"Hey, hey! Are you alright?!"
Judai gasped for breath as he ran down the cliffside.
Having someone fall off a cliff during a card game was something even he hadn't expected. Marufuji Sho and Hayato were also dumbfounded, pondering how today's holographic impact could be so intense, sending someone all the way to the bottom of the cliff from such a distance.
Could there be an accident?
Gasping for air, they followed Judai down and finally found the unfortunate one who had fallen beside a rock by the waves.
Sho and Hayato initially feared they would see a bloodied mess when they got down, but surprisingly, they didn't.
Looking at the scene below the cliff, they only found scattered metal fragments, wires, and electronic components.
The three of them were taken aback.
This is... a robot?
Indeed, the figure calling itself Beta, hidden under black clothes and a masked face, was not flesh and blood, but a mechanical body. However, its head and body were already separated, lying at different spots at the bottom of the cliff, exposing complex circuits and chips inside.
The joints of its mechanical arms were broken, hydraulic tubes ruptured. Oil leaked onto the ground, forming patches of greasy stains.
Sho and Hayato exchanged glances.
"So... big brother was dueling with a robot just now?"
"But who sent it? What's its purpose at the Duel Academy?" Hayato was also puzzled.
"I don't know."
Judai shook his head, but his expression turned serious.
He thought again about the unusual impact during the duel, like a Dark Duel.
Although the origin and purpose were unknown, this guy was definitely not a good person.
"Let's go, we should inform the school first," Judai said.
The other two nodded. The deserted beach and the wreckage of the machine gave them an inexplicable sense of unease.
The three turned back. But before they had gone far, Judai suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The other two ran a few steps before noticing his absence and quickly turned to look back.
"What's wrong, big brother?" Marufuji Sho asked, puzzled.
Judai didn't reply, but in his mind, Yugen's serious face suddenly flashed, and his words echoed in his ears.
"Cards in the hands of evil people become harmful weapons, and as righteous duelists, we must not let the Duel Monsters we cherish be abused!"
"If we ignore it, what if accomplices of these villains reclaim and use them as harmful weapons again?"
"..."
Judai pondered for two seconds, then quickly turned back and ran to the pile of scattered robot parts.
He searched through the metal debris and found the broken Duel Disc, taking out the card deck from it.
He even whispered an apology.
After putting the card deck in his pocket, he turned and jogged to catch up with his companions.
Marufuji Sho: "..."
Hayato: "..."
Oh no, it seems like our big brother is also turning into a Great Demon King...
...
...
The culture festival was nearing its end.
The sky had darkened, and Yugen stretched lazily as he walked away from the venue: "Today's dueling activities were quite fun, it was really enjoyable. But the prizes were so stingy, only two rare cards and a custom keychain. The Dueling Department is really tight-fisted..."
Walking alongside him on the way back were Mitsuzawa and Asuka: "..."
You may have had fun, but for others, who knows?
If things continue like this, next year's culture festival might see a change in the dueling activities' rules, as it could potentially affect people's enthusiasm and eagerness for card games.
Then perhaps a new rumor will spread within the Academy, about the man who single-handedly changed the rules of the Academy's culture festival for years...
"Speaking of which, the custom keychain can be made into any favorite Duel Monster, right? Yugen, have you decided what you're going to make?"
"Take a guess," Yugen smiled.
Mitsuzawa guessed: "Lava Demon God?"
Asuka seriously considered this possibility: "With Yugen, it's not impossible..."
"What about you, Mitsuzawa? You probably earned enough Dueling Points to exchange for a keychain too?" Yugen asked.
Mitsuzawa displayed a proud warrior-like expression: "I don't need such things."
"Got it," Yugen nodded, "It's 'White Magic Master - Ruru,' right? Understood."
Mitsuzawa's expression changed dramatically: "How did you know!? Oh no... I mean, don't go spreading that around!"
"Calm down, we've known for a while," Yugen chuckled, "Don't believe me? Just ask Asuka."
Mitsuzawa, shocked, glanced at Asuka, who nodded: "Yes, Yugen mentioned that you would sometimes sneak out Ruru in the lab for amateur research, trying to explore the potential of this card, right? Because you really like her."
Mitsuzawa blushed: "No, I didn't, I..."
Yugen patted his shoulder: "It's alright, it's completely normal. We understand."
For a guy, what's strange about liking a loli elf? Especially one with twin tails.
Mitsuzawa: "..."
Damn, what he thought was his biggest secret was already seen through long ago?
Mitsuzawa sulked, staying silent for a long time as they continued their walk.
As they walked into the dense forest, Asuka suddenly pointed to the sky: "The moon is really round tonight."
The three of them looked up and involuntarily stopped.
"Indeed," Yugen nodded softly.
Pausing for a moment, they decided to sit on the stones beside the brook in the forest and watch the moon.
After a while, Asuka suddenly said, "Actually... before coming to the Academy, and even when I first arrived, I was always alone.
It's not like I didn't have classmates around me, but it always felt like I couldn't really fit in. I think it might be because I came to the Academy with a purpose in mind."
Looking at the moon seemed to have stirred up her memories, and she spoke softly.
"Regarding my biggest secret for coming to the Academy... It's my brother. His name is Fubuki, and he disappeared here at Duel Academy. From then on, I decided to find him, and coming to the Academy was largely because I hoped to find clues related to his disappearance.
Since my brother disappeared, I haven't really cared about anything else—interacting with others, getting along with classmates... I guess that's why I always had trouble fitting in."
She withdrew her gaze from the moon, offering a faint smile.
"But now, being able to come to this lab, spending time with you two... The two most important friends I've made since coming to this Academy, achieving things I never imagined before, I really feel so fortunate."
She chuckled, turning to Mitsuzawa: "What do you think, Dr. Mitsuzawa? Are we considered friends?"
This nickname seemed to have originated with Judai, due to Mitsuzawa's constant calculations and experiments.
"Honestly, I initially thought friends was a bit of a stretch, more like classmates or colleagues at best..."
Mitsuzawa sat upright, his eyes shut, arms crossed, speaking awkwardly.
"But since you know my secret now, I guess I can't deny it even if I wanted to."
Asuka giggled.
The bright moonlight poured down like a silver waterfall, gently illuminating the peaceful brook, reflecting the silhouettes of the three of them. The moonlight stretched their shadows long, swaying in the ripples of the water.
"So, we've all shared our secrets. Doesn't that make Yugen a bit sneaky for not sharing an important secret?" Asuka suddenly teased lightly.
"Maybe I'm just a boring person," Yugen smiled, "A man with no stories naturally has no secrets to tell."
"Ha, you? No story?" Dr. Mitsuzawa chuckled.
Who in the entire Academy would believe that?
"Ahem, then why not bring up the most talked-about issue in the Academy right now?"
"What?"
"You know, about you supposedly knowing President Kaiba." Asuka was full of curiosity, "What's the deal with you two? How do you know someone like him?"
Yugen: "..."