Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 811: Sink It To The Hells

In the presence of the council members once again, Raven was offered a chair while the rest of his group stood behind him. Eyed by the many elects, they were seen as monsters–monsters waiting for their hunt as they’d done to many cities and kingdoms before it. The hammer, the word, the gold and the teeth and claw, all awaited the presence of their goddesses with their anxiety growing deep in their hearts.

Garcia, too, was offered her seat; however, too paranoid to trust her former co-workers, she stayed by the others–right next to Raven. Yet many eyes remained on her, and although Ironheart and Helm were both overly anxious about the group’s presence for entirely different reasons, nothing could be done. Thus, silence reigned for quite a bit until Garcia finally decided to break it.

"So do you still think that I killed the Judge?" She asked.

"Who else would do it?" Ironheart barked back.

But the others, they seemed conflicted–both Ditsy and Helm. As for Eren, he seemed distant throughout the encounter, almost as if he was even there or perhaps too engrossed in something in his own mind to care about casual conversation. Maybe it was the expected return of the goddess into his body; either way, he was uncannily quiet.

"This is so dumb..." Pushing himself into the conversation, Helm wiped his face with a napkin before putting an empty meat skewer onto his desk. A stack of them lay in front of him–a nervous eater, and he’d been stuffing himself ever since the hero party came. "We should be done with her. Throw her in the dungeon if you’re all so convinced. If nothing else, at least it’d put an end to this goose chase."

"And that’s why nobody listens to you, Helm..." Looking up at the fat man, the vampiress sighed. "All you ever wanna do is lighten your workload and do the least amount of work possible."

"What did you say?!"

"Alright, enough!" Garcia tried to calm the situation, but it wasn’t her words that worked in the end.

"I know who’s the killer," said Eren, his eyes staring into nothing in particular.

Silence and confusion gripped everyone by their neck. They stared at him with a haunting gaze; some questioned why he hadn’t told them already who the killer was, while others feared that it might be one of their faith. With reasons of their own not to question him, most of them remained quiet, with the exception of one.

"Wh-who is it?" Taking a step forward, Garcia demanded an answer. "Tell me now! I’ll kill that bastard myself and clear my name!"

Lifting his head, Eren looked into the elf’s eyes.

"Make me a deal and perhaps I will."

"WHAT?!"

"I said, make me a deal." Giving everyone a quick glance, Eren waved his hand and reminded everyone. "Everything has a price, and nothing worth acquiring is free. Such is my lady’s dogma, so yet again, I’m asking you to make me a deal, and I’ll tell you who the killer is."

"EREN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! THIS IS SERIOUS, JUST TELL–"

Before Garcia’s rage could end, a pair of shimmering pillars emerged in front of the elects. Standing in the speaker’s spot, one was of a golden silver light and the other more darker with a hint of deep blue. Forming into two vague figures, the avatars of the goddesses cut the conversation short. Instead, taking initiative, Mesmerazia began to talk.

"Hold your tongue, Eren," looking over at Raven, the goddess added further. "If you’re so desperate to know, maybe we should decide what to do with you after we’re done with the deal. What do you say, hero? Don’t you wanna clear this woman’s name? Take my offer, and I’ll allow my servant to speak."

Rising from his chair, Eren corrected his tie and spoke before the goddess got any form of answer. His hand extended towards her, he said.

"Make me an offer and I’ll be quiet." A ripple of gasps erupted throughout the hall. Nobody expected him to make demands of his goddess, but instead of being angered, Mesmerazia laughed.

"Ahahaha...AHAHA~! Of course, I should’ve expected as much from my most trusted pupil." Turning her head, she nodded at the man with a smirk. "We will discuss your agreement later, you have yourself a deal–but first you hold your end and then I will mine."

"Very well," with that said, Eren settled back into his chair.

As all eyes turned back to the hero, the goddesses extended their hands and awaited his response to their offer.

"Luck–a currency worth more than any pile of gold."

"Wealth, knowledge, maps, enough food to feed an army and everything that you could ever want."

The choice remained in his hands. Which hand to take and which goddess to make an enemy out of? A poor bargain either way, but a decision had to be made. And so, getting out of his chair, Raven took a step forward and spoke with folded hands.

"I reject both of those offers." Drawing their hands back to his response, a look of surprise took over the goddesses. "I do not need your help, but we do not have to be enemies either. Just let us pass, and you’re free to stay in this bubble of yours."

Jerking her arm sideways, Mesmerazia made her dissent known.

"A poor bargain! I will not stand for that!"

"I have to agree, this isn’t an offer that you can simply walk away from, boy~"

"I know, and that’s why I have another deal for you." In the silence of everything that was happening, the hero had been deep in thought for this very moment. The moment when he’d be confronted by the goddesses, and so he came up with the only response that could make them back off.

"What are you talking about?" Mesmerazia asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

The rest were just as confused, however, as Raven turned around and offered Erika his hand, things became a little clearer. Gesturing the priestess to step forward, he made her stand beside him and then made his offer.

"It wouldn’t be the first, and this place may be away from our god, but it’s just as close to the hells, isn’t that right, Asmodia?" In a flash, the priestess’s eyes turned crimson. And where once was an uncertain look over Raven’s plan was now a toothy grin.

"A trip to the hells where no god can reach their followers, haaa~ That sounds like just the kind of torment that I love~" While the others were still stunned by the sudden change in the priestess, the hero let go of Asmodia’s hand and added.

"Now, I’ll make you an offer." Taking a brief pause, he looked right into the goddess’s eyes. "Allow us to pass, and the primordial devil of the third layer of the hells wouldn’t have to kidnap the whole city–the only place where you have any followers."

In that moment, the goddesses realized something horrific. A wall city that couldn’t be penetrated or passed through may have been a solid defence against the outside world, but at the same time, it meant all of their followers were in a single place–perhaps it was an oversight or negligence due to how comfortable they’ve grown because of the circumstance. Alas, who could’ve expected that someone someday would kidnap the whole city? The soil, the people, and everything and all? The city couldn’t be broken into or broken out of, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be picked up and placed somewhere else.

’Damn this kid!’ Mesmerazia cursed internally.

’Oh, this only got worse...I love it ahahahaaha~’ Fortuna, on the other hand, had a different reaction entirely.

"So? What will it be?"