"So in the end, Little Ai, you agreed after all?"
"Mmph, that's… right. I have nothing to say in my defense."
As per routine, Fusion Academy's second-years had their Practical Test class scheduled on Saturdays, so the two had time to come and watch—just like last semester, when upperclassmen would come to watch Aisha's Duels.
"If you indulge Miles like this, he might actually get snatched away someday."
Leaning against the guard rail of the Duel Arena stands with her chin propped in one hand, Ren looked at Aisha Carlos' empty chest and sighed helplessly.
It seemed the devil's whisper had proven stronger in the end, and Lady Aisha Carlos had lent out her beloved for the sake of family interests.
"It is not that kind of plot!"
Aisha shook her head with all her might to clear away the wicked thoughts in her mind.
"I'm just afraid Nova might… actually go streaking! As a Royal Knight, that must never happen."
Back then, the Old King Kaiser had solemnly entrusted the little princess Nova to her, asking her to guard the princess in the name of a knight.
If, only a few days after enrollment, news broke that the little princess had streaked across the playground… never mind a knight's honor; she might even lose her head.
Of course, if that one-in-ten-thousand chance really did happen, the first head to roll would be that head maid who kept stuffing the little princess with all sorts of strange ideas.
Ren confirmed, "So what about Miles's own thoughts? Forget it—if there are cards to play, Miles must be thrilled. And if he can swap into the loli princess' body, he'd have even less reason to refuse!"
The two sour-grapes girls gnawed on lemons as they peered from the stands at the beaming little princess Nova among the first-years.
The reason Nova could smile so happily was obvious from the way she clutched the Millennium Puzzle at her chest.
"Heeheehee, I actually get to fight together with Miles again… this feels like a dream. I can't wait!"
"Dueling together with you doesn't bother me, Nova. But this time, you really have to watch carefully and learn," Miles warned.
The first time he swapped bodies with Nova, it had been for a Shadow Game against Luca. With the situation life-and-death, never mind learning to Duel—just not fainting on the spot had already been commendable for the little loli princess.
"Okay, okay, I get it." The little princess pouted willfully. "Miles, you're even more naggy than Mother!"
It wasn't that Miles was naggy.
He had been looking forward to finally Dueling with the Dragonmaid Deck again; that said, after seeing the first-years' level, he really couldn't get fired up.
Their level was just too low.
When Miles crossed over last year, it had already been after the first-year midterms. After half a semester of Academy instruction, even first-years had some understanding of Dueling.
Anyhow, this first in-semester Practical Test for the new first-years was downright unbearable to watch.
Some of them didn't even understand the rules—trying to use the Quick-Play Spell Mystical Space Typhoon to blow away a Trap that had already been activated, hoping to negate the Trap's effect.
With this level of play, it was hard for Miles to feel any interest in the Duels themselves.
So if the Duels weren't interesting, he might as well find something else fun to do—like teaching a little loli to play, hand-in-hand.
"Gaia!!—Sky-Galloping Spiral Spear Strike!!"
A one-shot to the soul—there was no suspense. For most first-years, the gap from Arnold was wider than the Mariana Trench.
Especially since the first-year Practical Test Duels used a nerfed rule set with 2000 Life Points; it was even harder to withstand Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion's breakthrough.
"Aisha-senpai is watching me Duel—I've got to put on a good performance!"
With Arnold's fighting spirit blazing, even Miles felt sorry for any first-year who had to face him.
"For the next Duel… mm, let's see." Bored out of her mind, Miss Erin clenched a cigarette between listless lips and glanced at the student list in her hand.
Why, if Professor Field was the first-year homeroom teacher this term, did the second-year Miss Erin still have to help run the Practical Tests?
Mainly because the number of new first-years was simply too large this year. If they ran the Duels one by one, they might not finish even by nightfall.
Vice Principal Raiden had no choice except to assign Miss Erin to assist, co-hosting the Practical Test Duels with Professor Field.
With two Professors present, running two Duels in parallel naturally doubled the efficiency.
"Oh." Seeing the roster for the next match, Miss Erin's drowsy lids, dulled by low-level Duels, finally lifted a little.
"Student Nova Kaiser."
"It's our turn, Miles."
The little Nova patted her backside, straightened her skirt, hopped to her feet, and stepped toward the Duel Platform.
"…versus Student Lishia."
"Hm?"
This opponent was not what Miles had expected.
Because there were so many first-years this year, they hadn't been able to post the Duel list a day in advance like before. The order of matches was randomized on the day.
And the opponent for Princess Nova's first-ever Practical Test Duel turned out to be Aisha's roommate, Lishia.
Should this be called a coincidence—or fate of another sort?
"Mr. Miles is going up against Lishia, huh?"
Up in the stands, Aisha wore the expression of someone who'd been set up—her face practically spelled out "served my comeuppance."
"Oh no, isn't this a sneak attack? Mr. Miles, you're despicable right now!"
"So the opponent is Lishia. That might actually be interesting," Ren's interest began to rise.
After seeing Arnold's Duel at noon that day—far beyond first-year standards—it was only natural to expect at least something from his childhood friend, Lishia.
At the very least, it shouldn't be as boring as the other first-years.
You could glean as much from Miss Erin's eyelids finally lifting.
"Heave-ho~!"
With cute steps, the little princess Nova bounced the last step onto the stage and met Lishia's gaze across the field.
Lishia's look hadn't changed much from a few days ago: flaxen braids and thick, round spectacles. Even if she changed outfits every day, her commoner's simple clothes made it hard to tell the difference.
A rustic country girl, contrasted sharply with the fashionably adorable golden-haired, golden-eyed little princess Nova.
This Duel likewise drew most of the attention on-site.
The reason, of course, was the "wager" Nova had made yesterday: if she lost her Practical Test Duel, she would streak across the playground.
Naturally, given her royal status, such a thing had a 99.99% chance of never happening.
Despite that, human nature loves a spectacle—and the bigger the spectacle, the better.
"You can do it, Nova-chan!"
"Guard yourself properly!"
"If you lose, don't catch a cold~"
Whipping up the crowd means no one gets blamed, and Miles could somewhat understand why Nova, after failing her summoning yesterday, had sulked.
Could the Third Princess, pampered since birth, endure such teasing?
Across from her, Lishia's cheeks flushed as her Spirit Eyes lit up along her arm. She stammered, "L-let's begin, Nova-chan."
It was obvious that the introverted girl was also extremely nervous—this was her first Duel under the gaze of a crowd.
"I'm leaving it to you, Miles—my most trusted knight! Take my body too~"
The Millennium Puzzle at her chest gave a faint sway and glow. Once their souls had swapped, Miles once again took control of Nova's petite body.
As expected, the difference from his usual physique was immense—his whole self felt feather-light, like a breeze could topple him.
Especially after having swapped into Kaima Seth's tall, big-sisterly body before, he could feel the gulf between the two even more clearly.
If you insist on asking which is better… that depends on your own taste.
"I'm ready too, Lishia."
In the little princess's not-yet-mature loli voice, Miles activated the Spirit Eyes along a slender arm.
[Nova Kaiser, LP: 2000]
[Lishia, LP: 2000]
"Duel—!"
The Duel officially began. Lishia's Spirit Eyes lit up first—she had the first turn.
After a glance at her hand, Lishia slapped down a Monster Card.
"I Set a monster in face-down Defense Position. Turn end."
A single Set and done—simple and very much in line with first-year standards.
There was no way to glean information from Lishia's opening, so Miles tried to communicate with Nova mentally.
"Nova, do you remember what kind of monster Lishia summoned in yesterday's Summoning Class?"
"Summoning Class, hmm…"
In the Soul Room, Nova tilted her head, thinking.
"I think it was a red, fluffy fox—but it wasn't cute at all!"
Nova's simplified evaluation criteria for Duel Monsters: fluffy or not, cute or not.
With only that, Miles couldn't deduce Lishia's Deck. But hey, first-years—how strong could it be?
"My turn. Draw."
He drew for the start of his turn—an all-important draw.
Princess Nova's Main Deck only had four monsters, so the chance of opening a summonable monster was very low.
For example, in that Duel against Luca, if not for drawing Painful Choice in time to make the opponent taste the pain, even the Dragonmaids wouldn't have been able to get going.
Albeit, one key difference in the Practical Test Duels versus normal ones was that the Main Deck was 20 cards.
In a 20-card Deck, drawing one of four monsters was much more likely than from a 40-card Deck.
So it was a crucial first draw on the second turn. The familiar face on the card brimmed with wisdom.
"I Normal Summon in Defense Position—Laundry Dragonmaid!"
[Laundry Dragonmaid] Level 2│WATER│Dragon│500 ATK / 1600 DEF
"The strongest Lan-Maid is here to help—Goshujin-sama!"
The blue-haired Dragonmaid in a maid outfit materialized and pumped her fists excitedly.
Yet, drawing only one Lan-Maid still wouldn't let the Dragonmaid Deck run.
So it was time to use Lan-Maid's other effect.
"I'm counting on you, Lan-Maid. Laundry Dragonmaid—effect, activate!"
[When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Send the top 3 cards of your Deck to the Graveyard.]
On a successful Summon, Lan-Maid's mill effect would trigger. If one of those three cards sent was Dragonmaid Nudyarl—the form Lan-Maid transforms into—the Dragonmaids' strength could truly be brought to bear.
"Show me what you've got, Lan-Maid. With Laundry Dragonmaid's effect, I'll send the top three cards of my Deck to the Graveyard!"
"Leave it to me, Master! Behold Lan-Maid's godlike move! Hey-ya—!"
A fling of the arm—cards to the Graveyard.
The three cards tossed by Lan-Maid were Pot of Greed, Painful Choice, and Graceful Charity.
'You little traitor… look what you've done!'
That precision triple-mill sent Miles's blood pressure through the roof—and wiped out most of the rare cards in Nova's Deck.
"You're not a spy sent by the other side, are you?"
Scratching her head in shame, Lan-Maid looked aggrieved. "Sorry, Master. Sometimes I fail, too. Guess my hand's off today."
'Off? Yeah right. Who mills three A‑rank rarities in one go with a bad hand?'
"I Set one card. Turn end."
With the Dragonmaids failing to start up, Miles had no choice but to end the turn and hope for the next draw.
"Laundry Dragonmaid, huh? Does that mean… today's my lucky day?"
Seeing Lan-Maid standing hands-on-hips on Miles's field, a faint light flickered in Lishia's eyes behind her thick lenses.
"My turn. Draw."
After drawing, the first thing Lishia did wasn't to slap down a new card, but to flip the monster she had Set face-down in Defense last turn.
"I'll perform a Flip Summon!"
As the name implies—turning a face-down Defense Position monster to face-up Attack Position was a Flip Summon.
"Flip Summon—Eria the Water Charmer!"
[Eria the Water Charmer] Level 3│WATER│Spellcaster│300 ATK / 1500 ATK
The blue-haired, staff-bearing girl appeared on Lishia's field.
Lishia continued, "When Eria the Water Charmer is flipped face-up, her effect can activate."
[If this card is flipped face-up: Target 1 WATER monster your opponent controls; while this card is face-up on the field, take control of that monster.]
"I can take control of one WATER monster on your field. And Laundry Dragonmaid is a WATER monster."
Miles & Nova shouted in unison, "She actually defected!"
After milling three Forbidden/Limited powerhouses from the Deck, Lan-Maid truly lived up to the name of a turncoat at this moment.
...
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