With the kiss, the scene closed as Anailia removed the little window into the two’s lives she’d created, ending with Thera practically cheering over how it ended.
“Yes, go Aunty! This is so great, mom’s going to be destroyed if she ever finds out I got to see it happen and she didn’t. Which I guess she can never know because then they’d both die of embarrassment. Ben, we’re taking the fact we saw this to our graves.”
“Yeah, that’s reasonable. But excuse me, Anailia, it looks like you just cut off as things were getting exciting. I want to see Falk embarrassed more. The guy never looks like that.”
“Ha, it was the appropriate time. Sonya was just about to show that she's my child as much as any other succubus, it’s not good to have prying eyes.”
Her child? Ah, love and seduction, right. Probably best not to watch whatever’s coming next then.
“Alright, well thanks for helping us ignore any right to privacy they might have had, this genuinely couldn’t have gone better which means this is the best bit of news I’ve had since rioting. With that done now I think we’re good to go back down.”
There were still hours left in the day that he wanted to spend now that they’d gotten the main event out of the way, letting him celebrate his teacher’s success with an even lighter heart now that he’d gotten closure on how things had worked out, so he gave his goodbyes to the gods as he and Thera both woke up, going out into town where the atmosphere was keeping up.
Even if impromptu, it was without a doubt a festival in full swing at that point, with street vendors hawking their wares and performers and musicians taking to the city, showing off their skills as crowds came and went, enjoying it all as they each celebrated Falk’s success without even knowing his name.
The two of them were just as excited as the rest, with both of them already planning on grilling the man when they got back, Thera wanting to know everything about the experience while Ben wanted to see a third-tier skill in action. As interesting as Killi, Verbum and the two soul mages he knew were, he finally had someone in his life whose awakening matched his personal interests, there was no way he wasn’t going to take him for all he was worth.
I wonder if I can force him into helping with my summoning research now and I’m going to have to make sure he learns the enchanting modifier when I get back and maybe I can even drag him into helping with making Inux a body too. I’m trying to make a robot I can shove a soul into, this should basically be Falk’s specialty at this point.
He could already envision all of his work getting easier with this new resource to take advantage of, no matter how little his teacher would like to be thought of as such, with the only thing holding him back being the work he still had to do.
There’s only a week left. I can deal with this. I’ll finish teaching these jerks, grab my free blessing, and then go back to cause enough chaos in Falk’s life that he’ll wish he was still away trying to awaken his skill. I’ll finally get all of my major projects finished and then the rest of my life will be filled with nothing but peace.
…Okay, maybe that last bit is a touch too optimistic.
His thoughts were broken as Thera tugged on his arm, pulling him along to a growing crowd.
“Looks like something fun must be going on, come on!”
“Ha, sure.”
He let himself be led along to the next sight amongst everything else they’d seen. Less grand overall but entertaining nonetheless, at least for those who didn’t know what it was, even if seeing it excited Ben to no end. Something that was so obviously a scam he couldn’t believe it was happening right there in front of him.
“Oh, no way, I’ve never seen three-card monte in real life. Or whatever it’s called when it’s using balls and cups. Still, very…”
He trailed off as his eyes locked on the scammer's mark. Nati, sitting in front of the man swiftly moving cups around with both Zallith and Xilly to the side, cheering her on.
You’ve got to be kidding. Why would anyone willingly let themselves participate in such a well-known scam? Wait, don’t tell me…
“Thera, have you ever seen or heard of anyone doing this sort of trick before?”
“What sort of trick?”
Yeah, that answers that. Earth had both a vast information and entertainment network that I’d be shocked if a single other human on the planet couldn’t recognize it but this world doesn’t. Ugh…
“It’s a trick for separating suckers with their money,” He groaned, desperately wanting to not stick his nose into it as he heard the person running the con call out for everyone to hear.
“And it looks like luck wasn’t on your side this time either. Do you think another chance will change your fortune or do you want to let someone else in the crowd give it a go?”
“Grr, one more time,” Nati told him, not giving up as she transferred over her losses while the man before her put a white marble back under one of the three wooden cups before spinning them around at a speed that would leave the people of Earth stunned, with Nare’s granddaughter watching carefully, trying to pick out where it would be under.
“That one,” She spoke confidently, sure of her eyes until it was lifted, revealing it to be empty, with the small ball really being the one on the left.
“Poor luck, poor luck, I guess my hands were just a little too fast for you. Still, they’re starting to get tired.”
“Then let me have a shot,” Ben basically sighed as he pushed his way to the front. “I think she’s probably had enough.”
His comment got him a glare from the very victim he was trying to help, with her two companions doing the same.
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It doesn’t matter that these people suck, I can’t just let Nare’s grandkid get ripped off. Damn it Nare, now you extra owe me one.
“And always happy to have someone try their luck, but it looks like the lovely lady might not be done yet. What do you say you give her one last try?”
“...Yeah, sure, fine.”
It seemed like a good learning experience for her at least so he let it play out, Nati all the more determined to win now that he’d shown up and her eyes were glued to the cups as they were shifted, trying to not miss a single thing and picked the leftmost one in the end, being wrong again.
“Ah, fates are a fickle thing, but why don’t we all give the young lady a round of applause! What a good sport, wasn’t she folks?”
The crowd cheered, easing Nati’s disappointment about how things had turned out as she watched from the side at Xilly’s insistence, wanting to see Ben share her fate.
“So how much do you want to put down?” The conman asked. “Life’s a gamble, big risk can equal big reward.”
“I’m sure. However much she lost all together, put that down as my bet.”
Ben was already rustling through the man’s status and memories, making him sympathetic enough with his plight that he didn’t intend to take him for all he was worth. A performer with mouths to feed, he’d lost his job due to the war when the population of his city never fully bounced back after the evacuation and was resorting to his sleight of hand skill to earn what he could.
Maybe I should just let him keep all of the money. I’m sure Nati doesn’t need it and anything I lose isn’t going to put a dent in what I earn. Ugh, if it wasn’t for her grandfather…
The conman's eyes lit up with the giant bet as the game began, with the result clear the moment it started. Even without peeking into his mind, Ben understood what he was doing. The ball wasn’t under any of the cups the second he started, instead being skillfully palmed to be released under one of the options that didn’t end up selected.
Even knowing it was a scam, it seemed fun, the sort of thing he wouldn’t have minded getting a level or two of himself if only for the pure entertainment value it provided, but he had better things to use his time on.
“So, you’re not secretly a space mage or something, right?” Ben laughed, paying no mind to the cups themselves.
“Ha, my friend, if I had the skill to move balls from one cup to another with that magic, I’d be off earning my fortune putting it to different uses.”
“Very true, very true. Still, there’s plenty of value as an entertainer.”
“Then let’s get entertaining. What’s your guess?”
Given that Ben hadn’t been paying attention, it felt like it was going to be even easier than usual, though maybe not great for the crowd. People preferred to see others struggle in an attempt to win, not making the effort made for a dull experience as Ben casually picked the middle cup, till a roar went up as he got it right, the scammer looking at the ball he’d just revealed in shock and confusion, with the real one still in his hand.
It was a small act of materialization, easy for Ben by that point as he just picked out something that would match the look of the original ball, with the conman at a loss for words, not sure if he should call Ben out or not and instead just take the loss and move somewhere else.
Take the loss. Ben thought at him through the connection, making the man jump. You just tried to pull a fast one on the descendant of the city’s main god. If she catches on before you’re through the gate it could spell trouble for you so grab your wife and go.
He could feel the fear in the man’s thoughts for not only having been caught, along with the fact that Ben knew his wife was working the crowd and the identity of who he’d been tricking earlier, but none of it showed on his face, more than happy to take the out Ben gave him.
“Well well, looks like we have a big winner today so I think that will be all for me right now folks, hope you each enjoyed!”
He gave Ben a small nod as funds were exchanged, grateful for the warning, even if he was left thinking of what he’d have to do with no job and no money to feed his kids, already trying to think of where he was going to have to go next before he’d manage to find somewhere a bit more respectable, leaving Ben to take mercy on the man, spending nearly all of the mana he had and stealing some of the con’s as well to materialize as much mythril into the guy’s pocket as he could, a note engraved on it telling him to take it to a pawnshop and live a more honest life till he found something.
The crowd dispersed with that, both the man and his wife walking off till they were out of sight, no doubt breaking into a run the moment they felt free of any eyes who may have been watching the show, leaving only he and Thera at the end, along with three angry looks.
“Show off,” Xilly muttered, with Nati having her own thoughts.
“Did you… Did you just materialize that?”
Her mana sense was excellent and despite the control over his power that Ben possessed, she had still picked up on it, earning an approving nod.
“Good eye, yes I did. See-”
“What?” Zallith demanded, disgust in his voice as he cut off Ben before he could explain. “To scam someone like that, that’s no way for the representative of a god to act! We need to find them and apologize immediately.”
“No need to apologize, I’ve already done him a solid by giving him enough time to get away. I would recommend you all try to be a little more aware of when you’re being played though. That entire routine is a trick that you fell for, hook, line, and sinker. Speaking of.”
He held out his card, trying to return Nati’s money to her as she looked at it through narrowed eyes.
“What makes you so sure it was a trick? I didn’t feel any mana from a spell and like he said, if he was that good then he wouldn’t need to be out there doing that.”
“Because he didn’t use a spell. It’s all sleight of hand. The moment he started there wasn’t even a ball under the cups. It’s popular enough on my homeworld that it’s actually crazy that it wasn’t recognized here.”
“Ugh, of course your entire race would know how to scam people.”
“Thank you for that blatant racism, Xilly. Now do you want your money back or not Nati, ‘cause I’d really prefer to keep our interactions to lessons by this point.”
It took a second, but eventually she tapped her card against his, taking back the funds she’d lost, even if she had to comment in the end.
“It’s not that much, I didn’t need you to come save the day.”
“Well, unfortunately you’re my friend’s family so I couldn’t do nothing. Now have fun with the rest of this, ‘cause I’d really-”
“Wait,” Zallith cut him off, not willing to let things end there. Ben hadn’t given it much thought when he’d said it, but by claiming Nare as a friend, he’d positioned himself as someone capable of having friendship with a god, either elevating himself to an outrageous height or dragging Nare down, neither of which his priest could accept and made him pick at what he’d been told. “But if you’re telling the truth, why did you just let him go?”
The man was obviously a criminal if Ben was correct. Worse, one who’d tried to scam the descendant of a god. Letting him off so easily was outrageous, especially for an apostle, regardless of the faith they were under.
In the end though, the question only left him sighing. “Because I’m not a cop and the guy had just fallen into some hard times. Maybe in other circumstances I would have done something but it’s not my job to enforce the law. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
He grabbed Thera’s hand and dragged her off before anyone else could get another word in, with her feeling more than a little shocked at the exchange she’d just seen.
“So they still really don’t like you, huh?”
“Forget about it. There’s still a couple of hours left before we should turn in, let’s just aim for a nice little night where I don’t have to think about all of the days I’m still stuck here.”
If I can avoid that.