After a long ride on a tricycle taxi, they reached Rico.
As Hirune looked around she couldn't help but wonder how a place so close to Triste looked so much fancier. Everywhere she looked there was either, multiple strips of gold on buildings or utilities, or bright multicolored lights in certain shapes.
She couldn't help but think that everyone here lived a lavish life while everyone back in Triste fought for a couple cents every couple of days.
She looked at Kala, "So which one is the place were looking for?"
Kala looked around then curled her lips. "It might seem crazy what I'm about to say."
Hirune shook her head, 'Of course, I, an idiot. Is stuck with her, another idiot.' She thought. Then she glanced around for anything that resembled a casino...
Everything looked like a casino. Even the cars.
"Kala," Hirune said, "Would you mind explaining how Ellen expects us to find the exact casino we're looking for?" Hirune said while looking around even more. Then she saw 3 huge spires, each one of them being made out of pure gold that shimmered in the artificial light. Each spire had lights that said one word, the one to the left said "WELCOME", the one in the middle said "TO", and the one to the right said, "RICO!"
Hirune stared at the 3 spires and nearly had a heart attack as she didn't want to deal with another Triple Red Peaks situation. Then she sighed as she saw that the 3 spires each had a golden cylinder that went up into the sky and connected to what seemed like the bottom of a huge upside-down dome.
'What in the world could be up there that's so important?' Hirune thought while looking back down. She looked at Kala again and she seemed to be wondering the same thing.
"I think that'd be the answer to your question." Kala said while looking up.
"Are you sure? I couldn't tell, really especially considering that it's the most eye-catching thing here." Hirune responded with a cheeky smirk on her face.
"The sarcasm isn't very appreciated," Kala responded as she started walking. Hirune following behind. As they walked down, they realized that this place wasn't very kid friendly. Which was to be expected considering that everything was a casino, but you'd expect them to have at least one small part for them.
Hirune glanced around more, seeing almost everyone on the street playing cards, and the few that weren't gambling and almost getting ran over were either mopping around or trying to flirt with everyone they saw. She tapped Kala on the shoulder, "Hey do you know if we need any sort of ID verification?"
Kala suddenly stopped causing Hirune to bump into her. She looked at Kala in the face, and she looked pretty nervous. "1. You have no idea, or 2. We do and we're very much underage." Hirune guessed and Kala nodded slowly.
Hirune looked around for someone, anyone that looked sketchy. After all there was bound to be someone selling fake IDs in a place like this.
As they kept on walking, Hirune not telling Kala about her fake ID plan because she thought Kala had enough common sense to figure it out, she spotted a sketchy guy in a trenchcoat in an alleyway. "Kala, look! We can get our fake IDs there." Kala looked and shrugged.
"We probably don't actually need any sort of identification considering what this place is."
Hirune gave her a questioning look, "How would you know that? I haven't seen a single kid walk into any of these casinos. Instead, they've all been standing and waiting outside."
Kala shrugged, "Suit yourself. If you really want that fake ID, go ask him for it. I'll be waiting at..." She looked around a little then pointed at one of the few restaurants around, "At that restaurant. If you need anything scream."
Hirune nodded and fell further behind Kala as she slowly started to walk towards the alleyway. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't scared. Not because she thought the guy would do anything, she could easily defend herself, but because she had to actually talk to a stranger and admit to needing help with a crime.
'It's not that bad, just a fake ID. I've already murdered someone in cold blood this is just... Something light.' Hirune thought as she took a deep breath and spoke to the guy.
"Excuse me? Sir?" The man turned towards her, his face never visible and answered.
"Which service do you require? Faking an ID? Fake money? An assassination? Maybe even a wild night?" Hirune's body shuddered, who in the world was asking for the last two? Then she realized where she was and it made sense.
After a second of hesitating she said, "Uhh, I just need a fake ID." The man nodded and took a fake ID out of his pocket while saying, "No questions." She looked at the fake ID confused, then her blood went cold as it already had a picture of her on it.
"100$." The man said. Hirune gulped, "I don't really have money, I was just curious as to how this worked. You can have it back now."
"That's a lie." The man said, "No one comes to a seller out of curiosity. Also, there's no returns. So, you'll have to pay in a different way somehow."
'Why was I expecting it to be free here?' Hirune thought. After all, back in Triste, everyone gave her what she needed (besides money) for free, but she had to get used to this. She wouldn't be in Triste as often anymore; she had to somehow pay.
She slightly opened her mouth trying to get her words out but couldn't. She sighed, not being able to speak out of fear of not being able to pay the price. She glanced around and saw an antenna on a roof. She then looked back at the man for a second and said, "Sorry, but what are the payment methods?"
The man responded, "They payment methods are either money, or your body." She nodded, then said while glancing at the antenna on the nearby roof, "Devour Distance." The Devourer Jaws came out from her heels and swallowed her like a vicious beast that hasn't been fed in a while. Then spit her out near the antenna on the roof.
Then her face went pale as alarms started to blare. She looked down at the fake ID and saw that it had a tracker that would automatically activate the alarms if even 1 foot away from the owner.