Sirius thought about it before putting his hand to his chin, rubbing it with a sneaky smile, "If that's the case, why don't we indulge ourselves?"
He already expected this kind of thought process from Sirius, though it was another thing altogether to have his own expectations be met in such a way.
A small smile appeared on his lips, "Well, we'll need some spending cash while we're here, right? I'm sure coins are a necessity to have fun in this so-called 'Party City'."
Sirius nodded, "Well, you can certainly have fun without spending a single throne, but…I wouldn't recommend it. That's not the real way to experience Party City–no, no, no. We need some real cash."
"Alright, then. What should we take in that case? I bet these paintings are a fortune," Emilio remarked, looking around at the large, highly-sophisticated paintings.
It seemed that Sirius already had his sights set on something in the room, or at least, had a decent idea of what he was looking for as he began rummaging through the drawers.
"Paintings won't do," Sirius told him.
"Why not?" Emilio asked.
"While you're right in thinking that these paintings might be able to fetch a mountain of coins, the problem is that it can take weeks, or maybe months to actually find an interested buyer," Sirius explained, "We're looking for quick, hard cash, my friend."
An eyebrow was raised by Emilio after hearing the explanation and watching the man searching through the lavish room without much regard for its cleanliness–tossing entire drawers out and discarding worthless objects.
'It feels like…he's done this before. He's way too ready to ransack this place, and optimally, at that. Is this what he does on his quests? Ransacks the homes of wanted criminals and targets? I can't say it exactly seems like something he wouldn't do,' Emilio thought.
"Jackpot!" Sirius suddenly called out excitedly.
Hearing the celebratory exclamation from his companion, he walked closer, seeing what Sirius had found. From an ivory-and-gold trunk beneath the bed, the contents were found to be a plethora of jewelry and raw, rare gemstones.
"...Holy crap, that's a fortune," Emilio quietly remarked.
"We're going to be kings in Party City, my friend!" Sirius beamed, picking up a dozen lavish jewels into his hands with excitement.
There seemed to be every sort of exuberant accessory: sapphires, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and even black pearls–some of these incredibly valuable gems were placed into just as valuable relics.
"I guess this chest was his backup plan, huh?" Emilio asked.
Sirius stood up, flipping the lid over on the chest as he hoisted it with him, "Either way, it's ours now. Let's start pawning these babies off."
"Jewelry like that is the best way to make money, isn't it?" Emilio asked.
Sirius nodded, "It's incredibly valuable and has a high demand–there are countless merchants in a city like this that'll take these off of our hands while filling our pockets. He-he-he…"
There was almost a sleazy side to Sirius when it came to the art of ransacking-and-pawning, though for the moment, Emilio felt it was at least one of the more tolerable aspects of the man.
Leaving the hideout, the two explored the city, though it was mostly him following and watching Sirius as he visited multiple shops–haggling merchants for the jewels in his possession.
"Two thrones is the best I can do," the stocky, red-bearded merchant assured.
That offer wasn't taken for a moment by Sirius, who slammed his fist down against the black-wood desk of the shop while holding up the sapphire necklace, "This is DEFINITELY worth at least seven thrones! I'd know–my father owns the greatest gem mines in this continent!"
While wondering if such a claim was the truth for a second, it was quickly found not to be by Emilio as he glanced at the man, receiving a cheeky wink from Sirius as if silently saying "Go along with it".
"I can advocate for that–actually, my expertise as a world-class adventurer is relic hunting," Emilio stepped forward, "That sapphire right there? Guess where it came from?"
The merchant was taken aback by the question, hesitating for a moment as he rubbed his chin while getting a closer look at the exuberant, blue gem as if trying to figure it out.
"Urrrm…an ancient tomb?" The merchant guessed.
"The den of a great dragon," Emilio corrected him.
"A-a dragon!?" The red-bearded man repeated.
Sirius instantly recognized what he was going for, adding onto it as he dangled the sapphire necklace, "That's right! We recovered this together–it was a tough fight. They called that beast "Sulfon of The Blue flame"--it's said that this sapphire is the embodiment of his fire."
It wasn't as if he was foreign to the concept of haggling; the "battlefield of coin", as many called it. In every city, town, or village, marketplaces existed–a hunting ground for merchants looking to get easy profit over unknowing buyers.
'I've had my fair share of "haggle battles" in Yullim. Being a certified adventurer is a pretty good advantage–though I don't think the others at the Foundation would appreciate me using my rank like this,' Emilio thought.
"Well, in that case…" The merchant grumbled.
After spending some time haggling with the stubborn jewelry pawner, the two managed to walk out with accomplished smiles on their faces. Splitting the earnings from the sapphire necklace, the two each held three thrones in their hand–the highest tier of coin.
It was a venture that spanned across the entire afternoon, with the two acting as a dynamic duo in haggling the merchants of Desim for every coin they would spare for their deals.
"What's that make for our total so far?" Emilio asked.
Sirius flipped one of the coins in the air before catching it, looking over at him, "Four hundred thrones and eight hundred crowns."
"That's a helluva lot," Emilio said, "I doubt we'll need anymore."
"Hmm…True, true," Sirius rubbed his chin.
They each had their own pouches filled to the brim with their share of coins; it was certainly a lot–barely being able to be stuffed beneath his cloak.
'I've been saving money this past year so diligently…It's hard to accept spending all of this, but I guess it's sort of a bonus. Besides…I have a feeling it'll be a long time before I'll have the opportunity to settle down,' he thought.
He still didn't know how he felt about indulging in "Party City", always feeling anxious for the next mission or paranoid of the enemy showing up at any time. Still, he recognized that something like this wasn't bad for him–perhaps it was exactly what he needed.
'I've been constantly on edge since that day. There's a lot to do–between bringing down the Children of Chaos and making sure my friends and family are safe, but…I think I need this. A good stress reliever might be nice,' he thought.
"Let's go! I know a good tavern around here–let's get our buzz on before the night begins!" Sirius ushered for him to follow.
"Sure," Emilio nodded, going with him.
It wasn't a tavern like any he'd seen before; it was three stories high and enormous, yet already filled with many loud, tipsy patrons before the sun had even set. The smell of booze was unavoidable; the air one would breathe seemed as though it was alcohol itself.
Emilio sat at a table with Sirius across from him, already a few mugs down each, though both seemed capable of holding their booze.
"I took you for a lightweight," Sirius playfully said, swishing his mug around.
"Same to you," Emilio responded cheekily before taking a sip of the golden liquid.
The atmosphere was loud, but not unwelcome; patrons cheered and hollered–burly men, whether adventurers, knights, or construction workers–all seemed eager to challenge each other in arm wrestling bets.
"Seems pretty competitive here," Emilio said as he looked to the side.
"Competitive? I guess that's one way to put it," Sirius said, watching as well.
There were a dozen spectators sitting around a table as two men–both of which seemed brawny and strong in their own right–battled in a contest of strength with their hands clasped. It seemed as though most of the patrons were adventurers, going by the lack of uniform their armor had.
"Grrr…!"
"Ghhh–!"
While both of the men struggled in a stalemate with the left man, who had a large, bushy beard and a stocky build with leather armor, and the man on the right, who was layered in scars and wore bulky, dark-red armor.
"Go! Go! Go!"
"One crown on Bujrin!"
"I've got three on Malik!"
From what Emilio could tell by watching from his table, "Bujrin" was the man with sleeveless, dark-brown armor and the ginger beard, while "Malik" was the scarred, bald man who definitely had the advantage in pure height and muscle.
"Grrrr–!" Bujrin's complexion reddened as his muscles bulked up, putting more strength into it.
Malik laughed while straining himself as well, keeping his hand from being pushed down, "Give up already…!"
–
"Who do you think has it?" Sirius asked.
"Hmm…I'd say the bald one. He's enormous and the bearded guy looks like he's about at his limit," Emilio speculated while taking a sip from his mug.
"Wanna bet on it?" Sirius smirked.
He should've known such a dare was coming from the eccentric man, though with a few mugs of beer in his system, he didn't feel opposed to the idea of a fun bet.
"Alright, you're on. I'll put ten crowns on the big guy," Emilio said, placing down the appropriate wager.
The bet was met equally by Sirius, who seemed delighted by his pick, "Great, then I'm rooting for beard-o over there."
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