Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Reluctant she may have been, but after some thought, Melenai finally agreed to let Raven rummage through her memories. As his hands rested on her shoulders, she could feel him prodding around in her mind, sifting through memories. Not one, not a hundred, nor a thousand, nor a million, but each one of them, all at once. There was so much going on that for Raven, it felt like a lifetime just trying to grasp what was happening in the most basic of her memories.

In the end, as his hands retreated, the only thing he managed to get out of it was her race and a few minor things from here and there–nothing major enough to hinder their coming mission.

"You're a bard?" Out of all the things that confused him, for some reason, Raven decided to focus on her class. Squinting, he looked into her eyes, his head slightly leaning upwards. "Where's your instrument?"

"What?" Furrowing her eyebrows in response, the advisor's expression soured in an instant. Taking a step away from the man in front of her, she resisted the charm his proximity had and whispered in complaint. "Not every bard plays music, you idiot. I'm a bard of records, I keep records for the city and everywhere around us."

Stepping forward upon hearing that, Liliyana decided to speak her mind for the first time ever since coming to this city.

"Wouldn't that make you a squire?"

Darting her gaze at the devil, Melenai glanced at her up and down before heaving a deep sigh of frustration. Shaking her head, she tried to calm her mind before speaking another word.

"Every class has sub categories and the class of bard encompasses a squire or anyone telling a story, noting a record, playing an instrument or displaying any form of art that reflects the truth of our world in any shape or form." Tired of explaining herself all the while fighting her god's influence, Melenai carelessly waved her hand in front and moved to a chair in the far corner of the atelier.

Watching her settle in her chair, Raven decided to move on to the Caladrius–Meimei. Sitting on top of floating gauntlets that had been hammering metal all day, she floated in front of Raven with her astral hands outstretched.

"My turn, ahaha~" As cheerful as ever, she welcomed this new experience.

With a nod, Raven grabbed her magic arms connected to her body of flesh. Although they added some delay to the relaying of information, he could peer into her mind all the same. The first thing that he saw was an old memory of hers with her body set in a cradle. Her wings fluttered about rampantly as her hands reached for what he assumed to be her parents.

The very next thing, however, was the bloody pain. The pain of her wings being torn apart, the pain of a wolf tearing her limb from limb until only her torso and her head remained. That is when she was found by a soldier of Elcanor, and the man saved her from bleeding out in that dark cave. What became of him couldn't be less clear, as nowhere in her memory did he ever appear again. Instead, it was the giant that took Mei under their guidance and raised her as their servant.

Half Caladrius and half human, she had great potential as a healer and a conjurer. But there was something more within her, something that was purging the corruption Raven was holding within himself as power. Like a flame burning through paper, her magic burned through the borrowed strength of horrors with the warlord. Opening his eyes, he glanced up at the smiling girl, realizing that she could be the greatest asset out of anyone in this city of the blind.

"What did you see?" She asked, tilting her head sideways just a little.

"A bit of your past and a better understanding of your powers, that's all…" and with that, he let go of her hands. Quickly glancing over to Regalia, he nodded, ready to leave the mansion and head back to the inn where Monty was waiting for them.

However, just as he tried to move towards his group, Melenai placed a hand on the back of his shoulder and made him turn to face her.

"I know you must have some preparations to conclude, but before you go anywhere, I think Mei might have something for you folks to do." Glancing over to the conjurer, the advisor nodded before leaving everything in her hands. Walking out of the room, Melenai headed out to check on Flitza again, meanwhile, Mei began recording everything about Raven and his party by placing their hands against her cheek.

A bit confused, everyone stared at her blankly. Not realizing that she was assessing their magic along with their physical attributes with just that tender touch, the group let her continue with her work. Even after she was done checking everyone, however, she quickly noted down the addresses of two shops on the right side of the city. Right under them was a list of items that she needed to make something for the group. Handing the list to the leader of their group, she said.

"I need some of those items on the list, so I noted a special shop's address on it. She'll bring them to me herself, but please give her the note as I can't leave the mansion, at least not until Flitza wakes up again." Pointing at the shop's name on the note, she moved past the materials and laid her finger on the other shop. "And this should be the map maker, he sells information, so maybe you should visit him too while you're there."

Giving the note a good look, Raven pocketed it and nodded at the girl.

"Appreciate it, we'll be back in a week or so with an expedition group." Folding her hands behind herself, Meimei kept on smiling and swaying her hips on the spot while listening to Raven. "Once we've scouted the demon general's proximity, then we'll circle back and bring the rest of the army."

"Sounds like a plaaannn~" Hopping on the spot, Mei was caught in mid-air by one of her floating gauntlets before she rode off on it back to the furnace.

Observing her for a while as she returned to work, Raven couldn't help but feel a smile creeping up.

'That's a strong woman, maybe the strongest I've ever met.' Of course, he wasn't talking about strength, and that's exactly why, even though she hadn't done much to help the party, she had earned everyone's respect. As for the rest? Who could tell?

"Let's move, we have a lot to do," Raven muttered, readying everyone to visit quite a few places before returning home to plan for their hardest mission yet.