Battler finishes with Shannon and moves on after round two.

"Ah... it's useless... all useless..." Battler spoke his catchphrase awkwardly, then removed his hand from Shannon, bracing himself as he leaned back. "I guess the love of a great woman like you is too expensive for a poor kid like me, huh, Shannon? Ihihihi...! Uh, sorry, that was a bad joke. I guess what I'm saying is, this is probably far enough. Whatever husband you have in mind must be pretty great, if he can give you more money and appreciate you more than I do right now, huh?"

"Yes... Ah, no offense to you, but I'm sure that husband will be a great man," Shannon agreed, smiling with something like relief. "After I did something so ridiculous... I'm glad to see we can still see eye-to-eye, Battler."

"Hmm..." The young man watched Shannon as she rose and began straightening her clothes, appreciating her curves without hiding his gaze. "Your future husband might be a great guy, but he's also a lucky bastard I'm totally jealous of. Why'd I have to take such a damn huge break? If I'd been showing up every year, I bet I'd have already caught your eye, wouldn't I?"

"Who can say...?" Shannon gave him a timid but bright smile. Even though she was letting him down, I thought that smile would probably stay with him... "Thank you and goodbye, Battler..." Dressed again in most of her clothes, Shannon started to leave.

I cleared my throat, and the noise made her stumble in the dark. She fell on her face gracelessly, and... aha! There in the dark, her round ass, clad in dark red panties, was sticking up in the air from where her skirt had fallen. This is...!

... Not the reason I had cleared my throat, only a nice side benefit. Ahem, Shannon. Don't you have something else to tell Battler?

"O-oh oh!" Blushing furiously, the maid collected herself off the floor and hastily brushed her skirt back down. "I'm so sorry, um... You need to wear the black blindfold under the cushion, Battler! I was told to tell you that for the second game. Please, if you would..."

"Ihihi, uh... I'll tie it after you leave, okay?" Battler teased her with a goofy grin. "Walk carefully, Shannon!"

The maid pouted in a way she wouldn't normally show the family. "Hmph! I have to say, you might need to work on your manners to get a wife, Battler...!" With that, she managed a more dignified exit, shutting the door quietly in spite of her indignation.

Battler began to tie the blindfold around his own eyes. He stopped momentarily, turning his head to me. "Hey... Not that I didn't enjoy myself just now, but I haven't forgotten you standing over there, Mask Bastard. If I had any reason to think you're forcing Shannon or anyone else into your freaky game, I'd do what it takes to protect 'em. Let's make the second half just as much fun but a lot less weird, okay?"

That was... definitely not a promise I could make. I remained silent, but gestured for him to finish tying his blindfold. When he'd finished, the second game could begin...