"Ed, what happened on the island?"
In the pure white room, Saiou gently shuffled the cards, noticing Ed's return, he asked.
"Hmm... it's a bit complicated. Let me explain it to you."
He carefully chose his words, recounting everything from what he saw when he landed on the island to what happened afterward.
"Such a thing actually happened?" Saiou's smile remained unchanged, "Perhaps that's fate guiding you, Ed."
"Fate?" Ed took out his deck and looked at the names of the Monster Cards in the deck, the glaringly bright [Destiny Hero] made him a little dazed.
"So, Saiou, what is this fate guiding me toward?"
Saiou gently shuffled the cards, spreading them on the table. Seeing this, Ed walked directly over and drew one card from the many, flipping it over.
"The Sun." Saiou, seeing this card, frowned, "The Sun, upright."
"I remember, whether upright or reversed, it's a beneficial card, right?" Ed recognized the card and looked up at Saiou.
Saiou nodded slightly.
"The Sun, symbolizing light and hope."
"Light?"
"Light."
Now Ed understood why Saiou was so hesitant.
If it were before, Saiou would definitely be worried, because this card might not be a "good thing," as it could mean the power within Saiou is getting stronger, and that destructive light is more eager to take over his body.
But today, Ed encountered a "Tenjo Hikari."
This light, what does it really represent? The two of them couldn't make a judgment.
"In any case, Ed, it seems like your trip to Academy Island was quite satisfying, wasn't it?"
Ed nodded.
"That's good, don't worry." Saiou drew a card, the card flashed with bright light, yet this light, as it shone into his eyes, seemed to envelop the card with dense dark energy, "There's no need to worry about Akaba Leo on that side. I'll take care of it.
After all, I am your manager."
"Heh... suit yourself." Ed chuckled and put away his deck.
He still had to head to the next city to find clues about his father's murderer.
Looking back, at Duel Academy, within the Fusion Department.
Tenjo Hikari reached out, sticking a few photos on the department's blackboard, then patted the blackboard hard and said loudly, "In summary, Ed Phoenix is the legendary [Phoenixman]!"
"Ohhhhh!!" Judai couldn't even speak, only knowing to shout continuously.
"Eh eh eh? How did you connect the dots?" Mitsuzawa Daichi was still somewhat confused.
"Um. Really?" Manjome expressed significant disagreement, "Indeed, Ed Phoenix often travels the world, dueling, and wherever he appears, there are rumors of [Phoenixman]; but, in fact, there are also places where he hasn't dueled, yet Phoenixman appears; and some places he's been to don't have Phoenixman sightings.
With insufficient evidence, Tenjo, you're completely talking nonsense.
The most important thing is that, as a world-renowned Professional Duelist, undefeated till this day, a glamorous public figure, there'd be no need for him to target some small-time thugs and hooligans, right? Especially since they're mostly small-time thieves and burglars."
As a detective, Manjome couldn't agree with this conclusion, even if the detective's intuition made him feel that Tenjo Hikari's guess seemed right, he still couldn't accept it.
Because it didn't make sense at all.
After Ed left, Tenjo Hikari and a group of friends returned to the Fusion Department, seeing everyone idle, he brought up an "urban legend."
That is, the legend of "Phoenixman."
The rumor says there's a "superhero" who travels the world, capturing criminals, known as—Phoenixman, reportedly every time he appears, there's a flame effect, very cool, and is a topic among many hero enthusiasts and monster tale fans.
Judai naturally knew this story, but he never associated this person with a public figure like Ed Phoenix before.
"And, more importantly, the motive, right?" Mitsuzawa Daichi looked upwards, contemplating, "What's Ed Phoenix's motive?"
"It must be a sense of justice!" Judai shouted.
"Perhaps it's personal family reasons?" Tenjo Hikari rubbed his chin, speculating.
Of course, it's because—he knew.
He remembered, whether in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime or the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga, whether Ed in lower grades or higher grades, they all shared a common background—father's accidental death.
It sounds like a hell joke, but it might truly be a hell joke.
Because, from a design perspective, the prototype of the Elemental Hero is likely the "Marvel Series," while contrastingly, those advocating darkness, depth, destruction, align more with "DC Series" heroes... hence, Ed's background is likely a joke on Batman by the editors.
In the original animation, when Ed was young, someone invaded his home, killed his father, and stole a precious card, and what his father left for him was the unreleased Hero "D" series. Since then, he has considered himself a hero in darkness, always searching for his father's killer, and in the meantime, punishing card thieves on the road.
This is also a character background contrasting with Judai, who purely likes heroes and uses heroes.
Of course, the situation in this world is uncertain, as this world has already undergone "dimensional development" early on.
Tenjo Hikari also didn't know why Ed in this world still goes out at night as "Phoenixman."
"There's news, there's news!" Just then, Fubuki excitedly ran into the Activity Department, holding a videotape excitedly while everyone was chatting nonsense, "Ryo's debut duel on the professional stage! The result is out!"
"Huh, why wasn't Caesar's first duel broadcasted live?" Manjome was a bit dissatisfied.
"After all, he's a student who hasn't even graduated yet. Even if he is highly regarded, not many people would pay attention," Mitsuzawa Daichi shook his head.
"Oh, oh, oh! Is it Caesar's duel with a professional duelist after Brother Hikari's? That's so interesting, play it quickly!" Judai was, as always, easily fired up.
Fubuki heard about Hikari's duel with a professional duelist, uttered a puzzled "Huh?" but didn't think much of it and quickly put the videotape into the machine to start playing.
The picture was slightly fuzzy, but not unwatchable.
After watching for a while, everyone finally relaxed.
The first duel on the professional stage, Marufuji Ryo, wins!
"As expected from Caesar!" Manjome was actually a bit nervous, only relaxing after watching the duel.
"Phew, as expected, Caesar is super strong!" Even though Tenjo Hikari also defeated a professional duelist today, it was unexpected. No one knew if Marufuji Ryo would encounter any mishaps during the duel, and only after seeing the result did Judai breathe a sigh of relief.
"Speaking of which, has anyone talked to outside companies today?" After watching the recording, Fubuki exhaled a breath of relief, then smiled and asked about something else, "Even though the exchange will last a week, it's better than nothing, right?"
"No." "Uh, me neither..." Judai and Mitsuzawa both lowered their heads, seemingly not very willing.
"As for me..." Manjome took a large stack of business cards out of his pocket, "I got this many."
"What! How's that possible, Thunder! Did you bribe them?" Judai exclaimed.
"Heh heh, big brother is super amazing! Just hearing his name, those people flocked around him!" Ojama Yellow suddenly floated out, and a few friends all glanced at it, and after listening to what it said, came to realize.
"So sneaky, Thunder!" Judai knocked the table a few times, "So sneaky!"
Repeated it twice!
"Quiet, you meddlesome fish!" Manjome quickly pushed away the Ojama Yellow by his side, and then shouted, "I have a reason, I want to... I want to become the president of the Manjome Group, this is something I have to do!"
"Eh! Manjome, you have quite the ambition." Fubuki said surprisingly, "What about you, Hikari?"
"Eh... I..." Tenjo Hikari was a bit embarrassed, and beside him, Tierra floated over, chuckling twice, looking as if she would speak if he didn't.
"Actually... I... signed a contract with a noodle company, a short-term contract... hmm..."
"What!??"
"You actually became an endorser!?"
"How come, we're all just students!"
Amidst the exclamations from friends, students from the Fusion Department a bit further away also heard and quickly gathered around.
"What, what? The department leader got sponsorship?"
"Brother Hikari has an endorsement in his first year? That's too strong! Even Caesar hasn't done that!"
Tenjo Hikari was even more embarrassed, continuously explaining: "It's just a short-term contract—besides, I'll have to duel with the duelists they arrange later, and if the flavor I provide isn't tasty, they won't accept it...
Also, I have to get Mr. Magical Scientist's approval, and then go to the Secret Village of the Spellcasters to get approval... if he disagrees, it probably won't work either."
But the classmates were already cheering.
They couldn't think that far ahead.
Moreover, in their eyes, Tenjo Hikari couldn't possibly lose!
Judai couldn't help but look up to the sky, wondering: "Will there be shrimp-flavored noodles? I'm really curious..."
"Wow, doesn't this mean we'll have endless noodles in the future, and we can spend all the money on card packs!"
"Fantastic, joining the Fusion Department is the most important decision of my life, I want to get my brother to join too!"
"No no no, your goal is too strong, at least your brother needs to like Polymerization!"
"He wouldn't dare not like it!"
"Haha, don't mess around, Brother Hikari won't let you do that!"
Listening to the lively discussions among the classmates, Tenjo Hikari tilted his head, pondering.
Hmm, now that you mention it, it seems true.
Always eating curry seems a bit monotonous, having instant noodles occasionally seems nice...
After all, there's still money to buy materials, buy cards!
Occasionally, he might even be able to learn from Ed and get himself a set of "gear" to boost his combat power.
Thinking about it, he was no longer so resistant to Tierra's suggestion to cooperate with the noodle company.