Aria waddled ahead of them, the enormous bag of candy clutched tightly in her arms. She more or less shuffled, as her pace was slow and sluggish and her belly was still bloated from the ridiculous amount of Kralak she had devoured earlier. Yet, despite the obvious food coma creeping up on her, she continued to shove sweets into her mouth, humming a little tune between chews.

Kaiser and Milo walked behind her in silence, both watching the bizarre display with something between amusement and wonder. "How does she do that?" Kaiser finally asked, raising an eyebrow as Aria popped a Fizzbite into her mouth and twitched slightly from the tingling shock. "She's like a bottomless pit."

Milo shook his head. "I don't know, but if she ever turns on us, our wallets are screwed."

Kaiser smirked at that. "She's already extorting you for candy. Pretty sure you already are screwed."

Milo groaned, rubbing his face. "Don't remind me."

They continued down the street, the night air cooling the heat of the day. Aria remained oblivious to all of it, too engrossed in her candy conquest to notice much of anything. Then, after a few minutes, Milo broke the silence. "We should cancel the duel tomorrow."

Kaiser turned his head sharply, blinking at him. "What?"

Milo sighed, stretching his arms above his head. "You heard me. We should cancel."

Kaiser squinted at him. "Milo… are you drunk?"

Milo let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Kaiser, I could chug thirty full cups of the strongest ale in this world and still be up and kicking." He smirked slightly. "Which, by the way, I've done before. Nearly got banned from the Eastern Liberatorium for it."

Kaiser gave him a doubtful look. "Then what's your excuse?"

Milo's smirk faded as he exhaled through his nose. "You released quite a bit of Sol in that alley earlier. More than you should've. I'm not exactly sure where your reserves are right now, since, y'know—" he gestured vaguely at Kaiser "—you're not a registered Liberator and all."

Kaiser frowned, his pace slowing slightly. "And?"

Milo glanced at him. "And… Sol isn't just for flashy abilities, kid. It fuels everything. Your fire? Your regeneration? Hell, even your stamina runs on Sol. If you burn through too much of it without knowing your limits, you're asking for trouble."

Kaiser rolled his eyes. "You think that will matter?"

Milo ignored the remark and continued. "Look, I don't want you getting permanently hurt. If you throw yourself into my attacks tomorrow without knowing how much Sol you actually have left, I might end up killing you, even with a wooden sword."

Kaiser's lips curled into a smirk. "You scared of hurting me?"

Milo sighed. "No. I'm saying you might throw yourself into my attacks like an idiot and die."

Kaiser was quiet for a beat, then shrugged. "I'll be fine."

Milo scoffed. "That's not how this works."

Kaiser's gaze flicked toward him, something unreadable in his expression. "It is for me."

Milo raised an eyebrow. "What the hell does that mean?"

Kaiser rolled his wrist idly, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather. "I've always been able to regenerate."

Milo blinked. "…No shit. You've got a healing factor, I figured that much out already."

Kaiser shook his head. "No, you don't get it. I mean always. Since birth. No matter what. No matter how much Sol I had left. I know I can still regenerate through it all."

Milo stopped walking. "Wait. You're telling me you don't need Sol for it?"

Kaiser turned back toward him, his smirk widening slightly. "That's what I'm saying."

Milo's frown deepened. His arms crossed over his chest, and for the first time in their conversation, his expression wasn't just concerned, it was wary. "That's not possible."

Kaiser shrugged. "Why not?"

Milo exhaled through his nose, clearly trying to keep his patience. "Because it breaks a fundamental rule. Something has to be consumed for a power to activate. Whether it's Sol, raw materials, blood, something has to be spent. That's not just theory—it's fact."

Kaiser tilted his head. "You sure?"

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Milo gave him a deadpan stare. "Yeah. The late Doctor Duncan published his theory on this quite a while ago. He called it the Law of Equivalent Exchange, and it's been proven correct that no ability comes without a cost."

Kaiser hummed, filing the name away in the back of his mind. "Interesting."

Milo's frown deepened. "…That's all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say?" Kaiser gestured vaguely. "Oh no, I'm breaking the rules? What a tragedy."

Milo pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't get it. If you're really regenerating without cost, that's..." He exhaled sharply. "That's not a power. That has to be something else."

Kaiser arched an eyebrow. "Something else?"

Milo hesitated for a fraction of a second before shaking his head. "Forget it. Just think about what I'm saying. The duel can wait."

Kaiser's smirk returned. "No, the duel's still on."

Milo groaned. "Kaiser, you almost fainted in that alley." But Kaiser ignored him entirely, simply saying: "Don't hold back."

Milo ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head in frustration. "You're a stubborn bastard, you know that?" Milo let out one last deep sigh. His gaze lingered on Kaiser for a moment longer before he finally gave a small, reluctant nod. "…Fine."

Kaiser smirked as Milo finally relented. "Good man."

Kaiser rolled his eyes, stretching his arms behind his head as he glanced toward road. "You should check where Regulus ran off to. He was in a real hurry."

"That's what I was thinking." Milo shifted the weight of his sword on his hip. "He was acting really weird."

"Weirder than usual?" Kaiser shot him a knowing look.

"Good point." Milo snorted.

Milo turned away, about to leave, but before he could take another step, Kaiser called after him. "Hey. Those two thieves, who exactly were they?"

Pausing mid-step, Milo glanced over his shoulder. "Dunno about the second one. But the first? The one in that skin-tight suit?" A dry chuckle escaped him. "That was Elsie the Green."

Kaiser lifted a brow. "Elsie the Green?"

"Yeah. She's… technically not the worst person out there." Milo scratched the back of his head, his tone reluctant.

"Not the worst? That's not exactly high praise," Kaiser mused, crossing his arms making Milo exhale sharply. "I mean, she hasn't killed anyone. Actually, she's saved a lot of people."

A smirk tugged at Kaiser's lips. "Then why do you sound like you hate her?"

Shaking his head, Milo muttered under his breath before answering. "Because she rescues people when they're at their lowest… and then buries them in lifelong debt."

Kaiser's laugh was immediate. "So you're telling me she pulls people out of burning buildings, pats them on the back, and then hands them a bill?"

"It's worse than that." Milo folded his arms, his expression flat. "Say you're starving to death in the desert, barely clinging to life. And then suddenly Elsie shows up, saves your sorry ass, gives you food, water and a cozy little tent."

"Sounds generous." Kaiser smirked.

"Yeah. Until you wake up and find out you owe her three times what your entire family's worth."

A low whistle left Kaiser's lips. "Damn."

"She has no god but money." Milo's voice carried a note of finality. "She'll save your life, but you'll spend the rest of it paying for it."

Kaiser chuckled, shaking his head. "I kinda respect it."

Milo groaned, rubbing his face. "Of course you do."

"Alright, go do whatever," Kaiser said, waving him off. "Just make sure to find Regulus."

Milo sighed, muttering something under his breath as he threw a lazy salute before heading off. Watching him go, Kaiser let out an amused exhale. "A hero for hire, huh?" He shook his head, grin lingering. "What a fun night."

As Milo walked away, he shot a glance over his shoulder and called out, "Don't forget when we're meeting up tomorrow!"

Kaiser smirked, waving him off. "Main gates. Sunrise. I'm not a damn goldfish. "Milo chuckled, shaking his head. "Just making sure. See ya then." With that, he disappeared into the night, hands tucked into his pockets.

Kaiser exhaled, rolling his shoulders before shifting his attention forward, only to notice that Aria had come to a full stop in the middle of the street. Her eyes were locked on him, curiosity all over her face. "What was all that about?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

He ruffled her hair without warning, making her let out a surprised yelp. Her eyes lit up instantly, practically sparkling like a kid being handed a golden ticket. "Nothing you need to worry about," he said with a smirk.

She grumbled, swatting his hand away with an exaggerated pout. "You're always so secretive. One day, I will find out all your little secrets, Kaiser Dios."

"Yeah, yeah." He stepped beside her, pretending not to hear. His gaze casually drifted to the massive sack of candy in her arms, and with the reflexes of a seasoned thief, he reached for a piece, but the moment his fingers brushed the bag, sharp teeth sank into his hand.

"Gah!" He yanked his hand back, staring at the bite mark forming on his skin.

Aria chewed the candy in her mouth slowly, her expression completely innocent. "No stealing. You may ask for one when my feast is over."

Kaiser flexed his fingers, raising an eyebrow at her. "Feast? You just devoured an entire vagon worth of food."

"And yet," she said, popping another candy into her mouth, "And yet I endure."

He laughed at her response. "You actually might be insane."

Aria beamed, happily hugging her bag of sweets. "Insanity is just dedication taken to its logical extreme."

Kaiser shook his head, exasperated but amused. "Yeah, yeah. Let's keep moving, you sugar-addicted goblin."

As they walked, Kaiser glanced at Aria, who was still lazily popping another candy into her mouth. After a moment, he said, "By the way, don't feel too bad for Mia and Ivan."

Aria barely spared him a glance. "Why would I?"

"They weren't just resting after leaving the hospital," he continued. "They were eager to start training early, so I gave them a little endurance exercise. Something I had to do when I was a kid."

Aria scoffed, tossing a Fizzbite Pebble into her mouth. "Uh-huh. And what was this grueling test?"

Kaiser smirked. "Holding a piece of paper at arm's length."

Aria blinked, then turned to him with the blankest stare imaginable. "…That's it?"

He grinned. "For half an hour."

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Oh no, how tragic. A true nightmare. Holding a featherweight piece of paper. I bet their arms are already falling off."

Kaiser chuckled. "Give it time."

"Sure, sure." She waved him off, clearly unimpressed, before shaking her candy bag. "Anyway, I might let you have some of these later."

His eyes flicked to the bag, intrigued. "Oh?"

"But none is going to the twins," she added flatly, already dismissing the idea.

Kaiser smirked. "Still don't trust them?"

Aria shrugged, looking wholly unbothered. "Not fully. They seem fine, but I don't hand out sweets to just anyone."

Kaiser let out a short laugh. "Tough crowd."

She clutched her bag tighter, as if shielding it from unworthy hands. "A girl's gotta have standards."

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