Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 739: Foxes And Secrets

Upon Raven’s return to the kingdom of Eclanor with his party, Choux was quickly snatched by Moxy. The unconscious sight of the arctic fox concerned her quite a bit, and even though she was still recovering, the fox girl took it upon herself to look after the young fox-ling.

"Did you have to knock her out, Raven?" She complained, a bit annoyed that a girl who barely seemed like a teen was hurt in such a way.

Closing up the tent’s curtains, Raven turned to the fox girl and quickly replied while moving to his desk.

"Don’t let her appearance fool you, Moxy. That girl doesn’t age the same way as you and I, and we have no clue how old she really is," placing a hand on a map lying on the table, Raven looked around at everyone who’d just come back from the brief adventure. "Besides, she was holding a rifle that could level half of our army against this man’s head."

Pointing at Elowen, Raven turned his head to the fox guy tending to Choux on a sheet of bedding. Staring right back at him, Moxy–being someone who had never seen Choux hunt or shoot that rifle–was having a hard time digesting that fact, even though she knew that her man wouldn’t lie to her about something like this.

"I’ll hold onto her rifle for a while then," she suggested, but was instantly shot down.

"That would only agitate her, believe me, that weapon is like a second skin to her, so don’t try and separate them."

Turning her attention to the rifle lying next to the Arctic fox, Moxy couldn’t help but wonder why such a dangerous thing was so special for such a little girl.

"God~ I can’t imagine what she must’ve gone through to keep things so close all the time..." For a moment, Raven was reminded exactly what that was. A lost brother, a false promise by the king, a hollow grave and the possibility of wild animals eating her only living family that was left behind on a sinking island.

"Yeah..." Taking a moment to soak it all in, Raven finally felt a little bad for striking her, but in the end, it couldn’t have been helped. "It had to be done. And now, you."

Lifting his head, he looked straight ahead at Elowen.

"I wanna know exactly what happened in there as well as what the hell is going on with you–a mapmaker, having so many spies and access to a lost relic that doesn’t and shouldn’t belong to you." Eyeing the one true rifle and not a replica, Raven turned to his companions after a while. "We also have to check on that dryad after this. Dandy said that the place we got those flowers from was dryad territory. No doubt the dryad must have something to do with the poison, even if she isn’t poisoning our food herself. However, I don’t want you to confront her until we find the traitor in the army; they might try to blend in if we move too recklessly. Give her an illusion of slipping out of your sight and possibly approach those traitors, and that’s how we’re gonna catch them."

In silence, Elowen listened to the conversation. Of course, he knew the truth about everything due to his local network, but speaking now would bring his own integrity into question. And with such a delicate relationship between him and the party right now, he preferred to stay quiet, as quiet had kept him alive this long and also kept his daughter out of danger.

"I know you can see my memories," not waiting for Raven to speak to him, Elowen reached for the hero’s hand and grabbed it himself. "Then have a look at what I saw in that forest, but any more and you’ll lose my support–the only person keeping this kingdom afloat in place of those frauds on high chairs."

Squinting and confused, Raven stared at the high elf. He knew there was much that the man was hiding, but with the giants proving useless and nobody else to support his army with information, especially with the scouts being wiped out, he knew that he had to take this deal even if it led to him missing out on some crucial details.

’Fuck it, between the traitors and what happened in the forest, I need at least some answers!’ and with that thought, Raven peered into the man’s head.

In a flash, he had seen everything that he’d been promised. Elowen’s encounter with the killer of saints, along with the fact that ever since the high elf came to this kingdom, he’d been forming a secret society of scouts and spies that kept this kingdom afloat. Hunting monsters that got too close to the city walls, killing off horrors that the spies could barely handle, as well as, filling the minds of the giants with some policies that actually benefited the kingdom through suggestive hypnosis while they were in their sleep.

The man had done it all. Conquered the kingdom’s only fickle army and even kept the giants dancing on his fingertips. All for the sake of his daughter, a daughter that he loved more than fame or any treasury.

As Raven finally pulled his hand off of him, he did not know what to make of the man.

"And the rifle?" And so he asked a question instead.

"I found it," lifting the rifle in his hand, Elowen dropped the weapon on the desk. "While wandering the desert with my late wife, I found this thing buried halfway. Had it not been for this, I would’ve never made it to this city."

"You found an ancient relic from the battle against the demon lord buried in sand, and that too here? In the desert?" Knowing full well that the war took place at the end of the world, the birthplace of the demon lord, Raven just stared at Elowen, utterly unconvinced.

Picking up the rifle yet again, Elowen kept his eyes on Raven before responding.

"Yes, I gave you a chance to look at my memories. You could’ve confirmed that, but I’m not letting you do that now that you’re obviously going to pry too much." With those words, the elf turned and began walking away. "And forget this weapon, I’m keeping this for my daughter for when she grows up. If you even try to take it from me, I won’t hesitate to make your life hell in this place."

Not exactly sure what he could even do to them, the party remained quiet for now, as inviting any more problems their way would complicate things further. However, the sight of that weapon confirmed one thing in their head.

’We can’t let him keep it once this is over.’ Between Choux and the problems that the weapon would draw if the enemy ever got wind of it, there was no chance in hell that Raven and his group could just let Elowen keep the weapon indefinitely.

As for now, there was nothing they could do but prepare for a tantrum once Choux woke up from her sleep.