Casino

Even after we return to the lively street, my mind is elsewhere. The more I try to find out about myself, the less I understand. Thoughts like this grow stronger within me.

"Hey. C'mon, now. Don't be so sad, Mr. Caleb." Nemo says. "We know that we don't know what's going on, so we do know something, right?"

"I suppose that's true." I say.

"Nemo's right. I believe it's a more alchemical problem than a medical one." Victoria says. "If that's so, then I'm just the girl to save you. I'll look at all the possibilities, and I promise we'll do something about it."

"Thank you." I know it's all my fault that we're so depressed, but I can't bring myself to cheer up.

Suddenly Lupin, who has been walking ahead of us, stops. "Hmmm... All right! I've made up my mind! Caleb, I'm taking you someplace nice, right now!"

"Someplace nice. Like where?" I ask.

"A nice place, of course. We need to take our minds off things." Lupin says.

Nemo and Victoria shrug, not knowing what she is talking about.

When I see Lupin's smile, I can't help but nod. "All right. Let's go, Lupin."

As Lupin ignores our inquiries about where she's leading us, we gradually make our way away from the centre of town. Really, where is she taking us? "Are you tired of walking yet? We're almost there." Just as Lupin says this, I hear a horse neigh.

I look around, and my eyes are drawn to carriages and automobiles. But the carriages are not being pulled by horses.

They are being pulled by what I can only described as muscular horse girls. Maybe pony girls. They must be some breed of Chimera. They are naked and have the tail of a horse and there legs from the calf downwards are like that of a horse. They have human pussies, visible human breasts, and visible human butts. They are shackled by their wrists to the carriages behind them, making them pull them.

The men and women riding the carriages are dressed stylishly in beautiful dresses and fancy suits. The drivers of the carriages hold a riding crop, whipping the horse girls every now and then.

What lies beyond here?

We continue walking even further, and pass through yet another section. Suddenly, we arrive at a place with lots of people.

Two fierce-looking men at the entryway watch the people going in and out.

"Oh, so that's where you're taking him. I suppose this is the perfect place to take our minds off of things." Nemo says.

"Um... Lupin. Are you sure this is the appropriate venue for someone like him?" Victoria asks.

"Don't be so uptight. We have some extra cash, since we didn't have to pay the doctor. Let's cheer up and have some fun!" Lupin says.

"Fun?" I ask.

"There, there. Mr. Caleb, you'll understand once we're inside. It's the nicest place you could ever go."

Lupin nods and leads the way in.

"Welcome, Viscount Perenna. We hope you enjoy your stay today." the suited man says.

"Very good, thank you." Lupin says.

"'Viscount Perenna'?" I ask.

"It's one of Lupin's aliases. She's got so many names, she changes who she is depending on where she goes." Nemo says.

That's understandable, I suppose.

"Those are my husband and servants. We thought they deserved a break, so we've given them some money. Allow them in." Lupin says.

"As you wish, Viscount Perenna." the suited man says.

"So we're servants now?" Victoria says.

"I don't know how she's able to keep all her stories straight. She's like an engineer but all she makes is lies." Nemo says.

"She is very reliable, though. I'm not surprised that she's never been caught." Victoria says.

"So, um, what is this place?" I ask.

"Stop lallygagging, servants! Do keep up!" Lupin says.

"Yeah, yeah. Coming, 'Mistress'!" Nemo says.

"You'll find out soon enough. Let's go, Caleb." Victoria says.

I started walking along with Victoria.

However, this place is intimidating.

The people around us are talking and having a good time.

Am I good enough to be in a place like this?

"Why are you being so shy, monsieur? You're the some beautiful person here." Lupin suddenly appears before me and smiles into my eyes. "Would you grant me the honour of escorting you?"

"Lupin." I say.

"Is that a yes? Then let's go!" Lupin says.

"All right, thank you. But really, what kind of place is this?" I ask.

"You haven't figured it out yet? Well, sir, allow me the honour of enlightening you." Nemo says.

"Nemo, you don't sound like yourself when you talk like that." I say.

"Why does Lupin get to talk all posh, but not me?" Nemo asks.

"Haha. It's just not your style. You're more of a down-to-earth, funny character, not a charming one." Victoria says.

"You... Ouch! That really hurts! Especially because you really mean it!" Nemo says.

"Pay no attention to the idiot, people. This place is known as a 'casino'. It's where you go to win money." Lupin says.

"I do know what a casino is. And most people lose money, usually." I know I'm from a different world but it's not really that different to this one. "Win and you're rich, lose and you're poor."

"They're going to start holding large-scale auctions and betting on airship races here, Mr. Caleb."

"Right here?" I ask.

"It's like an annual festival. Everyone in London knows about it." Victoria says.

"Yep, the whole is run by the Moriarty Family." Nemo says.

"So, since they have this huge place anyway, they decided to set it up as a gambling hall before the event." Lupin says.

"That's right. The government turns a blind eye to it, since it ends up bringing in so much money to London." Nemo says.

"Yeah. This might be the safest place for us to hide from scrutiny." Victoria says.

"Look. The people have come from all cross Britain to use their money to alleviate their ennui." Lupin says.

Well-dressed people come and go while we're talking.

"Heh. It's showtime. I can hear this casino's money crying out to me. 'Help me, Arsene, I belong with you'!" Lupin seems really excited about this.

First, we go to the cashier's counter to change out money into casino chips, then we divide them among ourselves.

I'm not sure our much it's worth, but by the way Victoria's face twitches, I figure that it's probably a lot of money.

"All right, then, why don't we all go do what we want from here." Lupin says.

"That's fine. What are you going to do, Caleb? We really shouldn't leave you alone. Come along with one of us." Nemo says.