Beatrice is joined by Gretel, who makes the first offer.

"Now, Ushiromiya Battler..." Beatrice stepped forward, holding her hands up with their backs towards him. "You and I are going to perform some magic. Your own talents are pitifully poorly suited for it, but with my instruction, even you may turn out to have limited potential."

Battler still looked fully confused, but he hid it behind a natural grin as best he could. "Hihi... Magic, huh? You two sure go on and on about that."

"Naturally! Magic is the most powerful **** in this world, Battler. Magic can allow you to expand your world beyond this pitiful realm. Submit yourself to my tutelage, and we may be able to invite guests from the beyond, across worlds of possibilities and time-"

"Woah!" Battler took another, larger step back, realizing the witch was trying to place her hands over his eyes. "Hey, hey! This is kind of a sketchy scenario for me to let you blind me just like that!"

"No magic is gained without sacrifice. By temporarily showing your willingness to proceed without sight, you will gain new eyes of the heart and bear witness to a miracle!"

"Yeah, well, forgive me if I don't find that very convincing. Besides, I only trust what I can see with my own two eyes!"

"Ho! How stubborn and cautious." Beatrice smiled, although she looked a bit impatient. "Something tells me you and this guest will get along... Fine. Close your eyes yourself, if you're going to be a baby about me touching your precious face!"

Battler sighed, then finally shut his eyes, although it was easy to imagine he was squinting through his lids. "What's next?'

"Now... Let us perform the ritual. Let us recall the form of Gretel, a witch who claims she was given birth for the sole purpose of becoming your ally. A truly rare honor for a human, kihihi..."

"Ally?" It was a fair question. After all, nothing up to this point implied that Battler was in any kind of competition to need an "ally."

"Ah... Perhaps I should say 'friend.' Do not concern yourself with it, for now. Simply listen to my words, and give form to her. This witch wishes to reveal that form to you herself, so for now, simply give shape to her body. Begin with her striking, wine-red hair, which falls just below her shoulders. Picture her pale, eighteen-year-old body... Yes, this witch is but a fledgling, but she is already advanced in all of the ways that interest a healthy young man such as yourself! Picture her impressive chest, handfuls even for hands as large as yours... Picture her womanly thighs and shapely bottom... Now, simply picture that persistent pouting frown that is her charm point, along with her sulky blue eyes, and- Ho!"

It didn't seem it would take any more than that. Beatrice had to dodge a kick from a figure somersaulting in through the window. That seemed to be our other witch, Gretel. She was looking a bit different from her earlier introduction... She was wearing a similar purple ribbon, belt, and black jacket, but it was in the fashion of an overcoat, extending down to her knees. I have to admit that I missed that breezy skirt of hers... Besides that, she wore the same tall black socks and laced shoes, but she had lost both those hair ornaments and the band she ordinarily wore on one arm. Those choices seemed conscious enough to make me think they had some meaning. She had replaced the ornaments with a pair of pink scrunchies I didn't think suited her, but at least maintained her unique high pigtails.

Beatrice returned her unfriendly glare with a smirk. "This witch was very eager to appear before you, Battler, and so she did! Is this a powerful will, a miracle, or something else? Truly mysterious..."

"Now isn't the time for your puzzles and games." It looked like whatever practice they had done together, Gretel and Beatrice hadn't become close friends in the time since I'd left them. "Battler, did the witch and her eccentric enthusiast friend explain the rules already?" I noticed she didn't look at him when she spoke; instead she kept her eyes and simmering hatred focused on the other witch.

"Yeah, but I gotta admit, I'm still completely in the dark." Battler frowned, thrust into the middle of a magic rivalry he had no way of comprehending. "Someone's supposed to be offering me something? And I guess I can pay them with the cards in return... I guess that if I pay at least once, I'm allowed to keep two of these cards, or I can pay more to have something else happen... M-maybe it'd make more sense in action? Actually, are you the one making the offer?"

Gretel finally turned her face to him with an unhappy frown. "Battler... You're already in the middle of the witch's game. Despite the tone she's trying to set, this is all that witch's trick. Don't let her deceive you. She's not your friend, your ally, or anything like that. Instead of her, you need to listen to me. I'm about to make you a dumb offer, yes, and you need to reject it. Listen to me, Battler: a mysterious blonde woman you've never met inviting you to a room with a stripper pole set up in the middle of it? A mysterious redhead flipping through the window just because you dream her up? Only a hopeless idiot would believe any of this was real. The right move is to deny her existence... To deny my existence. The winning move is to reject my first offer right out. Then you can leave here and get back to your family, to your cousins and your servants... Get this family conference out of the way, and go home. Forget about magic and daydreams."

The young man only looked more confused. Suddenly, the mood had gone from jovial to dire, fast enough to give him whiplash. Furthermore... "So, I'm supposed to believe you're the good witch and she's the bad one, just because you say? Taking that at face value would make me a real sucker, wouldn't it?"

The red-headed witch scowled even more deeply, putting a hand on her hip and looking down at him in his comfy chair. "What is it about this Beatrice that would make you want to trust her, anyhow? Hasn't she already made it clear she's trying to confuse you? I'm the one here trying to help you. You need to turn down the offer, and- Eep!"

The stern guest let out a surprised gasp as the other witch she'd taken her eyes off of wrapped her arms around her from behind and, with eager and mischievous fingers, began undoing the buttons of her jacket and the loop of the belt at her waist. "Don't be hasty, Battler. I insist that you at least hear out what the offer will be before making your decision. You see, you can do what this stuffy, killjoy witch tells you, ignoring money, mystery, and magic to return to playing cards with your relatives... Or, you can enjoy this, to your heart's content!"

I saw Gretel gasp as her overcoat opened. I couldn't see what was beneath from my angle, but I thought Battler must be able to. Before anyone got much of a look, she grabbed the edges and wrapped it around herself tightly with a red face.

"So shy!" Beatrice backed up and held her hands palms-out, to indicate she was done with hands-on teasing for now. "However, I insist you at least explain what is on offer before sabotaging my game further. I've already granted your request to hide your identity, and I've entertained you bending the rules for your disruptive introduction. The least you can do is stick to my rules this much, riiight?"

Gretel clicked her teeth, still holding her coat shut. She looked down at Battler in his seated position. She still wore that grumpy expression, but her pleading blue eyes and red face weren't as strong-willed. "If you give me one of those favors or whatever, I'll dance for you."

"Dance? What kind of dance, Greteeel?" Beatrice asked with a big, cruel and cocky grin on her face, showing most of her teeth.

"A s-sexy dance," Gretel stuttered, holding her cool gaze as best as possible while her lower lip trembled and she stuttered over her words. "There's... really no reason you should want that from me, Battler. It's not something you should want, and it's not something I want to give you, so just forget about it... If you choose that path, winning is going to be stupidly complicated and unnecessarily difficult. Just reject the offer now!"

"Ihihi..." Battler had a dumb look on his face, clearly still picturing whatever he had just seen beneath her coat. "Uh, if you tell me not to do something, I'm the kind of guy who'll really want to, okay? I'm getting kind of mixed messages here, but... it's really okay if I do, huh?!"

"N-No!" Gretel told him, horrified. I started to realize she had probably assumed that claiming to be his ally and talking straight with him was a trump card to easily seal her victory, and hadn't imagined she would actually end up dancing for him. However, the reality was this game was stacked against her. She had to appear as a mysterious witch: her supposed intention to act as his ally was as dubious as anything else.

"Of course!" Beatrice spoke over her with a cheery smile. "This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ushiromiya Battler! Gretel is a witch who doesn't make it out here around this time very often, kyehehe..." Her smile grew a bit wider as her eyes cracked open with a taunting glimmer. "I would hate to think she had wasted the trip."

... In terms of the game between humans and witches, and in terms of right and wrong, there was definitely a clear-cut correct answer here. And yet... tonight, I've chosen the witch's side! Tonight, I've chosen the side of wrong! Along with Beatrice, I begged Battler to give himself over to the world of magic.