Goddesses, this girl got on her nerves.

Amy was just so [i]bright[/i] and [i]cheery[/i] and it was incredibly unnerving because Gertrude knew that no one was as nice as this Demon- this [i]literal Demon[/i]- pretended to be. The way she just [i]assumed[/i] she could trot up and boop Gertrude's nose made her nostrils flare. Her nose was [i]not[/i] for booping, and she growled as the chatty little monster went on about how nice she was.

What a fraud, but at least Amy was preferable to the people who already wanted to physically harm her. For now. At the very least, the woman was easier on the eyes than the cavalcade of sweaty, musclebound dullards that made up most of the ranks of the Iron Roses. Like her dad, them. She almost couldn't wait for the opportunity to show them all how much stronger she was than anyone else.

Gertrude had honestly hoped to scare Amy a little by suggesting they depart alone, but it was almost as if it never even occurred to the Demon that Gertrude would hurt her. She annoyingly strutted off, happy as a peach, and left Gertrude clicking her tongue as she followed. Along the way to their first stop, Amy needled and prodded her with off-putting questions. The comment about Gretchen, especially, was concerning. Everyone else was ready to just accept her lies, and they were easy lies to swallow considering there really wasn't a feasible alternative story. Why would Amy pick on that? She had to know something. Gertrude scoffed.

"Who else would she be, if not my sister? Did Merilia drop a broom on your head, too? What manner of daft insinuation is that?"

Their steps slowed to a stop as they reached their destination. Apparently Amy meant to start with the most useless place in Candaeln. Gertrude rolled her eyes, and then snorted when Amy claimed to be a cleric. A Demon cleric? She'd never heard something so ridiculous. Then, Amy revealed that she at least knew some basic magic tricks and offered her a wreath. Did the woman think Gertrude was stupid? It was obviously a prank of some sort. The moment she took it, it would explode or scream or something. The finale to her dumb little show. Well Gertrude wouldn't be had so easily. She crossed her arms under her chest and frowned down at the Demon.

"Sure, I'll visit the chapel if I don't have anything more useful to do. But I doubt the castle will run out of wall to smack my head against any time soon," she said, not hiding an ounce of the disdain she had for Amy's supposed religion, "I probably have too many sins for those old hags to handle, anyways. I enjoyed the song and dance, it was cute, but I'm not taking that wreath. I know what happens when I touch it. It's a prank, right? You want to screw with me, just like the others. I'm not interested in looking like a fool, so I won't even bother to confirm it with a spell. Just take me elsewhere. A good place to nap, perhaps."

---

Gretchen did her best to hide the smug smile that wanted to creep up on her face as Renar and Gerard took a seat at the table. This would be like taking candy from babies. Even if an idiot plays a million games, he'll always be an idiot. They both seemed so confident, too. Did their foolishness know no bounds? Gretchen had rarely played before, herself, because gaming with the other apprentices rapidly devolved into a magical cheating contest. Not that she couldn't win such a competition, but it was so much more gratifying to completely trounce a person fair and square-

...And then she took a look at the deck they were playing with.

An addendum: Even if you're an idiot, if you play a million games with the same cards, you'll eventually learn what everything is by sight.

Gretchen frowned. There was no doubt that she could quickly learn all the cards as well. However, if other players also had perfect information, it was a solved game. Skill, probability, and deception didn't even enter into it. There was one remedy for it.

"Surely you'll extend the hospitality of allowing the newcomers to deal, yes?"

It didn't matter who else dealt, as long as they couldn't pick out the exact cards that everyone would have. From there, Gretchen would learn the cards, and mark up every card she could put her hands on to make sure that only she could tell what was what. In just a few hands, she could probably render half the deck unrecognizable to these old cheaters.