"By the way, I don't see Aru with you." I glanced around just to make sure, "What's up with that?"
"Oh right, her." Issei nodded, "Yeah, she got bored of us after we finished off our journey, so we went our separate ways."
Wow, Aru just up and left? Even after going through all the trouble of following them to the other side of the world? That sounds kind of off, for some reason. Like I just don't see someone like her "getting bored" of them and dipping. Well, the Gods' way of doing things has always been a mystery to me. They like to act dumb at times, but I shouldn't forget that they're the ones who made this world out of nothing.
"There we go, all nice and wrapped up." Ed tightly tied a blindfold over his Eyes as he added onto my question, "Anyways, you mentioned something about you guys getting your wishes previously. I feel like you sort of skipped the context on that one."
"Aru told us about it, how we'll be able to travel to Issei's world." Othelia explained, "She said a long time ago, some "troublemakers" (her words, not mine) went and donked up the entire Universe Cycle, and they created a system wherein anyone who touched all the World Wonders got any wish granted to them."
"Universe Cycle, there's that phrase again..." Ed mulled over it.
"You've heard it before?" Meil inquired.
"Eh, I'm sure it's nothing too important." He shrugged, "Just some bullshit the Gods worry about, nothing to do with us. Though, they did make a point of explaining it once before when we scaled Mount Ivrys, but I didn't understand a lick of it back then, so obviously I didn't remember."
"Well, no use worrying about unimportant matters when the boys are all here." Issei jumped to hug Meil and me, "We all go way back in a way, but we've never once interacted as a quad squad. Tell you what, let's go for a few rounds around the casino, eh?"
"Sounds to me like someone saw Meil's fat stacks and wants to get treated." Ed saw right through him, "Remember, Issei, you can't have secrets with a mind reader for a friend."
"Ah, ha-ha... Yeah, that'd be... awkward..." He gulped.
That was probably just a hunch, because I think Ed needs to make Eye contact with the people whose minds he wants to read in order for Analyze to proc. He's wearing a blindfold though, so luckily for Issei, Ed didn't get to read his mind, even though Issei was being way too obvious about having some pretty big secret for him. Issei has something he's not letting on, surely. It's that anxiety people exude when they have something weighing on their heart they just can't help but wanna shout at the top of their lungs. Whenever he seems to think about this secret he does(n't) want us knowing, the corners of his lips begin to twitch up. He definitely wants to grin in those moments, but then backs down when he recalls it's, well, a secret. I sure hope it's nothing too bad...
"I apologize, but can we go somewhere else to spend the money?" Meil put his hands together in a beggar's gesture, "The air in this place is extremely vexing, and it seems we will only be running in circles when it comes to our goal thanks to my White Iro."
"Oh, you guys came here with some business?" Issei realized, "My bad, then. Sure, if I can help in any way, I'll get serious too."
"Yeah, it's your cash, Meil, so lead the way." Ed nodded.
"We'll think of something on the way to the university." I followed up with a suggestion.
"Sure, we don't mind, but..." Eleanor, still trying to cover her body up as much as possible with her hands, squirmed about in place and replied, "Can it wait until Othelia and I get changed back into our regular clothes?"
Oh right, I totally forgot about these bunnygirls. Actually, Ed blindfolded himself previously purely so that he could protect his Eyes from seeing his sister in such a lascivious getup. I was certain he was gonna wait until they left the room before he took it off to leave the casino, but it seems he didn't mind leaving the blindfold on as he casually strutted off straight through the exit without any outside help. I'm not sure if you can really feel the surprise in my voice, well, solilquy, when I say how incredible this feat is to accomplish. Seriously, do you have any idea how much spatial awareness one has to have in order to just walk out of a heavily crowded room (BLINDFOLDED, mind you!) without bumping into anyone at all? I never knew Ed had such a hidden talent...
"Improved spatial awareness." Meil noticed me wondering about just that phenomenon, "Do not be surprised, it is a natural Perk of the Brown Iro."
"And how exactly do you know this?"
"I mentioned it before, did I not? I ran extensive studies on Iro Abilities, Perks and their Beholders ever since I came to study in Simpleton."
"Who did you even study?"
"An old friend, who is also the father of Nelly's friend, if you can believe it." He put on a warm smile as he recalled, "That old idiot likes to get drunk a lot in his spare time, and for some reason I never once saw him stumble or fall to the ground. Noticing his Iro was Brown, I kept calling him over to the bar and wrote down my results. In 322 bar visits, each one containing an average of 10.5 shots per visit, he only stumbled twice, and neither time did he hit anyone or fall down."
Whoa, I can definitely see how Meil came to that conclusion, then. If you get drunk that often, then you're practically guaranteed to fall on your face at least a couple times. And if you don't, then you're obviously not normal by any means. It's an interesting experiment, but I do have to wonder what the hell my tuition is getting wasted on if Meil's just using it to get an old guy drunk every day...
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"Phew, never going to a casino again..." Eleanor walked out of the casino with her normal clothes on a few minutes after we did, "Stupid Issei..."
"The hell you blaming him for?" Ed, still proudly displaying his newfound talent with the blindfold on asked, "You said it yourself, didn't you? The waitresses made you wear it, so don't be a brat by getting mad at him."
"Huh? O-Oh, yeah!" She rushed to fix her mistake, "N-No, it's not that, rather... Right, he was the one who suggested we go in the casino in the first place, so that's why!"
"Phew." Issei sighed, though Othelia looked disinterested.
"Alright, then can we go now?" I pointed to where all the transport wagons were, "I'd kinda really like to see my daughter as soon as possible, so apologies for the rush."
"Wait, didn't we say we'd help Meil out with spending all his money first?" Ed reminded me.
"Yeah, I still sorta don't get that at all, even though you just explained it to me." Issei was obviously confused about our predicament, "If you don't want the money, why not just give it all away? Sorta like a Robin Hood type of deal."
"I assure you, Issei - This money is not the result of any hoods being robbed." Meil shook his head, "In any case, people would see my face and recognize me as the guy who gives away money from then on, which might lead to some scary situations that could endanger Nelly."
Ah, he thought that through already? He really does care for her... A-As a mentor and caretaker! Yeah, nothing else, Lune! Hold your horses, dammit!
"Just wear a mask, in that case." Othelia went with an easy fix.
"I am afraid my White Eyebrows and hair might give me away." He shot that one down as well, "As far as I know, our university only has a small handful of White haired individuals attending it, so that is also a bad idea."
"Then, did you consider giving it away to charity?" Ed shrugged.
"I did, but word quickly spread of the orphanage that got rich overnight, and they ended up getting robbed the very next night." He sulked, "It seems attaining money is a curse shared by everyone, not just me..."
What the hell? This continent really doesn't give a damn, does it? Just where the hell did I send my daughter off to... Wait no, Meil's with her, and soon we will be too, so it's alright! Yeah, even Meil said she's doing fine, so it's nothing to worry about!
"Then, if neither the casino nor charity, there's only one other option left." I decidedly revealed, "The best way to seamlessly and legally toss money away without anyone getting offended - Overtipping!"
"Overtipping?" Meil tilted his head at that.
"Ahem, let me explain. Hand me a gigabyte." I then immediately put my hand out to call over a cab, "Oi! Take us to Dimitri Uni!"
"Bonjour, vous avez dit Dimitri Uni?" The driver replied in his mother tongue.
"Bonjour to you too, my guy." I tossed him the coin and haphazardly threw all our stuff in the back, "Come on, there's more where that came from, so make it snappy!"
"A-Ah! Bien sûr, monsieur!" He barely snapped out of it as he hit the gas at top speed.
"There we go." I dusted my hands off with a smug grin as we sped off towards our destination, "Here's a fun fact, did you know tipping is mandatory in some countries? They for real charge you like 15% extra for no reason. But it DOES have a reason, because the money goes to the worker directly, and not the company, and since it's treated as a gift, there aren't any taxes or tracking done on it, meaning you're free to do this in every possible scenario."
"Tipping, huh?" Meil couldn't help but crack a smile at that, "Haha, you always do come up with the most incredible solutions..."
"I'm just using common sense." I stuck my tongue out, "From now on, do this with every possible transaction where you're one-on-one with a worker providing you any kind of service. It can be anything from a wagon driver to a pizza delivery guy, just make sure you're not in a locale so they don't track you."
"So, problem solved?" Ed mocked me half-jokingly, "Took you long enough, dude. I was beginning to think you finally found a problem too big for you."
"Is there even such a thing?" Issei, who was seated in between the two girls across from us, let his guard down and accidentally put both hands over them in his relaxed state.
"Oi Issei, put that right hand down if you know what's good for you." Ed warned before advising Eleanor, "Seriously, sis, you're way too relaxed around this guy. He's cool, but even with Othelia I'd still classify him as a massive perv."
"You think I didn't figure that out on my own after going on this trip with him?" She shimmied away from him.
"Yeah, I was just trying to recline. Calm down, big bro." Issei chuckled.
"Then let's change seats." Ed got kind of pissy after that retort, "My seats got better cushioning."
"And let you sit next to my beloved to do the same?" Issei clicked his tongue a couple times, "You can't trick me, Ed! I don't need any mind reading powers to see through your depraved schemes!"
"Sis, tell him off."
"Bro, quit being so annoying." She instead reprimanded him, "Issei was just trying to recline. You're the only one making it a big deal."
"I'm just trying to keep you safe from this rat bastard."
"And I'M just trying to recline!" Issei then angrily returned both his hands to where they originally were.
"Put that hand away, dammit!"
"Make me!"
Before long, things escalated in the wagon, and Meil and I quietly discussed tossing in a few gigabytes extra for the headache the driver's about to endure.