As he watched Syrus walk away alone, Jaden slowly lowered his hand, which he had raised halfway in a wave.
The smile hadn't entirely left his face, but his brows had already knitted together.
"What's wrong with Syrus?"
"He already looked pretty unhappy when the duel ended. Was losing that hard on him?"
Bastion Misawa walked over with his notebook and adjusted his glasses.
"Judging by his performance, that's highly likely."
"He hesitated several times during the duel. He had cards in hand that could clear the field, but he didn't activate them in time because he was worried about the back row."
"Once he missed those opportunities, his opponent gradually widened the advantage."
Bastion spoke very seriously, even opening his notebook to mark every mistake Syrus had just made.
Jaden, however, looked baffled.
"A loss is a loss."
"Can't he just win next time?"
Bastion's pen stopped in midair.
"Easy for you to say. For Syrus, he might have lost more than just a duel."
"What else could he have lost?"
Jaden scratched his head. "Don't tell me he lost his lunch? Had the cafeteria already sold out of curry bread?"
"Why would you think of that?"
"Because I'm kind of hungry right now."
As Jaden spoke, he looked down and rubbed his stomach.
"But as long as he gets enough to eat in a bit, Syrus should feel better, right?"
Bastion looked at him, wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words.
That theory actually held true when applied to Jaden.
Yūki watched Syrus disappear through the doorway without immediately joining the conversation.
He could more or less guess what Syrus was thinking.
How did that saying from his previous life go?
You didn't want your buddy to struggle, but you were afraid he'd drive a Range