Battler accepts Eva's first offer. (Pink Trigger, Stacks -1)

An unreadable mixture of emotions showed on Battler's expression, but, ultimately, I thought they all narrowed down to one thing: intimidation by his aunt. I might never know if, at this stage, the young man actually wanted a sexy dance from Eva, but even if he didn't... who could see her trying this hard, and be faced with such an insane amount of money, and say "no thanks, I'll go play cards with my cousins?" Wordlessly, the young man grabbed one of the stacks of cash and held it out to Eva.

I saw her eyes curl in pleasure, but she didn't take the stack. Instead, she reached out with her occupied hand and teased the young man, tickling his face with her fan. "That's no good, Battler. I want you to enjoy yourself! In this sort of situation, you don't just hand the dancing girl a thick, neat stack, do you? Take it apart! Throw it, make it rain!"

"That's... just gonna be a pain in the ass for you to clean up later, isn't it-"

Eva reached out and grabbed Battler's tie, pulling it from his coat and making him lean closer to her face as she batted her eyelashes. "That's - no - good, Battler! I don't want you to be that considerate, either! In this situation, I want you to shout if you want to shout! Let your body do what it wants. I know I will...~"

I took that as my cue to start the music. I'd brought a stereo to play it, so I hit the button and got the track playing. I had it set up close to the action, because while I needed it to be heard, it would be better if the whole mansion didn't hear it... Cautiously, I checked and confirmed the door was locked, one more time.

Then, I turned back around and took in the strange sight of Eva shaking her hips at the seated Battler, his eyes rooted on them as he sluffed bills off the top of the stack at her with the face of a man in the middle of sorting through a personal moral crisis. Unburdened by such things, I decided to focus on the woman herself.

Eva had a smile on her face, not of a sultry dancer showing her patron a good time so much as a contestant who believes she's already won. Her eyes were closed as her free hand snaked down her hips, and she extended her butt much closer to the young man's face than he probably ever imagined it would be. She teasingly hooked her fingers into the edges of her dress, pulling it occasionally from side to side, sometimes lifting it slightly, showing him glimpses of the body-hugging shorts she had on underneath. She reached her fan behind her to tickle underneath his chin, then dragged it upward to lift his face to hers again. "What do you think, Battler? I'd say I've kept in good shape with my exercise, wouldn't you?"

"Hihi, uh... y-yeah! Pretty crazy..." the young man laughed, unable to commit any further than that.

"Why thank you, Battler! I love a man who can appreciate effort. You've noticed my legs are still pretty fit, hm? I've still got some good moves in me, don't I? My abs aren't too bad for a woman my age, either." She turned in place, holding her fan in front of her impressive breasts and flicking it in a distracting gesture a couple of times while showing her most seductive smile. "Do you want to see them, Battler?"

"See what?" Battler had a dumb expression on, like it was a trick question.

"My nice abs, of course!" The would-be witch cackled like one, then leaned back again, running her fan-holding hand down her ribs and towards her stomach. "If you're not into this, I'll be happy to move to the second show... But I've got a feeling you want to see more, don't you...?~" To make her point, she moved her free hand to the neckline of her Ao Dai, where a belt-like strap at the shoulder kept it hooked together, running her fingers across it. "A young man should understand the importance of money... But the importance of appreciating a fine woman, even more..."

I thought to myself this was a particularly interesting turn of events. Eva didn't really have any need to tease him into paying for another round. After all, the goal was for him to admit she was a witch in the second game. There were a few possibilities...

First, it was possible Eva thought she needed more groundwork to catch him in the final act.

Second, it was possible Eva was so hungry for money and power that she really considered one more stack of Battler's cash worth it, even in the face of all she was set to receive if she won.

Third... And, the aspect most enticing to me as an erotic author... Battler was a handsome guy. Maybe the mood was getting to Eva? Maybe being appreciated for her body by a young man like him was something she craved, after all... If that was the case, I had to admit I was eager to see what happened next.