Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

The clatter of cups being put down on the saucer rested heavily inside the angst-ridden room. On one hand, Raven wanted Monty at any cost, but on the other, he knew that would just force the boy to act out.

"Just some," looking sideways at him, Raven\'s gaze reflected just how easily he could reveal everything to Lincy and being a fanatic for the hero type, she would gobble it up like gospel. However, breaking his gaze and turning his attention back to Lincy, Raven\'s answer turned rather tame. "Just some fetching quests from the adventurer\'s guild.

My party hasn\'t been there in a while and since we\'re often busy with work, your brother takes proof of quest completion to the guild for us and brings us the rewards."

Making up a convenient lie, Raven had both Monty and Lincy\'s surprise. The sister, for she had no clue that her brother was helping the hero and Monty, for he expected Raven to spill the truth. But before he had the chance to contemplate why the hero would do so, his sister turned to him for further answers.

"Why didn\'t you tell me you were helping the chosen!" Lincy exclaimed, her eyes beaming bright with joy yet her tone carrying a hint of anger.

"I...Uh..." His eyes glued to Raven, Monty scratched the back of his head, wondering what to tell his sister.

"This was the first time," coming to the rescue once again, Raven looked at Lincy with a bright smile. Glancing down to the pouch of gold and making her follow his eyes, he pushed the back in her direction. "We had the arrangement for a while, but since he refused payment, I guess there was no real use in telling. But, not anymore, I\'ll be dropping off his payment to your house from now on myself."

"Ohhhh~" Reaching for the pouch while humming her words, the demi-pup tried to pick it up but couldn\'t move the pouch at first. Putting more and more effort into lifting it, she managed to get it in her hands before taking a quick look in. "So, so much gold..."

Her face painted a golden glow from the light reflected off the coins, Lincy took long deep breaths trying to calm herself down. There was enough in the pouch to last them a few modest years without the need to sell anything throughout winter, yet the glister of gold felt pervasive--almost as if was screaming at her to throw it away.

"W-we can\'t accept this!" She yelped, jerking her head up to match Raven\'s gaze again.

Placing the pouch on the table, Lincy tried to push it back toward Raven but with a simple gaze, Raven conjured a small tabloid of darkness to stand before the pouch like a wall.

"What\'s that!" Almost instantly forgetting about the coins, Lincy clasped her hands, ecstatic at the sight of the strange magic. Her eyes beaming joy bright as a star, the pup moved her head side to side, admiring the block of darkness while her tail wagged happily.

In that moment, Raven realized just how gullible the sister was, and thus his attention turned back to Monty.

\'You think you\'ll live peacefully with her when working where you do, is bound to prop up numerous enemies? Don\'t make me laugh, Monty. We never wanted to make an enemy of the Mistress either, but hell if it wasn\'t inevitable once we knew the truth behind what she did with some noble.\' Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Monty looked away from Raven.

Smart enough to realize the threat of working for the maze and by extension the Mistress, he wanted to agree with the hero, but simply couldn\'t. It wasn\'t a matter of ego or accepting defeat but rather the knowledge that he would be sticking his head in between two disputing parties.

Not only would that enrage Mistress if found, but also bring about the inevitable for anyone working for the Succubus\'s Maze.

\'I will consider it for sure, but please go for now.\' Talking through their mind link, Monty tried to get Raven to leave, but his sister decided to interrupt yet again.

"How did you make this?!" Excited at the block of darkness seemingly made of shadows rather than the absence of light, Lincy had forgotten about the coins on the table and instead wanted to know more about the hero\'s skill. "All I can do is a bit of natura healing magic, but do you think I can do this too?"

"Not exactly but if you focus your mana enough," urging Lincy to follow his steps, Raven stretched his arm forward and concentrated his mana under the pouch of gold. The next thing they knew, the gold elevated from the tabletop with the help of a floating darkness tile. "All magic lets you create basic objects, like fira for fire, aqua for water, gust for wind, and illumina for holy magic."

"What should I try for natura magic then?" Beaming bright with visible joy, Lincy looked forward to what Raven had to teach her, and as their conversation continued and so did the teaching the entire kettle of tea laid empty on the table.

\'You know she\'s gonna forget all this training in an hour or so right?\' Tired of watching the two practising in the living room, Monty tried to dissuade Raven, but the mage was far too concentrated on teaching Lincy to listen to her brother.

"All magic stems either from gods, runic magic which isn\'t quite something you can learn without a natural born affinity to a certain element, or deities similar to gods--like the patrons of warlock, even devils and angels." Explaining to Lincy how magic worked while she tried everything in her power to manifest her natura magic in a physical form, the mage intentionally left out his own source of magical affinity, fae-blood or to dissect further a connection with Umbra.

"SPROUT!!!!" Lincy screamed, focusing every bit of her mind to conjure a sampling on the table.

Her effort, however, bore no results as she had no blessing from a god or a deity, but a mild affinity to natura through blood. Had she been smarter, more capable of learning, the words of arcane would\'ve flowed through her lips even if she didn\'t know what any of it meant.

Her attempt to manifest her magic continued throughout the rest of her day, and although she ever managed to conjure anything, a dinner with her family and the hero more than made up for it.

By the time Raven left the house with Tanya, Monty was much more inclined to accept his deal, but before the boy had a complete change of heart, he needed some time, some time to think about the implication of spying on the Mistress for him and his family.