Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

A day had passed after Raven's date with Aria, and he'd tried to take out Mel, but the elf demanded he take her last. The rationale behind it was as simple as she said herself 'I wanna go out with you last so there's nobody else in your head but me'.

Ideally, she wanted to be first, but since that was now out of the question, she desired to have Raven only when he was done with the other and she could have him all to herself, both in mind and body as well.

"A church, Erika? Really?" Sitting at the edge of the steps that lead to the church's podium, Raven couldn't believe that his next date was just as peculiar as the one prior. "We spent our entire childhood in this building, I think we've already done enough of praying."

"Will you help me or not?" Holding a pile of dusty books in her hands, she glared at Raven as if she were her big sister trying to make her young brother do his chores. "I need to stock the shelves with these books about our kingdom's religious history before the goddess finishes her tome so we can add it to the top of the shelf!"

"Why not just use magic to put them up then?" Raven sighed, seeing visibly tired already.

"No! Work is worship! Did you even pay attention during our prayers?!" Erika complained some more as she placed the books on a bench and began dusting them off. "Plus Rowen is taking care of the baby and also repairing the orphan building so why don't you help me with what little we have to do ourselves?"

Shaking his head, Raven reluctantly got up and looked into the priestess's eyes.

"Between your nagging and hard work…you drive a hard bargain." Rolling her eyes at the mage, Erika showed him how to clean the inner pages before setting them on the shelves in an alphabetical or numeric manner.

Dusting the books, then sorting them to put them away, one after batch after the other, the two continued to work until the sun was at the church's head. No longer illuminated by the sun but rather shaded by it, the windows went dim and the hall grew colder. Finally feeling the sweat on their bodies cooling them down, the two settled on the benches for a brief period of rest.

"You know…" Taking a deep breath and throwing his hand behind the back of the bench, Raven looked to his side at Erika and continued. "Sometimes I feel like the kids are better off on the streets than a damned church."

"Tell that to Maria, maybe she should've stayed on the streets and died?" Not exactly fond of him demeaning the holy place, Erika looked at him in the eyes. But upon noticing a scowl on his face because of her words, she thought back on what she'd just said and decided to correct herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean that."

Turning his sights to the front Raven shook his head with the slightest hint of disappointment.

"You sure Athenia hasn't brainwashed you or something? You've been acting like she has to be honest," drawing a finger under her chin, Erika mulled over his words for a spell before leaning onto his body and responding.

"For now, she's my goddess so I shall devote myself to her, but if she does something to undermine our efforts, then she would not just lose me but my faith in her as well," turning her head towards Raven, Erika moved her hand on his face. Bringing her face up to match his, her breasts were squished against his shoulder as she planted a brief kiss on his lips.

"Where did that come from?" He asked the moment she broke the kiss.

Letting go of his face and sitting back on the bench, the priestess huffed a smile before responding to his question.

"Free will, from the same place I know that the goddess doesn't control me but rather has to earn my faith just as much I must earn her blessings," a give and take, a mutual relationship when put that way, even Raven had to agree that as long as it's fair, there was no fault in serving a god or goddess.

"Now then!" Abruptly pulling herself up, Erika offered Raven a hand. "We have much work to do, so why don't you help me, and I'll reward you later?"

"A reward?" Taking her hand, Raven got up as well, although a bit confused as to what exactly she could've meant.

"We're in a church so I can't say what it is, just wait and you'll realize that you're not the only one who can surprise us girls~" Planting yet another kiss, although on his cheeks this time, Erika led him to the church's cellar library from where countless books had to be cleaned and shelved upstairs.

Carrying as much of them as possible over every trip, the two kept on cleaning and stoking them to fill the shelves. Afternoon passed and night drew near, and only then was their task nearing compilation. While Erika went downstairs to bring out the last batch, Raven stepped back from the podium and admired the new decor that they'd put up.

Chapter Find:

Surrounding the empty idol's spot were rows of three tall shelves, each filled to the brim with the history of the kingdom of Athenia. Only the very middle–or rather the heart of the shelf was left empty, and once the tome was finished that's where it was to be placed.

Much like the kingdom with the king's castle at the center of a kaleidoscoping pattern of cascading streets, the tome of the goddess would be seen as the emergence of Athenian history.

"Quite beautiful already isn't it?" Erika whispered as she slowly walked up beside Raven.

"It is, now we just need Reina to finish that idol," Raven responded before turning around and taking the last batch from Erika's hand.

Once done with them too, it would be time for his surprise, but holding her secrets tight, Erika refused to peep a word until everything was done.

'Quite the gentle priestess aren't you? When the need arises at least.' Hearing the devil talking in the head, Erika rolled her eyes and returned to work.