chishiki placed a hand on her shoulder, she said. “I think you should stop before all your hair falls out.” Akemi let out a long exhale, she said. “Fine, fine…”
Chishiki glanced at the building and said. “We paid quite the price to buy this building.” Reiki glanced at the building and saw it was newly renovated, he said. “How I see it there was plenty of leftover budget spent on renovations… And why is it completely empty?” Chishiki placed a hand on her hip and said. “One, that old dingy building needed a renovation. Two, meeting them is better kept under wraps, so I had Akemi tell everyone that a foreign investor wants to drop by and gave them the day off.”
Reiki smiled at her, he said. “I don’t mind the renovations, it looks good.” Chishiki stared at him for a few seconds and said. “Reiki… Jokes aside for a moment, I have a slight concern.” Akemi moved some hair behind her ear as she glanced at them from the corner of her eye. Reiki had a relaxed expression on his face, he said. “What is it?” Chishiki gestured at the building and said. “This building is… Not exactly what I had in mind.” Reiki stared at her for a few seconds while Akemi was intently listening to their conversation.
He said. “That’s because this isn’t the main building, it’s a side branch. They’ll give us the funds for it once production is in full swing and they started making a decent profit.” Chishiki and Akemi’s eyes slightly widened, Chishiki said. “... Then where would the main building be? And can you tell me the scale?” Reiki scratched the back of his head and said. “I told them that the heart of Japan is Tokyo and… I need to think for a few seconds, I forgot about parts about that conversation..” The corner of Chishiki’s eye twitched while Akemi massaged the temples of her forehead, the two of them simultaneously thought. Don’t casually forget such an important conversation!
Reiki pretended to think, he said. “If I recall they wanted a thousand five hundred square meter building to two thousand square at least…” Akemi’s and Chishiki’s eyes lit up while Reiki continued. “They never specified how many floors so I think we’ll have that conversation next time I drop by.” He looked up to them and saw their expression, Reiki thought. It’s so easy to lie to people when you have some form of proof. A five-foot-ten figure appeared next to them as they were wearing a jacket with a hood covering up their face.
Reiki looked up to the hooded figure and said. “That was quick, shall we head inside and have lunch?” Chishiki quickly seized the new individual with her eyes as she looked at them from top to bottom, she kept a straight face and thought. Perfect, it’s a male. Hopefully, he has little to no experience with women to make negotiations easy. Akemi’s eyes faintly glowed as she stared at the hooded figure from top to bottom, she thought. … He’s strong… The three of them made their way into the building as they felt a burst of cold air when the double glass doors automatically opened.
Reiki turned his head to look at the girls and said. “Can either of the two of you lead? It’s the first time I’ve been here.” Chishiki and Akemi took the lead while Chishiki slightly shook her head sideways and said. “You would’ve known where our office is if you dropped by more.” Akemi glanced at the hooded figure from the corner of her eye and noticed he stayed beside Reiki by a certain distance. The group made a right turn while Reiki gently poked the back of Akemi’s forearm and said. “Did you two prepare some yakiniku for our guest right?”
Akemi nodded while keeping her gaze in front, she said. “We even bought a mini gas stove grill to cook the meat on.” After passing a couple of doors Chihiki placed her hand on the doorknob of the next door they came across and opened it. Reiki gestured for the hooded figure to go inside as he casually walked in. Chishiki and Akemi went in after as Reiki walked into the room last as he closed the door behind him. The room had a corner made out of large glass panes that let sunlight in brightening up the room.
In the center of the room was a large office table that was already set along with a mini gas stove in the middle at least a dozen wooden boxes, and a few large plates of assorted high-quality sushi. Akemi snapped her fingers as chairs and empty glasses appeared out of nowhere, floating in mid-air as the tableware started setting themselves. Chishiki sat down first and gestured at empty seats. Chishiki said. “Boys, take a seat and dig in.” Reiki stared at the glass pane, he moved his gaze onto her and pointed at the panes using his thumb. Reiki said. “That’s one way to leak out secrets.”
Chishiki smiled at him and said. “I’ve already put up barriers and inscriptions on all the windows. All of them were made by yours truly.” Akemi snapped her fingers again as a pitcher of ice-cold water appeared mid-air, she grabbed it while making her way to the table and started pouring water into the empty cups. Reiki looked up to the hooded figure as he pointed at his own face to indicate that it was safe. Chishiki had her best friendly smile on her face while Akemi let go of an empty cup as it flew beside Chishiki’s plate, she glanced at the hooded figure who was about to take off the disguise.
The hooded figure pulled down the hood of the jacket as the illusion came undone revealing long sunflower hair, long and pointy ears, a brown cloak, and a simple green dress underneath. Chichiki easily maintained her smile, she thought. … A woman… Need a different approach but I can still get my desired result. Akemi let go of a cup she filled as it floated toward one of the plates, she stared at the elf with awe in her eyes and thought. A real elf…
Chishiki took a small sip of water as she spoke in common tongue, she said. “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m-.” Before she could finish Saria had an awkward expression as she raised her hand and spoke in broken common tongue, she said. “Common. Can’t. Speak.” Chishiki had a hint of confusion on her face, she thought. Then how are we supposed to communicate? Akemi was filling the last cup of water as the two of them were shocked by what they heard, Reiki spoke in perfect elvish. He said. “Saria, Thanks for coming all the way here.”
Akemi turned her head to face them as Chishiki’s gaze immediately zoned onto him. Saria nodded at him as she had a slight smile on her face, she said. “Don’t mention it, if anything I have to thank you for getting me this job and out of that book-filled hellhole.” Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “The job itself wasn’t that bad, you just hated the people who harassed you during work hours.” Akemi didn’t notice that she was overfilling the glass with water as she spilled some on the table, the pitcher of water she was holding vanished as she quickly wiped the water on the table.
Saria had a pondering expression on her face as she thought for a few seconds and said. “... Yeah… I loved the library, that job gave me the perk of being able to read all I wanted. I hated those guys who kept making fun of how much I earned.” Reiki smiled at her, he said. “Now you get to make fun of all of them.” Saria’s lips curled into a slight smirk, she said. “I already do.”
Akemi and Chishiki glanced at each other from the corner of their eye as they didn’t know what to do. Reiki nodded at the table and said. “Wanna eat for free at those two expenses?” Saria’s brows furrowed, she said. “That depends, is raw fish the only thing on the menu?” Reiki shook his head sideways and said. “Don’t worry, we’re having grilled meat.” The two of them made their way to the table as Akemi snapped back to her senses and took the empty seat beside Chishiki. Reiki and Saria sat next to each other on their own chairs while Saria stared at the assorted sushi.
Saria said. “I just can’t get used to its texture.” Reiki took the lid off one of the wooden boxes revealing different high-quality of different cuts of beef, he said. “That’s fine, I did say I’d treat you to lunch so eat what you want.” Reiki spoke in Japanese and said. “Akemi, can you turn the stove on?” Akemi stared at him for a few seconds and quickly nodded, she said. “Sure…” Reiki placed his hand an inch above the grill of the mini gas stove. Saria picked up her glass of water and said. “Is this all I have to do? Show up speak some elvish and eat?”
Reiki nodded his head, he said. “Simple as that.” He picked up his pair of chopsticks and started placing meat on the grill. Akemi let out a cough which got Saria and his attention, she said. “... Reiki… Can you introduce us to your friend?”
