episode_0006

“I’m back……”

Arianna, returning after washing up in the bathhouse, was like a different person.

Her hair, which I thought looked like a fluffy broom, was neatly arranged and glossy, and her skin, which had been dingy with dirt, was white and clean and slightly red from the heat of the bath. Was it the smell of soap? Even though she had just come in, there was a faint, pleasant scent.

‘Wait, she was a total beauty……?!’

When we first met, she felt like a kid from an educational comic book, but after washing up, she had transformed into an incredible beauty. Even her appearance, hesitant and fidgeting as if nervous, felt somewhat suggestive.

And more than anything,

“……Hey, Arianna.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“What is it. Your clothes. They’re too see-through.”

The negligee, which seemed to be provided by the inn and had cute frill decorations, was made of such thin material that it was completely see-through under the moonlight.

Surprisingly, what should show did show, like the lovely pink top, and her slender, pretty legs……. well, anyway, the bottom too.

“……Ah.”

At my words, Arianna looked down at her body, and her face turned bright red as if she had just realized that the inside was clearly visible.

“So, so, so, sorry!! I didn’t know!!”

Flushed!

And then she hastily grabbed the cloak hanging nearby and covered her body.

“I really didn’t know!! I just saw the de-design and thought it was pretty so I put it on, I didn’t know it would be this thin of a dress, I, I didn’t have any intention!! I’m sorry!!”

“Oh, I see. It’s okay. No need to be sorry. Yeah.”

Was it just a simple mistake? It seemed like she wasn’t trying to make a big decision and seduce me.

It wasn’t that I was expecting anything, and I wasn’t confident I could handle it anyway, but I was just slightly disappointed.

*

After somehow sorting out the situation,

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry……. I was so nervous, I didn’t realize the clothes were so see-through……. Ugh, I’m an idiot……. I’m sorry I showed you something you shouldn’t have seen…….”

……It seemed I was the only one who thought it was resolved; Arianna, sitting beside me on the bed, apologized again. She was now covered by wearing a thick nightgown over it.

“It’s okay. For me, well, it was a feast for the eyes.”

Thinking she would just keep apologizing forever at this rate, I told her honestly, and Arianna flinched.

“……”

And then, bright red, she became quiet. The atmosphere became subtle in a different way than it had been just before.

I glanced at Arianna, trying to gauge her mood. Her ears were bright red. There was still a nice scent. Looking at her made me feel somewhat ticklish.

“……Hmph!”

Slap!

“Kya?! Wh- why are you doing that?!”

“To give myself some motivation.”

After slapping my cheeks with both hands, I calmed down a little. Against a kid who still goes to school, against a precious female user, I almost had thoughts I shouldn’t have had.

Because I am a high-pride card player, a duelist. Rules and manners are more important than anything. Especially rules. I don’t do things that would get me caught. I don’t want to be restrained by a duel.

“[Official] has Spell and Trap Cards too, right? Do you have them?”

I changed the subject. Talking about cards is perfect for becoming calm.

“Yes. I have them. Though I hastily took them out when I switched to the [Legacy] deck.”

“I see. Can I take a look?”

I’m very interested in what kind of cards are used in [Official]. I also want to check if there are any generic cards that I was curious about before coming here.

“……Yes. If you’re curious, I can just show you the whole binder.”

“Oh. Really? Can I?”

Arianna reached her hand towards the sky. Then, a book plopped down from mid-air.

“Having come this far, there’s nothing left to hide anyway.”

Seeing Arianna offer the book with an awkward, slightly embarrassed smile, I felt like I was seeing something I shouldn’t. But it wasn’t like I was going to refuse.

When I opened the book, the binder I received, a blue UI very similar to the PC version of [Dual Fantasia] unfolded. It felt more electronic than magical.

‘The card shapes are a little different from what I’ve seen so far. Is this the [Official] specification?’

The cards in the binder were slightly different from the cards I had seen in Arianna’s deck just before.

First, ‘Attribute’ and ‘Type’ existed. When playing [Legacy], I felt like something was missing, and it was these two. In addition, the detailed design and text format were slightly different.

‘Even if it’s the same card, does it convert to match the duel being played? Interesting.’

If so, does that mean the Legend Card I obtained, Marius of the Ice Mirror, can be used in any duel? I’m very interested, and my heart is pounding.

“Arianna. Can I perhaps see cards I don’t have with this?”

“Yes. If you do this……”

When I, who was looking at the binder, asked, Arianna brought up a window with a gesture and tapped it. Then the binder changed to a mode that showed cards I didn’t have as semi-transparent.

“Amazing. Can I see all the existing cards with this?”

“For [Official], I’d say almost all of them are there, though cards that haven’t been issued for 3 years yet aren’t.”

A very important piece of information came out casually.

“……There’s an entity that handles things like card issuance?”

In this world too,

“Yes. The Duel Bureau, the Minarko Duel Bureau.”

There was a place that issued cards.

Minarko Duel Bureau. Just hearing the name makes it sound something great and very corrupt.

“Indeed……. That’s not much different from the world I lived in.”

I wonder if there are things like banned/restricted lists. It’s incredibly bothering me. Besides that, a mountain of other questions comes to mind.

“Now that I think about it, you said you came from a place called the Republic of Korea on Earth, didn’t you? What kind of place is that?”

The moment I was about to ask that, Arianna first brought her face closer to me and asked. Her eyes sparkled as if she had been curious for a long time.

I had only been asking questions, so it was about time I answered as well.

“The world I lived in, huh. Well, there’s no magic or anything like that. No monsters either.”

“Really? Not having monsters is good, but isn’t it inconvenient without magic?”

“Because mechanical civilization is developed to that extent. You see, advanced science is hard to distinguish from magic.”

“That’s amazing. Do everyone there learn how to duel?”

“No. Duel is just a hobby, only done by people who like it.”

“As a hobby, only by people who like it……”

At my answer, Arianna seemed surprised and repeated my words.

“So, on Earth, only people who want to duel can do it.”

And she said it enviously, with a slightly sad smile.

At that reaction, I felt something heavy drop into my chest for a moment.

“……Duel, you don’t like it much?”

Anything you’re forced to do tends to be no fun. Perhaps for Arianna, dueling is a disliked task she is forced to do.

If I forced her to come forward and do it, I would feel sorry.

“Honestly, that might have been the case.”

At that answer, the moment past mistakes came to mind and my chest tightened,

“But the duel we had today was really fun. I think I might come to like it.”

Arianna rested her cheek on her knees, looked at me, and said with a shy smile.

“It’s thanks to you, Knight.”

That appearance was so, how do I say it,

“……Um.”

Because she was an incredibly, overwhelmingly beautiful girl, my heart pounded.

“……I’ll look at the cards a bit more.”

“Yes. Please look as much as you want.”

I concentrated on the cards in the binder to clear my mind.

Honestly, I didn’t really concentrate.

*

Late at night, 5th floor of the Dual Academy dormitory.

Slap!

“Kya!!”

In front of a certain door, a girl was slapped and fell to the floor.

“……Are you coming now, at this hour, to tell me that?”

The girl who slapped her, a noble-looking girl with blonde hair tied high in twin tails rolled like curls, asked in a low voice.

She was a girl who had a powerful presence in the irony of the red [Discipline Committee] armband worn on her shoulder and the fact that she had unbuttoned three buttons of her shirt, revealing a deep cleavage, which didn’t suit her position.

“Ah, I didn’t know she still hadn’t returned! I thought she was just moping somewhere, hiding……”

“That’s right! It’s not that far away, is it?”

“Uh, what was it, I did try to stop them first, but……”

The girl who had fallen and her companions hesitated, made excuses, protested, and denied responsibility.

“……Don’t you people know how dangerous that place is? Don’t you know it’s not called the ‘Forbidden Forest’ for nothing?”

The blonde girl asked the three who were making a spectacle of themselves in a voice trembling with anger. The three just exchanged glances.

“I want to believe you don’t know. Because I don’t want to believe there are students in our Dual Academy who are so irresponsible and foolish as to do such a thing knowing full well.”

The blonde girl went back to her room and came out wearing a cloak over her clothes, as if she was about to leave immediately.

“If anything happens to that girl, you are all expelled. No, consider yourselves lucky if it just ends with expulsion.”

“Ex-ex-ex-expelled?!”

“Isn’t that too much just for playing a prank on an inferior student from the countryside?!”

“Um, actually, I was just standing nearby, and……”

The blonde girl, who was about to leave, stopped and looked back at the three who showed no sign of reflection.

“If you flap your mouths anymore.”

Behind the blonde girl who turned back with a cold expression,

“I might just kill you with a duel.”

Five decks floated up and shuffled themselves.

As if they would kill them with a duel right then and there.