Strip Poker - 1

"A game?"

"That's right, a game! We're in a stalemate here—attacking each other would be a pain, and I don't imagine any of us feels like sitting around chatting all day either! So let's each put up something we want and settle this with a game!"

Sukmehek waved her arms up and down, absolutely thrilled with herself.

"Mmmgh...!"

Valerie let out a frustrated groan and slid her sword back into its sheath. Glancing at the other two, it seemed all four of us were of the same mind.

"Fine. So what game is it?"

"Yes, yes, that's the spirit! Let's play poker~"

Saying so, Sukmehek fished a slightly worn-looking deck of playing cards out of her pouch.

"Hold on a moment! What guarantee do we have that you won't cheat?"

At Valerie's words, Sukmehek clicked her tongue. Then she snapped her fingers, and a wispy cloud of smoke began billowing into the air, out of which emerged a moving skull that floated there, bobbing up and down.

{We meet again, you degenerate pervert Hero and companions!}

"Save the useless commentary, you empty-headed skull!"

I yelled at the small-sized version of the Contract Skull.

"The Contract Skull enforces every contract it seals and supervises them fairly. Let's make it the mediator of the agreement. That way there'll be no cheating, and whatever terms are set will have to be honored. Ah, as long as we're at it, we could even ask it to make the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cards for us."

{And the terms of the contract?}

"I, Sukmehek, hereby challenge the Hero's party to a poker match! If I lose, I will free every human being held in the other rooms of the Pleasure Dungeon. In exchange, the Hero's party shall stake their very lives!"

Having heard Sukmehek out, the skull turned to look my way.

{Do you accept?}

I slowly took in the faces of my companions around me. Valerie and Fresia nodded at me, eyes meeting mine, as if to say they were leaving it in my hands as always. Liznet clasped her hands together in a posture of prayer and gazed at me.

"We can do this, Sir Hero."

"Yes."

Hearing Liznet's words, I steeled myself.

"Alright! We'll stake our lives! But the game must be fair, and the contract honored to the letter!"

{I shall now determine the terms of the contract!}

The Contract Skull spun round and round in the air, then came to a stop at the left side of the table.

{The game is poker. Now to determine the detailed rules. Will everyone participate together? Or shall it be one-on-one duels?}

"Where's the fun in settling it all at once? Let's do four one-on-one duels! I'll take on all of you myself. All you have to do is beat me once before every one of you has lost!"

These rules favor us.

"Deal!"

{One-on-one duels! A sudden-death team match! And the stakes of the poker game?}

"Money? Right here."

"Hold it, hold it!"

Sukmehek stopped Valerie just as she was reaching for her money pouch.

"Even if I had human kingdom currency, where exactly would I spend it? Besides, if it's money you want, the humans who come into the dungeon carry plenty of it in their pockets."

"That's awfully picky! We already set the penalty for losing, remember? Just run it with chips and no buy-in."

"NO WAY!!"

Sukmehek shot back at me with tremendous force. I was rather startled when she leapt to her feet.

"Absolutely not! A game, a duel, without stakes?! Poker is about betting—wagering means the thrill of putting something of yours on the line!"

Th-this girl is a gambling addict, isn't she...!

Cowering for a moment before the burning intensity of Sukmehek's gaze, I let out a sigh.

"Then what are we supposed to bet?"

{Then allow me to propose the stakes. The stakes must hold sufficient value for both teams and demand a thrill. Therefore—

I propose Strip Poker!}

"Strip poker?!" "Strip poker?!"

"So we take our clothes off?"

Between the flinched voices of me and Valerie came Fresia's innocent, cheerful question.

{Indeed. You purchase your chips from me. I shall grant three chips for each article of equipment you submit. However, "equipment" here must be submitted as a matched set or complete unit! For example, both socks of a pair! An armor set covering the upper body counts as a single item! Weapons and small accessories are excluded!}

I-I mean, technically both teams would have plenty they could wager with that... but still, the contents of this...

"Ah-hem."

Sukmehek cleared her throat and then, with all the leisure in the world, waggled her index fingers from side to side.

"Strip poker~ now there's a fun game. I'm all for it! How about the rest of you?"

"Why, you...!"

As I hesitated, someone behind me shot her hand up.

"I'm in!"

It was Fresia.

"Fresia!" "Lady Fresia!"

"Nobody loses any money—it's a great deal, isn't it?"

"That's not the problem here!"

"E-even if the rest of us agreed! Stripping the Saintess of her clothes is beyond the pale!"

We don't count?! N-no, wait, Valerie's right! Stripping the Saintess, of all people!

Valerie and I grabbed Fresia and shook her.

"Waaah~ we just have to win before that happens, don't weeee~"

You fire-breathing demon!!

After hashing out a few more details like that, the rules of the game were complete.

The four of us would take turns playing poker against Sukmehek. The stakes would ultimately be our equipment. However, after each hand was decided, the winner got their equipment back, while the loser wouldn't get theirs returned until the entire game was over.

The poker rules were five-card draw—each player receives five cards, may exchange any number of them once, and the stronger final hand wins. Layered on top of that is the psychological warfare of the betting rounds in between.

Liznet was chosen as the dealer—the one to hand out the cards. The point being to postpone, as long as possible, any situation where she'd have to strip.

Our first player was—

"Leave this to me!"

Valerie Gius.

"We'll need some base chips. I'll purchase mine with these boots."

{Very well.}

Sukmehek tossed her leather boots behind the floating skull, and at the skull's word, three chips materialized on the table before Sukmehek in a puff of smoke. It was the skull's magic, conjuring the deck we would use from this point on.

"Fair warning: I intend to settle every hand within my boots or my robe... because you lot won't win a single round off me!"

Sukmehek chuckled and taunted us.

"Valerie! Flatten her nose for us!" "You've got this, Valerie!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Far from discouraging us, the taunt fired us up, and we cheered Valerie on. Valerie answered with equal reliability.

"I shall purchase my chips as well. With my helm... ah..."

Valerie reached toward her head, froze mid-motion, and turned to look at her bag, which she'd set down on the floor. Her helm was attached to the bag.

"Come to think of it, Valerie... you haven't worn your helm in a while, have you...?"

"I-I thought it would be hard to show my facial expressions if I wore the helm, so..."

"You wanted Sir Hero to see your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠face, didn't you?"

"AAAGH! L-Lady Fresia! Have I not been desperately trying to skirt around that subject?!"

Red-faced, Valerie flailed her arms in the air in sheer embarrassment. Even I felt my face grow a little warm at the sight.

"Hey, let's get a move on~"

"A-ah, ahem."

At Sukmehek's prodding, Valerie cleared her throat and composed herself again. Then she removed her upper-body armor and laid it out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠neatly on the floor.

"I'll purchase my chips with this armor!"

{Very well.}

At the skull's word, three chips appeared in the seat across from Sukmehek. Valerie carefully took that seat, and Liznet, holding the deck of cards, stood tall beside the two of them.

Both of them had purchased only three chips each. They could strip off more to buy in once the game started, but... for now, they were wagering the minimum and sizing each other up!

{The fairness of this game shall be supervised by me, the Contract Skull! FIRST GAME! FIRST ROUND! START!}

And so the duel begins—hostages, and our lives, riding on every hand.

The first round began with each player posting a single chip as the entry fee. Liznet shuffled the cards a bit awkwardly, then dealt five to each player, face down. Both of them checked their hands carefully, making sure the other couldn't see. Standing behind Valerie, Fresia and I had a clear view of her hand.

Her cards, lined up from lowest to highest, were—

♤2, ♤3, ♡3, ♧7, ♡9.

A solid start. She's already got a pair of threes (two cards of the same rank), and she can aim for two pair (two pairs of matching cards) or a three-of-a-kind (three cards of the same rank)... while also feeling out that gambler's style of play.

Thinking this, I looked over at Sukmehek. The woman who'd been fidgeting nonstop until now had, the moment the game began, settled into a calm, unnervingly composed focus.

"Me first, then? Check."

"I check as well."

Neither of them added a bet. It went straight to the draw (card exchange), where Sukmehek discarded three and Valerie discarded two, each drawing fresh cards.

♤2, ♤3, ♡3, ♡5, ◇K.

Oh no... she ended up stuck with just the pair. No change in Sukmehek's expression either... and with no conversation at all, the game is just grinding along—

"...Check."

Sukmehek stared blankly at her cards for a moment, then placed them face down ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the table.

On the surface it looks like she drew a bad hand and doesn't want to bet... but right up until the game started, this woman was radiating passion for games and gambling alike. She's the one who proposed poker in the first place!

This is an act! It's a bluff!

"I bet."

Wha—!

Valerie put up one more chip.

Did Valerie genuinely see something in her eyes? Even so, betting more on a mere pair...!

Heh heh.

Then, at the edge of my vision, I caught Sukmehek flashing a sly, sinister smirk.

She got played!

"Raise!"

Sukmehek boldly pushed in her remaining two chips.

"And let me make this clear—that's not an all-in. After all, you can always strip something off right now."

Valerie is one chip short of matching the bet. To call, she'd have to remove more equipment. But that's clearly off the table right now—because what Sukmehek is doing here is pressuring Valerie into folding, in other words, surrendering and abandoning the two chips she's already put in.

She was aiming for this from the very beginning. Valerie walked right into her trap...!

"I-I fold."

Valerie stammered slightly as she laid her cards down. Sukmehek giggled to herself as she swept the chips in the center of the table toward her own side.