episode_0008

About 30 minutes after Elfelt’s attack.

“……So that’s how it was.”

Elfelt, who had heard a rough explanation of the situation from Arianna and me, sighed with a complex expression.

“I never imagined you were the one who saved Arianna. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”

And then bowed her head politely to me and apologized.

“It’s understandable that you’d misunderstand. I appreciate you believing me.”

Things like coming from another world, borrowing a deck to duel, and obtaining a Legend Card were far from common sense in this world, yet Elfelt believed me.

“Honestly, it’s a hard story to believe… but there really is a Legend Card.”

A large part of that was thanks to Marius, who had returned to card form.

“To think that Ice Mirror Marius, one of the [Four Reflections] that hasn’t been discovered yet, would be manifested in reality…”

Marius was a rarer and more significant being than I had imagined.

“Was it such a great card?”

“An unknown Legend Card that doesn’t even have a ‘Replica’. That’s Ice Mirror Marius.”

‘Replica’ might refer to cards with the same performance but lower rarity.

Ice Mirror Marius was truly the legendary Legend Card itself, one that didn’t even have that.

‘Hmm. I don’t really understand, but I’m flattered to be praised.’

Marius’s voice came from the card I was holding. For a supposedly great being, he didn’t feel very dignified. He was likable because he was honest, though.

“Why would the Goblin King have such a great card…?”

“He might have just been holding onto it. It’s definitely not a card that a goblin could handle.”

I was worried if it was okay to accept such a great card, but Arianna didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Arianna. I’m asking again, is it okay for me to accept such a valuable card?”

Still, I wanted to check one last time and asked. If things stayed like this, I felt like I’d feel a bit uncomfortable every time I used it. I’d rather not duel with an uneasy feeling.

“Ah. If it’s that, it’s really fine. I wouldn’t have been able to use it even if I had accepted it anyway.”

But Arianna declined, waving her hand as if she truly had no regrets whatsoever.

“Couldn’t use it even if you accepted it? Why?”

“Ice Mirror Marius is Water attribute, right? Since I only have Fire aptitude, I can’t put it in my deck.”

Another extremely important fact was revealed casually.

“You can’t use cards that don’t match your own aptitude?”

Did I unknowingly possess the aptitude to handle Ice Mirror Marius? Looking back, my hands and feet have been on the colder side. I don’t know if that’s related, though.

“Yes. That’s why people with talent in magic are also at an advantage in dueling.”

Elfelt answered my question instead.

“For example… like me.”

And then she made fire, water, wind, and sand swirl above her palm before making them disappear.

“Elfelt-senpai here can handle as many as four attributes. She’s called the ‘Elfelt of the Four Attributes’.”

“Including the No-attribute, I can use five attributes. My goal is to someday be called the ‘Elfelt of the Four Reflections’.”

With Arianna’s introduction, which seemed as if she’d been waiting, Elfelt declared confidently. It’s quite amusing, like a noble young lady.

By the way, wanting to become the ‘Elfelt of the Four Reflections’, does that mean she covets my ‘Ice Mirror Marius’, which was listed as one of the Four Reflections?

“Don’t worry, I have no intention of taking it. I don’t even have anything of value to stake against the first discovered original Legend Card.”

Just as I felt a little tense, Elfelt spoke as if reading my mind.

“If I can obtain a ‘Replica’ in the future, that will be enough.”

“‘Replica’, huh… How are those ‘Replicas’ made?”

“Well, they’re made by the Minaruko Duel Agency, which is in charge of issuing cards. I don’t know the detailed process myself, though.”

It seems that the entity in charge of issuing cards is the strongest, both in my previous life and here.

“Anyway, Arianna.”

Elfelt called Arianna in a rather low voice. In the scolding-like atmosphere, Arianna flinched, and I also felt a little tense.

“……Yes.”

“Do you know what kind of forest you were wandering in? It’s the ‘Forbidden Forest’.”

“What?! Was that the ‘Forbidden Forest’ from the rumors?!”

At Elfelt’s words of reproach, Arianna, on the contrary, was startled and asked back.

“……You didn’t know? You truly didn’t know?”

“W-well, I had heard rumors, but I didn’t know that the place where I got lost was there… I’m terrible with directions, you see. It was really dangerous…”

“It’s that dangerous? The goblins I encountered weren’t that strong.”

For something with a grand name like ‘Forbidden Forest’, it was just inhabited by goblins and a Goblin King. It felt more like a beginner hunting ground or a tutorial area. At best, maybe an early forest where Pikachu appears.

“It’s not the goblins that are dangerous. What’s dangerous is the ‘Forbidden Forest’ itself.”

“The forest itself is dangerous?”

“Once you enter, you don’t know when you can get out. Unless you escape by flying or something.”

“Ah, that’s why… I see. I understand.”

The reason Arianna and I kept wandering in the same place was because it was the ‘Forbidden Forest’.

“Looking back now, that phenomenon might have been caused by the Legend Card.”

“Is that so?”

‘I was asleep, so I don’t know. But… I might have done it unconsciously.’

When I asked Marius about Elfelt’s words, he replied with a slightly apologetic tone.

‘Because I must have wished for someone worthy to find me.’

“I’m glad I met you.”

‘Indeed. Thank you.’

Now that I, the Legend Card, have found Marius, I wonder if the ‘Forbidden Forest’ has become a safe place. I also appropriately wiped out the goblins, and I feel proud that I did a good deed.

“…Huuuh. There are quite a few things to report to the Duel Academy. Well, I suppose it’s a relief that it wasn’t the worst-case scenario I was worried about.”

Elfelt let out a heavy sigh that seemed to be a mix of exhaustion and relief.

“Anyway, back to Arianna.”

And then she called Arianna again.

“Y-yes…”

To the dejected Arianna, who wondered if there was still more scolding to come,

“…I didn’t know you were being bullied that much. I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”

Elfelt said in a trembling voice that sounded like she was blaming herself.

“I should have prevented this situation before it happened. I’m disqualified as the disciplinary committee leader.”

“Ah, no, it’s not. It’s my fault for not saying anything… Thanks to it, I was able to meet Sir Knight as well. I also found a Legend Card in the ‘Forbidden Forest’. I actually think things turned out well.”

Arianna put her hands on Elfelt’s bowed shoulders and comforted her.

“…Still.”

As I watched them, thinking they were both truly kind kids,

“Huh?”

“But treasure your chastity a little more.”

Elfelt glanced at me and said pointedly to Arianna.

“B-but I protected it, so it’s fine…”

“Ahem, ahem!”

Another embarrassing topic came up, so I cleared the air with a cough for Arianna’s sake.

“Anyway, you said you were the Elfelt of the Four Attributes, right? So do you have a deck for each attribute, or do you use a deck that mixes them all?”

And anyway, I turned the conversation to cards. When the atmosphere gets strange, talking about cards is always the best. I was really curious, too.

“Naturally, I have all of them. Decks tailored to each attribute, and also a deck that uses all four attributes. My motto is to make the most of the talents I possess.”

“I see. That’s amazing.”

Elfelt said this like a villainous young lady, placing a slender finger on the cleavage revealed by unbuttoning several buttons. Her reactions would probably be very entertaining during a duel.

“But you said you don’t have a deck, right? We’ll have to do something about that first. In this world, you don’t have human rights if you don’t have a deck.”

“That’s harsh. Well, I was planning to get a deck first anyway. So before that.”

And just then,

“Could you show me your deck? I’d like to take a look for reference.”

It seemed like it would be a very good sample.

“What?”

Elfelt’s eyes widened at my request, then,

“What are you demanding from someone you’ve just met, you shameless person!!”

“……Huh?”

She blushed and hugged her body tightly, as if she had been sexually harassed. She pulled her shirt together to cover the cleavage she had been proudly displaying.

“Ah. Um, Sir Knight! You shouldn’t do that to anyone else besides me!!”

“What?”

And at Arianna’s words, she frowned and sharply turned her head.

“Arianna. You showed this man your deck? Not just lent it?”

“W-well… It was, it was a really urgent and unavoidable situation… B-but thanks to you fixing my deck, I was able to duel safely in the forest!”

“You even fixed it.”

“Ah.”

Although I didn’t quite understand, Arianna had made a slip of the tongue, and Elfelt took a deep breath with a “Swoooosh”. And after exhaling heavily with a “Haaaah”,

“You, don’t approach Arianna ever again from now on.”

She said this with hostility, in a completely different atmosphere from just before, as if meeting me for the first time.

“…Is seeing and fixing a deck that shameless? To the point of being illegal?”

“It’s not illegal. But knowing someone’s deck is the same as knowing their strategy, their weakness, isn’t it?”

In this world, a deck list is…

“…an act only permitted between lovers who have sworn not to become enemies, who have promised a future together.”

…It was more important than I could have imagined.

“M-me, even if that’s the case…”

“Arianna. I said this just now, but you should treasure your chastity a little more.”

“D-don’t keep saying chastity, chastity!! Anyone who hears you would think I’m loose!! I’m a virgin, you know?!”

Pretending not to hear Arianna’s personal information, I thought for a moment.

“Then do people in this world all live without revealing their decks? There are no publicly available tier deck lists or anything?”

“Of course. What reason would there be to expose one’s own strategy?”

They don’t reveal their deck lists to avoid exposing weaknesses.

Actually, it’s not such an unreasonable story. It might be natural in a world where dueling is everything.

But with that, there are limits to development. Conclusions drawn only from personal experience without the exchange of information are usually incorrect. And,

“It’s fortunate that it was [Legacy], at least. Now that you know, you, don’t ever approach Arianna again.”

“Eh, Elfelt-senpai!! It’s not like that!!”

“No.”

It’s too cruel for a newbie who knows nothing.

“…What did you say?”

“I don’t want to leave a kid who can’t even build a deck properly alone.”

As always, it might just be my unnecessary nosiness. But,

“Arianna dueled with the deck I put together for her and said she found it fun for the first time.”

Arianna was able to enjoy dueling with my help. She said she found the dueling she disliked to be fun.

“Are you going to stop others from helping when you won’t properly help yourself?”

I don’t want to give up on a newbie who has just started finding dueling fun.

“There are courses on deck building even at the Duel Academy. Your help isn’t needed at all.”

“Oh really? Arianna said she can’t properly ask questions because she’s conscious of others around her?”

“……*Gasp*.”

“The lectures are probably obvious without even seeing them. At best, they’re probably just theoretical talks about how to proportion cards.”

I don’t think Arianna would have listened to the lessons casually. In that case, the only conclusion is that the lessons were clearly terrible. They were probably just contents like impractical starter decks.

“If you neglect newbies like that, all they’ll do is quit. I can’t stand to see that.”

I’ve seen countless newbies drift away like that. As a dualist, I cannot tolerate leaving Arianna, who has just started finding it fun, like that.

“……”

“Sir Knight…”

Elfelt glared at me, clenching her teeth.

“……Duel.”

And,

“Prove it with a duel. Whether you dare to be someone worthy of that.”

Like a dualist, she pointed at me with a white finger with neatly trimmed nails, and uttered the words that suited this world of dueling absolutism and that I had yearned for.