When Edric woke up the next day, the rain had finally stopped. It had already been a week and he was starting to believe it would never go away.
Thankfully, he was wrong and the morning sun was already rising in the horizon, illuminating the green hills and the vast pasture from a farm in the distance.
As per usual, Edric couldn't move his body, so he silently watched the view.
"Good morning, sir." Tina's voice resonated at his side.
"Morning," he responded, "What time is it?"
"It's past ten."
'So my schedule isn't so fucked up as I thought.' At least one piece of good news.
After some time looking through the window, Edric felt his movement coming back and soon enough he removed the needle and straightened up in the chair. By reflex he searched for Galleon's book, but it was nowhere to be seen.
"Soon we will be arriving in Spiel." Tina continued.
"Hm…Spiel is it…"
In the west, Spiel was known as the city of games. One could find everything there: Cassinos, horse racing, blackjack in the streets, even bingo. It was the second richest city in the region, only behind Whystan, and it was also home to a few tourist attractions that Edric really found interesting. He himself had visited the city some times in the past.
Without noticing, a small smile appeared on his face.
"No gambling for you." Tina suddenly said, as if reading his mind.
His expression instantly turned into one of pure shock.
"What!? But I am the King of Blackjack."
Tina looked at him as if he was crazy.
"...The last time you were there you lost all of our money. We had to eat bread for an entire month."
"It was all because of that foul woman!" he said, his neutral mask slipping out a bit. "I am telling you, she cheated! I should have revealed myself and arrested her on the spot! That damn witch!"
He took a deep breath before continuing:
"Besides…it wasn't ALL of our money, just…most of it." He scratched his chin. "Please, just a little. Give me ten Reais, I will turn them into a thousand in one go."
"...Young master, do you know I haven't received my pay check for the last two months?"
…Edric went silent, suddenly very interested in the birds.
Just to make it clear, it's not like he was addicted to gambling…surely not. But it was easy money and he was good at it. If it weren't for that soulless woman they wouldn't have any financial problems and could now be flying in a private jet.
Even so, there was nothing he could do if Tina forbade him. She was the one who held the money. All of it was probably inside her bag and there was nothing he could do to take it.
'So unfair…'
***
The city of Spiel was just as big as Whystan, perhaps bigger, since it didn't have a giant wall covering. Also, different from the western capital, the city wasn't made out of marble, but out of concrete, steel, and glass. Every street was large and was always filled with cars. The traffic there was terrible, borderline unmanageable. At least for someone who has never been here before.
At night the city would glow with neon lights all round the town and the greatest casino in the heart of the city would light up like the sun. They even had a giant ball that displayed any image. It's mainly used for advertisements, but sometimes people like to play some pranks. Unfortunately he himself never had money to rent it, one day perhaps.
That was, of course, the center. Far from it they had a residential area that wasn't so bad.
The houses there were made out of concrete, but at least it didn't have lights everywhere and people could sleep at night.
Now that he wouldn't be able to visit the Casino, Edric suddenly wasn't so excited anymore.
As Tina stopped the van in a parking lot, he simply wondered why they were even stopping. Shouldn't they just go by and simply forget this city even exists?
"God, I am tired," she said, stretching her arm.
Opening the door, she stepped outside, went around the front, and opened Edric's door.
"Come on, Sir. You have to walk a little."
With a sigh he took her hand and stepped outside as well.
"I am going to see if Galleon is awake."
She went towards the back and turned the handle. The inside of the van revealed.
It wasn't anything fancy, really. Though the van was reinforced to withstand bullets and perhaps some explosions, it didn't have any enchantments to expand its size, so the back was modest–although still big. Big enough to have two couches that served as beds and a small TV.
"Good morning, Tina!" Raquel was the first one to notice the maid standing at the door.
She and Rachel were playing with some toys that Edric had never seen before. When Raquel got up and rushed to hug Tina, Rachel got up and walked towards them.
"Good morning, Tina. Mister Edric."
"Morning, you two," he responded, "I hope you two slept well."
"Yes, sir," Raquel was the one to respond, "The couches are really comfortable and I sleep like a baby."
Tina patted her head.
"That's good, Raquel," She looked past the girls. "Is Galleon still asleep?"
"He is," Rachel made way for them to see him. "He was awake until a few minutes ago, but decided to take a little nap."
Tina raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, did he…" she seemed to want to go there and wake him up, yet she didn't. "Anyway, are you two good? Do any of you need to go to the bathroom?"
Raquel was the first one to raise a hand, followed by Rachel and a surprised Edric. Weirdly enough, he didn't really need it before, but now that she mentioned it, he suddenly felt the necessity.
Tina looked at the three raised hands and said:
"There is a restaurant near here. We can go there. We may as well eat there too."
And with that their destination was set.
Just like she said, the restaurant wasn't far, only a few minutes away. The outside was modest, simple. Just a door, a wide window showing the insides, and a plate that said: Juu's Garden.
The insides were…weird, to say the least. The AC was turned on, making the entire place cool and comfortable. Small round wooden tables were scattered around in a seemingly random order.
But that was only to the common eye, to Edric the messy way they were adjusted made some kind of bizarre sense…but it could also be something in his head. Probably was actually.
"Welcome," a waiter suddenly appeared at their side. "Can I take you to your table?"
"Please, lead the way," Edric responded.
They followed the waiter through the way, dodging tables and some animal structures. Only now Edric noticed the impaled heads in the walls. One of these heads was from a black bear, one of the most common animals in this region.
Soon enough they arrived at their table at the farthest corner.
"Please make yourself comfortable." the waiter said, pulling the chair for Tina with a smile.
An act that she didn't even noticed and asked:
"Can you tell me where the bathroom is?"
A little embarrassed, the waiter pointed to his right.
"That way, Miss."
She nodded, taking Raquel's hand–the one who needed it the most–she escorted the little girl to the bathroom. Rachel followed right after, leaving Edric all alone with the waiter.
"Can I take your order, sir?"
Edric picked up the menu without seating. He quickly scanned the entire thing and said:
"I will have the special of the day and a black coffee, please."
The waiter mentally noted everything, bowed slightly, and left.
Looking back at the direction the girls went, Edric sat down. While he also needed it to go to the bathroom, it wasn't urgent. So for now he decided to just guard their table. Who knows what could happen. Someone may steal it.
With nothing to do, Edric started to look around. The other people here seemed to be enjoying their food. Some were in a couple, a few in family, and even fewer were alone.
'Must be sad visiting a restaurant and having to sit all by yourself…'