In the dormitory, Kevin, who had made do with just bread and dry cheese for lunch, was racing against time to fine-tune his Deck.
There was no time left for him to slack off.
A new semester meant a brand-new beginning.
And Kevin's goal had always been only one: The opponent he was fated to defeat.
For that, Kevin had to be 120% prepared at all times, keeping his Deck in the best condition possible.
After all, no one could say for sure whether the next opponent he encountered in the semester's Practical Duel Test would turn out to be his destined rival.
His eyes fixed on the Red-Eyes Black Dragon lying on the desk, Kevin was pondering how to fully unleash the limitless potential that the black dragon carried, when a surge of power from afar trembled the cards on his desk.
"What is this power?"
Opening the window and gazing into the distance, what filled his eyes was the divine flame that scorched the sky.
And with it, the Winged Dragon of Ra, blazing like a second sun in the heavens.
"Aisha's God? Then, is it Miles who's using this power?"
Never mind why Aisha and Miles would summon a God during this lunch break.
Even so, the very fact that a God had been summoned during such an inconsequential time meant one thing: Miles had already perfected the Winged Dragon of Ra as his own strength and could wield it freely.
"You… just how strong do you intend to become before you're satisfied?"
Feeling the light of Ra shining from afar, Kevin was struck with an unprecedented sense of crisis.
Even the slightest bit of negligence, and he would never be able to catch up to that man's footsteps again.
But in this city, Kevin was not the only one who felt the power of a God Card at this moment.
That included members of the Church as well—fellow believers of deities, though the object of their faith was entirely different.
…
Arnold exclaimed in excitement, "Aisha-senpai can actually use a God! Amazing! So this is the strongest upperclassman in Fusion Academy!"
Not only was she calm and cool during Duels, she hadn't even minded his rude divinations and had praised his fighting spirit.
Most importantly, the goal he had always pursued—to be the strongest, to make a God descend—Aisha Carlos had already achieved it.
For the first time in his life, Arnold felt the word "senpai" carried so much weight, as if he had found the way to follow forward.
If he followed this person, then maybe, just maybe, the soul of Obelisk in the obelisk tower would one day acknowledge him, just like the Winged Dragon of Ra had acknowledged Aisha.
"Aisha-senpai!"
He sprang up with a kip-up, his expression solemn.
"Please accept me as your underclassman! My dream is to one day, just like you, gain the recognition of a God."
"To gain the recognition of a God? As expected!"
It was just as Miles had suspected—Arnold was indeed deeply tied to the God Cards.
If they got close to him, they might just be able to glean information related to the God Cards.
After all, he was a member of the High-Level Spirit Research Society.
The club research topic left unfinished last semester might just see a breakthrough this term.
"Very well, Arnold. Seeing how unshakable your fighting spirit is, I'll take you as my junior!"
"Thank you very much, Aisha-senpai!"
See, isn't this a very successful lesson? Before the Duel, the arrogant freshman brat who hadn't even wanted to call her "senpai," now after the Duel, was already completely obedient.
The charm of dueling truly was infinite.
Aisha suddenly yelled, "Mr. Miles! I was planning to go after Lishia, but… you went and conquered her childhood friend first. What's the meaning of this?"
Lishia sincerely offered her blessing, "To have found such a reliable senpai to follow on the very first day, that really is worth celebrating, Arnold. Only…"
At that, Lishia's voice gradually lowered into a whisper only she could hear.
Meanwhile, behind her glasses, her golden eyes rippled with an unusual light.
"Only… if summoning a God so ostentatiously gets noticed by those people, it'll be troublesome. Hm, hopefully I'm overthinking it. They shouldn't have come this far."
The already short lunch break was even further squeezed by the Duel, leaving barely any time.
Fortunately, after witnessing such a stirring Duel, the pancake stall owner was fired up, going full throttle. He, in no time, finished everyone's lunches, including the nine pancakes that Lishia ate all by herself.
"About me just wanting a pancake for lunch, but instead summoning a God and gaining my conquest target's childhood friend…"
"Aisha-senpai, do you have any instructions for after school today?"
Even as afternoon classes were about to start, Arnold's enthusiasm made Aisha flustered.
"For a student, studying diligently is, of course, the top priority. If you want to become the strongest, you mustn't aim too high too fast. Arnold, go and study!"
Having no choice, Aisha imitated Miles's tone, putting on her senpai airs, and used this proper excuse to send Arnold away.
"To become the strongest, you mustn't aim too high too fast…" Arnold rubbed his chin, pondering life. "Truly enlightening. I know what I need to do now, Aisha-senpai!"
With that, Arnold grabbed his bag and rushed to the classroom to grab a front-row seat.
Watching Arnold's retreating figure, Lishia sighed, "This is the first time I've seen someone so easily play Arnold in the palm of their hand. Truly worthy of being Aisha-senpai."
"Calling it playing isn't quite right, Lishia."
"It's fine, isn't it? Arnold looked happy enough. Let's head to class too, senpai."
The little princess Nova tugged reluctantly at Aisha's sleeve, "Aisha, after class, I'll come find you to play, so wait for me, okay?"
"Mm, Nova, you have to study hard too. Remember to listen to Professor Field."
Ruffling Nova's little head, Aisha couldn't help but feel a bit of concern. Raised under the pampering of royalty, would this little princess really be able to adapt to life at the Academy?
Especially since she was only twelve years old, younger than most other students, Aisha feared she would be out of place among her peers.
Despite that, from the looks of things now, it seemed there was no problem for the time being. As a Royal Knight, she could relax a little.
That relief, however, lasted only a single day.
During Thursday's routine Summoning Class, Aisha "successfully" summoned Mokey Mokey Adrift. Albeit, after returning to the dormitory, she heard from Lishia that Nova's summoning hadn't gone so smoothly.
No wonder she hadn't seen Nova's tiny figure bouncing about all day… apparently, she was sulking alone in her dorm.
"Failed to summon, Nova?"
"I didn't fail!"
Inside the dorm, Nova's pouty little face was even cuter, her cheeks puffed out in anger. Who she was mad at was unclear, but her mouth was jutted out high.
"I just didn't want to summon a monster that wasn't cute at all. But the professor gave me zero points!"
At the mention of this, Nova's tone was full of grievance.
"You didn't summon a monster, so of course Professor Field gave you zero points. That's not the professor's fault."
Miles said, "Actually, failing to summon isn't that strange. Think about it—so far, Nova has only ever summoned Dragonmaid monsters. Maybe the Spirit Eyes are already responding to her will, and won't summon anything that isn't cute."
And considering the strength of the Dragonmaids… Nova had been saving up her mental power for years, and it was only enough to complete four summons.
Counting the Dragonmaid Sheou Fusion Summoned in the Shadow Game, at most, Nova's Deck only had five monsters.
If, given her state of mind, she could only summon Dragonmaids, then expecting her to produce a new Dragonmaid every week in Summoning Class was clearly unrealistic.
Perhaps after saving up for a few weeks, and with the Academy's amplification arrays, she might succeed.
"Try harder next time, Nova," Aisha comforted.
"But, but… when I failed to summon, the other students laughed at me! That's why I got mad!"
"They laughed at you? That doesn't seem likely."
Most of the Academy students were nobles. For them to laugh at the Third Princess, that couldn't have happened.
Picturing the scene, Aisha guessed it was probably Nova's adorable expression when she failed that had made everyone laugh, and the girl had misunderstood.
"Anyway, I got so mad, I said something like that."
"What did you say?"
"I said… even if I can't summon a monster, I definitely won't lose in tomorrow's Practical Duel Test! If I do lose, I'll streak across the playground!"
"Pffft!" At the word "streak," Aisha couldn't stop the tea from spurting out of her mouth. "Nova, where did you even learn that?"
"Every time Sally makes a bet with me, streaking is always the wager!"
That head maid… for the sake of the little princess's future mental health, she'd have to be executed as an example!
"Still, with first-year standards, Nova, it's unlikely you'll actually lose."
"But, but!" The fidgeting little princess seemed to be revealing her true colors as she edged closer to Aisha's chest. "The truth is, I've never actually dueled before. What if I lose? Do I really have to streak?"
"So, Nova, you mean…" That familiar look… Aisha realized she had seen it on a certain redhead's face before.
"Aisha, you're my knight, aren't you? A knight would never want to see their princess streaking. So to make sure I win tomorrow's Practical Duel Test, I need Miles to help me, just like in that Shadow Game."
With that, Princess Nova grabbed the Millennium Puzzle on Aisha's chest.
"Miles, you too—you're my knight as well. Just help me this once, treat it as letting me get used to the flow of a real Duel. Please~"
"Uh…"
At that moment, above Aisha's head, two tiny chibi figures appeared—one white and one black, representing angel and devil.
The angel said, "You mustn't agree, Aisha. If you let Miles fight in her place so casually, and the princess develops dependency, it will be terrible."
The devil said, "But this is the little princess's request. Lady Aisha Carlos, you don't want your family's hard-earned status to be damaged, do you? It's just lending your husband for a bit."
Then, Miles shouted, "Who's your husband!? Can you stop imagining hentai plotlines already?"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]