King Leonard just sighed, he wasn't originally fit to be the king of this nation. His brother died long ago as a victim of a curse, he was always the galant and into the politics of the kingdom, the nobles loved him and he was always able to bring the support of those around him, meanwhile, Leonard was a free spirit, enjoying his time with women and going on adventures around the world, until he met the girl that would be his wife and gave him a beautiful son, sadly, destiny placed him into the crown, and all his years he faced terrible opposition from the nobility, even an entire faction was formed just to oppose him...
'If destiny exists then it must hate me' He thought as he saw the captain of the knights acting like a man child 'First my wife gets claimed by the plague, that freak demon king spawns, my son died, and now this dungeon fiasco'
He smiled, that cocky attitude of the adamantite class rogue brought him some fond memories of his good adventurous days.
"We will keep this brief" Walking towards the map that rested on the table and placing a hand on it, he examined it, the name of the Ice Cavern was scrapped and it had 'Nightmare Castle' written near it "The enemy approached us today, they offered a truce, for two months they won't come out of the portal to cause havoc... if we don't go inside"
"Wait, they can come out of that place!?" Said Kirara with a panicked voice remembering the strength of the enemies inside.
"Yes" Said the king looking at her "For some reason, they didn't want to reveal they are able to do so" He examined the face of the girl, but she had built a poker face hiding her initial emotions "The envoy, said that we should be blessed, someone greater than anyone in this world has come to pay a visit to this land, or so she said"
"And you agreed to those monsters?" Asked the girl with curiosity.
The king nodded, she seemed about to say anything, but the hero Minato crossed his arms.
"Before you say something harsh, what else would you have done?" He said with a serious voice, in Raven's eye he was just trying to be cool for his harem, but she just smiled "The king has to protect the normal citizens of this country, at least you could fight for your life, or try"
Kirara gritted her teeth but said nothing, glancing at the map. She knew Minato had a point, though it stung to admit it. She wasn't thrilled about sitting on the sidelines while monsters lurked just beyond the town, a town that didn't even have walls to protect itself, but she understood that, to the king, ensuring the people's safety took priority over anyone's desire to be a hero or the greed of adventurers.
King Leonard took a deep breath, his gaze falling to the map as he traced a line from the capital to the distant Nightmare Castle, and then back to this town "Two months may seem like a reprieve" he continued "but I sense this isn't a gesture of mercy. This 'truce'... it feels like they're preparing for something far worse, I know it in my bones" He looked at the Kirara, Raven, Fuwa, Minato, Sophia, and Mia "That's why we ain't going to stay idle, the knights will protect the area, while I hope you guys prepare because in two months we will assault that demon's fortress that has appeared disguised as a portal together, all the other adamantite adventurer party went to hone their skills and challenge other dungeons in order to acquire magic items and reagents needed for this"
"Together huh..." Kirara said, for some reason, she didn't like the idea, but the flash of what happened inside the portal made her just nod "Okay, I get it now"
"We will work hard!" Said Minato and Fuwa at the same time.
Mia and Sophia looked as if they would faint at any moment, their levels were still pretty low, Raven placed a hand over their shoulders but said nothing. She didn't want a part of it, but Fuwa, the ever hero just wanted to go, and she had to take care of her.
"This is going to be a pain" Finally Raven said sighing.
...
...
...
After the briefing was over, Raven and the Knight Captain exchanged some hateful glances once again and Fuwa dragged her out of the place. It seemed that Crimson Dawn would take care of Minato's party and help them level up by running many dungeons, but the same offer wasn't offered to Fuwa's party. It seemed that they all believed they were already pretty strong and that neither Raven nor Fuwa would need that kind of help.
"You are amazing" Finally said Raven "You want to fight for these people" Commented Raven smiling at her companion "Hey, at least the king looked decent"
Fuwa shook her head.
"I'm doing this because we were present there when it happened" She said looking at Raven "None is blaming us, but I feel involved with all of this"
"So... are you going to take their offer?" Raven asked.
Some minutes ago, right before they left the room, the king had offered Fuwa to present her to a prestigious martial artist dojo where she could polish her technique, the bad part is that it was only for her, Raven didn't have anything to do there, nor she was allowed to go since the delicate situation between the demi-human race against the humans.
"I don't know... I want to... but I don't want to leave your side..." Said Fuwa full of doubts, her face shifting from her usual confidence.
"Hey come on, it's only a couple of weeks, think about how much you can learn" Raven said taking it with a light mood "And perhaps even make yourself a name for yourself in this lands, ain't that what you wanted?"
"Yes... but what about you?" Fuwa asked.
None had offered anything for Raven, for some moments Fuwa had been hoping for Kirara to teach one or two tricks to Raven, but that wasn't the case, and the king couldn't do anything about it too, after all his own position was already frail to be helping a demi-human around.
"Oh sheesh, don't worry about me silly!" Said Raven "I will just pass the time, and maybe find something to do"
"But..."
"Hey, no buts, if you can get stronger or at least better, you have to take the chance... I... Damn I don't want to say it but I don't want to lose you" Said Raven flustered looking away and trying to act cool "The better you are the less chance that will happen!"
As they talked outside the guild building, the rest came out and said their goodbyes as they took different destinations. Fuwa's gaze softened as she studied Raven's face, noticing the determination in her eyes, even through the cool facade. She took a deep breath and nodded, letting a small smile slip through.
"Alright, I'll go then" she said, her voice firm but gentle. "I'll come back stronger…for both of us" Then she grabbed Raven's arms and looked at her directly to her soul "And no cheating" She said.
"Wha-?" Asked Raven confused.
"No. Cheating" Said Fuwa once again, she looked very intimidating for a moment.
"Of course not!" Managed to say Raven but she was nervous.
"That's what I like to hear" Said Fuwa all happy again.
Raven did her best to act nonchalant, her usual smirk firmly in place, but her hands were clenched tightly by her sides, her heart ached as she saw Fuwa departing towards the king to accept the offer, she sighed, and tried to remain strong until the last moment when they departed too. For a strange reason, Raven felt heartbroken, but she laughed, she knew Fuwa would return, but she couldn't believe how dependent she had become on one single person, now the common folks that a few moments ago looked like insects seemed like predators, looking at her with disgust... it was hard to face this reality without her at her side.
"Cute" Said a voice near her "Then I will take care of you"
Raven turned around, that voice... it was the voice of the person who had faced them moments ago outside the inn. Raven reached for her knife with haste but her hand was trapped in the firm grip of the new girl. As her heart had frozen in place, she could hear her speak once again.
"A fine reaction, but an abandoned toy is just that, and is for the one who finds her"
Without anyone noticing, even with Raven being there in the middle of the people, the cat disappeared without anyone noticing.