[Duelist Rank Evaluation Complete — Duelist Hoshino Chiyuki will not be awarded Saint Quartz.]
["(」＞＜)」That's so harsh! I didn't expect anything in the first place, but the system even came out just to mock us!"]
"Well, if you could get rewards from dueling yourself, wouldn't we just farm each other endlessly?"
As the victory announcement concluded, the Shadow Servants and Shadow Hoshino disappeared one after another, leaving behind only the Star Relic—the "Star Grail," still emitting a strange glow.
At the moment the duel ended, the pale white particles that had been covering Hoshino's deck also dispersed. When she spread her deck again, the Synchro Heroic Spirits had all vanished.
["Aibo, did you know from the beginning that Synchro Summoning was possible even without a D-Wheel?"]
Hoshino recalled, "When I touched the Star Grail earlier, a voice suddenly appeared in my mind, telling me that now was the time to use Synchro. That's why I figured the Star Relic must be connected to the one who left this deck behind."
["The one who left the deck? Wasn't that… you yourself, aibo?"]
"Of course. That's just my basic deduction, my friend~"
Putting her deck back into the case at her waist, Hoshino turned her gaze toward Eva.
"Now that I've won, it's your turn to do your job, Eva."
Eva: "(ﾟﾛﾟﾉ)ﾉ M-My job?" Her small body trembled as she panicked. "You're not seriously going to make me eat that Star Grail, right?! I was joking, Hoshino! No way anyone took that seriously, right?!"
"Someone, feed Miss Eva the cup!"
With a snap of his fingers, Kaiba Corp's hidden bodyguards suddenly appeared, all glaring at Eva as if ready to force the Grail into her mouth.
"W-Wait! My teeth aren't that good—I definitely can't eat that!"
"Alright, Mokuba, stop messing with her." Hoshino waved her hand, interrupting Mokuba's mischievous grin. "The job I meant is your role as the Star Grail priestess."
Even though they had obtained the Star Relic, Hoshino had no idea how to use it. She needed to hear Eva's explanation.
"So, how exactly do you use the Star Relic—the 'Star Grail'?"
Placing her hands on her hips, Eva proudly declared:
"I don't know!"
"Someone, feed her the cup!"
"W-Wait, wait! Let me explain, Hoshino!"
Her pride instantly collapsed. Grabbing Hoshino's wrist, Eva shook her head like a rattle drum, tears nearly spilling from her eyes.
"T-The Star Grail priestess is only responsible for guiding those chosen by the Star Relics! That means I can only sense and locate them. Actually using them is your job, Hoshino!"
"So basically, you're just like a Dragon Ball radar," Hoshino said with a faint smile. "In that case, you might as well gather more mana and help me draw cards instead."
"By the way, my detection range is about a 100-kilometer radius. If it's too far away, I won't be able to find anything."
"…I take back what I said about the Dragon Ball radar. You're worse—you might as well have 'useless' written on your face."
With only a 100 km detection radius, finding Star Relics across the entire world would be like searching for a needle in the ocean—unless they got lucky like this time near Domino City.
"Anyway, hurry up and activate the Star Grail properly!" Eva said, her eyes sparkling with excitement again. "I've heard it has a very special power—it can connect to other Star Relics! Hurry, hurry!"
"A special power, huh…"
Unlike the simple golden Holy Grail, the Star Grail floating before them had a far more peculiar design.
"Well, I'll treat a dead horse like a live one and give it a try."
Although she didn't have a good impression of cup-shaped objects, this was a clue related to the Nine Realms King. More importantly, Hoshino wanted to understand how the Star Relics were connected to the deck her future self had left behind.
Remembering what happened earlier, Hoshino cautiously reached out and touched the rotating Star Grail, wary of anything strange happening again.
But this time, nothing unusual occurred.
The moment her fingertip touched the glowing surface, it felt as if it sank into clear water. A refreshing stream of magical energy flowed from her finger throughout her body.
Then—
The Duel Disk on Hoshino's arm, which had already been retracted after the duel, suddenly unfolded without warning.
"Mokuba, look! Your product's malfunctioning—I'm filing a warranty claim on the spot!"
"That's not the Duel Disk's fault! This is obviously the Star Grail's doing!" Mokuba immediately deflected the blame like a seasoned customer service veteran.
The Duel Disk's projection system activated on its own. Even without any cards placed on it, it displayed an image in front of them—a large, map-like interface.
"So this is what you meant by 'connecting to other Star Relics'?"
On the projected map, two glowing points were clearly visible.
"So the Star Grail marks the locations of other Star Relics… that's actually really convenient."
Compared to relying on Eva's 100-kilometer detection like searching blindly, having marked locations made things far easier.
"Hoshino, look at those two locations!" Mokuba stared at the map for a while before suddenly exclaiming, "No wonder they looked familiar—aren't those Duelist Kingdom and KaibaCorp Island?!"
The two glowing points marked on small islands were hard to recognize for most people—but not for Mokuba.
"Duelist Kingdom… and KaibaCorp Island?" Hoshino frowned slightly.
Duelist Kingdom went without saying. As for KaibaCorp Island, it was the location of the Duel Tower used for the final four matches of Duel City.
Both places, like Domino City's harbor, overlapped heavily with Hoshino's past dueling history.
Mokuba suggested, "Hoshino, why don't we head back to Kaiba Corp first? If we're going to Duelist Kingdom or KaibaCorp Island, a private jet is the fastest option."
"That makes sense." Hoshino nodded, then glanced at the floating Star Grail. "But how are we supposed to bring this thing back? Are we seriously just going to carry it? It looks heavy…"
Just as Hoshino was struggling over who should carry the burden, the Star Relic—the Star Grail—seemed to understand her thoughts. It obediently stopped spinning, its radiant energy transforming into a card that fell into Hoshino's hand.
"As expected of a legendary Star Relic—way more considerate than a certain priestess."
Eve (on high alert): "Are you implying that I'm heavy, Hoshino?!"
(***)
Kaiba Entertainment Group —
The building was calm. It was clear that during their absence, Kaiba Corp hadn't been invaded again by the Shadow of the King War.
After all, with someone like Yugi holding the fort, the overwhelming difference in power meant the King wouldn't waste resources attacking here.
["I wonder how those two got along… was the atmosphere okay?"]
Returning to the president's office on the top floor, Hoshino pushed the door open.
"Even though I told them to catch up before we left… thinking about it, if those two are together, then it can only be—"
"A monster with 6000 ATK?! That's insanely strong, Kaiba!"
Sure enough, the moment Hoshino stepped inside, she heard the sound of the two dueling.
However, likely considering Kaiba's physical condition, they weren't using Duel Disk projections. Instead, they were playing with actual cards laid out on the desk.
At the same time, Yugi wasn't in his Atem state—he had returned to his usual self.
"You're finished, Yugi! My XYZ-Dragon Cannon equipped with Megamorph attacks directly!"
"Trap Card Magic Cylinder activated. I reflect your attack damage back to your Life Points. Looks like I win, Kaiba."
Before Kaiba could even react, his cards scattered across the table—his defeat came swiftly and cleanly.
"Damn it, Yugi—!!"
"Wow… that was pretty decisive."
Glancing at the cards on the table, Hoshino could easily see Yugi's winning strategy. But what caught her attention was that Kaiba's deck didn't seem to include any cards that synergized with Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Hoshino, you're back," Yugi said as he gathered the cards and handed them back to Kaiba.
"So, did you obtain the Star Relic?" Kaiba asked, taking his deck back in a tsundere tone.
Hoshino proudly pulled out the Star Relic—Star Grail card and showed it off.
"Do you even need to ask? When it's me, Hoshino Chiyuki, there's nothing I can't handle~"
"Hmph. Not bad." Kaiba scoffed. "I thought you'd rusted from staying holed up in the academy all day."
Leaning close to Yugi, Hoshino whispered helplessly:
"What's up with him today? Why does he sound like he swallowed a gunpowder barrel—he keeps picking on me."
"I… don't really know either." Yugi gave an awkward smile, scratching his cheek.
After briefly explaining how they obtained the Star Grail and the locations it revealed for the remaining Star Relics, Hoshino extended her hand toward Kaiba.
"So, long story short—lend me a plane. I'm heading to the skies."
Kaiba glanced at her palm, his lips twitching.
"What exactly are you asking for? Even if I gave you the keys, could you fly it?"
"I can't—but someone with Riding EX can."
After all, Riding EX could handle even UFOs. A plane would be easy.
"Come to think of it… KaibaCorp Island…" Yugi suddenly recalled something. "Back then, it took us a whole night to get there, didn't it? Do we even have that much time now?"
According to Eve, the Nine Realms King would descend over time. At a critical moment like this, wasting an entire day traveling could mean it's already too late.
"That's not an issue," Kaiba said seriously. "We flew all night back then because it was the Duel Airship. With a jet at full speed, we can reach Devil's Island in just two hours."
Back then, the airship wasn't in a hurry—it also hosted the quarterfinal matches before transporting the top four.
"A jet? You mean the Blue-Eyes White Dragon one?" Hoshino recalled.
She had ridden it once during the Doma incident. What left the strongest impression was the jet's rear thrusters—like Blue-Eyes breathing fire after eating too many chili peppers.
"That thing really is fast. Then let's not waste time—let's get moving!"
"However, only I have the authority to activate that jet. So I'll be going as well," Kaiba said, taking out a key from his desk drawer.
"But if I remember correctly, that jet only has two seats, right?" Hoshino asked.
"Eh?! Then I can't come along? That won't do!" Eve quickly protested. "If the priestess isn't there, even if you reach the location, you won't be able to summon the Star Relic!"
Just like before—the Star Grail's appearance had relied on Eve's role as its priestess, even if she couldn't use it herself.
"That makes sense." Hoshino rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Then Eve, you go with Kaiba. I'll just wait here."
"Huh?!" Eve's face turned even paler. "You want me to go alone with someone who looks like I owe him eight million?! There's no way I can do that!"
Kaiba frowned deeply, his expression making it seem like the debt had just doubled.
"S-So scary… Hoshino, save me!" Eve hid behind Hoshino. "Besides, if something like Shadow Hoshino appears again, I don't think he can win!"
If you're scared, maybe don't provoke him… Kaiba's face was practically turning green with anger.
"Well, if it turns into a duel, that would be troublesome," Hoshino admitted.
Given Kaiba's current condition—though better than before—it still didn't look like he could handle another high-intensity Duel Links duel.
"It's fine!" Kaiba declared confidently.
"No, big brother, that's not fine! Using the Duel Links system again is absolutely not allowed!" Mokuba quickly stopped him.
"No, what I meant by 'fine' is…"
Glancing at Hoshino and Eva, Kaiba explained:
"The back seat of the jet can easily fit both of you."