Taking advantage of the lunch break, a three-person foraging squad slipped out of the Academy.
Aisha Carlos, Ren Austin, and tagging along—the little princess, Nova Kaiser.
Of them, Princess Nova was the most excited.
"Aisha, that food you called pancakes, that legendary dish—can it really be that delicious?"
"Don't worry, Princess Nova… erm, I guess I shouldn't call you that outside. Don't worry, Nova, I can guarantee the taste!"
Aisha smacked her lips helplessly. She'd been craving it for ages. The pancake stall outside the school was basically a Fusion Academy specialty—no way to get it back home on break.
Ren said, "Only you would think to drag the third princess out to eat some commoner snack. If the king finds out, be careful you don't get scolded, Royal Knight~"
"The king wouldn't get mad over something so small. And besides, Ren-chan, I don't recall inviting you to come along."
Though they were close friends, Aisha always instinctively avoided Ren at mealtimes.
The reason was simple: Ren ate fast, stole bites from others, and hogged the table. People like that were called 'meal bullies.'
"It's just lunch break, I only wanted…"
Ren suddenly appeared at Aisha's side with nimble movement, snuggling close as she quickly grabbed the Millennium Puzzle and rubbed it against her cheek.
"I only wanted to spend more time with Miles. A whole vacation apart—I missed him so much~"
Ever since her shadow confession incident in the capital, Ren had completely let herself go. Shame was now a foreign concept.
"Ren-chan, we were apart all break too."
"I've already sampled enough of you, Aisha. You can sit down."
"You unfaithful! Mr. Miles would never like someone like you!"
"Heh, it smells so good!"
Princess Nova sniffed eagerly. Though she had never eaten a pancake, the charm of street food was its scent—traveling far, grabbing attention, forcing you to stop.
"This is the place." From afar, Aisha waved cheerfully to the plump stall owner. "Boss, three pancakes, extra egg, and heavy on the chili!"
"Looks like someone beat us here."
Ren noticed the boy and girl already standing at the stall and was surprised others had skipped the cafeteria at noon for pancakes as well.
"So that's Aisha Carlos?"
Following Lishia's finger, Arnold spotted the white-haired girl at the center of the group.
He couldn't help but sigh… the girls in the city really were cute.
The three before him were so adorable that, if they'd lived in the undeveloped western region, they wouldn't dare walk alone. Otherwise, traffickers might snatch them around the next corner.
"She doesn't look that smart. Boss, are you sure this Aisha Carlos is the strongest in the Academy?"
"If you don't count graduates, then no mistake—Aisha Carlos is the strongest at Fusion Academy right now. And she's only in her second year; her potential is immeasurable."
Though plump and amiable on the outside, the stall owner was serious when analyzing Fusion Academy Duelists.
People even nicknamed him the 'Duel Almanac.'
Everything that happened at Fusion Academy became hot gossip among locals. How else could he win favor with the neighborhood aunties if he didn't keep up with the news?
"Who's that?" Aisha's ahoge twitched like a radar. The girl at the stall… face mostly hidden by a pancake, but her flaxen braid was distinctive.
"Lishia—it really is Lishia!"
"Mmmph!" Hastily swallowing her second pancake, Lishia greeted politely, "Aisha-senpai, what a coincidence to meet you here."
"…'-li'?"
"Ah, no!" Flustered, Lishia's cheeks flushed crimson as her dialect slipped out. "I mean, what a coincidence, Aisha-senpai, to see you eating here too."
"Lishia, you said you were meeting a friend. Is this him?"
Aisha turned her gaze on the boy who had been staring at her the whole time.
She couldn't help noticing—dark skin, unusual even across Livorden. However, more striking was the look in his eyes. Was that… hostility?
She hadn't done anything to offend him—they were meeting for the first time.
Could it be her plan to romance Lishia first had already been exposed?!
Then this boy's relationship with Lishia must be…
"Is he your boyfriend, Lishia?"
"Wh-what nonsense are you saying!"
Just like that, Arnold—who a moment ago glared at Aisha with hostility—was instantly rattled and thrown into chaos.
"Me and Lishia? Impossible, w-we're not… like that…"
His tsundere nature was plain to see—even Princess Nova sighed.
"Sally says the tsundere type is already out of fashion. How lame."
"Arnold isn't my boyfriend." Lishia bit into her pancake, her denial blunt and decisive—so much so that it made Arnold's heart sink.
"We're just childhood friends, nothing more. No feelings like that."
"My condolences, Arnold." Ren shook her head. "Next life, don't be a tsundere. People like straight talkers nowadays. Right, Miles?"
"What does that have to do with anything?! That's not the point! The point is—!"
Realizing he couldn't let the girls drag him around, Arnold jumped back, Spirit Eyes on his arm lighting up.
"Aisha Carlos! Since you're Fusion Academy's strongest Duelist, accept my challenge!"
As the Spirit Eyes shone, their eyes locked—there would be no avoiding this Duel.
Never would Aisha have thought that just coming out for pancakes, she'd get dragged into a fight.
"Yes! A Duel!" Nova, on the other hand, was thrilled—waving both arms.
"I love watching Aisha Duel! My knight—crush him!"
'…Nova, don't say such terrifying things with such a bright smile.'
Ren said, "A first-year daring to challenge a second-year senpai—and calling her by name without honorifics. As senpai, you really ought to teach him a lesson. Think of it as a pre-meal workout, Aisha."
"That kind of workout, I like!"
Aisha's Millennium Puzzle flashed. Eager to swap, Miles—who had endured a whole vacation without Dueling—was already itching.
"Miles!" Seeing the glow, Ren rushed up. "If you're craving HERO plays, you can always Duel me!"
"HERO's nice, but this time the challenge is for Aisha Carlos."
Spirit Eyes gleamed as Miles lifted Aisha's short skirt, reaching for her pale thigh… and the Deck case strapped there.
Ah, the nostalgic feel of flipping her skirt—just like first year.
During the capital events, Alice had imposed strict etiquette rules on Aisha, not even allowing her to strap her Deck to her thigh. The last time Miles flipped her skirt was back during the Academy Festival.
The sudden fanservice was brief, but even that instant left Arnold stunned.
In the countryside, a pure-hearted boy had never seen anything like it.
"D-do all city girls act so shameless?!"
"Watch your mouth, boy!" Miles barked. "Or you'll regret it when you're older."
"Ugh…"
Arnold didn't yet understand the warning, though he instinctively felt it was true.
And for the first time, before the Duel even began, he felt himself pressured by his opponent's aura.
"So this is the Academy's strongest—no easy foe!"
"You're the intruder here," Lishia muttered around her pancake.
"The stronger the opponent, the better! Let's begin!"
"Duel—!"
[Arnold, LP: 4000]
[Aisha Carlos, LP: 4000]
Arnold's Spirit Eyes shone first—he'd take the opening move.
"I Normal Summon in Defense Position—Artillery Catapult Turtle!"
[Artillery Catapult Turtle] Level 4│WATER│Aqua│1000 ATK/2000 DEF
A green turtle bearing a cannon manifested on Arnold's field, crouched in Defense Position.
For a first-year, not a bad start—it even made Ren mutter:
"Freshmen these days are already this strong? Back when I enrolled, I was still playing Elemental HERO Poison Rose, rolling dice, Axe Raider mirror matches…"
Still chewing pancakes, Lishia explained, "Arnold's really strong. If you think of him as an ordinary freshman, even Aisha-senpai could get caught off guard."
Ren nodded. "I figured as much. If he weren't strong, he wouldn't be stupid enough to challenge a second-year. By the way… how many have you eaten now?"
From the moment they arrived, Lishia hadn't stopped chewing—one pancake after another. The stall owner was sweating to keep up.
"Let's see… sixth one."
"Si—six?!"
Ren's eyes slid down to her kouhai's flat belly. Just how was she fitting all that? Another dimension in there?
"Thanks for the hard work, boss."
"Not hard at all." The stall owner beamed. "If I get to watch Aisha Carlos Duel while flipping pancakes, it's worth every drop of sweat."
Witnessing the Academy's strongest with his own eyes—he'd be bragging for days. His nickname 'Duel Almanac' would stick harder than ever.
"I activate Artillery Catapult Turtle's effect—tribute one of my monsters!"
The cannon on its shell loaded up. Artillery Catapult Turtle's trademark—tribute one monster to fire it as ammo.
However, Arnold only had the Artillery Catapult Turtle itself.
"I tribute Artillery Catapult Turtle itself!"
He was firing himself.
Sacrificing itself to activate its effect was perfectly legal by Duel rules, yet still—it was a ridiculous sight.
[Tribute 1 monster; Special Summon 1 'Gaia the Fierce Knight' monster or Level 5 Dragon from your hand or Deck.]
"Then I Special Summon from my Deck—Gaia the Fierce Knight! Gallop across the land, Gaia!"
[Gaia the Fierce Knight] Level 7│EARTH│Warrior│2300 ATK/2100 DEF
Galloping on horseback, lance in hand, Gaia was summoned in the very first turn.
For a freshman to play at this level—it even piqued Miles's interest.
"No wonder you dared to challenge an upperclassman so soon. Arnold, was it? You're pretty good—for a first-year."
Aisha frowned, "Mr. Miles, you're praising him this easily? You, the one always so harsh… are we sure it's not about to rain?"
Talk about glass houses. Think back to your own rookie year—what a junk Deck that was.
And this Arnold—on day one, his Deck strength already rivaled, maybe surpassed, Kevin's when he summoned Red-Eyes Black Dragon after midterms.
"I set one card and end my turn!"
"Then it's my move."
Fingers pressing the Deck, Miles relished the thrill of drawing again. This rush—he'd never kick the addiction.
"My turn—Draw!"
"Aisha Carlos…"
It was Arnold's first time seeing someone draw with such confidence. From that single action, the aura of a true powerhouse radiated.
"Academy's strongest Duelist—let me see. What kind of monster will you summon? A super rare with massive Attack? Or a game-changing effect monster?"
"Watch closely, Arnold! Time to teach you the law of the Black Forest at Duel Academy. Against you, this one card is enough!"
With a flourish, Miles slammed his monster onto the field—the first summon of the Duel.
It left Arnold dumbstruck.
So different from what he had imagined.
"I Normal Summon in Attack Position—come forth, Mokey Mokey Adrift!"
[Mokey Mokey Adrift] Level 1│LIGHT│Fairy│300 ATK/100 DEF
-д-?
From Aisha's latest Summoning Class—her familiar yet brand-new Mokey Mokey made its debut battle.
...
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