"This is… Supreme King's Castle, isn't it?"
Its incredibly distinctive design made it instantly recognizable to Hoshino, even when she was only looking at it on a screen.
The Dwarf King nodded.
"I won't comment on the design, but as far as the energy contained within it is concerned, this Supreme King's Castle is already extremely terrifying."
Although the Dwarf King had never actually seen Jaden's Supreme King's Castle before, she had still been able to lock onto its location through the global positioning system. The terrifying energy radiating outward from the castle was undoubtedly a major reason.
Hoshino sighed in amazement.
"To construct such a gigantic castle in just one day… just how much power has Jaden gained?"
"It isn't simply a gigantic castle."
The Dwarf King adjusted the resolution of the positioning system, enlarging the image displayed before everyone.
"What the…?!"
Hoshino sucked in a breath of cold air.
An army stood in perfectly ordered formations, every soldier wearing identical black heavy armor. Their numbers were impossible to estimate.
"So it isn't just the castle. Jaden actually prepared an entire army within a single day?"
["Aibo, is this the 'ambition' Supreme King mentioned before he left?"]
A castle and an army built during such a turbulent period.
The ambition of the Supreme King, like an authoritarian ruler, practically overflowed from the screen.
"It's difficult to imagine this being the work of a human."
The Dwarf King analyzed the situation.
"Even with the authority possessed by a King, accomplishing something on this scale within a single day would be extremely difficult."
"So the most important question now is: where exactly is Supreme King's Castle?" Hoshino asked.
The Dwarf King helplessly pointed toward the floor.
"Masaka… it's underground?!" Akasha exclaimed in surprise.
"It is on the other side of the planet," the Dwarf King answered. "The location directly opposite our current position on this planet is where Supreme King's Castle has been established."
Hoshino thought for a moment.
"The opposite side of Duel Island? Wouldn't that put it somewhere near Europe? Why would Jaden go all the way there?"
"Hoshino, I think you're overlooking something."
The Dwarf King reminded her:
"This is a world whose territory expanded after Super Polymerization! It's more than three times the size of your original planet. And the current location of Supreme King's Castle can be considered one of the points farthest from us."
Only after being reminded did Hoshino remember.
The planet's entire surface area had expanded because the two worlds had fused together.
If Supreme King's Castle was located on the opposite side of the planet, the distance was no longer simply the distance between Duel Academy Island and the European continent.
The Dwarf King continued:
"You asked why the Supreme King deliberately went to such a remote location. My guess is this — he established Supreme King's Castle at the point farthest from us in order to delay us for as long as possible."
"You mean… Jaden is hiding from us?"
After hearing the answer, Akasha looked somewhat dejected.
"I don't know. That's only my speculation. But the most troublesome possibility right now is that if the Supreme King really intended to delay the time it would take us to find him… then he succeeded."
Minazuki asked:
"You said Jaden successfully bought himself time. Does that mean that even after we've discovered the location of Supreme King's Castle, we still can't get there immediately?"
"That's right."
"Even if we departed immediately and didn't waste a single second along the way, it would probably take us an entire week to reach Supreme King's Castle."
The Dwarf King shrugged and laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Unfortunately, none of the aircraft we currently have can sustain high-intensity flight continuously for an entire week while traveling without sleep or rest."
After all, even on the Earth of the past, the world's longest commercial flights lasted only around nineteen hours.
Furthermore, the world after Super Polymerization was filled with unknown dangers, making it impossible to provide aircraft with supplies along the way.
"Can't the advanced scientific technology of the Dwarves solve that problem?" Kaiba asked.
"Sorry, but not with aircraft alone… Dwarves are generally pretty reclusive. They rarely have any desire to communicate with other countries, and they don't travel very far from home very often. So their technological development in the field of aircraft isn't particularly advanced. It's probably about the same as your world's technology."
At the thought of all those little Dwarf girls staying indoors all day, tinkering with their high-tech toys and refusing to leave their homes, Hoshino felt that the image hit exactly the right spot for her personal sense of cuteness.
But this wasn't the time to admire how adorable the Dwarves were.
The situation had reached a deadlock.
Even after discovering the location of Supreme King's Castle, everyone had no way to reach it.
Minazuki clenched his fist and angrily punched the wall.
"Damn it! Why are you hiding from us like this, Jaden?! Didn't we agree that the friendship between men becomes unbreakable after we've seen each other naked and scrubbed each other's backs?!"
"Master…"
Artoria Caster's gentle voice quietly came from beside Hoshino.
"Hmm? Did you think of a solution, Artoria?"
"No."
"I just wanted to ask if you'd like to take a bath together tonight."
"W-Why did you suddenly bring that up?"
"I want to become a little closer to you too, Master."
"Everyone at Chaldea seems to have such a deep bond with you, Master. I'm a little jealous."
"Taking a bath together is fine, I guess. But the trust between everyone at Chaldea wasn't created because we took baths together…"
Although Hoshino had already spent many years in this world, this was her first time trying to establish a bond with a completely new Servant in another world.
Maybe taking a bath together really could increase their Bond Level.
It wasn't necessarily a bad idea to try.
Of course, it absolutely wasn't because Hoshino was attracted to Artoria's body.
Akasha's cheating radar activated.
Even though she couldn't see Spirit-form Artoria, her attention instinctively shifted toward Hoshino.
"W-Why are you staring at me like that?" Hoshino asked guiltily.
"Even you don't have a solution, Hoshino-nee? We can't just leave Jaden alone like this."
"If you're asking whether there's a solution… there absolutely is!"
With the help of a brief explosion-and-smoke effect, a figure suddenly went "BOOM!" and jumped onto the table.
"Da Vinci!"
Kaiba's eyes swept over her with a combative glint.
Although the two had acknowledged each other's abilities after their previous "Duel," Kaiba's unwillingness to accept defeat meant he was certainly not going to meekly play the role of the loser.
Pushing up her glasses, Da Vinci smiled confidently.
"When everyone is at their wits' end, that's when the cute, reliable, and incredibly useful genius gets to make her grand entrance!"
["Wait, wasn't there something weird mixed into that description?"]
"Da Vinci-chan, did you think of a solution?" Hoshino asked.
"There's actually a very simple solution, Hoshino-chan~ The long-unused Spiritron Transfer!"
Spiritron Transfer was a unique Chaldea method of transportation, one that was somewhat similar to Summoning.
It was similar to quantum teleportation. The physical body, consciousness, and soul were converted into a data lattice, transmitted as data to the destination, and then reconstructed from that data state back into a human form.
"Oh right! We still have Spiritron Transfer!"
Hoshino suddenly remembered.
"If we can even use it to travel to Singularities, then Supreme King's Castle, whose location we've already identified, should be no problem!"
Since she had never actually needed to use this function before, Hoshino had practically forgotten that Spiritron Transfer even existed.
"Spiritron Transfer? What kind of technology is that?"
Kaiba and the Dwarf King asked curiously at the same time.
Da Vinci's smug expression became even more pronounced.
"Hehehe~ That's a technology patented exclusively by Chaldea. We don't just tell people about it so easily~"
Unlike the confused expressions of everyone else, Hoshino was already looking incredibly excited, having completely understood the situation.
"That's great! Spiritron Transfer! Supreme King Jaden probably never dreamed that we'd be able to reach his castle instantly! My foolish student~ Did you really think running to the opposite side of the planet would allow you to escape your teacher's Chuunibyou Correction Punch?"
"Hoshino-chan, confidence is certainly a good thing. But I have to remind you of something. Since this will be our first attempt at Spiritron Transfer in this world, there are strict requirements on the number of people who can be transferred in order to ensure the stability of the transfer."
"A limit on the number of people? That's fine. I don't mind going alone."
"No."
"You absolutely can't go alone. To ensure the stability of the first Spiritron Transfer, four people must be transferred together."
"(╯°Д°)╯ Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!"
The moment Akasha heard that four people had to go together, she immediately raised her hand and started shouting.
"Take me with you, Hoshino-nee… I absolutely won't cause any trouble! I won't get motion sickness, I won't wander off on my own, and I'll even prepare my own bento! I don't know exactly what Spiritron Transfer is, but I have to go!"
She even has to prepare a bento?
Akasha, you've completely mistaken Spiritron Transfer for a school field trip, haven't you?
"I want to go too."
Minazuki spoke firmly.
"I called it first, Minazuki! Don't steal my spot!"
Akasha immediately became nervous.
"Heh heh, Akasha, you're so immature. You even have to prepare your own bento. What exactly do you think Spiritron Transfer is?"
To Hoshino's surprise, Minazuki actually seemed more composed than Akasha at this critical moment.
He even looked as though he understood the concept of Spiritron Transfer quite well.
["Could it be that Minazuki…"]
Minazuki pointed proudly at himself with his thumb.
"I'll even prepare Headmistress's bento!"
So it was still about the bento?!
This really isn't a school trip!
Da Vinci summarized:
"Anyway, Hoshino-chan, I'll leave the selection of the Spiritron Transfer members to you. Since we haven't used the system in such a long time, we'll need to recalibrate the transfer equipment. So we'll schedule the actual transfer for tomorrow morning. That way, you can all get some rest and prepare tonight."
After traveling and finishing the fierce battle against the Ice King, Hoshino really did need a good rest.
Her stomach was also beginning to growl.
As for whether she should take Akasha and Minazuki along…
Honestly, in this situation, Hoshino would rather bring someone like Yami Yugi or Aster Phoenix — someone with considerably greater combat ability.
At least they wouldn't be as dangerous as taking someone with Minazuki's half-baked skill level.
Unfortunately, Aster's body still hadn't completely recovered from the injuries he had sustained during his decisive battle using the Cyberdark strategy.
And after Hoshino left, Yugi would have to remain behind to protect the island.
"Sigh… fine. It'll still be better than bringing Crowler."
In the end, Hoshino reluctantly gave in.
"Ya☆Da☆Ze☆—!"
The two high-fived each other in perfect sync.
Apparently, their previous dispute over who would get to Duel Supreme King Jaden had already been completely forgotten.
Hoshino put her hands on her hips and began giving them instructions.
"Anyway, get a good night's rest tonight. Everyone meet here tomorrow morning. Don't be late! And we have no idea what kind of dangers we'll encounter inside Supreme King's Castle, so make sure your Decks are properly prepared."
Even though Hoshino didn't intend to let either of them Duel Supreme King Jaden, the terrifying energy contained within the castle and the massive army stationed there could easily lead to an unavoidable Duel.
At the very least, they needed enough combat power to defend themselves.
"Yes, understood!"
"Alright, dismissed!"
After leaving the dormitory where the Dwarf King was staying, Hoshino headed toward the area inside the Academy where the D-Wheels were parked.
"Um… Senpai?"
However, after everyone else had left, a shy voice came from behind Hoshino.
"Alexis? Did you need something? Or were you thinking about coming over to my place for dinner?"
"Dinner… that actually sounds pretty nice…"
Alexis hesitated.
"No, never mind. I don't want to cause you trouble, Senpai."
Fidgeting nervously, Alexis timidly asked:
"But, um… didn't you say Spiritron Transfer is limited to four people? With Minazuki and Akasha, there are only three people right now."
"Only three?"
Hoshino thought about it.
It seemed that way.
Although Kaiba hadn't said anything earlier, Hoshino had already noticed that he wanted to go as well.
Her original plan had been to use either Kaiba or Eve to fill the final spot.
But since Kaiba hadn't said anything in the end, perhaps he had considered the fact that he couldn't Duel and might only end up becoming a burden.
"Could it be that you want to go too, Alexis?"
"Yes."
Alexis nodded, her face turning red.
"Because this is an important Duel between you and Jaden, Senpai. I want to witness it with my own eyes. If I stay behind at the Academy, I'll just be worried sick."
Hoshino thought for a moment.
Alexis's combat ability wasn't quite at the top level, but she was still fairly capable.
She was certainly better than Kaiba and Eve, who couldn't Duel at all.
"Sure. Get a good night's rest tonight. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"Arigato, Senpai! I won't cause you any trouble!"
Only after Hoshino agreed did the nervous Alexis finally relax and let out a relieved sigh.
"Oh, and… I'll also prepare your bento tomorrow, Senpai. I absolutely won't lose to Minazuki! Look forward to it!"
After saying that, Alexis immediately turned around and hurried away on light, almost floating footsteps.
"I already told you… it's not a school trip."
Hoshino watched Alexis's departing figure and sighed helplessly to herself.
"This girl seems to care about you quite a lot too, Master."
With no one else around, Artoria Caster finally felt safe enough to release Spirit Form.
She placed both hands behind her back and walked leisurely beside Hoshino.
"This really is wonderful. So this is the youth Merlin was talking about, Master~"