Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 996: The Dead Will Talk - Part 1

Upon their arrival in the city of Charammer, the hero and his group quickly went their own ways. The city itself was off-limits except for the road that ran straight through one end to the other, giving no chance for anyone to get a better look at the walled place. Everyone except Raven and the people he was accompanying. While he stayed behind in Charammer, Amedith and Erika’s group would clear up his path that led to the kingdom’s capital city.

In the meantime, there was one thing that the hero had to take care of. The deal with Charlotte and seeing it through with Helga and her daughters. A chance to talk to their father-neither the girls nor their mother could miss it.

"Finally, huh..." After being forced to keep the curtains shut, Raven finally got off the carriage in front of a mansion twice the size of his own back in Athenia. A towering structure with doors accommodating their extremely tall mistress, the place had a command of its own, casting its visitors in an oppressive shade.

"Follow me, my lady’s guests~." Bowing her head, Melody, one of the two maids that often accompanied Charlotte, beckoned the group from the mansion’s doorsteps.

Making their way forward, the group quickly began following the maid, who was soon accompanied by her sister, Malice. The two never looked back to ensure that the guests were behind them as they kept acting as their guide; instead, they whispered a word or two to each other, questioning their mistress’s dealings with the group of strangers.

Walking through a passage that went through the heart of the mansion, the group eventually arrived at an atrium with a glass ceiling. Right under it sat a massive crystal ball with sparks of light fizzing about like bubbles through a wine bottle. Taking up most of the space in the atrium, the crystal ball was the obvious centerpiece of the place. A few shrubs and bushes surrounded it, but apart from it, there was nothing else.

"So these are the guests you told me about." A trembling voice from the other side of the crystal drew everyone’s attention, bringing it to an old woman with a cane and a hat reminiscent of a witch. Striking her cane against the ground, she struggled to walk but kept going regardless. "I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Our lady is a flighty one, always going by her heart and not her mind."

"Is there going to be a problem?" Helga asked, taking a light step forward.

With her hands folded and eyes narrowed, she stared at the old woman, demanding an answer with no mercy spared for her age. Helga’s daughters quickly rushed behind her, and Gallaria did the same, although her reasoning was not to be closer to the Valkyrie but rather to pull her children away.

"Let your mother handle this," she said.

Right as Gallaria pulled them back, the woman lifted her head and mustered a response.

"I am Singalia, and if what I’ve told is true, then you’re already aware of us cosmic wizards–or, in my case, cosmic sorceress. Are you not?" The line on Helga’s forehead grew twice as many as the woman’s words. Instead of waiting for her response, however, the old lady continued talking. "Lady Charlotte isn’t here yet, but I’ve been told that you wish to talk to a long-dead man. I can arrange that meeting, but be warned, the dead have no filter and sometimes, their revival, even if for a small talk, can leave you with scars embedded in the person’s sweet memories."

"Speak plainly, lady."

The woman scoffed, yet obliged.

"If this is your husband, he may not take kindly to you having taken another lover. If this is your parent, he may be disappointed in what you’ve become, and thus, their spirit will speak its mind, tainting the goodwill its living counterpart had left behind."

A flash of worry crossed Helga’s face, yet her daughters stepped forward with Stella taking the lead.

"We still wanna talk to him!"

Waving her hand, Signalia turned her body towards the crystal ball. Staring at its core, her eyes grew dreamy as if she’d floated away into another plane while her body remained where she stood.

"Many moons ago, I used to long for knowledge beyond my clan’s reach. It led me to this place. At first I took it as a blessing, but after spending my entire life where I thought lies the answers to all my questions, all I have is regret. Regret that I couldn’t be blind and stay as such, for knowledge has only brought me the burden of knowing. You two will see your faults one day; you two will regret many things in your life, but if this is what you wish for, then I hope that the regret that comes out of this is worth the trouble."

"Will you help us or not?" Helga enquired, having almost given up on the old woman’s promise.

The shoulders on the woman dropped as she lifted her staff to point at the crystal. Tapping its end against it, she went quiet for a bit before finally answering.

"So be it. I will begin the preparations to have your husband commune with you. He will take host in my body for a while, but you will only have a few minutes to talk to him." Turning her head, she narrowed her eyebrows and added. "Once the communion has concluded, I can never bring him back again, so think before you commit to the ritual. You will never get another chance to talk to him. Not you nor your daughters, so treat every second with care."

Turning around, Signalia began walking towards her chair on the other side of the crystal. Already, the ingredients required for the ritual had been gathered, and now the only thing left was for the family of the deceased to make up their minds about their questions. A task easier said than done, at least for Helga, as her daughters already had a lot in mind, but her? All she had was doubt and shame, for she’d already moved on from him, so who knows what he will have to say to her...