Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 761: What Happened There?

At the very back of the army’s camp, Shamisha, Mono, and Aradin’s party had picked themselves an open spot. Sitting around a fire while watching the forest burning up ahead, they sat around each other in silence, with the occasional back and forth from soldiers breaking their peace of mind. Linkle, Choux, and a handful of others disturbed them ever so often as well, but nothing too distracting, as their destination lay ahead and not with the people who were simply trying to relax.

In the blanket of silence once more, the group quietly listened to the cackling fire. In its flames, they dreamed and let their minds drift across their worries. That is, until Mono decided to speak up. Her eyes kept returning to June–the pale elf, and a shapeshifter. Sitting beside Aradin, she kept his right hand clenched within her fingers while her free hand rested on her slightly protruding belly.

"So...A child, huh?" All eyes turned to Mono; the queen was too unpredictable to figure out where she was about to lead this conversation. "A girl or a boy?"

However, a sudden smile on her face flashed a look of surprise on everyone’s face. They expected her to treat it like any other test subject or talk about it in a rather degrading manner. And yet, there was a flicker of joy in her eyes–almost as if she was part of their family as the quirky aunt.

"A girl..." Caressing her belly, June looked at the queen with a smile. "Linkle figured that out with a water test. I hope she’s right."

Silence descended on the group once more; however, this time, instead of dwelling in the discomfort of their own problems, they were reminded of why they’d been fighting against the forces of evil. To protect the sweet and the innocent, even if it costs them their lives.

"A human and an elf child, a half-elf then, huh?" Her eyes rolled up, Mono tried to imagine what their daughter would look like. "Elves are more imposing, so your skin color, a pale ash, as well as longer lifespan, and humans are more versatile and intelligent, so she could be a prodigy of her own kind."

As expected of her, she’d gone into her usual mode of assessment; even so, as she lowered her head, she said something nobody had expected from her.

"Since Shamisha won’t take my place as the queen, I hope one day your daughter can. I’ll pay her in cute hand-woven dresses to sweeten the pot."

"What?" While everyone else was shocked by what she’d just said, Shamisha grabbed Mono’s arm and made her turn towards her. "Don’t say stuff like that so nonchalantly! That’s a lot of pressure you’re trying to force on someone else’s child!"

"It was just a suggestion," letting out a laugh, Mono brushed Shamisha’s hand off of her shoulder. "Come on, you know I’m the last person who would try to buy off a child’s potential. My parents did that to me, so I know what that feels like."

"S-still..." Speaking up again, June took a deep breath and replied. "Don’t joke about something like that."

"Oh, she wasn’t joking, this idiot..." Shamisha added, her eyes still digging at Mono’s face.

Turning back to the soon-to-be-mother, the queen simply shrugged her shoulders.

"My offer still stands." For a moment, both June and the rest of her party tensed up, but then Mono continued to speak. "About those handwoven clothes, I mean. Don’t worry, I just want an excuse to weave cute clothes, ahaha~"

"You almost gave me a heart attack," Aradin responded, awkwardly laughing alongside the queen to calm his nerves.

"Speaking of bodily dangers," glancing over at Aradin, Mono leaned forward and asked. "I heard that your body was corrupted by dark water. Do you think that would affect your daughter? Having a father with mild corruption? Maybe it would make her stronger or more resistant to horrors and other forms of corruption."

"Can we not talk about this..." Hannah retorted, visibly discomforted by the topic of discussion.

"Yeah..let’s just save our energy for the fight tomorrow," Tris added, his right hand resting over Hannah’s shoulder.

"Hmm...if you say so, but I don’t think this is a topic that should be ignored." Finally going quiet, Mono relished in the silence and the cackling of firewood. Her mind was at ease–more than anyone else. She had no fear for what tomorrow might bring, and that lack of care served to confuse the rest.

How could she be so carefree? Does she not know what’s about to happen? We have to fight tomorrow, whether we like it or not, whether we’re prepared or not! Such questions roamed in everyone’s head, but the queen knew something that they didn’t–something that assured her that not a single undeserving soul would die in that horror’s nest.

As the silence settled and weariness took over, the group took turns keeping watch, with Mono and Shamisha being the only ones who stayed awake without getting even a wink. Their automaton parts helped them go on without sleeping for much longer, and this gave Shamisha a chance that she’d been waiting for ever since the queen had returned from the forest.

"What happened inside the forest?" She asked, her eyes nearly squinted shut.

Staring into the flames still, however, Mono refused to talk about her brief time inside the brambles.

"Mono...you have to tell me," grabbing Mono’s arm, Shamisha forced her to look into her eyes, "Where is that man? You went after him, but only you returned, and nobody has seen him since. What happened there? You have to tell me."

Shaking her hand off her arm, the queen turned back to the flame and whispered.

"Nobody innocent dies tomorrow, that’s all you need to know."

"What are you talking about?"

"You’ll see, everyone will see..." And with that, the queen decided to sleep for the night, even though she could go without sleeping for a good few days.