Chapter 21: Hidden and Exposed Blue-Eyes
[Finesse Affection +20]
Not only recovering the lost 10 affection points, Amano had scored a [Double Opportunity], making Finesse's affection surge an additional 10 points to 69 total.
Just one point away from the 70-point reward threshold.
As expected in a card game world—only dueling with style earned others' favor. The royal road to success.
"Rei, that final monster you discarded." Inside the lounge, Kikawayu asked curiously.
"Shh, that's a secret weapon."
Amano wanted to avoid exposing Blue-Eyes White Dragon at all costs.
Even during the duel, he'd desperately resisted shouting that line he'd been dying to yell: 'BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON!'
"As a professional duelist, revealing less information is correct." Finesse nodded.
Can I really be called 'professional' now?
Whether from increased affection or not, Amano noticed something different about how Finesse looked at him inside the Wein family lounge.
Her silver-gray eyes lacked their usual coldness, replaced by something else—a yearning for something.
According to the system's affection boundaries, 60-70 points meant the other person considered you a friend.
And 69 points qualified as a very good friendship.
Of course, human hearts couldn't be perfectly interpreted by fixed programming. Just like affection growth wasn't determined by single factors.
The system's affection boundaries were merely reference points—Amano had understood this from the start.
Otherwise, Kikawayu's 100 affection would be impossible to explain.
So Amano wouldn't naively assume that merely 69 affection points meant the Wein family young miss considered a bottom-district slum duelist like him a 'very good friend.'
Sure, Amano and Finesse made a handsome man and beautiful woman pair. But within Eden Tower, the gap between people's social positions far exceeded any physical appearance differences—an insurmountable chasm.
However, for Amano, obtaining the system reward was most important.
Except tonight, before claiming his system reward, Amano needed to collect another reward first.
After the duel ended and they'd waited briefly in the lounge, someone gently knocked on the door.
A female staff member in formal dress entered respectfully, presenting a card with both hands.
"Mr. Amano, this is the card you designated."
Underground duel rules—the victor could not only humiliate the loser but also take any single card from the loser's deck.
The card Amano took from Lutz's deck was naturally the Magic Card Polymerization worth 30,000 Eva Points—currently the most compatible Spell for his deck.
Amano had considered whether other valuable cards in Lutz's deck might fetch more Eva Points.
For instance, the anime-effect Gate Guardian.
But after asking Finesse to help check prices, Amano gave up.
No specific price could be found. Monsters with special designation fields were likely exclusive deck cards from specific gene identifications.
Moreover, requiring three demon gods to combine made it useless even if Amano took it.
So since he could only take one card, Amano naturally chose the most practical and highest-value option—Polymerization.
Which raised another question.
What if the loser died?
Couldn't you take the dead person's entire deck?
This was where capital rigged the system.
Within the underground duel arena outside Mainframe Eva's jurisdiction, duelists who died 'accidentally' had their decks ultimately claimed by the arena itself.
Like those "final interpretation rights belong to the organizer" clauses—pure exploitation.
"By the way, is Lutz still alive?" Amano asked while accepting the card.
Though fists and feet showed no mercy in the ring with life and death to heaven, Amano would be lying if he said he didn't care whether he'd actually killed Lutz.
"Bounty hunter Lutz appears physically unharmed," the staff member explained dutifully.
"Five minutes ago, he regained consciousness and left the underground duel arena. However, his condition when leaving was somewhat strange."
That muscle-bound body truly hadn't been built for nothing.
Despite taking Archdragon's full strike under high physical feedback, he'd regained consciousness in under an hour and left independently.
Amano even felt the opponent was the real monster.
Though Amano had no right to criticize Lutz—he'd also taken Sanga's full lightning strike during the duel yet emerged completely unharmed.
Tonight's duel revealed strangeness everywhere.
Of course, if asking audience opinions, the most unexpected element was definitely Amano's final-turn desperate reversal.
"His condition was strange?" Finesse seemed to catch the key point, pursuing seriously. "Explain specifically—strange how? The more detail, the better."
The female staff member tilted her head thoughtfully. "Bounty hunter Lutz—initially doctors believed while he wasn't in life-threatening danger, he'd remain comatose for at least a week."
"But after doctors made preliminary diagnoses and prepared to conduct detailed brain scans, he suddenly sat up as if hearing something, ripped out all IV tubes without saying a word, and left the underground."
Having apparently witnessed this personally, the staff member added her own impression after describing events.
"That appearance—though his body was covered in injuries, he seemed to have some unavoidable reason to leave immediately. His whole body swayed unsteadily, yet something seemed to be pulling him."
"Pulling him..." Finesse stroked her smooth fair chin thoughtfully. "Alright, understood. You may leave if there's nothing else."
"Th-there's one more thing." The staff member didn't leave, instead becoming hesitant.
"What is it?" Finesse frowned.
"Um, Mr. Karl asked me to relay a message. He said he's waiting for Mr. Amano in the VIP box tonight."
The reason for hesitation was obvious—everyone knew about the poor relationship between the Wein siblings.
Since Amano was Finesse's hired duelist, this public summons made the staff member fear the ice-mountain young miss might redirect her anger.
"Hehe, hahaha."
However, Finesse didn't grow angry but laughed instead—a smile so brilliant it contrasted sharply with her ice-beauty image.
"Go relay my message too—if Karl wants to see Amano, no way! Tell him to get lost!"
"Ah, this?"
"Go now!"
"Y-yes..."
Such was the helplessness of bottom-tier staff. When wealthy people assigned work, even knowing it would offend someone, you had no choice but to comply.
After the staff member left, Kikawayu finally spoke. "Why does your second brother specifically want to see Rei?"
"My second brother's petty. Amano made him lose money tonight—obviously he wants revenge."
Speaking thus, Finesse deliberately took Amano's hand. The sudden intimate gesture plus the cool sensation transmitted from her palm caught Amano completely off guard.
"Don't worry, Amano. I'll protect you properly and won't give second brother any chance for revenge!"
Somewhat awkwardly, Amano slowly withdrew his hand from Finesse's fingertips.
"I'll leave the rest to you then, Miss Finesse."
Honestly, if the system hadn't marked Finesse's affection at 69 points, Amano would suspect tonight's efforts had pushed her past 80.
69 points at most meant good friend level. Referencing Yui at the same 69 points—she'd still mock him when she felt like it.
Finesse's overly intimate actions combined with mismatched affection actually made Amano wary.
Unless her definition of 'good friend' differed from others.
Watching Amano withdraw his hand, Finesse's expression showed no obvious change—only her silver-gray eyes flickered briefly before she issued orders.
"Uncle Gong, arrange District 11's finest hotel suite for me. Amano, don't return to District 32 tonight. Hide in District 11 temporarily to avoid my second brother sending people to your home."
"As you command, young miss."
Meanwhile in the VIP box, Karl had just received Finesse's refusal, cursing internally.
"That brainless woman actually plays tricks at a time like this! Doesn't she understand Kaiba Corporation's importance to Wein Corporation?!"
Though Amano's reversal victory made Karl lose his wager, the Wein family's second young master wasn't actually as petty as his sister imagined.
This invitation was entirely because Kaiba Chiha wanted to meet Amano personally.
The reason? Simple—the monster that reduced Gate Guardian's ATK by 3000 points during the duel's final reversal.
Even though Amano deliberately concealed it without naming the discarded monster card, a monster capable of reducing 3000 ATK combined with that battlefield-tearing, faintly visible white dragon soul—
Others might not recognize it immediately, but Kaiba Chiha, who'd personally witnessed her older sister duel, would never mistake it.
That was what her dear sister Kaiba Chiaki had been desperately seeking—the fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"You saw it too, Chiha. My sister is far too willful."
"How interesting, Karl. As interesting as tonight's duel."
Conversely, Kaiba Chiha was in high spirits after watching tonight's duel.
Thinking about how she'd discovered first the Blue-Eyes White Dragon her sister had desperately sought, super-sis-con Kaiba Chiha's heart bloomed with joy.
She couldn't even imagine how her sister would reward her after returning from outside-Tower investigations upon learning Chiha had found the fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Anyway, as long as we've locked onto the target, everything else is easy. Throw money—throw massive amounts of money at the problem!"
Kaiba Chiha's petite body leaned against the box's luxury sofa, legs wrapped in white knee-high socks arrogantly propped on the coffee table ahead.
"Amano Rei, a bottom-district District 32 duelist. Probably gets dizzy after getting hit with money a couple times, hehehe~"
What Kaiba Corporation lacked least was money!
Facing the nearly within-grasp fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Kaiba Chiha lost in sis-con fantasy moment couldn't help drooling from the corner of her mouth.