~Twenty Five Minutes Later~
Akemi was pouring the last remainder of the contents of the wine bottle into her glass, she emptied the bottle as it was enveloped with a thin layer of mana and vanished. She said. “On a weekly basis, how many meetings does Saria have with the queen?” Reiki was holding onto a cylinder-shaped tea cup, he spoke in elvish and said. “What are you going to do with your friends who bought you cheap wine.” Saria held her wine glass by the stem using her index and thumb, she gently swirled the red liquid in her glass as she took a small whiff of it.
Saria said. “I don’t know… It’s not like the money I contributed was that much.” Chishiki was in deep thought while Reiki replied to Akemi in Japanese, he said. “Somewhere between one to thrice a week.” Akemi nodded as she stared at the wine from her glass, she thought. The more I ask the more I regret not buying that basic elvish language book that was missing half the pages. Chishiki's eyes slightly widened as she thought of something, she said. “Do we get an opportunity to meet the queen in person?”
Reiki took a small sip of his green tea, he said. “Then how about you buy an expensive wine-.” Saria interrupted him and said. “I don’t want to spend money on them if what you said is true.” Reiki lazily waved his hand while Akemi and Chishiki patiently waited for them as they enjoyed their glass of wine. Reiki continued. “You drink the entire bottle of said wine and fill the empty wine bottle with cheap wine for revenge.” Saria placed her glass of wine down as she gently tapped on the table while Reiki moved his gaze onto the two girls across them, he said. “Potentially.”
Akemi was about to say something but Chishiki spoke up first, she said. “What does our bonus look like?” Reiki let out a chuckle as a mysterious smile formed on his mouth, he said. “The company hasn’t even sold a single potion and you’re already worried about your salary?” Chishiki let out a laugh and said. “You do have to understand we are used to a somewhat luxurious lifestyle.” Reiki nodded, he said. “Me and her majesty already talked about this topic.” The smile on Chishiki’s lips slightly stiffened, she thought. I don’t like the sound of that.
She felt Akemi’s elbow on her side as she slowly added force to it, Akemi spoke in a whisper and said. “You could’ve waited to at least wait until she was out of the room?” The corner of Chishiki’s smile twitched, she said. “It’s fine, we’re close with Reiki. He won’t tell on us.” The two girls moved their gaze onto him, Reiki shook his head and said. “Sorry, but her majesty told me not to get too close since I might write a report that leans in favor of you two.” Chishiki slowly turned her head to look out the glass panes while she ignored the glare from Akemi.
Reiki placed his cup of green tea on the table, he said. “Her majesty told me, if you two don’t get replaced money will never be a problem in your entire lives.” Saria picked up her glass of wine and said. “Before I forget, young majesty said you have a few care packages that I have to deliver to them.” Reiki nodded as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye and said. “I do, I’ll be sure to give them to you before you leave. And just to be sure, did you bring a magic pouch?”
Saria stared at the reflection of her face on the surface of the red liquid in her glass, she said. “Who walks out of the house without a magic pouch these days?” She turned her head to look at him with a hint of confusion on her face. Reiki moved his gaze onto Akemi and Chishiki, he said. “You two got any more questions?” Chishiki stared at her glass as she gently swirled the liquid inside, she thought. … I would’ve liked to talk with Saria myself but…
She glanced at Reiki who was taking a sip of hot green tea, Chishiki continued her train of thought. This situation is something I would never have predicted. Chishiki shook her head sideways and said. “Nope, I asked all I wanted.” She turned her head to look at Akemi who already drank half the wine in her glass, Chishiki continued. “Akemi, got any questions left for Saria?” Akemi had a pondering expression on her face, she thought. … I feel like I forgot something important… Her eyes widened in realization, she said. “Reiki, can you ask if they’re interested in a different business venture?”
Reiki was about to take a sip of his tea but stopped, he said. “I can answer that one for you since I already had this conversation with her majesty.” Akemi moved her gaze onto him, she said. “Already?” Reiki nodded and said. “Yeah, her majesty said. At this current time, she’s not interested in other ventures.” Akemi’s eyes lightly lit up, she said. “So you’re saying she might be interested in the future?” Reiki nodded as he took a sip of his tea, he had a pondering expression on his face. He continued. “I don’t know if I should say this…”
Chishiki and Akemi’s ears slightly perked up as they leaned slightly forward. Saria spoke in a whisper, she said. “Why are they leaning forward?” Reiki glanced at the elf from the corner of his eye and said. “Cause they think I’m going to give them some useful information.” Saria took a sip of her wine, while Reiki spoke in Japanese, he said. “In the future, if her majesty ever has plans for a different venture I’d be responsible for being the messenger for it too.”
Akemi let out a soft sigh as she leaned on the backrest of her seat, she thought. … They trust him that much?... There has to be something to it… Chishiki stared at him for a couple of seconds as she took a sip of her wine, she thought. … Is he going to be a ‘messenger’ for all of their ventures?... Saria emptied her glass of wine as she placed her glass on the table which got the two girls' attention. Saria turned her head at him and said. “Reiki, I need to get going. Especially since I just learned I have to personally report to her majesty.”
Saria stood up from her seat while Akemi and Chishiki quickly did the same, Chishiki reached her hand out for a handshake and said. “I hope you enjoyed your short stay here.” Saria held her hand out as the two shook hands, Reiki sat on the chair as he looked up at the elf, and said. “She’s hoping you enjoyed your meal and stay here.” Saria nodded her head, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye and said. “I did, I just wish I didn’t eat just beef and wine.”
Reiki moved his gaze onto Chishiki, he said. “Saria enjoyed your company, her stomach feels heavy after eating only meat and wine.” He took a sip of wine and spoke in a soft tone, Reiki said. “I told you to prepare something else other than raw fish.” Chishiki and Akemi felt the light sting of his words, Reiki continued. “At the very least you two prepared a knife and fork.” Chishiki let go of the elf’s hand as she moved to the side and said. “Next time, I’ll prepare everything that isn’t raw fish.” Akemi held her hand out for a handshake, she said. “We’ll prepare another bottle of DRC for you.”
Reiki’s brows furrowed, he said. “Where did you two even get the money for the wine?” Akemi and Chishiki spoke simultaneously, they said. “We have the money for it.” The two girls nodded at each other while Reiki placed his cup of green tea on the table, he said. “I was just asking a question.” He moved his gaze onto Saria and continued. “Akemi’s going to prepare the same bottle of wine the next time you visit.” Saria’s eyes lit up, she spoke with a hint of excitement, she said. “Really?!”
Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “That’s assuming I’m going to need you to visit again, but I doubt it.” The excitement in the elf’s eyes slightly died down while Reiki took out a tattered pouch from his pocket, he continued. “Here’s something to give them a small fright.” From the pouch, Reiki brought out a small white folder with a few pages in it. Saria took it off his hands, she said. “What’s this?” Reiki pocketed the tattered pouch and said. “It’s just a folder with three empty pages on it, we can just pass it to each other and pretend we’re exchanging reports.”
Chishiki and Akemi’s eyes were glued onto the folder as the elf took it off Reiki’s hands. Saria placed the folder near the pocket of her green dress as the space around it seemed to warp and bend as the folder vanished. Saria said. “Are you sure scaring them this much is a good idea?” Reiki stood up from his seat, he said. “I’m not trying to scare them, just giving them a false alarm.” He made his way next to the elf and continued. “Hopefully, the next time we meet it’ll be in the forest.”
Chishiki appeared beside Reiki as she placed an arm on top of his head and playfully messed up his unkempt and scraggly hair, she said. “We’ll show you out.” Reiki gently grabbed Chishiki’s wrist as he moved her hand away from his hair, he looked up to the elf and said. “We’ll walk you to the front door.” Reiki translated for her, he said. “Chishiki offered to walk you to the front door.” Saria raised her hand as she shook her head sideways, she said. “It’s fine, It’ll be faster if I just used magic instead.”
Akemi was all of a sudden on Chishiki’s left as the two girls stood behind Reiki. He thought. Why are they both behind me? Akemi gently poked Reiki’s shoulder and said. “Reiki, what did she say?” He looked up to the two girls, Reiki said. “Saria said it’ll be faster for her to use magic to go home.” Chishiki nodded in understanding, she said. “Tell her I enjoyed drinking wine with her.” Akemi quickly spoke before Reiki could say something, she said. “And next time we’ll make sure there’s no fish on the menu.” Reiki pointed at Chishiki as he spoke in elvish, he said. “Chishiki enjoyed drinking wine with you.”
He pointed at Akemi and continued. “She’ll make sure that there won’t be fish on the menu next time.” Saria smiled at them, she said. “I’m looking forward to sharing a drink with them in the future. And I'm sorry that I didn’t try a single piece of the uh, sushi?” Reiki nodded as he spoke in Japanese, he said. “She’s looking forward to sharing a drink with you two again and she’s sorry for not giving sushi a try.” Chishiki had a polite smile on her lips, she said. “It’s fine, different cultures and whatnot.”
Akemi waved her hand in dismissal and said. “During my stay abroad it took me a while to start liking sushi again.” Saria was about to take something out of her pocket when Reiki suddenly spoke, he said. “Before I forget.” He was already holding onto his tattered pouch as he took out four medium-sized cardboard boxes. Reiki effortlessly held them with one hand as Chishiki and Akemi noticed neat elvish writing on the first box on the top. Saria read the elvish writing on the box, she thought. … Enora?... Young majesty!
Reiki spoke in elvish and said. “Can’t forget about what I promised them.” Saria's smile turned nervous, she said. “Yeah, good thing you didn’t forget.” She tried to lift all four of the boxes using both her hands but immediately stopped, she thought. These boxes are heavier than they look. She placed one of her hands in her pocket and touched the top of the box as it disappeared into thin air. One after the other the boxes dissipated, Reiki took out a couple of large jars of peanut butter and said. “These are a small token for helping me out.”
Saria quickly shook her head, she said. “It’s fine, you already got me this job-.” Reiki ignored her as he took the lid off, peeled the seal off, and said. “Use your pinky to try some, and then you can refuse.” Saria stared at the brown contents of the jar as she scraped a small amount of peanut butter using her pinky. Chishiki slightly tilted her head at Akemi and said. “Have you tried peanut butter when you were abroad?” Akemi nodded, she said. “I did, I stopped because I was gaining weight by eating too much of it.”
Saria ate the peanut butter on her pinky as her eyes brightened up by the taste, she saw the smirk on Reiki’s face as he put the lid back on. Saria faked a cough and said. “Since it would be rude to refuse. I-I’ll take these off your hands…” Her hands blurred as the two jars from his hands vanished, Reiki held out the seal he peeled off as Saria took it off his hands, she took out a talisman from her pocket. Saria said. “... Until next time…” The talisman was enveloped in a thin layer of mana as Saria’s clothes changed back into the hooded figure along with her facial features.
The man nodded at them as he pulled the hood back up to hide his face and made his way out of the building. The three of them watched the hooded figure take a few steps and vanish, Reiki made his way back to his seat. He picked up his cylinder-shaped tea cup, he said. “You two did better than I imagined.” Akemi and Chishiki slowly made their way to him, they gave him odd looks as if he were an extinct creature. He noticed the stares and said. “What?”
Chishiki placed both her hands on the table, she said. “Don’t you, what me. You speak elvish?!” Reiki casually nodded at her while Akemi placed a hand on his shoulder and said. “And you didn’t even tell us in advance that the elf visiting didn’t know how to speak common tongue!?” Reiki shrugged his shoulders, he said. “I did meet her before-.” Chishiki interrupted him and said. “And you didn’t bother to ask?” He was about to take a sip of his green tea when Akemi took his cup away from him. Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “When would I even get the opportunity to ask in the first place? Everyone spoke elvish in the forest.”
He held his hand out, Reiki continued. “Can I have my tea back?” Akemi placed the cup on the table as Reiki held it with one of his hands. Chishiki let out a sigh as she moved her hands away from the table, she thought. I’ll start with the important ones first. She watched him take a sip of green tea and said. “Are you hiding anything else important from us?” Reiki pretended to think as he shook his head sideways while Chishiki and Akemi simultaneously thought. I don’t believe you one bit.
Akemi stared at Reiki with a hint of hesitation in her expression, she said. “... Reiki…” Reiki felt the warmth from the calm through the palm of his hand, he said. “You’ll be the first to know if her majesty ever develops an interest in other ventures.” Akemi was stunned for a brief moment as she let out an exhale and tried to suppress the smile that was forming on her lips, she said. “I owe you one then…” Reiki took a sip of his tea as he glanced at Chishiki from the corner of his eye.
He said. “Just ask what’s on your mind.” Chishiki had a peculiar expression on her face, she stared at him for a couple of seconds and said. “Other than giving us instructions for the company… How come you never explained anything to us?” Reiki stared out of the large glass panes as he watched people going about their day, he said. “When you two asked, I made sure to answer all of your questions. Don’t you two remember? I told you two were more likely to get replaced than me.”
Akemi’s brows furrowed as she went into deep thought while Chishiki’s expression turned into confusion, she said. “When was that? I don’t remember.” Reiki gently blew on his cup of tea and said. “You two probably don’t since when I said it you just laughed it off.” Chishiki’s expression slowly changed from confusion to realization, she thought. … Oh… It was that time… Akemi’s eyes widened as she recalled when it happened while Reiki emptied his cup of tea in one go. He stood up from his seat which got both of the girls attention, he said. “Any more questions?”
The two girls glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes as they simultaneously shook their heads sideways. Reiki nodded, he continued. “How many alchemists do we have? And what rank are they?” Chishiki quickly put on a calm expression and said. “Ten, all of them are apprentices.” Reiki did some light stretches in place, he said. “Tell all of them to come here and we’ll pay them ten thousand yen for their trouble. Oh, and be prepared to fire all of them and give them this month's pay.” Akemi had a concern all over her face, she said. “You’re not going to fire all of them… Right?”
Reiki finished his stretches and said. “Of course not.” Akemi and Chishiki let out a sigh of relief, Reiki continued. “If we're lucky a couple of them might stay.” The two girls froze in place while Reiki took a couple of steps toward the door leading out of the room. Chishiki came back to her senses, she said. “Wait! Where are you going?” Reiki turned his head and said. “Bathroom, eating all that meat and sushi isn’t sitting right in my stomach.” The two girls stared at him for a few seconds before Akemi said. “Take a left, second door on the right.”
Reiki made his way out of the room leaving while the two girls made their way back to their seats as they sat down. The two of them glanced at the door as the moment it shut Chishiki let out a long sigh and said. “After all we’ve done to keep those alchemists… Now all of them are fired…” Akemi rested on the backrest of the chair, she said. “He never said that.” Chishiki placed her elbow on the table as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand, she said. “It was heavily implied though.”
Chishiki stared out the glass panes and said. “What’s our next move?” Akemi slightly tilted her head forward as she glanced at the door, she said. “First I’m going to call the alchemists and then-.” Chishiki waved her other hand, she said. “No, I meant our move.” Akemi pondered for a moment as she used her index finger to tap on the table, she said. “Arms length… We can’t act friendly all of a sudden, the best course of action is to follow his lead and do our best so that we don’t get replaced…”
Akemi snapped her fingers as a laptop appeared on the table in front of her, she flipped it open and started typing on the keyboard while Chishiki was deep in thought. The sound of keyboard typing filled the room as Chishiki moved her chin away from the palm of her hand, she said. “Despite nothing going to how we hoped… We know someone with an inseparable connection to the elves…” Akemi lightly tapped enter as she stretched on her seat, she said. “That’s assuming no one that can do our jobs better doesn’t show up.”
Chishiki glanced at the door and said. “I’ve given it some thought, and I doubt they’ll replace us with everything that we know about the company…” Akemi closed her laptop as she snapped her fingers as it vanished from the table, she thought for a moment and said. “... True… But they can always force an oath on us and it’s not like we’re the only two people on the planet with business that failed…” The two girls stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, as Chishiki picked up her glass that still had some wine left. Chishiki said. “But, there’s no harm in working hard.”
~Twenty Five Minutes Later~
Akemi was pouring the last remainder of the contents of the wine bottle into her glass, she emptied the bottle as it was enveloped with a thin layer of mana and vanished. She said. “On a weekly basis, how many meetings does Saria have with the queen?” Reiki was holding onto a cylinder-shaped tea cup, he spoke in elvish and said. “What are you going to do with your friends who bought you cheap wine.” Saria held her wine glass by the stem using her index and thumb, she gently swirled the red liquid in her glass as she took a small whiff of it.
Saria said. “I don’t know… It’s not like the money I contributed was that much.” Chishiki was in deep thought while Reiki replied to Akemi in Japanese, he said. “Somewhere between one to thrice a week.” Akemi nodded as she stared at the wine from her glass, she thought. The more I ask the more I regret not buying that basic elvish language book that was missing half the pages. Chishiki's eyes slightly widened as she thought of something, she said. “Do we get an opportunity to meet the queen in person?”
Reiki took a small sip of his green tea, he said. “Then how about you buy an expensive wine-.” Saria interrupted him and said. “I don’t want to spend money on them if what you said is true.” Reiki lazily waved his hand while Akemi and Chishiki patiently waited for them as they enjoyed their glass of wine. Reiki continued. “You drink the entire bottle of said wine and fill the empty wine bottle with cheap wine for revenge.” Saria placed her glass of wine down as she gently tapped on the table while Reiki moved his gaze onto the two girls across them, he said. “Potentially.”
Akemi was about to say something but Chishiki spoke up first, she said. “What does our bonus look like?” Reiki let out a chuckle as a mysterious smile formed on his mouth, he said. “The company hasn’t even sold a single potion and you’re already worried about your salary?” Chishiki let out a laugh and said. “You do have to understand we are used to a somewhat luxurious lifestyle.” Reiki nodded, he said. “Me and her majesty already talked about this topic.” The smile on Chishiki’s lips slightly stiffened, she thought. I don’t like the sound of that.
She felt Akemi’s elbow on her side as she slowly added force to it, Akemi spoke in a whisper and said. “You could’ve waited to at least wait until she was out of the room?” The corner of Chishiki’s smile twitched, she said. “It’s fine, we’re close with Reiki. He won’t tell on us.” The two girls moved their gaze onto him, Reiki shook his head and said. “Sorry, but her majesty told me not to get too close since I might write a report that leans in favor of you two.” Chishiki slowly turned her head to look out the glass panes while she ignored the glare from Akemi.
Reiki placed his cup of green tea on the table, he said. “Her majesty told me, if you two don’t get replaced money will never be a problem in your entire lives.” Saria picked up her glass of wine and said. “Before I forget, young majesty said you have a few care packages that I have to deliver to them.” Reiki nodded as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye and said. “I do, I’ll be sure to give them to you before you leave. And just to be sure, did you bring a magic pouch?”
Saria stared at the reflection of her face on the surface of the red liquid in her glass, she said. “Who walks out of the house without a magic pouch these days?” She turned her head to look at him with a hint of confusion on her face. Reiki moved his gaze onto Akemi and Chishiki, he said. “You two got any more questions?” Chishiki stared at her glass as she gently swirled the liquid inside, she thought. … I would’ve liked to talk with Saria myself but…
She glanced at Reiki who was taking a sip of hot green tea, Chishiki continued her train of thought. This situation is something I would never have predicted. Chishiki shook her head sideways and said. “Nope, I asked all I wanted.” She turned her head to look at Akemi who already drank half the wine in her glass, Chishiki continued. “Akemi, got any questions left for Saria?” Akemi had a pondering expression on her face, she thought. … I feel like I forgot something important… Her eyes widened in realization, she said. “Reiki, can you ask if they’re interested in a different business venture?”
Reiki was about to take a sip of his tea but stopped, he said. “I can answer that one for you since I already had this conversation with her majesty.” Akemi moved her gaze onto him, she said. “Already?” Reiki nodded and said. “Yeah, her majesty said. At this current time, she’s not interested in other ventures.” Akemi’s eyes lightly lit up, she said. “So you’re saying she might be interested in the future?” Reiki nodded as he took a sip of his tea, he had a pondering expression on his face. He continued. “I don’t know if I should say this…”
Chishiki and Akemi’s ears slightly perked up as they leaned slightly forward. Saria spoke in a whisper, she said. “Why are they leaning forward?” Reiki glanced at the elf from the corner of his eye and said. “Cause they think I’m going to give them some useful information.” Saria took a sip of her wine, while Reiki spoke in Japanese, he said. “In the future, if her majesty ever has plans for a different venture I’d be responsible for being the messenger for it too.”
Akemi let out a soft sigh as she leaned on the backrest of her seat, she thought. … They trust him that much?... There has to be something to it… Chishiki stared at him for a couple of seconds as she took a sip of her wine, she thought. … Is he going to be a ‘messenger’ for all of their ventures?... Saria emptied her glass of wine as she placed her glass on the table which got the two girls' attention. Saria turned her head at him and said. “Reiki, I need to get going. Especially since I just learned I have to personally report to her majesty.”
Saria stood up from her seat while Akemi and Chishiki quickly did the same, Chishiki reached her hand out for a handshake and said. “I hope you enjoyed your short stay here.” Saria held her hand out as the two shook hands, Reiki sat on the chair as he looked up at the elf, and said. “She’s hoping you enjoyed your meal and stay here.” Saria nodded her head, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye and said. “I did, I just wish I didn’t eat just beef and wine.”
Reiki moved his gaze onto Chishiki, he said. “Saria enjoyed your company, her stomach feels heavy after eating only meat and wine.” He took a sip of wine and spoke in a soft tone, Reiki said. “I told you to prepare something else other than raw fish.” Chishiki and Akemi felt the light sting of his words, Reiki continued. “At the very least you two prepared a knife and fork.” Chishiki let go of the elf’s hand as she moved to the side and said. “Next time, I’ll prepare everything that isn’t raw fish.” Akemi held her hand out for a handshake, she said. “We’ll prepare another bottle of DRC for you.”
Reiki’s brows furrowed, he said. “Where did you two even get the money for the wine?” Akemi and Chishiki spoke simultaneously, they said. “We have the money for it.” The two girls nodded at each other while Reiki placed his cup of green tea on the table, he said. “I was just asking a question.” He moved his gaze onto Saria and continued. “Akemi’s going to prepare the same bottle of wine the next time you visit.” Saria’s eyes lit up, she spoke with a hint of excitement, she said. “Really?!”
Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “That’s assuming I’m going to need you to visit again, but I doubt it.” The excitement in the elf’s eyes slightly died down while Reiki took out a tattered pouch from his pocket, he continued. “Here’s something to give them a small fright.” From the pouch, Reiki brought out a small white folder with a few pages in it. Saria took it off his hands, she said. “What’s this?” Reiki pocketed the tattered pouch and said. “It’s just a folder with three empty pages on it, we can just pass it to each other and pretend we’re exchanging reports.”
Chishiki and Akemi’s eyes were glued onto the folder as the elf took it off Reiki’s hands. Saria placed the folder near the pocket of her green dress as the space around it seemed to warp and bend as the folder vanished. Saria said. “Are you sure scaring them this much is a good idea?” Reiki stood up from his seat, he said. “I’m not trying to scare them, just giving them a false alarm.” He made his way next to the elf and continued. “Hopefully, the next time we meet it’ll be in the forest.”
Chishiki appeared beside Reiki as she placed an arm on top of his head and playfully messed up his unkempt and scraggly hair, she said. “We’ll show you out.” Reiki gently grabbed Chishiki’s wrist as he moved her hand away from his hair, he looked up to the elf and said. “We’ll walk you to the front door.” Reiki translated for her, he said. “Chishiki offered to walk you to the front door.” Saria raised her hand as she shook her head sideways, she said. “It’s fine, It’ll be faster if I just used magic instead.”
Akemi was all of a sudden on Chishiki’s left as the two girls stood behind Reiki. He thought. Why are they both behind me? Akemi gently poked Reiki’s shoulder and said. “Reiki, what did she say?” He looked up to the two girls, Reiki said. “Saria said it’ll be faster for her to use magic to go home.” Chishiki nodded in understanding, she said. “Tell her I enjoyed drinking wine with her.” Akemi quickly spoke before Reiki could say something, she said. “And next time we’ll make sure there’s no fish on the menu.” Reiki pointed at Chishiki as he spoke in elvish, he said. “Chishiki enjoyed drinking wine with you.”
He pointed at Akemi and continued. “She’ll make sure that there won’t be fish on the menu next time.” Saria smiled at them, she said. “I’m looking forward to sharing a drink with them in the future. And I'm sorry that I didn’t try a single piece of the uh, sushi?” Reiki nodded as he spoke in Japanese, he said. “She’s looking forward to sharing a drink with you two again and she’s sorry for not giving sushi a try.” Chishiki had a polite smile on her lips, she said. “It’s fine, different cultures and whatnot.”
Akemi waved her hand in dismissal and said. “During my stay abroad it took me a while to start liking sushi again.” Saria was about to take something out of her pocket when Reiki suddenly spoke, he said. “Before I forget.” He was already holding onto his tattered pouch as he took out four medium-sized cardboard boxes. Reiki effortlessly held them with one hand as Chishiki and Akemi noticed neat elvish writing on the first box on the top. Saria read the elvish writing on the box, she thought. … Enora?... Young majesty!
Reiki spoke in elvish and said. “Can’t forget about what I promised them.” Saria's smile turned nervous, she said. “Yeah, good thing you didn’t forget.” She tried to lift all four of the boxes using both her hands but immediately stopped, she thought. These boxes are heavier than they look. She placed one of her hands in her pocket and touched the top of the box as it disappeared into thin air. One after the other the boxes dissipated, Reiki took out a couple of large jars of peanut butter and said. “These are a small token for helping me out.”
Saria quickly shook her head, she said. “It’s fine, you already got me this job-.” Reiki ignored her as he took the lid off, peeled the seal off, and said. “Use your pinky to try some, and then you can refuse.” Saria stared at the brown contents of the jar as she scraped a small amount of peanut butter using her pinky. Chishiki slightly tilted her head at Akemi and said. “Have you tried peanut butter when you were abroad?” Akemi nodded, she said. “I did, I stopped because I was gaining weight by eating too much of it.”
Saria ate the peanut butter on her pinky as her eyes brightened up by the taste, she saw the smirk on Reiki’s face as he put the lid back on. Saria faked a cough and said. “Since it would be rude to refuse. I-I’ll take these off your hands…” Her hands blurred as the two jars from his hands vanished, Reiki held out the seal he peeled off as Saria took it off his hands, she took out a talisman from her pocket. Saria said. “... Until next time…” The talisman was enveloped in a thin layer of mana as Saria’s clothes changed back into the hooded figure along with her facial features.
The man nodded at them as he pulled the hood back up to hide his face and made his way out of the building. The three of them watched the hooded figure take a few steps and vanish, Reiki made his way back to his seat. He picked up his cylinder-shaped tea cup, he said. “You two did better than I imagined.” Akemi and Chishiki slowly made their way to him, they gave him odd looks as if he were an extinct creature. He noticed the stares and said. “What?”
Chishiki placed both her hands on the table, she said. “Don’t you, what me. You speak elvish?!” Reiki casually nodded at her while Akemi placed a hand on his shoulder and said. “And you didn’t even tell us in advance that the elf visiting didn’t know how to speak common tongue!?” Reiki shrugged his shoulders, he said. “I did meet her before-.” Chishiki interrupted him and said. “And you didn’t bother to ask?” He was about to take a sip of his green tea when Akemi took his cup away from him. Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “When would I even get the opportunity to ask in the first place? Everyone spoke elvish in the forest.”
He held his hand out, Reiki continued. “Can I have my tea back?” Akemi placed the cup on the table as Reiki held it with one of his hands. Chishiki let out a sigh as she moved her hands away from the table, she thought. I’ll start with the important ones first. She watched him take a sip of green tea and said. “Are you hiding anything else important from us?” Reiki pretended to think as he shook his head sideways while Chishiki and Akemi simultaneously thought. I don’t believe you one bit.
Akemi stared at Reiki with a hint of hesitation in her expression, she said. “... Reiki…” Reiki felt the warmth from the calm through the palm of his hand, he said. “You’ll be the first to know if her majesty ever develops an interest in other ventures.” Akemi was stunned for a brief moment as she let out an exhale and tried to suppress the smile that was forming on her lips, she said. “I owe you one then…” Reiki took a sip of his tea as he glanced at Chishiki from the corner of his eye.
He said. “Just ask what’s on your mind.” Chishiki had a peculiar expression on her face, she stared at him for a couple of seconds and said. “Other than giving us instructions for the company… How come you never explained anything to us?” Reiki stared out of the large glass panes as he watched people going about their day, he said. “When you two asked, I made sure to answer all of your questions. Don’t you two remember? I told you two were more likely to get replaced than me.”
Akemi’s brows furrowed as she went into deep thought while Chishiki’s expression turned into confusion, she said. “When was that? I don’t remember.” Reiki gently blew on his cup of tea and said. “You two probably don’t since when I said it you just laughed it off.” Chishiki’s expression slowly changed from confusion to realization, she thought. … Oh… It was that time… Akemi’s eyes widened as she recalled when it happened while Reiki emptied his cup of tea in one go. He stood up from his seat which got both of the girls attention, he said. “Any more questions?”
The two girls glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes as they simultaneously shook their heads sideways. Reiki nodded, he continued. “How many alchemists do we have? And what rank are they?” Chishiki quickly put on a calm expression and said. “Ten, all of them are apprentices.” Reiki did some light stretches in place, he said. “Tell all of them to come here and we’ll pay them ten thousand yen for their trouble. Oh, and be prepared to fire all of them and give them this month's pay.” Akemi had a concern all over her face, she said. “You’re not going to fire all of them… Right?”
Reiki finished his stretches and said. “Of course not.” Akemi and Chishiki let out a sigh of relief, Reiki continued. “If we're lucky a couple of them might stay.” The two girls froze in place while Reiki took a couple of steps toward the door leading out of the room. Chishiki came back to her senses, she said. “Wait! Where are you going?” Reiki turned his head and said. “Bathroom, eating all that meat and sushi isn’t sitting right in my stomach.” The two girls stared at him for a few seconds before Akemi said. “Take a left, second door on the right.”
Reiki made his way out of the room leaving while the two girls made their way back to their seats as they sat down. The two of them glanced at the door as the moment it shut Chishiki let out a long sigh and said. “After all we’ve done to keep those alchemists… Now all of them are fired…” Akemi rested on the backrest of the chair, she said. “He never said that.” Chishiki placed her elbow on the table as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand, she said. “It was heavily implied though.”
Chishiki stared out the glass panes and said. “What’s our next move?” Akemi slightly tilted her head forward as she glanced at the door, she said. “First I’m going to call the alchemists and then-.” Chishiki waved her other hand, she said. “No, I meant our move.” Akemi pondered for a moment as she used her index finger to tap on the table, she said. “Arms length… We can’t act friendly all of a sudden, the best course of action is to follow his lead and do our best so that we don’t get replaced…”
Akemi snapped her fingers as a laptop appeared on the table in front of her, she flipped it open and started typing on the keyboard while Chishiki was deep in thought. The sound of keyboard typing filled the room as Chishiki moved her chin away from the palm of her hand, she said. “Despite nothing going to how we hoped… We know someone with an inseparable connection to the elves…” Akemi lightly tapped enter as she stretched on her seat, she said. “That’s assuming no one that can do our jobs better doesn’t show up.”
Chishiki glanced at the door and said. “I’ve given it some thought, and I doubt they’ll replace us with everything that we know about the company…” Akemi closed her laptop as she snapped her fingers as it vanished from the table, she thought for a moment and said. “... True… But they can always force an oath on us and it’s not like we’re the only two people on the planet with business that failed…” The two girls stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, as Chishiki picked up her glass that still had some wine left. Chishiki said. “But, there’s no harm in working hard.”
