Left: Number of observed RC stars with [M/H]> 0.3 dex computed in (X, Y, Z) bins of 200 pc, corrected for incompleteness (where the completeness is above 70% only), and displayed as a function of R and Z. The Sun is at R = 8.15 kpc. Right: Log-density as a function of distance from the Galactic mid-plane |Z| computed in six ranges of R (colour-coded as shown above the left panel). The flattening of the density profile with increasing R is interpreted by our model as a sign of flaring. We reiterate that the observed counts should only be corrected for completeness for data exploration, and the model fitting procedure of Sect. 3.2 is instead performed by applying the selection function to the model.