Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Regalia wasn't the type of woman whose anger could easily be contained, but after Raven's reprimand, she was trying her best to keep her rage contained. However, being a primordial devil that could not only sense and see emotions, but also taste them on her tongue, the Mistress smiled to herself while the wolf-girl struggled internally.

"Still thinking about killing the giants, are you?" She asked, her eyes set to the map maker's store at the end of the secluded road.

"Hmm…" Lifting her eyes, Regalia stared at the back of the Mistress's head, working out what she'd just said. "Anyone who knew the king of crows would feel the same way that I do. These bastards bore the fruits of his sacrifice while sitting in their chairs with a stick up their ass."

"The king of crows," humming to herself, the Mistress turned her head and smiled at the wolf girl. "Remind me how he earned that title again."

Through squinted eyes, Regalia glared at the devil. Unsure whether or not she was making fun of, but noticing a flicker of curiosity in her gaze, she began with the explanation.

The king of crows, a man whose blade carved through the scales of dragons like a knife through butter. He slaughtered them en masse and raised their corpses with the souls of his goddess's granting possessing those giant beasts. But the rotting flesh, the gore and the sway of death that was brought forth from the swing of his blade, drew a flock of crows everywhere he went.

A funeral followed him everywhere, their wings flapping and their beaks cleaning up the corpses of the dead. Even those who'd been reanimated were left as nothing but mere bones. And with numerous centuries flying past him, the king of Elenaris became the master of these funerals. Generations of these birds had died and been replaced, yet with each one of them serving the king, he became in their eyes, their leader and their king.

"They wouldn't eat until he had, they wouldn't leave his side even as his body was about to be put to rest. To our surprise, however, his flesh turned into a flock of crows and that flock joined the rest before the funeral flew away, never to be seen again to this day." Coming to the end of her story right in front of the map maker's shop, Regalia lifted her head and was surprised by the devil still paying attention to her tale.

"Loyal to the end, huh? I wish I'd met him, although he would've driven his weapon through my chest."

"Probably…"

Glancing at Regalia from over her shoulder, the Mistress let out a laugh before walking into the store. Turning her head around, she masked her smile with a neutral expression, all the while, the elf sat behind his work bench with his hand clenching a knife under the desk.

"Never a warm welcome, eh?" Rolling her eyes, the Mistress walked closer to the man. "That knife won't do anything to me, elf. Put it aside, I'm only here for the map and a handful of questions from our lovely hero, Raven."

"You're with that guy?" Raising an eyebrow, Elowen set the knife down into the hidden drawer again. "What kind of monsters is he traveling with? Tck…"

Clicking his tongue, Elowen looked through his drawers and took out the map that he'd made for the hero. Setting it on top of the desk, he rolled it towards the Mistress. Grabbing it, the devil waved her hand to the side and made the map disappear into thin air. During all of this, her eyes never left Elowen. She could taste his fears, his reservations, and the ghost of his past eating away at his conscience. A perfect pray for her to feast on, but given his usefulness, she knew better than to try anything that would draw Raven's ire.

"Uria Mon Mordecai, pleasure to meet you stranger. What's your name?" Extending a hand, the Mistress awaited Elowen's response.

"Uria?" Regalia muttered to herself.

Eyeing the wolf-girl for a moment, Elowen pondered what the hell was going on. There was something strange between these two, almost as if despite coming along, they weren't exactly allies yet not enemies either. A lack of trust, it was palpable and carrying that within him as well, Elowen looked at the Mistress and answered, but without touching her hand.

"Elowen Arth'Hathor, do you need anything else or are you gonna leave now?"

Keeping the same unsettling smile on her lips, Uria pulled her hand back and folded her umbrella. Tapping its tip on the ground, she leaned sideways and inquired further.

"I actually do. The hero wants to know if you can spare some of your spies for us, help with the scouting since your folks must be familiar with the surroundings and can aid our scouts tremendously."

Just staring at Uria for a while, Elowen tried to figure out if that's all there was or was she hiding something behind plain words. But to read a devil's expression was a greater ordeal than to find settlement in the great expanse of sand.

"They won't come cheap, they already have their rates set," he replied, trying to brush her off.

"Does everything they'll wish for suffice?" To his surprise, the Mistress was willing to give any form at payment for their service. Leaning onto the table, she placed her hand on the back of her hand, but even though the sight of her lewd body didn't incite Elowen, she tried to push his button one last time. "And how about with you and me, I do love to soothe the hearts of broken men, especially the mourning sorts."

Scrunching his nose, Elowen gestured to her to get back.

"I'll send them to the mansion as long as you don't show your face here again."

"Aughh what a price to pay, I was looking forward to our many nights together." The Mistress responded as she turned around and waved at the shop owner while leaving.

Regalia followed the devil not long after, but in the short time that she spent in the shop once the Mistress was gone, the look in Elowen's eyes confirmed one thing.

'Don't bring this bitch back here again.' Clicking her tongue, she followed the problem closely until they were back in the comfort of their camp. Even so, keeping an eye on the devil, Regalia made sure that she didn't try to leave and cause more problems.

While she was busy with the devil, however, someone else was already planning to backstab the army, someone expected but not exactly in anyone's radar, at least not for now…