Can this witch dance to this music? (Item required)

Gretel. I have some music here with me. Do you think you could dance to this?

The red-haired witch took the sheet music I was holding out to her and read the lyrics on the page. It wasn't the type of song one normally expected to see transcribed as though it were a composer's composition. I saw her hands clutch the paper more tightly, shaking slightly. Finally, she peered over the top of it at me. I could tell her face was badly flushed, even though she was trying to hide it. "How did you find out about this?"

"Oho!" Beatrice could smell something juicy in the air, and she quickly sidled up alongside us. "It seems Player managed to dig into the history of our mysterious guest after all! We are all allies tonight, so let there be no secrets between us! Gretel, you must share the meaning in this song, this..." She snatched the paper from Gretel and started to read the song title, then immediately clammed up, going red herself. "Player, this is... Even for a witch, these lyrics are somewhat obscene."

Yes, but take it from a guy who knows, Beatrice: all men want to see witches like you and Gretel dancing to a song like this. Why, just to have a grumpy girl like her moving to this would make most men believe in magic, or whatever else you asked them to.

"Well, now you have **** but to answer, my ally. What connection do you have with this song?"

Gretel frowned deeply, her face still covered in a bashful blush. "Do you really need to know? The way you're asking, you seem to think it's something funny. It's not. Believe it or not, this story is a bad memory for me... And it's really no big deal. You don't need to understand it to get my help."

"Sorry." Bernkastel suddenly interrupted, stepping back into the conversation. "I hate to impose, but it really is important that your teammates trust you for my plan to work. Is it too much trouble to share?"

The guest seemed to understand she wasn't really being asked, but told, and sighed. "No, I guess not. It's just the kind of miserable story you hear about anywhere in the place I'm from. A bunch of kind, older 'friends' of mine... You can think of them as fellow witches, if you like... Those 'friends' got the idea that I was holding them back. That I was so ugly, when they were seen with me, they couldn't meet guys. So, they gave me an assignment, on top of all the other studying I was required to do for them... They said all of us should practice this oh-so-charming dance routine, and that when we were done, all of us would be irresistible. So... for a while, every chance I got where I had some free time, instead of visiting my friends, I had to practice this ridiculous dance, so that when the time came, I wouldn't be the one holding us back."

Even without music playing, I could hear the song I'd handed her in my head. This was technically cheating: it was the kind of song nobody on the island of Rokkenjima during my game would have heard. How did Gretel even know it...? The world of witches was taunting and tantalizing in its mysteries...

... Not unlike that ass!

At some point during her depressing story, Gretel had begun actually demonstrating the type of dance she'd practiced, and I could hardly believe it. That sour witch, who seemed like she'd be a pain to get out of bed in the morning, was dipping and bucking her hips with tantalizing wiggles. Occasionally, she dipped down low by bowing her knees, then seductively slid them up while twisting in place... Did she realize how short her skirt was for these types of moves? The absolute territory between her socks and her skirt was first endangered and then obliterated as her short skirt flipped up to show me glimpses of stark white cotton panties stretched across her perfectly round butt.

Her story continued, and I could hardly pay attention, watching the sweat begin rolling down her forehead and, more importantly, her pleasantly plump thighs. "So... as you can see... I became skilled at this dance. I spent all that time... which should have been spent studying... or getting a good night's sleep... increasing my charm so I wouldn't drag my 'friends' down. Of course... When the time came to actually show them the dance... I'd forgotten I had started practicing it... just to have them leave me alone... I'd practiced so hard... I'd actually gotten proud of it... Of course, when I showed them what I'd learned..." The witch paused her dance, seeing me staring at her exposed thighs and giving me a disapproving glare. "They told me they couldn't believe what a slut I was. Asked me why I was spending all my time learning how to dance like a girl from the ghetto instead of studying for the good of our whole group. As if they'd spent all their time diligently studying for our benefit. Well, I learned something about erotic dance and something about human nature that day, so I suppose it wasn't time wasted."

Neither I nor even Beatrice could smile after hearing that. There was only one person who was... Bernkastel, as she lowered a teacup from her lips. "Isn't that actually a happy story? You persevered and created your own miracle. I don't find that to be a sad thing at all. Now, that miracle is going to help you rescue Battler, just like you wanted. Any way you look at it, it's a beautiful, happy ending... right...?"

I couldn't see what was happy about it. I felt disgusted with myself for making her share that story and demonstrate a dance with that kind of bad memory attached to it. But, more than anything, I felt disgusted with myself...

Disgusted that I was thanking those disgusting fellow witches of Gretel's past! Thank you, bitchy, bullying classmates who granted me this incredible booty dance from this sad but happily fat-assed pale geek! What a miracle...!

I didn't say any of that out loud, naturally, but I did acknowledge that Gretel probably had the skills to teach Beatrice the ropes. Hopefully, she could teach her in a bit nicer of a way.

"Yes... Well, I hope you will allow me to reap the fruits of your suffering," Beatrice requested, a bit uncharacteristically meek.

"Don't feel sorry for me." Gretel straightened herself up and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I didn't ask for that. I was asked a question, and I answered it. That's all. Anyway, hopefully now you understand... I'm not doing that a second time for your eyes, Player." She shot me another glare, still cold in spite of her hot face. "Take a hike."

I really couldn't push my absurd luck any further. Granting her wish, I put my head back over the chess pieces, moving myself back to the board. I still had preparations to take care of... I pictured that cute red skirt Beatrice's piece on the board wore one more time, and found myself with the strength to get the work done without complaint.