Fuwa was fuming, she was really angry, that thing, woman, the creature had spawned, trash-talked them, send them all flying, and then flirted with her Raven, she would kick her ass the next time she see her. But for some reason Raven had been oddly quiet since then, grabbing her chest.
'Could it be that she got love-struck by that thing!?' Fuwa panicked 'No way! Raven is mine!'
But Fuwa didn't have much time for panic since the knights arrived at the place, there had been only one fatal victim, a passerby who had mocked the envoy for her clothes, it seemed she screamed something about him not recognizing an artist and bashed him... but according to the knights who were trying to figure out what had happened it all seemed odd, the enemy was seen at two places at the same time, while she was playing and toying with the people here, she had been having an audience with the king, the local guild master and the prominent adventurers, then she banished as a mirage.
"Dark magic..." Whispered one of the local folks.
And obviously, panic spread everywhere, it seemed they all got played like musical instruments, under the masterful fingers of a trickster. Raven reacted and grabbed Fuwa by the arm, she wanted to ask her to leave this place at once, but then the knights approached them.
"Minato the hero and his group" Said the one who seemed in charge, an old man with a mustache and as Raven feared then he looked at them "And Black Cat Circus party" which obviously caused Raven to cringe, but she was still too shocked to become snarky at the moment "The king has requested your presence"
"Why us?" Managed to ask Raven crossing her arms.
"It's the king's command, disgusting demi-human" Said the knight putting his hand on his sword.
For a brief moment, the tension was palpable in the air, Raven had a hand put on the handle of her dagger without any shame or doubt defying the guy, she was about to go rambling about having no king, but then Fuwa stepped forward.
"We will go" She said mediating between them "But if you call her disgusting again..."
"Woah woah! Easy!" Said Minato raising his hands "Captain you don't want to die, don't you!?" he hurriedly stood between them extending his hands in the direction of each group.
Most of the knights seemed ready to enter combat, but then again, the hero seemed aware of this and intervened, in his mind Raven and Fuwa probably could kill them all. The old mustache man was red with rage, but he just turned around and signaled his men to follow him and they all departed toward the guild building, which had become the makeshift bastion of the town, hosting all the important people.
"What's the problem with that bastard?" Asked Raven, her hand still gripping her weapon.
Minato blinked then he realized when they last talked he forgot about a certain detail, he believed they already knew, but it seemed it wasn't the case. He then proceeded to explain that in this world demi-human existed obviously, but most of them were allies of the demon king. That's why it was really rare to find them in this corner of the world.
"So... that would explain the hostility of the people when we arrived at this town" Said Fuwa pondering the thought.
"What!? They did what!?" Said Sophia shocked "These people have zero survival instincts Minato!"
"Well if what you guys are telling is true, then it all makes sense" Said Raven "Seeing two unknown people holding power, and one of them a beastman such as myself, then they probably thought we belonged to the demon king people or something"
Minato nodded, scratching the back of his head "Yeah... this town's had a rough history with demi-humans. In the past this land has been raided by them... but yeah, Fuwa this world isn't so caring as our own, racism here is the real deal, it may be justified, but years of war have fueled their hatred towards them" Minato then sighed "I only have found some of them in my time here, but they were like barbarians, bloodthirsty and vicious"
Raven's gaze hardened, but she didn't respond immediately, her eyes scanning the area, watching the knights as they marched ahead. She let out a frustrated sigh "So, everyone's just going to assume I'm some kind of enemy. Great. Guess it doesn't matter what I actually do"
Fuwa put a hand on Raven's shoulder, offering a reassuring squeeze "Hey, let them think what they want. We'll show them they're wrong. Right?"
Raven glanced at her and managed a small smile "Yeah, I suppose. But if that knight calls me 'disgusting' again, I won't be held responsible for what happens next."
Sophia grinned, giving Raven a thumbs-up "Now that's the spirit! We'll back you up if he gets out of line again" She cracked her knuckles, making her stance clear.
The trio of girls laughed, Mia just looked worried, she didn't really want to fight against the king's men, after all, she was born and raised in the capital, and all her life she had respected them, but if things came to worst, her loyalty was with her friends, if Sophia and Minato were on Raven's side so will she.
They finally arrived at the guild building. A heavy, tense silence filled the air as they approached the massive oak doors. The knights pulled them open, leading the group inside, the place was the same as yesterday but it had somehow changed, all the tables were moved to form a union where a big map of the place was deployed as the people around are discussing. When the new group entered the place, all eyes were turned towards them.
"Minato!" Said the king with a wide smile, he was very familiar with the summoned hero, after all, he had received him into this world "It's so good to see you are doing fine even after being attacked by the enemy!" Then his eyes shifted to Raven and he looked at the guild master, it seemed as if he finally believed in his words that there was one of her kind in the town.
"Say the word my liege and I will get rid of this pest!" Said the knight captain taking his sword.
"That's it you bigoted idiot, you are dead" Said raven taking out her dagger as well.
Minato quickly stepped between Raven and the captain, hands up in a desperate attempt to keep the peace "Hold it! Everyone calm down! Look, this isn't the time to be fighting each other."
Raven, still seething, looked at Minato, but his serious, pleading expression held her back. She let out an irritated growl and lowered her dagger, though her grip remained tense. The knight captain, however, did not ease up and continued to glare at her with thinly veiled contempt.
The king, visibly annoyed, held up his hand "Enough, captain Roward!" he said, his voice stern "I told you to summon them here not for you to fight, we will require her strength for this!"
One of the king's advisors looked at him with scorn.
"My king! Have you forgotten her kind is the reason why your son is..." His voice was dripping with poison but he was silenced by the roaring voice of the king.
"Enough!" The king said furiously red with anger now "Don't you dare tell me about that!"
The advisor smiled and took back some steps while lowering his head, looking at Raven with poison in his eyes. She looked at him and raised her middle finger while smirking.
"You stop too you jerk!" Said Fuwa grabbing her arm.
For a tense moment, there was a dense silence, surprised eyes saw that the hero group seemed on their side, but then a voice was heard that cut through the ambient like a knife slicing cake.
"Oi!" Said Kirara entering the place "You called for us?" She was wrapped in a bandage on her stomach and looked at the captain of the guard "We ain't participating if you guys start a fight over spilled milk, we ain't soldiers of this country" She said without any doubt in her voice "We barely came back from that place, not to fight a political war for you" She crossed her arms "My companions are still in bad shape to attend, but I will pass the message, so can we have this talk? I understand the other teams have already been briefed, and we want to get this over with"