I walked out of the stadium, holding my stomach as I did so.
It hurt to breath, so I took quick, shallow breaths.
That palm she hit me with hurt like a-
"Are you ok?!"
Hearing Sigrid's voice again, I chuckled before groaning, saying "I'll live..."
Handing me a vial with red liquid inside, Sigrid looked at me worriedly, before sighing in relief when I drank the potion.
The pain eased up, and I could breath easier.
"Thanks, Sigrid..."
Returning the vial to her, I continued walking, looking down at her as she walked beside me.
"Did you place a bet on me?"
Sigrid grinned, looking up at me with a fervent light as she said "I sure did! The odds were 1:10, and I put in 50,000 Valis... Haha~"
Letting out a happy squeal, Sigrid started bouncing around, making me smile at how adorable she looked.
"You're welcome for that 500,000 Valis. Don't waste it~"
Sigrid grinned at me, saying "Oh, its going straight into materials and a new mortar and pestle! I can't wait! Should I make a mana potion? Ooh, or make better stamina potions? Argh, there's so many options!"
I chuckled again, before continuing onwards.
"Did you bet on yourself?"
I grinned at her, saying "Oh, only 250,000 Valis..."
"250... 250,000?"
She looked at me with wide eyes, before narrowing them.
"What if you lost, hmm? That's a lot of money, Nikotletta!"
Raising my hands, I backed away from the girl scolding me.
It was almost like she was a wife concerned for her partners bad gambling habits...
"Come on, I knew I'd win..."
"Huh!? You 'knew you'd win'? Did you even know that Ryuu was in the tournament?! She has been compared to Ais Wallenstein a few times, did you know that?! By the gods, Nikoletta..."
Sighing, Sigrid looked away, her cheeks puffed out.
Groaning quietly, I had to drag my eyes off her, before looking at the busy betting desk with another groan.
Getting in line, we waited for a long time before reaching the desk.
"Nikoletta Bia, betting on... Nikoletta Bia."
I felt awkward saying that, but I just shrugged it off.
The Guild employee sitting at the desk looked at me with wide emerald eyes, and I narrowed my own as I stared at her.
"Ah, you're the half-elf who gave me my first real pay in over a few years!"
Sigrid stared at the girl with narrowed eyes, before glaring at me.
Scratching my cheek, I watched as the half-elf blushed, before saying "M-My name is Eina Tulle, and its a pleasure, Miss Bia..."
Quickly opening her large book, she skimmed through it before widening her eyes, looking at me in surprise.
"You bet that much?!"
Her tone was just like Sigrid's making me groan again.
"Yes, yes, irresponsible I know."
Glaring at me, the two girls 'hmphed' at me before turning away.
Scribbling down the numbers on the banknote, Eina handed it to me, before saying "You should be more careful with your money, Miss Bia. Taxes are being raised due to your Familia's rank up, you know."
I nodded, before moving aside, waiting for Sigrid to get her own banknote.
As she did so, I looked down at my own, grinning widely at the 2,500,000 Valis that it symbolized.
Joining me, Sigrid looked at me with narrowed eyes before huffing, walking away.
Following behind her, we slowly started talking again, enjoying the walk to the Caishen Bank.
She withdrew the entire amount, while I told them to open an account for my Familia, and put 2,000,000 Valis inside it.
Giddy at the weight of 500,000 Valis in my hands, I exited the bank with Sigrid, before parting ways with her.
Entering home, I found Bia grinning at me, the cloaked figure sitting beside her with a lowered head.
"Did this idiot here tell you to participate just so she could make a quick profit?"
Hearing Bia's cold voice, I pursed my lips as I placed the two pouches on the table, nodding.
Sighing, she looked at the pouches with narrowed eyes, before asking "How much?"
"These? 250,000 Valis each. In total? 2,500,000 Valis..."
Bia stared at me, while the cloaked figure nodded in appreciation.
"I made 50,000,000 Valis..."
We both looked at the figure, our jaws hitting the table.
"Here I thought I was risking it with 250,000 Valis on myself... You bet 5,000,000 on me?!"
They nodded, before leaning back into their chair.
"Oh, Bia, I've been meaning to ask... want to go to the candle lighting tonight?"
Bia looked over at the figure with a raised brow, asking "What brought that on?"
Shuffling in the chair, they mumbled "I just thought it'd be nice... after all, we've now been doing... this... for twenty some odd years."
Chuckling, Bia leaned against the figure, saying "Sure, why not. But you're paying for everything. Oh, and I want a gift."
Grinning widely at the figure, Bia chuckled again as they froze.
Turning to me, the figure was about to ask something when both Bia and I said ""Nope, not happening~""
I left the pouches on the table as I made my way to the bath, wanting to relax after a long, long day.
I slept peacefully that night, only waking up once when I heard Bia let out a shout in the middle of the night when they returned.
~~~
Entering the kitchen, I opened the icebox with a yawn, looking for a large chunk of meat to cook for breakfast.
As I started grilling the slab of beef, I heard a knock at the door, and upon opening it I saw two blonde girls staring at one another with narrowed eyes.
"Uhh...."
Looking down at my bare chest, I pursed my lips before shrugging, opening the door and letting them in.
"Sit down, I'll be back in a moment."
I left a blushing Ryuu and a confused Ais at the table, making my way into my room where I threw on a shirt.
Going back into the kitchen, I resumed cooking, looking at the two girls with a raised brow.
"How can I help you two?"