Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

A few days prior to the whole ordeal at the castle, Helga had joined everyone at the 'Phordite mansion in trying to help Linkle get her body back from a current named devil. Her daughters of course came in tow, although they were only allowed to check into their rooms, do the daily necessities, and after getting back from school, return to their rooms.

Being teens, however, they snuck around with the help of Cerberus sniffing out Helga and guiding them back to their rooms before she could get too close. Not entirely unaware of their shenanigans, the Valkyrie allowed them some amount of freedom but didn't let them assume for a moment that she was being lenient.

'It's better if they start breaking some rules, I just have to pretend not to notice that's all.' Recognizing that she was often too tough on her girls, Helga heaved a sigh while looking into the cloudy heavens. Sitting at the stone rim of a fountain, she had been waiting for someone to arrive with a weapon–one capable of felling the worst of demons.

Although she sat under the harsh sun minding her own business, nobody else could do the same, for their minds roamed the question.

"What is she doing?" Asked Amelia, sitting on comfy grass with the rest of the girls–not currently working, accompanying her.

Looking to the Valkyrie as well Ophelia was the first to respond.

"Last time I saw her looking at the sky so intently, she killed my husband's army with like a thousand different weapons raining from the sky," the battle at the colosseum was still fresh in the ex-queen's mind. But the emotional response to the death of her people and her husband had felt a long time ago, after all, they all deserved exactly what their actions brought.

"What are you talking about?" Tanya questioned with a cup of cold iced tea in her hand.

Having not been outside of Athenia ever, she along with Aura and Tia, had no clue as to what kind of feats the hero and his party were committing on the daily. Only Robin, who'd had a taste of what it was like to be on the frontline with Raven, didn't even wanna know what kind of horror exactly the centaurians were talking about.

Even so, with both the regents turning to the uninformed companions, they began to explain to them in great detail as to what had happened back in Elenaria and up until the point Gara was slain and Ophelia freed of her burden as his wife.

"He would abuse me and the other women, I often tried to keep his anger contained to me, but every once in a while, he would take it out on a girl who just couldn't handle it, and when that time came, her body would be thrown in the coliseum for his soldiers to play with even after it has grown cold."

The blood of the curious women turned cold, and wide-eyed they stared at Ophelia, their mouths hanging agape in shock at what they'd heard. However, slowly as they came to accept the reality of living outside the plateau of Athenia, they all whispered a prayer to their goddess for just how fortunate they'd been to be born in such a peaceful land.

"Wh-when…I," swallowing her fear, Robin began to retell what she'd experienced being by Raven's side inside that inn.

Baba's pleading to kill Mercedes and the merchant's deception towards the duke and the rebellious party, the conflict between them had left a scar across her conscience, almost as if it was somehow her fault for simply spying on the merchant to bring the truth to light.

"Oh Robin…Why didn't you tell me this before?" Grabbing her best friend's quivering arm, Tia hugged her tight until the nervous jitter in Robin's body was completely gone.

As for the others, just listening to it all was more than enough adventurer and they hoped that it was never their turn to head out of Athenia on some grand mission of sorts.

"What happened after that?" Aura asked, but with a stern look from Tia, the commoner was forced to swallow her words along with her curiosity.

With their conversation coming to an end and the tea growing stale, the women turned towards Helga and mused yet again.

'What is she doing?' They thought, but the sound of shattering glass and some distant giggles and moans deterred their gaze. Looking to Tan's room, both Amelia and Ophelia tried to spot if the laughs had come from their room, but to their surprise, the couple was wandering elsewhere. The sound of glass shattering on the other hand had grown far too common thanks to Linkle's constant experiments on Shamisha's automatons, and at this point, it melted into the background like the rustling of wind and the sweeping of the mansion ground by the maids.

"Close your eyes, he's here," getting off the fountain edge, Helga surprised everyone with those words. For a spell, their meaning didn't register in their heads but then came a blinding light from the sky that forced them to keep their eyes shut.

"Wh-what is that?!" Screamed Tanya, but her question would remain unanswered, for gracing them from the heavens, was not just any, but the peacekeeper between gods, Raguel–the ambassador.

Emerging from the light, his golden wings beating, his feet touched the mansion ground and immediately the land bloomed with greenery. Flowers bloomed, the air grew crisp, and a comforting warmth hugged everyone from the inside.

"Murdok's Valkyrie," although she clicked her tongue at that title, Raguel's bow to Helga soothed that discomfort, somewhat. "Heaven's greeting to you and your friends."

"I didn't call you for chatter, where's my weapon?" Smiling at her coarse words, the angel lifted his head to face her.

"Before I hand it to you, shall I know whose flesh you wish to carve with this weapon, and why didn't you steal it from our arsenal like you did the many weapons not too long ago?" Holding no weapon for her to grab, Raguel kept his cards closed. With politeness, he'd disarmed Helga for had he been rude it would've been far easier for her to justify violence against him.

Growling through gritted teeth, the Valkyrie tapped her feet impatiently, but from the ever-pleasant expression on Raguel, she knew neither anger nor threats would get her anywhere with him.
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"Sit…" Gesturing to the picnic amongst the women, Helga began to walk. "This will take a while, I'm sure."

Assuming she was right, the angel masked his angelic aura and followed the Valkyrie to join the pleasant picnic.

"Blessed are the fruit of thy mother, no wonder it's so peaceful here." He said to the girls, smiling before sitting beside Helga.

Being joined by an angel, the commoners and even Tia, were to; say the least, a tad bit overwhelmed.