Chapter 9 : Sister Rice Bowl (3)

Sunday came, and it was a refreshing day.

I was able to find the official TCG Duel Creatures shop—nicknamed Solbit Duel Shop—easily enough.

A signboard with a character holding cards stood out front.

“This must be the place!”

I had everything I needed.

I had finally unearthed my wife’s “invincible deck.”

There was the legendary rare card [White-Eyed Blue Dragon] with an incredible 3,000 attack points, and even [Exodia], where collecting five [Black-Eyed Red Dragon] cards in hand would instantly win the duel.

The icing on the cake was the three divine cards I got from the movie theater.

The deck was filled with powerful cards.

Though I hadn’t dueled since I was a kid… with this unbeatable deck, even losing on purpose might be difficult.

I wondered what kind of child had hired me this time.

With a light heart, I opened the door to the duel shop.

And then—I was appalled.

“W-What is this…?”

Contrary to my expectations, there were no children in the shop.

The place was filled almost entirely with adults in their twenties and thirties.

Duel Creatures.

It’s a game recommended for ages 5 and up, isn’t it?

“I’ll proceed to Main Phase 1. Do you have a chain in response to my special summon?”

“I’ll activate [B of Multiplication].”

“Chaining [Bottomless Urara] to negate [B of Multiplication].”

“I’ll target [Bottomless Urara] and activate [Caller of the Apocalypse].”

The duelists spoke in a language I couldn’t understand.

Judging from the exchange, it was probably something like reflect-reflect-black hole reflect level of combat.

“You changed your protectors?”

“Comiket exclusive gold foil protectors. Aren’t they pretty?”

“Should I get the ‘Naked Big Bro’ protectors too?”

An illustration of a macho guy wearing nothing but golden briefs.

Card sleeves with artwork on par with that could be seen everywhere.

Duel Creatures.

Wasn’t the catchphrase something like “Enjoy fair and mannerly duels”?

Stuff like that is just embarrassing to look at.

“How long have we been slamming cards down?”

“Ten hours. We pulled an all-nighter.”

Girls playing as if their souls had been taken by the shadow duels, groaning like zombies.

Many had greasy, matted hair.

It looked more like a late-night PC bang (internet café) than a card shop.

I felt dizzy.

When I thought “duel shop,” I imagined something like a kids café, with parents my age bringing their kids!

But there were no men.

Only women.

As I stood frozen near the door, blankly, curious eyes locked onto me.

Half were interest—seeing a rare man, an ajusshi at that.

The other half were a silent warning: If you’re not a true duelist, get out.

‘I didn’t know how to navigate this place and was stuck in a dilemma when—’

[← A matched daughter is within 3 meters →]

Ding.

My phone buzzed.

I checked it, as if grabbing onto a rope thrown down from heaven.

It was an alert that a daughter had appeared nearby.

The screen showed arrows pointing to her location.

“Wait… why are there two arrows?”

Was it a bug?

Just as I frowned in confusion, both of my arms were suddenly yanked.

“What took you so long? We’ve been waiting!”

Left Arm: A beautiful girl with long, flowing hair.

She tugged down her mask and smiled, revealing a snaggletooth.

She seemed a bit impatient—maybe even a little arrogant.

“Well, to be honest, we just got here too.”

Right Arm: A girl with medium-long hair wearing a cap.

Her eyes drooped slightly.

She looked relaxed and easygoing—the complete opposite of her sister.

The two girls clung to me, one on each arm.

Contrary to what I had guessed.

They were high schoolers around the same age as Sewon.

And they looked alike.

No, except for the clearly different chest sizes and fashion sense, they were identical.

I suddenly remembered the double-yolked egg from the other night.

[Timer: 03:59:58]

[Data for Ohayu & Ohamy has been newly registered in the app.]

They were sisters.

Identical twin sisters.

***

“So it’s twin ‘Papakatsu’? Does that mean the fee’s doubled?”

What kind of double event is this?

Shouldn’t this be the standard price?

Still, if I could duplicate my money in the same amount of time, maybe it wasn’t a bad deal.

Apparently, you could just sit wherever you liked at the duel shop.

I took a seat at a table with the twins, Hayu and Hami.

“We thought we might as well have some real fun, so we called you.”

“We’re counting on you, Daddy.”

Hayu, the older sister, was the louder and bustier one.

Hami, the younger, was quieter and smaller.

Easy to tell apart despite being twins.

“Let’s have some real fun, daddypa.”

“We really love games.”

The sisters simultaneously made V signs with their fingers.

There’s a saying that twins can communicate telepathically.

Maybe there’s some truth to that.

Anyway, it seemed like Hayu and Hami were big fans of Duel Creatures and games in general.

“I see. I like games too.”

I was a proper gamer once.

Starcreator, Anipong, and the like—I used to have loads of fun with them.

But after getting older, I just didn’t have the time.

“Daddypa, do you know how to duel? Want us to teach you?”

“I know the basics. I even brought a deck.”

“A newbie, huh? I’m debating whether we should use our ‘hospitality deck’ or not.”

“A newbie… I wouldn’t say that. I played over twenty years ago.”

I pulled the deck out of my pocket.

About 40 cards, bound together with a rubber band.

“What… am I looking at?”

(0.0)

“No respect for the cards at all.”

(°_°…)

The twins jeered, their expressions like something out of a cartoon.

Looks like I triggered a duelist’s taboo.

Why can’t you tie your cards with a rubber band?

“Girls, as long as we can duel, it’s fine, right? Who wants to go first?”

I clacked the deck together as I shuffled it.

Among the twins who exchanged glances, the one who stepped forward first was the younger sister.

“Hayu unnie, I’ll go first.”

“Oh? Alright.”

And so, the duel began.

I drew five cards from my deck.

Gasp.

I caught my breath.

It was hard to keep a poker face when I saw the cards I’d drawn.

‘Four pieces of [Exodia]?!’

If you gather all five pieces of [Exodia] in your hand, you win instantly.

And I had four of those broken cards already in my hand.

[Exodia]’s left arm, left leg, right arm, and right leg.

‘All I need is the head.’

As I mentioned once before, [Exodia] was a card full of memories with my wife.

Except for the head, which I had once given her, all the other parts had landed in my hand.

Could this be my wife’s blessing?

Of course, it’s probably just coincidence, but my nose stung with emotion.

“Daddy, I’ll take the first turn.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

I gladly let Hami take the first move.

Winning immediately wouldn’t be any fun.

She adjusted her cap and began her turn.

And what followed was an indescribable performance.

For more than five minutes, cards went back and forth between the field and the graveyard.

White cards came out, black cards followed.

I couldn’t keep up.

Even during all this, Hami explained each action in detail.

Wasn’t Duel Creatures just about summoning monsters and setting traps?

“…With that, I end my turn.”

“Huh?”

When I came back to my senses, four of my hand cards were gone.

My eyes widened.

All of my precious [Exodia] cards had been sent to the graveyard.

“An Exodia deck? Haven’t seen that in a while. Kinda grandpa-core~.”

Hayu, watching from the side, snickered.

Even though all my [Exodia] cards were now in the graveyard…!

I decided to bet it all on the next card.

Destiny Draw!

‘Urgh…’

The card I drew was [Exodia]’s head.

Just a moment ago, it would’ve been the key to victory.

But with the other four pieces already in the graveyard, it was now completely useless.

What the hell.

It was like fate mocking me.

How could a children’s game strip me of all hope like this?

Is this what a shadow game feels like?

“…I surrender.”

(Hehe)

Upon my surrender, Hami showed a slightly smug expression.

So, she wasn’t just the quiet, kind type after all.

“Next is Hayu’s turn! Come on, daddy!”

This time, the older sister Hayu raised her hand.

She dared to call [Exodia] a grandpa card and mock me.

I got fired up and took the first turn.

‘A perfect hand!’

In my hand was the 3000-attack [White-Eyed Blue Dragon] and [Justice Daddy Kaiser-Man], who could summon [White-Eyed Blue Dragon] from my hand by tributing himself.

Strength!

Invincibility!

Ultimate power!

Time to show them the taste of an old-school card.

“I summon [Justice Daddy Kaiser-Man]…”

“From my hand, I activate [Limited Capture]! Kaiser-Man’s effect is negated!”

Hayu cut in with a smug grin.

“Wait a minute. [Limited Capture] is a Trap Card, isn’t it? You’re supposed to set it and activate it after one turn.”

Even if it’s been a while since I last played, I still remember basic rules like that.

“Who even sets cards and waits a turn in the current meta?”

“Tsk tsk, Daddypa. Hand traps are essential in the game now.”

A pincer attack came at me from the twins.

Activating a Trap Card from hand?

And that’s normal now?

Is this game even okay?

As soon as the next turn started, I was helplessly wiped out.

With just one card, they filled the whole field.

The darkness of Duel Creatures.

Today, I saw it clearly.

This isn’t a game.

***

I stayed at the duel shop for two hours recording all my losses.

Hayu and Hami had their fill of dueling and got up from their seats.

I thought we’d be here for four hours.

“Daddypa, you were totally weak and lame. Just like, seriously.”

“You were such a noob, it was actually fun. Right, sis?”

“Well, at least that killed time before the main event.”

The twins whispered to each other right in front of me.

Main event?

Is there somewhere else they’re headed besides the duel shop?

I got nervous as we got closer to the entertainment district.

“Girls, where are you going?”

I called out to them.

Hayu and Hami locked eyes for a second.

Then said to me in perfect sync:

“A father and daughters should know what game they’re meant to play♡”

“Dueling’s fun, but… let’s go play the most fun game ever.”

Their eyes.

Were like predators staring down prey.