"Woah… it's really snowing outside." Mutsuki pressed her face against the window, the cold air biting through the glass and nipping at her skin. "It's a good thing we're in here instead of out there."

"M-Mm… unlike those nights in the park…" Haruka reminisced.

"A-Ahem It's different now! We got a sponsor now!"

The "sponsor" glanced at Aru with a raised eyebrow before he continued to click on the keyboard of the computer. Eyes dancing across the words plastered on documents and spreadsheets, one after another without end.

"Heey, sen~sei…!" Mutsuki waddled over to him, looping her arms around his neck. "I'm bored. Let's play something!"

"Mutsuki, please don't bother sensei right now." Kayoko's voice cut through whatever mischief the imp was cooking right inside of her cranium. Games, pranks, giggles, whatever.

Exiting the cafeteria with a steaming cup of coffee in both hands. With an audible clink, she set one cup on the table for him, and the other for herself in her left hand as she took a seat on the white chair next to him, sipping on the warm caffeine.

The teacher nodded in return, whispering a small "thank you" that only she could hear.

"Boo." Mutsuki huffed. "Let's play something. You've been working on that ALL day!" She pulled and tugged at him before finally leaping off his back. Walking away, she went in the office, a place given to them by Hans in those long-past days before emerging with something in her hand.

"Cards!" the imp suddenly proclaimed with excitement.

Kayoko raised an eyebrow. "Poker again?"

"Well... nope. I have something else in mind." A nasty smirk crept across Mutsuki's lips as she revealed a special deck of cards they had made.

"We'll play the Liar's game."

"Out of all things… but if we're going to, there's Hans-sensei. It wouldn't be fair."

"That's why I'm adding a joker from the deck!"

Aru crossed her arms as a confident smirk cracked on her lips. "Fufu. Are you sure Mutsuki? I'll wipe the floor with my cunning."

"Kufufu~ I think wiped the floor with you. The last time I remember is—"

"Nooo! Not another word!" Aru cut the imp off quickly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Haruka, what about you? Are you going to play?" Kayoko turned her attention to the timid girl, who is still watching the snow dancing outside.

"Mm… It sounds fun… and it's been awhile since we last play a card game." Haruka nodded in agreement, and an excited Mutsuki hugged the girl from behind.

"Haah… guess you're the last person I'm going to ask, sensei." Kayoko raised an eyebrow, but the captain had already tidied his desk and shut off his computer.

He nodded.

"Guess we're doing this."

"Yay!" Mutsuki clapped her hands before pausing, a mischievous glint in her eye. "To make this a little interesting... kufufu~" She opened the box.

"The liar or the accuser has to take off a piece of their clothing if they're caught.
And the winner got a single wish."

"WHAT?!" Aru shot out of her seat, a fiery blush spreading across her cheeks as the sentence hit her ears.
"!" Kayoko and Haruka's eyes widened in unison, their shock written all over their faces.

"Mutsuki… I'm not going to do this," Kayoko sighed, her voice carrying the weight of disapproval.

"Boo. We're not going to go all out, you know? Just to our underwear."

"Yeah n-"

"Sensei, you're going to play, right?" Mutsuki interrupted, turning to the only adult with a challenging grin.

Hans tilted his head, looking at her, then at the others, and finally at Kayoko. After a moment, he rose from his office chair, took a seat next to her as he raised his thumb in agreement.

"Alright!" Mutsuki pumped her fist.

"…I can't believe you," Kayoko sighed, pressing a hand to her temple. "Aru, Haruka?"

"I-If sensei is in… heh. Then isn't just fair I should join as well?" Aru tried to put on a brave face, even if she was sweating bullets.

"I still think it would be fun…" Haruka said timidly.

"…Fine. Let's just do this thing." Kayoko finally joined in with a reluctant sigh.

"Fufu~ Okay~ let me shuffle the deck." Mutsuki's hands danced with the cards, shuffling them in a quick overhand before finishing with a smooth riffle and a bridge.

"I call…" Mutsuki raised a hand dramatically. Her fingers stroking the shuffled deck before quickly pulling a single card.

"Ace of spades." She put the deck down with a smirk. "Then I'll be going first~," she announced, her playful grin returning as she expertly reshuffled the deck before dealing the cards in a clockwise motion.

The turn order was set based on their seats:
First to draw was Mutsuki, then Aru, Haruka, Hans, then Kayoko in a clockwise direction.

The rules were straightforward, albeit modified thanks to Mutsuki's own amusement. The goal of the game was simple: to clear of all the cards in your hand by any means necessary—be it truth, cunning, or outright bluffing.

Players could discard as many cards as you want, but only if they weren't caught in a lie or mistakenly accused of dishonesty.

If someone was caught bluffing—or if an accuser made the wrong call—the offender or the liar would also have to remove a piece of their clothing. Socks, shoes, jackets—anything worn on their body before the entire deck would be reshuffled, and the game would restart, beginning with the punished player.

A psychological battlefield set in their own minds testing their mettle and wits. The ability to lie convincingly, the iron-clad conviction to call out their bluffs, and the pure instinct to read your opponent's thoughts and intentions.

Success not only could be garnered by discarding your cards, it also meant getting into the minds of your opponents. Making them double guessing themselves and planting the seeds of doubt, dancing between truths and lies for the ultimate goal of standing victorious among the others.

Six cards were on their hands, with the deck consisting of:
nine aces, nine queens, nine kings, and three jokers.

Let the games begin.

Mutsuki placed her first card. "Three aces," Mutsuki smirked, starting high and setting the tone for a game.

Aru matched Mutsuki's confidence with a grin. "Three aces."

Haruka followed up. "One ace."

That's seven.

"…Once… ace.," Hans said.

Eight.

Kayoko raised her hand and looked at Hans. "One ace."

Nine.

"Fufu! Two aces-"

"Liar!" Aru slammed the table with a confident smirk. "Sorry, Mutsuki, but-"

Mutsuki flipped the card with that shit eating grin.
Exactly two aces.

"…W-What…?"

Aru herself still had two aces and a joker.

Off to a good start.

Twelve rounds, four losers. Aru herself lost her high heels, her tie and coat. Mutsuki lost her shoes and socks. Haruka lost her right shoe and Hans his tie.

"Three kings-"

"…Liar." Hans tapped on the table.

"Aghh!" Aru tossed her card high.

Thirteen rounds in, and… Aru began to unbutton her shirt, her hands trembling with each button she undid. She was getting close to her limit. One more loss, and she'd have to lose her skirt.

The stakes were high… and yet sh-she still had a tinge of confidence that she could stage another comeback…right?

Another round.

Another caught.

"Liar." Kayoko folded her arms in a calm deduction. Hans turned his cards over, and his lie was revealed. With a sigh, the captain removed one of his shoes before he turned to stare at her.

Kayoko. The only one who hadn't lost a single round of the game.

In this match and before, Hans had studied his opponents. He knew them. He could read them like a book. Yet Kayoko? Kayoko was different.

Haruka was utterly honest. She wouldn't lie unless it's her last resort, and she wouldn't even call out bluffs no matter how blatant it was. That's her character, and that's how Hans had able to catch her once.

Mutsuki was the embodiment of chaos and deception, a master of misdirection who delighted in destroying her opponents' confidence with high-stakes plays.

She would often play three, four, or even five cards at once, daring anyone to call her bluff or confirm her truth—while wearing that infuriatingly bratty smile. In this case, Aru being the most common victim to fall into her endless teasing and challenges.

Aru was more straightforward. She was an all-rounder and a risk-taker, but unfortunately the second-easiest player to read after Haruka.

It was painfully obvious when she was lying and when she was telling the truth. Her flashes of confidence and moments of doubt were as clear as day, and had betrayed on almost every round.

Lastly, there was Kayoko. She was another enigma, as difficult to interpret as himself.
Mutsuki wanted to sow chaos and doubt, Haruka simply wanted to play, Aru wanted to win but failed miserably—but Kayoko? Her motives remained utterly unknown.

He couldn't read her any better than he could read an iron curtain.

It's like she had cast a thick fog around herself, veiling the table and the cards along with it. The readable numbers, believable, literal, permanent—twist and turn in the deck under her thick miasma.

The fine line between deceit and honesty blurred, throwing her opponents off count so many times it's almost… like the numbers had been…

Hans paused in his thoughts.

Scrambled and hidden.

In that moment of clarity, his eyes widened in realization. The grip on the cards hardened as the ultimate truth came to light.

He got it.

He finally understood what her goal was.

It was none other than discord.
Chaos.

Unrivaled disorder blanketing the cards with the very same fog.

A lump formed in his throat as a bead of sweat trickled into his white SCHALE shirt. Crimson eyes inched to his right… only to be meet her own.

A shadow casted over it, her eyes narrowing with haunting amusement,
and lips curled into a smirk veiled by the very same miasma that cloaked her every thoughts.

She knew.

She knew that he had realized it, and opened her like a book. Her eyes haunting his thoughts, and at the very end… it's all he could think about instead of the cards.

"Is there a problem, sensei?" Kayoko said sweetly. It was utterly sickening.

Fuck.

Minutes pass, the snow fell, and three remain seated. Aru cried out in frustration as she with trembling hands, crimson cheeks, and teary eyes slowly undid her skirt. Begging for someone to avenge her. Mutsuki is on her last legs, Haruka lost both of her final shoe and a sock, and Hans is down his belt, and two shoes.

"Three aces." Mutsuki declared as dropped her cards.

"One ace." Haruka carefully placed hers on the table

Four, no… three and a joker.

Hans raised his cards. "Three… aces."

Five and a lie.

Kayoko kept her poker face. "Four aces."

Seven.
Two jokers.

Mutsuki eyes widened, but she shook her head.

"Two aces."

Lies.

"One ace…"

Truth.

"Three aces." Hans said calmly, discarding his remaining hand.

"Liar."

Kayoko said with confidence as she reached to the cards.

Hans said nothing as her hands inched… and revealed the truth.

A single flip,

and her usual bravado cracked in surprise.

"I see." Kayoko muttered.

A small smirk tugged on the corners of the captain's lips

"I understand." Kayoko said, took off one of her shoes and tossing it down to the floor as a signal. A declaration of war and acceptance as her fog thickened, intermingling with his own. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and her lips curled into the very same smirk Hans wore.

"So… it's like that, huh?"

"Mm."

"Huh? What are you guys talking about-" Aru questioned, only to be shut down by the dangerous players at the exact same time.

"Not important, boss."

"Irre...levant."

Both of them spoke in quick unison, glaring holes at each other, their malicious smirks perfectly matched.

"Guys?" Mutsuki blinked, with utter confusion at what is just going on with the two. "Ehh…?"

"Um… why d-do I feel like something is wrong…?" Haruka stammered, her eyes darting back and forth between the teacher and the strategist.

It's time to end this.

The cards came flying out, and one by one Kayoko lost more parts of herself. Both of socks were gone—meanwhile, Hans was down to just his shirt and pants. His coat gone as well as both of his socks.

The duo is lost in their own world.

Mutsuki she stood right next to Aru right after she had just lost her last clothing. Teasing her and throwing playful jabs here and there, as the two vibed to the rising temperature of the game, or rather between just Hans and Kayoko.

Haruka, on the other hand is was as confused as Aru a few minutes earlier.

"Three-"

"Liar."

"…Tch."

Kayoko took off her jacket.

"Two kings.

"O-one king…"

"Four-"

"Liar."

"…"

Hans silently undid the buttons of his shirt, sliding it off with composure.

Haruka was utterly lost.

"U-um…" She muttered. Trying to gain their attention to no avail.

The intense standoff between Kayoko and Hans continued, as if they're the only two remaining people in the whole wide world.

What should she do?

Should she just observe and play like usual? But the air between them… it was utterly filled with tension…

"L-Lady Aru… what should I do?" Haruka whispered to the outlaw beside her.

"H-huh? Um? Huh?" Aru stammered, being caught off guard by the sudden question.

"U-Um… should I keep playing?"

Aru glanced back and forth between the duo and Haruka before she cleared her throat. "Yeah, you should. Keep on playing and remember what I said, Haruka. Avenge me!" She flashed the biggest smile she could muster, as embarrassed as she is.

"Kufufu~ that's right Haruka, don't worry and just play!" Mutsuki chined in, offering their junior member an empowering thumbs up.

"…Victory… for Lady Aru." Haruka's grip tightened on her cards, her resolve hardening with each and every second passing on the clock.

"Victory…"

Or death.

More cards, more rounds as the game reached its climax. Hans and Kayoko were down to their final pieces. Just a little more, and one of them will claim victory.

Their competitive spirit burned brighter, their blood boiled so hot, they didn't need the heater to fight the biting chill of winter. Just a little more. One of them will slip, they were sure of it.

It was Kayoko's turn. She needed to switch it up. 'Heh. This will confuse him.' Kayoko thought to herself. So proud, so cocksure with her handful of cards.

Victory is hers to claim, no one else.

"Three queens."

"Liar."

Il Vento D'oro plays.

Kayoko's heart stopped.

What? Huh? What?

Had she became predictable?
Had she made a slip and revealed her plan? Did he read her cards?

What had just happened? What did just happened?

He called it.

He-

Wait.

He?

Wait. No.

No… it's not Hans-sensei…

Hans was just as shocked as she was.

the voice was…

The voice… was feminine.

Her wide eyes darted to the one seated in front of her. Her hands shook, and every tint of hue on her pale skin melted down, and dripping down to the floor.

Haruka.

It's over.

How could she forget?

"…" Kayoko stood, with a soulless expression on her face. She hollowly undid her skirt, and letting it fall to the floor.

She had lost.

Then, wordlessly, she walked to the sofa and slumped down, resting her face in her hands. She lost not with a bang, but with a pathetic whimper.

A snap brought the room awake as cards fell to the table, it's sound seemingly the loudest of them all.

"Two kings."

Haruka declared. Playing her cards and broke the shock away, with that sentence.

Hans broke out from his trance. Haruka… right. How could he… she is still in the game. He hardened his expression and let his thoughts ran deep.

She had bested Kayoko… somehow. Did she read her? No. It doesn't matter. In the end he was still in the game. He still had his cards, and victory is still within his grasp.

He had confidence that she didn't read his cards and thoughts. It's impossible.

Yes.

"…Three kings."

Hans had a strategy to try and counter her. He would win.

There will be no defeat! He just needs to-

"Liar."

The color drained from his face.

His grip on the remaining cards loosened, and one by one, they slipped from his hand, like the tolling bells of the apocalypse, crashing into his ears and declaring his demise.

It's over.

Hans stood up with the same hollow expression Kayoko had.

With a slow, exhausted motion, as he undid his final piece of clothing button by button. His hand shifted, and the fabric fall haplessly to the ground—useless, and utterly defeated.

Without a word, he walked to the sofa and sank next to the defeated strategist, mirroring her posture.

Hands covering his face, his crimson eyes were lifeless mirroring the same, deep dark empty void etched into Kayoko's expression.

It's so fucking over.

ハンス・ギュンシェ と 鬼方カヨコ

再起不能 ( リタイア )

HANS GÜNSCHE, ONIKATA KAYOKO

UTTERLY DEFEATED (RETIRED)

"Um… eh?"

"Uwah… they're both donezo," Mutsuki blinked in disbelief. "I never thought I'd see Kayoko like that… and I definitely can't believe Hans-sensei like this either… I kinda want to take a photo but… it's just so… ugh…"

"H-Haruka…" Aru blinked as her gaze slowly turning towards their youngest member. Cold beads of sweat trailed down her forehead and along her cheek as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She didn't know what to feel in that moment.

Fear? No… it's something else.

"Lady Aru… I did it! I-I avenged you!"

It was unmatched, pure joy that she and Haruka had.

"Y-You… YOU DID IT! I- ahem." Aru coughed and cleared her throat to contain her excitement. "I knew you could do it."

Aru stroked the head of her youngest member with a proud expression.

"L-Lady Aru!"In that moment, Haruka leapt into her arms, engulfing her boss in a mighty embrace as hot tears pricked her eyes.

Of course, what kind of boss would deny such a heartfelt joy from her underlings?

Sometimes, all it takes is simple encouragement to take a brave step toward victory. In unison, the demon and the wolf raised two supportive thumbs up.

With the adult raising his head first. Rising slowly from the sofa, he approached Haruka and Aru before she stroked the victor with the same proud expression. "…Congratulations."

Kayoko followed, standing with a sigh and a shake of her head. Acknowledging her pitiful defeat. "I should've never underestimated you… congratulations, Haruka."

"Mm!" Haruka couldn't hold back her tears any longer. "Ugh… uu…" It trickled down from her eyes, streaming down her cheeks and dripping off her chin.

"So, what is your wish my dear subordinate?" Aru asked softly and warm as she tried her best to calm her little intern. She stroked Haruka's back with gentle affection, her touch warm and filled with pride.

"…C-Can we play again?"

IL VENTO D'ORO
COMPLETE

Author's note:
Hello! Welcome back. Fun fact, this used to be Hans and the kids playing Mahjong as a reference to... a certain "fanbook" by a based artist. But I gave up because I know jack shit about Mahjong and how to make it as fun as possible to turn it into words.

Other than that, I hope you enjoy this chapter. 2025 is going to be soon, it's sad, but it is what it is

Hopefully, I would be done rehauling the prologue by then.

Currently, 2/4 are done, and the interlude is going on quite smoothly.

You can follow the progress (and chat with me) on ze discord.

That's all, folks! See ya!