Chapter 35: I Almost Got to Pilot a Gundam
"Take it. No charge~"
When Amano casually handed over the card without a second thought, Kaiba Chiha assumed the guy was joking around, tossing her some random card.
But once she got a clear look at the card in her hands and confirmed it really was Blue-Eyes White Dragon—
The petite girl froze on the spot.
She couldn't make sense of Amano's move at all.
What did he mean by "take it, no charge"?
This was Blue-Eyes White Dragon—her sister's lifelong pursuit, one of only four ultra-rare cards in the entire world.
Just... giving it away?
Of course, after the brief shock passed, it was replaced by Kaiba Chiha's incomparable joy.
I finally got it—the fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
The 120% pure sis-con Chiha began fantasizing about how intensely her beloved sister would praise her after seeing this card.
Her legs unconsciously clenched together.
Well done! You're very sensible, Amano Rei!
[Kaiba Chiha Affection +10]
[Kaiba Chiha] [Affection: 70]
That was an unexpected bonus.
Amano had intended to use this method to make Kaiba Chiha face reality, but instead he'd triggered a reward.
[New Romance Skill Unlocked - Among Three Thousand Streams, Take But One Ladle]
This skill name was actually the most romance-like one yet.
[Select any single card from the entire Extra Deck pool to unlock. This skill can only be used once. Unlocked card permanently added to Extra Deck.]
Kaiba Chiha—small in stature, but containing such tremendous treasure within.
Any single card from the entire Extra Deck pool.
Even just one card, the upper limit of that single card might exceed Finesse's entire unlocked "HERO" archetype Extra Deck.
The young miss got completely outclassed in just one day.
After all, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Extra Deck contained those two cards.
The endpoint of all Xyz!
And its mortal enemy!
[Kaiba Chiha Affection -30]
[Kaiba Chiha] [Affection: 40]
[Affection fluctuation detected. Skill reward distribution failed. Please try again later.]
Well, bug exploitation failed.
Without even thinking about it, after carefully examining the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, Kaiba Chiha had definitely discovered the truth.
Her expression had transformed from initial excitement and joy to utterly ice-cold. Even her exposed little fang radiated obvious fury.
This was far simpler and more effective than Amano explaining it himself.
Printed next to the Eva security hologram in the card's bottom right corner: Initial Bound Card - Non-Tradeable.
As a student in Duel Academy's high school division, Kaiba Chiha naturally understood what those words meant.
Non-tradeable cards were absolutely, definitively unable to change ownership.
Forget buying and selling—even if you stole it or won it through a contract duel and forcibly seized a bound card, the card data would transmit through the Eva system and automatically return to the owner's hands.
Like right now—the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Kaiba Chiha's hands vanished in a flash of data light, returning to Amano's possession.
Unwilling to accept it, Kaiba Chiha snatched the card from Amano's hands again.
A few seconds later, the card automatically transferred back.
Snatch again, transfer again~
"Amano Rei, why didn't you say this earlier! Are you toying with me?!"
"Did you let me speak?"
If Kaiba Chiha hadn't kept interrupting Amano, constantly raising the price—
Amano wouldn't have chosen to resolve things by directly "pulling out the card."
Before coming, Kaiba Chiha had been supremely confident, planning to overwhelm Amano with money.
However, reality was as immovable as the security seal printed on the card.
Cards bearing Eva's certified [Non-Tradeable] designation—forget throwing money at it, even if they killed Amano, Kaiba Chiha still couldn't obtain this Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
The massive drop from mountain peak to Mariana Trench depths made Kaiba Chiha's face alternate between pale and flushed in a spectacular display.
What should've been an ending where her beloved sister praised her lavishly—
Because of this man's existence, became an ending where the fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon could never, ever be obtained.
The more Kaiba Chiha thought about it, the more anxious and angry she became.
Finally, stubborn tears actually leaked from the girl's eyes.
"Sh-she's crying?" Kikawayu still couldn't read the room.
"Amano Rei, Amano Rei..."
Both aggrieved and furious, Kaiba Chiha forcefully wiped the tears from her eyes, then turned and fled with large strides back into the luxury car.
"Amano Rei, you third-rate duelist!! You better remember this!!"
Why did she sound like a kid throwing a tantrum? Remember what exactly—remember your crying face?
Kaiba Chiha's tear-choked angry shouts intermingled with the luxury car's roaring engine as it started, gradually fading into the distance.
[Kaiba Chiha Affection -10]
[Kaiba Chiha] [Affection: 30]
[Affection fluctuation detected. Skill reward distribution failed. Please try again later.]
Don't need to remind me twice.
Though Amano's card-pulling action wasn't deliberately trying to exploit the affection reward bug—
Just thinking about how he'd almost gotten to pilot a Gundam still filled Amano with regret.
"Amano, you seem to have thoroughly offended Kaiba Corporation." Kikawayu cut straight to the point.
"If you hadn't delivered that final 'she's crying' finishing blow, I don't think I would've offended them so thoroughly." Amano sighed helplessly.
Looking at the affection level, he'd definitely made a mortal enemy. 30 points broke the all-time lowest record.
There was no helping it though.
The moment Amano obtained this soul-bound Blue-Eyes White Dragon, he'd sensed he'd eventually offend Kaiba Corporation.
He just hadn't expected that day to come so fast—only three days after obtaining the card.
Shio: "Bro! I heard you went out and sold yourself?"
Yui: "Amano, I never thought you were that kind of person!"
See? Bad news really does travel fast.
Kaiba Chiha had only left two minutes ago, yet Yui was already frantically pushing Shio's wheelchair over from the card shop at practically a sprint.
Shio: "No wonder you didn't come home last night, bro. This won't do—even if our family is poor, we can't sacrifice your body!"
Yui: "Really! Amano, why didn't you tell me beforehand about selling yourself!"
Tell you beforehand for what—so you could make a reservation?
"Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding." Kikawayu laughed while helping clear things up for Amano.
This ridiculous misunderstanding would be cleared up after a few brief explanations—Shio definitely wouldn't believe it.
The urgent matter was telling Shio about the mechanical prosthetics installation and going to Duel Academy.
Everyone present was close, so Amano didn't hide anything, explaining both matters on the spot.
After listening, Shio's delicate, pitiful face indeed showed a troubled expression.
Just as Amano predicted—after all, Shio had been paralyzed for so many years, her social circle was very small.
Even though Shio's personality wasn't particularly withdrawn, suddenly asking her to stand up and go to school—for a little girl disabled for 13 years, she definitely wouldn't accept it so simply.
"Don't worry, Shio." Amano could only encourage and comfort her as much as possible.
"Even at Duel Academy, your brother will protect you with everything he has. I won't let anyone bully you!"
"D-Duel Academy... I guess it's not completely impossible."
Shio lowered her head. Though she agreed verbally, the troubled expression on her face didn't diminish at all.
However, what Shio found troubling—her brother had completely misunderstood.
Regarding mechanical prosthetics and Duel Academy, what actually troubled Shio was something else entirely.
On the wheelchair's footrest, hidden inside Shio's shoes, her pale pink toes curled with an awkward, subtle motion that no one could detect.
"Complete bilateral lower limb paralysis" caused by spinal nerve abnormalities.
This was the strange illness Shio had been diagnosed with since birth.
According to the doctor's description at the time—an action like curling her toes should be absolutely impossible for Shio to perform.