Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

The kitchen was closed for the day as Tanya was recovering in bed. Raven and his companions–even Aria who'd been bruised up from Helga's training had gathered in the main hall. There was a lot of catching up to do even though not much time had passed since they'd talked to each other.

Raven was the first to explain the situation with Maria and the execution that was to take place in a week's time, then came Erika's turn to let everyone know about how she's gonna run the church in Athenia while they're gone to continue their adventure. Aria wanted to share her piece as well, but her promise to Helga made her consider otherwise.
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Instead, she informed the rest about her new gauntlets in the making from the dark metal as well as the fact that she'd convinced Helga to train her some more.

Everyone was curious as to how Aria managed to convince Helga, but there was something far more interesting that they needed to discuss first.

"So the guy with Tia was a girl, huh?" Amedith mumbled, unsure how he felt being bamboozled the same way he'd unintentionally done to others.

"I knew, but…I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to reveal since the girl must've been hiding it for a reason," Liliyana added, an unsure look resting on her face.

"Who cares at this point?" Mel jumped into the conversation, shutting it down essentially.

"Can we just enjoy a day's rest?" Speaking from the joint table next to the party, Mino rolled her eyes at how serious everyone had suddenly gotten. Glancing over the concerned faces, she picked up a roasted lamb leg and equipped it like a weapon. "Eat for fuck's sake! We were supposed to have some fun before moving to the next hellhole waiting for us in that ocean!"

Lifting up a glass, Maine cheered in agreement–the others, although not as enthusiastic, decided to do the same. Amelia and Ophelia especially, were in dire need of relief from the stressful environment they'd recently been in.

"Cheap wine…Not exactly what I'd like to celebrate anything too, but I guess it has to do," Amelia complained, although she still downed her cup in a swift gulp.

Ophelia on the other hand, didn't touch the ale, as she wasn't really sure if she even wanted to drink something so pungent. However, looking at the others drinking without a complaint, she decided to at least take a sip, but the instant regretted her decision.

"Aghh!" Breaking into a fit of coughs, she placed the cup back on the table. Wiping her mouth off that filth, she lifted her head back up. "How are you people even drinking this abomination?"

Looking at her in confusion, none of them had a clue as to what Ophelia was on about–apart from Maria who currently wasn't drinking, and Amelia who didn't much care for taste anymore, everyone was used to the sour throat-burning taste of cheap Athenian ale.

"Nevermind…" Ophelia heaved, shoving the drink to the side and instead focusing on the meal being brought out by Moxy.

The meals and the joys of spending time together with everyone were enough of a pleasure to soothe their souls a little, but it didn't quell the issues plaguing the party. Raven especially, a bit overwhelmed himself, didn't know whether to wait and prepare for the execution, or help clear the rest of the tasks like helping Lana and checking on Linkle in the meantime.

Both would require a few days of time at the minimum–leaving him with a tight window to squeeze in the preparations for the wedding.

'One step at a time would probably be better…' Coming to a half-hearted conclusion, he finally decided to let the week pass and the execution happen. Then once it was over, he could focus on the remaining task and finally spend some time with everyone like he'd planned. 'But if this continues, we'll be in Athenia for at least a month–maybe even a month and a half.

The initial plan was a week or two, however, leaving that quickly now is just out of the question.'

Turning his attention to Maria, who was surprisingly timid in her new environment, Raven was also reminded of her training so she could survive their journey. The queen was no magic user, neither did she know any fighting form, and so it was proving quite difficult to determine her class.

"Is something wrong?" All of a sudden Liliyana broke Raven's chain of thoughts.

Seeing his emotions being all over the place with her devil sight, she had grown concerned as to what was troubling him so much.

"What?" Not realizing that his worries were clear as day to Liliyana, Raven squinted his eyes and looked at her with a confused gaze. "What do you mean?"

Lifting the fork in her hand and directing it towards Maria, Liliyana got everyone's attention turned to the ex-queen.

"You've been looking at her, and seemed quite worried. I can only assume it's because she's gonna be travelling with us soon, right?" Right on the mark with her assumption, she'd managed to prick Raven a little.

Not yet entirely over their fae repulsion, he glared at her for a while, and she glared back at him. But then noticing everyone's eyes being focused on him, Raven took a deep breath and sighed before revealing his worries.

"Yeah fine, I'm worried she'd be dead before the first horror even looks at her," he explained, and Maria shuddered at the thought alone.

She knew very little about the outer world, yet the name horror could not have been a pleasant monster. But that wasn't the end of her worries, as the moment Raven had prosed his thoughts, Asmodia emerged from Erika's body, holding some opinions of her own.

A bit surprised by her appearance, everyone turned to her–their hands gripped with caution, but the tension eased a little when she revealed her intentions.

"Let me train her, she'd be a great succubi illusionist~" Wearing a smile, Asmodia could already see Maria's skin turning a raw pink, and a pair of dark horns protruding from her skull. All she needed was permission from the party's leader, to turn Maria into a succubus proficient in illusionary tactics.

But the first thing Raven spelt was a compromise–something she didn't quite like but had to agree to either way.

"You're not turning her into anything, but if you can still mentor her under Erika's guidance then sure, you're free to do so." Seizing the opportunity with a smile, Asmodia pretentiously bowed before darting her sharp gaze at Maria.

"Be ready, little lamb, ahaha~" And with those words, she disappeared back into Erika's body.