Chapter 197: New Soul Card
"My rear end hurts! Do you have to do that every time, Amano?"
"You were in the way."
Annoyed at Kaiba Chiha's short legs being too slow and blocking the exit, Amano had simply planted a foot and kicked her out through the diamond-shaped rift at maximum efficiency.
Then Amano himself came flying out behind her in one seamless motion.
Because she had been kicked, Chiha landed directly on top of Yui.
The instant Yui caught her, every ounce of resentment toward Amano for the kick evaporated completely.
But in the next moment, Amano came stumbling out behind her with zero control over his momentum, and landed on top of Chiha.
Triple Xyz Overlay stack. Human edition.
Yui: "Can you get off me? I can't breathe."
Amano and Chiha hurriedly untangled themselves and apologized to Yui, who had cushioned the entire pile.
The shop owner studied the data fracture carefully as it slowly shrank. Only after it disappeared entirely did he exhale with genuine relief.
"We did it! District 32's Eva network has been repaired. The contract system imbalance should not reappear. You two did absolutely beautiful work!"
Amano and Chiha glanced at each other.
They had not gotten along for most of their history together, but this time they had stood side by side for District 32.
Something had shifted. Looking at Amano now, Chiha felt none of the old irritation and hostility.
Even the fact that he had just kicked her did not make her especially angry.
[Kaiba Chiha] [Affection +10] [Affection: 67]
One coordinated duel had pushed the little gremlin's affection score almost to the level of her older sister's.
But 67 still wasn't enough for a skill reward.
That said, the affection relationship descriptions placed 67 squarely in the territory of a fairly solid good friend.
The little gremlin now considered him a friend?
Amano reached out experimentally and patted the top of Chiha's head the same way Yui did.
He received an immediate glare. "What do you think you're doing? Looking to die?"
Right. Even at the "good friend" level, there was still a significant gap from "older sister dearest."
But the shop owner's mention of the network repair reminded Amano of the cards he had grabbed in the final moments before the data space collapsed.
Ivaliss, Phantom Rupture.
Before the duel, this card had been marked by the data chain. If they had lost, it would have been left behind in the data space.
Even though having Ivaliss on the field locked his own Special Summons, Amano couldn't help feeling it would be cruel to abandon her in a collapsing void.
Besides, this card's name and appearance matched the Eva mainframe's bug manifestation exactly.
Was it possible he now held the Eva mainframe itself in his hands?
There was probably no more powerful backer available in all of Eden Tower.
Ivaliss: "Heh heh. I know what you're fantasizing about, Amano Rei."
Without warning, Ivaliss materialized as a card spirit right up in his face, her teasing smile hovering at near-nose-touching distance as she floated in the air.
Naturally, judging by the complete non-reaction of everyone else present, only Amano could see card spirits.
Amano: "Isn't that a bit close?"
Up close, he could confirm that Ivaliss and Eve were shaped from the exact same mold. The only visible difference was the distinct eye makeup that came with the corrupted dark palette.
Ivaliss: "I'm just a product born from a data bug. I'm not the real Eva. Don't go imagining I'll get you any special privileges, Amano Rei."
His momentary mental detour had been read immediately and laid out plainly.
For two cards who were supposed to be flat equals, Ivaliss made Eve look positively naive by comparison.
He tucked Ivaliss into his deck. The deck now contained four Eves by any count. One was the original, one was a double agent, and at minimum all four made a very strong hand in poker.
Beyond Ivaliss, there was the other card he had rescued before the space collapsed.
This one, however, gave him more complicated feelings.
Aleister the Invoker.
"Here. Your card. Take it back, manager."
If this useless shop owner hadn't lost Aleister the Invoker to District 32's bug version of Eva in the first place, the duel against Ivaliss would not have been anywhere near as brutal.
In terms of playing the mole on his own side, this man and Ivaliss were neck and neck.
"Oh, I'm actually surprised you got it back, Amano Rei."
Something about the smile beneath the shop owner's mask was oddly complicated as he looked at the familiar card being handed to him.
"You keep it."
Amano did not process this immediately. He checked again: "I keep it? Isn't this your most important card?"
Casually reassigning your soul card to a stranger. Have some respect for your card.
"Ha ha ha. Because I already have a new soul card."
As if to prove the point, the shop owner produced a fresh card to display.
Aleister the Invoker of Madness.
This card's first and second effects can each only be used once per turn. (1): If this card is in the hand, target 1 Spellcaster-Type Fusion Monster you control. Special Summon this card, and until the End Phase, that target gains 1000 ATK. (2): When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, banish 1 "Invoked" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck. Then add 1 "Invocation" or a Spell Card with that card name in its text from your Deck to your hand.
Not only had he lost his soul card in the duel, he had already replaced it with a new one without a second thought.
Amano's read on this strange shop owner had been correct from the start.
This was absolutely, unambiguously, a faithless scoundrel.
But being left with a single Aleister the Invoker was not a lot to work with. He was not the Eva mainframe and could not copy card data at will.
Aleister alone, without any Invoked Fusion Monsters in the Extra Deck and without copies of Invocation to support him, could only be used as a hand-discard option to boost a Fusion Monster by 1,000 ATK during battle.
Another odd component rattling around the deck.
Then again, Amano was not entirely without Invoked options.
The standard Polymerization Spell could also Fusion Summon Invoked monsters. And within the Invoked lineup he was already aware of, two of them could be produced using his current Extra Deck access.
The first was Invoked Cocytus, available through his full Dragon-Type Extra Deck unlock.
Invoked Cocytus [Level 6, WATER]
[Dragon / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: 1,800 / DEF: 2,900]
[Aleister the Invoker + WATER Attribute monster]
Invoked Cocytus
[Dragon / Fusion / Effect]
Aleister the Invoker + WATER Attribute monster
(1): This card on the field cannot be targeted or destroyed by the opponent's card effects.
(2): This card can attack in Defense Position. When it does, use its ATK for damage calculation.
The second was the Level 10 Fusion provided by Yui's Fusion Mastery skill. Also theoretically the strongest Invoked Monster in existence: Invoked Elysium.
Invoked Elysium [Level 10, LIGHT]
[Fairy / Fusion / Effect]
[ATK: 3,200 / DEF: 4,000]
[Invoked monster + monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck]
Invoked Elysium
[Fairy / Fusion / Effect]
Invoked monster + monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck
This card can only be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by Fusion Summon.
(1): Usable only once per turn; target 1 Invoked Monster on your field or in your GY; destroy that monster and all opponent's monsters with the same Attribute. This effect can also be activated on the opponent's turn.
ATK exceeding Blue-Eyes White Dragon. DEF rivaling Obelisk the Tormentor.
Amano didn't stand on ceremony with the faithless shop owner and tucked Aleister the Invoker straight into his deck without delay.
A minor upgrade, but an upgrade.
With District 32's order crisis resolved, there was no reason to linger on the garbage mountain. Everyone returned together to The Tsundere Duelist.
On the walk back, a genuinely skeptical Yui kept doubting whether the disorder had really been fixed just like that. Was this some theory the shop owner made up specifically to trick her into leaving?
So Amano put it to a direct test, pulling Yui into a quick attempt.
[Contract terms: The loser serves the winner as a loyal pet for one day.]
[Contract: Failed to register.]
Even a contract as relatively low-stakes as that had failed to form. The system was visibly fixed.
With that confirmed, the remaining conversation turned to the plan for Yui to travel to Academy City in the mid-level district.
Yui still had reservations. She couldn't understand why the shop owner would invest money in sponsoring an ordinary card shop shopkeeper to cross class barriers and attend school.
The costs alone were not trivial. A Gene Identification alone ran 5,000 points. The remaining 30 starter cards would add another 30,000. Combined, over 35,000 points, already equivalent to three years of shopkeeper wages.
After Amano's advice the previous day, however, the shop owner had adjusted his framing.
"Think of it as professional development on the shop's dime, Yui. When you graduate from the dueling academy, you'll be an even better shopkeeper. That means I can leave the shop in your hands with complete peace of mind."
"So I'll still be the shopkeeper..."
"Forever! You will always be the shopkeeper!"
"All right! I'll go for the development program!"
That framing had apparently hit exactly the right note, and Yui agreed from the heart.
With Yui on board, only one person remained undecided.
"Since Yui-nee is going to the mid-level district, I will absolutely follow Sister wherever she goes!"
Chiha made her decision immediately, saving Amano the trouble of even attempting to persuade her.
That meant Kaiba Chiaki's mission was effectively complete.
Now to think carefully about what kind of reward to ask for.
Setting everything else aside: had he technically brought the little gremlin back? He had. The task requirements nowhere specified that "older sister dearest" couldn't be a different person.
He was genuinely curious what expression Kaiba Chiaki would make when she found out her sister was now calling another woman that title.
With everything arranged, Yui expected to head to Academy City the following week, and Kaiba Chiha would presumably return alongside her at that point.
Amano, needing to be back for his Synchro Academy exams, decided to leave the following morning.
But before leaving, there was one thing he wanted to witness in person.
Yui's duel gene identification result.
Her 70-point affection skill was already named Fusion Mastery. Whatever her actual field turned out to be was a question that refused to leave him alone.
Would it be a Fusion deck?
Not necessarily. She could just as easily end up with Synchro Mastery and Xyz Mastery as her next two skills.
Per the plan, Amano would go with Yui to the District 31 service center the next morning before his departure.
As for tonight, he had other work.
Same as the night before: into bed early, skill activated.
"Hacker Invasion!"
When Amano opened his eyes again, he was looking at the Japanese-style interior of the Nanki'in estate's study room.
Just like last night, the textbooks and practice sheets Nanki'in Sakuya had prepared in advance were already laid out on the desk.
Amano: "Then let us begin tonight's remote tutoring session, class rep."
Sakuya: "Oh... oh!"
Her voice came through from within his mind, half-dazed with excitement.
For context on how this arrangement had come about: two days ago, when Amano had taken the District 32 task on short notice and needed to cancel Sakuya's evening tutoring sessions, he had gone to the Nanki'in estate in person to apologize and explain. He had also promised to use the Background Spirit method to sit the monthly exam in her place so she would not have to worry about her grade.
Nanki'in Muramasa, who happened to overhear this, had proposed a different solution: even though Amano's physical body was in the lower districts, tutoring alone could also be handled entirely through the Background Spirit technique.
Using the Background Spirit skill for tutoring was considerably more defensible than using it to cheat on an exam.
The old man's breadth of experience showed. A Background Spirit tutoring session was a solution Amano himself hadn't thought of.
And somewhat unexpectedly, whether because of the soul connection or some other reason, this method turned out to be more efficient than in-person tutoring. A portion of his thought process apparently transmitted directly through the soul link with greater clarity than verbal explanation could achieve.
The only real downside was that Nanki'in Yukki, who was studying alongside them, had to endure some unusual circumstances.
"So Onee-sama's body really does have Amano-sensei inside it right now?" Even after a full night of adjustment and processing, Yukki felt compelled to confirm this at the start of the second tutoring session.
Since Yukki held the Millennium Key and retained her memories of the Onikiri Dark Game, there was no need to hide the Background Spirit situation from her.
"Correct. Now, did you understand this problem, Yukki?"
"No, no, I have other things I would rather understand."
Compared to the first tutoring night's confused and startled reactions, the second night's Yukki had become considerably bolder.
"Tell me what Onee-sama's body feels like, Amano-sensei."
"Can I decline to answer that?"
"Declining is perfectly fine. I'm asking on Onee-sama's behalf, actually. I'm sure she very much wants to know too. Of course, it's completely fine not to answer."
This young lady of the Nanki'in estate had the same unmistakably scheming energy regardless of the occasion.
Nanki'in Sakuya would not want to know something like that.
Sakuya: "I want to know."
"Look, this is your own body. You're asking me, the visitor, what it feels like?"
Sakuya: "I really want to know!"
Fine. Amano was not going to win this against both of them.
"Compared to my own body, the limbs are lighter. The hair gets in the way. And there's a faint scent that doesn't go away."
Yukki smiled. "The scent is accurate. Onee-sama spent two hours soaking in the bath before you arrived, Amano-sensei."
Two hours? Sakuya, that is a lot to put yourself through. Not worried about getting dizzy?
"That should be enough of an answer. Back to studying."
Sakuya: "I have more questions!"
Sakuya, you've clearly been corrupted by Yukki since last night.
Yesterday she hadn't been anything like this.
Those two had obviously spent the night discussing very interesting topics together.
Sakuya: "Not just compared to your own body. I want to know... compared to Finesse."
There it is. The Rin Seiya Background Spirit was still undisclosed to her, but Nanki'in Sakuya was aware, specifically and definitely, that he had fought a Dark Game through Finesse's body.
Sakuya: "We are both girls. Between me and Finesse, I..."
Amano answered without hesitation. "You are bigger than Finesse."
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