"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!"
Illya jolted awake in her small bed, sitting up abruptly. Her tiny chest heaved rapidly, the sensation still vividly real.
"It was just a dream after all."
Carefully wiping the sweat from her forehead, Illya could feel her pajamas clinging to her damp skin from the tension. She decided to take a shower. "Maybe I should watch less anime from now on... all those magical girl stories and bizarre fantasy tales..."
But as Illya threw back the covers, she saw a Victorian-style jacket draped over her. She touched the fabric in disbelief, then tugged at her cheek.
"Eeeeek!"
Illya's anguished cry echoed through the house.
Jiang You lay on the ground, staring at the sky. Before Magical Illya's final assault, he had minimized the pain sensitivity, but even so, he felt a dull, lingering ache, like being cut with a blunt knife. This made him wonder if Konami was trying to eliminate its players.
The reaction of Prisma Illya was quite amusing. Despite being the one who had just cut someone down, she wore an adorably worried expression. "I hope that Illya doesn't develop any psychological trauma from this."
"Even now, all you can think about is her? We may both be Illya, but she's her, and I'm me. If you're going to repeat to her what you said to me, does your Master even have a place in your heart anymore?"
Illya stomped her foot on Jiang You's chest, though with her light weight, it barely registered.
"I know you're after her Card, but your attitude is really irritating! From now on, you're strictly my Servant!"
Truthfully, if Jiang You had to choose, he would have preferred the innocent and cheerful Prisma Illya. Of course, he would never voice such a thought aloud.
Seeing Jiang You nod repeatedly, Illya finally relented. "Alright, stop lying around. You still need to clean up this mess. Hurry up and declare to all of Fuyuki that I am the victor!"
Aside from the matter with Jiang You, Illya's greatest wish was to see her mother again. She planned to have Jiang You take Minamoto no Raikou out for a stroll after everything here was settled, knowing he was more familiar with modern society than she was, so she could spend some quality time with her mother.
"No... there's no need to announce it. Everyone in Fuyuki already knows." Rin Tohsaka stepped aside, revealing Hundred Faces behind her, who was carrying a camera.
"The duel was broadcast live. Of course, when that Hassan who looked like Berserker appeared, Hundred Faces knelt down too. Who knows how much they managed to capture?"
"Ah? This... since when was it being filmed?" Illya suddenly grew self-conscious.
"Probably from the moment you grabbed Jiang You's arm," Rin said with a mischievous grin. Ever since Jiang You had arrived, nothing good had happened to her, and she seized this rare opportunity to tease Illya. "Now the entire city knows how you feel about Jiang You—I demand you become my servant for life!"
"That's not true! I was just trying to use him..."
Illya knew her earlier words lacked conviction, even to herself. While she had initially harbored those thoughts, upon deeper reflection, unexpected feelings had unintentionally taken root. Her face flushed crimson, mirroring Magical Illya's earlier blush. "And what's so great about that liar anyway?!"
"But can't he tell you the truth now?" Rin Tohsaka said, reveling in the drama. Knowing she'd be absurdly busy soon, she seized every opportunity for amusement. "Why not ask him how he really feels?"
Illya glanced at Jiang You, undeniably tempted. However, she hadn't forgotten they were still live-streaming. She couldn't possibly confess her true feelings in front of everyone. Stiffening her resolve, she retorted, "His feelings don't matter. Let's focus on resolving the Duel Tournament first."
Just then, Hundred Faces, the host, strode to the center stage with a microphone. After scrutinizing Illya, she seemed to reach a decision and nodded decisively at Jiang You.
Before Jiang You could decipher her meaning, Hundred Faces announced, "Let us congratulate Einzbern's champion, Illya, on her ultimate victory! After overcoming countless obstacles, she has defeated all her opponents and claimed the title of 'Duel King'!"
"And by the way," the announcer continued, "in addition to winning the priceless Soul Crystal as the grand prize, Player Illya has also won over our host! Viewers, there's no need to call the authorities just yet. Player Illya is an adult, and this was entirely her choice..."
"Stop right there!" Illya shouted.
Her face flushed crimson, as red as a boiled crab—even more so than when she had gorged on Mapo tofu earlier. It was hard to tell if she was more embarrassed or furious. She immediately commanded Minamoto no Raikou to attack. "Raikou, kill her!"
Raikou glanced at Illya, the woman who called herself her mother. How could she possibly misunderstand Illya's true intentions? With a heavy sigh, she theatrically adopted an attack stance and charged toward the Hundred Faces, not even bothering to unleash her signature purple lightning.
Before long, another Hundred Faces had taken over hosting duties. "Greetings, viewers! This is Hundred Faces. The previous host is currently being chased by Raikou, but don't worry, we have plenty of replacements..."
Amidst the chaos, Jiang You finally located Medea.
As Illya had predicted, now that Fuyuki had transformed into Duel City, there was plenty of post-event work to handle. One key issue was card acquisition. While direct card crafting, as seen in traditional Yu-Gi-Oh! stories, wasn't possible, gaining experience and other methods could potentially unlock new cards.
Perhaps learning magic or forging friendships could also unlock powerful cards. The appearance of the Host Hundred Faces card served as a perfect example. Jiang You planned to have Medea stay in this script, running her model shop while simultaneously investigating the game's card-printing rules. Ever since the Fourth Holy Grail War, when ordinary people had pulled hilariously unexpected cards, Jiang You had suspected that the cards weren't specially designed but rather randomly generated—a truly fascinating dynamic.
Incidentally, he had also seen a "Cicada" card in his inbox, accompanied by the Spell Card "Nymph Three Years"—an absurdly weak vanilla card that required three turns after activation to special summon the "Cicada" from the deck. Even the Queen of Insects' summoning condition was less ridiculous.
Jiang You remained deeply curious about what Fuyuki would become in the future.