David jolted awake, sitting up from his position lying sideways along the concrete of the fountain, and groggily looked around, his eyes half-open in his exhaustion.
He blinked several times to clear his vision as he noticed Louise, standing still a few feet away, turned toward him, though her face was pointed to the ground, shadowed in the low light of the sun setting behind her. In one hand, she carried the now-empty coin pouch he'd given her, making it clear what had happened.
Exactly as expected, she'd blown it all immediately. Nevertheless, he sighed, sitting up, pretending not to be aware.
"What happened?" he asked, and she bit her lip before answering.
"I went to a casino." she grumbled, her voice low as she spoke.
"Didn't go so well, huh?"
She growled. "They said I was certain to get more!" she practically shouted, throwing the now-empty pouch on the ground. "And before I knew it, it was all gone! This is stupid!"
David smiled, resisting the urge to remind her that it was her who'd claimed he had no concept of how currency worked. Rich people weren't as aware of the power of money as the lower class, and she was a shining example of that.
He shrugged, groaning as he stood up, stretching the kinks in his joints from sleeping on the concrete. He swivelled one arm in its socket to stretch, closing one eye at the sensation. "Well, guess that means we'll have to find somewhere to stay. I think I know a place that'll take us for free...provided we work while we're there."
Louise looked at him doubtfully, but after a moment's hesitation, she sighed, nodding, and he smiled softly, careful not to seem condescending over her failure.
He adjusted the strap of Derf's sheath on his back, before he started walking. While Louise had been out making their money disappear, he had staked out the town to find the inn. Now, he could find it relatively easily, even without the help of the giant Scarron.
It was a good thing he knew where it was, because Scarron had not appeared as he had done in the anime. Planning ahead for small changes wasn't hard, at least at this point in the series.
As they walked, he occasionally glanced back at Louise, who refused to raise her head from the ground. Her face was flushed in embarrassment at using up their money, making her seem surprisingly cute considering how angry she normally was.
Then again, David hadn't actually seen her angry all that often. He was careful not to get on her bad side, and he liked to think that she was getting used to his presence by now.
It might be a bit selfish, but he even thought he saw a hint of affection in the way she looked at him now. He was not as dense as Saito, he could see masked emotions, though with someone like Louise, any slight misunderstanding could be very volatile. She was as explosive as her magic.
Then again, he couldn't deny that she was more attached to him than he expected. She seemed genuinely sad when he mentioned that there were ways for him to go back home, and before then, at the ball, when he'd told her that he was planning on returning to Earth when he could.
He lightly ran a hand along the line of his jeans through the cloak, feeling the second, smaller coin pouch that he'd had Henrietta give him as backup. It wasn't nearly the same amount, only about 50 ecus or so, but it would be enough in case anything happened.
He hoped he wouldn't have to use them, having a secret stash of 50 of these things could be helpful, and when he got back to Earth he could sell them and make a huge profit. He didn't really like the thought of using Louise and Henrietta for such a thing...but if the opportunity comes, take it, right?
As the large wooden sign of the Enchanted Fairy Tavern came into view, David let his thoughts of the extra coins disappear. It would be simple enough to explain that they just wanted shelter and food, and didn't need to be paid.
A bell rang as they entered the tavern, and within seconds, one of the many maids working at the place had appeared, bowing to them as David stood awkwardly, not used to the uniforms of the place, while Louise stewed behind him.
"Welcome, master!" the girl said, bowing down to him, and he waved nervously.
"We're here for a request to Scarron…" he said. "Not as customers."
The maid tilted her head, before standing up straight again. "Mademoiselle is out right now, but you can talk with Jessica!" she replied.
David smiled, holding a hand up to stop Louise from speaking. He glanced back at her.
'Let me handle this.' he mouthed, and she closed her mouth, though she still looked annoyed at how easily he'd silenced her.
He turned to face the maid again, nodding, flashing a smile for good measure. "Thank you." he replied, careful not to bow, as he knew that he was supposed to be playing a noble right now.
The maid bowed again, walking off, and within a few moments, the girl that David recognized as Jessica appeared from the door to the stairway into the living area of the tavern.
The girl certainly was Siesta's cousin, looking almost exactly like her, other than the fact that she kept her hair long while Siesta's was usually cut short.
She bowed to them, smiling as she gestured them over to a less busy part of the tavern than the front door.
"So, you're the mystery noble dad said would be coming." she said, and David laughed.
"I guess he got my message, didn't he?" he replied, and Louise looked between them, confused.
"Wait...you planned this beforehand?" she asked, and David laughed.
"I had a feeling we'd run into money issues pretty quickly, so I made some preparations yesterday." he replied, before turning back to Jessica. "So do you already know our situation?"
Jessica nodded. "Well, I assume I do...you DID say in the message that you probably wouldn't come here unless you ended up broke. Guess it's not as easy to play the noble than you thought, huh?"
David grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Was it that obvious?" he asked, and she looked at him with an expression of 'Seriously?'
She smiled. "Well, in any case, we're happy to help. Dad was looking forward to meeting you...not to say that he doubted your financial capability or anything."