[ for at least a moment, archer's mask slips as he simply stares at zero incredulously. daughter? dying grandmother? surely, there were limits to how ridiculous this could get. no guard could possibly buy such a farfetched story... but more importantly, it's alarming just how seamlessly zero was able to slip into this deception.

thankfully, no one notices archer's slip, as the guards remain mostly focused on zero. and if anything they seem... sympathetic? ]

You have to be kidding...

[ he can't help but mutter under his breath, though from this distance it's not entirely impossible that a guard could overhear him. at this point, he really doesn't even care. if they got caught, at least they wouldn't need to keep up this charade any longer.

but... then he'd probably have to deal with zero's temper, if all her efforts were undone because of him. ]

I apologize. It's been... a very trying time for our family. [ that last word is a little too strained to seem entirely natural. ] But the longer we dally here, the higher the chance that...

[ he just lets his words trail off, unable to finish the sentence.

mostly because it's too dumb to say aloud, but at least from the guards' perspective he probably just seems overcome with emotion. they're just not right about which emotion that is. ]