episode_0016

The day the outsider and the Head of Prefects, Elfelt, dueled, in the Deck Building Professor’s office.

“Th-there’s nothing we can do about outsiders using it!! We can’t control that far!!”

The professor who teaches Deck Building, Deckei, was being grabbed by the collar by a noble student and pushed against a bookshelf.

“I told you!! If that rotten card starts being used, our family is finished!!”

The noble student was Fast, the eldest son of the Vandil family.

He was an infamous student among commoners who called himself the ‘Prince of First Turn Kill’, ending the game using monster effects for effect damage before the opponent’s turn came, if he took the first turn.

“Your situation won’t be much different, Professor Deckei!!”

“I, I did my best…!! I couldn’t very well tell the outsider not to use it!!”

Fast’s deck boasted an overwhelming win rate of nearly 100% when going first. But that was under the premise that it wasn’t disrupted.

“You’re the one who built this deck for our family!! If you sold it, take care of it properly until the end!!”

Fast’s deck stopped immediately with just a single disruption, if a ‘Hand Trap’ came in.

What remained after that was just a field too embarrassing to call a result, incapable of any interference or anything. Once that was cleared, it was over.

“Ugh. Mr. Fast!! Didn’t I tell you from the start it was unreasonable!! There’s no such thing as a deck that’s Tier 1 forever!! In the first place, this academy is the only place it could be stopped, it was a deck that couldn’t be used anyway after graduation!!”

“Kuuk, Argh, Argh!!!”

“Keoheok!!”

Fast let out a scream, threw Professor Deckei onto the desk, and left the office.

‘Damn it, goddamnit!!! That cursed outsider brat, I’ll kill him!!!’

He bit his fingernails restlessly and walked down the corridor with a violent stride.

‘I’m a noble, you know. Do you think I’ll just take it lying down…!!’

*

Student Council Room.

“Ah… it was a splendid duel.”

The silver-haired student council president looked down at the central garden with distant eyes, reminiscing about the duel he had seen today.

“It was hotter than any duel I’ve seen at the academy until now.”

But the student council president’s eyes, as he muttered that, were too cold and emotionless to describe the sensation as hot.

“Their eyes burning with the desire for victory… at one time, I must have had such eyes too.”

Saying that, the student council president pulled out a card shining brilliantly from his pocket.

“I want to see that moment when it is extinguished.”

The card he pulled out emitted a light strong enough to fill the student council room, and

“Don’t you want to see it too?”

In front of the student council president knelt a knight in pure white heavy armor, with six pairs of wings.

“[Sacred Arch-Type Metatron].”

He made no reply, and simply lowered his head as he remained kneeling.

*

Right after the duel ended, many things happened indeed.

First of all, no sooner had it finished than professors and school security guards swarmed in and dragged me to the faculty office.

‘He’s being presumptuous. Should I step in?’

‘It’s alright. I’ll call you if it’s dangerous.’

Marius asked, sounding displeased inside the deck while I was being escorted (I didn’t know we could talk without him being specifically drawn), but since I wasn’t being handled roughly, I was taken away obediently.

“Uwaaa. What is this?! Where are we going?! Help me!!”

“Ugh, you’re arrogant!! I can walk on my own!!”

Of course, Arianna and Elfelt were also taken away together. It seems this world isn’t one where people can only be restrained through duels. Though it might be possible to resist with a duel.

And the place we were dragged to was,

“That was a wonderful duel. I truly enjoyed watching it.”

Unbelievably, the Principal’s office.

“Elder…?”

“He’s the Principal!!”

The principal’s face looked so exactly like the elder from a certain theme that I inadvertently called him elder. He strongly resembled the old man who makes a big splash by cluelessly butting into a beautiful girl theme. The differences might be his attire and the fact that he’s wearing glasses.

The elder, no, the principal, asked us three for the details of what happened. Of course, he also apologized for the rude escort just before.

“There is one thing I’m curious about.”

Judging him to be a good person, I,

“Yes. What is it?”

“Why aren’t ‘Hand Traps’ being used here?”

I asked directly without beating around the bush.

“In modern [Duel Fantasia]… no, [Official], the level of development has become too high. I believe the existence of ‘Hand Traps’ that can interfere or disrupt that is absolutely necessary, but from what I hear, they seem to be hardly adopted.”

The principal removed his glasses for a moment and rubbed the bridge of his nose at my question.

“The composition of decks is fundamentally left to the students’ autonomy. Our policy is not to interfere deliberately so that they can reach conclusions through mutual competition, but…”

And putting his glasses back on,

“From the look of things, it seems there was some coercion involved.”

He replied with a sharp expression, seemingly recognizing it as a serious problem himself.

“I also think it’s good to leave deck composition to autonomy. But in a school… shouldn’t someone take on the role of a ‘Judge’?”

“‘Judge’?”

The principal repeated the word as if hearing it for the first time.

“‘Judgement’. Roughly speaking, it’s like a referee.”

“Hmm. I see. I understand.”

Was it a term not used in this world? I felt a bit awkward.

“You can’t just rely on the conscience of individuals for everything, as there aren’t only good duelists in the world. I think it would be better to pay more attention both inside and outside of duels.”

After saying it, I felt a bit embarrassed, wondering if it was appropriate for me, whose life experience seemed less than half of the elder’s, no, the principal’s, to be talking as if I knew better. I spoke presumptuously.

“That’s a good opinion. Thank you.”

The principal nodded gentlemanly without showing any displeasure and expressed his gratitude. He is a good adult.

“So, you said your name was Gisu. What are you planning to do from now on?”

And he asked me what I planned to do, and Arianna and Elfelt looked at me simultaneously.

“How about you enroll in the Duel Academy here too?”

“I’m in favor too! Let’s attend together!”

Elfelt suggested that I enroll in the Duel Academy while I was contemplating.

“Let’s mutually refine ourselves and aim for even higher places…”

“That’s a bit…”

But I didn’t like that.

“Wh-why? With a duelist of your level, you would surely be accepted.”

“I wonder if there’s anything to learn.”

When I was young, I hated having to do the tutorial I already knew everything about every time I bought the [Duel Fantasia] game. I don’t want to do it in reality too.

“Wh-what, how rude!! What kind of language is that in front of the principal!!”

“B-but, I think it would be great if we could stay here together…!!”

Elfelt got angry and Arianna grabbed my wrist, pleading.

“If you have nowhere else to go, how about staying here for a while as Lady Arianna suggested? We can provide you with auditor status and an empty dormitory room.”

In the midst of that, the principal gave me the right to stay and live at the Duel Academy.

“You are free to live as you wish, and you can leave whenever you want. If you feel inclined, I would be pleased if you would spend your time leisurely and give guidance to the students, and even to the professors.”

I was surprised by how favorable the offer was, but as expected, there was a request.

“I’m not confident I can meet your expectations, but I will do that.”

Even so, it was too good a proposal to refuse. When it came to duels, I was confident about teaching something to others.

Also, this is the Duel Academy, it’s a school after all. There won’t be a better place than here to understand what kind of world this is.

“Thank you. Mr. Gisu.”

And so, I came to stay at the Duel Academy for a while under the status of an auditor.

*

After the outsider, Ryu Gisu, left the principal’s office guided by a maid,

“…Then once again, Lady Arianna. Could you please explain again in detail the moment you met Ryu Gisu? I would also like to ask Lady Elfelt.”

The principal wiped his glasses and requested the explanation again from Arianna and Elfelt.

“Ah, yes. It seems I’ll be telling the same story again, but…”

“Specifically, from where to where should I speak?”

“Tell me everything, even minor details. Including everything that happened with Lord Neuron.”

“Ugh… I apologize for receiving help from Lord Neuron without permission…”

Both of them reported every single detail of everything that happened with Ryu Gisu as commanded by the principal.

That report wasn’t significantly different from when Ryu Gisu was present, but in a few parts that were glossed over quietly, the principal requested detailed explanations, and they answered the questions to the best of their knowledge.

“I see. I understand well. Thank you.”

After the report finished, the principal rubbed the bridge of his nose again and used magic to move a quill pen, taking shorthand notes.

“…Um, Principal. There is one thing I am curious about.”

Elfelt spoke to the principal, who was doing that, with a little hesitation.

“Yes. Is there something bothering you?”

“The beings capable of manifesting Legend Cards, the ‘Chosen Ones’… perhaps.”

Elfelt paused to catch her breath, then,

“Are they all beings from other worlds?”

She asked with an anxious expression, as if hoping it wasn’t the case, even while asking.

“…Why do you think that?”

“How should I say it, it’s just… intuition.”

To Elfelt, who regretted asking even while doing so, wondering if it was right to ask such a question based merely on intuition to the principal,

“Lady Elfelt’s intuition is always correct.”

The principal uttered a positive answer.