Night fell over Sedona city. Inside the beast-girl living quarters in the castle's backyard, Mina's room was buzzing with activity.
"Hahahaha! Two-on-one, and I've only got one card left!" Annie's exaggerated, triumphant laughter rang out. She wiggled her body excitedly, her fox tail swishing left and right with only a single card remaining in her hand.
"Pass..." Florence pouted, staring at her hand—a single 3 and a pair of 7s. How was she supposed to play this?
"Ayesha, what about you?" Annie turned to the cow-girl, her eyes filled with mock tension.
"Hmm..." Ayesha narrowed her eyes, her hand clutching two cards. Just as the fox-girl's heart climbed into her throat, Ayesha shouted, "Can't play!"
"Pfft—!" Annie nearly spat. She glared indignantly at the cow-girl. Since when had the stoic Ayesha learned to be such a prankster?
"Hahaha! Ayesha's picking up bad habits," Helen giggled, covering her mouth as her rabbit ears flopped back and forth.
Sitting in her lap was the little deer-girl, Hazel, sucking on a lollipop—a trophy Helen had won earlier. Hazel squeaked adorably, "You finally get to win one!"
"Ugh..." Annie laid down her final card—a six of clubs—and rolled her eyes. She shook her wrists at the mermaid and the cow-girl, demanding, "Come on, one lollipop each!"
"Tsk, here." Ayesha plucked a lollipop from the pile nestled between her crossed legs and tossed it to the fox-girl.
"Um... I'll have to owe you," Florence said, her face flushing.
"Fine. Including today's, you owe me seven lollipops," Annie said gleefully. She took Ayesha's lollipop and grabbed a notebook from the side to record the mermaid's growing debt.
"I'll definitely pay it back!" Florence nodded emphatically, her eyes casting an envious glance at the mountain of lollipops Ayesha was currently organizing.
"Quick, swap out! It's our turn!" Dahlia held five lollipops in her hand, her eyes fixed hungrily on Annie's winnings.
"Fine, I'm tired anyway." Ayesha stood up, gathering her hard-won sweets and vacating her spot.
They were playing Fight the Landlord. Whoever lost had to give up their seat. Ayesha had been on a winning streak, taking seven games in a row, but her luck had finally run out.
"Freya, it's your turn." Mina looked toward the wolf-girl, who was busy counting her lollipops. Freya's miserly, treasure-hoarding personality always left Mina a bit speechless.
"Huh?" Freya blinked, looking down at the lollipops she had been issued that day, then at Annie. She sighed and painfully pulled out a few to use as stakes.
One of the small perks of living in the castle was a monthly stipend of ten lollipops—a luxury that couldn't be bought anywhere else. Since there wasn't much to do for entertainment in the castle, poker had become the go-to activity, and lollipops were the ultimate currency.
"Freya, I can play for you!" Florence's eyes sparkled as she looked at the wolf-girl.
"No, I'll do it myself." Freya's eyes twitched. During their time in the castle, the mermaid had proven herself to be a walking omen of bad luck and a complete black hole at poker. Florence lost nine out of ten games, yet she was always the most enthusiastic to play. Even the fox-girl had managed to put her seven lollipops in debt.
"Oh." Florence pouted and reluctantly moved aside, hovering behind the fox-girl to watch the cards.
Creak—
The door pushed open.
"Heehee... Florence really does love her poker, doesn't she?" Nicole entered carrying a tray of snacks. She had heard the mermaid's reluctant grumbling from outside.
"What's the snack today?" Mina asked, sitting at the head of the bed with her long hair draped over her shoulders.
"Red bean cakes," Nicole said softly, placing the tray on a small table near the girls.
She sat on the edge of the bed and asked gently, "Is Amelia not coming back to sleep tonight?"
"Her sister kept her at the Air Force base. Probably has a lot to say to her," Mina shrugged. Today, Rhea and Mira were busy arranging housing for their companions, and Amelia had been pulled aside by her sister. Mina knew they were still cautious—entering a strange new place always left a lingering bit of wariness.
"I see," Nicole nodded.
"Nicole, now's a good chance," Mina leaned in and whispered into Nicole's ear. "Master is all alone tonight."
"Wh-what are you saying?" Nicole's cheeks instantly turned crimson. She knew exactly what the cat-girl meant.
"Amelia isn't here, so you have to seize the moment," Mina grinned mischievously. "Otherwise, I'll just send Annie over instead."
Lately, it was usually either Mina or Amelia who would slip away to the Master's room in the middle of the night. Tonight, Amelia was away, and Mina was visited by her monthly relative, making it inconvenient for her.
"Ahem..." Nicole coughed lightly, her face bright red and her earlobes burning.
"Don't be shy, it's going to happen sooner or later." Mina poked Nicole in the waist, egging her on. "You'd be the second one, you know?"
"Mina~~!" Nicole groaned her name in embarrassment, covered her face, and ran out of the room.
"And who was the one who encouraged me to go first?" Mina smirked. Thinking about Lucas's stamina, she figured they really did need someone else to help share the load.
"Eh? What's wrong with Nicole?" Helen asked in surprise, staring at the swaying door.
"She went to the bathroom," Mina answered casually.
"Is that so?" Helen gave the cat-girl a knowing look. She had overheard some very... interesting fragments of that conversation.
"Hahahaha! Four 3s! I won again!" Annie's boisterous laughter filled the room as she waved her hands. "Quick, one lollipop each!"
"How did you win that?!" Dahlia stared at her pair of 2s. As the Landlord, she had been so close to winning.
"Princess, we did it!" Freya laughed, her eyes fixed on Dahlia's lollipops.
"Good grief..." Mina watched Annie's carefree smile and the way her fox ears flicked around. She wondered when Annie would finally take that next step herself.
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