Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

As the duke came to his senses and began feeling much better, it was time for Raven to have a much-needed talk with him. Sitting in the same hall as he'd once with Mercedes, the duke kept glancing sideways at the mage and the rest of his party while rubbing a bag of ice against his head. Somewhat dazed still, he didn't want to deal with whatever the group wanted from him even though they'd saved his life, thus with a gesture of his hands he urged the group leader to start speaking quickly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The crude behaviour had everyone frowning, even the monster girls who'd been let out of the gem to better reflect what Raven and his party were there to represent. However, detaching emotion from duty, the mage began explaining to him what the Merchant had done all the way from betraying the demi-humans and beastmen to the potential poisoning of the duke by that wine he'd drank.

As the explanation went on for a while, the duke's expression changed from disinterest to a mix of concern and anger. Looking at Erika, the woman who'd healed him he stared at her for a moment as Raven was done with the explanation. Expecting him to thank her, everyone held their breaths for it to be out of the way, but instead, he simply turned his head back to the leader.

"And what do you want for this info? Another deal to strike, too bad but I've struck enough deals and gotten bit for them for one day…" With an angry grimace on his face, the duke glared at Raven.

The mage, although surprised by the man's lack of gratitude, didn't let it show on his face. Instead, holding his hand to the side, he had Mino take his hand and walk in front of him. Then pulling her into his seat and on his lap, Raven tilted his head slightly while looking at the enraged man. Read exclusive content at empire

"You see, I…" Placing his hand on Mino's thighs, Raven started caressing them. "I'm quite fond of demi-humans, even monsters and beastmen you could say, but I don't think you agree with me do you?"

Looking between Mino and Raven, Viscount's eyes scowled further and blurted in a rage.

"What the hell is this?! Some kind of interrogation?! I'm the fucking duke of this city! Who the hell are you to question me?!" Turning his head towards the hall's doors, the duke aggressively beckoned the soldiers to charge in through open doors. "GET THESE COMMONER PIGS OUT OF MY FACE!"

As the men began to charge, however, a wall of vines emerged from under the doorframe and turned into an impermeable wall that kept healing itself despite the desperate attempts of the soldiers to cut a path through it.

"Consider yourself lucky Raven wants you alive you coward…" The word of the elf, after witnessing her powers, sent a cold shiver up Viscount's spine, and he turned to look at her; he was met with just as fierce looks from everyone as he'd worn just a moment ago. The only difference between the two? His held no weight for he was a coward while the men and women to his front were ready to tear him asunder if he dared defied their leader any longer.

"Just treat them right, as equals and we'll leave you the fuck alone!" Barked Amedith, his androgynous voice startled Viscount and even made him jump in his seat.

'WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE?!' He wondered, only for him to be reminded of the rumours that he'd heard not too long ago. Looking at their faces, his heart pointing a mile an hour, he quivered from his core at the realisation of who it was that he was facing.

"T-the heroes?! Y-you're them…the false heroes!" He blurted.

"Don't you dare insult our goddess' choice like that!" Erika yelled back, angered by his assumptions.

"Yeah, we're the heroes–not the true or false, the heroes!" Aria added further, just as pissed over being labelled as true or false.

"Doesn't matter…" Raven spoke and everyone fell quiet again. Allowing Viscount a moment to turn his attention back to him, the mage made an offer. "So here is the deal, you're gonna talk to the leaders of the alliance and then adhere to their demands, and after that, you're gonna help me bring Mercedes to your queen and talk us up as much as possible."

His eyes quivered at the thought of defiance, for Raven was no longer asking–not when he could simply kill Viscount if he truly wanted. With a gulp, the duke reluctantly nodded and although he knew the others wouldn't quite like the shift in his policy towards Demis and beasts, he had no choice but to keep himself shut and just do it.

"Now then," glancing over to Maine and Arche, both of whom had been slightly reclusive for a while, Raven gave them a nod and gestured to the two to free the winged demi-human that the duke had trapped.

Still shaken by what had happened to her while making love with Raven, Arche allowed Maine to take the lead, even though the young girl was just as nervous as her being out. Watching them walking away, however, their concerns didn't go unnoticed as Raven knew how the events of the past had affected them and thus he wanted them to move freely and get used to the real world again.

'I thought with more allies I would feel stronger, but now that I feel so close to them all, I almost don't want them to take action–to put themselves in the face of danger.' Growing ever closer with the girls, Raven's heart has grown softer yet his mind continues to tell him not to let it affect his decision-making–but even then, he would rather play on diplomacy or build an army to fight the horrors instead of putting his party in danger.

'A pipe dream, isn't it?' He thought for he knew even when he had an army, they would have to face the toughest of the tough–making each battle they took part in get progressively more treacherous. But the time for such worries was far and what he decided to focus on instead was whether Regalia and Liliyana managed to convince the demi-humans and such.

"Alright time to check on the rest of the group!" He said getting off the chair and instantly reaching for the teleporter. But before slipping away he ordered a handful to remain at the duke's and while looking into the man's eyes he whispered. "Kill him if he tries to even move out of that chair…"

Viscount squeaked in terror at the order and gripped the chair tight, all the while, Amedith, Aria, and Mel stood before him, their hands folded close yet their bodies ready to beat the man to a bloody pulp.

Note: Sorry for only one chapter today, been focused on the upcoming book's outline, but I plan to release two extra chapters tomorrow as compensation for the schedule change. Also Happy New Year, I hope you find happiness and joy this year!