Chapter 5

"Fifty gold!?" Larkin blurted out, his voice rising with disbelief. His eyes widened as he stared at the woman behind the ticket stall. She nodded politely, her smile unwavering.

"Yes, that's the cheapest—seats in the back row," she explained, her tone chipper, completely unfazed by the shock she'd just delivered. "If you want a better view, that'll be one hundred gold, and front row seats are two hundred. The podiums are reserved for important guests, but if you've got a thousand gold, you can rent one—with full service, of course."

Larkin's mouth hung open, his eye twitching slightly as he tried to process the numbers. "Right… uh… thanks for tellin' me," he muttered, his voice flat as he slumped back from the stall, shoulders drooping under the weight of his near empty pockets.

The woman gave him an apologetic smile, her cheery tone softening. "Don't mention it."

But as Larkin caught sight of her sympathetic expression, a spark of inspiration lit behind his tired eyes. *Gotcha,* he thought. Straightening up just enough to put on a new act, he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, adopting the voice of a man just barely holding back disappointment.

"Yeah, yeah… It's just…" he started, letting the words trail off like he didn't want to admit what was coming next. "I've never been to a place like the coliseum, ya know? Thought me and my two kids could watch for the first time."

His words hung there, thick with just enough sadness to pull at the heartstrings. The woman's smile faltered slightly, a crease of concern forming between her brows.

"You can always attend next year," she offered kindly, but Larkin was already shaking his head, slow and mournful.

"Nah… We don't got much coin. Even comin' to Arcadicia was hard enough. I doubt we'll be able to come again," he said, his voice dipping into a resigned mutter. He turned around, shoulders slouched, and began trudging away, each step dragging heavier than the last. *Come on… take the bait,* he urged silently, his heart pounding with anticipation.

He was nearly out of earshot when—"Ah! Wait, sir! Come back for a moment!" the woman called out, her voice laced with hesitation.

*Yes!* Larkin celebrated internally, but his face remained the picture of reluctant hope as he slowly turned back around.

"Yeah?" he asked, keeping his tone soft, careful not to look too eager.

The woman leaned in slightly, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm not really supposed to do this, but… could you manage if the seats were thirty gold instead?"

Larkin felt a grin threatening to break through his act. *Might be able to squeeze it even lower...* he thought, but quickly decided against it. *Nah, that'd be pushin' my luck.*

Instead, he let his face light up with gratitude, his eyes wide with the kind of awe saved for miracles. "Yes, yes, I can! Thank you!" he exclaimed, nodding eagerly. "I'll be back with the coin—thank you so much!" He gave her an exaggerated wave of appreciation before turning on his heel and walking away.

As he disappeared into the crowd, his posture relaxed, and the grin he'd been holding back spread across his face. *Damn, I still got it,* he thought, proud of himself for playing on the woman's charity. *Okay… thinkin' like that makes me sound like a scumbag.*

He shook the thought off with a shrug. Business was business(Was this really business?). As he began making his way back to the spot where he, Xain, and Zee had been waiting earlier, he rubbed his hands together, muttering under his breath, "Hopefully Xain and Zee stole a lot of coin… or else it looks like they're gonna have to steal a little bit more."

Meanwhile

Zee hummed to herself, flicking a few coins into the air and catching it with a practiced snap of her fingers before slipping it into her pocket. "That makes six," she muttered, counting the number of people she'd picked clean in the last ten minutes. Unlike Xain, she didn't bother with a moral code—she'd take from anyone, rich or poor, without a second thought. Because of that, she'd already gathered twenty gold and fifty bronze. Not much, really—only two and a half iron crowns—but it was a start.

Her eyes scanned the bustling square, lips curling into a playful smirk. "Who else should I steal from~?" she whispered, before zeroing in on her next mark. But before she could move, a voice cut through the crowd from right behind her.

"That habit of yours hasn't gotten any better, I see."

She suddenly heard from behind her. It was a voice she was very familiar with and one she recognized instantly. *No way!* she thought as she turned around, and as she did, her eyes widened as she found herself staring at a near mirror image.

"Glad to see me, little sister?" with a smirk asked Mae Eirina Qinra.