Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

A new body and a new mind, thanks to the equipment given to her by Shamisha, which was in turn given to her by Linkle, Mono had managed to create a vessel that could keep her sane much longer than the last. But without style nor fashion, what reason is there to live? Thus, giving herself a set of golden pigtails and a round cutesy face, the iron queen had settled into a body that was heavily deceptive when compared to her machiavellian mind.

Wearing a frilly frock patched with reflective patterns of a diamond, she upheld her dignified appearance and carried it with a gentle smile. Beside her stood Grace, the tall machina and the first ever mono doll. Her clothes were as plain as ever, but even she had given herself a slight makeover with makeup to look presentable.

"I could be plotting out ways to take over the world, but instead, here I am sipping wine that I can barely taste, much less digest…" Twirling her glass, Mono heaved a sigh. She'd been talking with the king and the queen for nearly an hour, and even when she was finally free, there were numerous guests keeping an eye on her.

"You will do no such thing, Master," Grace reminded, her eyes shooting daggers at the queen.

"Learn to take a joke." Rolling her eyes again, Mono took a light sip and watched as a tophat-wearing woman slowly approached her from a distance. Judging her with her eyes, the queen deduced her to be the iron dragoness that had struck a deal with Raven. "Gallaria, the guardian dragon of cursed treasures."

For once, her smile was genuine as Mono reached forward with a hand. But instead of taking it, the dragoness lifted her hand and gently bowed in a polite gesture.

"I can't dare touch her majesty bare. Accept this bow as my greeting," Gallaria said with a gentle smile riding on her lips.

To Mono's surprise, the dragoness was more polite than she expected to be with her. After all, the king of crows was one of the many reasons why the iron dragon clan was nearly extinct at this point in time.

'Perhaps she doesn't know, or maybe she does?' Unsure of the truth, the queen let the question wash out of her head. And while she was busy contemplating the whole thing, Mecerdes had also walked up beside the dragoness, and much like the bandaged arm of the guardian, the merchant, too, had bandages all over her body.

"H-her majesty…" Bowing to the queen, Mercedes showed her respects as well.

This time, it was Mono who decided to surprise the duo instead of the other way around. Holding her hand forward, the machina used the kaleidoscope protocol and cast a healing spell that she had stolen from Erika. In a moment, the two felt their pain lifting up, and the look of repressed strain on their face was gone as quickly as the spell was over.

"Did you two need anything from me?" Before they could even thank her for the blessing, Mono moved her hand back to her sides and inquired. Leaning against Grace, she took a quick sip of her wine and chuckled playfully. "I have to meet up with Shamisha and Linkle soon to talk about the equipment they gave me to control my sanity. I'd like to keep our interaction brief if that's possible."

"Ohh, I do not know about brief…" Yet again, through the crowd came another guest–disturbing the peace before the girls could speak a word. Turning their eyes to her, everyone who wasn't from Athenia or Elenaris was left slightly confused. But to Mono, the woman's presence made perfect sense. "The Mistress–I'm sure you've heard of me, your majesty~"

Laughing behind closed lips, the Mistress moved closer to the queen. Her deep v-cut dress with slits on each side to show off her assets was a distraction amongst distractions, especially with the bright violet dazzle and the massive ruby necklace resting on her breasts. In spite of that, she waltzed about uncaring and instead enjoyed showing off for once.

"I have heard of you actually…" This time, as Mono held her hand forward, the Mistress became the first person apart from the royal to accept it. Shaking hands for a brief few seconds, the two pulled away and stared at each other for a long and quiet second. "The primordial devil of the seventh layer, if I'm not wrong, to what do I owe the pleasure, ma'am?"

The Mistress's eyes widened to the formal greeting, she'd expected Mono to be much harsher towards her.

"Oh, no need for such formality, I just wanted to make your acquaintance, that's all."

"I was in line, by the way…" While Mercedes stood in the back, stunned by the fact that a Primordial was amongst them, Gallaria grabbed the Mistress by her shoulder and gently pushed her away from Mono. "A bit rude, don't you think? Waltzing about in the middle of a conversation, the least formal devil I've ever met!"

Scrunching her nose in anger, the Mistress glared at the dragoness, but with Mono in front, she wouldn't dare ruffle up some feathers. She wasn't afraid of the dragoness and neither of the queen, but in her experience, a healthy relationship with monarchs went a long way than iffy squabbles like these.

"I will…" Looking to the queen instead, the Mistress forced a smile and decided to leave after all. "I will see you around, your majesty. And I'll pray for that hole in your chest to recover as soon as possible."

"Likewise, and no need–I've already recovered from the goddess' attempted assassination long ago."

'What in the good lord's name are these people?!' Hearing such casual talk about no so casual matters, Mercedes was freaking out for she'd never been amongst such monstrous people. And yet her surprise throughout the party would continue to pile up, as primordials and god's chosen were one thing, even the gods were spiritually present in this gathering of power.