Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 500 Lululalia - The City Of Baked Joys

the news of rival heroes from another land docking at the city's bay, traveled far and wide and eventually made it into the ears of a curious trader. rushing through the jammed streets, pushing everyone around to carve herself a path, the red-hatted madame took to her crimson wings at first sight of the ship.

it had been a day of waiting since the ship had landed and nobody had deboarded as of yet, making the crowd grow angst and the trader was no different. tired of waiting around, she fluttered her astral fairy wings and with a trail of glitter being left behind made her way to the deck and landed gracefully on top.

instantly as her body straightened, she was surrounded by blades, pointed arrows, conjured weapons and a whiff of illusion ready to mask her perception of reality. even so, looking around with a smile on her face, she locked eyes with the person closest to her.

"who the hell are you?" asked the leader of the group, but the response the woman gave wasn't exactly what he'd expected.

"am' est'anadi ca'oia endra tai." nobody knew what she'd just said, thus the moment she reached for something inside her pocket, the blades grew closer and the arrows were tightened along the bowstring.

stopping midway to take something out of her leather bag, the red-haired woman raised her hand back up and even let down the crimson aura around her body that masked her in a translucent film mimicking a fairy.

"she's a damned warlock, i can feel it!" being a warlock herself, regalia stepped forward. giving her room to get even closer, everyone subsided but kept their weapons trained at the woman. "what are you hiding in that bag, eh? didn't you see a hundred weapons drawn on your neck, princess?"

standing before the girl, regalia quickly eyed her up and down. wearing a flashy golden brown suit with floral patterns and a wooden sceptre topped with tri-colored glass flowers, the girl wasn't hiding her trade, and as regalia looked inside her eyes it became even more apparent. hiding within those chocolate-tone pupils was the sight of gold clutched within the pincers of a fairy.

"well it's a one-time thing, sweetheart, the sigil will eventually drop off and you won't need to use it ever again to understand foreign languages," hearing and understanding the trader as clearly as if she was speaking their tongue, everyone in the party was beyond surprised. but for the trader, it was a common sight from visitors, although this time the visitors were people she wanted on her side from the very start.

"moving on, since you guys haven't stepped out, i'm guessing you're not too sure if you wish to deboard the ship, am i right?" flipping the glass sceptre in her hand, the woman turned her gaze to raven and quickly eyed him up and down. holding back the urge to bite her lower lips, she smiled and then chuckled while flailing lightly on the spot before adding. "why not let me be your guide? i'll even give you a few rooms in the inn i'm currently renting out completely!"

uncertainty was the word since yesterday, nobody was sure what they were supposed to feel after what had been revealed by the goddess. from their parent's origin to the dead hero's soul still being inside raven–none of it made sense and coming to terms with it was bound to take a while.

"alright," that's why when raven stepped forward with a smile on his face, seemingly ready to shake hands with the woman, everyone was shocked. "why don't we shake on it then? as a sign of trust?"

tilting her head to the side with a curious look in her eyes, the trader smiled back at raven. quickly taking off her stuffy white glove, she reached forward and shook his hand, unaware of the fact that he was judging her from the inside with that touch.

'nothing nefarious but i can't see much, could be the patron blocking my sight...' forced to be content with what he got, raven pulled away from the handshake and gestured for the woman to lead the path.

"i'm mercedes by the way," tipping her feathered hat, mercedes smiled at everyone. "and you're welcome to lululalia, the city of baked goods and joys!"

and thus began yet another arc in the heroes' journey.