Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!
Chapter 697 - 697: An Uneven Trade

During the hero's time in the dark castle, the preparations for the coming war were coming along nicely. Regalia and Aradin were in charge of the soldiers back home, meanwhile, Maria, Hayley and the two centaurian girls were talking to the giants about the things they needed done in Eclanor before the Athenia army arrives in their kingdom.

"We're gonna need accommodation for about three thousand soldiers," crossing her legs on her elevated chair, conjured with magic, Maria looked straight ahead into the giant's crescent mask covering their eyes. "Ideally, an idol of Athenia and some of Elenaria for the faithful of the goddesses in the army."

Leaning her head on the palm of her right hand resting on the armrest, the illusion Mistress smiled, knowing full well how annoyed the giants would get about compliance.

"One demand after the other, we agreed to accept the goddess, but not before you get rid of the demon general and his army," the king shot back, only to be met with a finger being wagged in his face by Maria.

"Tsk~ Tsk~ Tsk~" Shaking her head, Maria turned to the other three sitting on top of more conjured chairs right next to her. Hayley seemed visibly uncomfortable as the current task was way outside her skillset; on the other hand, Amelia and Ophelia had their chest puffed up in confidence, as their party were the ones providing service to the lords of Eclanor and to be treated like servants was far beneath what they could accept. "I mean, just ask yourself, who's doing who a favor?"

With a head roll, Maria brought her attention back to the royals. Staring at them with a smirk, she reminded them of what they were asking.

"You want us to help you get rid of a threat that you can't handle, and our reward? Your kingdom accepts our goddess, but what other choice do you have?" Lifting her shoulders, she leaned her head forward with raised eyebrows. "Go running to your current god? Asmareth? You've tried that already, haven't you? How did that work out for you again?"

"Maria…" As the royal's expression contorted, Ophelia chimed in to save the negotiation. And although Maria wasn't that fond of being silenced, she knew it was better for Ophelia to handle this as the lords of this place were so horrendously bad at negotiating that this diplomatic talk was no fun for her at all.

As the conversation continued, the eldest woman of them all handled the talking and back and forth between the lords and their party. For the most part, the giants remained reluctant to give an inch, even though it was they who would benefit the most from the negotiation. However, inch by inch, Ophelia, with some help from Amelia, managed to coerce them into agreeing.

An hour passed, and finally, the negotiations were over, and the visitors took their leave. Leaving the giants to converse amongst themselves and untangle what they'd agreed to do. Although neither of them was happy about bending a knee to the hero's party, it was the queen who was the most upset, so much so that her anger later carried over to their bedroom as well.

Alone in their sanctuary, the duo let down their clothes–each garment the weight of ten people at the very least. As pale as silver, the queen's skin was devoid of any blemishes and as smooth as silk. Cast in the moonlight bleeding through the curtains, she glowed like a candle burning a pale flame. But as her dark wings spanned wide–all eight of them, they covered her entire body in a warm embrace. Being hidden beneath her clothes, they barely got any time to stretch, and just like the queen's eyes hidden behind her biological mask, they were kept hidden from the general public.

"Hmm…" Huffing at the sight of her body, she glanced at her husband from the edge of the mirror. Taking off her jewellery, she kept staring at that man's scarred face as he stared right back at her.

"What?" He complained, his bruised lips pursed with anger.

Eyeing the veins all across his body pulsing, the queen turned her eyes back onto herself and continued wiping the makeup off her face. Getting older had been tough for the two, especially with none to take over their seats. Being the only giants left–at least as far as they were aware, the thought that some day they'll go extinct was enough to spike the tension about their mortality.

However, tonight the queen was worried about something else. Infertile and dying, they may be, but there was a greater regret tugging on her conscience. And as soon as the king's eyes diverted from her, she looked back at him and whispered.

"We're cowards, Lumenes…"

Looking right back at her face in the mirror, the old king sighed.

"Don't start, Jehara–everything we did we did in agreement, so don't even try to point fingers."

"I know," grabbing her hair brush, the queen began running it through her almost black, dark blue hair. "And I guess we'll die as cowards and nobody will remember us for we have no heir."

"What the hell are you getting at?"

"Nothing, just reminding myself of the fact that our lives have been a failure." Setting the brush on the vanity, the queen turned around in her chair and glared at the withering king. "I mean, the security we got from being recluse, what was the point in it if we're not even leaving behind a legacy with a child? Our kingdom will fall into the hands of these outsiders, the moment we're dead, and guess whose fault is it? OURS!"

Squeezing his fists, the king held back on his anger and remained seated at the edge of his giant bed. Uncurling his fingers after a few seconds, however, he did have something to say.

"We've been infertile for our whole lives, and you never complained about not having a child, hells, you were grateful that you wouldn't have to raise a brat until just a few days ago, so what changed now?"

"We both know what changed."

Lifting his head, the king looked at his queen again. The same stern look as before was plastered on her face.

"You're jealous of the outsiders…"

"They have an army, they have influence, and I can bet my soul that their city is full of crying infants. What do we have, Lumenes? What do we have for our reclusion? Aren't their achievements proof that we wasted our limited days on this soil?"

"So what if they have all that?! What do you want us to do about it!?" The queen fell silent at the question. She had no answer. Her heart was flooded with regret, and that's all that she could think about. And looking at the withering king, she wondered if she had wasted her life by devoting herself to him. "We made our bed the best we thought we could, so just lie in it now, will you?"

As much as the queen wanted to complain, she retreated to the bed and slept next to the king. Their lives had lost all intimacy long ago, so even the thought of sex never crossed their minds. The duo were simply two infertile giants living together as they awaited their death–something that no longer sat right with either of the parties. But what can be done? It was far too late to do anything…