Stepping into the bricks and cobbles with his party of girls, Raven stopped the flow of time for everyone who was working inside. They stood on the spot frozen, their eyes staring at the mage but their minds were struggling to catch up. However, after a quick wave of his hands, Diane's whole family impulsively began to smile.
"Thank god, I didn't know if you'd be back!" Lana heaved with a heavy heart. Much like the rest of the kingdom, she wasn't informed about the party's accomplishment much less about whether or not they were still alive.
Rushing over to the group beaming, both Daine and Zoey grabbed Raven by the hand. Pulling him further in, the smiles on their faces reflected just how overjoyed both of them were.
"Lana told us about what you and your friends did for us two, from healing our wounds to getting rid of that crazed guy Arc!" Guiding him to an empty table while the other customers were left to wait, Daine helped Raven settle in before beckoning the rest of his party closer.
In the meantime, while everyone settled, Zoey leaned closer to his face and whispered.
"Thanks for taking care of that stupid boyfriend of mine, now I don't have to worry about him anymore," planting a brief kiss on his cheek, Zoey settled down in a chair in front. "Now I can focus on what I wanna do without worrying about some stupid marriage or things like that."
"I seem to have a knack for breaking forced marriages, so it just came naturally to me to beat his ass," letting out a light chuckle, Raven was quickly surrounded by elves on both sides.
On his right was Mel and on his left was Aria, and since Erika didn't exactly like to make a show in public she sat down beside Zoey. Diane quickly scooted her over and sat down herself as well, all the while Lana decided to take care of the customers by herself.
"Finally, I get to rest my butt on a seat that's not rocking all over…" Resting her head against Raven's shoulder, Mel heaved a tired sigh.
Brushing her hair for a moment, Raven soothed her into a light nap in just a matter of a few seconds. Then turning to Diane, he decided to ask for a room, but being the owner of the place she offered it right up.
However, before letting them go to their rooms, she rushed into the kitchen with Zoey and began preparing a fresh meal for his party, unlike the somewhat stale bread being offered to the rest of the guests.
During the time that they had to wait, Lana informed Raven about the death of the woman being used as a sex relief toy in their backyard. Her heart, however, was used to create an automaton whose very purpose was to satisfy the needs of the customers.
"Four thousand gold coins, in just these few weeks," gulping heavily as she told the party all about the sex doll, Lana moved closer to whisper further. "I'm thinking about expanding the backyard into a service area, or maybe work on an underground bedroom of sorts."
From being the perfect lover to a lecherous dancer, the doll easily does it and Lana's eyes were gleaming from the potential. After all desperate men paid well when their cock were the ones making financial decisions. And the tall elf wanted to leave the draining of their balls to the doll and the draining of their wallets to herself.
"Sounds awfully familiar to the maze in Athenia," Erika chimed into the conversation, her interest positively piqued by the elf's plans.
"Maze?" Leaning back into her seat, Lana was just as curious to hear more about this place that she'd mentioned. "What is it? A bar? A whore house or what? Tell me!"
Unable to hold her excitement, she smiled wide with images of gold coins flashing before her eyes. With enough funds, she could help her family establish a great standing in the kingdom of Elenaris. Especially since things were developing so quickly that all business had been booming.
"Well, maybe we can take you there?" Resting her hands on the table, Erika's lips curved into a mischievous smirk. "There's this person called the mistress who manages it, maybe you can learn a thing or two from her? What do you say?"
Placing a finger on her chin, Lana pondered over the thought, while Raven who was unsure of what Erika was trying to pull decided to connect their minds and ask.
'What is this about?' He asked, and Erika darted her eyes at him in surprise.
'Oh, peeking into my mind, are we? What's next, walking in on me taking a bath?' Covering her mouth, Erika muffled a laugh and continued. 'Don't worry, I just wanna help her and who knows maybe if she's earning so much in just a few weeks, then this endeavor could provide us with all the gold we would need too.'
'And why would she pay us again?' Shaking his head, Raven still didn't understand how she was planning to make Lana pay.
'I bet a lot of pervs in this city would love exotic girls in this bar if she can establish it, and since we run into so many monsters anyways, sending a few of them here brainwashed with your ability wouldn't hurt us too much now, would it?'
"I think I wanna go and see what this place is like, when can we go?" Before Raven could even respond, Lana had already agreed to Erika's offer.
'Who knew a devil being in you would give you a silver tongue as well…' Surprised at how easily she managed to convince Lana as well as to some degree himself, Raven let her carry on with the idea.
Not too long after the conversation, both Diane and Zoey arrived with their meals. And since the rest of the customers had been neglected far too long, Lana left the rest of the discussion for later and took herself and her family back to work. After quickly enjoying the hearty meal they'd been served, the party decided to get some rest in their rooms before doing anything else.
As night approached, Amedith and Liliayana were at the inn after making sure the children were at the orphanages as well as at a nearly finished church for Athenia. Hoping to meet queen Elenaris the next morning, the party stretched their limbs and just laid in bed. Eventually, however, when Regalia was back, things were about to get steamy and likely break a few legs on the bed.