Item: Illusory Iris Confession

No wonder she had grown up in a tavern.

Before long, the sizzling aroma of meat filled the entire courtyard.

Lance did not sit idle either. Like a magician, he brought out all kinds of desserts and snacks, piling them across the long table in the courtyard.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes.

The girls' cheeks were all flushed with a tipsy blush, and the atmosphere gradually grew livelier.

"Hehe, let me show you something good."

Amber mysteriously pulled an exquisite black velvet box from her clothes and slapped it onto the table.

"What is this?"

Nia leaned closer curiously.

"It was a parting gift from one of my dad's teammates back when he used to go adventuring."

Amber opened the box, her tone carrying a hint of pride.

"This is a genuine magical item. It's called [Illusory Iris Confession]."

"They say it was handcrafted by a witch."

At the word "witch," the other two girls' eyes immediately lit up. Flora, who had been a little dazed, sat upright at once.

In this world, witches were an exceptionally special demi-human race.

They possessed unique soul structures and held an almost obsessive understanding of emotions.

Thus, in the songs of bards across the continent, witches were often the heroines of tragic love stories.

Of course.

In some more realistic unofficial histories, they were also the creators of those terrifying love-fueled bloodbaths.

"A witch-made item? Given to your dad?"

Lance sat to the side, and a bold thought suddenly popped into his mind.

Could that so-called teammate have wanted to use this item to subtly confess something to Amber's burly adventurer father?

Why did this sound a little like one of those agonizing romance stories?

But seeing how excited the girls were, he wisely swallowed that wild thought and leaned in curiously as well.

This was his first time getting such a close look at a rare magical object like this.

Amber took the cards out of the box.

The material of the deck was extremely peculiar. It felt cool and smooth to the touch, as though it had been polished from impossibly thin crystal slices.

The backs of the cards bore intricate, exquisite silver iris patterns that shimmered faintly beneath the lights.

The fronts, however, were completely snow-white, with nothing on them.

"This thing is amazing."

Amber introduced it like a salesperson.

"When you flip one over, a difficult question specifically for you will appear on the card. You have to answer it honestly in front of everyone."

"It will display a different color depending on how truthful your answer is."

At that point, Amber deliberately paused, grinning mischievously as she kept them in suspense.

"As for which color means what, you'll find out once we play."

"Me first! Me first!"

Nia had long been unable to contain her curiosity and raised her hand high.

She stretched out a finger and carefully flipped over the top card.

Patterns and words slowly emerged on the previously blank card face, like ink spreading through water.

In the upper left corner was a bright red Two of Hearts.

At the center of the card was a somewhat abstract stick-figure drawing.

It showed four little figures sleeping, each with distinct features. They were unmistakably the four people present.

But strangely enough.

The little figure representing Lance was sleeping sprawled out between the three girls.

"Huh?"

Flora rubbed her eyes, voicing her adorably bewildered question.

"Why is Lance sleeping right in the middle of us?"

Lance looked at the image, cold sweat practically pouring down his back as he hurriedly waved his hands in protest.

"I've been wronged! That has never happened!"

How could this stupid card slander him out of nowhere?

Nia ignored the absurdity of the picture and turned her attention to the words below it.

[Among the four of us, whose sleeping face do you think is the cutest?]

"Huh?"

Nia froze and let out a brief cry.

What kind of question was that?

Before she could react, Amber suddenly put on a stern face and urged her in a serious tone, "Answer quickly! Be serious! And you have to say it within three seconds, or this card will explode!"

"E-Explode?!"

Nia turned pale with fright, her mind instantly going blank as she reflexively shouted out a name.

"Flora!"

"I choose Flora!"

The moment her words fell.

The crystal card did not explode. Instead, a soft, gradually shifting azure glow began to spread around its edges.

The light was pure and clear, like the sky after rain.

Amber took the card from her, the seriousness on her face instantly turning into a sly smile.

"If it turns this azure color, it means you spoke the truth."

Then, her suspicious eyes swept back and forth between Nia and Flora as though she had caught them red-handed.

"Tell me honestly, when did you two sleep together?"

"How come I didn't know? Were you forming a little clique behind my back?"

"We weren't!"

Nia's face turned red as she hurriedly defended herself.

"It was last time! When Flora got drunk!"

With that reminder, Amber suddenly remembered.

There really had been such a time.

Just like today, Flora had collapsed onto the table after three cups of fruit wine, sleeping as peacefully as a little pig.

The two of them had been watching beside her then.

"Wait—"

Nia suddenly caught on and pointed at Amber as she shouted.

"You were bluffing me just now? This card can't explode at all, can it?!"

"Are you an idiot?"

Amber laughed triumphantly.

Puffing out her cheeks, Nia shoved the remaining stack of cards toward Amber.

"Your turn!"

Amber did not refuse and casually drew a card.

Three of Clubs.

The image on the card changed, showing four people sitting around together and playing cards.

[When the four of us first got together to play Three Dragon Cards, who lost the worst?]

Amber froze when she saw the question.

The miserable scene from that day instantly surfaced in her mind.

A certain overly confident receptionist had lost so badly she had nearly run out of money for breakfast the next day. In the end, Lance had secretly gone easy on her so she could win it back.

But she glanced at Nia beside her, whose eyes were wide as she waited eagerly for a good show.

Amber blinked and promptly gave a name without the slightest hesitation.

"Lance."

As soon as she finished answering.

This time, the card did not emit an azure glow.

Instead, it was covered in a warm golden radiance, like the afterglow of the setting sun.

"Gold?"

Lance was rather curious.

Wasn't this supposed to be a lie detector? Since she had lied, shouldn't it turn some warning color like red or black?

At that moment, Flora, who had been quietly sitting beside them, was holding the velvet card box in her hands.

She pointed to the explanation at the bottom of the box and softly read aloud, "It explains the colors here—"

"Pale gold represents—a gentle lie."

7

"It means the lie was not meant to deceive or harm, but came from kindness."