Battler rejects Rosa's offer. (Stacks -3)

Battler looked into Rosa's pleading eyes, gulped, then glanced away. "Look, Aunt Rosa... I appreciate the effort, b-but I don't need you to celebrate my eighteenth or whatever. I can just give you one of the stacks, right? I mean, I didn't do anything to earn it, so... sure, it's fair for Maria to get a cut. Why not?"

Rosa looked back at me hopefully. "Can he do that? He wants to just-"

I held up a hand to cut her off. It hurt, but there was no point in this if Battler didn't go through the game. If Battler doesn't accept the terms of the first game, I take back all of the money.

"So, there you have it," Rosa told Battler with a friendly smile. "Just relax... I won't go too far, but you have to at least let me start-"

"Uh-uh." Battler stood from his seat, carefully beginning to step around the table. "Look, this whole thing is shady as heck. B-besides, you're, uh, married, right, Aunt Rosa? I mean... you've gotta be Maria's mother, and maybe being a good mother to her doesn't just mean getting a bunch of money for her-"

"Getting a bunch of money for her is exactly what that means, Battler," Rosa told him, now in a scolding voice. I could tell this wasn't going anywhere... "Don't you understand? Just sit still, let me dance a little for you, and we'll both walk out of here with so much!"

"I'm telling you as a man, I'm not going to do that with you!" Battler looked pained, but also sure of himself. He turned and walked through the dark for the door he'd entered. I'd locked it before, but there was no point in keeping it locked like this. The only point had been to keep him from leaving before he heard the offer, but if he was rejecting it... Well, that was that.

"No, wait, Battler! You don't understand!" Rosa first begged, then raised her voice as she rose from the loveseat, shouting across the room. "Are you still a kid?! Are you trying to protect your purity, or do you think you're protecting me? That's not how it works, Battler! That money is what matters-"

Now standing in the open doorway, Battler looked back at his pathetic aunt one last time... But he gulped, shook his head, and closed the door behind him.

...

Very shortly after, the lights clicked on. Eva stood by the switch with a cold glare in her eye. Rosa didn't see it, resting on her legs on the floor with her head cast down. The older sister approached the younger, then knelt to put a hand on her shoulder. A surprisingly tender moment... I suppose they were sisters, even after everything else.

"Rosa... I apologize. This is my fault. I relied too much on that secret technique of yours...

I saw Rosa look up at her sister with big, wet tears in her eyes and a miserable expression. "Eva..."

"I forgot your real specialty. Driving men away. Making them leave. That's it, riiight?" Eva gave her younger sister a sickeningly sweet smile, then turned away from her and briskly walked out of the room. "I suppose I should have asked Natsuhi. Tch."

Rosa was still on the floor. The two of us were alone. I couldn't make the miracle happen, but... Eva had turned out to be a real witch, anyhow. My game had ended in failure, but I had to at least try and console Rosa. I approached her, thinking of the right words to say...

That was when I heard her, muttering under her breath.

"Even now... Even now... Even now, that child, Maria. Even now."

Maria...? I spoke the word without thinking.

Rosa glared up at me with a twisted, teary smile. "I'm good, aren't I? We all agreed I was good at it! In spite of my child, in spite of my age, I'm still very, very attractive, right? Say it, Player! You agree, don't you?!"

I didn't find this Rosa especially attractive, but I nodded dumbly. Of course, I loved all of them-

"If it's not me, then what is it? That's right: her! If Maria was a normal child, who hugged Battler and was friendly with him, Battler wouldn't hesitate! I did everything right, but there was no right answer. So long as that child is there... so long as she's always screwing things up with her magic, her nonsense, her 'Uuu uuu!' bullshit... I'll never have money. I'll never have happiness, or peace, or rest. I'll never have love again...!"

The words left my mouth inconsiderately before I could stop them. After all, I was sure every Witch Hunter with a heart who had read the story had come to the same conclusion. Rosa... How can you speak that way about your child?

She turned her eyes up to me, and I saw how sharply her pupils had dilated. Her fingers dug into her hair, and her jaw clenched in anger. "Are you married, Player? Do you have a child? Are you the least bit qualified to talk about my family?"

I think anyone with human decency is qualified! Well, maybe that means I'm actually least qualified, but... Do you think a ton of money and a twisted relationship between her mother and her cousin is something Maria wants? Doesn't she- Gah!

Before I could react, Rosa had jumped from the floor and wrapped her hands around my throat. "What do you know about what she wants? And is what you know even important? I'm her mother, right?! That means I know what's best for her! And sometimes, isn't what's right for both of us... Rather, what's right for me...! Isn't that what's important, sometimes? What I want?!"

I couldn't respond. Shit, I really am a weakling... This angry single mother is about to **** me out. But still...!

"Hey, now that I think about it, Player, you've got that money all packaged up for me! How about I offer you a night in my bed, hm?" Rosa gave me a smile, but it felt much less like a seductive single mother and much more like a carnivore sizing up cornered prey. "That'd be worth all three of those stacks over there, right? And you wanted it! I saw you looking at me before! Your eyes were all over my body... You wanted it! You wanted me! Nod if you still do, Player! Am I not the one you want?!"

I shook my head using the last of my strength before I passed out. This isn't the Rosa I want... It isn't the Black Witch I was aiming for, either...