Natasha breathed in and out. “So you found her?” She inquired, rubbing her temples.

Hanna nodded. “Kulmonari told us where she was before I killed them, Your Excellency,” she informed her.

Bonte returned to his seat and served himself another glass. “We sneaked into a warehouse and came across her pretty quickly,” he muttered and took a sip.

The Halve nodded and started gathering the broken glass on the table. “And?”

Pokora sat down next to Bonte, keeping an eye on Natasha.

“Ines said she was pretty dissatisfied with her life working at the Palace,” Hanna continued. “She had met Pneumix a few months ago, and joined the group shortly after. She quit her job and went into hiding after a certain individual started working at the kitchens.”

“Nerissa?” Natasha probed, using a cloth to gather the finer glass shards.

“Yes,” Bonte confirmed. “But she didn't know Nerissa was a Demon, however. They only told her to quit a week after Nerissa got there.”

“Did she know how the Demon managed to infiltrate the palace?” Natasha asked next.

“No, Your Excellency,” Hanna denied, shaking her head. “She only followed the instructions given to her and didn't question anything. They had promised she'd be safe and would find a better life... which she apparently did with how relaxed and carefree she was in the warehouse.”

The Halve nodded and placed the broken glass pieces in a napkin, then put it on the side. “Did she say anything about her family?”

Bonte sighed. “She said they were grown adults and would be fine without her, and that she couldn't be her best self if she stayed there.”

Natasha scoffed and shook her head. “What a fucking idiot,” she grumbled.

Bonte, Hanna, and Pokora nodded in agreement.

Pokora hummed. “What are you going to do, knowing this?” She asked Natasha.

The Halve shrugged. “That shit is not my business. As long as she doesn't come at us, I won't meddle with her. Whatever she want to accomplish won't happen so I don't care. Gordon has his own people sneaking around so I guess they'd be all in prison if they were a real threat.”

“What about the Tiny Laples?” The Archer inquired.

“I'll tell them Ines just went and fucked off. Bernard deserves to know more, though,” Natasha finalized. “Anyway, that's over and dealt with,” she added with a sigh.

The Elf nodded and served herself some alcohol. She turned to Bonte and asked, “How did you sneak in, anyway?”

The Tigea smiled and explained while snickering, “Well, I disguised myself as a Dwarf since I'm short enough to pass as a tall one. The Shade Adept class is pretty much a perfect fit, so yeah... the people working on security had no chance at figuring out.”

“So you went for illusions?” The Elf nodded approvingly. “Nice. How about you, Hanna?”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Same,” the Ork replied. “I disguised myself as a Brazi Luzo and went with the safe bet of Water Weaver to make it ironic as a plus.”

Pokora chuckled at her words.

“How does that work?” Natasha inquired. “Can you use other classes' spells when you're disguised?”

Hanna turned to her and shook her head. “No, Your Excellency,” she respectfully corrected her. “We use illusions to make the show of casting a spell. Most choose something similar to their classes... Bonte has the Shadow Chaser class and went for Shade Adept. Both deal with shadows so it's simpler to 'cast a spell' with shadows.”

The Halve nodded. “Right,” she muttered and her glow lessened a bit.

Bonte let out an exaggerated sigh. “My secrets have been revealed!” He lamented with a sad face.

The Ork chuckled.

Natasha looked at the two for a few seconds. “Did you two work well together?”

The Tigea nodded. “Yep. Hanna has good Classes and pretty good acting skills. That helped a lot when infiltrating.”

Hanna's heart started beating faster.

The way the Halve had posed the question... made her hopeful.

It could be said the Ork had pretty sharp insight when it came to reading people and situations. Improvisation was one of her strengths since childhood, and, if she had been musically gifted, she'd been a great Performer. Alas, she preferred combat over flowery words. The thrill of sneaking around and catching her opponents with their guard down was one of the many pleasures the woman greatly enjoyed.

Was she worthy of being invited to the Halve's party? She hoped so. Bonte had vouched for her and she got results to speak for her as well.

It would be embarrassing to no end if she was jumping to conclusions, clouded by the bias she had for Halves.

Still, if her hunch was wrong, she'd have the memory of having done something for one for the rest of her life. Helping a Protector is something very few can brag about.... not that anyone does, anyway.

How cool would it be to join Her Excellency in her journey to higher power? What wonders would she see? Who would she meet? What amazing deeds would she accomplish at her command?

To serve a Higher Being would be the highest of honors in Hanna's eyes.

She'd peak, in her own words.

Natasha addressed Hanna. “Can you tell us a bit about yourself?”

The Ork smiled and nodded. “Yes, Your Excellency. As I said before, my name is Hanna Intarr, with two r's at the end. I was born in Gukobnya, a city in Shchenneya, the first country to adopt the republic system. I like winter, snow, mountains, and traveling. I dislike alcohol, oloyas, windchimes, and dolls. I'm a base Scout, Warped Blade, Usurper, and Regicide. Although my classes suggest I'm against Monarchy, that is not the case at all.” She paused and chuckled, “I respect the Eternals a lot, as Your Excellency might have noticed already.”

The Halve was silent for a while.

Hanna grew a little nervous.

Was the information a bit too on the nose? It could be seen as 'please recruit me!', in a way.

Natasha glanced at Pokora.

The Elf nodded and gave Bonte a look.

The Tigea nodded as well.

“How about you come tomorrow morning?” The Halve suggested. “You were a big help with the Ines business, after all. Also, you killed one of the people responsible for trying to kill me and mind controlling Elena.” She thought for a second and smiled. “Your services are greatly appreciated.”

A wide smile formed on Hanna's face and she nodded. “I will, Your Excellency. And thank you very much for the kind words!”

Natasha sighed, knowing it'd be difficult to get the Ork to stop calling her 'Your Excellency'.

She was getting used to it, though. And to some extent, she liked it a bit.