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The three dice rolled on the board and filled the quiet room with loud click-clacks. Two pairs of eyes watched them intently—silver and blue.
Navia bit her lower lip as the last die turned still. The triangular surface on the top of the die lit icy blue. The other two glimmered with Dendro green.
She lifted her gaze to Neuvillette’s face. There wasn’t a hint of emotion on the man. Calm like a still lake that concealed its myriads of surprises within its depth. A face that she knew he had perfected over millennia.
Neuvillette simply hummed and slid the three dice over to the other five on his side of the table. Navia could count four cards in his hand. She held six in hers. Both of them were close to the deciding end. He only had one active character card left and so did she. A Mirror Maiden for him and Azhdaha for her. Navia scanned her cards and resisted the urge to sigh. Whatever could she do with three restorative food cards, two weapon cards, and an electro-artifact card?
This round's deck consisted of the most mismatched supports and equipment but it was a given considering she had absolutely zero control over the cards that would go into her deck. That was the rule of this version of Genius Invokation that she shared with Neuvillette. A slightly modified version of the original game. In this game, the only thing the players were able to choose were their three character cards. Their respective Draw Piles were chosen through a random shuffle. That added to the game’s unpredictability and tested their respective skills to maneuver the unknown.
Why would they play the game that way?
Well, playing with the same decks over and over again would get boring, and ever since Navia and Neuvillette had added TCG to the list of activities they liked to do together, it became one of their frequent go-to choice of entertainment. He was skilled at it. So was she. They needed the added RNG element to challenge themselves. It was also satisfying to win knowing that it was due to one’s skill combined with the hand of lady luck on one’s side.
And, oh, the tantalizing reward for the winner at the end of each round was an added bonus.
Anyway, Navia digressed. Back to the game.
So her current Hand was abysmal but at least her elemental dice were merciful on her. Four Geo elements with four unaligned ones. Her energy bar had not been filled yet but that was enough for her to cast an elemental skill and normal attack on Neuvillette’s card. Even more fortunate for her, she gets to start this turn.
She pushed forward three Geo dice.
“Aura of Majesty,” said Navia. “That would be three health points off your Maiden. I believe you only have one point on your card left.”
Neuvillette’s eyebrows rose. He then nodded. “That is correct. Well done.”
She smiled gleefully at him. “Hanging by a very thin thread there, Monsieur .”
“Ah, we shall see about that,” replied Neuvillette. All the while his voice and expression were devoid of any discernible emotions. He then turned his attention to his cards.
Navia had a good feeling about this round. She would win. He only had one Hydro element from his rolls. Even if he were to do elemental tuning he won’t be dealing enough damage to her this round to take her out.
He pulled out a card. She waited with bated breath. He placed the card in the Support Zone. Navia gasped. On the card was the spitting image of Paimon.
Nooooooo .
Noticing the shift in her emotions, the corners of Neuvillette’s lips quirked upwards. He took away one of the Dendro dice and turned the other two remaining in the pile to Omni Elements.
“Three Hydro elements and a fully charged energy bar. Rippled Reflection.” He shifted his gaze to her. “And that would be your defeat, correct, Navia?”
Navia’s shoulders sagged as she sighed. “...Yes,” she grumbled. She took away her card from the board. Meanwhile, Neuvillette was watching her silently with a smile permanently plastered on his face. He was not one to gloat outwardly but Navia could sense the unspoken glee radiating from him.
“That was a good game,” he remarked.
“That was a rigged game,” she retorted. “Five rounds and I’ve only managed to win once. You must have done something behind my back.”
Neuvillette blinked at her. “That is preposterous. All the cards for the Draw Piles were chosen through blind shuffle as usual. Even if I do have my preferred selection of cards it would be beyond me to ascertain that I would be the one obtaining them.”
“I don’t know. You must have channeled in your Sovereign powers to make sure that the right cards go to your deck.”
Neuvillette scoffed. “You are simply fabricating things. My powers are only limited to the Hydro element and anything within its conjunction. Nothing more.” He placed his cards on the table. “Now, please stop stalling. You know what the losing side must do in our little game.”
She threw him a disgruntled look. Neuvillette simply stared back at her with an expectant smile. After a few seconds, Navia sighed, finally accepting her defeat. “Fine. Any preference this time?”
He shrugged. “It is up to you.”
She instigated this several game sessions ago and it seemed to start to bite her in the ass.
Strip-Genius-Invokation. The loser had to remove an article of clothing at the end of each game. They would only stop playing once one of them was completely stripped of their clothing. And what followed afterward was… well.
Neuvillette was hesitant at first, at the notion of sullying the game with such perverse addition. But he had won the first time they had attempted this and the sex that followed shortly after was…admittedly one that Navia would relive over and over again in her head. Sex with her Chief Justice lover was always amazing but that particular night, Neuvillette had blown her mind away. Was it the act of watching her gradually shift into a state of vulnerable nakedness that spurred him on? Or was it the adrenaline from victory? Or was it the combination of both?
From then on, whenever they decided to play this particular version of TCG, Navia would notice the additional fire in Neuvillette. He would be more competitive. Much more cunning in his strategies.
And a million times more passionate as he devoured her afterward.
Tonight, Neuvillette only had to shed off his coat while Navia had lost her hat, her two detached sleeves, and her glove. Now, she had to remove another piece of clothing from her body. She was about to bend down to untie one of her boots but then stopped herself from doing so.
A wicked idea came to mind.
There was no agreement between them when it came to the order of clothing that should be removed throughout the game. Somehow, both of them had fallen into the pattern of removing the innocuous ones first before going for the kill.
But what if she decided to mix things up?
Navia stood up from her seat.
“What are you doing?” Neuvillette asked.
“Nothing. I am simply obeying the rules of the game,” Navia replied with a vixen smile. Her hands traveled to her back and she began to untie the laces of her bodice and unzipped the back of her skirt.
“Stripping,” she said. With that, her outfit slid down the length of her body, unveiling her bare breasts and the sheer, lacey thong she had purposely chosen to wear that night. Navia heard her lover’s sharp inhale as his eyes widened.
Yes, that’s right. He might be winning rounds but at least she was winning the game.
She plopped down back to her seat, making an intentional show of her bra-less chest as she settled back into her chair.
“Shall we commence the next round, hmm?” she asked him. But Neuvillette didn’t respond. His gaze was transfixed on her body. Unmoving. Unblinking.
Navia giggled. “Hello? Teyvat to Neuvillette! I’m asking you something here.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “How about we stop the game right here?” he asked. His eyes remained much lower than where Navia’s face had been and that didn’t go unnoticed by her. She chortled at the sight.
“Oh, mighty Hydro dragon! My eyes are up here.” She clicked her fingers in front of his face, pulling his attention away from her breasts. Not that she minded being ogled by him but the show must go on.
Neuvillette reluctantly shifted his gaze up to meet Navia’s. “Is it necessary to play some more?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “That is the rule of the game. We don’t stop until someone is completely naked. Now come on. The faster we finish the games, the faster we can get to the post-game activities .” She collected all the cards on the table into a pile and began to shuffle them.
Neuvillette sighed. “Fine. But be warned, your next defeats will be swift.”
“Oh my, you sound so certain of yourself.”
“That is because I am.” There it was, the competitive fire flickering in his eyes. It burned much more fiercely with his unbridled desire for her. A small shiver ran down her spine.
“Alright then.” She smirked at his challenge and handed a pile of thirty cards to him. “Game on, my love.”
It was going to be another exciting night.