PANDORIA DIVISION

Almost reaching the outskirts of the eastern kingdom, after the third wall was the Pandoria division. The poorest of all divisions. It was the centre of crime as the kingdom didn't really pay attention to their affairs. Roaming on the streets were hunger struck civilians who didn't have homes and greedy men looking for people to dupe. The population of the people living in the Pandoria division constituted of 35% of the kingdom's population. The rich were the ones who lived off the poor and soldiers sent from the Oalia division for supervision and control of crime in the Pandoria division, but they too oppressed the poor and no one could oppose them.

***

Above the market ground, on top of the highest Maverick building in the market sat Clair and Eren.

The market was a crowded place and center for all sorts of things. The Maverick household, one of the most powerful household in the kingdom, ran the market and import and export of materials in collaboration with the third division, Volvox , the centre of trade.

The marketers doubled the price for their own gain and thieves robbed the people that came to buy stuff in the market. One could say that they could even steal your underwear if you don't watch yourself closely.

"There's one." Eren says pointing towards the north side of the unorganized market. Every corner, ever turn was a shop stand and there was barely any space for people to walk through.

"I can't see. Where exactly?" Clair says stretching off the rail, trying to see what Eren was seeing.

"Watch closely" Eren said.

***

"Oi! I Can't give you ten Darius coins for this cheap stake. Up in Seudoria, it is sold for five Darius coins." A man wearing long long purple robes and a religious hat says pointing at the smirking sales woman.

***

"That's it. He just announced his worth." Eren says excited.

Clair looks at Eren and rests back with a smile.

***

"Well, I see you don't know about Transportation added Tax, 'your highness'..." She says with an annoyed face and sarcasm laced in her voice, "...or are you calling me a thief?"

"Of course, I know of TAT. I am a learned man you know? Taught by the legendary teacher Phillip..." He said raising his chin with pride, "...but a TAT of five Darius coins is just outrageous!" He exclaimed.

"If you don't want to buy my stake you can go somewhere else and see how much they sell it for you." The sales woman said pointing a dirty rag at him. Her skin was thick and her hair was like a hard brown sponge on her tiny scalp and fat face with dirt on her face.

"Okay, okay, I'll take three." The man says lowering his chin in understanding of the frustrated sales woman, not knowing she was just being greedy.

***

"Well, he looks like an honest man." Eren noted.

"But where does honesty get you in the hunt space?" Clair said as she adjusted her sitting position.

Huntspace was a nickname the locals had given to the Maverick market.

***

The unsatisfied man left the stand, going back the way he came from. The woman, with her greedy eyes, counted the money as he walked away. Even the scammer like her was careful.

***

"I guess the thieves would have to be careful about this one. He looks like someone with connections." Clair says.

"No. They have no problem. He looks like an easy mark." Eren refuted with an anticipating smile.

***

Out in the crowd, from no where, a man hits our easy mark's shoulders and all his stake falls to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" The easy mark yelled at the person who hit him.

"I'm sorry mister." The other man turned and said with a cheeky smile.

Confused, our easy mark dusts his shoulder. "Weirdo" he mumbled as he looked at where his stake fell, but it was gone.

"My stake! My stake!!" He panicked as he used his eyes to search a wider ground, causing a hold up.

"Watch where you stop! This is a road!" An annoyed old lady scolds him.

"That was thirty Darius coins! What a waste." The man said giving in to the fact that he had been stolen from.

***

"Oh my, I didn't know old ladies stole too." Eren says shocked and amused.

"Well that's a first. I guess anything can happen in the huntspace." Clair says uninterestedly.

"He hasn't even noticed that she stole his money." Eren laughs.

"I'm sure he will be crying buckets when he finally finds out." Clair put out as they watched the man walk away helplessly.

Clair too was a thief.

She lived on the streets and grew up in the market place stealing to live. She had earned quite a rank among the thieves and petty stealing like this was child's play to her. Work now befitting to her was using her charms to steal from overfed, rich, fat bellied men. Her last raid was the head of the Maverick trade for the Pandoria division.

The news report has it that a huge amount of five hundred gold Darius coins had been stolen from his safe with an additional three million silver Darius coins. There was no trace of the thieves and Lord Pitgelon could not remember the face of who he was with during the night.

Out on the streets, she had been named the 'disguise queen' as no one knew her real face except for Eren.

Clair was eighteen years old. She had long peach hair and golden brown eyes. Her skin was fair and she dressed in a blue cotton shirt, a black baggy trouser which was slit open on both sides, a brown belt and black boots.

Clair was so rich to the extent that she did not need to steal anymore.

"Why do you like watching this?" Clair asked as Eren held his binoculars closely.

"To me it's amusing. If you don't like it, why do you watch with me?" Eren answered with a smile.

"Whatever. Don't flatter yourself. To me, this is just an insult to the art of thievery." She says carelessly in annoyance.

"Why do always act like you don't care when you clearly do, 'oh great Clair'?" Eren teased with a smile.

Clair's heart skips a beat on seeing his smile.

She coughs and does a good job in hiding her blush, "Whatever!" She said.

Eren turns back to look for more thieving situations to pick on.

Some time passed in silence.

"Hey Eren, would you like to join the trade?" Clair suddenly asked with a serious tone. "You look like you would be really good at it, maybe even better than I am." Clair continued.

"You mean stealing. No." Eren replied straightforwardly without even turning his head.

This wasn't the first time Clair was offering to introduce him to the group she was in. They called themselves 'The trade'.

"I'm serious." Clair says.

"I know" Eren replied.

"You could be making much more money than you make by just farming flowers and herbs in that farm of yours." Clair continued.

"It's still a no." Eren says now turning to her.

"You know most people would kill for this opportunity." She put.

"I know but I love that farm of mine, you know?" Eren explained "And if I need money I could just come to you right?" He drawled.

Clair scoffed, trying to hide how flattered and good she felt. "Why do you even hang out with me?"

"Why? Because you're a criminal?" He replied with a question. "Because you're a criminal who's my friend." He added when she shot him a look.

Clair blushed. "I don't do friends."

"Whatever you say." Eren replied like he was talking to a child that was throwing a tantrum.

Clair laughed, "I'm older than you, you know?"

"I never said you weren't." He answered still doing his business.

After a few minutes of searching for a thieving situation, Eren gives up and rests back.

"I guess today is not a good work day for the thieves in the huntspace." Eren sighed. "Normally, I would have seen up to five thieving situations by now." He continued slightly disappointed.

"You done?" Clair drawled.

"I guess so." He replied still disappointed.

"Hey, I have a gift for you." Clair took out a wrapped up box from her bag.

"Really? But it's not my birthday." He blurted

"Just shut up and take it." Clair retorted.

"Wow, you even wrapped it up." Eren teased.

"Yeah, we'll be careful not to mess up the wrapping. I took my time to do that."

Eren carefully unwrapped the gift. It was pink crude flower seeds and a jade ring.

"Where did you get this?!" Eren exclaimed holding up the pink crude flower seeds.

"Calm down, I got from the black market. No one has been able to grow them so it's pretty much useless." Clair explained.

Pink crude flowers were flowers with magical abilities to increase life force and make people look younger. It is called a crude flower because its roots spread out searching for crude in the land instead of water for its growth.

Eren packs a handful of seeds in his hands and smiles.

"Why're you smiling?" Clair asked.

"They haven't been able to grow it because it needs at least a blue aura sorceror's energy to grow." He says informatively.

"Really, whatever. I knew you would like this kind of stuff, but where are you going to find a blue aura sorceror and beg him to use his powers against the law?" She put forth.

"I don't know" He responded still smiling.

"Then why are you happy?" She retorted.

'weird as always' she thought, giving up.

"That's not all. Check the box." She said turning away from him.

"It's a jade ring, wow. 'Guess your last raid paid a lot. If you wanted a friendship ring you could have just said so." Eren says as he examined the jade.

"Do you have to say everything? Just take it!"

"Awww, how cute." Eren teased Clair who was still looking the other way.

"I also got something for mum." She said as she took out a diamond necklace from her bag which immediately sparkled in the setting sun.

"Wow, that's gorgeous. Don't you think she'll know it's real?" Eren asked as he collected the necklace from her.

"Nah, she'll think it's fake." Clair reassured him.

"Yeah. You're right. She'll be so happy though" Eren stood up from his chair.

There is a little silence as they both stared at the sunset.

"Even as horrible as this place is, the sun still sets in here quite nicely." Clair remarked.

"Yeah. Why don't you join us for dinner." Eren offered.

"Not today, I have work to do." Clair rejected his offer as she finally stood up from her chair.

"I guess you never take breaks." He chuckled.

"You know it. Night life is the best." She put out.

"Well then. Good night." Eren slid down the rail into the market.