Chapter 447 Tavern Shenanigans Ensue



Sirius thought about it before putting his hand to his chin, rubbing it with a sneaky smile, "If that's the case, why don't we indulge ourselves?"

He already expected this kind of thought process from Sirius, though it was another thing altogether to have his own expectations be met in such a way.

A small smile appeared on his lips, "Well, we'll need some spending cash while we're here, right? I'm sure coins are a necessity to have fun in this so-called 'Party City'."

Sirius nodded, "Well, you can certainly have fun without spending a single throne, but...I wouldn't recommend it. That's not the real way to experience Party City–no, no, no. We need some real cash."

"Alright, then. What should we take in that case? I bet these paintings are a fortune," Emilio remarked, looking around at the large, highly-sophisticated paintings.

It seemed that Sirius already had his sights set on something in the room, or at least, had a decent idea of what he was looking for as he began rummaging through the drawers.

"Paintings won't do," Sirius told him.

"Why not?" Emilio asked.

"While you're right in thinking that these paintings might be able to fetch a mountain of coins, the problem is that it can take weeks, or maybe months to actually find an interested buyer," Sirius explained, "We're looking for quick, hard cash, my friend."

An eyebrow was raised by Emilio after hearing the explanation and watching the man searching through the lavish room without much regard for its cleanliness–tossing entire drawers out and discarding worthless objects.

'It feels like...he's done this before. He's way too ready to ransack this place, and optimally, at that. Is this what he does on his quests? Ransacks the homes of wanted criminals and targets? I can't say it exactly seems like something he wouldn't do,' Emilio thought.

"Jackpot!" Sirius suddenly called out excitedly.

Hearing the celebratory exclamation from his companion, he walked closer, seeing what Sirius had found. From an ivory-and-gold trunk beneath the bed, the contents were found to be a plethora of jewelry and raw, rare gemstones.

"...Holy crap, that's a fortune," Emilio quietly remarked.

"We're going to be kings in Party City, my friend!" Sirius beamed, picking up a dozen lavish jewels into his hands with excitement.

There seemed to be every sort of exuberant accessory: sapphires, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and even black pearls–some of these incredibly valuable gems were placed into just as valuable relics.

"I guess this chest was his backup plan, huh?" Emilio asked.

Sirius stood up, flipping the lid over on the chest as he hoisted it with him, "Either way, it's ours now. Let's start pawning these babies off."

"Jewelry like that is the best way to make money, isn't it?" Emilio asked.

Sirius nodded, "It's incredibly valuable and has a high demand–there are countless merchants in a city like this that'll take these off of our hands while filling our pockets. He-he-he..."

There was almost a sleazy side to Sirius when it came to the art of ransacking-and-pawning, though for the moment, Emilio felt it was at least one of the more tolerable aspects of the man.

Leaving the hideout, the two explored the city, though it was mostly him following and watching Sirius as he visited multiple shops–haggling merchants for the jewels in his possession.

"Sure," Emilio nodded, going with him.

It wasn't a tavern like any he'd seen before; it was three stories high and enormous, yet already filled with many loud, tipsy patrons before the sun had even set. The smell of booze was unavoidable; the air one would breathe seemed as though it was alcohol itself.

Emilio sat at a table with Sirius across from him, already a few mugs down each, though both seemed capable of holding their booze.

"I took you for a lightweight," Sirius playfully said, swishing his mug around.

"Same to you," Emilio responded cheekily before taking a sip of the golden liquid.

The atmosphere was loud, but not unwelcome; patrons cheered and hollered–burly men, whether adventurers, knights, or construction workers–all seemed eager to challenge each other in arm wrestling bets.

"Seems pretty competitive here," Emilio said as he looked to the side.

"Competitive? I guess that's one way to put it," Sirius said, watching as well.

There were a dozen spectators sitting around a table as two men–both of which seemed brawny and strong in their own right–battled in a contest of strength with their hands clasped. It seemed as though most of the patrons were adventurers, going by the lack of uniform their armor had.

"Grrr...!"

"Ghhh–!"

While both of the men struggled in a stalemate with the left man, who had a large, bushy beard and a stocky build with leather armor, and the man on the right, who was layered in scars and wore bulky, dark-red armor.

"Go! Go! Go!"

"One crown on Bujrin!"

"I've got three on Malik!"

From what Emilio could tell by watching from his table, "Bujrin" was the man with sleeveless, dark-brown armor and the ginger beard, while "Malik" was the scarred, bald man who definitely had the advantage in pure height and muscle.

"Grrrr–!" Bujrin's complexion reddened as his muscles bulked up, putting more strength into it.

Malik laughed while straining himself as well, keeping his hand from being pushed down, "Give up already...!"

–

"Who do you think has it?" Sirius asked.

"Hmm...I'd say the bald one. He's enormous and the bearded guy looks like he's about at his limit," Emilio speculated while taking a sip from his mug.

"Wanna bet on it?" Sirius smirked.

He should've known such a dare was coming from the eccentric man, though with a few mugs of beer in his system, he didn't feel opposed to the idea of a fun bet.

"Alright, you're on. I'll put ten crowns on the big guy," Emilio said, placing down the appropriate wager.

The bet was met equally by Sirius, who seemed delighted by his pick, "Great, then I'm rooting for beard-o over there."