After the Final Battle-- as the heroes' great confrontation was called --The Demon King's palace had been silent for nearly a millennia. Its dark, empty form had been left in a respectful slumber after the passing of its ruler, like a tomb where none dared disturb the restful occupants.
But today, that silence was doomed to be broken.
Gary scrounged through every room he could come across. Whether it was the lavish greeting hall or the long-dead servant's closet, none of it was spared from the dark arts of his thievery.
And as far as thieves go, Gary was a particularly noisy one.
A long trail of shattered doors, spilled items, and overthrown furniture marked his path of destruction, winding its way through the halls. If one followed the path of wanton destruction, they would find themselves within the castle parlor, which was the current victim of Gary's uncaring greed.
Standing on his tiptoes, he blindly fumbled his hand around the top of a tall shelf, knocking over all manners of containers and bottles onto the ground below. Dodging an incoming glass with a tilt of his head, Gary stretched himself a little higher as he resumed his activity with a tight frown. The height of the shelf was proving rather problematic, and his search was most likely a waste of time anyway.
A parlor was a place for food, not treasure. But he cared little of that fact. A noisy thief he may be, but he was also a thorough one. The cacophony of rings, thuds, rattles, and crunches rose to a slightly higher volume in the room, as much a proof to his renewed vigor as it was an annoyance to Edwin, who performed a less... intense search by Gary's side.
He was going through a cabinet-- well, at least pretending to. Unlike Gary, he was under no delusion that something of value lies hidden here.
The most interesting thing to be found would be the small dried bones scattered across the small room. Judging by the number, it was a staple of the demon diet. Although what creature it was, he had no idea.
It was strong though, whatever it had been. It had to be if the bones had yet to disintegrate over the years.
Flinching at the sound of shattered glass, Edwin slammed a cabinet door shut, splintering the rotted wood at the joints. "You should move your arm a little left there; you missed a bottle." He sarcastically suggested.
A second later, the same bottle was sent careening over his head, exploding into a rain of tiny shards as it met the wall behind him.
"...Fuckin asshole," Edwin grumbled, "You know we aren't going to find anything, right? It's been almost half an hour and the only thing around are empty jars. Oh, my bad, broken jars. I didn't notice you broke those too. can we just move on to the next room, please?"
"Maybe if Alfred was here, it would go by a bit quicker," Gary snapped. "I bet that giant would have no problem with these damn shelves."
After realizing that no threat resided in the palace, the 'Gold Guards' spent no time in splitting up to search. Unfortunately, Alfred was not chosen as Gary's partner. As for Edwin, it was no secret he was meant to be more of a babysitter for Gary, keeping track of any loot he found.
Brandus clearly knew how to hold a grudge. Prick.
Groaning with painful resignation, Edwin gave up the futile attempts at convincing him as he scooted a bit further away from the natural disaster known as Gary.
Glass shards and human skin held no love for each other, and the former was flying across the room like confetti during a new year's celebration.
A few moments later, Gary moved on from the shelf, although it took him shattering the last remaining bottle until he did so.
He walked towards an untouched cabinet, his steps crunching the shards that decorated the ground under his feet. His eyes examined the containers within, shuffling his hands through in search of something. Anything, really.
Would he find something? In all likelihood, no. But he wasn't going to stop himself because of it. Demons were known as tricky, after all. Maybe they thought no one would search the pantry. No one but he, naturally.
It's called psychology, baby. And no one would beat him at psychology.
Looking on as more objects were launched into the air, Edwin released a sigh as he muttered to himself. "This is such a waste of time. The others are exploring for real, and here I am. Stuck with a parlor-loving manchild."
Gary's ears perked up after hearing that, his hands paused halfway through chucking another bottle.
That was a good point. He had forgotten that the others were searching.
They may be his team, but-- right now --they were also competition.
"Change of plans, Eddy boy," Gary said, mercilessly tossing the bottle with a shrug. "Time to speed things up a bit. We are gonna search as fast and well as we can. You hear?"
"Fine by me." The sharp change in attitude was a bit jarring, but so long as it meant not watching more glass get massacred, Edwin was game.
"Good. Spare nothing. Leave nothing. If anyone looks where we did, I don't want them finding a single copper. I'll be damned if I let anyone take what is ours."
Edwin gave a blank nod in response.
It didn't really matter. The group would split what they found anyways, although Gary seemed ignorant of that.
.....
As planned, the group reconvened in the dining area after they all finished the search.
And a successful search, it was. If one looked closely at each member, one would notice that each carried at least one new item, with a bright smile to match.
And then there was Gary...
When he had first walked in, the four who were unaware of his trip could only gawk at his newly acquired splendor.
Spectacle. That was the only word that could describe it.
The sound of his newfound items, clanking against his armor with each sway of his steps, could be heard three rooms away before he sashayed into the room, accompanied by an extremely embarrassed Edwin at his heels.
Clad with rings, bandlets, necklaces, and even a gold tiara inlaid with red gems, it was enough for the wealthiest merchants to look away in shame at his gaudy figure.
"Looks like princess had a nice little stroll," Shasa commented, giving a side eye to the tiara that sat snugly upon his head.
"Indeed it was," He crowed, petting the mass of gold that wound around his neck. "And for the record, it's a diadem. But that's okay, I understand if you feel a little jealous. After all that time, and the only thing you found was some ugly ring?" He tutted, examining her finger, "Although, you are lucky you found that. I doubt any man would be dumb enough to ever give you one, so cherish it while it lasts."
"For the record, I found plenty," Shasa's eyes flared as she pulled out a small pile of trinkets. "I just stuck them in my storage bag. You know, as a normal person would."
"It's called playing it safe. How do you know if that ring has an aura on it? Might as well wear them all just in case."
"Ignore him, Shasa. No point in arguing with a fool." Alfred cut in, seeing the rising stormcloud, before turning to Gary. "And that ring does have an aura on it. Gabriel can tell. Just hold it up close to him. If he backs away, you're good. See?" He informed Gary, shoving a necklace into Gabriel's face as proof.
Gabriel skittishly jumped back in response, delivering an accusing glare at Alfred. They had found this fact out on accident when he refused to touch certain items they had come across, and had abused it to the fullest.
This was far from the first time he acted as an aura detecter, judging by the dead look present in his eyes.
"You really trust that?" Gary questioned with doubt. "Sorry Alfred, but he isn't the most reliable with this stuff. He's a bona fide drama queen." Gabriel sent another glare, this time directed at Gary.
"True," Alfred nodded, betraying the already hurt healer. "But he doesn't react the same to all of it."
Another item was soon treated to the healer's face.
This time, there was no big reaction. Instead, his yellow eyes stared dumbly at the swaying necklace, before shaking his head with annoyance.
He hated this job. And Alfred.
Gary's once doubtful gaze morphed into one of interest. Now that was interesting.
Maybe Gabriel's dramatic side wasn't just for show.
...No, it definitely was. Most of the time at least.
Gary glanced at his own collection, then bobbed his head towards Gabriel with a shiver-inducing grin.
It was time to test this out himself.
This was going to be fun.