The two Elves decide to take their hard-earned winnings and explore the carnival after dismissing the Goblin and laughing a while with the highly entertained onlookers in the crowd around the Mole Dog Rodeo.
They soon come across something even better, a poker game. There is one seat open, and the sign says one hour limit before switching chairs. That's perfect, except for the lack of space.
"Just come sit in my lap. Others are doing the same thing, see?" Nila says, pointing to where a scantily clad woman is in an older human's lap.
Not wanting to stand, Mythryll happily hops on the chair, and the next hand deals them in. She knows nothing of the game, but Nila does and places a fistful of gold coins on the table to get started. The table they're at seems to be all gold, but other tables are playing for much less, more for sport than money.
"The game is Landis Hold Em. We get two cards, and then the dealer turns five more one at a time while we bet on who can make the best hand with them." Mila explains quietly, placing her first bet.
As they play, Nila constantly interacts with Mythryll, sharing drinks, feeding her snacks, and silently distracting their opponents, causing them to make errors. The Wave Rider has the perfect poker face, showing nothing at all on her expression the entire time until the house stops them.
"That's time on Chair Six. Please open the seat for a new player."
They nod to the dealer, picking their earnings, and Mythryll turns to whisper at Nila. "How is that not against the rules? You should have seen their faces."
"All is fair in war and poker. Silent distractions and bluffs are just part of the game. If they took your reactions to indicate my hand, that's their fault."
They're just leaving the tent when they see Cain and an overly happy Misha coming from a drink vendor. They all catch the eyes of each other with the same thought. "Those two have been up to something."
"How was the carnival? Find any good spots?" Mythryll asks, hoping that the others had as much fun as her and Nila.
"You could say that. Though mostly, we've just been in the carnival snacks area. How about you?"
"We found a Mole Dog Rodeo and then played poker. How long until we've got to meet up?"
"Not long now. We're headed for the Ferris Wheel. Did you see anyone else?" Both Elves shake their head no; everyone just vanished in this huge carnival, but the Ferris Wheel is so giant you can see it from out on the ocean, so they shouldn't get lost.
The first ones they catch up with are Vala and Evangeline. The Demon is trying to apologize for something, offering the Seraphim cakes and takoyaki. But Evangeline is having none of it, giving her the cold shoulder.
"What's up? Have a falling out?" Cain asks when he gets close.
"This evil Demon turned off her Aura and made me get swarmed by humans. They were everywhere; it was crazy. We couldn't even walk." Evangeline complains, and Cain gives her a hug and head pats.
"I'm sure it was just a prank, and she is very sorry. Do you want to transform later? Your form is beautiful and approachable, even with the same Aura effect; you shouldn't have the same problem if you were a big Tiger Kin-man again."
"Why didn't it do it when I'm alone with you, though? If it's her Aura that stops them, when it's just us, we should have the same problem." She points out, even as she tilts her head for more pats, and Cain adds a wing stroke to the mix.
"One of my combat skills is [Sword Aura]. You don't notice, because we're always together. Still, the passive effect from knowing the Aura makes me feel dangerous to those without a system, as well as the active ability to use it to intimidate and its combat purpose of adding area damage." Cain explains.
"Hmm, interesting. But we should find the others. I'll bet they're still hanging around the candy shops."
Close, but not quite. They discovered a barbecue place that smells even better than candy, where the group found them with sauce-covered faces and sticky hands.
"Hi, guys. We found lunch. Chef, we'll need six more orders of ribs, 6 of brisket, and a tray of cornbread." Laura greets them before a large and sweaty human woman brings a food platter over to the table.
"And a round of drinks. Whatever goes well with barbecue." Cain decides, flipping her a gold coin in payment and sending her rushing away to grab a cask of mead.
They're on their third round when everyone notices just how quiet the area is getting. When they sat down, the place was packed; now it was empty, despite the number of people still moving through the streets. Vala tips her chin to indicate something behind Cain, so he turns on the bench, finding a group of fifteen thugs glaring at them.
"What you think you're doing here, eh? Didn't nobody tell you this is a human city, in a human Kingdom, in a human continent?" Their leader says, trying to sound intimidating.
They're not low level, all over level 150, but Cain has Ancient Quality Summons with him. Vala alone could annihilate their little gang in seconds.
"A human continent? The only way the humans could claim it is if nobody else wanted it, and even then, I'm not sure they'd succeed." Nila laughs, making the gang leader turn red in fury. He's about to get up and make a move when the sound of numerous people running in steel armor and the ring of metal boots on cobblestone streets fills the air.
"Do we have a problem here, gentlemen?" The guard captain asks, ignoring Cain and his group.
"Yeah, a trash collection complaint. There's filth in my favorite restaurant."
Cain gestures for everyone to calm down, and the guard turns to look them over. "You heard the gentleman. Kindly clear out before we have to make you."
Oh, that's how it is? Everyone was being so lovely to them earlier. But then, they likely thought he and Misha were both humans.
"That's not how you ask politely. KNEEL. BEG." The last two words are heavily layered with Cain's [Noble Command] ability, gained as a reward for defeating Gillibrand.
"Please, sir, would you ask your animals and the Demon to move along? I don't want any trouble, you see." The guard asks pleadingly, falling to his knees as everyone stares at him.
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I suppose we can," Cain says with a half smile, and the guard struggles to overcome the command to get to his feet.
"What did you do to him?" Comes a booming voice from down the road, and Cain spots a familiar and fancy suit of armor.
"Knight Commander Lancelot, a pleasure as always. I see you got your shield repaired. This kind city guard was informing us about the policy on nonhumans. It seems we've been asked to leave."
Cain lifts the compulsion, and the guard gets to his feet, drawing his sword. "You bastard, you'll pay for that."
"Guardsmen put your swords away. Since when do you evict anyone from the carnival on the word of a gang member?"
"They're animals and demons. They shouldn't be here." The guard insists, and Lancelot shakes his head.
"All of you, with me. That means all of you. Duke Cain and your party and whoever you lot think you are." As he's speaking, dozens more Knights have joined them. The thugs don't look concerned, though.
"You have no power here, Knight Commander. The Senate will evict all nonhumans from the kingdom soon enough." The man sneers before turning to walk away with his friends. Nobody tries to stop them, but Lancelot and his men still have the guards under watch.
"Alright, the rest of you then. You'd better have a good explanation, or you'll be back to mucking ditches and out of the guard barracks. And you, you know, using Abilities on the City Guard is forbidden everywhere."
"Abilities? I'm just a persuasive man, you see. All I did was ask him to be polite, and he gladly complied." Too many Abilities are being used for the carnival to put a detection barrier over it, so it comes down to hearsay. Legal standards might not exist in this world, but Cain is willing to stick with his story.
"You know what? This never happened. I'm not dealing with this crap today when the Senate is already trying to start a civil war." With that, Lancelot stomps off with his men following him.
Is the senate going for civil war? What sense does that make? Or has the King lost too much power, and they think they can take over his kingdom? They'll have to ask because they were planning to stop at several other places in Landis as they traveled south.
