An hour later…

「Straaaaf! This is unfaaaaair!」

Cycelia complains, slurring slightly with an empty bottle next to her. She looks down at the cards in her hands, pouting heavily while Straf cackles.

「Well, Lia… Sometimes you get scripted losses… Fold or raise?」

Straf asks, grinning at her from beyond his cards. The table is now empty, sans for Straf, Cycelia, the dealer, and the two waiters staring at each other with tight-lipped grimaces.

「No way this girl will win…」「…No, anything's possible… This guy's too cocky.」「…I've seen guys like him lose their shirts in cards before…」

The spectators behind them mumble and mutter amongst themselves, arguing who will be victorious. Cycelia only has a choice to abandon her hefty bet, or match Straf with the rest of her chips.

「…Raise! I bet you have a trash hand again! Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice!…」

Clackkk!…

Cycelia shoves all of her chips forward, unable to fully match Straf's gigantic pile of them. With her cheeks flushed red and her emerald gaze unfocused, she raises her index finger, wagging it.

「…Fool me twice… Won't get fooled again!」

She briefly stumbles over her own thought, furrowing her brows as she thinks about how the saying goes, before returning right back to wagging her finger at Straf.

Fwap!

She throws her cards down, showing Straf and the dealer a very high-ranked full house consisting of three 9s and two kings.

「Heh…」

Fwap…

Straf's grin grows, and he drops his cards on front of himself, revealing them to Cycelia.

「…Royal flush. Told ya it was a scripted loss, Lia.」

He adds, spreading his hands, shaking his head a little. Cycelia's jaw drops at the sight of his card, and the dealer scoops away the last of her chips.

「Cheater! I bet you cheat!」

Cycelia pouts angrily with her arms crossed.

「I assure you that you have lost fair and square, lady.」

The waiter standing behind Straf comes to his defense, bowing his head slightly as he explains.

「Yeaaah… You know I wouldn't cheat against you, Lia… It's just a game for fun… And I was trying to lose, anyway…」

Straf shrugs as he replies, nodding along in agreement with the waiter. Straf then stands up, and begins noisily scooping up his winnings.

Clack!… Clack!… Clack!…

「Hmpf…」

Cycelia turns her pouting face away.

「Cool Lily impression… I bet you'd look nice in a gothic lolita outfit, too.」

…Clack!… Clack!… Clack!…

Straf remarks with a nonchalant expression on his face as he looks at Cycelia.

「…Stop it.」

She meekly replies, and begins to fiddle with her medallion in her fingers, feigning that she's still upset through her tiny smirk that's slipping onto her face.

「…Well. How about we get some food? My treat.」

…Clack!… Clack.

Straf asks as he finishes throwing the stacks and stacks of his chips into his [Portable Storage], briefly spreading his arms before placing his hands in his pockets.

「…Fine.」

With her arms still crossed, Cycelia turns her emerald gaze to Straf. She forces a pout onto her face, but cracks into a small smile as soon as she turns it the other way.

Cycelia stands up, and joins Straf's side as they head for the much less noisy dining area marked by a sign hanging off a railing above. The two pass by stairs leading up. There is a rope line tied to each end of its railings, visibly separating it from the casino floor to the visitors, but there really isn't a physical barrier that would deter anyone who's willing to perhaps bend his back, or simply just hop over the rope. Straf and Cycelia enter a large dining room where some winners are dining for the casino's, or other players' money.

They sit down, and a waiter immediately approaches their table.

「What would you like?」

He asks, pointing his gloved hand to the menu card lying before Straf. They pick them up, and browse through for a few moments.

「Eh. Give me a beef Wellington… If people can order hamburgers in inns, I'm allowed to order a Wellington after winning in a casino.」

Tfwap.

Straf replies, lazily discarding the menu back onto the table.

「Hamburger? Hmmm…」

Cycelia's eyes peek up at Straf from her menu, before quickly returning back to it as she humms.

「…I suppose a nice juicy hamburger would hit the spot right now. That's fine, isn't it, Straf?」

She sets the menu aside, and tilts her head as she looks at Straf.

「Thought you'd order sausages… You should have been this unpredictable when playing, Lia. You'd rob me blind.」

With a nod of his head, Straf waves the waiter away with his fingers. The man nods, and heads to an adjacent room through its already open door. Waiters continuously stream in and out of it, carrying drinks or trays with food. Cycelia pouts, crossing her arms again.

「Come oooon, Lia… We were playing for fun. Isn't that the point?…」

Somewhat exasperated, Straf rolls his eyes and leans in towards Cycelia with a small smirk on his face.

「…You go to a casino to lose some money and have fun. Going to a casino with the intent to win money is how you leave sour.」

He adds, shrugging his hands with his elbows on the tablecloth.

「…I guess.」

She shrugs, still pouting, but her infrequent glances at Straf reveal plenty of warmth.

「Right… If you want to bet your money and win, you go play the stock market instead. If you want to have fun and lose money on the stock market…」

Straf nods, then straightens out in his chair. He rubs his chin, furrowing his brows with his gaze pensively turned sideways.

「…Just go to a casino, man. No one's gonna compensate you with a nice meal for losing a shitton of money on stocks. It's all about the right attitude, Lia.」

「I knooow… I just don't like losing.」

He adds. Cycelia nods back, then lets out a sigh as she places her dainty hands down on the table and turns to Straf.

「Dragon pride won't let you?」

Straf smirks, spreading his hands before crossing his arms as he leans back.

「I don't know… I just don't like losing.」

She shrugs, grimacing slightly as her eyes turn aside.

「You know it wasn't really your money, right? You lost nothing.」

「I-… Mhhhh…」

Straf asks, chuckling. Cycelia is about to protest, or at least acknowledge the fact, but only ends up slumping onto the table, resting her face on her palm with a groan.

「…I don't like losing. I don't mind losing to you, but I still don't like losing.」

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She explains while idly wobbling her other hand's index finger on the table, and looking at it.

「Nobody likes losing, Lia. The trick is not to be a sore loser…」

Straf shrugs his shoulders, and looks at her flushed, worn-out face.

「…Want to head back after we eat? You look like you've had a little too much of that bottle.」

「Maybe just a little…」

He asks, and Cycelia nods back, closing her hand into a fist and resting her cheek on it as she rests her weight onto her elbow. The two stare into each other's eyes, though Cycelia's gaze is visibly unfocused. Every few breaths she lets out a prolonged, fatigued sigh.

After a moment, Straf wordlessly nods back and interlocks his fingers with his elbows on the table, and the two wait for their food…

…

An hour later…

Straf eats the last of his beef Wellington, while Cycelia slowly sips water, staring at her glass with sleepy, fatigued eyes.

「Lia…」

Straf calls out to get Cycelia's attention. She apparently ignores him, and continues sipping her water.

「…Hey, Lia…」

He calls out again, louder this time. Cycelia sets her glass down, and stares at it.

Thud!

「Eek!」「…Earth to Lia!- Tsk… Wait, it isn't Earth, huh?… Shit…」

Straf slaps his hand down on the table, causing her nearly empty glass to jump a little, along with Cycelia herself, startled by the sudden sound.

「…Anyway. Wake up, Lia. I'm done eating. Are we heading back?」

Briefly grumbling under his breath, Straf returns his gaze back to Cycelia, and gestures his head towards the door, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

「Mhhhnn… I guess.」

She lets out a little groan that neither means yes and neither means no, then stands up, lurching a few steps away.

「Careful.」

Straf quickly shoots up and gets ahold of her shoulder to stop her from staggering into someone's table. He wraps his arm around her, and leads her out of the dining room.

「I don't like losing… But it was fun… That other card game, at least…」

Leaning onto Straf in his arm, Cycelia remarks with her chestnut head hanging low as they pass the stairs, then the blackjack tables.

「Yeaaaaah… Blackjack is pretty fun. You're a nice girl, so not having to rob the other players probably made it a guilt-free game… Over here Lia, don't trip.」

Straf nods in agreement, and cautiously guides her through the busy casino floor. A collection of men continue aimlessly pulling the slot machines' levers in hopes for a big win that will never come. The dealer woman watches Cycelia in Straf's arm, trying to hide her pout before dealing out the next hand to the players. Straf leads Cycelia towards the chip exchange desk.

「Give me a moment, Lia…」「Okay…」

Clack… Clack… Clack… Clack…

Straf carefully lets go of Cycelia, and begins unloading stack after stack of chips onto the long desk. The woman standing behind it grows increasingly more disconcerted with each stack.

…Clack… Clack… Clack…

「Sir, about these chips…」

She calls out, watching Straf pile on more and more. Cycelia wobbles on the spot, struggling to keep her balance.

「Yeah?… What about 'em?」

…Clack… Clack… Clack…

「…I don't believe the establishment has enough drakes to cover them all. We handed over the excess chips on your demand-」

「Ah, I'm not cashing them out or anything…」

…Clack… Clack… Clack.

The woman replies, and Straf shakes his head as he drops the final stack out of his purple vortex onto the desk.

「…I'm just returning them. Whatever is missing, have it chalked up to operating costs.」

Snap.

He adds, snapping his finger and pointing it at the woman as he scoops Cycelia back into his arm, and heading towards the porter's desk.

「…Understood, sir.」

She bows, and gestures for another waiter to help her with the massive hoard of chips Straf has left behind.

「Hey. Give me my coat back.」

Thudthudthud.

Straf walks up to the porter's desk, and slaps his hand down upon it a few times. The porter immediately recognizes him, and pulls his coat off the rack without much searching. Straf momentarily takes his hand off Cycelia, only to let the porter slip the coat onto him. Straf then guides her out onto the streets.

Crrrukkkk…

「…Huh?」「Ah. Son of a bitch… Well, I should have expected this would have happened.」

Cycelia wakes out of her drunken daze a little, when her boots make a specific sound and compress the already well-stomped snow further. Small specks of ice slowly float down, dancing left and right through the air as if they were having a late new year's ball of their own. The busy people on the streets mostly ignore the snowflakes, and only glance at Cycelia and Straf as they pass by.

「Tsk… Here.」

Straf notices Cycelia is rubbing her arms to warm up, and quickly takes off his coat that the porter put on him just a moment ago. He throws the oversized coat onto her shoulders, wrapping her into it. With a gentle push on her back, they move onward, snow crunching beneath their feet.

Cycelia's arms suddenly snake around Straf's, and pull it down to his side.

「…Let me hold onto you, Straf.」

She says, and rests her head onto his arm again.

「…Suuure. Just don't trip… Maybe I should carry you?」

Straf shrugs, then asks with a mischievous smirk.

「Nnnoo!… That'd be embarrassing!… I'm a princess!…」

She shakes her head in protest, though it simply results in her rubbing her cheek against Straf's bicep.

「We're a principality now? What a downgrade…」

Lightly amused by Cycelia's slurred speech, Straf scoffs, turning his eyes up to the pale gray sky.

「…I believe you're an empress, your highness.」

「Right… I forgot… It was a long time ago…」

Straf explains in a harmlessly jesting tone, and Cycelia nods, still rubbing her flushed cheek against his bicep as they navigate through the now thinner, afternoon crowd.

「It was just a little over six months, Lia… That's not really a long time… Whatever. Lily would have a lot to say about this.」

Smirking at Cycelia, Straf scoffs again, before conceding and shrugging his shoulders as they turn a corner.

「Stupid Parnatau slave!」「Go back to your kingdom, stupid!」「You smell! Stinky!」

「Eheheh… Sorry…」

Straf and Cycelia come across a very thin man with a shovel, who is rapidly shoveling snow away from the front an establishment of some sort. A pack of young children are shouting at him, pointing their fingers in his face, openly insulting him, while the gaunt man simply awkwardly grins back, nods, and continues shoveling.

「Hm?」

Cycelia furrows her brows and stops, tugging Straf's arm in the direction of the man and the children.

With a sigh and rolling his eyes, Straf turns around and approaches the snow shoveler…