Chapter 516 - An old promise (Patreon)

Hera's Status

After seeing Peaches' message, Hera quickly sent one back, telling him she was available. He never said something like that, and she knew that it wouldn't be a joke. Peaches could be playful, but he knew when to be serious. It didn't take more than 5 minutes before there was a ring on the door. Hera did her best to clean up the place, but 6 dwarfs had just left, so it wasn't the best situation to have visitors. Still, it was something important, and she wasn't going to worry about that right now. Aside from Hera herself, Daskka was sitting on the couch, but her court wasn't going to be a part of this discussion. She didn't know what Peaches wanted to talk about, and having weapons out might note the best idea.

Hera took a deep breath before opening the door, "Hey Peaches," she opened with a large smile. However, her face quickly turned into surprise. Behind Peaches was a chameleon wearing a tuxedo and a top hat, "Oh? Percy Bodwitch? What are you doing here? I thought you were among the guides that didn't want to talk to me."

"You are correct, my dear. I do not care for you nor for your way of life. Alas, I must fulfill my duty, and unfortunately, you're part of it," as Percy spoke, one of his eyes stayed on Hera while the other kept darting around.

"What does your duty have to do with me?" Hera had a confused expression, but soon she snapped out of it and looked at Peaches, "Hey Peach, how are you?"

"Please don't call me Peach. It reminds me of a game character that really annoys me. I mean, why does the ruler of a Kingdom always get kidnapped? You figure that after maybe the second time, you would beef up security or something," Peaches shrugged.

"I never thought about that, but yeah, I agree. The games are still fun, though," Hera nodded.

"Are we going to stay here in the corridor while you two talk about irrelevant things, or are you going to invite us inside as a good host would?" Percy rolled both his eyes, one at a time.

Hera blinked slowly while looking at the chameleon guide. She made a point of lingering as if she was deciding if she would invite him in or not. It was one thing to have the guide treat her poorly because she called him in a room, and, according to him, her preparations were not adequate. Another was for him to come here to her house and act like he was entitled to his standards of politeness. However, Peaches was the one that said they needed to talk, and Percy should only be there because of that discussion.

Hera stepped back inside and gestured to her private room, "Please, come in. I apologize for the mess. I wasn't expecting visitors," she said, making sure to point out that Percy was the one who invited himself here.

The chameleon walked in and glanced at Daskka, who was just staring at him with an annoyed expression. It seemed like he was thinking about something, but after a few moments, he continued moving to the middle of the living room. On the other hand, Peaches was being carried by Hera to the couch, where he sat by her side.

"It's okay if we talk about why you're here? The message that Peaches sent me sounded important," Hera asked.

"Young lady, when you are entertaining guests, one should offer some tea or, at the very least, a cup of water. Frankly, your manners are appalling. And yet it's completely expected. After all, you are someone who has such a disregard for manners and rules that you're even sharing the knowledge of the guides with her," Percy had both eyes on Hera this time before turning to Daskka.

"Who the fuck is this asshole?" Daskka snarled, but only Hera could hear it.

"I suppose that's why you're not in charge of the rules. I only introduced Daskka to the guides after confirming if that was allowed or not. If you have a problem with the ruling, complain to the system because it was its decision, not mine. And you must forgive me for my lack of preparation. I had no idea that I would have visitors such as you today, so I had no time to prepare. Unfortunately, I would only be as good of a host as my guests allow," the speech lessons Hera had with Rutigan and Fethy were useful in an unexpected situation. Still, Hera made a mental note to thank them for that later.

"Typical, when presented with your own shortcomings, you are unable to accept criticism," Percy scoffed.

"I want to slap him. Can I slap him?" Daskka turned to Hera.

'No, you can't. He may be a dick, but he's still a guide,' Hera replied, using her poison connection with Daskka.

"And let me say, it's incredibly rude to talk about someone in front of them. I may not be able to understand what you're talking about, but I have enough experience with Naga to know when I'm the subject."

Hera nodded, "Of course. I'll refrain from doing anything that you may consider rude such as talking about you in front of you or hearing a conversation that I'm not supposed to hear."

"Yeah, you are the rude one here!" Daskka cheered, seeing Percy's face contorting with Hera's reply.

"Ok, Ok. Let's calm down. Percy, you are the one who needed to come here. You shouldn't be this rude to her," Peaches turned to Hera, "And try to be less snippy. I know he is trying to push your buttons, but be the better person."

"I don't have a problem with lowering myself to the level of others but okay. I'll try to be nice. For you," Hera said before turning to Percy, " I am sorry for being rude. But unfortunately, you caught me unprepared. If you like, I can offer you a glass of water, but that's all that is available. Chairs are also something I can't get at the moment, so if you prefer, I can sit on the ground while you take the couch. But Daskka is staying here."

"I would rather stand, and if I wanted water, I would go to a lake. Either way, Peaches is correct. I came here for a specific reason. It came to my attention that the system considers you a Naga. I do not agree with that in the slightest. However, I must fulfill a promise because of this," Percy pulled a small piece of paper from his breast pocket, "This is a map. Made by the last Naga that came to this room. He was lost and desperate and wanted to find his way back home. Unfortunately, at the time, the doorway was already inactive. So he was trying to reach his destination by going around it, through the doorway you've discovered today. He was scared, alone, and worried that others would end up lost like he was. In the end, he made me promise that I would give this to the next Naga that appeared in the room. It saddens me greatly that I never had the chance to pass this along to someone so far."

"What about Chika? She was bonded with Darni, so she should also be considered a Naga," Hera asked.

"Even if that was the case, when I received this map, Chika was in no condition to see anyone. And by definition, I wouldn't be able to give it to her. She was not a Naga who passed by the room. She was a snake who bonded to a Naga, and she was already in the room."

"It sounds like you're going through a lot of hoops to say that you had to wait till now to give it to somebody," Hera replied.

"I am, and that's not by choice. I am only trying to fulfill my end of the promise," Percy replied bluntly.

"And what was the promise? Why is this so important to you? The Naga only used this room as a graveyard. Why is this one Naga worth all of this?"

"That is something personal. And why should that matter to you? I'm giving you something you are looking for. I know that you are already searching for the Naga. I'm only helping you find your answers," Percy crossed his arms, holding his cane in one hand and the paper in the other.

"So? Am I supposed to believe that you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart? Who's to say you're not doing something that's going to put me in danger? If I don't know your motives, why should I believe in any of this?" Hera scoffed. She really wanted that map, but at the same time, it was hard to trust someone so obnoxious. Even if he was a guide.

"Forget it. This was a mistake," Percy started walking towards the doorway.

"Percy, are you sure you are going to leave now? I don't think you will have another opportunity to talk to her if you end things like this. So you will have to wait for the next Naga to show up," Peaches said without getting off the couch.

Percy clenched his teeth, or, at least, this is what his expression suggested, "Fine. I got sentimental. The Naga in question had a sad story about how he lost his family and his friends, and he was alone. And I just wanted to give him some closure so he could move on with his life. Before that, he came here often, and we talked on several occasions. I consider him my friend. All I want to do is honor his wishes."

Hera waited for a moment but then turned to Peaches, "A long time ago, you told me that guides can't lie. I can't remember if that included what we talk about here or through messages. Is that still true?"

"Pretty much. We can still be sneaky about stuff, but if we say something, you can consider that as truth. That being said, we can make mistakes. Unlike when you call one of us with the guide skill, we don't have the system backing us up to make sure we don't give incorrect information," Peaches nodded.

Hera turned back to Percy, " Okay. Thank you for telling me. If you still want me to have the map, I will gladly take it."

Percy walked closer to Hera and gave her the piece of paper. She tried not to seem overly excited, more out of pride than anything. This map could be amazing for her, but Percy was so obnoxious that she couldn't bring herself to show her interest. When she opened the map, she couldn't help but frown, "Was all of this a prank?"

"It is not. I swear that this was the map that was given to me."

"This can hardly be considered a map," Hera sighed. It was just a piece of paper with seven empty circles connected with lines from odd angles. Remembering that this was supposed to be given to a Naga, Hera triggered her [Observe - Red Sight] since the Naga would write things using their infrared vision. On the bottom of the map, inside the last circle, she could see a symbol that looked like dried-up ground. It was similar to the symbol on top of the doorways leading to the Wailing Valley. Connected to it, there was a drawing of an ant nest inside. Followed by a small strip of land surrounded by water, a jungle with a pair of waterfalls on both sides, a city made out of pyramids, a cave filled with crystals, and, lastly, a temple with the head of a snake on top.

Percy realized that Hera managed to see the map and crossed his arms, "I suppose there's a reason why you are an explorer. Although, considering you are apparently a Naga, it took you too long to realize how to read this map."

Hera looked up and was about to snap at him when Peaches interrupted, "Percy, it took her less than 30 seconds to figure it out, stop being a prick."

"Is this the original?" Hera asked, wondering if the Naga had put some hidden message on the map.

"Not exactly. The original map is long gone. Despite my best efforts, paper can only last so long. But the copy you have in your hands is perfect. Any blemishes or markings are exactly like the original. I didn't make the copy manually, I created it by using my authority as a guide."

"Right. So can you give me an extra copy? A perfect one, I mean. I want to share it with a few people," Hera replied.

"And why would I help you with this? My job is done. I gave you the map," Percy scoffed.

"I'm guessing that since you're here giving this to me, this promise is not simply something you are doing to be nice. There must be some spell or effect by the system forcing you to do this. Because let's face it, you don't like me for some reason. And I have no idea what is the promise you made. Let me ask you this, is giving me the map enough, or was it part of the promise for you to help the other Naga find their way? If it's the second option, giving me copies of the map would also consist in helping me find the way."

Percy clicked his tongue and pulled another three copies of the map from his breast pocket, tossing them on the ground in front of Hera, "There. Three more copies, exactly like the original. With this, I fulfilled my promise," Percy walked towards the door in a huff but stopped in front of it, "Could you open the door for me?"

Hera leaned over to grab the maps and check them. She knew Percy couldn't lie, but she still felt the need to do so, "I never keep the door locked when there's a guide here. You can open it yourself," she said without looking in his direction.

Percy left, and Peaches waited a few moments, "I'm sorry for this, kid. I honestly wasn't expecting him to act like that."

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. But was this the important thing we needed to talk about, or was there something else?"

"Nope, this was it. That promise was something big for him, and when you touched the doorway earlier today, he came after me asking to send a message. Sorry if I scared you."

Hera shook her head, "It's ok. But honestly, he needs to pull that stick out of his ass."

"He does. By the way, you should check your messages," Peaches said with a smirk. Pulling up her tablet, she noticed a few messages from Capri, Talpa, Nina, and Laika, all cheering on her for telling Percy off, "He is a prick with everybody, and when I saw that you were standing your ground against him, I might have opened the voice channel in a group chat."

Hera started laughing, "I would ask you to give me the recording, but honestly, I don't want to think about him so soon. Anyway, I was about to take a shower. Do you mind waiting a few minutes? Then we can call everyone over to hang out for an hour or so. I have to wait before leaving. But I can't stay here for too long."

"Sure, kid. Do your thing. I'll ask everyone to bring some food, and we can have a party," Peaches smiled, "Oh, can you bring out your court? This place feels empty without them."

Hera nodded and called Nimbus and the others. She thanked Peaches quietly about this. Before going to the bathroom, she glanced at the flying blades. Despite getting her new weapons, she still didn't change her court like she wanted to, but that was something that would have to wait. Now, she really wanted a shower.