After making sure that Lady Margot wasn’t going to die on the spot, the elderly started exchanging news and interesting happenings.

After a couple of hours, Simon Belcher proposed a round of Blackjack. No money involved, of course.

The rules were mostly the same as the official game: one player had to play the part of the house, while the others had to get as close as 21 as possible with their cards. Going over meant losing. Everyone started with two cards, and with each turn they could choose to draw a card, pass the turn or surrender.

The one that had to play the dealer had one card turned over while the rest were shown on the table. Meanwhile the rest of the players kept their hands hidden from each other.

There was an additional homemade rule where the players could make a temporary alliance with each other or even with the dealer himself. This made the game even more exciting for the old members.

They played a few rounds of rock paper scissor to determine who was going to play the house and Ariel ended up on the role.

In that instant everyone agreed to unify themselves against the dealer. They knew that if they dared to make an alliance with her while she was the dealer would only incurr in their loss.

She noticed that no one was willing to ally with her, for everyone she laid her eyes upon would avoid her gaze. She shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t need an alliance to win the game.

The cards were quickly distribuited, the card shown on the table being a five of hearts. Ariel checked her face-down card, it being a two of spades. Her eyelids twitched as she felt that the cards were laughing at her.

Ariel controlled her expression, acting as if nothing happened. She looked at the deaf Kobe, asking him what he wanted to do. He thought about it for a while, before asking for another card.

Next, the turn was passed to Old Tom. As he wondered his options, he started rambling on “Oh, actually. Recently all of the kids at school are obsessed with a videogame. I think it was called Archaic Online?” he shook his head “Well, something like that”

Ariel’s ears perked up while Old Tom continued “Most of them have been skipping school, the rest have been talking nonstop about it. Hehe, I’ve heard one of the professors grumbling about the low grades of his students” he chuckled, obviously in a good mood. He then smiled as he tapped the table twice, signaling to the dealer to give him another card “The good thing is that they’re so busy playing that they don’t waste time littering the school. My nights have been pleasantly relaxing thanks to that”

Seeing that the new card brought him to a total of 19, he smiled even more and passed his turn.

As Lady Margot was the next one, Claire was the one that asked him interested “Oh? Is that the professor that was giving you problems since he came there?”

Old Tom nodded “That’s him. Heh, I know he’s going to get an earful if at least a third of his students won’t do well” “As a new professor he’s being strictly examined. If he get a pay cut because of that… Let’s just say that no one’s going to be sad for him”

At Isla’s turn, she gave a piece of information that had been weighing on her mind for a while “Apparently, there’s a new group going around announcing the end of the world” “They say silly things like: demons will descend to earth and will eat our souls” she scoffed “They even dared to implicate Satan in their rablings. As if our lord would bring the end of the world. He preaches for the freedom of the soul and the beauty of symbolism. Nothing like those crude stories of theirs”

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Isla Lorpinks threw the cards onto the table in frustration after having drawn a card with too much high value “No beauty, no elegance. Hmph! If I find them they’ll regret sullying our Lord’s name”

“Haha, what are you going to make them do? Stuff them with devil cakes?” asked ironically the bald gangster witha smirk.

“I’m not a barbar like our Ariel” the called-out granny launched an offended ‘Hey!’ as the pious Isla kept going “I’ll preach them about the wrongness of their views. To comprehend their mistakes, they need to be well acquainted with the word of the Lord”

At that the rough Diego promptly shut up. He had the unfortunate experience of attending to one of Isla’s religious lectures. He still shivered to this day just at the thought of it.

The first round ended with Old Tom showing his hand. At the sight of the 19 points in his hands, the rest folded as they awaited the card reveal of the house.

On the table was a five of hearts and a seven of diamonds. With Ariel revealing the two of spades, the total was up to 14.

Old Tom rejoiced as he won the first round. Everyone else too was happy, meaning that the prankster of the group was the one that ultimately lost.

A second round began, Claire now being the dealer. She gave out the cards, a eight of hearts being revealed on the table.

As the members were each going with their turns, Claire Wattson couldn’t help but tell everyone a rumor she had heard.

“I’ve heard something very interesting; do you know of the Modigliani family?” Ariel perked her ears at the familiar name “The last wife of the chairman has been divorced after getting caught cheating with the son of the owner of the rival company” Claire couldn’t help but giggle “What’s more, she was involved in the selling of the Modigliani’s secrets. I’d say she got off lightly with just a divorce”

Granny Ariel couldn’t help but ponder over it. Did Vicktor knew about that? For sure. How could he not know if there were leaks in the family secrets?

She made a mental note of asking him of the matter the day after, as she casually showed her 20 point hand.

The rest, shocked, couldn’t believe their eyes. Was it just a fluke when they won over her earlier?

With eyes burning in revenge, they played a few more games, and when it was close to midnight Simon got up from the table.

“And for tonight’s final game…” Simon presented to everyone an iron cylinder case, shaking it “We have a game of straw”

Ariel looked at him with a deadpan expression “Why such a lame game…?”

Simon simply rolled his eyes “Not enough time”

Granny Ariel let her gaze wander over the whole well decorated venue. Fair enough, she said to herself while shrugging her shoulders.

As the old Simon made his rounds to each and everyone of them to make them draw their straw, Ariel looked at hers. It was a normal wooden stick with no markings.

She wasn’t disappointed as organizing one of the monthly gatherings required a lot of time. Time, which was currently being invested into Elysium Online. What gathering? She was barely willing to even let her precious granchildren come to her house to play!

Though… It wouldn’t be a bad idea to organize a gathering inside the game. She only had to convince the others to play it too. Her eyes glinted excitedly as the other members shruddered instinctively. They looked around, wondering if it was simply because the manor had grown cold with the advent of the night.

As some looked disappointed and some let out a sigh of relief, only one granny looked at everyone else smuggly.

“Hehehe” Claire Wattson let out a low laugh “It looks like the honor is mine this time around” With her nose held high up, she took with a grin the perfunctory applause.

“Thank you, thank you. I’ll do my best to create a worthwhile gathering”

Looking at her neighbor getting all jolly at the thought of being the next organizer, Ariel seriously considered abstaining from the next gathering. She felt like she had been pranking the old lady too much lately.

If she were to partecipate, she might be pranked in return!