Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 809: The Truth Of The City

In the morning, another meeting was held by Raven, and everyone shared their refreshed opinion about the deal. The priestess remained ironclad in her opinion, while the elves were uncertain, and the magus opposed the deal outright with his lover. The true fairy shared the couple’s opinion, and the monster girls within the bracelet were also of split opinion.

The only other person sure of her standing was Garcia–the fair high elf. But to convince the others, she decided to relay to them, as a good gesture, why the invisible barrier was put in place and why their city parted the world in two. At first, it only felt like a desperate attempt by her to sway everyone to share her opinion, but as she revealed something specific, everything changed.

"There are people known as the King’s guard," noticing everyone’s eyes lighting up to that name, her eyes furrowed in recognition. "Our ancestors–the settlers of this city used to be the last remaining tribe of people from the holy war. They established our defenses, passed down their knowledge of the equipment used here. Not to mention that invisible wall, it was created by them as well."

In silence, the party unraveled the news. They were aware that this barrier must’ve been the war of a veteran of the last holy war or an otherworlder, but now that it was confirmed, what else was there? They wanted to know it all. In recognition of their curiosity, Garcia continued to add.

"These...king’s guard and their king have a weapon of some kind. Our ancestors were recorded to have constructed this city to hide us from them, but if you’ve managed to come in without an invitation, then I doubt that this wall can keep those men out."

Taking a deep breath, Garcia placed her hands on her thighs and sighed. Gathering some more courage, she squeezed her fingers and looked around at everyone.

"Now, if you take this deal, that barrier held by the joint effort of the goddesses as well as the underground–" stopping herself before she spoke too much, she let out a cough. "Excuse me. I think you get the picture. The barrier falls, and everything and everyone beyond this city becomes a hunting ground for those men."

"It already has..."

"What?!" Hearing Raven’s response, Garcia’s ears perked right up.

Blinking blankly towards him, she was at a loss.

"Wh-what do you mean?!"

Turning his attention away from her, the hero shared glances with the rest of his party members. They too seemed to finally recognize the gravity of the situation, and since Garcia had revealed everything that she could about what she knew, they felt that it was time to be completely truthful with her.

"The king’s guard came to kidnap a few of our people a while back," returning his gaze to the stunned woman, Raven took a step forward and offered her a hand. "So either they too found a way to overwhelm the barrier, which I doubt, since someone I know told me how they do not have faith in any god, and so, no divine presence could’ve helped them get inside. Or someone from your council gave them permission to pass, otherwise, whoever helped them cross was much stronger than all of our magic combined, because trust me, even with our strengths combined, we couldn’t break through this invisible barrier."

Staring at Raven’s hand, Garcia’s eyes anxiously roamed. Her mind raced through possibilities, but what the hero had just said made no sense to her.

"No..." Looking back up at him, she exclaimed. "Magic is gravely dampened within these walls, so no matter who it was, they couldn’t have overpowered the barrier. Besides–the barrier itself absorbs magic, so...yes, you’re right. Only with a god’s help can one pass through or overwhelm it and get inside. All the more reason you need to avoid this deal, or one of the goddesses is bound to move against the city!"

"Hmph...as much as I despise this idea–I suppose it’s better than getting our hands dirty by muddying our hands with these conniving gods." To everyone’s surprise, Erika was the first to abandon her strong opinion towards the deal. Hands folded and with her back against the wall, her eyes lingered on the elf. "Not that I trust this woman still, but if those monsters are willing to abandon their heavenly council for the ’winning side’, what would stop them from abandoning us when it’s time to jump ship again?"

"I’m surprised you changed your mind so easily," Amedith said.

Glaring at him sideways, the priestess waved him off.

"I’m tired of all the pretending already, so don’t test my patience." Taking a deep breath, the priestess looked at Raven instead. "As for the why, I just don’t trust these goddesses as much as I do ours and Elenaria. If this woman’s testimony is anything to go by, then both of them are opportunists who will abandon us when we need them the most. And well...Fortuna is Athenia’s half sister as far as I can tell anyway, so deception is to be expected to a degree."

After everything they’d been through with Athenia at the very beginning of their journey, even Erika knew that her goddess’s domain wasn’t just life or death but also mockery. Which in turn made her a perfect study in deception–something they’d experienced first-hand and also something she didn’t wanna experience from any other goddess anymore.

"That settles it then," still holding his hand towards Garcia, Raven reached forward and helped her get up. "This won’t be an easy meeting, so let me handle the talk."

"You’re right. Lady luck won’t like this, but I didn’t get blessed because she liked me anyway..." Shrugging her shoulders, Garcia was ready to move when Amedith asked.

"Then why did she bless you?" Looking at the magus, she huffed.

"Because she likes to gamble and my whole life feels like one–a gamble, one toss at a time." And with that, it was time to confront the goddesses, but alas, no god likes to be rejected–especially not the conniving–and most importantly–not the women.