Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Having turned into a spirit lord, Mino's conjured minotaurs persisted longer and were even capable of conversation. Like any other familiars, they bore great fealty to their master and to prove it, they worked and worked until their bodies melted into nothing. And from nothing they would rise again–so long as Mino deemed it so.

But it wasn't just Minotaurs that she could conjure. Inanimate objects like chairs, ladders and plenty of equipment required for the repairs were all conjured by her. As long as the items weren't being put into the structure itself, they were proving to be a great help, especially since the workers didn't have to carry them while moving to another section to be repaired. The items moved by themselves and followed the command of the workers, much like how the minotaurs followed Mino's every word.

"This is gonna take forever…" Yawning, the monster girl decided to conjure herself a chair and take a seat for a while.

While doing so, she noticed the sound of hooves coming from the direction of the main doors. Emerging from within were Amelia and Ophelia, both of whom had just had a long-winded conversation with the king about tightening the security of Athenia while the hero was gone.

"How's it going in there? The king still sitting on his ass while we work?" Mino complained, a hint of mockery reflected in her tone.

Noticing the cowgirl in the crowd, the centaurians smiled at her and made their way closer. Once they stood in front of her, Mino conjured a pair of long sofas that could help the girls sit their larger bodies. And doing just that, Ophelia decided to talk to Mino while Amelia looked around at the other two, Maine and Arche, working more hands-on on the castle than the cowgirl.

"Physical labor isn't the only thing required in times like these. The king's busy reassuring the nobles and the citizens of the kingdom's security. " Glancing back to the workers running about like ants, Ophelia added. "Having a ruined castle is proving to be a challenge in that regard. Nobody wants to see the symbol of the kingdom decorating the ground, after all."

"What do you want me to do? We're working as quickly as we can, but we still gotta wait for the materials to set!" Mino retorted, somewhat offended by Ophelia's words.

But right as the centaurion turned to look at Mino's frustrated expression, it quickly melted away as a black furry yak walked up beside Mino. Rubbing its face against the cowgirl while also licking her, like an enlarged dog, the beast of burden owned by Aerin–managed to defuse Mino's anger in just a few seconds.

"AhAHHHA~ EY! Get to work, you goof!" Laughing and thrashing her legs like an excited child, Mino playfully slapped the beast. Shrinking away for a second, it bobbed its head up and down–almost as if it understood what Mino was saying.

Watching the youngster dragging bricks along with Aerin right behind, the party of girls waved at them both with a smile. That small encounter had lifted their spirits, especially Mino's, since she loved animals.

"Does he not have a name yet?" Amelia asked, her eyes still lingering on the beast.

But that's when Mino decided to reel in herself and everyone around her to the reality of owning beasts.

"That's probably not a good idea. It'll be a heartbreak when he dies in only ten years…" As much as it pained her to admit that fact, seeing the black yak's father–Rose's much older yak, she knew that the heavy lifting, along with having fur in a mostly sunny environment, was sure to decline their lifespan from ten years to a meagre seven or five. "That too's generous to be honest."

With all eyes now sombre and facing her, Mino shook her head to push away that grim thought. Instead, with a smile, she glanced around the environment and tried to make sure that the work was going as planned. In doing so, however, she noticed Choux, Moxy and the drake that the arctic fox had.

"The weather must be harsher for that babe to be honest. We should send him back to Lululalia every so often just in case." Following her eyes, the other two looked to the drake as well. A child, a babe, said to live a thousand years in a suitable environment, who's to say he won't simply perish before even reaching a hundred in Athenia? "Butttt…"

Turning her head about, Mino once again addressed the centurians.

"Where's Jenna? She was meant to be here, helping with meal preparations and such. And what about everyone else? I've been working here since the attack, but haven't seen a soul come back here and check on any of us. Where's Raven even?"

"Well…" Extending a hand, Amelia heaved a sigh. There was a lot for her to explain from the problem at Elenaris to the distribution of labor among the hero's closest aids. "This will take a while, so let's get comfortable."

Thus, getting one of the succubus maids to bring them some refreshments, Amelia began detailing Mino on everything that had happened since the day of the attack. For the most part, everything had to do with the hero and the party, but when it came to Jenna, it was the centaurians who decided not to let her come anywhere close to cooking, as the woman was still a crazed alchemist.

"Makes sense, I guess. Her last batch of potions in the war were…well, let's just say they were rancid at best."

"That, I remember, it gave some people diarrhoea."

"Ughh, don't remind me!" Shuddering at just the thought of the 'shitstorm' in the desert, Mino never wanted to look at Jenna ever again. "I was trying to repress that memory, but thanks for ruining my appetite for tonight."

Scoffing at the cowgirl's apprehension, Ophelia joked.

"Oh, come on, it couldn't have been that bad."

"That thing gave me more trauma than the war ever did." Holding herself by the arms, Mino shook her head, and that look in her eyes finally relayed to the other two the absolute gravity of the situation.

'Fucking hells, what exactly happened there?' Thought the two, but some things are best left untold.