Sir, this is a card shop

A disheveled figure emerged from the stairs, clad in a T-shirt and cargo shorts, which Trell and the others found unusual. His hair was unkempt, and drowsy eyes peered out from the mess. Completing the peculiar ensemble, he wore Blue Eyes White Dragon slippers. Scratching his belly and yawning, he swung the door open.

"Ughhh, do you brats know how early it is?" Alucard grumbled, but the kids ignored him, fixating on his Blue Eyes White Dragon slippers, enthusiastically shouting, 'Cool!' and 'I want those!'. He stepped outside, allowing the kids to enter the store eagerly. "You can sit down first before you play!" he reminded them, feeling like he was now the target of a pack of beasts.

His attention shifted to the people in front of him, likely his parents or guardians. Puzzled by their tense and fierce gazes, he wondered, Maybe they're upset because I'm trying to sell expensive toys to their children? He shook off the thought.

"Uhm, welcome to Milky's Card Shop. I suppose your children have told you about this store of mine, so please come on in. I just woke up, so please bear with me for a bit as I set up shop." He dismissed their serious faces, observing them nod to each other before entering the store. Alucard headed back upstairs to freshen up; he hadn't eaten breakfast, but it seemed like food would have to wait until lunch. As he descended the stairs again, a tall, imposing man with his arms crossed confronted him.

"Yo, brat, what's your purpose here? I won't play games with you. I'm telling you to either get your operation out of here or be prepared to face the slammer. Using smuggled beasts to battle for entertainment won't lead to a bright future in this city as long as I'm here." James got straight to the point, seeing that the owner was just some kid, probably the same age as Neon, he decided to knock some sense into him.

"I'm sorry? I don't understand what you're saying," Alucard replied, still puzzled by the sudden confrontation, as it seemed like James had mistaken him for an actual smuggler.

"Hmph! Then show me how exactly you 'summon' and 'battle' with monsters. Don't tell me that you used our children to strike a deal with the City Guard, so we'll turn a blind eye to your operation, huh?" James challenged, waiting for the kid to slip up and panic.

"Eh, no, actually, I run a legitimate business selling things called cards. My permit is there behind the counter; let me show you," Alucard gestured towards James as he went to the counter. The kids chanted, 'I want to play cards!' while their guardians watched closely, ready to react if something went awry.

Alucard pulled the plaque hanging on the wall behind the counter and handed it to James, he had actually seen it with a glance from outside the store but reserved his judgement as its appearance could be faked by skilled craftsmen. Confirming the engraved magic seal was from the LeFlamme family.

After scanning the magic seal, James acknowledged its legitimacy. While he still had some reservations about the shop, it seemed highly unlikely that the kid before him was involved in recent smuggling activities. Sighing in relief, he signaled to Trell and the rest that, for now, the shop was in the clear.

He briefly stepped outside the shop and shouted to the soldiers in waiting that they could resume their regular activities. Elaine signaled to her husband, Robin, who appeared in front of her before they both went inside together. Alucard was sweating; his store had almost been raided by the city guards and a ninja.

Observing the ninja who just went inside with the short yet shapely woman, he noticed the man wearing a mask covering half his face, jet-black hair, and eyes reminiscent of a certain clan from a different studio, and a black cloak draped over him. The only difference was that, while this guy was quiet, he didn't seem angsty or depressed. Instead, he exuded a jovial vibe as he sat down with the woman, who appeared to be his wife, and Annie, who hugged him tightly before both of them kissing him on the cheeks. What a lucky guy, Alucard thought to himself.

James went back to the counter and spoke towards Alucard in an exasperated tone, as if lecturing a dumb junior. "Then, kid, what the hell are you selling? And why is your business on the outskirts? If not for our mischievous runts here who happened to go on the outskirts yesterday, nobody will know your shop even exists, well, except for wild dogs and a few shady individuals here and there."

"Alucard's the name, I'm sure your kids already told you. I sell cards, these cards are specifically used for a game called a Yu-Gi-Oh duel, or duel game for short. These cards are luxury goods akin to art like paintings, books, or statues. You can also just collect them and appreciate the illustrations inside."

"Then what about monsters? How come our kids are able to summon monsters and fight one another? My Annie even told me that she destroyed Nina a couple of times, but she also got destroyed by her?" Elaine said, worried, while Robin just nodded along with what she said.

"Auntie Elaine! That's not true at all! I only lost one time!" Nina protested.

"Heh, you almost lost the last duel, but sir had to close his shop, you still lost technically." Annie replied with a smirk.

"Jiji and I had a blast and dueled with each other 3 more times! But it was really fun playing!" Failer said.

"Hahaha! That's true, you even had to tribute your Silver Fang just to beat me!" Jiji laughed.

With the kids laughing about it, the tense atmosphere was soon gone. Trell chuckled, "We're sorry for the trouble owner, but we were really worried as these kids couldn't stop talking about dueling with monsters and using spells, which had us worried. Can you please show us your wares so that we can form our opinions if these would be something that won't harm our children? The prices they mentioned are quite high, after all."

"Mhmm, Nina told me some interesting spells." a navy-blue robed teenager, who looked like Nina, quickly said. Must be her sister, Alucard thought as he compared the two. "No worries, I know what I'm selling is quite out of the ordinary. I am confident in my products, but as these kids have told you, they are luxury products. At the end of the day, it is up to you, the parents or guardians, to decide if you want to buy them for your kids."

Once Alucard said that, all the children had worried faces while the parents gave an approving nod. At least this shop owner is quite honest, they thought. Only Neon had a blank face, as she was just waiting for Alucard to show them the magical cards.

"Uncle, you promised..." Failer looked at Trell expectantly.

"Hahaha! Don't worry, kiddo! A man's promise isn't easily broken." assured Trell as he ruffled Failer's hair.

"Sister... I really want to get the cool dragon..." Nina wanted to beg her sister but stopped as she saw her taciturn sister raise a thumbs up and nod as if saying, 'Don't worry, I want to get the cool dragon and those spells too'.

Anne turned to her parents, "Mama... you already promised, I ate a lot of veggies yesterday too. Papa, you have to back me on this!" she said as she tugged on Robin's cloak. Elaine and Robin stared at each other and sighed. They had to acquiesce to this daughter of theirs.

Jiji glanced at his father with a pitiful gaze, James glared back at him only to sigh. "We'll see, you have to remember that your mother found my stash yesterday, I might not be able to buy anything for you." He shook his head.

Alucard interrupted the group, "How about this, I'll let you borrow these cards and play them here. You can decide if you want to purchase packs afterward. You kids can teach your parents how to play, right?" As he handed out card decks to the kids, Trell and the others were dumbfounded that Alucard would let them and their children borrow and play with these luxury goods. Noticing their confusion, Alucard explained that the cards in these decks are ones from packs he personally opened and that he has lots of them already since they're much more common than other cards.

Once the adults received their borrowed decks, they quickly checked the cards and were pleasantly surprised. The cards were very nice to touch, smooth with a glossy finish. The back of the card had a weird yet mesmerizing pattern, akin to a mystical portal. The face of the card had text that was very clear and readable, even though it was small, and the art was so detailed and creative, with each card having a unique aura to it. Not only that, the cards themselves seemed to be made of some unknown material that is very durable and resistant. The cards were so light and thin, yet they did not bend or tear.

Trell was really surprised; a lot of the monster cards depicted creatures he had never seen. Some cards had similar names to monsters and humanoids he had encountered, yet the ones in the cards were so different that they might as well be different species.

James was also surprised, but his attention went to the cards depicting valiant warriors such as M-Warrior #1, M-Warrior #2, and... Ah, now he's mesmerized by the Enchanting Mermaid. His face went from stone-cold to focused while lightly blushing, which Jiji found interesting but didn't harp on it as he wanted to convince his dad to buy some packs before anything else.

Elaine and Robin were shocked by the fierce depictions of monsters, afraid that their daughter would be frightened, only to find Annie excitedly showing them each monster. The daughter, whom they raised with love and care, shielding her from all sorts of violent and dangerous stuff, still looked adorable as she described what each monster is, how they battled, and how they 'died' when defeated.

Nina showed her elder sister the spell cards she wanted to see; Neon went through all the ones Nina gave and found them way different from the conventional spells mages used. She found it very fascinating that spell cards often depict items, actions, places, or events instead of the act of casting a spell or magic circles. Though she noticed that there are only three trap cards in the deck, when she read the effects, she found them somewhat lacking, though the artwork was intriguing.

Sadly, this is true for trap cards since Spell Ruler was the first set to release common trap cards, namely: Eatgaboon, House of Adhesive Tape, and Snakefang. The effects were very weak, since the first two can only be used when an opponent's normal summons a monster, while the last is only effective if the opponent's monster is changed into DEF mode. Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon, and Metal Raiders did not have any common trap cards, and all the useful ones are set to rare or higher.

"Well, you and your kids can enjoy playing with the decks for a bit. Let me set up the table for duels. Also, this button here serves as the menu; you can engage in tutorial duels here... and explore these features here..."

Alucard explained, unveiling some functionalities of the shop's tables that he had discovered while reading the manuals before going to bed. "Once you're ready, you can familiarize yourselves and start playing. I'm going to whip up some grub for myself, tidy up the shop, and handle other chores. I won't disturb you, but please let me know when you decide to purchase card packs."

He's a pretty laid-back kid, Trell thought, and then he returned to playing with Failer, teaching him. The others also began to check out the tutorial duels and start playing with their borrowed decks.