While Jessica was confused, Mia hurried off, not wanting to think about much anymore. Though wants and reality often didn't meet together too happily. She couldn't help but feel fear of Jessica and wondered for how long she was like this. Was it from the very beginning?
She shivered, wondering if she had been talking to a monster imitating a human all this time.
There was a saying Mia heard from somewhere. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. If she just ignored that one short moment she had known Jessica, that same logic could be applied to consider that she was human.
Yet, even if from this point forth, Jessica looked like a human, acted like a human, and spoke like a human, Mia couldn't consider that she was one.
Was everything up until now all a lie?
This thought circulated within her head for a little while. And along with that, her memory of their first time ever seeing each other played back in her head.
...
Mia looked around suspiciously, finding herself sitting down on a velvet chair. Across from her, was a woman in a suit, smiling rather happily. She had even gone as far as to have gloves on.
While her appearance wouldn't be considered supermodel status, she was considered conventionally attractive, though not in a unique way that stood out from the crowd. The woman was a brunette with lipstick on. She had the kind of look of waiters in an expensive restaurant.
Pretty, yet bland at the same time.
While it hadn't reached uncanny territory, to the point they didn't seem like a person, it wasn't too far away from that.
Mia was a bit stunned at first, assuming that this person was a guide of some sort.
"Where am I?"
As for the woman in question, she didn't mind seeming like a guide at all.
"Hello, you are currently on your promotion mission to reach the second floor! As of now, you are waiting for your contestant who will compete against you. While you are waiting, try to relax yourself."
Mia shifted around uncomfortably in the seat, looking around a little more while trying to follow that advice. After a short while, Jessica suddenly appeared with a flash of light.
Upon seeing her, the woman raised one hand formally.
"Alright! Both contestants are here to compete, we will now start the event!"
A poker table had suddenly appeared, and the woman proceeded to explain the rules of the blackjack game. However at the end, she added a little extra.
"While it is possible for the both of you to win this game, there is a larger reward for being the only victor, especially so if your opponent ends up... less than favorably."
She tilted her head to the side slightly.
"Of course, that doesn't mean you can't work together, but who knows what the other person is thinking? Haha, just joking."
Her formal smile remained on the entire time of the explanation, yet a hint of malice seeped past the textbook look. As for Jessica, she was rather frazzled the entire time, looking around rather cluelessly.
"W-What? So it's just a small game where we can work together to win? That doesn't sound too bad."
She had turned to Mia with a rather innocent, or perhaps more accurately, naive look. It was one that didn't seem to even know of any bad things in the world, when that should realistically be false, regardless of whether or not they had come to the Tower of Cards.
Mia was incredibly untrusting and thought that everyone was out to get her. Yet, despite this fact, she strangely didn't find Jessica to be off-putting in any way, finding herself somewhat attracted to that naivety.
Still, her disposition to be untrusting made her forcibly shake off that attraction, to the point that she internally denied that it existed.
"Work together? As if you would actually work together with me."
The woman let out a laugh, seemingly pleased with the conversation.
"Haha, that is only natural. I do not believe the two of you have known each other for long. Naturally, with the notion that one may betray the other first, most would look to doing so first, or dismiss the notion of working together in the first place."
Jessica blinked a few times, looking as though she were a child who understood nothing from a teacher's lecture.
"But isn't it still better to work together? I don't really understand why you would choose something other than that."
Mia raised an eyebrow before scoffing. She crossed her arms before looking down at the poker table.
"Because sacrificing others is how you bring the most benefit to yourself... If you hold onto some random person you met they will inevitably become a burden. There's no reason to do that for someone you don't even know."
A moment of silence lingered between them. Jessica had put a finger onto the bottom of her lip as it hung open ever so slightly. For a moment, she appeared to be in a lull, as though not even alive in the first place.
Then, she suddenly spoke up.
"But there is plenty of reason, isn't there? I've been helped by people before, and in turn, helped others too. There isn't anything inherently wrong with that, is there?"
Jessica simply didn't understand the world in which they fought against each other. One where she simultaneously understood that it existed, yet appeared unaware of this at the same time.
It was a strange and contradictory state to have.
However, this flew right past Mia's head. Not so much because she was foolish, but she was more focused on battling this pull she felt towards Jessica's personality. A battle she was losing without consciously realizing it.
With her arms crossed and a big frown plastered on her face, she turned to Jessica.
"I'll accept attempting to work together, but just know that I will not be listening to any of your demands that will make me vulnerable."
Jessica nodded with an unchanging expression, thinking not much of her attitude, as though they were old friends.
"Of course, of course. I would never expect you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. After all, it shouldn't be difficult to have us both succeed without pushing the other."
Mia's expression softened considerably. She was more or less convinced already at this point. The woman noticed this, her eyebrow twitching slightly in distress. She coughed a few times before speaking up.
"While it is true you could both succeed, it is possible for one to succeed substantially more. While the main reward is the promotion, this is also a limited opportunity. While I cannot say exactly what it is, you can get a very sought after exclusive item that you can hardly get anywhere else."
Jessica turned to her with an innocent expression.
"But why do that when we could both be happy? There's no reason to make enemies."
She said it as though it were obvious, and that there was no other solution.
The woman was rather astounded, unable to say anything for a while. She frowned hard and essentially dropped all pretense.
"There is plenty of reason. For what purpose is there to care about someone you haven't met and likely won't meet after either? It simply makes sense to do what you need to."
Jessica looked at her with a somewhat goofy smile.
"Is the purpose of helping another person not enough?"
The woman continued trying to argue her point, but it didn't really matter anymore. Mia had already been convinced, and decided to drop her attitude a little. In the end, the two of them were able to get through their game without too much difficulty, both winning.
Mia initially was expecting to go into a place filled with cruelty, deception, and pure psychopathy. And for the most part, it was exactly that. Yet, just seeing one person was enough for her to see more hope for this place, for better or for worse.
It was a meaningful interaction, because it reminded her of Emi.
Helping others, because that was reason enough.
Yet, now Mia couldn't help but wonder if it was all a lie. Whether it was some sort of act that a part monster was putting up for the sake of it. What if it all was a lie?
As her thoughts chaotically went back and forth like that, she found herself in front of a cage, with the same label as her card. The 3 of spades. Inside was what appeared to be a slightly larger than normal honey badger.
All things considered, Mia didn't feel too afraid of it, considering the number was so low. She took a deep breath and got out her katana. The honey badger inside growled at her, seemingly knowing what was going to happen.