Kaiba's LP were emptied, and he staggered back two steps from the impact of the solid vision, but thanks to his formidable physique, he did not fall outright.
Watching Youmi's figure leave without even turning her head back, he glanced down at his Duel Disk.
"So even with this kind of temporary Deck, I couldn't win, huh? Thinking you'd let yourself fall to the level of an ordinary student while staying here really was my miscalculation."
Raising his hand, Kaiba swapped out the temporary Deck labeled "New Deck", which had been created less than an hour ago, for the long-used "Blue-Eyes" Deck, saved the configuration, closed it, and walked toward Principal Sheppard, who had been watching nearby.
Seeing the chairman of his board approach, Principal Sheppard hurried over and asked, "Chairman Kaiba, your sudden visit today… so that student called 'Youmi' really is—"
"Hmph↘→. Duelists capable of defeating me are exceedingly rare. Although I don't know what kind of perverse amusement she's indulging in this time, she is indeed concealing her identity and enrolling in Duel Academy. Since she wishes it so, don't publicize that the legendary Duelist is a student here. Just say that she paid a visit."
With his arms crossed, Kaiba laid out his terms.
"So treat her as an ordinary student. However… if she has her own thoughts and goals, then let her do as she pleases. Any losses can be made up.
"And those three cards sealed away in the Academy can be entrusted to her as well.
"That person and Atem… the one you call the Nameless Pharaoh, are opponents I must defeat with my own hands. Her Deck can't be in a suboptimal state."
Principal Sheppard nodded, though in his heart, he certainly wouldn't be treating Youmi as an ordinary student.
Come on, she was an acquaintance of Kaiba himself. With the Kaiba Corporation president watching her that closely, who would dare not give her special treatment?
"Th-then… when she enrolled at our Academy, she used a male identity, but now she's suddenly appearing in a female form. If we're to treat her as an ordinary student, then our dormitory arrangements…"
Kaiba had just turned to leave when Principal Sheppard's question stopped him in his tracks. After a brief pause, he pointed toward the distant location of the Slifer Red dorms.
"Her file says she's currently staying in Slifer Red, but in truth, she's a Ra Yellow student, isn't she? Then, build a separate, standalone building just outside Slifer Red. We'll dispatch the construction team. Anything else?"
Principal Sheppard quickly bowed and scraped. "No, no, we'll arrange it at once."
Watching Kaiba depart, Principal Sheppard yawned and prepared to go back to sleep.
Meanwhile, Professor Crowler came running over in a panic.
"Something terrible has happened, Principal!"
As for what kind of special treatment Youmi had actually received, she was still totally unaware of it.
Jaden had originally planned to rush over and question her the moment the Duel ended, but Arias the Labrynth Butler intercepted him. As a result, on the way back to the dorms, only Lady Labrynth of the Silver Castle, Youmi, and Fallen of Albaz from her Deck were present.
"Lady Labrynth—no, Lovely Labrynth… why are you here?"
Walking at the front, although she had briefly lost her composure due to the possibility of her identity being exposed, after defeating Seto Kaiba and entrusting him fully with protecting that secret, Youmi had mostly calmed down. "When I came to this world, I should have entrusted you to Ten Thousand Dragon's side…"
Thinking that they were already far away from Jaden and the others, Youmi turned around, intending to have a proper talk with Lady Lab, only to be suddenly pounced on by a silver-white figure and pinned to the ground.
Fortunately, it was soft grass, and neither of them was an ordinary human; otherwise, someone would probably have gotten hurt.
"What are you doing all of a sudden—"
Already accustomed to the other's carefree behavior, the now-calmer Youmi began to recover her original easygoing personality. However, when her gaze met those silver eyes brimming with desire, she still couldn't help but show a trace of fear.
"Ah, sorry, I couldn't hold back for a moment. Even though it's not my own form, Youmi, you're still just as cute."
The wicked desire in Lady Labrynth of the Silver Castle's eyes gradually receded as she put on her signature smile. "It's been so long. And yet your reaction to seeing me was to question my motives instead of being moved. That really hurts, you know."
She raised her left hand to push Lady Labrynth away, but it was pinned down instead. The monstrous strength made even Youmi, who now possessed the power of dragons as a Dragonmaid, blink in pain.
Gripping Youmi's left arm tightly, Lady Labrynth said, "Big Sis Ten Thousand Dragon told me, you know. She said you ran into some trouble over here. Kids you used to look after and some lover from who-knows-where both came knocking… that won't do. How could I let them steal you away from me~"
Youmi subconsciously muttered, "Weren't you not written like this before? I actually preferred the old you more…"
As a transcendent being, Ten Thousand Dragon's gender could be said to be indeterminate, depending to some extent on how others defined it. It seemed that Lady Lab, being a devoted yuri enthusiast, viewed her as an elder-sister-type character.
Anyhow, now didn't seem like the time to be discussing that.
"That was just restraint. No matter how gentle you are, I still didn't want to appear too forceful in front of you."
Lady Lab averted her gaze slightly, a pale blush appearing on her face.
"There's no one who'd stay just indifferent when their own home is about to be stolen, right? I'm part of your Deck, after all. I even dueled that kid called 'Yuki' with you back then. Even though I wasn't fully formed at the time, I could still tell something's wrong with him now. You're not really taking his nonsense to heart, are you?"
Lady Lab originated from the Deck Youmi had used in her own world, and so she had crossed paths in the past with Yuki, who was also a Duelist.
In fact, it was Yuki who had first dragged Youmi into dueling during a long holiday, and even into watching the original anime.
It was hard to imagine how that once-sunny kid had now turned into a darkened, creepy big-sister-obsessed type who only laughed maniacally.
"Even if that's true… if the way he's become now really is because of me…"
Youmi shut her eyes and let out a long breath, as if trying to escape. "Yuki's future, my uncle and aunt, their lives going forward... they don't actually need me. And since there are people here who do need me, then I'll stay here."
Letting go of Youmi's arm, Lady Lab grabbed her by the collar instead. "But what if your little brother keeps pursuing you relentlessly? Do you plan to obediently go back with him, or come with me to the Labyrinth Castle? If you don't want to face him, I'll help you. Thoroughly."
Youmi opened her eyes and met her gaze with determination. "Since he came to this world as a Duelist, I'll convince him through dueling. Even if I've never 'won' against him before, this time I won't lose. I'll go all out."
"That's my Youmi, my darling~ You're such an optimist, yet just seeing you makes me feel endless sorrow in my heart. That doesn't suit you. Since you've come all the way to Duel Academy, shouldn't you enjoy a happy school life properly? Things like being a girly student, for example."
Pulling Youmi up from the ground, Lady Lab drew her straight into her embrace.
At the same time, the sound of a camera shutter came from the bushes nearby.
"Um, I think I just heard a shutter sound…"
Youmi reached out, intending to point toward the conspicuously out-of-place bushes in the middle of the path.
"Don't worry about it, Youmi. I came to your school today just to have fun with you, you know. You have to show me around properly~"
Giving a signal to Arias hidden in the bushes with a camera, Lady Lab pushed Youmi forward a few steps in the direction they'd come from, cutting off her train of thought.
"Even if you say that, it's already night…"
Although Youmi was still very concerned about who had been secretly taking photos just now, she couldn't overcome Lady Lab's monstrous strength and ultimately gave up.
Once Youmi stopped resisting, Lady Lab hooked her arm around Youmi's. "Then tonight, I want to sleep while holding Youmi~"
"Um, my dorm is already full."
Although it felt awkward to pour cold water on her, Youmi's dorm was currently occupied not only by herself, but also by a group of Card Spirits who had come to this world together with her.
"Eh? Ehhh? Ehhhhhhh?! Is this cheating?!"
"We're not even in that kind of relationship, are we?!"
...
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