Food stalls littered throughout the city square. The clattering of footsteps and music added to the lively ambiance. I held onto Eris’s hand as we forced our way through the horde of people. We reached Pizzahunt and saw a sign posted on their doors.
-- Closed for Regulus day. --
I had completely forgotten today was a holiday. I got up onto the store's steps to get a good view of those around us. Mia’s bright pink hair should easily stick out, so I focused on searching with that in mind. I had Eris help out too, but with no luck. We were planning to eat at Pizzahunt for lunch, even arriving twenty minutes early to do so before the meeting. The sweet smell of oily fried chicken assaulting my nose proved to be a delightful alternative. I had Eris wait at the steps of Pizzahunt while I went to get us food from the stalls.
I returned with a bucket of fried chicken wings, presenting it to Eris and taking a bite from a drumstick in my other hand.
“Do you believe in Regulus?” I opened with some small talk.
Eris bit into her chicken wing more aggressively without replying. “Do you believe in reincarnation then?” I found another question to ask.
“I do.” Eris answered this one.
“Then wouldn’t you believe in Regulus as well?” I countered.
“People that believe in Regulus, think that hard work will grant a better life in the next one. It’s nonsense.” Eris clearly didn’t enjoy this topic.
Believing in Regulus granted people motivation to improve their current life, in the hopes of having an even better one later on. There was no reason not to do your best, even if you weren’t a firm believer since there was nothing to lose. Though I knew Eris had her reasons for thinking that way. She hated the beliefs attached to Regulus by society.
“Well, I don’t believe in Regulus. I won’t let anyone other than myself determine my life, not anymore.” Eris’s agitated state relaxed as she agreed with my words.
A louder commotion erupted from across the street in the direction of Sage Kingdom. Curiosity overtook my boredom and we went to check it out. The military set up a recruiters booth out front with an interesting way to promote themselves.
They were allowing the general public access to their battle suits. The same ones that the Hunter Corps used in the field. There were gravity fields set up to display the strengths of their gear. The general public would get to see the differences with and without having special equipment at your disposal.
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The gravity field allowed access to up to ten people at a time. It honestly looked like a lot of fun. The battle suits did intrigue me enough after seeing Mia’s in action. I got in line to try one on, but the closer it got to my turn I found out that everyone had to get their magic identifiers checked. It was a simple way of keeping track of attendance and also a risky way for my identity to be found out.
I sighed turning around to step out of line. The person in my way startled my exit. Dorian approached in a shiny battle suit. I stared in disbelief, not at running into Dorian but the set of gear he wore.
It was one of the three that Vera put up on auction to sell. Lily told me it was a good idea to quickly sell one of the battle sets. She made the decision without having to come to me and I didn’t expect it to sell this fast and no less to Dorian of all people.
“Get out of the way.” Dorian stood blocking my path to leave and moved close enough to whisper.
“I know your secret.” Dorian smirked as I pushed him away with my arms.
“What are you talking about?” I wondered what he meant. Which secret?
“You wouldn’t want me, spilling it in front of the military now, would you? You and your slave girl!” That was enough of a clue as to which secret he was talking about. I’m not sure how, but he knows that Eris and I were the ones that attacked them in the mountains.
“You’re mental. Get out of my way, I won’t say it again.” The way I saw it, he had no proof.
Dorian still had the stupid smile on his face. He stepped aside to let us pass and part of me felt like things were too simple.
“Leave now and you will lose everything you care about! Don’t worry though I’ll take good care of Eris once you’re gone.” I planned to ignore him until he brought Eris up.
“What’s going on here?” A military recruiter came over to check out what was holding up the line.
“Oh, nothing. My buddy here just got too excited about wanting to try on some of the battle gear.” Dorian wrapped his arms around me as I let him move me back into line.
“What do you want?” I shook his arm away, trying my best not to beat him into a pulp.
“For now, I’m going to humiliate you in front of everybody.” I let out a deep breath. I know Marcus had confidence in the illegal identity crafted for me, but I wasn’t sure how it may stand up to military scrutiny.
I placed a hand onto the scanner that immediately beeped green with success. The one in charge of looking at my records made a short pause before allowing me to put on a set of battle gear like everyone before me. Paranoia built up and I second-guessed every little action.
The battle suits were designed to be quick and easy to put on. The whole outfit was a one-piece minus the boots and helmet. It fit snuggly through the resizing magic and the boots auto clamped shut once on. Judging from the participants, it looked like these suits had limiters in place. Compared to Mia’s suit, these were basic barebone versions.
Speaking of, I saw her at the front of the spectators dressed in civilian clothes with a cap covering her hair. She had a subtle yet confused wave as our eyes made contact. Mia and Eris found each other in the crowd. I stared at them blankly and nodded my head to show as an acknowledgment.
“Even with military-grade battle gear, you’ll be helpless without your little slave coming to your rescue.” The gravity field vibrated into activation as Dorian finished speaking.
The eight other people turned and moved their bodies, adjusting to the gradual weight increase. It was twice the force with no one showing any signs of trouble so far.