S'ub Incident

'Sister? I thought as much…'

Theo had this thought, but chose not to say anything. Instead, he glanced at his hand, which was still being held very firmly by the girl. She noticed this and quickly loosened her grip, drawing back while laughing sheepishly.

"Sorry… it's just a little surprising. No one has ever made the connection between the both of us."

"Really?" Theo asked in surprise. "Both of you look really identical."

"You mean it? Hehe… that's good to hear." The girl puffed her rather modest chest out, beaming with pride as her cheeks flushed a light hue of pink. Theo didn't understand why she was so pleased with him stating the obvious, but he decided not to comment on it.

"You said you haven't registered for the Evaluation Exams, right? I was actually heading there myself, so if you don't mind… we can go together."

Theo remembered Kaycee and their agreement, so he was a little hesitant. "You sure?"

"Yeah! I'm curious about how you know her. She's never mentioned you before, and I honestly wouldn't have believed you if you didn't know her name and the fact that she's a member of a Zenith, since both of those aren't things just anyone would be able to know." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

"…." He remained silent.

"Just think of this as you repaying me."

'Well, when you put it that way…' Theo sighed, feeling compelled to go with the girl. Not only did he owe her a debt, but he was also plenty curious about her—especially her connection with her sister. 

If he played his cards right, he would be able to meet Fae faster than he initially expected.

"Okay… let's go." 

"Great!" She beamed. "It'll take too much effort to go back and change, so I think I'll just have to wear this to the Registration Center."

Theo cocked his head to the side, raising his brows in confusion.

"Isn't that your house?" He pointed at the residential building she had emerged from. It was an apartment complex that housed multiple rooms, one of which was presumably hers.

"No… I live in the Middle Court of the Grand Palace with my sister." She replied, shrugging casually as if it was no big deal. "I was looking for an apartment to move into, but I don't think I'm choosing this place."

"Ah… why?"

"It's too small. I'm looking for somewhere bigger."

"No, I mean… why are you moving?" Theo became more puzzled the further he conversed with the young girl. She seemed about his age, perhaps a year younger at most. Why would someone like her, who had a comfortable life in the Grand Palace seek out an apartment in the Guild's residential district?

'This isn't even the high-class district. It's for middle-class citizens at best.'

"You really have no manners, do you?" The girl sharply replied, sighing as she looked at him with disapproval.

"I'm sorry?"

"You ask too many questions from a lady, one whom you've just met and do not yet know the name of. I didn't expect you to be some kind of gentleman, but adhere to the basics of courtesy, at the very least…"

Theo was stunned by her response, but he was in no position to complain.

"Sorry. What is your name?"

"Much better." She smiled satisfactorily, holding the helm of her gown on both sides as she curtsied elegantly. "My name is Liyah. Yours?"

"Theo."

"Theo, huh? I won't forget it." She nodded gently. "Now, hail a S'ub for me, Theo."

At this point, Theo didn't know what to say. He had never met any girl as forward as this Liyah lady, and while he didn't think she was looking down on him, he didn't appreciate the haughty tone she used to command him.

Without realizing it, a strand of his thoughts slipped out.

"What is a lady like yourself doing with public transportation?"

"…."

Silence echoed between the two, and Liyah's face turned beet red a moment after, causing Theo to stifle his laughter.

"What's so funny? Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing… pfft!" Liyah instantly glared at him, her cute face appearing inflated like a round ball while gaining the complexion of a tomato. 

"Y-you! For your information, I see no problems with a lady taking the S'ub."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"I'm serious! Modesty is a virtue, and as a lady… I embody that quality without prejudice."

"Okay."

"Hey! I'm serious, got it?" She pulled Theo by his collar and drew him close until their faces were merely inches apart. This wasn't a very lady-like act, and it even drew the attention of passerbys, but Liyah didn't falter at all.

Instead, her crimson eyes shone confidently as her warm breath filtered on his skin.

"I got it… sorry."

It was after Theo spoke that she let him go, looking away while muttering barely intelligible words. "Better…"

The two remained silent until Theo hailed a S'ub and the two got on. 

The fee collector soon began to gather half-piece Arcas from passengers, nearing their seats, when Liyah began to fidget with discomfort. At first, Theo tried to ignore her, but quickly found himself unable to.

"What's wrong? You forgot to bring your half-piece?" He joked.

Liyah's aghast expression quickly told him that this was no laughing matter. With tears filling her eyes, she whimpered like a scared little child: "I didn't know there was a fee…"

"What? Is this your first time in a S'ub."

"Shh! You don't have to be so loud." She cried quietly. "I was dropped off by a R'ac, but I made a mistake… choosing to order the ride instead of renting it. I went inside the building, not knowing it wouldn't wait for my return."

"So you have no Arca with you? How did you pay for the R'ac?"

"My residence is in the Middle Court. It's going to be deducted from my sister's account." She mumbled. "Does public transport have that option by any chance?"

'Of course not!' He wanted to yell at her, but based on how close she was to shedding tears, Theo felt those words would be too harsh. Instead, he inhaled deeply, placing a hand on her shoulder while shaking his head.

"Not that I know of…"

"Oh no…"

"Here, take this." Theo grabbed her by the hand and dropped his half-piece Arca there, smiling warmly.

"W-what? What about you?"

"A gentleman such as myself has his ways." He smirked, waiting for the fee collector to reach their row. Once he did, everyone in the row began to submit their fee, with Theo dipping his hand in his pocket, pretending to be fetching his Arca.

Liyah stared at Theo in confusion, shivering as she slowly brought out the half-piece in her hand. He was closest to the fee collector, so he turned to her and smiled.

"Young lady, let me help you with that." He took the half-piece from her, winking as he did so. "By the way, I'll need change. I only have Blue Arcas with me."

The fee collector groaned as he heard this, frowning as he mumbled "You should have boarded with your change," under his breath while proceeding to retrieve the money he had gotten from the other passengers from a plate he had on the other hand. The goal was to piece together enough Arcas so they'd be able to get change for at least a quarter-piece Blue Arca.

One Blue Arca was equivalent to five White Arcas, so a quarter-piece of the former would be equal to one and a quarter-piece White Arca. As such, he only needed to piece together two half-piece Arcas and separate one half-piece into two quarter pieces, using one for Theo's change.

The fee collector was still in the process of doing this when Theo suddenly yelped, smiling as he brought out a half-piece White Arca—appearing surprised himself.

"Looks like I had one all along… I'm sorry."

"Haaa…" The fee collector groaned, showing Theo the plate since his other hand was occupied with the Arcas he was retrieving as change. And so, Theo placed the half-piece in and two jingles rang as two half-piece Arcas danced on the plate. 

"For me and the lady." He smiled.

The fee collector was bemused by this, but he couldn't complain as he grudgingly trod past their row, returning the unneeded change back to the plate as he proceeded to collect Arcas from the people behind them the usual way.

"What did you—?"

"Shh… not now. " It was Theo's turn to shush Liyah. "How far away is the registration center?"

"Not very far… but it's still a distance."

"We'll be dropping at the next stop. Get ready."

"O-okay."

Just as Theo said, the two called for the S'ub to stop and they joined a few people disembarking from the vehicle. It was a smooth trip, and despite having a small distance to cover on foot, both of them were relieved the ride was over.

"How did you do it?" Liyah's eyes widened in disbelief as she took in gulps of fresh air. "I thought we'd be caught for sure."

"We would have been if we remained there for a while longer. We didn't give the fee collector time to count the total number of Arcas and come to the conclusion that half a piece was missing."

"A-ah… that's why we alighted early?"

"Yes." Theo grinned.

"B-but… what exactly did you do? How did you fool the fee collector? I was even wondering how you ended up with two pieces." At this point, not only was Liyah stunned and relieved, but she had become incredibly curious.

"It's a simple trick of misdirection. I pretended to help you with your fee, then paid my fee with the half-piece you have me while pretending to to pay yours as well. By distracting the fee collector with procuring my change, I confused him a little and made sure the hand he normally uses to collect the fee was occupied, which forced him to give me the plate instead. Afterwards, I let my half-piece connect with another and separated them at the last second, so it seemed like there were two half-pieces when in fact there was only one."

"I-I see…" Liyah murmured. "That's… very foul."

"It was necessary." Theo shrugged, noticing how dispirited Liyah seemed. "Do you feel guilty?"

"A little…"

"Don't be. All public rides work for the Ak'ashi Guild, and the staff are paid salaries by the Guild directly. Fees paid by passengers don't constitute their earnings, so they only submit it to the Guild while filling the report of the number of passengers per ride." 

"How does that make things any better?"

"If you feel guilty, just go to the Department of Transportation and donate a half-piece Arca later… I'm sure they'd appreciate it." Theo snickered. "It's likely that the fee collector will also file a report to explain the shortage of a half-piece, and as long as he hasn't made a habit of filing such a report, it should be within the margin of error. There's no problem at all, and I'm sure both the driver and fee collector, if they're honest, won't suffer any detriment… just a bit of inconvenient paperwork."

"W-when you put it that way… I guess that makes things a little better."

"Next time, don't forget your transport fare." Theo patted her head as he walked forward. 

"Um, Theo…"

"No need to thank me." He waved, smiling as he continued his walk.

"N-no, that's not it…" Liyah answered, causing him to turn back in mild surprise. "You're going the wrong way."

"…."

"The Registration Center is in that direction."

"O-oh…"

Embarrassed, Theo retraced his steps with his head hung low, walking past Liyah until she held his hand and smiled at him. "And… well, thank you."

This caused a warm flutter in his heart, especially after watching her face light up with the sweetest and most genuine smile he had ever seen. He couldn't help the incredible feeling that coursed through his body and he nodded while whispering softly.

"You're welcome."