Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

However, the curious others wanted to know what he was planning to do, and his guests from a different kingdom were also suffering in an unexpected manner. Bringing Shamisha and Lana into the shade, Raven ordered some of the maids to bring out ice packs to cover the eyes of the two women. Neither of them had seen the sun being so bright in Elenaris, causing the duo to suffer a sensory overload.

Sneezing with their hands covering their heads, the girls stayed under the gazebo trying to get used to the sudden change in their environment. The pollen in the garden didn't help much either as the city of Elenaris knew no greenery and pastures.

"Why is it so bright?!" Screamed Shamisha, sneezing right after.

"Athenia plateaus over Elenaris, so your kingdom's mostly in its shade, maybe that's why…" Explained Melicia, although not entirely sure herself either.

"Ughhh…" With a nose as red as a rose, Lana leaned back into her chair and looked to the ceiling of the gazebo. She'd never been too far from Elenaris, and since even the forest surrounding it was mostly shaded by Athenia, she felt like she was in a place where that wasn't for elven living.

"The air…It's heavy…" Athenia's bounty was too much for her fume-poisoned lungs. Every breath she took felt like a stab in the gut. "I'm di-dizzy~"

The very next moment the left lost consciousness and as everyone's attention turned to Shamisha, it turned out she too had fallen asleep due to the heightened level of oxygen in the air.

"What happened to these two?" Walking under the gazebo as well, Erika looked around bewildered.

Much like how the party had been overwhelmed by Elenaris the first time they'd visited, the duo have had a similar experience. However, in their case, the purity and brightness weighed so heavily on their bodies that they'd lost consciousness.

"And I thought this would be an easy go and get out kind of deal…" A bit disappointed by the hurdle thrown into his plan, Raven heaved a tired sigh but quickly decided to help treat the girls instead of bringing himself down.

Watching everything unfold so far, Maria and the monster girls drew closer to the group. Asmodia also followed right behind but her mist-like form was easy to miss under the sun. Taking a quick glance across their faces, Raven noticed that Aria was still gone and there were no signs of Amedith or Liliyana either.

'Probably in the mansion…' Speaking of the mansion, his attention turned to the front. Heaps of debris from the broken walls had been piled into a corner outside. Amidst that pile were splatters of blood, guts and even some vile maggot-infested limbs. They were to be separated and burnt but not until everything had been taken out from the basement. 'I should take these two to the Boartooth instead.'

Nursing the duo in a living horror of a building was obviously not the brightest idea, and so quickly preparing a carriage to take the girls and even Mel and Erika with him, the mage was off on his way to the Boartooth.

Hoping Moxy could help the girls with a nice meal to regain their strength, Raven wanted them to get better by the night; so he could finally make the trip to the maze with them. Halfway through their way to the Inn, the girls twisted and turned on the carriage floor before eventually waking up with a stabbing headache still ringing in their skulls.

However, their eyes now sheltered from the sun by the curtains, they managed to pick themselves up with a little bit of help. Continue your journey at mvl

"Why is it so bright outside?!" Shamisha complained, her hand pressed against her forehead.

"Y-yeah…" Lana added, shaking her head around.

"It's not too bright, you're just too used to the dark," Raven responded before giving them a brief explanation of why they were feeling sick, and then even informed them of the change of plans to visit the maze at night.

In the meantime, as the carriage arrived at the Inn, the Elenarian girls had to cover their eyes and put their trust in Raven to lead them inside. Once they were in, their eyes opened up to a fox-girl curiously staring at them on the counter.

"Did you get dirt in your eye or something?" Asked Moxy.

But before the two could say anything, Raven jumped in and told the fox-girl of everything that was happening. They needed a place to stay until the night and what better place than a familiar inn? It also gave Raven a chance to talk to Moxy and convince her to join in the mansion once it was done rebuilding.

Taking Shamisha and Lana up the stairs, Raven helped them settle into a room. The windows closed shut, and the door as well, he stayed inside with them both while Mel and Erika were downstairs–ready to bring up food the moment Moxy was done preparing it.

"So many humanoids but no pure demis…" Baffled by the lack of animalistic faces in the city, Shamisha truly felt like she was in an unknown territory. "We were planning to trade with this kingdom soon, but I don't know if our messengers can handle going back and forth."

"Just rest up, worry about everything else later!" Raven advised, a bit ticked off that his plan to visit had to shift over to the night.

'It's not their fault but still, I don't want to give another moment of peace to the Mistress without answering some question…' His anger was directed not at the girls, but at the Mistress who'd sold young girls to Rowalt, Raven sat rocking in a chair–waiting for the night to arrive and for his confrontation with the succubus to begin.

Before any of that, however, he shared a warm and hearty stew made of fresh ingredients with the visitors–neither of whom knew what even the word fresh meant when it came to vegetables. Beaming a bright smile and their eyes twinkling with gastral joy, Lana muffled a moan after the first spoonful all the while Shamisha tried to pretend she wasn't enjoying the meal as much as she was.

Looking over the girls and their smiles, Raven couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to bring the rest of them to Athenia and show them the best his hometown had to offer.

'Maybe another time…' He promised to himself.