By the time Lucy finished telling Belle and Griseo about her first meeting with Caesar, they were barely holding back their laughter.
Belle's shoulders shook. No wonder she'd sensed the two were always at each other's throats the first time she saw them together.
"S-so... Caesar brought you back to the Sons of Calydon to make up for it?" Belle asked, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
"What else?" Lucy rolled her eyes at the memory.
"I was completely broke by then. I had no choice but to go with that busty airhead."
Griseo blinked and pressed her. "What happened after that, Lucy?"
Because even though Lucy sounded thoroughly annoyed, Griseo could tell she and Caesar were close!
Just like Grandma Mobius and Little Sister Elysia.
"After that..."
In the Outer Ring stood a weather-beaten wooden bar.
Inside, the place was loud and chaotic, packed with all sorts of people from the Outer Ring.
"That little girl at the piano's a rich young lady from the city, isn't she?"
At the counter, a middle-aged biker in a leather jacket lowered his voice and nudged the man beside him.
"Sure is. I hear one of her outfits costs enough to keep us alive for years!"
The other man gave a suggestive whistle as he spoke.
Both men looked toward the bar's stage, where Lucy sat at the piano, her fingers moving slowly over the keys.
And they weren't the only ones.
Most of the people in the bar were the same. Some were curious, some leered, and some made snide remarks. There was every kind.
Life in the Outer Ring meant never knowing where your next meal would come from, or how much longer you'd live.
Lucy wanted to earn money by performing. Most people scoffed at the