Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 624: A Rather Unwelcoming Retort

”Weʼve been prying too far. The gods, theyʼre obviously threatened by your expansion.” The kingʼs bedroom had been quiet ever since Raven had entered to talk to him and Vialo. Tia and Robin were also by their side, but the only one speaking up was the king himself. ”How can you claim no responsibility for what has happened? Maybe we should slow down on the armyʼs forward march!”

”You promise that you only needed one year to figure everything out,” jumping in on the conversation from the bed, Viola added while looking into Ravenʼs gaze. ”But now more than ever, our kingdom is in peril. I thought you were supposed to make us more secure, not hamper our security.”

Worried that her child might perish along with her in case one of these assailers managed to hurt her someday, Viola demanded an answer–and even though her heart belonged to him at this point, she remained firm in demanding what she was owed via his promise.

”I hate to say this, but…” Chiming in as well, Robin spoke up with a nervous quiver in her voice. ”We were supposed to have a celebration, but instead we need to bury countless soldiers. I think the kingʼs right, maybe we need to slow down a little.”

Anxious, the blessed girl caressed her breast pocket. Within it was her bird turned coin, Tweety–a source of calm in this chaotic environment.

Glancing around at everyoneʼs faces, Raven took their concerns into consideration. However, in the end, one question arose, and that was enough to shut them down.

”Would you rather we sit here and wait for the demon lordʼs revival? Whether we do something or not, the other gods–especially those of the council will never leave us alone, not unless we turn our faith to their perverse dogma. At least Athenia wants to offer them a truce–a helping hand, but they? They send these intruders into our city to kill our soldiers. What makes you think that they wonʼt fuck us over if weʼre just stay here like sitting ducks?”

His words echoed through the silence. The many gazes on him were averted as well, and while everyoneʼs mind raced for retort, the hero took a deep breath and spoke once again.

”Athenia chose me to ensure that the demon lord isnʼt revived, and if he is, then Iʼll take care of him.” As everyoneʼs head turned to him again, he glared at them with visceral scorn. ”You wanna know what the others are choosing their chosen for? To stop me! To stop us from ensure our world doesnʼt get fucked over by the demon lordʼs revival! They canʼt give two shits about the people of this world–especially us! So donʼt you dare even think thereʼs anything we can do to remain on their good side.”

Breathing heavily to calm his rage, Raven shook his head and lowered his gaze to the ground. Heaving a sigh yet again, he concluded.

”Arrogant, power hungry bastards, thatʼs what they are, it doesnʼt matter to them if the greatest threat to our work wakes from his sleep again, as long as they can get rid of Athenia and her followers. Nothing but pure hatred for their own sibling, thanks to that half-witted goddess that we used to serve.”

With no retort left to his reasoning, everyone remained quiet. Having been around the violence that Raven saw daily back when she was brought to Lululalia, Robin especially didnʼt want to challenge him, as she knew exactly what kind of hell he and the soldiers mustʼve gone through. Everyone else, on the other hand, hadnʼt the slightest clue what it meant to be at war. And that fact alone made them reluctant, so much so that the meeting was adjourned then and there.

”You may be good at playing politics and policy,” looking at the king and king and queen, Raven held their gazes firm. ”But when it comes to fighting, war and everything else, just leave it to me, why wonʼt you? Because just like I would make a terrible king for Athenia, you two would make terrible soldiers to take into war.”

Flicking his hand at them, Raven turned around and began to walk.

”Leave the security of the kingdom to me, Iʼll find some way to make sure this doesnʼt happen again.” And with those words, he marched away, leaving the king, the queen and the two girls to discuss amongst themselves how they felt about Ravenʼs words.

For the most part, there was agreement, and although most of the retorts came from Milo, a tight squeeze of his hand by Viola ensured that he remembered not to push too far against her lover and her boyfriend. In the end, after a few hours of drifting topics, Tia and Robin left for mansion ʼPhordite as well. And while Viola wished to accompany them, after what had happened today, she knew that doing so would put her in a very bad light in front of the affected civilians.

Thus, staying behind with her husband, she laid in bed pondering what to do next. In the meantime, Milo too began working on a list of repairs, expenditures, along with the arrangement of proper rites for the deceased. For the most part, the dead took precedence over everything else, but a fallen castle was an omen too dark to uphold for long.

ʼWe might need labor from Elenaris…fuck!ʼ Already informed that Elenaris was meant to be commercially isolated for a while, Milo cursed his fate as the timing couldnʼt have been worse. And sure enough, he could hire the demi-humans and the beastmen from Lululalia, but transporting them from a seaside city to an elevated plateau was bound to cause health problems that would delay the repairs far too much.

”That leaves the Mistress…” As much as he hated to admit it, he would have to rely on the succubi and incubi for the repairs.

ʼI donʼt know what to do–ʼ And while the king was confused about his next step, the general had a lot in mind as well. Questions like why did Athenia not protect the citizens while he wasnʼt there or why were the gods getting so cocky all of sudden even though the party hasnʼt breached their territory yet. But of course, there was no sight of an answer, thus before he could make up his mind, he had to consult the others–listen to their ideas, and perhaps even clear his head in one way or the other.