Ero Legacy Y2S1: A Thieves' Guild Forms

"I assure you all, none of these raids have any connection to Grastia Entertainment." the demon queen calmly explained to a cluster of guards and journalists all crowding around her, while her secretary tried to hold the crowd back, only allowing one question at a time. Lady Grastia wore a cool smile and her tightest-fitting blouse. She was suave, charming and happy to help- seeming a far cry from the Demon King she was in the past, even though none here were born during her last reign. "Despite the image of unity and purpose my people have presented in the past-" Grastia's secretary stifled a chuckle at her odd way of saying she tried to take over the world before. "-there have always been those not content with serving under the Demon King's banner. Our king can attest to this personally. He was there after all."
Another outburst of questions, reporters struggling to get closer while the secretary renewed a warding spell, shoving the crowd back with unseen force. "Regardless, that statement is as true today as it was a hundred years ago. The monsters conducting banditry along kingdom roads are in no way affiliated with the corporation- if indeed they're Grastians at all- and we assure you that our venues remain safe places to relax and enjoy yourselves."

----

Just off the coast of the lake, a silver-haired werecat reclined in the rafters of the top floor of the biggest house in the town, reading the newspaper and laughing quietly to herself. The humans likely weren't going to take Grastia's word on that statement, even if it was true. As Riyo wondered to herself how long it'd take the CEO to figure out what was going on, she heard a tapping at the window downstairs. Heaving a sigh, she set her paper down and rolled off of the beam she was laid down on, dropping three stories down and landing gracefully on her pawed feet.
"You shouldn't do that, you know. It's not decent." a voice from behind her scoffed. A plant-woman with dark purple petals for hair and skin like smooth, brown bark, dressed not in the racy maid outfit her counterpart was, but instead in a simple yet classy robe with an apron overtop.
"Oh spare me the decency talk, princess. You know what we're about. Besides, the boys aren't home."
"What you and the others are about perhaps. It wasn't always like this." the aluraune remarked, spreading leaved from her palm like a folding fan to somehow make herself look even more dismissive. "Maybe you've forgotten, but I have not. I'm not here by choice you know. I was supposed to have a private tea garden to manage-"
"-until the rest of Agricultural kicked you out for being an insufferable tight-ass."
"How dare you! I'll have you know- Come back here, I'm not done with you yet! If they want to come in, they can knock at the door like a normal person!"
Just as Aelle began to launch into a spite-filled tirade to prove her position above the common rabble, Riyo went towards the window. The person knocking at it hadn't stopped.
"Go away! I already told you church people, the master isn't in today and even if he was, he wouldn't want to talk to your boring old-" Riyo paused when she opened the back window. Instead of an eagerly-smiling church novice, she instead found a coyly-grinning elf. Or at least, what would look like an elf if elves had bluish skin, piercing red eyes and fangs.

"The boys aren't in, huh?" the monstrous elf asked, earning her a cross look from Aelle, peering over Riyo's shoulder. "That's perfect. We can set up in the basement and be out of here by morning. Here, come open up the cellar." Without another word, Riyo crawled out the window, leaving Aelle standing around confused and irritated.
".... This is nothing but trouble, I bet, and I don't want anything to do with it!"
"Good, you weren't invited anyway!"

---

In the dusty basement of Lakeview Manor, Riyo and the dark elf sat on a pair of barrels while assorted other monsters- gnolls, orcs, various werebeasts and an ogre- unloaded chest after chest of pilfered goods into the basement, with a succubus directing. Ysa's band was making a tidy little profit from arranging shipments to customers, then staging a robbery for the shipments to be resold, she explained to her friend. Of course, there was a bit of showmanship involved, so the scam might look legitimate, and if just part of the original shipment arrived, the buyer usually wouldn't begrudge the corporation their down payment. And the best part was that it all happened under the CEO's nose, so an irate customer wouldn't be able to sweat a confession out of her. For all Grastia knew, the attack really didn't have anything to do with the company! And of course, preying on other travelers and human merchants only lended credibility to the act as well.
"So why're you all the way out here in Lakeside then? Wouldn't you be better off shacking up around Colb?" the maid asked, eyeing up a pretty emerald necklace among the loot.
"Well, we were setting up in there, but that ogre Asha and her lot moved in over the winter and I know she's not gonna put up with this little scheme... Pisses me off too. I've got a heap of coin down there and now I can't get to it." Ysa lamented, wringing her long white hair in her hands. "But that's beside the point. We've got a new market to tap out here!"
Poking her head out the cellar doors, Ysa pointed to the mountains to the east with a wide grin. "Just over those little hills, there's talk of elves and lamias. I got a makeover at the Forge just for this. Grastia wants me and a few others to take a peek over there and see what they're all about, and if I can make a little money on the side, well that's none of her business."
"So Lakeside's the new hidey-hole..... Yknow, I thought something about you looked different! Longer ears, no horns either. Eyes are the same though."
"The eyes are always the same, you can't change those. Anyway, do you know what I've heard about these foreign folks? The scalies are capitalists and the elves are bourgeoisie layabouts. Those sound like neighbors I want to meet."
"They're boo-whuh?"
"Rich and lazy." Ysa explained.
"I like rich and lazy~" Riyo mused with a grin. It sounded like it'd be well worth the flower-head's bitching to accommodate Ysa's little band for a while.