Through years of intense research and psychological analysis and evaluation, Zane had come to this conclusion. He wasn't really scared of clowns. He admitted they could be a little creepy, but that was never what truly bothered the man. What really bothered Zane was their sense of humor. After all, he made way better jokes than them, didn't dress as creepy and had a normal nose - yet nobody went around paying him to attend parties.
But apparently, the clowns weren't just happy with being paid to attend parties anymore. Somehow, they were allowed to go on strike - a situation which definitely caused Zane to question the employment ethics of Fiore. Still, the fact of the matter was that the season of fall was fast approaching, and clowns were everywhere on the street in the past few days. Zane tried his best to ignore them, but the fact of the matter was that he would see some sort of clown every city block at this point, usually holding up some kind of sign supporting "clown rights" or something silly like that.
After a while, Zane wanted to just escape from this clown, well, clown world. It was like he couldn't go a single place without finding a clown somewhere. Maybe he just had to go inside, right? Zane decided to entire a nearby pub. It was about 3 PM right now, so maybe it wouldn't be too busy. Opening the door, Zane sat down at the counter, looking around. No clowns! Perfect. Sighing, he relaxed himself a bit, leaning over the counter. "Hey bartender, what kinda appetize-" Zane's words were soon paused however, having met face to the face with the bartender. While his outfit and hair was that of a usual bartender, his face was painted white like a clown, and his nose was the signature circular red that most clowns wore. "Oh my god..." Zane said, quickly getting off the stool to hastily remove himself from the establishment. Confused, the bartender went back to business as usual.
There was no escape. No matter where Zane went, it seemed like there would be at least one clown. It was taking a serious toll on his mind. He went down the streets, now unable to get his mind off of the clowns that inhabited them. Why was he so upset? Maybe he did have a fear of clowns after all... or maybe it was a hatred? A hatred for these, well, creatures! Zane's inner self stopped that train of thought. They were people, after all. Mostly.
Still though, it seemed like there was nowhere to go. He was convinced that everywhere would just lead to more clowns. Hell, even if he went back to his hotel, who wouldn't say that Kaiser would knock on his door and reveal that SHE was a clown too?! As his wild ride of thoughts and emotions continued, he noticed a sign in a nearby noodle shop.
Despite the fact that it was clearly a stupid excuse, Zane noticed something. This was clearly a safe haven: a place for people like him. Those who could not stand the sight of the many clowns on strike. Quickly entering the noodle shop, Zane very immediately noticed the lack of clowns. There were a lot of people here too. The booths were 100% filled up. More than half the spots at the counter were taken.
Quickly moving to sit at the counter spot near the middle of the whole stool setup, Zane spoke towards the chef, a middle aged Joyan man who was really doing his all to serve the many people ordering from their booming business. "I'll take your most expensive dish. I don't care what it is... I just want to thank you all for what you've done for the people of Era."