[V15EX4] (I Want to Eat Carrots)

“I declare check on the ‘Fang’ card discarded by Cyril-sama. This completes my ‘Red Dragon’ hand, so um, I win.”

The instant Cyril laid down the card, Monica revealed her hand and declared victory.

“Ugh… I messed up…”

Cyril groaned in frustration and clutched his head.

Raul couldn’t help but shout in excitement.

“Whoa! That’s amazing, Monica. It’s like you can see everyone’s hands.”

After finishing the board game, they decided to switch things up and try a card game. The goal of this game was to gather the cards for completing a dragon. The rules were simple, but remembering the combinations was a bit tricky, so Thule and other non-humans had gone off to play outside.

Raul went first, followed clockwise by Isaac, Monica, and Cyril.

They played using team rules and Raul was on the same team as Monica. In other words, if Monica won, then so did Raul.

And yet, Raul seemed more surprised than happy at his victory. Monica was simply too good at the game.

In response to Raul’s praises, Monica awkwardly fidgeted with her fingers.

“Um, I can figure out most of your hands by looking at the discards…”

Completing your hand was not as simple as getting lucky and drawing the right cards. Blocking your opponents from winning was just as important, and that required strategy.

However, Raul was unable to do any of that.

The game had been a one-woman show. Isaac managed to defend himself a few times, but Raul and Cyril were dragging down their partners completely.

Cyril turned to Isaac and apologized with a look of agony.

“Ike… Please forgive me…”

“You always go for safe plays instead of big wins, which makes you predictable. Also, your face is just easy to read in general.”

“Ugh…”

“Oh, and you should shuffle your hand next time. I’m pretty sure Monica remembers the order you use.”

“…Eh?”

Cyril stared at Monica, who looked apologetic as she continued fidgeting with her fingers.

“Um, yes. Cyril-sama, you always arrange the lower value cards on the left… In the first round, you discarded the second card from the left without hesitation and added the new card in that spot. In the second round, you hesitated for three seconds, then discarded the far-left card and added the new one second from the right. In the third round, you hesitated for ten seconds, then discarded the third card from the right and put the new card second from the left. And in the fourth round…”

“…”

It wasn’t just the positions. She even remembered how long he hesitated for.

Cyril shook his shoulders with frustration as he glared resentfully at Isaac.

“…Why didn’t you tell me this during the game?”

“I figured that if I pretended not to notice, Monica would assume the same logic applied to my hand and overthink her strategy.”

“…”

“Well, not that it worked. Monica saw right through me. See?”

Monica gave a small nod to the speechless Cyril, as Isaac turned over his cards. His hand had been one step away from victory, and with a pretty strong combo too.

Raul checked his own hand.

(Dang. If I discarded this one, Isaac would have won off me…)

It looked as though Monica steamrolled everyone, but beneath the surface, she had been locked in a close battle with her disciple.

Isaac exhaled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Since it’s so easy to read your hand, Cyril, I was trying to use you as bait while I complete my combo.”

“Yes,” Monica followed. “I realized you were using Cyril-sama as a decoy to go for the Blue Dragon… Luck was on my side this time.”

With Monica figuring out his hand and Isaac using him as a decoy, Cyril was very displeased. He pressed his lips together and said nothing more.

On the other hand, Raul was genuinely impressed.

“If you ask me, both of you are amazing. I had no clue what hands you were going for!”

To block an opponent, you first had to predict their goal. However, Raul was too busy trying to complete his hand to engage in any mind games like Monica and Isaac.

For some reason, Monica looked strangely troubled by Raul’s compliments.

“Um… actually, your hand was the hardest to read, Raul-sama.”

“Eh? Me!? But I’m your teammate!”

Monica fixed her round eyes on Raul’s hand, so Raul spread his cards for everyone to see.

“Raul-sama, which hand were you aiming for?” Monica asked.

“The Green Dragon.”

Both Isaac and Cyril let out a dumbfounded, “Huh?”

Monica continued her questions with a grimace, as though faced with an incomprehensible problem.

“…So, um, why did you aim for the Green Dragon with this hand?”

“Because I felt like eating spinach. Spinach is green, right? So, I wanted the Green Dragon!”

“Where is the logic?” Cyril muttered with a frown.

“I have no clue either,” Isaac added with a wry smile.

“I couldn’t read that at all,” Monica admitted.

Raul always thought that deciding on a hand to go for was a matter of mood, so he tilted his head in confusion. Perhaps he had been wrong?

He didn’t know if it was good or bad to have an unreadable hand, but if they were going for the win, he wanted to work together and win like a team.

(Being able to understand each other without talking is super cool! I want to be like Monica and Louis-san!)

A while ago, during the magic battle with Silas Page for the Sage Selection Exam, the way Monica and Louis coordinated together had been very cool. Raul wanted to do something like that.

Suddenly struck with an idea, Raul leaned over the table.

“Oh yeah, Monica! Let’s make a strategy so we feel like a real team. When I’m in the mood for spinach, I’ll put on the ‘I want to eat spinach’ face!”

“W-What kind of face is that?”

Raul pictured spinach in his mind.

Butter sautéed spinach with bacon was great, but turning it into potage could be nice too. And if they had any sautéed spinach left, it could go into a quiche. The perfect breakfast for tomorrow… This series of thoughts caused Raul to develop a craving for spinach.

“This face! Oh, and this one’s the ‘I want to eat carrots’ face!”

“I see. So carrots would be the Red Dragon then.”

“Exactly!”

As Raul and Monica started getting fired up, Cyril interjected.

“…Doesn’t it defeat the purpose if we can see your face too?”

“Oh.”

“Ah…”

Raul and Monica froze in realization, while Cyril just looked exasperated. Isaac, who had been watching the exchange, sighed as he gathered up the cards.

“Why do you have to be so honest, Cyril? If you’d kept quiet, we might’ve won the next game.”

“…You’re joking, right?”

“What do you think?”

Cyril could not say for sure. This was the man who dominated the previous board game as an evil merchant.

Either way, Isaac kept a straight face as he shuffled the cards.

“How about we call Thule and Pikeh over and try a different board game?”

“Oh!” Monica said. “There’s a game I want to try!”

“Then I’ll go get some more tea and snacks,” Cyril said, standing up.

Raul glanced at the clock. It would take a while for Thule and Pikeh to return from their walk. In that case, he should use the opportunity to prepare for dinner.

He did not normally care about efficient time management, but today, he wanted to play with his friends for as long as possible.

“Alright, I’ll prep the ingredients for dinner! There’s still a lot of the meat Isaac made yesterday… Hmm, what should I put in the soup?”

Considering the vegetables harvested this morning, the available ingredients, and the dishes Isaac made yesterday, the best soup became obvious.

But before Raul could voice his answer, Monica exclaimed, “Ah! That’s your face for wanting to eat carrots!”

“Correct!”

Raul clapped his hands with Monica’s, beaming with a wide grin.

Meanwhile, Mr. Walker watched them from behind with a grimace.

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