"Yo, I heard you recently lost to the transfer student in your class!"
Kexi opened with a sentence that immediately made Alicia unhappy, so she greeted him with an annoyed expression.
"Are you here just to make fun of me, Kexi-senpai?"
"Hahaha, of course not! I'm here to give you this!"
As he spoke, Kexi pulled out a black envelope from the lining of his school uniform. The seal was marked with red wax bearing a family crest—the crest of the Arce family.
"This is a recommendation letter from the Arce family. With this, you can go see the cardmaking master in the academy—Remington Shepherd. That master has some ties with our Arce family. Show him this letter, and he'll teach you the knowledge of cardmaking properly."
"Remington Shepherd!?" Alicia accepted the black envelope, then asked, "Where is that master in the academy?"
"The cardmaking center behind the academy's back mountain. Just head straight there! Also, if you want Xyz Monsters or Synchro Monsters, you can check out the black market in the royal capital. There are quite a lot of cards smuggled in from the Axel Republic and the Chaos Empire."
"Black market?"
Alicia froze. She wasn't unfamiliar with black markets… if anything, she owed her survival to them.
Back then, the black markets of the nearby town and surrounding small cities played a major role.
If Yuui hadn't taken her to the underground duel arenas of the black market to earn living expenses, she and the small church she stayed at might have long disappeared into some forgotten corner.
"That's right!" Kexi nodded. "And sometimes the black market even has unexpected historical materials. I heard someone from the academy found unknown historical documents there and managed to summon a Spirit no one had ever heard of.
"So if you have time, you could try your luck there."
After saying that, Kexi stood up to leave—abruptly, then paused.
"Also, the deadline for the Prince's faction is approaching. Be careful these days. Don't give them an opening."
Kexi left, but Alicia stared at his back, feeling that something about his words was… contradictory.
He warned her to be careful, yet also told her to visit the black market if she had time. Wasn't that contradictory?
Alicia looked at Yuui beside her. After a brief silence, Yuui's thoughts appeared in Alicia's mind, and she instantly understood.
So Alicia stored away the black envelope, picked up the books she needed to borrow, and headed toward the library entrance.
After returning to the dorm, she washed up briefly, packed the envelope into her bag, and prepared to head for the cardmaking center behind the academy.
She planned to meet the cardmaking master first, and then, if she had time, visit the black market.
Just then, a knock sounded on her dorm door. Alicia wondered who would visit at this hour when Yuui spoke directly:
"It's Alice. I can sense her aura."
"Alice!?"
Alicia was surprised. Ever since the duel between the Grand Princess and the Starlink Academy vice president, her interactions with Alice had cooled a bit.
Although they still had breakfast together and attended classes together daily, Alicia had started feeling strangely inferior and gradually withdrew from deeper conversations with Alice.
Why would Alice suddenly come now?
With a nervous heart, Alicia opened the dorm door—and found Alice standing there in black silk pajamas, holding an armful of snacks, wearing a bright and beautiful smile.
"Alicia, let's have a pajama party!"
"Eh!? A pajama party!?" Alicia locked up.
The last time—when her room was destroyed after dueling the Shadow Duelist and she had to stay in Alice's room—they'd had a pajama party. Alicia still vividly remembered the embarrassing moments from back then. But now…
"Little Ali, were you planning to go out?" Before Alicia could respond, Alice looked at Alicia's outfit and asked.
Alicia thought for a moment and nodded. "Mm. I was planning to go to the cardmaking center behind the academy to meet a cardmaking master."
"Cardmaking master!?" Alice blinked, then blurted out, "You mean Master Remington Shepherd?"
"Alice, you know him too!?"
"Of course! In our academy—aside from the Headmaster—Master Remington is the only true cardmaking master! But why are you looking for him? His temper is extremely eccentric—he doesn't meet people easily!" Alice asked curiously.
"I…" Alicia glanced at Yuui, but Yuui didn't respond. The thought he conveyed was simply—Make your own decision.
Feeling Yuui's intention, Alicia clenched her teeth and finally said, "I want to learn cardmaking from Master Remington. I want to become a cardmaker."
"A cardmaker!!?" Alice stared at Alicia in shock. After a moment of silence, her smile grew even brighter.
"Okay then… let's go together!"
"Eh!? Ehhh!??"
…
Half an hour later, Alicia and Alice arrived at the cardmaking center behind the academy.
Though called a "center," it was really just a small castle.
Under the darkness and moonlight, the small castle gave off an eerie glow. Alicia and Alice stood before the gate—one girl trembling slightly, the other filled with excitement.
"Alicia, I'll knock! This is the cardmaker's castle… who knows if there's some kind of mechanism?"
"Wait, Alice—be careful!"
"It's fine, Alicia!"
Alice cheerfully ran to the gate and knocked loudly.
"Excuse me! Master Remington! We are students here to learn cardmaking!!"
Her voice echoed through the silent night. After a long wait, there was still no response.
"No one's home?" Alice wondered, staring at the gate.
This time, Alicia stepped forward, took out the envelope from her bag, knocked again, and said:
"Master Remington, we have a letter of introduction from the Arce family. Are you here?"
Hearing the words "letter of introduction," Alice paused, glancing at the black envelope. Under the moonlight, the Arce family crest was clearly visible, causing her to frown slightly.
Suddenly, the next second, the dark castle lit up. Flames ignited along the walls, and the gate slowly opened like a gaping maw.
"Since you were recommended by the Arce family—Enter."
A deep, aged voice echoed from within.
Alicia swallowed nervously and looked at Alice.
"Alice… let's go in."
"…Alright!"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]