Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 579: A Sorceress’s Request

Ready to leave for Athenia again to meet up with Choux and Moxy, Raven reached for his necklace and was just about to teleport when Shamisha came rushing out of one of the rooms in the back. Everyone’s gaze turned to her, for she was stumbling like a sailor who’d finally set foot on solid land.

Hungover from last night still, she was struggling to keep herself afoot. However, latching onto a corner of the bar table, she lifted herself upright and stared at Raven deep in his eyes.

”I…I want you to be my boyfriend!” Blurting that out in front of everyone, she drew a few gasps from the girls and a raised eyebrow from Raven. None of them had a clue that she’d watched them having sex last night so it made little sense as to where she was coming from. ”W-when you come back, we’re gonna go…go on a date, alright!”

”What?!” The girls yelped in unison, their jaws hanging with shock.

Tilting his head in confusion, Raven was surprised no less but he did a better job hiding his emotions. Walking closer to the bunny girl, he eyed her up and down–almost in a judging manner, imagining what it would be like to have her as a girlfriend of sorts.

”What made you decide to join these girls in being one of my women?” He asked, his eyes piercingly sharp as he stared at her nervous expression.

With a gulp, Shamisha let out an awkward chuckle. Then taking a deep breath she looked at everyone around her and began to explain again as she had yesterday while drunk.

”I-I just wanna settle down now, and for that, I need a boyfriend at least–someone who can help me raise a litter,” her head lowered from the embarrassment of admitting so, Shamisha stared at the ground, expecting to be rejected. ”Mono has overshadowed me in every way, but unlike her, at least I can be a mother–raise kids that can surpass my talent, maybe even her someday!”

Lifting her head again, she held sombre tears in her eyes while looking at Raven. For her, an inventor being left in the shadow of her master–one that could come back to life and live forever, was the greatest insult she could’ve ever incurred. Even to this day, a Mono doll was worth ten times her creations, and whenever recognized, she was seen as no one but the queen’s apprentice.

”So…Just give me a chance, will you? I don’t want much, just another reason to keep going another day.” The weight in her quivering voice reflected her desperation. After having weeks of nothing to do past the hell’s expedition’s preparations, Shamisha lacked purpose and now, in this shaken state of her, she wanted to cling to hope–hope that someday she could find a new purpose greater than her own self-serving career.

’She’s desperate, I guess I understand how she feels though.’ There were times Raven regretted becoming his group leader, he wondered whether someone else could do a better job even though it was clear that he was the ideal pick for the spot. What he failed to realize and so did Shamisha was that their doubts towards themselves were a step towards bettering themselves.

”Sure, if a date’s all you want, I doubt anyone would object.” Spreading his arms, Raven invited her to a warm hug. ”As for the litter, you’d have to wait until this journey of mine is over. Driving away the forces of evil takes precedence over anything else, after all.”

Her eyes fluttered to the sight of open arms, and as she looked up, the sorceress couldn’t help but blush. Leaning into Raven’s arms on her own, she quickly buried her face against his chest and in the meantime, the mage wrapped her body in a comforting hug. Enveloped by his warmth, a hefty sight left Shamisha’s lips. She felt like a weight had been lifted from over her shoulders and to a degree it had, for the years of struggle trying to keep up with Mono, she felt as though she no longer had to engage in that chase.

The struggle was over and she’d lost, but why then did it feel like she’d won in some other way? Giving that idea a thorough thought while hugging Raven back, she eventually came to the conclusion that…

”I suppose it’s better to let go sometimes…” With a light chuckle, she closed her eyes and pressed her ear to Raven’s heart. Keeping him held tight within her grip, she listened to his heartbeat until her own heart eased to his rhythm as well.

As he finally pulled away she felt a strange longing already budding inside of her heart. More than sex, more than the mere acts of pleasure, she’d been aching for comfort–comfort from herself and her thoughts that judged her every waking moment. And in his arms she realized why people cared so much for their partner, why it broke their heart so much when they decided to part ways with each other.

”I’ll be waiting then, for our date,” she whispered, a gentle smile riding on her lips.

Waving at her with a smile as well, Raven walked backwards to the empty spot in the inn from where he was about to teleport away. Giving everyone else a brief look as well, he waved at them all and finally grabbing the pendant he closed his eyes and teleported back to Athenia.

With him gone an eerie silence took over the inn. The working day had yet to start so there was no sound coming from underneath. Standing still in that silence, the girls stared at the spot where their man had been. He would return again, but exactly when? None of them had a clue, and thus they were already missing him.

”Well, back to work,” pulling herself out of that trance, Lana was the first to get back to work.

Soon enough the others followed suit, and as for the sorceress, she was on her way to Mono’s castle to tell her master that she was retiring as her aid. Past that, she would head to the spire and announce the same to her students, however, her personal records would be made public, revealing to everyone exactly how the automatons were made and the working behind them.

”I’ve given you everything I know, now go figure the rest out by yourself!” With that declaration, the sorceress had started a new age of inventions.