episode_0022

We headed together towards the main gate of Duel Academy.

“Are we flying by magic to the card shop?”

“Of course not. We flew last night because it was an emergency, but today we’ll go normally.”

At Elfelt’s answer, I suddenly thought it might be convenient to fly using Marius’s ability, but I stopped myself, thinking that if it became known that I not only possessed [Ice Mirror Marius] but was also a ‘Chosen One’, it would cause no end of trouble.

“That person, he’s the outsider from this morning, right? And the one next to him is the Head Prefect.”

“The fact that he’s the owner of the newly discovered [Four Mirrors], does that mean he’s someone really important…?”

“Who’s that first-year student walking with them?”

Even now, as the three of us walk, we’re receiving an incredible amount of attention from the surrounding students.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve received so much attention……”

“I’m used to it when Dueling, but receiving it normally is a bit uncomfortable.”

Elfelt is confident as if used to it, but Arianne and I feel burdened to death.

“Elfelt. Are we walking all the way to the card shop?”

“It’s not impossible, but it’s far to walk. We’ll borrow a ride from the main gate.”

When I asked to divert my attention, Elfelt said we would borrow a ride.

Even though it’s Duel Academy, it has a magic school-like atmosphere, so I wondered if there would be brooms, or maybe something like the [Duel Wheels] from the manga. What awaited me, who had such expectations, was,

“Alright, pick your favorite one and ride.”

a horse.

It was just an ordinary brown horse, nothing special about any of them.

“Are these the Student Council’s horses? Is it okay to ride them?”

“I have that much authority. Ride comfortably.”

“…Uh, I don’t know how to ride a horse.”

I confessed to the two who were calmly trying to get on the horse.

“Huh?”

“Yeah?”

Arianne and Elfelt showed surprised reactions as if they hadn’t expected it. Their expressions were like someone looking at a person who says they don’t know how to ride a bicycle.

“Where I lived, there was no reason at all to ride a horse, so I’ve never ridden one before.”

“What? Then how do you do Mounted Duels?”

Riding, no, Mounted Duels existed too. I wondered what would happen if you dropped a card while doing it.

“It’s okay! It’s no different from a cow! Horses are much smarter too!”

“No, I don’t know how to ride a cow either.”

Isn’t knowing how to ride a cow more amazing? I’m curious about what kind of place Arianne’s hometown is.

“…Well, that could be. You can’t be good at everything. I understand.”

Elfelt said this with an uncharacteristically gentle, yet somehow pleased expression, saying she understood. It’s incredibly annoying.

“Actually, it’s against school rules, but… this time we’ll have no choice but to ride together behind someone.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

I’ve ridden behind a bicycle or motorcycle a few times. It probably won’t be much different with a horse. Probably.

“The Rider behind… Uh, then there’s no helping it! You’ll ride behind me…”

“No, let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors.”

While Arianne leaped onto the horse and gestured, Elfelt raised her fist.

“Scissors, rock, paper, paper, paper. Tsk.”

“I won!”

And after a few ties, Arianne won.

“Since Arianne won, I should ride behind Elfelt, right?”

“? You should ride behind me.”

“A match is a match. Ride behind Arianne.”

Naturally, I thought I would ride behind the person who lost, but for some reason, it was decided that I would ride behind the winner, as if it were obvious.

“…Arianne. I’m counting on you.”

“Yes! Please count on me!”

Asking for the reason was too much of a bother, so I quietly got on behind Arianne.

“Hup.”

…I tried to get on.

“Hyuup!”

But the horse was taller than I thought, so it wasn’t easy to get on.

“Here, take my hand and climb up. It’s okay.”

“……”

Holding Arianne’s hand, which had a face as gentle as Elfelt’s just before, I barely got on. My face is burning.

From now on, if I have somewhere to go, I’ve decided to just walk leisurely. Or run diligently on two feet. Since I’m not the Meklord Emperor, maybe that’s impossible.

*

Honestly, riding a horse for the first time was a little scary.

I tried not to grab Arianne’s waist as much as possible, but she kept speeding up, so in the end, I had no choice but to firmly grip her slender waist.

“Arianne!! Stop speeding up all the time?!”

“S-sorry!! My waist is ticklish, so I keep… Uhyat?!”

Since my presence seems to be the reason for her speeding up, it’s even embarrassing to complain.

“Whew. We’re here. How should I put it, it was a good experience.”

“Sorry. Since this is my first time riding a horse.”

“…On the way back, ride behind me. It’s hard to watch.”

Anyway, after twists and turns, we arrived at the card shop in the city, or rather, the card shop street ‘Structure Street’.

‘A shopping street made up only of card shops, that’s amazing.’

It was an amazing street lined with card shops, a place that would make any Duelist’s heart pound. It was exactly like the streets in card game promotion anime, and the added fantasy atmosphere gave it a fresh feel.

“First, shall we go here? It’s not a very big shop, but I frequent it because the prices are cheap.”

Following Elfelt’s guidance, we entered a card shop slightly tucked away from the entrance.

Compared to modern TCG stores, it was a place with a somewhat magical atmosphere, like a stationery store that had been operating for decades, which made my heart pound.

“……”

Upon entering, the owner who seemed to be the shop owner glanced over at us, then fiddled with a ledger without even greeting us. The owner’s gruffness also gave it a stationery store feel.

“I remember the numbers. Let’s see…”

Following Elfelt’s gesture, we scanned along the cards displayed in long rows on the wall, and

“…They’re not here.”

We were met with an empty spot. [Spirit of the Lock] seemed to be all sold out and wasn’t there.

“Well, everyone must be trying to get them quickly, so it can’t be helped. Shall we look for other cards?”

Elfelt immediately looked for other cards, as if she had expected something like this might happen, and

“Not here.”

“They’re not here.”

“……”

We were met with an empty spot again. Not a single copy of [Earth Absorber] remained.

“…[Earth’s Shackles] are also all gone. It’s a complete wipeout.”

The [Earth’s Shackles] that I checked last were also gone. Not a single ‘Hand Trap’ remained in this shop.

“Owner, do you have any more stock of these cards?”

“…They all rushed in suddenly and bought everything. There’s nothing I can do about what’s not here.”

When I asked if maybe they just hadn’t put them on display, the owner replied curtly, still looking at the ledger. It seems the ‘Hand Traps’ in this shop were all bought by previous customers.

“Ugh. Maybe it would have been better if we had hurried a bit more……”

“Still, it’s a good thing that the cards everyone was afraid to use are selling well. They were cards that everyone couldn’t use because they were scared.”

“That’s true. I never thought it would be this fast. Alright, let’s go to the next shop!”

Thinking that it was still a good thing that everyone was trying to use ‘Hand Traps’, we toured other card shops, and

“Ugh. Shouldn’t there be at least one copy left?!”

“I know. I never thought there’d be not even one copy……”

Even after visiting all the places Elfelt said she went to often, we couldn’t find a single copy.

“…It seems we’re not the only ones who couldn’t get them.”

However, we weren’t the only ones who couldn’t get the cards.

“Why aren’t they here too?! I definitely saw them yesterday when I passed by!!”

“I didn’t think I wouldn’t be able to get them even after going through all the back alleys… Will they be in another town?”

The atmosphere was that other students who passed by hadn’t been able to get them either, and just then, two students wearing Duel Academy uniforms were leaning against the wall in an alley, venting their frustration.

“You two over there, is it okay to talk for a bit?”

Thinking I should figure out the situation a bit, I called out to the two of them.

“Huh? Ah! The outsider from this morning! And the Head Prefect too! And… the first-year who was behind the outsider!”

The irritated girl with orange braided hair pointed at me and recognized me. The timid-looking male student who seemed to be her friend also recognized me and widened his eyes.

“‘Outsider’ is an uncomfortable word to hear. Ryu Gisu-nim has become a visiting student at Duel Academy. Arianne and I are in charge of guiding him.”

“Visiting student… Yes. Alright. So, what’s the matter?”

Elfelt stepped forward, introduced me, and explained the situation. The two became a little timid at the Head Prefect’s appearance but responded to the conversation with interest.

“You guys couldn’t get [Spirit of the Lock] or [Earth Absorber] either?”

“Yes. Even though we rushed here as soon as class ended, we couldn’t get a single copy. They were definitely cards that were left over until yesterday. I clearly remember seeing them!”

“Something’s a bit strange. They aren’t cards of a rarity that would cause a shortage, are they?”

As soon as I asked, the two answered explosively, as if they had a lot pent up.

“…You couldn’t buy them even though you rushed here as soon as class ended?”

“It seems that ‘good things’ weren’t actually happening.”

At that answer, Elfelt and I simultaneously realized the anomaly.

That the same kind of ‘dirty business’ was happening on this card shop street as at Duel Academy.

“You two, which store did you go to first?”

If we’ve noticed it, the only thing left is to find evidence.

*

The store they went to first was the largest card shop on this card shop street, ‘Duel Station’.

“This store always has such presence whenever you enter……”

Just as Arianne said, it was a card shop that felt like a jewelry store, with incredibly rare cards splendidly displayed in glittering frames all over the large shop.

“Still, now that I’ve seen something truly amazing, I can look at these more calmly than before.”

Even so, as Arianne said, they are modest compared to my [Ice Mirror Marius].

“Owner.”

I walked straight up to the counter and called the owner. Other than having ordinary skin color, he was a person who greatly resembled the [Rich Ogre] from the [Duel Fantasia] series.

“You only sell 3 cards per person, right?”

“What? Of course I do. Why ask such a thing?”

The owner, who was polishing a pot fiercely, replied curtly.

The purchase quantity per person is 3 cards, and depending on the type of Duel, 4 cards. That is the unwritten rule of all card shops.

“Did you really sell them like that?”

But it didn’t seem like the rule was followed.

“Hey, have I been in business for just a year or two?! Of course I sell them like that!!”

As expected, the owner’s reaction looked nothing but him getting angry because his weak point was hit. I sighed softly and gave Elfelt a look.

“…Owner.”

“What is it? A student? If you’re a student, you should just quietly look around, what is it…”

“By the authority of ‘Judgment’, I demand the disclosure of the transaction ledger.”

It’s time for the power of public authority that Elfelt newly obtained to step forward.