Side Story: A Day in the Life Of Celestia Ludenberg!

Celestia Ludenberg… how long had she been going by that name now?

She had her name legally changed to it back when she was in high school, but she had considered changing it a long time before that. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with ‘Taeko Yasuhiro’ as a name, but it was so boring, so… unromantic. It was not a name that someone larger than life would have, not one that royalty would engrave on a gold coin, and certainly not one that she would like said to her over and over again as people heaped praise upon her.

Besides, ‘Taeko’ was a name her parents had given her. Her peasant, nobody parents, which made ‘Taeko’ a peasant, nobody name.

So she began to experiment with new names when she was younger. ‘Cinderella’ was an early one, along with ‘Beatrice’, ‘Carmilla’, ‘Aurora’, ‘Marie’ and so on and so forth. She also experimented a lot with her appearance as well, trying on new hair styles, contact lenses, her skin tone… all of which made many people assume that she was transgender in high school, and in turn caused her to gain an unexpected kinship with those who actually were trans.

In the end, though, she settled on ‘Celestia’ the same day she won her first pot at an underground poker game in high school, as she got a taste of what true victory was like. Her victory, while seemingly just like any other, had been meticulously planned and thought out to ensure that she went in at just the right time, and that she never lost too much to risk getting kicked out. She was perfectly in control the whole time, and yet to everyone who watched, it seemed miraculous.

So, she decided to lean into it.

“Why, of course I won,” she told everyone. “My victory was predestined by the stars. I am, after all, a child blessed by good fortune. A Celestial being you’re lucky to have had grave you with her presence~”

After that, Celestia stuck, though she much more often preferred to go by ‘Celeste’ instead for its elegance and mystique. The Ludenberg half of her name she took later mostly to avoid association with her parents and to tie herself to a European noble family from a place called ‘Novoselic’ with no known heirs so no one could ever dispute her claim of being royalty.

However, presenting herself as a ‘princess’ was also a strategic decision. Because whenever anyone even so much as looked at her, they would immediately underestimate her. They would assume that she was dainty and weak, and that her politeness was always sincere.

But no, she was not a princess out of a storybook. She was a princess out of real life; ruthless, conniving, and always with a scheme going on in the back of her mind. Schemes that were made all the easier by people underestimating her, of course, but there were a few times where she had to break out her gunmetal armor ring for a bit of self defense.

That was a long time ago, though, and her gambles were no longer on the scale of ‘thousands’, or ‘millions’, or even ‘life-or-****’. Now, she gambled on the gambling thousands, tempting locals and tourists alike into coming to her casino and making the same mistake that everyone always did when they went up against her; to believe that she could be beaten. That she was just another sucker, like them, like Taeko.

But she was not Taeko anymore; she was Celestia. And Celestia always won.

And it was thoughts of those many victories she had over the years, both big and small, that fluttered through Celeste’s mind like butterflies. Each one beautiful and delicate, and if she could she would likely stare at them all day, but… even their beauty faded eventually. And her collection still had so much more room to grow.

Her alarm clock went off on her bed next to her, an old-style bell-alarm that rang louder than a fire alarm whenever it did. The person she bought it from claimed that it was made by Albert Einstein himself, and that it was imported directly from Switzerland. That claim was admittedly rather dubious, especially when the seller added that he ‘measured the speed of light’ using that clock, but it was still a good conversation piece if nothing else.

Celeste’s own internal clock was even more finely tuned, however, so her hand was already reaching for the clock before it even went off. It only managed to ring for about a second before she brought her hand down, silencing it with a gentle click and signalling the start of her day.

“Good morning, Lady Celestia Ludgenberg III,” one of Celeste’s personal butlers greeted as he walked into the room carrying a tray full of freshly-made and healthy foods. The man, like the vast majority of the people she employed, was muscled, fit, handsome, and not Japanese. She was often accused of fetishizing foreigners, but she always countered that it was simply a coincidence that so many of them worked for her and that they all happened to be so drop-dead beautiful, hunky, and charming. After all, they had to be nice and fit for all the ‘backbreaking labor’ that they had to do for her. “I have your regular Wednesday breakfast ready for you, as you requested, along with your favorite newspaper and milk tea.”

“Thank you my dear Reginald; you treat me so well!” Celeste said sweetly before she picked up her paper and began eating in bed. It was a messy practice, to be sure, but she had to clean these bedsheets daily anyways, so it hardly mattered to her. “Let’s see here… ah, it seems that the local stock market is doing well, and the new subway from the north side to the south side is chugging along nicely. How lovely~”

“Not that you would ever be caught dead riding it, though. Isn’t that right, my lady?” asked ‘Reginald’.

“Ohoho, you know me quite well!” Celeste chortled. “But even the common man must have transport, even if I would rather eat off a toilet seat than so much as step foot in someplace like that. Speaking of, please make sure that my favorite Mercedes-Benz 400 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé is taken in for a tune-up. I want to make sure it is purring like a kitten when I take it out for a drive this weekend~”

“Of course, madam,” said Reginald. “Shall we discuss your schedule for the day?”

“You may,” Celeste said as she reached for her milk tea.

“Today we have your standard tour of the facilities, followed by special events for your personal viewing and high-stakes betting,” Reginald said as he read from a memorized list. “This includes betting on the latest sports games, horse racing, the daily fencing tournament, and-”

“Pfffft!” Celeste spat out her tea almost the instant she brought the cup up to her lips. “My word… what on earth is this!?”

“It’s… your usual milk tea?” Reginald replied nervously. “I used all the usual ingredients and everything.”

“You imbecile! The ingredients don’t matter if they aren’t assembled in the correct way! That would be like saying that a paperclip and a car are the same because they’re both made of iron!” Celestia shouted furiously. “Milk tea isn’t just tea with milk in it! It is tea… that is brewed… in the milk!”

“I-I’m sorry, ma’am, but there simply wasn’t enough time this morning to do it that way,” the man apologized. “I did the best that I could, and-”

“Best that you could!? I’d rather have coffee like a peasant, or milk tea bought from a disgusting boba shop before I drank swill like this!” Celeste smashed her tea cup on the ground beside her bed in frustration. “Begone from my sight at once, you swine! You are fired, effective immediately!”

“Fired? Over just one cup of tea?” ‘Reginald’ gasped, his exaggerated foreign accent dropping almost entirely. “You can’t be serious; I’ve worked for you for 5 years, and you’re letting me go like this!?”

“If you made a mistake like this, then I clearly should have fired you 4 years and 364 days ago. Now get out of my sight before I have you tossed in the dumpster with the rest of the trash!” Celeste demanded with the fire of a devil behind her piercing red eyes, before she abruptly switched back to her ‘sweet’ demeanor’. “Be sure to return the uniform if you want your deposit back, and remember; there’s no crying in the casino, and that applies to everyone, not just guests.”

The man grumbled as he left, but didn’t dare say anything more to Celeste’s face. After all, Celeste might not have been a hardened criminal like a member of the Yakuza, but both her pettiness and her vindictiveness were well-known across the city, and becoming the object of her ire was a career-ender at best and life-long misery at worst.

Or, at least that’s what Celeste wanted everyone to think. ‘Always let them think they got off easy,’ was another one of Celeste’s mottos that she held near and dear to her heart, along with ‘Never let them see you flinch’.

After she had finished her breakfast and had some proper milk tea delivered to her, she bathed, put on her makeup, and officially began her day at 8AM.

“Good morning, everyone! I do hope you are all having a lovely day~” Celeste said as she stepped out of her elevator and onto the main casino floor, where all of her employees were waiting in organized lines for her, bowing deeply. The men in butler outfits on one side, and the women either in off-brand playboy bunny outfits or maid outfits on the other. “Now, I’m sure you’re all aware by now that I have had to let our dear employee, Reginald, go for gross incompetence, but rest assured that his poor behavior does not reflect badly on any of you. So long as you continue to please me, you shall all be fine.”

“Yes, Lady Celestia,” they answered in unison.

“We cannot allow Reginald’s spot to remain open for long, though, so I have already sent out a Help Wanted message to appropriate candidates. Should one of them be hired today, please do your best to welcome them to our castle… but also be sure to remind them that we must always strive for perfection, no matter who we are,” Celestia said as she walked to the front doors of the casino. Already, the regulars were lined up outside with bags of coins in-hand, with more serious gamblers with their credit-cards behind them, and tourists and high-rollers leaving their cars and buses in the parking lot to wait behind them. “Now, let us seize the day and turn a mediocre start into a glorious finish!”

Celestia then unlocked the front doors with the large, ceremonial key that she used every day, allowing the gamblers to start streaming inside to approach the slots, the card tables, the craps booths, the roulette wheels, and every other little spot they could to gain or (most likely) lose a great deal of money. They flowed in like water, filling every nook and cranny from the bars and restaurants in the back to the chip-buying counters at the front, but Celeste still did her best to greet as many as she could - her disarming smile did a lot to loosen pockets, and she had even conducted her own study to prove it.

“Good day, sir. How do you do, my lady? Bonjour and good day to you too,” she said, greeting one person after another until she spotted one she actually recognized. “Ah, hello again Mr. Maruko. Here to once again try to win yourself a spot in our triple deluxe ‘Harem’ suite?”

“Fuck you!” the red-eyed man snapped in response, a handful of bills and coins in his hand. “I’m not here to get into that room! I’m here to win some money for the ankle-biters back at my old orphanage, and that’s it!”

“Yes, of course… but if you did end up winning big, well, you’d deserve a little relaxation for your generosity and hard work, right?” Celestia replied.

“Heh, well… maybe a little,” Gaku replied, not able to hide his fantasizing at all as he blushed. “But the kids come first.”

“Of course, Mr. Maruko,” said Celeste. In truth, this exact conversation happened almost once a week, and every single time Gaku would have a surprising lucky streak before being pushed too far and losing it all. In the end, Celeste would only get a bit of money out of him, but if he was particularly reckless she could get him cleaning dishes for the night - and no one seemed better at it than him. “I wish you the best of luck.”

Celeste stayed by the entrance for a few more minutes before she decided that she had rewarded the ‘early birds’ enough and returned to her bedroom for more tea and some gambling of her own. Not with cards or wheels or dice, those were far too small-time and too uncertain in their outcomes. Instead, she gambled in the most refined and dignified manner befitting a lady of her class.

She played the stock-market, day-trading.

There were many benefits to ‘wagering’ and gaining money this way, but three always stood out in Celeste’s mind. First, of course, was the ease and quietness of it all - with her able to do it from the comfort of her room without anyone shouting or crying. Well, people shouted and cried at the local stock market, but she only had to witness that when she felt particularly sadistic.

It also allowed her to exert influence and power over the world in ways that truly resonated with her inner monarch, but more than anything else she appreciated how there were no real ‘winners’ or ‘losers’ in the stock market. You could make bad investments that didn’t pan out, for sure, but there were no referees standing off to the side ready to declare anyone a definitive ‘loser’, which meant that Celeste could make as many risky investments as she wanted without worrying about breaking her life-long ‘winning streak’.

Though even when it came to day-trading, her legendary luck never seemed to fail. Her predictions in market turns put pigs and dolphins to shame, to the point where she occasionally considered selling her casino and becoming an investment banker instead. She wasn’t doing this for the money, though; she was in it for the lifestyle.

Indeed, as luxurious as this place seemed, it actually lost money more months than it actually took in, a fact exacerbated by a steady decline in visitor numbers and fewer and fewer high-rollers. Part of it was due to the rise in online gambling, while it was also partly due to initiatives by the city to ‘decrease vice’.

Speaking of, Celeste was expected for a phone call soon with the Mayor of town herself… a certain proprietess.

When it finally did ring, Celeste made sure to let it ring until it was just about to go to voicemail. She wanted the politician to know just how little her opinion meant to her, without actually saying anything out loud.

“Hello, Celeste! How are you doing today?” the city leader greeted chipperly.

“Just fine, Madame Mayor,” Celeste replied with practiced politeness. “And you?”

“Pretty good, I’d say! They just released a new season of my favorite TV show, and there’s already lots of good drama,” the Mayor replied. “This time, detective Akira Tounome is teaming up with-”

Celeste interrupted the mayor with a very loud clearing of her throat.

“Oh, right! We’re here to talk about business, aren’t we?” said the Mayor. “Specifically, your business.”

“And how it’s ‘damaging the reputation of our fair city’, I believe?” Celeste replied. “Considering how much revenue, prestige, and tourism I bring to the city through my casino, I think that claim is a little hard to take seriously.”

“I’m sorry, Celeste, but just because you put things in your fancy ad promos doesn’t make it true,” the Mayor pointed out. “We regularly see people bankrupt themselves at your casino, as well as binge-drink, get into fights, and… not to mention all those ‘other things’ that everyone knows goes on in there.”

“And is there honestly any kind of problem with any of those things, really? I always stay perfectly within the letter of the law, in spite of how often you try to pin ‘brothel’ charges on me,” Celeste pointed out. “It is hardly my fault if people are irresponsible with themselves or their money, or their bodies. Would it really be ‘safer’ for them to do these sorts of things at dirty sports bars or back-alley gambling rings?”

“Yes, actually,” said the Mayor. “Because those sorts of things aren’t glorifying gambling or alcoholism, it makes it easier for people to resist or get help.”

“Oh? You’re going to lecture me about ‘glorifying’ things, are you? That’s rich coming from you,” Celeste replied teasingly.

“H-hey, what I like in my manga and romance novels has nothing to do with this!” the Mayor hastily replied. “Besides, you know that I would never do most of that stuff in real life…”

“Only because most of it is physically impossible, but do go on about how righteous you’re being right now,” Celeste replied with her trademark biting sarcasm.

“Sigh… for the last time, this isn’t about being right or wrong,” said the Mayor. “It’s about adapting to the modern world! I know that this city has made itself rich by being ‘outside’ the normal rules for Japan, but the world is only growing more interconnected. And if we don’t want our city left behind, then we’re going to have to stop looking like a ‘den of vice’ to the outside world.”

“A den of vice? My dear, most of the women in this fair city work in ‘vice’, including yourself on the side. It is vice that makes us prosperous, independent, and stronger than any city on the ‘mainland’ ever will be.” Celestia replied before smiling. “But of course, you know that already. The only reason you’re calling me in the first place is because you know that if you openly cracked down on casinos, it would scare the electorate, and you’d face a tough reelection at best and rioting at worst. And so instead, you go to them all one by one to beg them to ‘divest’ from ‘sin’ and put hundreds if not thousands of locals out of work in the process. So, let’s stop being coy for a moment so that I may be frank; I will not be ‘shutting down’, ‘relocating’, ‘changing my advertisements’, ‘reducing size’, ‘placing a maximum on bets’, ‘removing lascivious activities’, ‘removing ****’, ‘altering uniforms’, or giving into any of your ridiculous ‘requests’ anytime soon. Not just because it doesn’t actually serve any ‘public good’, but because I don’t care either way. This castle is my kingdom, and you’re not even a princess… even if you do dress up like one on occasion.”

“I see… guess your mind is made up then.” The Mayor sighed. “Oh well; I suppose I tried.”

“If it’s any consolation, we just recently acquired a new slot machine and a new attraction that I believe will be to your liking,” said Celeste. “I know you pretend not to, but I know you still come here on occasion. And your money is just as welcome here as anyone else’s… provided you follow my rules~”

“Seriously?” There was a long pause. “What is the slot machine based on?”

“That one anime with the dogs that turn into hot men,” said Celeste. “Every time you pull the lever, you get rewarded with a different shot of them posing like a super model.”

“And the new attraction?”

“A room where you play strip poker with professional cosplayers~”

“What?! But if they’re taking their costumes off by stripping, then what’s even the point?!” the mayor asked.

“Ahaha… I should have known you’d have a problem with that, Ms. Ultimate Cosplayer.” Celeste giggled softly to herself. It was a genuine laugh too, and not one of her many variants of a practiced laugh. “Well, you of all people should know that cosplaying is more than just the outfits. It is also being able to match their personalities, wouldn’t you say?”

“And you’re saying they’ll stay in-character even with their clothes off? That would be impressive… but I sincerely doubt they’d have the dedication,” the Mayor replied. “I’ll be sure to take notes and offer improvements on their character acting when I’m done playing with them!”

“Of course, Ms. Shirogane. I’m sure they will look forward to reading it!” Celeste replied. She honestly doubted they’d even look at notes like that, but the more the Mayor believed she was helping, the more likely she’d leave Celeste’s business alone. “Just remember; no crying at the casino, even if you lose! Auf wiedersehen!”

With that, Celeste hung up her phone and immediately dialed her assistant to attend to much more important matters.

“Are the new employee candidates ready for inspection?” she asked as soon as she heard the ring tone stop.

“Yes, my lady. We have 3 men of the highest quality waiting for you in parlor number 2,” a woman replied.

“Splendid, Marie! I will be down to interview them all shortly!” Celestia replied before hanging up her phone.

She arrived at the parlor a few minutes later, where the prospective employees were waiting. There was one who was tall and so muscular that his butler uniform barely fit, another with an average build but a very pretty face, and another so short one would almost mistake him for a child if you did not see the deathly serious expression on his face behind his baby blue hair.

“Greetings, gentlemen - it is so nice to see that you were so eager to work for my fine establishment that you were here in just a few hours,” Celestia greeted the men as she approached. “But I am afraid that only one of you will be getting the job today, and the others will have to look elsewhere for gainful employment. So, please, do your best to answer my questions honestly and perform to the very best of your abilities.”

“Of course, madame!” the men answered in unison as she stopped at the largest of the three.

“My, my, these muscles are so refined!” Celestia took out a small, ornate magnifying glass and used it to examine the man’s arm. “No body hair to be seen either… are you perhaps a former model?”

“No, ma’am. I actually worked in lumber back on the mainland,” he replied.

“And yet I don’t see any scars or signs of hard labor… either you are very skilled, or very good with makeup and skin care. Both very desirable traits!” said Celeste. “And tell me, were the logs that you cut long and… hard?”

“Yes, of course, ma’am,” he replied. “We only worked with the longest, hardest logs around. And we knew how to handle them well.”

“You did, did you?” Celeste asked. “But what if you found one that was too big for a log flume? Or if you just found a flume that was just a bit too… tight?”

“Well then, I’d just find a way to make it fit,” he answered. “Of course, making sure the flume is nice and wet usually helps things quite a bit”

“Excellent! I have high hopes for you already!” Celeste said as she stepped over to the second man. “And what are your skills, my good man?”

“I have worked on the streets most my life, ma’am, but I have always treated my ladies like they’re queens,” he replied. “Be they from the lowliest corners of the city or the highest lofts, I made sure they felt special!”

“That is admirable, but if you ask me, only true royalty deserves to be treated as such,” said Celestia. “And during your work on the ‘streets’, did you stay clean or did you ever get down and dirty?”

“That depended on who I worked with… though I’d never, ever say who that was,” he replied.

“Good - flexibility is a most valuable trait. Both mentally, and physically,” she aid before moving onto the third and final man. “And now, why don’t you tell me a bit about your… wait just a moment.”

Celestia grabbed the blue-haired boy by the chin and **** him to look her in the eye.

“I recognize you. You were here previously, were you not? As one of our guests?” Celestia said with an accusing tone.

“I… may have been on the premises here, on occasion,” the man replied.

“Yes, it’s starting to come back to me… your name is Nagisa Shingetsu, is it not?” she asked. “I believe we banned you from these premises for cheating…”

“You banned me from playing any form of poker or card games, not from merely being here,” he corrected. “And I told you before that I did not cheat. Counting cards is merely the most logical way to play the game. Anyone can do it, if they try hard enough.”

“Yes, and anyone can get kicked out of this casino for being too much of a smartass,” Celeste replied, a bitter undertone to the usual sweetness to her voice. “Still, your attention to detail and your ability to stick to the letter of the rules, rather than the spirit, is at least slightly admirable. Tell me, what do you think you could possibly bring to the table that these other men can not?”

“I have impeccable time management skills, organizational prowess, I can keep a budget well, I can easily handle multiple tasks at once…” Nagisa began.

Celeste yawned in response.

“Yes, yes, those skills are all well and good, but need I remind you that you are here to audition to be a butler and servant, not an accountant?” Celestia pointed out. “What can you offer me and my guests in terms of service, my dear?”

“I… am good at following orders,” Nagisa said after some thought. “If someone needs me to do something, I will not rest until the task is complete.”

“Is that so?” Celeste smirked. “You don’t have a habit of finishing early, though, do you?”

“Yes, actually, I do,” he replied. “I am actually very well known for finishing early. Back in school, I always handed in my assignments before anyone else.”

Her grin instantly disappeared.

“Yes, that’s quite nice, but surely you must understand the positives that come with taking your time, yes?” she asked. “Particularly when it comes to physical activities.”

“Actually, I always thought the opposite,” he replied. “The less time you spend on physical activities, the more energy you have to do other things instead.”

“Okay, perhaps I am not being clear enough for you. That’s fine; allow me to rephrase myself.” Celeste cleared her throat. “Let’s say that you are enjoying a… fine meal with a beautiful young woman. You are sharing a platter of… oysters and sausages with a fine lady, do you make sure that she finishes her platter first or do you snarf down your plate like some brute?”

“I… wouldn’t be eating at all? I’d be serving, right?” Nagisa asked, thinking that he had stumbled upon an answer to a trick question.

“Oh my goodness…” Celeste slapped herself in the face, leaving a red mark visible even through her thick white foundation. “To think someone that smart could be so thick… it’s almost as if you’re a child!”

“But… I am a child,” Nagisa replied.

“… Pardon me?” Celeste took a step backwards in surprise. “You are under 18?”

“12, actually,” he replied. “The job application didn’t specify an age, and gambling laws are so loose here that minors can gamble here as well.”

“Augh… I really should have specified that this was an 18+ only job, but that would imply that doing ‘adult’ activities here are mandatory when they are not,” Celeste grumbled to herself.

“Adult activities?” Nagisa cocked his head. “There are activities more ‘adult’ than engaging in gambling and ****?”

“Yes, but never you mind that - someone like you should be in school, not getting a job, and especially not gambling or learning card counting,” Celeste told him. “Thank you for applying, though you may take a free breath mint at the door on your way out as compensation for your time.”

“I have actually already graduated school,” Nagisa spoke up. “I did advanced placement, got into high school at age 9, and then graduated from that in under a year.”

“Then you should be in college then,” said Celeste. “And if you somehow already have a degree, you should be doing research at a lab somewhere, or having research done on you so that you can help your fellow delinquents become as smart as you are.”

“I… can’t really do that.” Nagisa looked down sadly. “I didn’t choose to graduate so early. It was my parents… they’re relentless. As soon as I figured out a way to emancipate myself, I left home… but they still wouldn’t let up. They kept hounding me to do what they wanted, to live life their way and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I came to this city because I heard that it was a good place to disappear… where you can do work and make money in ways that wouldn’t be easily traced. Gambling didn’t work out, obviously, so I thought that this would be my next best shot.”

“Oh my god… this boy is absolutely going to end up working in the Red Light District if I don’t let him in, isn’t he?” Celeste thought to herself in an annoyed tone. “No, no, there’s no need to think about that. As you keep telling everyone who comes begging at your doorstep; this is a casino, not a charity. He isn’t your problem.”

“If you do not wish to hire me, then I suppose it would be wrong of me to keep wasting your valuable time,” Nagisa eventually said as he brushed his hair back and inadvertently gave Celestia a good look at his baby blue eyes.

“… Well, I suppose if anyone is wasting anyone’s time, it would be me for not being clear enough in my advertisement. Sending you home without at least giving you a chance would be horribly rude,” Celeste said just before Nagisa left. “You may partake in the full interview process… but you are, under no circumstances, to ever enter my bedchamber, or go to any floor beneath the ground floor. Do you think you can follow that simple rule?”

“I already have it memorized, ma’am,” he replied.

“Good.” Celestia took out a deck of cards and began to shuffle them thoroughly. “Now, you will each be given a task for you to complete in order for you to prove your worth to myself and the casino, and what task you’ll be given will be up to the cards. If you get an easy task, good for you, and if you get the impossible, well… bad luck and casinos were never meant to mix anyway. Now, let’s see what Mr. Beefy here will be tasked to do.”

Celeste pulled a card and revealed an 8 of clubs with a picture of a roast pig in the center.

“Ah, it seems you will be putting your cooking skills to the test. Head down to the kitchen, and they’ll instruct you what to do from there,” Celestia said, handing the man the card. “Now for you, Mr. Handsome.”

She drew another card and revealed a 2 of hearts, which featured a fluffy pillow in the center.

“Ah, it looks like you get to have the honor of taking care of our female staff when they’re on their breaks!” Celestia announced. “Head down to subbasement 2 and head to the room with the ‘Woman’ symbol above it, and make sure you’re well hydrated and that your lips and tongue are very moist. They’ve got some stress they’re going to need to work out.”

“Yes, my lady,” the man said with a bow as he took his card and left the room.

“And now for you, Nagisa… um…” Celeste quickly looked through her deck of cards. “Excuse me, one moment; I need to make sure to remove anything that might be inappropriate for someone your age.”

One by one, she began to remove a vast majority of the ‘tests’ that were left in the deck, tossing them all behind with each rejection. Nagisa did his best not to stare at them, or any of the strange pictures that a few of them had.

“No, not that one… far too risque… I’ll get arrested immediately if I have him do that… he’ll lose a finger if he does that one…” he could hear Celeste mumble. “Alright, I’ve narrowed it down to… two appropriate activities. You may pick which one you will attempt yourself.”

Nagisa eyed the two options carefully before finally picking the one on the right. Celeste likely would have winced, were it not for her impeccable poker face, but she did still let out a sigh of disappointment.

“Alright, it seems that you won’t have the pleasure of shining shoes and instead you will be the personal servant of one of your esteemed guests,” Celeste replied as Nagisa stared blankly at an ace of diamonds with a magician’s hat in the center. “Right now, we are hosting a famous magician who has found her current accommodations lacking. Your job will be to help mollify her somewhat by being at her beck and call. You won’t actually need to do much other than listen to her shout and contact your fellow staff members when she demands something, but it will be stressful. Do you think that you can handle that?”

“Being around demanding adults is second nature to me, ma’am,” he replied dutifully. “I promise not to let you down.”

“Hopefully you won’t… otherwise, bad parents will be the least of your worries,” Celeste thought to herself, but pointedly did not say out loud. Instead, she just smiled and sent the blue-haired boy on his way.

“Augh, what’s gotten into me? Such uncharacteristic generosity is unbecoming of a lady such as myself.” Celeste gently, but dramatically, slapped herself in the face. “I’m going to have to pamper myself even more than usual later to make up for it. Now then, for the ‘fun’ part of the day.”

Celestia walked over to her private elevator and used the computer chip located in her gunmetal armour ring to unlock the buttons required to head to the sub-basement. There was quite a lot of security that was required to get inside, since it was the biggest money-maker of her operation, the most dubiously legal part of the casino, and something that if the wrong person saw it, they’d likely suffer a heart attack, or worse.

The area technically did not have a name, since she and her staff believed that added to its Mystique, but many had taken to calling it ‘Hameau de la Rene’. An ill-fitting historical reference to be sure, but it was hard to deny that the name fit like a glove.

The moment the doors opened to the sub-basement, Celeste was immediately hit by the strong, musky scent of sex. Sex mixed with strong perfumes, cologne, ****, and just a pinch of pure and unadulterated sin.

It was little things like that which really brought the whole thing together.

After the scent, she was greeted to the delightful sight of casino games that were too debauched to risk putting on the ground floor, or even on the upper floors, lest anyone at the nearby airport or any naive tourist tried to spy inside with binoculars. On her left, there were multiple ongoing games of strip poker between her employees and her guests, all huddled around tables with their various layers gathered into neat piles that were growing as they each kept losing. If they won, they’d get a small cash prize (generously provided by the other players of the game) along with the opportunity to ask their now naked dealer for some ‘alone’ time.

Of course, it was an unspoken rule that they’d always accept the offer, but keeping the sex from being guaranteed is what helped stop this place from being labeled a brothel and shut down.

On her right, there was another, much more ‘innocent’ game that was inspired by the day she received one of her first kisses. It was called ‘The Pretzel Game’ since ‘Pocky’ was copyrighted, but the principles were the same. A guest would put down some money to play and buy a chocolate-coated biscuit, they and a dealer would square off with their mouths on each end, and if the guest could eat more than their opponent without their lips touching them, then they’d get their money back with a small cash prize!

A game that sounded easy enough on paper, but the casino almost never lost money on it since 90% of the guests ‘lost’ the game on purpose. And those few lunatics who did legitimately try to gain money from it would stop the moment they realized that the small monetary gain wasn’t worth all the extra sugar intake.

It was, at the very least, a good introductory game and a good way to discern if someone had the constitution needed to play the other games down there.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Celeste said as she walked through the discreet casino floor, politely waving to those she passed. “Kimberly, please do remember to treat our players with the respect that you expect from our guests.”

“I am treating them how I want to!” a woman with red hair and green eyes who wore black lipstick said as she broke a kiss with a male guest. She had been kissing him so deeply that he was gasping for air by the time she let him go. “If they can’t keep up with me, then they shouldn’t have played with me to begin with.”

“Ah, perhaps I should downgrade the golden rule to the silver rule…” Celeste mused. “Oh, who am I kidding? As if I would ever lower my standards for anything; please, continue as you wish!”

“Yes, ma’am!” the girl in the sultry maid outfit said before grabbing another stick.

Beyond that were some of the more **** games, such as the ‘human’ roulette wheel. It was, naturally, a giant roulette wheel that utilized a common billiard cue ball instead of a regular mantle. The wheel itself was massive, and it needed to be since each and every spot aside from the 0 spot had a beautiful woman sitting inside it at all times. It worked just like normal roulette, with extra eye candy, but every win would come with a little ‘bonus prize’ on top of it, with the most luxurious being bareback sex if the winner placed their bet on the specific number.

The empty green spot was for Celeste herself, but so far everyone who had placed a bet there had always run out of cash before they won a chance in bed with her. Not that it stopped anyone from trying.

“And the lucky winner is… Number 19!” the butler running the wheel announced as the cue ball and wheel stopped spinning, eliciting more than a few groans from the betting section, as well as one extremely enthusiastic cheer.

“Yes, finally! After betting for over a month, my number has finally come up!” he cheered. “And with the amount I bet, I… still lost a bit of money…”

“But a private suite for just the two of us has got to make it worth it, right?” the maid girl in the 19th spot said as she stood up off the wheel. She tried to walk over to him, but ended up stumbling a bit on the way there. “Woah! Sorry… spinning so much for so long and high heels don’t really mix!”

“Don’t worry, babe, I can carry you to our bed if you need us to!” the gambling man said before picking her up bridal-style.

“Have fun, you two! Feel free to have a drink, on me!” Celeste called out after them. Of course, all subsequent drinks would be twice as expensive as they would be at her normal bar, but no one high off victory had noticed that yet.

The roulette wheel wasn’t the only game that involved spinning, however, as there was also a game that catered specifically to female clientele. Well, the daring ones, anyways.

It was one of Celeste’s takes on Russian Roulette, only this one didn’t involve any condoms. Instead, 6 bottomless women would sit on 6 chairs with holes on the bottom of them, and then 6 ‘cylinders’ underneath them would be spun. When the wheel came to a stop, 5 of the 6 players would walk away with a small cash prize. The 6th, meanwhile, would find out they lost the game the moment a well-lubed dildo was pistoned directly into their pussy, and they’d have to have to sit there and be fucked by the machine until a timer ran out. They could, of course, back out whenever they wished (as was required by law not to be considered ****), but thus far, no woman whose played has ever regretted it. Not even the losers.

“My, my, what an unladylike face,” Celeste commented as she passed by a bottomless girl screaming her head off as an automated dildo fucked her brains out from below. “If you’re going to drool so much, perhaps you should bring a bib next time. Or, preferably, be luckier~”

“I… think I’m lucky enough… already!” the woman said earnestly before she had another orgasm.

“Well, I suppose one woman’s fuck trash is another woman’s fuck treasure… very well, you may be as shameless as you like, but try not to make too big of a mess for my butlers later,” Celeste said before moving on to what might have been the single most popular attraction among her male clientele… the bucking broncos.

No, this one did not involve any real life animals, nor did it involve any bulls of the mechanical or the monetary variety. Instead, the guests themselves would serve as the broncos, and the contest would work as such:

First, the guest playing the game would deposit a large sum of cash as a wager, of course. Then, they would be stripped naked and have their hands tied behind their backs. Next, they would be made hard, and be inserted into the pussy of a waiting ‘mare’, who would be played by one of Celestia’s strongest and most elegant maids. Dildos were also available for use if the player was erectly challenged in any way.

Then, the maid would wrap their legs around the guest in a classic leg-lock, and the guest would be tasked with attempting to buck their female partner off their body. The maid was not allowed to touch the ground before penetration was lost, and of course any harm coming to the maid would also lead to immediate disqualification, but thus far, there had yet to be any injuries… to the employees, anyway. There had been a few customers who pulled a muscle or strained their backs attempting to win, but that was none of her concern. Not only did they sign liability waivers before participating, Celestia imagined the embarrassment alone that would be involved with taking her to court over something like this kept most from even considering suing her.

Of course, every single participating maid would be on birth control, but that was something she liked to pretend was unknown. It enhanced the excitement of it all for everyone involved, after all; including her.

“Careful now; you look like you’re close to ‘overflowing your cup’,” Celeste teasingly as she passed by. “You’ll lose more than just your betting money if you fail to pull out, you know. Can you honestly afford the child support payments?”

“It’s… not going… to happen!” the redhead with the goatee grunted. “Because there’s no way that any girl… is going to beat.. Meeaaaaah!”

“Ooooh, so close,” Celestia said with faux-sympathy as she watched one of her employees take a hefty creampie. “Better luck next time!”

Beyond that was an area that was quite large, but possibly the simplest out of all the attractions on the floor. It was a rock climbing wall that allowed guests to compete directly with each other over who could get to the top first. It was almost an entirely nonsexual game, aside from the fact that the competitors had to climb naked.

“Not nearly as romantic as the naked hiking tours that I took in Switzerland, but it is as close as I can get,” Celeste said as she watched a tanned woman with wild brown hair climb to the top as easily as climbing up a ladder.

Of course, not everyone could afford to place such exorbitant bets on these games, or they were simply too embarrassed to expose themselves like that in public. Fortunately, Celestia had a way to make money off them as well by requiring a minimum order of food or drink while down there, so even the gawkers paid their dues. And, of course, there was what was possibly her greatest generator of revenue in the building… the sex lottery.

It worked just like any other lottery, where people would be given tickets and then scratch them off to see the results. The majority of them would give nothing, about a third would result in being rewarded some sort of sexual favor from the staff (or a free ticket), and the grand prize would be a night alone in a ‘luxury suite’ with 5 of Celestia’s most beautiful and popular girls.

That happened so rarely that not even the most deranged gambling addicts dared hope to get that prize, though. It was more likely someone would get a golden ticket to the chocolate factory, but having it on the prize board certainly drew eyes towards the lotto area.

The much more sought-after prize was something that Celeste had invented herself, and she was quite proud of; the ‘Sex Coupon’. It was a simple slip of paper that someone could take to any one of the big-name sex workers in town, and they’d be able to use it to pay for nearly any service they desired. Of course, the sex workers were under no legal obligation to honor the coupons, but if they were able to verify the coupon with their phones, then they’d be transferred a large sum of money directly from the fund Celeste had set aside specifically for those who honored the coupons. As such, the only ones who turned them down were those who were still new to the city, and those who only worked with extremely specific clientele. She even managed to get into promotional deals with a few big-name sex workers in town to both promote the lottery ‘out in the field’, or use their likenesses for pictures on the lotto tickets and sex coupons themselves.

Of course, there would be those who would fake coupons on occasion, but after it became known that attempting it was a one-way ticket to the Red Light District’s blacklist, people stopped trying very quickly. The tickets wound up being very popular among men who didn’t want to be seen taking cash to the RLD, but were not above taking their debit cards to the ATMs located on the ground floor of the Versailles Casino Resort.

The only part about it she didn’t like was how much dust the ticket scratching generated, as she found herself letting out little mouse-like sneezes whenever she passed by the ticket-selling area. She tried using non-scratch tickets once, but that caused sales to drop significantly.

“Augh… the things I put up with to keep this place running sometimes,” Celeste whispered to herself dejectedly as she hurried past a group of people scratching away at their tickets.

Finally, Celestia reached the part of the room that personally appealed to her… the sports betting area. Of course, sports betting was completely legal in this city, but not all forms of sports were. In spite of that, though, illegal street racing was incredibly popular in both the town itself, and the endless stretches of desert surrounding it. And no one, not a single soul in the entire city or country or planet loved illegal street racing more than Celestia Ludenberg did. The thrill, the speed, the expensive cars, the elegance, the danger! Officially, she only controlled wagers on the races, but in reality, it was an open secret that she outright sponsored them, and even raced among them herself on occasion.

It was something that could absolutely get herself thrown behind bars if the right evidence got out, but she still saw herself as better than the Yakuza and the other small-time gangs that infested the city like rats. The day she stooped to their level of thuggery, ****, theft, and **** would be the day that she officially renounced her title.

Self defense was another matter, of course, but she was not one to threaten or harm anyone that didn’t deserve it.

“Good evening, my fellow charioteers,” she greeted as she approached the TV screens that showcased the race from the drivers’ POVs. “How much has been placed on today’s race?

“Only 500 million,” a butler responded as the guests behind him shouted at the screens as if the drivers could hear them. “But that’s to be expected. Betting tends to dry up a bit when your personal race car isn’t on the field.”

“Well, the downside of having the best car is that it takes quite a lot of maintenance to keep it running the best, even when circumstances are ideal. And that little run-in at the gas station in the sand dunes certainly didn’t help matters,” Celeste replied. “But please, do your best to keep the betting going. The high-rollers have pockets that are far too heavy, if you ask me, and could use some lightening.”

“Shall I bring out more drinks, my lady?” the butler asked.

“You may,” she answered. “But nothing from my special stash. The good wine is only for my special guests, and we may be getting one tonight.”

“Oh? You mean that special idea you had… you’re really going through with it?” he asked.

“Why, of course I am. I don’t joke and bet in the same sentence, do I?” Celestia replied. “You know, you and the other employees are free to join in on the event if you’d like. I am curious to see how far your natural luck can take you.”

“No thank you, ma’am. I prefer not to take impossible challenges,” the butler replied.

“Huhuhu… my, you’ve certainly grown wise, haven’t you? Very well; I’ll just have to think of you then when I start breaking bones.” Celeste cracked her knuckles as she finally reached the far end of the underground casino, where the day’s special event was being held. There, 100 people had already gathered and sat at tables, waiting nervously for the contest to begin. A contest of skill, of bravery, of judgement, and above all… luck. A game where everyone knew they had a shot to come out on top, and yet no one had any clue who would actually win. Only that the prize was well worth the risk.

Celestia had to work hard to hide her excitement as she approached the microphone stand set up at the front of the gathered crowd. She couldn’t let people think that she was ‘giddy’ for anything, after all. A true lady always has high expectations, but she never gets her hopes up.

“Greetings, everyone, and welcome to today’s special contest… the Wishbone Wishgranting contest,” Celeste announced to great fanfare as trays full of fresh chicken neckbones were revealed to the gathered crowd. “The rules are simple; everyone will pair off with each other one on one in a tournament bracket, with yours truly as the official judge. Each participant will grab onto one end, and then they will pull until the bone breaks and one side is left with the bigger part. If there is somehow a tie, such as if the head were to snap clean off and go to neither player, then we will simply hold a rematch. Seems simple enough, no?”

There was murmuring among the crowd for a few moments. No one seemed too impressed.

“Now, I know this may seem like a simple children’s game, but I have a special twist that is guaranteed to make things exciting for everyone,” Celeste continued. “For you see, I have a special rewards system in place for this little tournament. If you play this game and you lose… you get nothing. But, if you survive past the first round, you’ll be given the option to ‘chicken out’ and walk away with a prize that is less grand than the grand prize, but will still be better than nothing. They can include cash prizes, free stays in our resort hotel rooms, and of course ‘services’ from our lovely maid and butler teams. And your opponent, in turn, will get to advance in the tournament without risking anything. There is, however, just one little catch to this whole affair.”

Celeste reached into the sleeve of her dress and pulled out two playing cards; one with a queen on one side, and the other with a joker.

“You will announce whether you are playing or not at once, by picking a card and then revealing it at the same time. The Queen to play, and the Joker to call it quits,” she continued as she showed off the cards. “Everything will be fine if at least one of you puts in a Queen, but if you both try to be jokers… then you both lose. A prisoner’s dilemma where you get to choose to risk it all to be a Queen Elizabeth… or wind up under the guillotine side by side as Marie Antoinette. The choice is ultimately yours~”

Of course, this gimmick did not actually add that much to the game. It was just a classic Prisoner’s Dilemma where anyone who thought about it would realize that it was always better to play than not to play. However, it was better to have it than not, because when people lost, they’d be less likely to call it ‘unfair’ and be more likely to blame their own bad judgement. This sort of trick was something that Celestia specialized in; she didn’t change a single thing aside from the set dressing, and yet it changed how everyone experienced it.

“And for the grand prize, you will also have the delight of having dinner with myself, the grand Duchess of this esteemed castle,” Celesti continued. “We will have coq au vin, with your choice of red or white wine. And trust me when I say that it will be to die for. Now, without further ado, let the competition begin!”

What followed was an epic competition full of highs, lows, and an insane amount of tension over something that, from the outside, looked completely ridiculous. There were 2 rather unfortunate disqualifications, including one player who attempted to cheat with the creative use of some hidden glue, and another player whose matches kept ending in draws because the wish bones she was competing with kept shattering into dozens of shards instead breaking neatly in two like they were supposed to.

“Hmm… so I still have trouble controlling my own strength. How disappointing,” the silver-haired, muscled woman said to herself as she turned to exit the casino. “I will have to practice some more if I truly wish to become the best at what I do.”

Strangely, she didn’t seem disappointed as she was **** to leave, rather contemplative of her current circumstances. Celestia genuinely wasn’t sure if the woman wanted to win the competition or not, but either way she was relieved that the body-builder didn’t make it past the first round. Spending time with her in bed likely would have exhausted her too much to do anything else that day.

Instead, the winner was a young man who was rather unremarkable aside from his short stature and slightly-portly stomach, which was exactly what Celestia had hoped was going to happen. After all, whenever a hyper-addicted professional gambler or athlete or anyone out of the ordinary won her competitions, it always decreased the number of participants at the next special gambling events she held. But when an ‘everyman’ won, that made everyone feel like they could have a chance. And delusions like that were exactly what her business thrived upon.

“Congratulations to our lucky first place winner; luck has certainly shined upon you this day, though sadly not the chickens whose bones you broke. Speaking of, all chicken dinners are half-off in our restaurant today!” Celestia announced, eliciting laughter from the crowd. “Now, to introduce the lucky winner to everyone; what was your name again, sir?”

She took off the microphone she had pinned to her collar and brought it towards the man’s mouth. She had to lean down for it to reach his mouth and she had to use a butler to keep him from running away in fear, but eventually she got it within vocal range.

“It’s… it’s Shouma,” he eventually replied. “Shouma Ginzaki.”

“Why do I get the feeling he was dumb enough to use his real name?” Celestia thought to herself. “Oh well, that is hardly my problem.”

“Congratulations on being lucky enough to make it to the end, Mr. Ginzaki,” Celestia said out loud, her smile still flawless and charming as ever. “Your grand prize today includes a free night at one of our luxurious hotel rooms, a hefty cash prize worth three times what you paid to get into this competition, free poker chips to use in the casino, a coupon for a new car (valid only at participating dealerships), and you get to spend some private time with yours truly. So… how do you feel?”

“I feel like…” Shouma swallowed and stared out at the audience that was gathered like a deer caught in the headlights for about a minute. “There has been a mistake.”

“Mistake?” Celestia cocked her head curiously. “No, there has been no mistake, my friend. I judged all the matches personally, and neither you nor your opponents broke any rules, nor did you ever attempt to cheat. You made it to the end, so therefore you are the winner.”

“But I… I wasn’t trying to play to win,” Shouma admitted. “I was playing to lose.”

Celestia blinked.

“I beg your pardon?” she asked.

“The only reason I come to this casino is… because of my bad luck,” Shouma began to explain. “Every hand of poker I lose, every wheel spin of roulette… but that was always okay with me, because I knew that if I lost, it meant that… someone else would win. I thought for certain that by playing a game like this, that surely someone would defeat me and claim the ultimate victory for themselves. But… that didn’t happen this time. There must have been some sort of cosmic mistake… a loser like me doesn’t deserve to even breathe, let alone be called a ‘winner’ of anything.”

“Uh… well, you’re the winner now, whether you like it or not,” Celestia replied. “You won based on pure chance, that’s all. That’s how gambling works; there’s no true mistakes to be made.”

“I demand a rematch!” Shouma shouted, eliciting a gasp from the onlooking crowd.

“Excuse me!?” Celeste’s smile twisted into a grimace as her right eye twitched in shock and rage. “You won the competition… and you’re demanding a rematch!?”

“Yes, I am! The gods of fate must have just been confused, or drunk, or maybe they had something in their eyes!” Shouma replied. “There’s simply no rational way that I could have won this!”

Celeste felt the sudden urge to snap the man’s neck, but she managed to resist and regained her composure.

“Would you all excuse us for just a moment?” Celeste said to the crowd before turning off her microphone and pulling Shouma into a secluded area behind the main stage.

“Listen here, you little freak; do you have any idea how many people would kill to be in your position right now? To win not just one of my games, but one of my special events with a special grand prize!?” Celeste snarled as quietly as she could muster. “By turning down my prize, you are not only insulting me, but you are insulting my casino and everyone who has ever played a game here!”

“B-but I told you… a worm like me doesn’t deserve anything nice! C-can’t you just give the prize to someone else?” Shouma asked.

“I would rather bury you in the middle of the desert than let someone turn down a win for no good reason.” Celeste extended the sharp end of her gunmetal ring and pressed it against Shouma’s throat. “Now, you are going to get your prize, and you are going to enjoy it. Do I make myself clear? And do it with a smile; there’s no crying in MY casino!”

“Y-yes, ma’am! I’m sorry for being such a pathetic, disease-ridden worm! I’m not even fit to crawl through bug poop!” Shouma hastily apologized.

“Good - I’m so glad I could change your mind.” Celeste, smiling sweetly again, picked Shouma up like he was a suitcase and carried him back to the main stage. “Now, you were saying, Mr. Ginzaki?”

“I was just saying that… I’m… honored to be crowned today’s winner,” Shouma squeaked out like a mouse. “I can’t believe I was so lu… lucky!”

“Very good - now, let’s go get you that reward, my good sir!” Celestia said as she hastily hurried him off the stage. “And, uh, everyone gets a free drink at the bar!”

Celeste could hear the sound of a cheer somewhere behind her as she pushed Shouma into the nearest elevator. There, she loosened her tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of her shirt in an effort to give herself more air.

“There we go… that wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Celeste said as the elevator slowly rose. “All one needs to do to enjoy their good fortune is to accept it.”

“... I feel like I’m gonna barf,” said Shouma.

Celestia rolled her eyes.

“On second thought, there is another part to enjoying success; shutting up. But not to worry, I will happily help you with that part.” She grabbed Shouma by the collar and picked him up again, pressing her lips against his. He didn’t really kiss back at first, unable to fully comprehend that he was having his first kiss, but Celestia didn’t mind picking up the slack. She pressed him hard against the elevator wall, pinning him there with her body weight so she could kiss him as deeply as possible. He tasted like nuts, jerky, and spongecakes… gas station food.

“Blech! My goodness, you taste like pure distilled poverty!” Celestia said as she broke the kiss. “Do you feed yourself nothing but garbage every day!?”

“Well, uh… sometimes I have a bit of my dog’s kibble, as a treat,” he replied.

“Kibble!?”

“I-it’s really high quality stuff! Ambroisie des Reines; it’s ten times more expensive than the food I eat!” he quickly added.

“Oh… that’s the same brand I get my cat’s food from. You are a pet owner of good taste at least,” Celeste said, calming down. “Still, we should cleanse that palette of yours with some real food.”

“Okay… we, uh, don’t have to kiss any more until then, if you don’t want,” Shouma said sheepishly.

“Hey, that should be your choice, not mine; I am to do as you wish until your time is up,” Celeste said, pressing him against the wall again. “If you want to kiss me again, then you may merely ask for it!”

“Well, uh… right now I’d rather just have my feet on the ground again,” Shouma replied.

“Fine… we can do more after we’ve had dinner,” Celeste said as the elevator finally came to a stop at the luxury floor of the ‘resort’ part of her casino resort. “Now, while I will only be spending a brief time with you, you are welcome to use any part of this floor that you so desire while you are here. This includes the swimming pool…”

“I can’t swim,” said Shouma.

“The bar…”

“I don’t drink.”

“The gym…”

“My body is too weak to work out.”

“Room service…”

“I don’t know what I’d order.”

“We have a selection of men and women who would be more than willing to make your bed less lonely tonight as well, or if that’s not your style, there is an extremely active ‘hook up’ culture among the guests who regularly come to this floor that you’re free to indulge in.”

“That’s okay… I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

“Augh…” Celeste pinched the bridge of her nose. “For someone with such low standards, you are quite hard to please. Perhaps I shouldn’t even bring up the sauna.”

“Wait… there’s a sauna?” Shouma, for once, smiled. “That actually sounds nice. I’m good at those!”

“... How can you be ‘good’ at sitting in a room full of hot steam?” asked Celestia. “Wait, nevermind; I’m just happy there’s something you can enjoy up here.”

As she spoke, she reached the door to Shouma’s complementary bedroom and used his ‘winner’s’ key to open it. Inside was an immaculately furnished hotel bedroom, complete with a king-sized bed with satin red sheets, spotless white carpeting, and a glass dining table that already had their dinner waiting for them on it.

“Please, eat up, and I will be done freshening up in the bathroom by the time you are done,” Celeste said as she walked in and carefully removed her designer shoes.

“I… I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I might’ve lost my appetite,” Shouma squeaked. “Do you think I could just take it home in a doggy bag or something?”

“Hmm… perhaps I should have made myself more clear,” Celeste said as she removed her spiral hair extensions. “Let me put this another way… if I come back here and I don’t find your plate of gourmet food at the very least tasted by the time I get back, then you will be what we’ll be serving for dinner tomorrow. How does that sound?”

“Eeep!” Shouma squealed, but quickly covered his mouth with his hands. “I mean, uh… I’d be honored to eat your lovely meal, my dear Ms. Ludenberg. I would love to taste it.”

“That’s more like it.” Celeste then disappeared into the bathroom and made sure that every single inch of her pale body was clean and spotless. By the time she emerged back into the hotel room, she was practically glowing in her black lingerie with white lace. She was so perfect and well-manicured that she almost looked like a mannequin, or perhaps even an angel with devilish red eyes.

Not that Shouma noticed, though - he was practically passed out over the plate of food he had been eating, spirals spinning in his dazed eyes.

“Mr. Ginzaki, I am ready to…” The smile quickly disappeared from Celestia’s face as she walked over to the dining table. “What on earth happened to you?”

“I’m… sorry, Celeste. I got nervous and ate too fast, and now I’m feeling sick,” Shouma replied. “It seems… I can’t even eat right… I’m sorry.”

“Augh, what a pain.” Celeste pinched the bridge of her nose. “You do have a talent for self-debasement at least. Have you ever heard of a nightclub downtown called ‘The Moon’? I have a feeling you’d be quite popular there as a sub.”

“I’m actually… a premium member there,” he replied. “But people never pay me too much mind… getting a dom to pay attention to you can be difficult, and I’m not great at competing for them.”

“Too submissive to even be a good sub? I’m unsure if that’s impressive, sad, or both,” Celeste said before grabbing Shouma by his shirt and tossing him onto the resort room bed. “But we are having a good night together regardless. You’re a winner tonight, after all, and all winners leave my casino satisfied.”

She quickly removed his clothes and revealed a body that was about as unimpressive as she was expecting, and a dick that was… average in length once it reached full arousal. Though, it did admittedly look impressive on his small frame.

“Lower your expectations enough, and even a crumb will seem like a feast,” Celeste thought to herself. “Ah, but that’s enough sour thoughts for the night. You’re here to have just as much fun as he is! Or, as much as he should be.”

“What a lovely cock you have here, my dear… it’s so clean and well-kept too, with nary a speck of dirt or hair,” Celestia began as she started gently stroking him. “This is the penis of a nobleman, if I ever did see one.”

“Thanks, I… try to wash myself when I can, so I don’t scare off too many people that I pass by on the street,” said Shouma. “I’ve never had anyone else touch it before, though. Well, no one who I wanted to touch it, anyway.”

“Well, do you want me to touch you, my dear?” Celeste asked. “I know I was a bit angry earlier, but I can still back out if you’d like.”

“I… I don’t want to disappoint you, so… go right ahead,” Shouma whimpered.

“Well, I suppose that’s as close to affirmative consent as I’m going to get with you.” Celeste got down onto her knees in front of Shouma and pointed his dick directly at her face. “Now then, I shall do you a favor and teach you the proper rules of blowjob etiquette. Let’s say that, hypothetically, a woman was about to perform fellatio on you; what is the appropriate level of roughness for the act?”

“Hypothetically? Isn’t that literally what’s about to happen?” asked Shouma.

“Yes, but this question is supposed to apply to all similar situations, just not this specific one,” said Celeste.

“You really think this will happen again?” he asked.

“Honestly, I doubt it.”

“When why bother with they hypothe-”

“Just answer already!” Celeste snapped.

“Eep! I don’t know! I pick, uh… C! That’s usually right, right?” Shouma replied.

“Oh, sweet Fleur de Lis… the answer, Mr. Ginzaki, is that you should be as rough with your lady as she desires you to be,” Celestia instructed. “And I personally want you to be very rough with me.”

“But… won’t that ruin your makeup?” Shouma asked nervously.

“Yes, it will; and I do appreciate that you noticed how much time and care I put into it,” Celeste replied. “But the truth is… I do my makeup so well partly because I enjoy having it messed up. Seeing my mascara run down my face and my foundation smudge turns me on quite a bit. And if for some reason you’re worried about my safety or comfort, do not worry about that either; a true lady is always well versed in all arts of lovemaking.”

“Okay, if you say so…” Shouma placed a hand onto Celeste’s forehead and gently guided her face to his dick. She carefully pursed her lips over her teeth and took his tip into her mouth, sucking and licking at the tip strongly enough to get a reaction out of him but also gently enough to ensure that he didn’t blow his load right away. Though, he was clearly so inexperienced that he was practically on edge right away regardless.

She then let him set the pace at first, going as slowly as he seemed to want while subtly speeding things up. Celestia had a gift for making people want things without realizing, and she was certain that would come in handy here.

Sure enough, she gradually increased her speed from a gentle bob to a rapid swallowing, her face a blur as she worshipped Shouma’s dick. And she did it all without him even realizing that he wasn’t actually the one making her go faster.

“Aaaah! I’m sorry, Ms. Ludenberg… I think a beast must have possessed me or something, because I just can’t hold myself back!” Shouma moaned.

“Mmm, that’s okay; let yourself run wild! You are a winner after all!” Celestia told him, her voice vibrating through Shouma’s dick as she continued sucking him.

Shouma grunted and seemingly tried to actually speed up Celeste’s movements. He wasn’t actually able to move her, of course, but she rewarded him for his efforts nonetheless by speeding herself up to her absolute max. She even gagged and sputtered a little, just for him, to help Shouma feel more ‘powerful’ and to increase her own excitement as well.

Ironically, this ended up creating a situation where she was the one using him like a toy rather than the other way around, but neither was in any mood to complain. Shouma, for once in his life, felt like he could truly relax for a moment, while Celeste was happy to see him get into the mood.

When Shouma’s cock began to twitch and throb with the telltale signs of an orgasm, Celeste quickly removed him from her mouth and stroked him to completion with a smile on her face. The load he ultimately sprayed onto her was average, but she relished the warmth on her face with the pride of a job well-done.

“There you go, Mr. Ginzaki. I hope the fellatio was satisfying; a winner like you only deserves the best, after all,” Celeste said as a drop of semen dangling from her long eyelashes partly obscured her view of Shouma in one eye.

“Yeah, it was pretty good… but I still can’t help but feel a bit guilty for messing up your makeup like that,” said Shouma. “Do you need a moment to- eh?”

Shouma gasped as Celeste somehow perfectly fixed her hair and makeup in less than a minute.

“What the… that was incredible, Ms. Ludenberg! How did you do that?” Shouma asked, his eyes sparkling with amazement.

“Practice, and having a face that’s easier to put on than it looks,” Celeste said as she tossed a cum-covered tissue into the trash. “Now that we’re warmed up, what would you like to do next? Classic missionary? Doggy style? If you’re feeling tired I’d be more than willing to do the work myself with a reverse piledriver or cowgirl! Just as I am even more skillful than I look, I am much stronger as well!”

“Er, thanks, but I think I might have had enough already…” said Shouma. “Maybe I could just, uh… take a nap? I’m pretty good at those too!”

“Sigh… alright, I clearly am not approaching this correctly. Let us reframe this painting, shall we?” Celeste asked as she stood up. “You are not unwilling to have sex with me, yes?”

“I mean… I will if you really want me to,” he replied.

“But you very clearly lack the drive. I tried to improve your confidence by making you feel like a king, but clearly that was the wrong approach. I shouldn’t treat you like royalty, because that’s not what you want to be treated like. Instead… I think it would suit you much better to treat you as a servant.” Celeste sat down by the dining table and crossed her legs as she eyed Shouma intently. “You don’t want to disappoint me, right, Mr. Ginzaki?”

“No, not at all,” he replied without hesitation.

“And you’d do anything I ask to make sure that doesn’t happen, right?” she asked, to which he nodded enthusiastically. “Well then, my legs are feeling rather sore from walking around and standing all day. It’s the way that a cashier should feel, not a lady such as myself. What say that you massage my legs to feel better… and be hasty about it! I don’t like to be kept waiting!”

“Y-yes, ma’am! Whatever you say!” Shouma jumped into action and began by massaging Celeste’s perfectly pedicured feet, making her moan as he massaged them gently one by one.

“Hmm, a good start… but I know you can do better,” Celeste moaned. “Massage harder! Make sure all my stress is washed away, you little worm!”

“Of course! I promise, you won’t have a knot left in you by the time I’m done!” Shouma exclaimed, actually smiling a little.

“You better… do you have any idea how difficult you’ve made my job today by refusing to accept your victory with grace? The humiliation of having you turn down your prize in front of everyone, and continually insisting that you don’t deserve to enjoy it… it’s such a bother,” Celeste said as Shouma slowly worked his way up from her feet, to her calves, and then her thighs. “You know, I am actually quite used to scolding sore losers. In fact, I take quite a bit of joy in it, crushing their pathetic and impotent rage before my maids and butlers toss them out into the unforgiving desert. Doing it to a winner just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“I’m sorry that I was so incompetent that I couldn’t even lose correctly, Lady Ludenberg,” Shouma apologized without hesitation. “Perhaps the next time I lose, I could pretend to be a sore loser to make up for today. That way, you’d have good reason to yell at me for the reason you’d want to!”

“Wait, seriously?! You’d cause a scene just so I could punish you for it?! That…” Celestia paused and tapped her chin just as Shouma reached her upper thighs. “… that actually has merit. People here very often enjoy watching how I mock and belittle losers, and those that don’t can still be at least frightened into potentially avoiding the same fate. Of course, it would only work if it wasn’t too obvious that it was staged…”

“Oh, right. I suppose I’m not the greatest at getting angry, or throwing insults,” said Shouma.

“No, no, you’re actually quite creative in that regard, Mr. Ginzaki. Spending time with you has proven that,” Celeste interjected. “All you need to do is think about something you’d say about yourself, and then say that about someone else instead!”

“Ah! But that would be too cruel, wouldn’t it?” Shouma gasped.

“Not if it’s just for show, my dear,” said Celeste. “Now, allow me to reward you for coming up with that idea by allowing you to eat me out. And you better not disappoint me here either, or you’re losing your chance to be my verbal pincushion later!”

“Yes, ma’am! I’ll do my best!” Shouma said before he pulled down Celeste’s lacy panties. He dove in with surprising enthusiasm for someone who had so little experience with the fairer sex.

“I suppose he must think an act like this suits him… and the enthusiasm shows!” Celeste thought to herself as she held back moans. “Still, I need to make sure not to compliment him, or else he’ll start saying he’s not worth it again…”

Celeste gripped Shouma’s hair roughly and **** him to press his face even harder against her pussy.

“Lick harder, you peasant. I’m barely even feeling it,” Celestia hissed. She was almost disappointed when she saw light in Shouma’s eyes rather than fear or sadness, but at least he was finally happy. “Now, you keep licking while I watch today’s horse race on your room’s TV. And if I so much as hear a single complaint out of you, I’m going to strangle you to **** with my very own thighs!”

Celeste tightened her grip around Shouma’s head with her thighs and used a nearby remote to start watching the races. It proved to be quite the exciting one, though Shouma himself could neither see nor hear it with all 5 of his senses being overwhelmed by Celeste’s body.

He could, however, tell how well Celestia’s horse was doing entirely based on how she moaned and how hard her thighs squeezed around his head. When it seemed like the horse was about to stumble and fall into last place, she squeezed so hard he could barely breathe. When the horse began to catch up, her grip loosened, when they approached the finish-line, he could feel her folds grow more slick, and when the horse crossed the finish line and won by a nose, Celeste came so hard that Shouma thought for a moment that he was going to drown.

But he did not sputter, he did not complain, and he did not even think about telling Celeste to show anything as inappropriate as ‘mercy’ to him. This was the treatment that a ‘human toilet’ like him deserved, after all, and he seemed to revel in the humiliation of it all even if he’d never admit it even to himself.

“Ahh… that was quite nice… both the race and oral sex,” Celeste said. “I mean, I knew my horse was going to win regardless, but the thrill was still undeniable.”

“You… knew?” Shouma asked as he wiped his mouth. “You didn’t rig the race somehow, did you?”

“Pfft, what do you take me for, an amateur? I mean, it’s not necessarily that I’m ‘above’ that sort of thing, but it’d be far too risky to attempt to rig something with so many variables, potential points of failure, and ways that I could get caught,” Celeste replied. “Instead, I determine who will win based on weather conditions, the age of the horses, their recent records, how often they’ve raced, the mood of the jockeys, and many other variables that I feed into an algorithm that I designed myself and-”

Celeste cut herself off and blushed.

“I apologize; I began rambling there without realizing it.”

“It’s okay; I honestly really like it when people talk about things they’re passionate about. It’s much more pleasant than talking about personal lives, since I have very little to contribute to those conversations,” Shouma said with a smile. “Plus, having other people talk to me helps drown out my own thoughts, and if you go for long enough then I even start to forget the sound of my unpleasant voice for a moment.”

“Hmm… you mean that, don’t you?” asked Celeste. “You might be the first person I’ve ever met to show genuine interest in my screeds that wasn’t just pretending or trying to steal some of my tricks. What an odd sensation… could this be the emotion called ‘friendship’ that I’ve heard so much about?”

“Uh, I don’t think that ‘friendship’ is an emotion, but sure, if you want,” said Shouma.

“I am sincerely tempted to take you up on that offer, but I’m afraid that I have plans for the rest of the day, so I only have so much time that I can spend with you; and if I were truly to get started talking about the intricacies of predicting the outcomes of sporting events, then I would be here for hours,” Celestia replied.

“Oh…” Shouma’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Well, how much time do you have?”

“A little under an hour. And while there are a multitude of things we could do in that time frame, I think there is only one way to truly cap off our time together.” Celeste lifted up a drink coaster that was on the dining table and took out a condom that she had hiding underneath. “Lie down on the bed; you’re not a real ‘winner’ until you’ve had actual sex, you know?”

“Ah… well, I suppose that’d be fine. Just don’t expect me to-”

“Not to worry, I don’t plan on having you do anything.” Celeste swiftly unwrapped the condom and put it onto Shouma before grabbing him by both legs and positioning his groin directly underneath hers. “All I require of you is to avoid complaining and to remain hard for long enough for me to finish at least once. Do you think you can handle that?”

“I think I can handle at least one of those things… maybe,” he replied.

“Good enough, I suppose… Now, brace yourself. Just because I am a lady does not mean that I am always ‘civilized’ in the bedroom,” Celeste said politely just before she dropped herself onto Shouma’s cock.

What followed was an extremely intense session of lovemaking, the casino-owner putting Shouma through more pleasurable punishment than even knew he was capable of taking. It actually got to the point where Celeste was impressed by both his stamina and sheer resilience.

“My, my, it seems that while you speak of yourself like you’re a clump of dirt, your body better resembles a diamond,” Celeste said, idly pulling Shouma’s ankles upwards as she thrust herself down onto his shaft yet again. “Most men wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes, and yet… here you are at 20.”

“You… told me not to finish… before you did,” Shouma grunted in response. “If that’s what you want, then I don’t mind… holding back!”

“You’re confident that you can go as long as I want you to? Most men would brag about that sort of thing, you know?” Celeste stopped her thrusts to grind herself against Shouma’s groin, doing her best to get him over the edge by overstimulating his cock with her moist folds and squeezing walls. “And you haven’t felt discomfort at all from the pace I’ve been going? Normally I wouldn’t ask, but I am almost double your body weight.”

“It’s fine… even if you bruise or break a bone, I don’t mind. Just as long… as you’re happy… you’re free to break my legs off… like a wish bone!” Shouma replied.

“And a great attitude, too! Complete submission without any expectation of reciprocation… you truly are the closest thing I’ve ever met to a human dildo.” Celeste began to thrust once again, this time moving without any regard for Shouma’s comfort. He grunted a little bit as she slammed the full **** of her body weight onto his groin, and his back began to ache a bit from the awkward angle, but he did not even think about complaining. “On second thought, perhaps it is for the best that you don’t have sex too often. I’m pretty sure if you got around, someone would use you up and spit you out like a piece of gum.”

“Honestly… to be that useful would be pretty nice,” Shouma moaned. “But I know you’re just… trying to flatter me.”

“If you think that was flattery, I’d hate to see what you consider a normal compliment,” said Celeste. “Now, just be a good little fuck toy… and hold on… just a bit… longer! Nyaaaah!”

Celeste clenched her hands hard around Shouma’s ankles, almost turning his feet blue in the process as an orgasm ripped through her body.

“Ahh… that was… adequate,” Celeste said, panting as she came down from her high. “Alright then, you may finish.”

“Thank you, Lady Ludenberg…” Shouma replied. “… uh… actually, I was holding back so much that… I’m actually not that close at all.”

“Seriously? Very well… but you’re giving me an extra orgasm for this in exchange,” Celeste said as she began moving once more.

In the end, Shouma wound up lasting until the very instant Celestia needed to leave, and by that time she had managed to orgasm two more times. He truly was the perfect human dildo in so many ways, but Celeste still made a mental note to avoid doing this sort of thing too often with him when he returned. ‘A bottomless chocolate fountain is all well and good until you realize you don’t have a bottomless stomach,’ as she always said, and she didn’t want a repeat of when she hired her first butlers and spent a full week just having sex with them instead of actually running her business.

“Ah, that’s right; I need to check in and see how my new butler candidates are all doing,” Celeste thought to herself as she reattached her spiral hair extensions. “Alright, I’ll be leaving now, Shouma - please, enjoy the rest of your stay, and my servants will be in touch with you about possible ‘toss-out’ performances, okay?”

“Yes… ma’am!” Shouma panted from his resort bed, his entire body feeling like it was a deflated balloon. “Whatever you say!”

Celeste then walked out of the VIP room and put her radio headpiece into her ear as she passed the floor’s gym area. She didn’t even spare a second glance when she saw two women in bunny suits double-teaming a man on a workout bench inside.

“Hello, Beatrice? Can you hear me?” Celestia said into her microphone. “The evening is fast approaching, and I’d like to hear progress reports on our prospective new hires.”

“Uh… would you believe me if I said they all died?” the maid on the other end replied.

Celeste rolled her eyes.

“I take it that means that they’ve been disappointments?” she asked.

“Yeah… ‘Mr. Beefy’ turned out to be a raw meat enthusiast, and so ended up giving several guests food poisoning. The guests have already been compensated into agreeing to stay quiet, and the potential butler is now an ex-butler,” Beatrice replied.

“Augh. I should have known someone built like that would have weird eating habits,” Celeste groaned. “But what about Mr. Handsome? Surely he couldn’t have messed up eating out our female employees. Even bad head is still good, right!?”

“About that… he, uh, kept calling everyone’s pussies ‘ugly’ and scoffing at them. I think he might have had messed up expectations from watching too much porn, and eventually everyone got sick of him and kicked him out,” said Beatrice.

“Augh, god fucking dammit.” Celeste let her accent drop for a moment as she slapped herself in the face. “And what about Nagisa? Did he let all her animals loose or something, and now we have lions, tigers, and doves running around the casino?”

“Actually, as far as I can tell Nagisa has been doing his very best,” said Beatrice. “He’s been patient with the magician, he’s done everything she’s asked, he has had good form and good timing… it’s actually quite impressive considering the stress he’s under.”

“Oh… then what’s the problem?” asked Celestia.

“At this point, we’re starting to think it’s the magician herself,” said Beatrice. “Absolutely nothing we do seems to make her happy, and she keeps making more and more outrageous demands. At this rate, she’ll- ah!”

Celeste heard the sound of something being smashed, followed by the sound of porcelain breaking.

“And now she’s chucking furniture! Uh, hold on a moment, I’ve got to deal with this!” Beatrice said before turning off her radio.

“Beatrice? Beatrice, can you hear me? I demand that you answer me at once!” Celestia said just as her elevator finally came to a stop at the ground floor of her casino. “Dammit… that better not be that Brazilian Oak table, or I swear…”

Celeste carefully composed herself and made sure she was ready to speak with her trademark accent as she approached the dressing room that all the chaos and noise seemed to be coming from. She pushed the half-open door and found the magician, clad in a fancy black suit and an overly-tall top hat, standing over Nagisa as he laid on the floor, cowering.

“You idiot! This isn’t what I ordered at all!” she shouted. “Do you really call this ‘service’? Do you know who I am? I could be in Tokyo, or Beijing, or LA right now; not in a low class garbage heap in the middle of nowhere that can’t even follow simple instructions!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am! I can make it up to you, really!” Nagisa said, shielding himself behind a silver serving tray as he lay on the floor.

“Excuse me, madam!” Celeste interjected, raising her voice just a bit to make sure she could be heard. “I have heard that your accommodations are not up to your standards. Is this true?”

“You’re bloody right, it’s true! The temperature control on this room is not nearly good enough, the humidity is too low, the couch in here has obviously been used at least once and they still haven’t brought my replacement, your errand boy brought me a mirror that has a smudge on it, his shoe polishing skills leave a lot to be desired, and worst of all… I ordered milk tea, and he brought me tea with milk in it instead!”

She took the large cup of tea that she had been holding and poured it out over Nagisa’s head, the poor boy holding back tears all the while.

“Honestly… to think that I am expected to work under these conditions… I am going to need a hefty bonus to make up for this, you know!

“I… I’m sorry, ma’am! I failed you, but… please don’t yell at Lady Ludenberg! If you have to hate anyone, hate me instead!” Nagisa said as he prostrated himself before her.

“I wasn’t talking to you, runt,” the magician swore. “So, will I have my bonus, or what?”

“Hmm… I am sorry, but if these are your demands, then I am afraid that we cannot meet them.” Celeste grabbed her skirt and gave the magician a polite curtsy. “We thank you for stopping by, however. I am sure we can find other accommodations to keep our guests entertained.”

“Excuse me!?” the magician gasped, so taken aback that her bowtie swirled. “You’re just going to send me away? After you flew me out here and paid for me in advance?”

“Yes, I am,” Celeste said simply. “The loss of the advance is a shame, for sure, but you don’t become a good gambler by falling for the ‘sunk cost’ fallacy, and betting on you to behave would be quite foolish. I can respect having standards, I really do, and I was looking forward to having your performances contribute to the prestige of my casino. But, you have caused such a scene that if I were to allow you to stay, it would actually hurt our reputation as an establishment of class and distinction.”

“Class and distinction? This is a casino that wallows in more filth than most casinos,” the magician countered. “You were lucky that I even showed up here; someone like you should show more gratitude.”

“Heh… perhaps I was not speaking plainly enough. Allow me to clarify myself; there is no benefit to our continued partnership,” Celeste said as plainly as she could while keeping her accent. “Any momentary boost in popularity to the casino would be lost to the increased turnover rates attempting to keep up with your insipid demands. To say nothing of when your behavior is inevitably revealed to the world, and the goodwill we deigned to show you blows back on us. And then what becomes of you, the entertainer who can’t entertain? Too gluttonous for a fast food restaurant, too brash to be a servant, too clumsy to even manage dogwalking. Your seemingly endless success will dry up, and you’ll end up in the gutter before you can say, ‘hocus pocus’.”

“You… how dare-“

“It brings me no amount of pleasure to tell you this, as I truly believed we could have had something together, perhaps even become… business associates. But an ivory stain is a stain all the same. Now then…”

Celeste took her wand, broke it, and stabbed both ends into one of the glass boxes she would have used for escape acts, shattering it.

“You have been disinvited from my castle. And if you don’t ‘disappear’ within the next 20 seconds, two ‘wonderful volunteers from the audience’ will escort you from the premises, and it will be the last ‘trick’ you ever perform in this town.” She said, dropping both halves to the floor. “Have I made myself clear?”

The moment that the magician took a step back and flinched, Celestia knew that she had won.

“Fine, like I said… I’ve got better places to be than this place; I’m out of here!” she declared. “I expect all my things loaded up on my bus as soon as possible, and to be compensated for that ‘accident’ you just had!”

“Not to worry, we will not waste a single second,” Celeste said as she held the dressing-room door open for the magician. “I’m glad we could come to an understanding.”

The magician stormed out of the room, her coattails flickering in the breeze behind her. Once she was certain that the former performer was gone, Celeste walked over to Nagisa and pulled him up to his feet by his shoulders.

“I’m… sorry, Lady Celeste. It seems that I’ve failed my ‘test’,” Nagisa apologized as he brushed himself off. “I’ll be sure to return my nametag and my uniform immediately. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

“My, my, someone is being presumptuous. If I wanted you gone, I would have said so.”

“Huh?” Nagisa did a double-take. “But I failed your test, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did… but it was not through any fault of your own. I see now that I set you up with a game that you had no chance of winning, and there should always be at least some chance,” Celeste explained. “No matter how slim…” she added under her breath, thinking back to Shuichi the other day. “So, I am willing to give you another chance, if you are willing to take it.”

“I… I would gladly, but… I still feel like I must apologize for-”

“Tut-tut.” Celeste silenced Nagisa with a finger pressed into his lips. “So naive to how things work here… don’t you know what the first rule to running a gambling parlor like this is? There’s no crying in the casino, and that goes doubly so for our employees. So please, let us all put this nonsense behind us, shall we?”

Nagisa smiled and bowed deeply to Celestia in respect.

“I am at your service, my lady,” he told her.

“Very good; keep up that sort of dedication, and I am certain that you will get far here.” Celeste pat him gently on the head. “Now then, for your next test, you are to work here for a full month as a waiter, bus boy, and a bag carrier without any demerits or complaints. Succeed at this test, and you’ll be hired full time, with the potential to become a chip exchanger, or even a poker dealer. You are good at cheating at cards yourself, so you’d naturally do well at spotting those who’d do the same to you.”

“Yes, ma’am! Was there anything else?”

“Yes… you remind me of myself when I was your age,” Celeste replied.

“Uh… is that supposed to be a compliment?” Nagisa asked.

“No, it’s not,” Celeste corrected. “When I was your age I was also very serious, and that was due to an **** lack of badly-needed spoiling. As such, I demand that you accompany me for the rest of the day so that I can live out my childhood dreams vicariously through you.”

“Oh. What would that involve?” asked Nagisa.

“Mainly being waited on hand and foot, and given whatever you want,” Celeste said. “Do you think you can handle that?”

“I’m not used to that treatment, but I suppose I could give it a try,” Nagisa replied. “Do you think I could go to the ‘special area’ in the bas-”

“Anything besides that!”

Meanwhile upstairs, Shouma’s deflated and exhausted body sat in the sauna, barely registering the steam around him. He could barely even register that he was alive anymore after the workout Celeste gave his body, let alone that he was somewhere hot. But if there was a sauna to enjoy, he was going to enjoy it!

“Ew, did someone leave their old dishrag in here or something?” another resort guest asked as they passed Shouma by.

“Just leave it, I’m sure the staff will clean it up eventually,” their friend replied as they kept going.

“Ah… this is… bad… I need to get stronger somehow… so this doesn’t happen again…” Shouma panted to himself before he noticed a pamphlet someone had left on a bench nearby featuring a man with white hair and pink sunglasses. “Takemaru’s… strength training for the invalid and elderly? Ah… that’d be perfect… for someone like me!”

Meanwhile, back on the ground floor, the single most satisfied man in the whole casino was making his way towards the exit…

“Heh… I didn’t win the jackpot, but I managed to get a 500 yen profit!” Gaku smirked to himself. “Things are finally looking up for me!”