The same night as the slaughter of monsters, Glyea was pushed onto a stage before a gathering of adventurers, mercenaries, and the greenhorn soldiers, as well as a few ascended fang members. They've heard of a threat headed their way, but since Zephyr and Aura's words carried little weight, being merchants, they wanted to hear it straight from someone who was at least slightly more reliable.
Standing in front of them all, that too on a makeshift stage in the middle of the town, she could feel her heart pounding in her mouth. And yet with a glance at Zephyr, who'd mingled with the rest of the crowd, she swallowed her angst and raised her staff to draw everyone's attention.
'This is a bad idea.' She thought to herself before hitting the hilt of her staff against the ground.
"As some of you may know, I am… Glyea Glintsmith." With a gulp, her eyes ran left to right through the air as if she were reading her lines through parchment. "A few days ago, I was given orders to retreat from this town and head back to the capital. When asked why I was being pulled from my assignment, the response never came. Which in turn led me down this investigatory path."
Looking down and across at the people gathered in front of her, her heart seized yet again. The eyes of killers, mercenaries, and most grizzled beastmen were set on her face. If they so wished, they could've twisted her like twigs if they didn't like why they were gathered in such a large assembly. Even so, since their source of income and trust was possibly under threat, they were willing to listen to her at the very least.
Luminos, being an autocratic town, the gathering of such souls had sent the appropriate message to the people. Do not exit your houses or try to interact with the folks who deal in the shadows. As quiet as a cemetery, the town only wished to listen to one voice at the moment. And that reminder for Glyea was, needless to say, nerve–wracking.
"Long story short, we have an army of monsters headed our way, and since the capital won't spare the resources, we have to hold our own or move out before the monsters come." Letting it out as plain as she could, she strayed from the script. "I mean, what can I say but that we have no other choice? I could leave at any moment, and so can you guys. But if you wanna fight, we need to get together for a few days and struggle against those bastards the best we can."
"And you know all that, how?" Asked a man from the crowd.
Following her instruction, Glyea pointed to the hero and urged him to climb up on the stage. Hesitant as he was, Rudy had no choice but to step up. He knew that he would be called upon, but the tense environment was making him second-guess himself.
"Hear it from your hero, he saw the tracks and the devastation that they left him." Taking a step back, Glyea offered him the stage.
His body shrank to the gesture, and yet, swallowing his angst, the hero stepped forward and relayed exactly what he'd seen at the traveler's camp. He painted the audience a horrid picture, one far more lenient than what it actually was, and yet the drop on their faces confirmed that they no longer saw this gathering as a waste of time.
As Rudy's story came to an end, however, neither he nor Glyea had anything to say. Instead, in the silence, Zephyr stepped onto the stage. All eyes turned to him, but to dim the focus, he pretended to be just as anxious as the others. His arms folded into each other, and his eyes refused to hold the audience's gaze. And finally, as he stood before them all, he offered them his help without overshadowing the other two behind him.
"Cecilia and I will help you folks with potions, elixirs, and any and all help that we can provide during this struggle. The last thing we would want is to lose our shop after having set it up just this month. Better we lose the inventory than the business itself." Lifting his head, he finally glanced across the tense audience. "My partner Cecilia is an expert in monsters and their habits, and the more we know, the better we can handle this situation, but first we need to agree to work together."
Turning around, he urged Glyea to step forward.
"Just as Miss Glyea here said, we can either run or fight. So ultimately, the decision is yours. In the end, we could also just move, but we'd like to help if the fine folks here do decide to fight."
'What are you doing?' Glyea thought as she passed Zephyr while walking forward, and in return, she heard his voice echoing in her head.
'Making you the hero of this small town.' His intentions were laid out, but he was still lying by omission. After all, once Glyea saves the town, Luminos could no longer be a self-governing town. At the first sight of trouble, who would the people flock to? The very same hero who'd saved them before.
'Finally, we can start taking control of this place. One pawn at a time.' Aura's voice echoed in Zephyr's head. And although he wouldn't exactly call Glyea a pawn, he couldn't exactly rebut the archmaiden's point. 'By the way, husband~ I have a little surprise for you tonight. Won't you indulge me?'
Raising an eyebrow, Zephyr looked over at Aura standing in the crowd. A devilish smile rested on her lips, and the look in her eyes was doused in arousal. He could taste her lust, her anticipation, and most importantly, the aching of her soul wanting him to fuck another woman right in front of her.
Alas, she would have to wait–at least until the meeting was over. Thankfully for her, that wouldn't be long.