Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

From returning Harpy back to her group to overseeing the meeting between the duke and the rebels, Raven had taken care of everything at this point, and now it should've been time for him to rest. Even so, instead of lying in his bed to get some sleep before having to move to the upper city, he was walking through the city streets. Heading towards the bay, the sun was greeting him by the horizon and although the ship was still far away, he could see Seraphim and Riyanzah, both watching over the ship at its deck.

It wasn't too far-fetched to assume that Reina was indoors sleeping or hammering away at a piece of armor. Either way, Raven was about to find out and once he did, it was time for her to head back to her shop for a while.

'I hope you've had your fill of adventure, I don't think we'll be on sea for a while so let's get you to safety.' Ever since he'd learned of Reina's sorrows and the way she preferred to suffer on her own, Raven wanted to send her back so that she may no longer also have to carry the trouble of other people. However, while the thought was honest the blacksmith was bound to take it a different way than the mage intended.

"Where are you going?" The sudden call from a voice behind him, made Raven stop in his tracks and quickly turn around.

To his surprise it was Aria and from the way she was breathing heavily, it was obvious that she'd just run to catch up to him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, growing concerned that something may have happened inside the packed inn.

Shaking her head, she walked up beside him. Catching her breath for a moment, Aria smiled with a forward swing of her arm–urging Raven to continue his walk. Although confused as to what exactly she wanted, he decided to continue his walk beside the dark elf. A few steps passed in silence and the windows of the many bakeries began flinging open. The smell of dough and all manner of baked goods filled the air, therefore taking a savoury souvenir for Reina, Raven continued on his way.

"That for the blacksmith, yes?" Aria asked, having already guessed where her man was headed.

Glancing sideways at her, Raven shrugged his shoulders. Find your next adventure on empire

"Why, does she not like sweets?"

"Nahhh, just asking. I just had to make sure I was right."

The rest of their trip to the ocean was uneventful, although one question arrived at the bay, thanks to something that Aria had to say.

"Another city saved from tragedy, I wonder if we'll get a send-off by the rebels," her words were naive, for Raven knew that they were no saviors of this town.

"We didn't save anything, Aria…" His eyes looked up at the djinn sisters waving at him. Raven took a minute at the bay to untangle what he had in mind. "We forced the duke to accept our terms, doesn't mean the human population would do the same. If anything, forced compliance will radicalize them against the rebels."

Turning his head to the elf, he could spot multiple signs of confusion just scattered across her face. By no means was Aria naive to the ways of the world, especially since she was a dark elf, but the problem lay with the party's overall heroic mindset–something Raven didn't share with them at all.

"What do you mean?" She asked, tilting her head sideways.

Holding a hand towards her, Raven explained a bit further.

"To put it simply, the humans might pretend to treat the rebels as equals soon–some won't, but let's assume they will. Even then, behind closed doors they would conspire against the rebels and the cycle will continue only this time, they'll do a better job of hiding it."

Finally grasping what he meant, Aria's eyes lit up for a moment before the light in them fled to the realization of what they'd unleashed.

"So you mean…" Taking a deep breath, she said in a whisper. "We didn't change anything?"

"Mel and you both still feel repulsed by each other despite being together for nearly our whole life, why do you think it would be any different for the people of Lululalia?"

"HEY! ARE YOU COMING UP OR NOT?" Seraphim's voice snapped the two out of their thoughts. Bringing their attention upwards, the duo, although concerned in their own ways, made their way onto the ship.

Once onboard, the djinn girls surrounded Raven. Clinging to his hands, they kept him close even as he made his way to Reina's room. By the time Raven saw Reina first, the Djinns had already finished the souvenir that he'd brought. They claimed it as their reward and couldn't stop nomming on the sweet once it hit their naive tongues.

Sitting at a study table one hand on a blade and the other running a whetstone across its length, Reina had a strange longing in her eyes, one that wasn't born of fatigue but rather the lack of exercise. Hitting hammer on burning iron had been her schedule for many years up until now, and even though this journey had helped her overcome what her mother did to her, it had also tired her more than an entire week of constant work.

"Reina…" As Raven called her name, she looked up at him with a hollow look in her eyes. "Time to head home, your salamander probably misses you."

As soon as he said those words, her eyes lit up and she jumped off of her seat. Slowly walking towards Raven with her hands quivering at the side, she moved closer and closer to him. Standing just in front of him, she grabbed his face in hysteria and began kissing his head, his cheeks, and the rest of his face out of joy.

"FUCKING FINALLY!" She exclaimed, and despite the grim thought in his mind, the mage couldn't help but smile. The same went for the elf, while the djinns simply got jealous.

"US NEXT!" They exclaimed, not realizing that what Reina had done was out of pure joy and not any sexual interest…that she would admit to at the very least.