"Wuwuwu, I only wanted to make friends with the Duel Spirits and seal them into cards. Isn't that what all duelists do? Why did you two tie me up?" Sera said tearfully.
"Idiot." Julie viciously pinched Sera's smooth cheeks. "This is their gathering place. If you sealed Duel Spirits into cards right in front of them, we could forget about ever leaving this forest."
"We would never do something so ungrateful to those who saved our lives." A gentle voice rang out. Everyone followed the sound and saw a woman with long white hair holding an icy blue umbrella, walking toward them surrounded by several other women.
"They look alike," Yukikaze muttered involuntarily.
The umbrella in the woman's hand was exactly like the ones held by the Flower Princesses in her deck. Could she... also be a Flower Princess?!
"You must be the duelist who saved these children." The silver-haired woman stopped before Yukikaze, lowered her head, and spoke softly. "Please allow me to thank you here."
Behind the woman, the little girls led by the pink-haired child stepped forward and chirped, "Thank you for saving us, Big Sister."
"As thanks, I would like to hold a banquet for you. Would you be willing to attend?" the silver-haired woman continued.
Hara Shichi glanced at the setting sun and nodded. "If possible, we hope to stay here for the night."
"Of course." The silver-haired woman smiled.
And so, night fell.
Beneath a star-filled sky, a warm bonfire blazed. The Duel Spirits gathered around it, singing an unknown tune in soft voices as they held hands and danced happily.
Yukikaze sat on the ground nearby, lightly keeping time with her hands, her expression somewhat dazed.
"What's wrong?" Hara Shichi asked.
"It feels like... they're just like real humans," Yukikaze could not help saying what was on her mind.
"Wrong! How could such ugly creatures as humans possibly be compared to Duel Spirits?!" Sera ravenously devoured fruit beside them, utterly unconcerned about the juice covering her mouth. "Compared to arrogant, greedy, selfish humans, pure-hearted Duel Spirits are practically angels, aren't they?"
"If not for the Goddess of Duels' favor, humans might have been wiped out by Duel Spirits long ago, without even ashes left behind."
"Enough talking. I'm going to get close with the Duel Spirits." As Sera spoke, she casually wiped her mouth with her hand, shamelessly smeared it on Hara Shichi's clothes, then slipped into the girls' dance and began throwing her arms around the Duel Spirits' shoulders.
"She really dares to say anything." Julie drank juice from a wooden cup.
"Sera's words are rather biased." Hara Shichi shook his head, not quite agreeing with her.
"What does Hara Shichi think?" Yukikaze asked again.
"When all was said and done, Sera was explaining everything from a human perspective. That was only her personal view." Hara Shichi looked at the pink-haired little girl, who was timidly peeking at them from afar. "If you're truly curious, why not go and experience it for yourself?"
As he spoke, Hara Shichi and Julie silently rose from the ground beneath Yukikaze's confused gaze, leaving her where she was.
Not long afterward, Yukikaze saw a small, tender hand extended before her.
"Um... Big Sister, can you dance with me?" the little girl asked, gathering her courage.
Yukikaze placed her hand in the little girl's palm. Feeling its softness and delicacy, no different from a human hand, she smiled. "Sure."
Dark Duels Are So Profitable
"I'm saying, we might barely count as partners who get along, but I never said I would share this clubroom with you." Sera puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction as she looked at the three people who had barged into her clubroom without a care.
They had even moved in a small wooden table and several cushions, taking up part of the wooden floor.
"Sera, you're joking again." Hara Shichi looked at Sera. "If we hadn't joined your Game Club in name only, this clubroom would have been forcibly reclaimed by the school long ago."
"If you don't come over, the three of us are starting," Julie said, pulling a stack of cards from her pocket.
Two days had passed since their return from the forest. After resting up, they decided to celebrate properly and hold a friendly card exchange.
In other words, they were dividing the spoils.
"Honestly, as payment, you all have to help me clean this clubroom every day." Sera slowly made her way over to the table.
"Who do you think deserves credit for this clubroom being so clean?" Julie glanced at Sera. "Now that everyone's here, let's begin."
"As for me, aside from my Flower Princess deck, I only have a Melodious deck. I don't know whether it'll help anyone's deck," Yukikaze said first.
"Don't forget, your fiend deck is still with me," Hara Shichi reminded her.
"No, that deck... I still don't think I can use it well. And I don't know how to Xyz Summon or anything, so just keep it," Yukikaze said with a forced smile, waving her hand.
"Huh? Hara Shichi, you have other Xyz monsters too? Let me see?" Sera curiously stretched out her little hand toward him.
Hara Shichi handed over Fiend Death God Thanatos, which he had not taken out in a long time.
"Ew, it's so ugly." Sera looked at Thanatos's card art with disgust. "And it needs two Dark Attribute monsters. My Traptrix are Earth Attribute, so I can't use it."
As she spoke, Sera looked toward Julie. "Julie, aren't all your Zombie-Type monsters Dark Attribute?"
"That may be true, but getting two Level 4 monsters together is troublesome too. I don't need it either." Julie lazily propped up her chin. Compared to before, she no longer craved Xyz monsters as much. Even if Xyz monsters were rare, there was no need to include them if they did not fit the deck.
"Isn't it because you two, like Yukikaze, simply don't know how to Xyz Summon?" Hara Shichi asked curiously.
Sera & Julie: "..."
Hara Shichi had actually said it outright?!
Yukikaze hurriedly looked at the two upperclassmen's expressions. Anger was plainly visible on Sera's cute little face, while veins bulged on the back of Julie's clenched fist, as if she were ready to swing it at someone at any moment.
"Let me make this clear. It's not that I can't Xyz Summon. I just don't have any Xyz monster cards, so I haven't Xyz Summoned before. Once I get Xyz monsters that suit my deck, I'll naturally Xyz Summon." Sera tapped the tabletop with one finger, her cherry-red lips pouting unhappily.
"Ah, yes, you got me. I just don't know how to Xyz Summon. You're so skilled at it, so why don't you teach me?" Julie draped an arm around Hara Shichi's neck in feigned intimacy. Secretly, her slender arm tightened slightly, fiercely squeezing his neck.
"My neck... cough, cough, stop! I admit I was wrong, I'm guilty... Let go already, I can't breathe!" Hara Shichi surrendered helplessly.
"I'll spare you for now." Julie rolled her eyes beautifully.
And so, the exchange continued.
"I have a fiend deck, a Polymerization deck focused on Normal Monsters, a Synchro deck, a Skull King deck, and some loose cards." Knowing his words had displeased the two of them, Hara Shichi took out every deck he had brought with him aside from Marincess. Several decks piled together occupied the center of the table.
"Besides Marincess, you actually have four other decks?!" Julie was slightly surprised. Most students at the academy only had one deck and some miscellaneous cards.
"I basically got them all for free from Dark Duels," Hara Shichi said.
"Earning a whole deck from winning one duel is way too profitable," Sera complained, holding her head.
"If you lose, you won't even have your life." Julie knocked Sera on the head. "Don't get any foolish ideas."
"Did the people who started those Dark Duels never consider the price of losing?" Recalling the Dark Duel from a few days ago, Yukikaze still felt afraid. If she had not suddenly thought of a way to break the situation, everyone might be attending her funeral now.
"Well, Dark Duels seem to be addictive." Julie had gone to the library yesterday to look up more information on Dark Duels. In a book titled Confessions of Dark Duelists, she had discovered something. "It said that after a duelist voluntarily starts a Dark Duel once, their soul is watched by a Lesser God. Before every duel, they can't help wanting to start another Dark Duel. If they try to resist, their entire body feels as if it is being pierced by needles."
"What is a Lesser God?" Hara Shichi asked curiously. "Are there many gods on Duel Continent?"
"There are plenty of legendary gods. The Egyptian Gods, the Creator God, the Earthbound Gods, Quetzalcoatlus... they're mostly myths passed down in different regions. No one knows whether they truly exist. The only one whose existence in this world can be confirmed is the Goddess of Duels," Julie explained.
Hara Shichi looked at Ai floating in midair. Although Ai immediately put on a stern little face the instant he looked over, he still noticed the faint upward curve of her lips.
The Goddess of Duels is so cute.
"Then will there be any problem with us using these Dark Duelists' decks?" Yukikaze asked worriedly.
"There probably won't be. I've used them several times already," Hara Shichi said.
"As for me, I only have a Magician of Silence deck that I just won. It has Honest and Black Hole, along with two Mystical Space Typhoons and Pot of Greed." Julie also took out the deck she had won.
"Pot of Greed... if you don't need it, can you give it to me?" Hara Shichi asked. With only one Tiramisu of the Tiara, he felt there might be problems if he could not recycle it with Mewfeuille Castle. Adding Pot of Greed would be safer.
"Sure."
"I have a Gladiator Beast deck here. It has Instant Fusion and Monster Reborn. Does either of you want them?" Sera asked.
"Doesn't everyone have cards like Monster Reborn?" Hara Shichi looked at the Spell Card in Sera's hand.
"I don't," Julie said gloomily.
"..."
"Does anyone need One-for-One?"
"Julie, do you want Allure of Darkness?"
"Rival Appears... forget it, this card is probably useless."
"Wait, I seem to have a Thunder King here."
"Though it's strong... I don't really need it."
"Give it to me, give it to me! I want it, I want it!"
"..."
"My deck feels much stronger now. I'm a little more confident even about dueling third-year upperclassmen," Yukikaze said with a soft laugh, feeling the weighty deck in her hands.
"Yeah, I feel that too." Sera nodded in satisfaction. "Maybe even Crimson Lotus won't be my match now."
"Come to think of it, didn't we forget something?" Julie suddenly said.
"I feel that too," Hara Shichi echoed.
"What did we forget?" Yukikaze tilted her little head, frowning as she thought.
Then her face suddenly stiffened, and she weakly raised her hand. "I remember, we're supposed to have a five-on-five match against the upperclassmen, right?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"But there are only four of us..."
Everyone looked at one another and realized they had overlooked something important.
They were still missing one competitor.
Back Then, I Even Paid for My Own Meals
"We're still missing one person for the match?"
On the way to school the next day, Ghost Ogre immediately offered to lend Hara Shichi a hand after hearing about it. "If my lord does not mind, let me fill that position."
Hara Shichi stared at Ghost Ogre in astonishment. "You know how to duel?"
On this continent, dueling was a skill exclusive to humans. As a Duel Spirit, Ghost Ogre should not be able to duel.
"As long as my lord gives me a deck, dueling is no difficult matter," Ghost Ogre said confidently. "However, I cannot duel using a Duel Disk, so I can only duel on a tabletop."
He understood. She could not control Duel Power, but she knew how to play cards?
"I appreciate the thought, but Ghost Ogre, you only need to stay by my side. I'll find a way to handle the match." Hara Shichi stroked Ghost Ogre.
Ghost Ogre paused slightly, a faint smile passing over her lips. "I understand, my lord."
"If it comes down to it, why not just grab some random passerby?" Ai suggested from the side. "It's a points match. We only need to win three rounds, so it doesn't matter if we give up one."
"That may be true, but if we lose, won't they suffer retaliation from the Crimson Lotus Society?" Hara Shichi shook his head. "No one would be willing to get dragged into this for no reason."
That was right. The attitudes of the other clubs had already made it clear. Most students were angry at the Crimson Lotus Society's actions but dared not speak out, not only because they lacked the strength to do anything, but for another reason as well.
Although the Crimson Lotus Society was arrogant and domineering, it was still only one club. It could not possibly provoke every student.
In other words, many students held onto the hope that, with so many people at the school, the Crimson Lotus Society might not target them.
"Then give them some benefits." Ai waved a finger as if it were only natural. "As long as the reward is big enough, someone will definitely be willing to take the risk."
"I don't have money," Hara Shichi said directly.
"Idiot! Benefits don't just mean money." Ai knocked Hara Shichi on the head.
"Give them powerful cards? I'd be reluctant to part with cards that are too powerful, but if they aren't strong enough, no one will take the bait." Hara Shichi frowned.
"Think again. If you win this duel, what will you gain?" Ai prompted patiently.
"The reputation of defeating campus bullies?" Hara Shichi blinked. "The respect and admiration of fellow students everywhere we go?"
"No." Ai shook her head.
"Our dueling skills will improve? After all, our opponents are the five strongest people in the academy." Hara Shichi continued.
"No one would consider that a benefit." Ai twitched her lips.
"Then what is it?" Hara Shichi had not planned to gain anything from this matter, so he was stumped.
"Sigh, think about it. What identities do those five people from the Crimson Lotus Society have?" Ai sighed.
"The five strongest in the academy, the official members of our school's National Higher Academy Tournament team... Wait, you mean..." Hara Shichi's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Ai, who swayed through the air like a flower, finally understanding.
"Hehe, you get it now, right?" Ai laughed behind her hand.
Before you continue