Chapter 145

"If what you say is true, Ishizu, and there are three Evil God cards, then it's very likely that the other two cardholders will come to participate in this Battle City," Hoshino muttered thoughtfully, staring at the Evil God card in her hand.

"But the Evil God attached to the card should have already been destroyed by Altera. The ominous aura that originally radiated from the card has vanished. From what I can tell, this is just a rare card now."

"Is the God card really afraid of the Evil God card? Or is there another reason?"

Hoshino felt a headache coming on as she realized that, since arriving in this world, her deductive abilities were nearing Sherlock Holmes' level.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Mr. Holmes in a while. That unreliable detective—Da Vinci personally sent him to help me, and yet he's been slacking off recently. I should report him to Da Vinci!"

"Hmph, the Evil God card, huh? How interesting," Kaiba said, clearly pleased. "I thought I could only reel in the three Egyptian Gods, but now there are also three Evil Gods. What a big catch."

With Kaiba's wealth, only cards with mythic rarity—cards that existed only in legend—could truly capture his full interest.

"The three Evil Gods that can suppress the three Egyptian Gods, huh? These cards, which shouldn't exist in this world, appearing now must mean something," Yugi (Yami) muttered, frowning. He didn't believe the appearance of the Egyptian Gods and Evil Gods was merely a coincidence. "Perhaps this could be the key to retrieving my lost memories."

…

Without speaking, the trio left the Egyptian relic exhibition hall, each immersed in their own thought's

(***)

At Kame Game Shop, in Hoshino's room—

It was another quiet night. Hoshino had been in this world for quite some time now and was gradually getting used to it.

At first, there had been a sense of loneliness, like being in a foreign land, but with the friendship of her companions, she slowly integrated into this world.

Sometimes, lying alone in her room, Hoshino would wonder: was life in her original world really better than this?

Now, she attended school with friends, played Duel Monsters, worked at the toy shop, was admired by kids, and her days were filled with laughter…

This kind of life was something the reclusive version of herself—holed up at home all day—could never have imagined or even dared to dream of.

The only thing she still worried about was probably her father, who was all alone in the original world.

Slap! Slap!

Hoshino lightly patted her soft cheeks and sat up in bed.

"It's late at night, and being alone makes you overthink. If this keeps up, I'll end up shutting myself off," she muttered, trying to psych herself up. With that, she casually opened the Heroic Spirit Card system.

"Doing something fun should cheer me up."

[Duelist Level Assessment Complete. Duelist Duke Devlin, Duelist Level: D. Victory reward: 15 Saint Quartz. Total remaining Saint Quartz: 17.]

[Duelist ID 001, Hoshino Chiyuki, won a Shadow Game. Victory reward: 1 SSR Summon Ticket.]

"Devlin's duelist level is low, but who would have thought I'd get an SSR Summon Ticket from that easy Shadow Game?"

"An SSR Summon Ticket and the Evil God card—Devlin really brought me some great stuff. If Kaiba knew, he'd be jealous."

In high spirits, Hoshino opened the gacha, eager to see the new Heroic Spirit she'd pull.

[Detected SSR exclusive ticket. Now accessing the SSR-exclusive Banner.]

"Ah, the thrill of gacha—there's nothing better for soothing a weary soul."

At this point, Hoshino had completely forgotten the introspection from earlier while lying in bed.

"Select. Use the ticket to summon an SSR!"

A golden light flickered between her fingers, just as blinding and radiant as ever. The spinning golden card meant that another formidable ally was about to join Hoshino's Heroic Spirit deck.

"Hahahahahah! Zasshu!"

"That voice!" Hoshino tensed up, recognizing the familiar, brainwashing laughter and the insult that always made her blood boil.

"You've got quite the nerve, summoning me in this small room!"

The card gleamed with such brilliance that Hoshino could barely look at it. Coupled with the arrogant voice and sinister laughter, it was clear who had answered the summons.

"It's not like I intended to summon you! Gilgamesh, you're the one who responded on your own!" Hoshino pouted, her tone slightly defiant.

"How dare you, Zasshu! Who gave you permission to speak the name of a king so freely!"

"However… you're not entirely wrong. It was I who answered your summons."

"Hahahaha! Consider yourself fortunate to have summoned me, Zasshu!"

Why is he laughing again? Is this really that funny?

Unable to understand Gilgamesh's odd sense of humor, Hoshino sighed softly.

"But having the King of Heroes respond to the summons is reassuring. The battles ahead might not be as easy as the ones before," she said, her tone growing more serious as she considered the upcoming Battle City event, the lurking evil forces, and the stage set for a clash between the Egyptian Gods and the Evil Gods. She knew she'd need all the help she could get.

"That's right, Zasshu!" Gilgamesh suddenly adopted a more serious tone. "The battles ahead will likely be far more difficult than you can imagine. You had best prepare yourself."

"Wait, Gilgamesh do you know about the current situation? Is that why you came?"

"Zasshu, you dare speak my name again! But no matter. In times like this, feel free to rely on the power of the King. Be it the Egyptian Gods or Evil Gods, I'll destroy them all!"

"Then I'm counting on you, King of Heroes!" Hoshino said, nodding firmly as she carefully placed Gilgamesh's card into her deck.

Emiya: "Tch, is that annoying golden Archer here again?"

"But this SSR ticket didn't summon any waifus!" Hoshino suddenly realized, a note of disappointment in her voice as she finished adding Gilgamesh to her deck.

Out of the four SSRs she'd summoned so far, only Okita Sōji was female. The others were Holmes, Karna, and Gilgamesh.

"Am I going to end up summoning the entire Golden Trio of Archers?" The thought of this made Hoshino shudder, as the mocking laughter of Gilgamesh and Karna echoed in her mind.

"Ugh, it seems only Saint Quartz earned by myself can be used to summon waifus. These shortcut methods just don't work."

Closing the SSR-exclusive shop, Hoshino switched to the regular summoning pool.

[Special limited-time banner: Divine-Spirit Heroic Spirit featured with rate-up.]

"Divine-Spirit, huh? It must be referring to Divine abilities."

Following her "No More Than Three Saint Quartz" philosophy, even with only a handful of Saint Quartz in hand, Hoshino unhesitatingly decided to spend them all.

[Use 3 Saint Quartz for one summon?]

[Confirm]

"When it comes to Divine-Spirit, the first person that comes to mind is that purple old—"

A chill ran down Hoshino's spine, and she quickly corrected herself, "—that purple 17-year-old girl."

"Though, most Divine-Spirit Heroic Spirits are gold cards, so they're not easy to pull. Guess I'll have to find time tomorrow to head to the shop, take down some kids in duels, and earn more funds for pulling waifus."

Having made up her mind, Hoshino knew she couldn't let such prime opportunities slip by without exploiting them.

As expected, Hoshino's initial summons didn't yield any miracles. After tossing out four single pulls, it felt like throwing stones into the ocean—no response at all.

"Well, this is the usual outcome, after all." Having become accustomed to such disappointments, Hoshino remained quite calm.

"Alright, let's pull one last time before bed."

With that thought, Hoshino casually tapped for the final summon and lay back down peacefully.

Suddenly, radiant colors burst forth…

Startled from her near-sleep, Hoshino abruptly sat up.

"So, miracles from single pulls aren't that rare after all! The internet wasn't lying!"

Now full of hope again, Hoshino eagerly awaited the surprise gift.

"Enkidu, responding to my Master's summon. Please, use me without hesitation, however you see fit."

"Pffft…" Seeing Enkidu's serious face, Hoshino couldn't help but laugh. "You came along with Gilgamesh, didn't you?"

"Absolutely not, Master!" Enkidu firmly denied it, his expression still solemn. "I came here by my own will. I have nothing to do with Gil!"

"Haha, sure, if you say so." Hoshino gave him a knowing look, finding it hard to believe his words.

"I am a Heroic Spirit specialized in Anti-Divine abilities. Of course, I am merely a tool for Master to use. How you view a weapon is entirely up to you."

"Oh, don't use such cold words like 'weapon.' You're all my most precious Heroic Spirits." Hoshino smiled, carefully adding Enkidu's card to her deck. "Alright, let's head back to Chaldea and see if Gilgamesh is causing trouble."

"Yes, Master!" Enkidu responded with a warm smile, his serious demeanor softening at Hoshino's words.

(***)

The Next Day—

Sugoroku was in an exceptionally good mood today because he had just survived the greatest crisis of his 70-year-long life.

For reasons he couldn't understand, the customers that had been taken away by the new toy store yesterday had miraculously returned today.

By the end of the school day, the front of the Kame Game Shop was once again packed with children, all eager to spend their pocket money on cards. They kept muttering about how they must pull "Altera."

Sugoroku had no idea who or what "Altera" was, but as long as the children were happily buying cards (and spending money), he was just as happy.

However, there was one strange thing…

"Go, Emiya! Direct attack on him!" Without mercy, Hoshino issued the attack command, pointing at the bewildered child across from her.

"Master, isn't this a bit cruel to the child?" Emiya hesitated, feeling bad, but unable to defy the game's rules. He reluctantly swung Kanshou and Bakuya, reducing the child's remaining Life Points.

"Ahhh!" The little kid cried out.

LP: 800 → 0

"Darn it, I lost!"

[Duelist Level Evaluation Complete: Duelist Level E. Reward: 5 Saint Quartz. Total Saint Quartz: 32.]

"Yosh, that's six in a row. I've almost got enough for another ten-pull!" Hoshino grinned, practically counting her rewards like money.

"Anyone else want to challenge me? Today, the Duel King herself is taking on all comers. Don't miss your chance!"

"Me, Hoshino-nee! I want to duel too!"

"I'm in! I won't lose this time!"

"Sorry, losers can't go again." After all, there's no more quartz left to earn.

"I'm so glad business is booming today!" Anzu, watching the lively scene from inside the shop, was genuinely happy for Yugi and his grandpa, especially after yesterday's poor turnout.

"Well, after what happened yesterday, it's no surprise. Devlin's toy store probably won't have much business for a while." The kind-hearted Yugi was still worried about his competitor, despite everything.

The Shadow Game that had trapped customers in terror yesterday had spread like wildfire, and now the whole city of Domino was abuzz with the news.

With rumors swirling about the scary toy store, not many people dared to go there anymore. Especially those who had been trapped in the game—they likely wouldn't return for the rest of their lives.

"Hmph, he brought that upon himself!" Jonouchi, still holding a grudge, sneered at the mere mention of Devlin's name.

"By the way, don't you have cram school today, Jonouchi? Didn't you say it was a week-long course?" Honda asked, curious why Jonouchi was standing there instead of studying.

"Of course, I skipped it. It's just self-study, no teachers around. What's the point of going?"

"Go on, Boss! Use Iron Fist of Justice!" Hoshino's commands once again left no mercy as she ordered a finishing blow.

"Who are you calling 'boss'?" Martha grumbled, unwillingly raising her gauntlet.

"Who would've thought I'd end up using my fists on such kids!"

"Make sure to go easy on him, Tarasque!"

Roar! Tarasque, happy to know he wouldn't get hurt today, laughed cheerfully.

"Here comes the gentle version—Iron! Fist! Of! Justice!"

[Duelist Level Evaluation Complete: Duelist Akari. Duelist Level E. Reward: 5 Saint Quartz. Total Saint Quartz: 37.]

"Not bad! Let's keep it going!"

"What is she even doing?" Jonouchi couldn't help but comment, his face twitching as he watched Hoshino mercilessly take down one kid after another.

"Hoshino said she was grinding, but… I'm not sure what exactly," Yugi scratched his head awkwardly, equally clueless.

"Damn it, if she needs a practice partner, she should come after me, Jonouchi-sama, instead of those kids!" Jonouchi flexed, clearly eager to duel her himself.

"There's my loyal dog, Jonouchi!" Hoshino called out playfully, referring to their one-week master-dog contract. "But you can sit this one out!"

"Alright…"

"That's another victory down. Arash, Stella!"

[Total Saint Quartz: 42.]

(*****)

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