Shannon must be the one. (Pink Trigger)

I asked Eva... Surely, Shannon is the one who makes the most sense? She's a pretty young woman, and I'm certain she could use the money. Maybe she doesn't know anything about dancing, but if we ask and she says "no," it'd be easy to keep her from spreading around that we'd asked.

... I didn't mention the other reason I was pretty sure Eva would go along with this, and the reason I knew it was a cruel thing to ask. It is, of course, well-understood by my readers and me that George and Shannon are in a relationship. Even if it was for an incredible sum of money, asking her to perform an erotic dance for Battler on the same night George should be proposing to her was beyond insensitive. However... While I believed Eva had no idea George was actually ready to propose to Shannon, I did feel she was aware of the eyes they had for each other.

With that in mind, I wasn't at all surprised at the mean-spirited smile that crossed Eva's face in response. "Hehe... Yes, it should be Shannon, shouldn't it? Why, that servant certainly seems like the type who would know a thing or two about unconventional ways of wooing a man, doesn't she? Let's ask."

As expected, she was fully on board. Before she could run in and start, however, I grabbed her arm. Remember, Eva, be nice. We're trying to convince Shannon, not **** her.

"Hmph." Eva snatched her arm back from me, then gave me an odd smile, hiding her mouth behind her fan. "Our partnership is built on trust, right, Player? Then, trust me. I know what I'm doing, and I know how to get just what we want from her."

Realizing trust was not at all what our partnership was built on, but rather the unassailable fact of the mountain of cash I was lugging around, I nonetheless nodded. I headed for the VIP room... I'd wait there for Eva to bring Shannon.

...

After reaching the unused upper-floor room, I sat on the edge of the bed and shook my foot impatiently. I began to consider I might have miscalculated: Shannon had been receiving a stern talking to by Natsuhi, and she and Eva were always butting heads. Would Natsuhi allow Eva to steal her mansion's servant away for some unknown purpose? This might end up taking longer than I thought...

Well, it looked like Eva was already in the witch-like business of granting wishes, because no sooner had I thought it than there she and Shannon were, walking through the door. I saw Shannon gasp as she caught sight of me in my mask sitting on the bed, the one out-of-place thing in the room she had cleaned for years. Eva, not seeming overly apologetic at giving Shannon a scare, shut the door behind her, making it clear Shannon wasn't going anywhere.

Greetings, Shannon, servant of the Ushiromiya family. My name is H.I. Player. Has Eva already told you what she wants from you- um, that is, what she has to offer you?

"Mr. Player..." Shannon responded with her hands folded together and clear, nervous uncertainty in her eyes. "No, Miss Eva has only told me she had some special task I could help with... She didn't say anything further, other than to direct me here. Um, is there some way I can be of service...?"

I wondered if the servant had initially thought Eva was saving her from having her ear chewed off by Natsuhi... No, Shannon probably knew Eva better than to expect that kind of spontaneous generosity. In any case, unlike Eva, I didn't enjoy seeing Shannon twist in the wind. I told Eva to fill Shannon in. Loudly, where I could hear the explanation she was giving and fill in any blanks.

Eva gave me that funny "partnership" smile again, but did as I asked. "For starters, Shannon, we're wondering if a lovely young lady like yourself might know anything about sexy dancing of any kind."

"Sexy... dancing...?" Shannon repeated the words timidly, with wide eyes and an already reddening face. "I... I can't imagine, Ma'am..."

Eva smirked. "No, of course you can't. But, look, I'm in a funny situation where I really need to see some, and I don't have a lot of time to spare. If I were to order you to show me your best shot at a sexy dance, instead, how would that go? What if I said I'm not letting you get back to work for Natsuhi until you showed it to me?"

This... well, this was obviously bullying. Eva was using her position of power as a guest in the mansion, along with her knowledge of Shannon's already pitiful standing in the regard of the lady of the manor, to coerce her. I felt sympathy for Shannon as she bit her lip and grew red, but... wasn't this for the best? After all, if she was able to show us, we wouldn't be ordering her to actually do it for Battler for free: I'd make sure Eva paid Shannon, just as we'd intended to if it was anyone else we'd asked.

But would Shannon even come through? She had remained silent for so long... It got to the point where if she knew how to do it, I thought she'd say so just to break the tension.