Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 906: Absentee

When asked to be his envoy, Valentina hadn’t expected the hero to place such immense thought into her departure from the ships and her arrival in the kingdom of Alliance. Still standing by the docks and waiting for a wagon to arrive, her gaze wandered far at the angels from under Raven’s grasp, lining the city streets. Amongst them were the Prince of Nile’s angels and the underlings of Evangeline. All, waiting for her arrival with either musical instruments or with their weapons at the ready.

The very roads were swept clean by Elana’s djinn magic, and waiting on both sides, along with the angels, were coppelicon riding members of the holy order and a handful of veteran soldiers. Keeping the army’s presence to a minimum, nobody of note was assigned such duties. Even the soldiers on the birds were instructed to carry concealed weaponry.

To offset the tension the soldiers’ presence could still cause, Choux and her adolescent drake Daema were assigned as Valentina’s inner circle of bodyguards. The bay people were already confused by the strange sight of a young girl accompanied by an adorable-looking drake. And the look of either boredom or indifference on their faces kept the citizens wondering about them instead of the rest of the crowd around the Envoy.

The centuarians garnered some attention as well, but their lavish attire and demure appearance that mirrored the Envoy and the Mistress helped them blend better than the rest. Hayley, of course, stuck out like a sore thumb, being a spirit inhabiting a clone body of Avarice. Hilma was no different in her stature, but compared to Josare, who was standing beside Frazer, the human and the spirit were far more digestible to the ignorant mind.

Squeezing her wrist with the borrowed bracelet from Raven, the Red Madam took a deep breath and felt the monster holding jewel’s silent hum against her fingers. All the while, finally, Mercedes and Mono’s Twin were arriving with a wagon that they’d just purchased from a merchant.

”I hope this mission is nothing like last time,” Robin whispered, a nervous jitter audible in her voice.

Looking at her standing beside her, Valentina placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

”Stay close to me, and if something does happen,” directing her gaze at Aradin, Garcia, and Jenna, standing in a cluttered group in a corner, she added. ”Look for them. I have a feeling that with luck, ability, and healing on their side, those guys will have the best chance of getting back to the ships.”

”A-alright,” Robin nodded and tried to shake off her jitters.

The sound of sudden clapping from Monty and the taking of flight by Lumine snapped everyone back to the present. Staring at the spy on land, everyone perked up their ears to listen while Mercedes and the wagon were right around the corner.

”Lumine will inform us of any possible ambushes from up high. Do not attack someone just because you think they’re suspicious. Remember what the general said! We’re here to make an impression, not kill and conquer!” And with that said, Monty turned around and started rushing ahead to survey the road before the wagon makes it down the path.

”This was a bitch of an errand,” Mercedes complains, dislodging the wagon with the Twin.

Her complaints kept piling up for a while until the Coppelicons on the wagon were groomed to stand out from the rest of them. Finally getting inside the vehicle with the Mistress, Robin, and Linkle, the madam gave the order to start the procession. Instantly, the angels erupted into a song, and the strings of their instruments echoed throughout the town. The prince of Nile orchestrated the choir, bringing down a soothing blanket of calm over the entire city and its citizens.

With their minds settled for once, the commoners spared themselves a moment to turn and watch the procession. The first thing they noticed was the angels standing on mortal soil–something they thought was only possible in sagas lost to time. Lured further to the streets by the music, they felt for once in the longest time–clarity. Their worship of Oruon halted for but a moment; they strangely felt more at peace doing nothing at all than staring at the procession.

Aromatic petals of flowers rained from above, landing on their soldiers from the hands of flying angels. Marking the path right before Valentina’s carriage, the winged servants of the gods sang with heart, and their radiance lit up the sky a bright yellow golden. And the handful of angels spared by Evangeline to accompany the envoy, as they walked with Athenia’s banner held high, the very ground beneath their feet sprouted a wide range of flowers.

The cobble right under them was not immune to change either, but instead of vegetation, their footprints turned to gold. The miracles, paired with angelic singing, were akin to setting foot through the gates of heaven. Making a large number of the commoners question themselves.

’What have we been doing?’ After years of constant worship to the god of creation with creations of their own, they had yet to receive a single blessing, but this stranger? Whoever they were, were being guided by angels? Confusion was the first emotion to spring up in their hearts, but it was far from the only one. Disappointment and a slow incline towards anger were creeping right behind.

Spreading doubts through the citizens’ minds while Oruon’s influence was unfelt and unheard, the procession appeared to be having the desired effect on the citizens of Alliance. Although as the wagon passed from the lower city to the upper city, the ostentatious arrival of the envoy seemed to have far less of an effect.

Their eyes closed with blindfolds or simply stabbed with daggers, the elites could sense the procession but couldn’t see it with their own eyes. To blind oneself from temptation while on the path of true sight was the divine duty of Kleismeth’s followers, much like how duty and progress were dogma for Elenaria’s followers, and flowering life and protecting it were for Athenia’s followers.

Fortuna and Mesmerazia had commandments of their own as well. The same held true for Oruon, and yet for some reason, the god of creation was only present in his neglect of his people.

Looking out of the window of the wagon and seeing the contrast in their perception of the procession by the commoners and the elite, the Red Madam couldn’t help but wonder if only one god ruled this place while the other was an absentee. Was he even aware that they were walking on his soil and swaying his people, after all, while visiting Eclanor, Asmareth’s influence was very much present in every person with the hatred they showed towards the hero and his army.

’I wonder why this place is different?’ Although she wasn’t present in Eclanor during the events of the war against the demon general, the Red Madam kept trying to draw parallels between what she was experiencing now and what she’d heard from the soldiers and the others present back there. ’There’s some semblance of divine presence in the upper city, and if judgment serves me right...’

Squinting her eyes for a spell, she closed the wagon’s curtain and came upon a rather enlightening realization. While Oruon–the god of creation was absent, Kleismeth was not; the people of Alliance, of course, were unaware of this, otherwise the followers of the goddess would’ve taken over the entire city. Then there was another possibility, one she didn’t have to voice herself.

”Looks like Athenia’s half-sister is playing the long game,” the Mistress muttered right by Valentina’s ears.

”Conniving. Reminds me of a devil I know...” the Red Madam whispered back, her eyes glaring at the devil beside her.

Stuck between the two and nervously fiddling with her golden coin, Robin tried to speak up and break the tension, but only a random jumble of words came out in the end. However, fortunately for her, that was enough to break the tension between the two.

”I’m just hurt that you kept pretending you didn’t know me, Valentina.” Pressing a hand to her chest, the Mistress feigned a somber look in her eyes.

Wincing at her mockery, the Red Madam sighed.

”I already don’t like you. Don’t give me a reason to hate you even more.”

A sudden knock on the window by the Mistress lured everyone’s attention. Parting the curtains, the devil peered and waved at Ophelia, who’d been walking alongside the wagon, as the interior was too small for her or Amelia.

”We’re almost at the mansion up top. Prepare yourselves mentally,” glancing past the Mistress, Ophelia honed her gaze on Robin. ”Especially you, little girl. A single stutter can show weakness, believe me, I’ve seen lesser marks of angst being exploited.”

”If it helps, you can hide behind our big asses,” Amelia added in a moment of jest.

Her joke, however, fell flat. The tension on Robin’s face was palpable. She wasn’t used to deals and trickery–perhaps espionage, thanks to her brief time in Lululalia, but everything else was foreign territory. But what was a weakness in her eyes was a sign of purity in Valentina’s. The old madam had seen the fake smiles on nobles more than she’d looked in a mirror. Thus, to see a genuine emotion on someone of noble blood was quite refreshing.

”It’s okay, girl,” placing a hand on her shoulder, the madam gave her a light squeeze. ”I was once just like you. But look at me now. Old, grumpy, and with a devil’s tongue. So let me handle the discourse? You just watch and learn for when you get older and grumpy.”

Comforting Robing a little, Valentina closed her eyes and started preparing herself for what was to come. The rest followed her lead, and before long, it was time to get off the wagon and find out what exactly this meeting with the twin elite was for.