The last glow of dusk spilled across Kisaragi's face as she slowly woke up—only to find Kaiba's trench coat draped over her.
"Seriously… what is this coat even made of?" she muttered. "The edges are so sharp it feels like it could cut someone."
Complaints aside, she carefully folded it—neat and precise—then looked around Kaiba's office.
"So this is the president's office… It's huge. But the furniture's so sparse it feels weirdly empty."
She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window behind Kaiba's chair and stared out over Domino City, her mind circling back to the dream she'd just had.
"What am I supposed to do…?" she whispered.
From deep inside her, a familiar voice answered—soft, steady:
"Just follow your heart."
Kisaragi blinked.
"Yeah… that's right. Just follow my heart."
The heaviness in her expression vanished, replaced by her usual confidence.
The office door opened.
Kisaragi turned—and saw Kaiba step in.
Kaiba, too, froze for a moment when he saw her awake. Their eyes met, and neither spoke for a few seconds.
Kaiba cleared his throat.
"You're fine?" he asked.
"Yeah," Kisaragi nodded. "I guess I was just worn out. Duelist Kingdom was nonstop, and then there were all those high-intensity duels. I'm okay now."
"…Good." Kaiba's shoulders loosened slightly. "Then we're going home."
"Okay."
Over the next few days, Kisaragi rested at Kaiba's mansion.
Even though she technically worked for KaibaCorp, Kaiba only told her to go in when she needed to. Otherwise, he didn't force her.
"Am I… basically retired already?" she muttered.
She lay on a lounge chair by the pool, sipping juice under the sun, with two personal maids standing by.
"But honestly… this life isn't bad. I can just send my card designs to KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions from here. No punching a timecard. No waking up early."
Now that she was also the largest shareholder of Industrial Illusions, her designs were going there too. And thanks to her, the relationship between KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions had become unusually cooperative—joint projects, shared planning, the works.
Kaiba hated it at first, but after Kisaragi insisted, he begrudgingly allowed it.
Ding-ding!
Her phone chimed: a bank notification.
She lazily checked it.
"Heh. Industrial Illusions already sent this quarter's dividend? I haven't even been a shareholder that long…"
Then another notification arrived immediately after.
"Pff—!"
She almost spit her juice.
"Is Kaiba insane?! Why did he transfer this much money?!"
She already knew Kaiba had transferred half the Big Five's recovered shares into her name—she'd heard it. But this dividend was absurd.
She did a quick mental estimate: in Domino City, with this money, an average family could live comfortably for a century.
Staring at the ocean of zeroes in her balance, she relaxed.
"Well. I didn't scam anyone for it. If someone wants to give me money, I'll take it. Not taking it would be stupid."
She stretched.
"Anyway… Kaiba's developing a new Duel Disk. If the timeline matches, Battle City is coming. Finally—no more boredom."
"And the three God Cards are about to appear too… I wonder if I can use them."
The system answered immediately:
"You can. The God Cards in this world can't be used—but the God Cards you brought can. The unlock condition is to obtain the corresponding God Card."
Kisaragi sighed.
"Even if I can use them… my 'God Cards' can't possibly compare to the anime versions."
Just then, Kaiba's car rolled into the mansion's drive. He lowered the window and gestured for her to get in.
Kisaragi slid into the passenger seat.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"I got a special call," Kaiba said. "They claim they have a rare card for me. I figured I'd bring you along."
"Sure. I want to see what kind of 'rare' card could bait you into moving."
The car stopped in front of a newly established museum in Domino City.
The moment Kisaragi saw it, she understood.
"So Isis is appearing," she thought. "And that 'rare card' is probably Obelisk the Tormentor."
She turned to Kaiba.
"Kaiba… you're not exactly the 'ancient artifacts' type. Why are we here?"
Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Kisaragi. Interesting. I don't remember telling you I dislike ancient artifacts."
Kisaragi froze.
Oops.
She recovered instantly.
"Mokuba told me," she said quickly. "He said you're obsessed with Duel Monsters and KaibaLand, and you don't care about museum stuff."
Kaiba didn't press further.
"That's accurate. I'm not interested in the exhibits. But someone claiming to be the director of Egypt's antiquities bureau called and insisted I come in person."
"Then that 'rare card' must be a pretty tempting leash," Kisaragi said.
Inside the museum, a dark-skinned woman in traditional Egyptian clothing stepped forward. Around her neck hung one of the Millennium Items—the Millennium Necklace.
"Mr. Kaiba," she said, "thank you for accepting my proposal. However, I believe I told you to come alone. Why did you bring someone else?"
"She's one of the two people I trust most," Kaiba replied coolly. "Her presence doesn't conflict with your conditions."
The woman smiled, then gave Kisaragi a polite, faint bow.
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Isis Ishtar, Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Bureau. How should I address you?"
"My name is Kisaragi Aoi," she answered. "I work at KaibaCorp."
"I see… so you are the duelist who defeated Pegasus." Isis's gaze lingered a fraction longer. "And it seems your relationship is… not simple. I can tell that your appearance has altered the flow of the future."
In truth, Isis had already noticed that her Millennium Necklace's foresight no longer worked as it once had. Kisaragi's existence had violently derailed the original path—so now Isis could no longer see what was coming.
All she could do was proceed cautiously, probing step by step with what information she still had.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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