You agree. Not like you had a choice in the matter.

You follow Harvin through the vast marble corridors, your entire body writhing in pain as you pass by the banquet, feeling the full **** of almost a dozen high powered priests blasting you with holy infused voices. You're quite sure that Harvin knows you're in mind shattering pain, and merely doesn't care about it considering he slowed his walking pace to a crawl. As you escape the effective range of the chorus of destruction, you spot a bored woman leaning against the wall with a disgruntled look on her face waiting away from the main banquet.

She looked to be in her early 20s and wore a bright green dress that clung tightly to her to better accentuate her build, the fabric undoubtedly of the highest quality. She had light olive skin that contrasted with the long, frazzled white hair that she had running down to her shoulders in thick tufts akin to an animal's fur. As you drew closer, you couldn't help but notice almost every inch of her body was covered in scars, an oddity considering she lived in a world of magic and potions that permitted instant regeneration. You could see even with the dress on she was well built, being 6 feet tall with a rock hard six pack and muscular limbs of an Olympian at the prime of their life. As you walk past her, she sniffs the air before clicking her tongue as she sees you walking alongside Harvin, her face distorting into an agitated scowl at the sight of you two.

"Lady Fenri, is something amiss?" Harvin asked, not even wasting his time to turn around and look at her.

"Thought I smelled something tasty. Just some old meat and a tiny morsel in the end." The woman growls with disdain towards the two of you. Rude. You're not that old.

"If our choice in cuisine is not to your liking, I apologi-"

"Eat shit." You snap at the woman before Harvin can finish his sentence, your words more out of reflex than anything else. You'd spent so much time exchanging insults and threats with your party that it was almost second nature to respond as such.

"Bite me." She snarls back at you, still leaning on the wall.

"Don't copy my insult." You respond, only to put your foot in your own mouth as you feel a presence behind you. You feel a hand grab your chin and turn you around as you look up to find the woman from earlier holding it, forcibly tilting it upwards for her to look at your face. You can see her long canines exposed in an animalistic grin as bloodlust poured out of her body, the hero sensing that you were easy prey to her without the use of appraisal skills. It seemed prolonged exposure to Tomoko has caused your ability to sense danger to stagnate. Asshole or not, this was a hero or one of their companions, and you just mouthed off to them without Citrinas to defend you.

"You got a sharp tongue, cutie." She says while leaning forward, her face mere inches from yours. "I love it when my meat has a mouth on it." She says, hoping to intimidate you into looking away. Had this been weeks ago where you weren't dealing with heroes on a daily basis, you might have actually backed down. Considering you'd spent 2 weeks having your body repeatedly getting vaporized by holy magic infused voices, she doesn't even faze you. At least she didn't cause your skin to blister on contact or cause organs to shut down from idle chatter.

"I'd love it more when my meat has your mouth on it." You spit back, equally scornful to her. You'd gone this far. Either you had to back down or double down. You didn't like the thought of kissing the ass of anyone, and decided to gamble on the elderly butler to protect you. Rather than getting angrier at your remark, however, the woman frowned and looked closer at your face, looking more confused than anything else.

"... Wait, are you a guy?" She asks as a vein pops on your forehead. Everyone's a critic. Before you could give a response, Harvin grabs her forearm and wrenches it away from your chin in one swift motion. You hear something crack as she looks to the ancient servant, the air growing cold as he smiled icily at her.

"Lady Fenri, is there something you desire that I may help you with?" He asks, the woman retrieving her arm from the butler and covering it, a dark bruise slowly forming on her forearm as she readied herself for a fight. Despite her growing bloodlust, it was soon overwhelmed by the frigid aura Harvin exerted, his influence **** even for a mad dog like her. Like a wounded animal, she seemingly shrinks at his presence, her voice no longer as confident as earlier.

"Get out of here before I kill you, old man." She spits before turning around and returning to the banquet, her anger extinguished by instinctive fear of a true apex predator.

"Duly noted. I shall take my leave. Come, Master Verdi. We have more important matters to attend to." Harvin says as you follow close to the butler, the two of you leaving the woman to stew in her own defeat.

"She always that much of a bitch?" You ask under your breath as you leave her earshot. Yes, you had an atrocious personality, but you were some chump that was **** and dumped in this world as a prototype monster. She, on the other hand, was either a hero or one of their companions. She should be noble, kind, and passive like Tomoko and her merry gang of misfits, not a jackass like you.

"As a lowly butler, I cannot answer such a rude question regarding the character of the most esteemed hero of the hunt." He said, causing you to stiffen up. That was the hero of the hunt!? What was she doing here!? What did she mean by smelling something tasty? Could she smell you? Of course she could! Great! First god's eye screwed you over with that freak Varric, now this. You were getting bad habits and being sloppy after living with Tomoko for a prolonged period of time.

"That said, very good show of wit, Master Verdi. I hope you attend the post summit festivities and socialize with her again while I have the luxury of serving you." Harvin continues, his face brightening up a hair while reminiscing at just how angry you made Fenri. Seems he was a professional, but to a degree. Despite gaining some goodwill from the manservant, you still feel glum, knowing that you were meeting with someone even Alka acknowledged as the strongest. You eventually reach a pair of wooden at the furthest corner of the estate, the area dead silent as Harvin grabs the doors and opens them for you.

"Master Mathias. I've brought Master Verdi as requested." He says as you walk forward to find a strange sight before you. The regal knight with a voice that would put a steam train's whistle to shame is nowhere to be found. Instead, you find yourself staring at a young man with a thin build and youthful face of a teenager sitting behind a vast wooden table, a soft smile on his face as he looked at you. He had neatly cut brown hair that was styled to stay out of his face and skin that looked like he had a rigorous moisturizing routine. He's nowhere near as effeminate looking as you, but he's still a far cry from the beefcake you expected him to be underneath his armor. Had he not been seated at the head of the table, you'd have mistaken him for a servant.

"Ah. Verdi. Welcome! Come, sit. I'd love to talk with you." Mathias says, his voice far higher and softer than his previous bellowing. It seemed that helmet he always wore used magic to alter and amplify his voice. Despite his appearance, you can see feel that he was in a league all of his own.

"A pleasure, Captain." You say, reciprocating the respect Mathias gave you.

"Please, no formalities. I am a civil servant. I am not worthy of such respect." He says, beckoning to a seat by his side. Walking forward, you feel oddly at ease by his side as you sit next to him. It's peculiar how you aren't afraid of him. That bitch Fenri triggered alarm bells, Tomoko and her team made you feel dread, Harvin plain terrified you, but Mathias? You're calm around him. That calmness just served to put you more on edge as you tried to read his face.

"Not entertaining the heroes at the banquet?" You ask.

"It is tradition that only heroes and their current companions attend. Outsiders like us aren't welcome." Mathias answers with a self deprecating sigh.

"Thankfully." You say dismissively as he raises an eyebrow.

"You don't get along with the rest of your party?" He asks, surprised rather than offended. Showtime.

"Tomoko's a nice person, I wish her the best, but it's tiring to have to deal with her trying to save me from something I don't need saving from." You explain, hoping to sway the man to your side. He got Alka off your back. Hopefully, he'd get the others off your back too. You spot Harvin place two glasses on the table, one in front of you and another in front of Mathias as he fills it with a bright orange liquid. It's a bit thicker than the liquor you were accustomed to, but it seems enticing nonetheless.

"You feel she's a bit too aggressive in her help?" Mathias asks as you take a sip, a surprisingly sweet flavor entering your mouth as you feel the burn of **** in your throat. 60 proof. There's the bitter taste of herbs and floral oils intermingling within your mouth, the additives complementing the sweet flavor rather than subtracting from it. You soon realize you've emptied the glass on accident, the flavor alone enough to entrap you. You expect to feel light headed from gulping it down, but you still feel as cognizant as ever. It seems even as a human, your body was still resistant to ALL poisons.

Including ****.

Why can't you have anything in this world?

"She's not a bad person, but she's a bit too pushy for me. Is there any chance you could talk to her?" You ask in turn as Harvin refills your glass.

"I can understand your sentiment, but I also understand Tomoko's actions. I doubt I can do anything to sway her." He says with a sigh.

"Why is she so insistent on bothering me?" You ask, probing the captain for weaknesses. Even if you couldn't wiggle your way out, you could gather intel for future plans to escape the 5 of them.

"Verdi, how much do you know about the previous war against the demon king?" Mathias asks.

"Not much." You admit, deciding Carnachias' information was completely faulty.

"The public story is that after 18 of the 20 heroes fought him and were defeated, she landed the killing blow, ending the war and beginning peace talks with the new demon king Rael." Mathias says as you try to piece together the new intel with current events.

"I assume they fell through?" You ask, remembering Rohan's expedition into the demon lands and the court mage Leraje blowing up the canyon to seal his men in.

"Rael is quite interested in maintaining the treaty. The issue lies with her traitorous subordinates and the incompetence in our nobility regarding monster society." Mathias spits as you drink from your cup to buy time to think. Idiotic leaders, traitorous subordinates, and peace was to be maintained... As you finish your drink you give your theory on what happened when you were discovered.

"Monsters respect strength, and some of them rebelled to take the crown. The nobility heard and sent Rohan's men to aid Rael in quelling the rebellion to help maintain the peace, but that would have just caused more chaos since it would show weakness on her part. That led to the court mage blocking off the canyon, but sparing the men since they also wanted to maintain the peace treaty. She also sealed their entrance off to prevent any reinforcements from coming to unblock the canyon." You deduce as Rohan nods.

"We're having more and more nobles crying out for another war since they couldn't comprehend her actions as anything but betrayal. Conversely, Rael's position is even worse now that her critics have found out she spared several thousand humans and elves." He says with an annoyed voice, as though he too wished to kill whoever made the atrocious order. Neither side wanted a war, but mutual misunderstandings brought both of them closer to it.

"Luckily, Ruya's around to clear things up." As you speak, your mind begins to piece together the extent of how shitty this world was, and that it didn't just **** you. Mathias said the term "public story" earlier when describing the war's conclusion. The statement was that Tomoko landed the killing blow on the demon king after the other heroes failed. That was a lie. You soon realized the true function of Tomoko's party, a nasty feeling building up in you.

"Mathias, did Tomoko actually kill the demon king?" You say as Harvin refills your glass.

"You catch on quick." Mathias says as you drink.

"Those girls aren't even fighters, are they?" You ask, thinking over their actions in the greater scope of things. They cleared the rubble, let Leraje get away, and healed some men for a PR stunt. They were sent to smooth over a foreign disaster and then redirect the army to deal with two local pests rather than regroup and continue forward.

"They're ambassadors, relief workers, and peace mediators." Mathias says as you think back. Tomoko had the innate talent to sway people with her words and push them to do things against their will since she was a genuine and kind person. She had done as such when convincing Rohan to bend the knee, convincing an entire army to bow to him within seconds. Elmeria and Citrinas were useful for treating injuries in mass casualty events and transporting massive amounts of supplies. Alka and Ruya were both royalty within two distinct realms. They knew the political culture there, and could explain away any cultural faux pas that occur.

If Tomoko's group was a team of diplomats and not killers, how terrifying were the actual combat oriented heroes?

"What happened in that war?" You ask, interest now piqued as Mathias lets out a weary sigh.

"Nobody knows who landed the killing blow, but our losses were staggering when the dust settled. Fifteen of our heroes were confirmed dead. Two of them were crippled beyond recovery. Two more disappeared within that year for reasons unknown. Morale was at an all time low." He says as you down yet another glass.

"So you made up a story of human triumph. Let the troopers and the monsters think Tomoko is the strongest hero when she's actually the weakest. Maintain morale and keep your enemy from doing another invasion since the killer of the demon king was still alive. Now you've been having them run around buying time until the other heroes you summoned are strong enough to protect your land." You conclude, realizing just how small you were in the greater scope of things and just how dirty politics was in this world.

"Correct." Mathias says.

"I'm surprised you're trusting me with this information. I could just talk about it to people." You note. You knew Mathias was trying to manipulate you into tolerating Tomoko and Citranas' bullshit, but you could just spill the beans and ruin everything.

"It's not illegal to do so, but talking about it may lead to you being lynched. The people don't take kindly to anyone insulting their saviors with false stories with no proof to back them up." Harvin warns as a thought passes into your head. You break out into a grin before laughing, your sides hurting as you continued to laugh your heart out. Both Mathias and Harvin stare at you, puzzled as they try to decipher the humor in the situation.

"Something funny Master Verdi?" Harvin asks, his curiosity exceeding his professionalism. You take a breath to calm yourself before speaking.

"I'm sorry. It's just, those girls have been trying to tell me for weeks that a life in the mountains surrounded by feral monsters and no food was less dangerous and miserable than life in civilization." You **** out between gasps of air. Harvin has to cover his mouth to stifle his own grin while Mathias begins laughing like you, the absurdity of Tomoko's words just as hilarious to him as it was to you. He suddenly stands up and walks to the corner of the room, still laughing as he opens a wine cabinet in the corner and grabs a bottle.

"Very nice to see a sane man in this mad world." He jokes, placing a clear glass bottle down in front of you, the inside of it filled with numerous oddities that shifted with every move of his hand. You could see herbs, intact berries, disembodied snake heads, and even teeth floating within the dark blue fluid that filled the bottle. As you stare into the bottle, you wince as the disembodied snake heads begin biting at you, their fangs merely gnawing at the glass bottle sealing them in place.

"What's this?" You ask, tapping the bottle as the supposedly dead reptilians continue to chew at you.

"A southern barbarian spirit named Colchik. I can see that the **** I serve is far too weak for your constitution, and I'd be remiss if my guest didn't leave this room having drank his fair share." Mathias says, gesturing to your empty cup. When did you drink that? That's about 5 or so glasses of liquor you just slammed down with zero signs of a buzz.

This monster body sucked.

You miss being human even more now.

"Ah, you noticed?" You ask, suddenly embarrassed as he uncorks the bottle and pours the blue fluid into your glass. Luckily for you, the snake heads don't fall in. You see from the corner of your vision Harvin's eyes growing wide as the butler shakes his head at you when Mathias isn't looking, warning you not to drink what was in front of you. Mathias pours the same liquid into his own glass, the snake head and several herbs falling in. The reptile begins to flail about within his drink, chewing at the sprig of herbs as a violent, bitter scent fills the room. Both you wince at the smell as you grab your glasses.

"Be warned Verdi. Colchik is a highly potent liquor. They say only a true warrior can drink it and stay standing. If you do not wish to drink it, I will not be insulted." He says as you hold the glass up to your face and stare at the blue fluid with fascination. If there was anything in the world that could get you drunk, this was it.

"Cheers, Mathias. To our new friendship." You say, raising your glass in a toast. You decided you liked Mathias. He got Alka out of your hair, gave you intel, and hasn't tried to kill you yet.

"To our new friendship." Mathias says as the two of you down your drinks.