Strip Poker -3 (The Opening)

Her throat, usually half-hidden, was now laid completely bare, and below it the valley of her chest, beaded with a light sheen of sweat, peeked out between the thin layers of her underwear. The zipper slid on past the taut plane of her stomach and ran all the way down beneath her hips, revealing her black spats.

Every person in the room except the skull jolted at yet another of her sudden moves. Paying them no mind whatsoever, Fresia peeled off her black leather suit with practiced ease.

"There! Buying more chips with this!"

Still wearing her socks and boots and nothing else but her underwear, Fresia held up her full-body suit as she announced it. Between the bulge poking up from her black spats and the skin boldly bared above it, there was nowhere decent to look.

"Wha—! What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do you think you're doing?!"

In a fluster, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠threw a hand over Risnet's eyes.

Damn it! I haven't even explained things properly yet... What do I do if Risnet already saw the outline of Fresia's dick?!

Meanwhile, the Contract Skull processed her extra chips. Fresia lifted her fresh stack with a smile.

"Fufufu~ Come now, Hero~ you should be used ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to seeing me naked by now~"

"That's not the point here! Why are you taking off your clothes before your boots or socks?!"

"Hm? Well... I can't very well stand barefoot on a dirty floor, can I."

"...It was my mistake to expect common sense from you."

I clutched at my throbbing head. That was when Valeri spoke up.

"Fresia! The fact that you're holding those chips right now—does that mean—!"

My gaze snapped to her fist as well—the one that had held up the three chips Fresia had just raised. Fresia's face went calmly composed in an instant as she stared straight ahead.

No way?!

"Bet. I'll wager three chips."

Everyone flinched at the sight of her setting them down, deadpan, in the center of the table.

An additional bet without exchanging a single card! And for the exact amount already in the pot! Fresia had put up six chips in total! If Sukmehek calls, that makes six a side—twelve chips riding on this hand!

It was such a brazen move that I, Valeri, and Risnet all held our breath. Focus snapped back to the life-or-death game, and Fresia's half-naked body stopped registering in my brain entirely.

"..."

Sukmehek said nothing, simply staring holes into her own cards. Right, even Sukmehek gets rattled by a big bet, I thought.

"..."

Does taking this long to think mean her hand is only mediocre?

"Your bet?"

A voice cold enough to recall Queen Anaris slid out of Fresia's mouth. Sukmehek's stalling had gone on long enough that Fresia had finally spoken.

"Ah, ah? Right... the bet..."

Sukmehek's eyes darted rapidly between her cards and the table several times before she laid her hand down, face-up... no—face-down.

"I'm... folding."

We won! It was only three chips, but after all that tension, a win was a win.

Fresia coolly swept the pot together and stacked it in front of herself. Watching her, I couldn't help feeling a pang of regret—she might have had a chance to take even more. Hoping to shake off a little of that disappointment, I opened my mouth.

"Fresia, what hand was that, anyway? Mind showing us?"

At my question, Valeri—curious too, apparently—wrapped herself in a blanket and sidled up beside me.

"Yes, yes! Here you go!"

Just how strong was the hand she'd been sitting on?!

One pair?!

Everyone in the room flinched at what the reveal actually was.

Don't tell me all of that was bluffing? We all got played?

"Amazing, Fresia! You're actually good at the mind games!"

I pumped my fist and praised her. Sukmehek, looking sore about it, jabbed irritably at the table with her finger.

"Yup! All black cards, and they add up to fifty-six!"

"..." "..."

Everyone froze solid at those words.

"F-Fresia... have you, by any chance, never actually played poker before..."

Valeri asked in a voice that was shrinking into the floor. My eyebrows twitched—I'd already arrived at the truth.

"It's my first time, but that's fine! You just collect big numbers of the same color, right?"

You little—!! She had absolutely no idea how poker worked at aaaall?! 

It wasn't a bluff. It wasn't acting. Fresia had genuinely believed she was holding a monster hand, and that this was simply how poker worked. Nobody had been deceived, and yet everybody had been deceived.

The shocking truth left me speechless, and Valeri fumbled awkwardly for words. Seeing her reaction, I stole a glance at Risnet's too. Risnet was looking at Sukmehek.

"Kikikik. Well, what do you know—beginner's luck, was it? Then there's nothing to worry about! Right! On to the next round. Deal me in!"

At Sukmehek's words, Risnet—still quietly, fixedly watching her—dealt out the cards.

Wait! Letting this game continue like this is dangerous!

"Fresia! What you know is wrong!"

"Huh? This isn't it?"

"Damn it! I'll help you—"

As I tried to move behind Fresia, the skull came zipping over to block my path.

"What?"

"Tch."

"Yes, yes—you're the ones who demanded rules against cheating, remember? I've let the little stuff slide until now, but frankly, spectators peeking at a player's hand mid-round isn't very sporting either, wouldn't you say?"

Damn this skull—now I can't help Fresia play at all! I just have to leave her to it?!

The truth having landed, Fresia picked up her cards looking noticeably rattled—a far cry from moments ago.

"I-I'll just tell you the rules, then. I won't give any instructions or look at anyone's hand, promise..."

"Fresia! Poker is a game about collecting cards with the same number! It's not about adding numbers up—it's about making pairs!"

Well, at least I explained that much...

I returned to my spot beside Risnet, hauling a bellyful of anxiety along with me. All we could do now was watch Fresia play.

The sixth round between Fresia and Sukmehek. Under the relentless barrage of Sukmehek's psychological warfare, Fresia had her chips nibbled away bit by bit, then stripped from her in a single stroke—and in the end, she was left

completely naked.

"Hng... it's hard..."

"You fought well, Fresia."

Valeri wrapped a blanket around Fresia, whose shoulders sagged along with everything else, dick included. Sukmehek offered the defeated Fresia no reaction at all, leisurely sipping her tea instead.

Then again... isn't this the expected scenario? I'm the Hero, after all. Even if it's just a game, I'm the one who's supposed to win it for us!

With that thought, I watched the two of them take their seats on the chairs against the wall. Then I drew one huge, deep breath and moved to head for my own seat.

"One moment, if you would, Hero."

"Yes?"

At the sudden call, I turned to find Risnet holding out the deck to me, cradled carefully in both hands.

"I'll play this one."

"...Pardon? You, Saintess?!"

I caught the deck in a scramble, gaping at her.

"A candidate, strictly speaking. Regardless... please leave this match to me."

"W-well... of course, if I lose, then you'll have to play too, Saintess, but there's really no need for you to go first, you know! You know what happens! We all end up naked—like those two over there!"

I pointed at the utterly stripped futanari slumped against the wall.

"Precisely! We cannot allow the Saintess to be reduced to such a state!"

Unlike Valeri, who was actively trying to talk her out of it, Fresia merely watched the exchange with a baffled expression.

"It is because I have certainty."

At Risnet's words, I looked into her eyes. Even in this dark room, borrowing the light of the torches, they gleamed a brilliant gold. For a heartbeat, that gleam looked like the same blazing fire I'd seen in them the day we first met.

"Certainty?"

"Yes. I cannot explain the details, but please, leave it to me. You will notice it soon enough yourself, Hero. The opening."

The opening?

"Oh, come on~ you're both going to lose eventually anyway, so don't be so fussy about the order. I mean, the Saintess can't even shuffle cards properly—you sure about this?"

Risnet's composed smile didn't waver one bit under Sukmehek's goading. She simply walked past me and took her seat.

"I will also need the Hero's help."

"Do not worry. That is not what I mean."

Risnet answered the skull calmly, then turned her head toward me.

"Help... what do you mean?"

"The opening I just mentioned. If you can find it, there is something only you can do, Hero—something I cannot."

What kind of riddle is that?

I stared down at the deck in my hands.

Calm down. The fact that she's being this roundabout means the 'opening' loses its value if Sukmehek finds out what it is. Something I can figure out, and something only I—because it's me—can aim for. But Risnet is the one actually playing, and I can't interfere with the game at all. So what could I possibly...

Find it.

The 'opening' in this game that Risnet has entrusted to me!

Steeling my resolve, I picked up the cards and took my place at the dealer's position.

"I'm ready!"

"Great, great~ don't care who deals. I'm playing in the boots and robe from earlier, anyway."

Six chips materialized in front of Sukmehek's seat.

"Excuse me a moment."

Risnet calmly unclasped the bracelets from both her wrists, then stepped out of her shoes.

"Please exchange these for chips."

Once the skull had inspected the equipment she held neatly in both hands, Risnet carefully set the pieces in a corner of the table. Six chips appeared at her seat as well.

"I am ready as well."

This might be our last chance. The 'opening' Risnet spoke of—that has to be the key to winning this game. I'll trust Risnet, and I'll carry out what she has trusted me to do.

With that vow cemented in my chest, I began to deal.