Straf and Cycelia approach the table, joining the sparse crowd of spectators. The hand is already ongoing, and the turn card has been dealt. A collection of serious-faced men are sitting around the table, staring down at each other, while two sharply dressed waiters are standing right behind them on opposing sides, acting as rule arbitrators.

Clack!…

One of the men drops a large handful of colorful chips in towards the center, the total of which amounting to 25 drakes.

「Raise.」

The man calls out to the rest of the table. They raise their heads slightly to get a better look at the amount.

「Call.」

Clack.

The man sitting to his left places 25 drakes in colorful chips forward.

Thud.

The next man in the clockwise direction shakes his head with a lightly displeased grimace as he places his hand's cards face down. The waiter-arbitrators turn their attention to the next player.

「Fold.」

The next player also places his cards face down, and crosses his arms as he leans back.

「Call…」「…Fold…」「…Call.」

All the players make their choices. The dealer scoops the chips into the hand's pot, and deals the river card. A 4 of hearts, causing much consternation amongst the players.

「Straf… Raise means you raise the bet, right? But what does call and fold mean?」

Cycelia asks in a hushed voice, barely audible over the noisy ambience of the casino as she blinks her large emerald eyes at Straf from his side.

「Call means that you're calling bullshit on the other guy's hand being good… Fold means…」

Straf replies, and begins to rub his chin as he thinks with his brows raised.

「…Well, that you fold. You give up, and you cut your losses. Wave goodbye to your bet, though. It's to prevent further losses.」

「Check…」「…Check…」「…Check.」

He shrugs, and the players start taking their turns in clockwise direction again, starting from the man who raised. Some of them tap the table with a little nod, saying nothing.

「Huh? I don't understand. Why would I fold and not just… Not bet?」

「You can't, Lia. At least usually… This guy raised, so everyone had to call or fold… Or raise themselves. It quickly becomes a fight to knock other players out of their money.」

Cycelia tilts her head, furrowing her brows. Straf replies with another casual shrug as he explains further.

The dealer waits for the players to show their hands.

「Straight.」「Fuckin' shit…」「Flush.」

The players who remained in the game begin dropping their cards onto the felt for all to see, with some naming their hand. A few wince and curse under their breaths.

「Heh… Four of a kind.」

The last player in the turn order gains a smug grin on his face, and drops his hand in after a brief, suspenseful pause. The rest of the players, even the one who revealed a flush, wince collectively. Two men get up from their seats, collecting their remaining chips with sour faces, while the smug man receives the winnings from the dealer.

「Fuck it, I'm out of here…」

「Nothin' but losin' money…」

The men grumble, vacating two seats opposite of each other.

「Seat open.」

The dealer declares, and points his hand at one of the two empty stools. Cycelia looks at Straf.

「So, want to play?」

He asks, and gestures his head towards the table.

「Sure… I'll give it a try.」

Cycelia nods back, and takes a step through the spectators towards the vacant seat.

Clack… Clack… Clack… Clack…

「Eh? Straf, aren't these yours?-」

She sits down, and Straf begins dropping down chips in front of Cycelia with a noisy clatter. The rest of the players around the table stare at the growing pile, slowly losing faith that it will stop growing with each stack that appears from Straf's purple vortex. The dealer appears a little unnerved by just how many chips there are in front of her.

「Yup… You can have 'em… I'll only take like a 100 drakes.」

…Clack.

He nonchalantly shrugs as he drops down the last of the colorful chips into Cycelia's area on the poker table. All of the players stare at him as he walks around the table to sit down at the stool opposing her. Straf then pulls out a small stack of black tokens, puts his elbow on the table, and rests his cheek on his hand.

The waiters-arbitrators move the big, red tokens in a clockwise direction. One labeled「Big Blind」is placed right next to Cycelia.

「Eh?」

Cycelia tilts her head, blinking at the big red button.

「Oh. Unlucky, Lia… You have to place a bet blind… Now that I think about it, I should have taken that seat… Whatever, it's not a big deal.」

「Then I'll bet-」

「Not yet, Lia. Wait for the small blind…」

Straf explains, and stops her with his palm raised before she can place her bet. The man next to her places a 5 drake chip down.

「…Now you can bet, but the minimum is 10 chips. Remember that we're enemies here, Lia.」

He adds as he shrugs his shoulders, lowering his hand back down to the table.

「Drinks, ladies and gentlemen?…」

Two waitresses approach the table, one with an ice bucket filled with bottles, and the other with a tray of drinking glasses.

「Lia, want a drink?」

Straf asks, briefly glancing up at the sharply-dressed waitresses, only to see Cycelia casually bet a 100 drakes.

「Suure… A small bet, since it's my first game… And I'm playing against you…」「Wooooooooooo! Finallyyyyy!…」

She hesitantly nods back, fidgeting with her thumbs behind her stack of chips. An overjoyed scream causes her to look at the slot machines.

「A small bet!?…」「A fuckin' small bet…」

Some of the players mutter out under their breaths in complete disbelief. One shakes his head, while the other stares at Cycelia's stack of black chips with his jaw dropped.

「That'll be 5 drakes, sir… We accept chips as well.」

The waitress says to Straf as she uncorks a bottle, and places it next to Straf. When the other one sets down a drinking glass, he raises two of his fingers, and nods at Cycelia.

「Hey, Lia!… Mind paying for that? I'll cover it later… I just don't have small drakes on me ever since prices went apeshit.」

Gluglugluglugluglug…

He calls out to Cycelia while pouring the pale golden liquid into his glass, filling it nearly to the brim. He then hands the waitress with the tray the bottle back, then quickly points at the empress.

「No need, Straf… It's okay. My treat.」

With a sweet smile on her face, she shakes her head with her hand raised as the dealer begins to deal out cards.

He flicks two cards to each player face-down, sliding them across the table with the momentum. The dealer then places down three face-up cards in the center of the table. A 10 of hearts, a 9 of diamonds, and 7 of spades. The players bend their cards to covertly peek at them, except Straf and Cycelia. Straf is busy drinking, while Cycelia is busy paying for it. The waitress takes her single chip with a polite nod, and the two move onto another table.

「Ahhh… Ah! Lia! Don't show others your cards!… Obviously. This isn't blackjack…」

Straf sets his half-empty glass down, lowering it from his chin. He quickly throws his palm out at Cycelia, stopping her from casually lifting the cards.

「…I'll try.」

She replies with a little pout, and scoops the cards into her dainty hands. She fashions a little roof for them out of her palm, and leans forward to prevent the other players from peeking.

「…Also, try to gauge the other players' hands by reading their faces… For example…」

Straf continues explaining, and quickly looks around the table.

「…Look at him. That guy probably has a full house coming.」

「Wha-!?」

He casually points his thumb at the man sitting the side of the table. The player's nonchalant poker face instantly breaks when his jaw drops. The man looks around at other players, who are now inquisitively furrowing their brows at him. He turns his eyes to the arbitrators, who are looking back at him, apparently finding no wrongdoing had occurred.

「…What's a full house?」

Cycelia asks, tilting her head.

「Ahhhhh… Don't worry about it, Lia. It's a fairly strong hand.」

Straf lets out a mildly troubled sigh, then dismisses all his troubles with a shrug of his shoulders.

「Pft.」「Huh?」

He takes a peek at his hand, and lets out an amused scoff. The player next to Straf looks at him with his brows gently furrowed in worry.

「Ladies and gentlemen, bets please.」

The dealer sweeps his hands inward over the table. Straf quickly pushes his stack of black chips forward, and looks at what the rest of the players will do with his mouth aslant.

「Nggghhh…」

The man with the supposed full house goes all in with 70 or so of his chips, unable to match Cycelia's 100.

「Tsk…」

With a click of his tongue, the man next to him slides over all of his 40 chips to the center of the table.

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「Fold.」「Fold.」「Fold. I don't like this.」

Tap… Thud. Tap.

The remaining players throw their cards down, some more hesitantly than others, but ultimately all except Straf, Cycelia, and the two men fold.

The dealer then places another card in the center, and looks at the small blind player.

「Check, obviously…」

He shrugs, throwing his hands up with a displeased expression on his face, before glancing at Cycelia and her stack of chips. The dealer turns his eyes to Cycelia.

「Hm?」

She blinks her emerald eyes back at him, tilting her head slightly.

「You're supposed to check, raise, or fold, Lia…」

Gulp.

Straf explains, then takes a large gulp from his nearly empty drinking glass. Cycelia only now takes her first sip.

「…Check means you're passing the turn. You can't really raise, since we're all all-in… Guess you can fold if you want to, but nobody can raise, so… What's the point?」

Thunk.

He adds, noisily setting his glass down, pointing his hand to the other players' bets as an example, then shrugging it over his stack of black chips.

「Umm… Check, then?」

Cycelia tilts her head. Straf conspicuously taps the table for Cycelia to see, and she does so as well. The dealer nods, and turns his gaze to Straf.

「What, you think I'll fold? I'm not that charitable. Maybe if there was a fountain…」

Straf turns his bored eyes to the dealer, and grins at him.

Snap.

After a moment of idle thought, Straf snaps his fingers.

「…Great. I knew the decor was missing something… Anyway, check.」

Taptap.

He remarks with a grin still on his face, then taps two of his fingers next to his hand.

Taptap.

The last man simply taps his fingers too. The dealer nods, then places a card in the center. The turn repeats in a very similar manner, with nobody raising, mostly due to lack of funds and the lack of reason to. Straf wiggles his fingers over for Cycelia to pass the bottle. She tries her best to hand it to him, but can't quite reach him. A waiter places his hand upon it with a polite nod of his head. Cycelia lets go, and he carries the bottle over to Straf's side.

Glugluglugluglugluglug…

The waiter pours the drink for Straf instead of setting it down. When Straf gestures his head to Cycelia, the waiter gives the bottle to her then returns to his spot to watch the players.

The dealer deals the final community card. While sipping from her glass, Cycelia taps her dainty fingers on the green felt. The dealer nods, and turns the cards face-up.

「Showdown.」

The dealer declares, and Cycelia turns her slightly flushed cheeks to Straf, blinking her confused emerald eyes at him.

Fwap.

「Normally you'd raise or fold, Lia, but we're all out of chips… So you just show your cards.」

Straf casually throws his cards face-up onto the table.

「What the fuck is that hand!?」「Shit!…」

Fwap-thud!

The two other players exclaim as they angrily slap their hands down. One of them reveals a full house, the other a three of a kind. The players who folded let out relieved exhales.

The two broke men leave empty-handed, abandoning their seats. Cycelia watches them for a few seconds with a confused look on her face.

「…Why'd they leave, Straf? The turn isn't over yet, is it?」

Cycelia asks as she turns her eyes to Straf's hand, consisting of a jack of hearts and a queen of hearts.

Her emerald gaze then shifts to the community cards in the center. There is a 10 of hearts, 9 of diamonds, 7 of spades, a king of hearts, and an ace of hearts.

「It's effectively over, Lia. You can't beat a royal flush… What's your hand? Don't keep me in suspense.」

With a shrug, Straf grins at Cycelia and takes his glass into hand again.

「…I don't know.」

She meekly replies, setting her cards down for all to see.

「Full house. Very good hand, miss. You'd win this hand if not for the gentleman over there.」

The waiter-guard next to Cycelia explains, and nods his head at Straf.

「Weeell… It can't be helped. It is Straf after all…」

Cycelia shrugs with a smile on her face, then takes her glass to take another small sip as the dealer takes the chips, and slides them over to Straf's side.

Recognizing that Cycelia has no clue how to play poker, the waiter shifts the blind tokens clockwise, making Cycelia the small blind now.

「Bets please.」

The dealer points his hand at Cycelia, causing her chestnut to perk up.

「You're supposed to bet blind again, Lia. You have the token. Make a small bet, and the guy next to you will be forced to double it.」

Straf explains, nodding his head up at the player sitting next to Cycelia.

「Oh… I see…」

She nods, then slides over 5 chips. The man throws in 10. The dealer flicks cards to everyone remaining, and a new hand begins…

…

Fifteen minutes later…

The players next to Straf and Cycelia are sweating profusely, while Cycelia is staring intensely at her sheltered, shielded hand. Straf's face is completely nonchalant, with a hint of boredom.

《I want to beat Straf!… I want to beat Straf, but what kind of a hand does he have?… I wouldn't know even if I saw it…》

Cycelia thinks as her eyes rise up from her cards. She blinks a few times at Straf with her brows furrowed.

《…I can probably tell if it's good or bad from his face, right? I'm supposed to read the other players' faces?》

Her gaze turns to the other players, who are attempting to copy Straf's nonchalance, but are visibly sweating. One of them is grimacing heavily in deep thought, while another is semi-covertly biting his nails. All of them get incredibly self-conscious and doubly anxious, when they realize Cycelia is staring at them. Worse yet, Straf has turned his eyes to them for a brief moment.

「…What's up, Lia? Forgot the rules? Need some help?」

Straf asks in a casual tone, nodding up her with his mouth aslant.

「Nononono, I'm fine!…」

She quickly shakes her chestnut head. The room spins from the alcohol content swirling within it.

「…Geh!」

《…I shouldn't have told him I'm fine! That probably gave Straf too much information!… And others, too!…》

Cycelia winces, then looks at the remaining players. None of them seem to have noticed her cringing, except perhaps Straf, who is staring at her intently without breaking eye contact.

《…Focus, Lia! What is he thinking!? What's his hand!? Is he nervous!? Is he happy!?… What does his face say!?…》

She gives her head another, weaker shake, then turns her emerald eyes to stare intensely at Straf's face. She presses her lips together into narrow lines, greatly focused on Straf.

Meanwhile, Straf casually picks his cards up to look at them with an undecipherable grimace on his face. Still lazily resting his cheek on his palm, his eyes rise up from his hand to meet Cycelia's eyes. The two stare silently at each other for a prolonged moment, while the dealer waits for someone to make a move.

《…What does his face say?…》

Cycelia consciously thinks again as her lips wobble a little. She gets distracted, and begins admiring Straf's facial features. Her eyes drift down to his chiseled chin, pronounced cheeks, handsome nose, strong brow ridge… Technically his face, but completely ignoring his expression, or lack thereof.

《…He's handsome.》

She purses her lips, bashfully turning her gaze away as her cheeks turn even redder, now joined by the tips of her ears from embarrassment.

「Well?」

Straf calls out towards no one in particular, and glances at the remaining players.

「Fold…」「…Fold.」

「Tsk…」

The men reluctantly throw their cards away, revealing fairly strong hands, though not top of the top. Straf clicks his tongue, and turns his smirking face to Cycelia.

「Eh?…」

《Did he just?…》

Cycelia's brows rise as she can't believe her ears. Her emerald eyes blink at Straf's lips twisted into a very minor smirk.

《…Did he just click his tongue? He's frustrated? Frustrated that they didn't raise?…》

She thinks, and her brows then furrow. The entire time she's thinking that fact over, she stares at Straf, and Straf stares back.

《…He's frustrated because his hand is good! Straf is the type of guy who likes to win big! Of course he'd get frustrated that he didn't win as much as he'd like!》

「Fold!」

Tfwap.

Abandoning her rather large bet, Cycelia throws her straight flush down and crosses her arms with a smug, self-satisfied smile on her face.

《I won't fall for your tricks! I've seen through you!》

She thinks, beaming with the essence of smugness oozing out of her.

「Hehehehe… Man, Lia…」

Straf chuckles at the sight of her hand, grinning ear to ear with his head lowered and shaking it.

Fwap.

「…You really suck at this game! Hook, line, and sinker!…」

「What!?」「With that hand!?…」「…Huh?」

Straf throws his hand down, revealing it to everyone who folded as the sole winner.

「…And I was trying to lose really hard, too! Khehehehe!」

He adds, spreading his arms while everyone stares at his hodgepodge of a hand. Straf has a single, low-value pair of 2s, both of different suits, and the rest are similarly low numbers.

「What?… Isn't that a really weak hand?…」

Utterly confused, with her head tilted, Cycelia furrows her brows at Straf as the dealer takes her bet away.

「Yup! Bullshit tried to call you, but it went straight to voicemail and you didn't call back!… Gehehehe!」

Straf nods with a smug grin on his face, crossing his arms as his massive stack of chips grows even larger.

「Then why did you click your tongue when they folded!?… And you were smirking!… Straf, you liar!」

Mildly upset, Cycelia points her finger at Straf as she exclaims. He shrugs his hands, proudly taking the charge.

「Lying's the name of the game, Lia! Now you know people can bluff, too!」

Straf replies, shrugging his shoulders as the other players leave with the remainder of their chips…