Let's play cards! In a fantasy world of swords and magic

The next day, as expected, rumors about the Three Egyptian God Cards exploded across Fusion Academy.

"The Three Egyptian God Cards really appeared in the academy's back mountain! It wasn't just chat logs—I saw Osiris the Sky Dragon with my own eyes!"

Students who had stayed up late and witnessed Osiris's descent firsthand pushed the rumors to their peak. With so many eyewitnesses, the story's credibility was undeniable, eventually catching the attention of the academy itself.

That afternoon, led by second-year homeroom teacher Professor Field and joined by several faculty members—including Teacher Erin—the academy conducted a thorough sweep of the back mountain.

Of course, the outcome was predictable.

The Pharaoh had already left the Elven Continent. No matter how meticulously the academy searched, they found no trace of the Egyptian God Cards.

The only discovery was a mysterious pool of blood.

Aisha and Ilin knew the truth: that blood was from Megan, the boundary mage, when her eye had been gouged out. But the academy had no idea.

Deeming the bloodstain a potential danger, Fusion Academy sealed off the entire back mountain with barrier magic, barring unauthorized entry. This forced the students—itching to sneak in and hunt for evidence of the God Cards—to abandon their plans.

The barrier, rumored to have been cast by the academy's grand sorceress Fiona (who also happened to be the head chef of the Magic Cafeteria), was far beyond any student's ability to breach.

With no way to investigate the mountain, the hype around the God Cards gradually cooled over the following days. Soon, few would care about the rumors anymore.

The only oddity was Mizuki Mu's behavior.

As the biggest victim of that night's Shadow Game, Mizuki—normally a chatterbox—should've been spreading the story everywhere. Instead, the next day, he acted as if he'd forgotten everything, becoming just another clueless bystander.

You Ling guessed the Pharaoh had altered Mizuki's memories before sending him back to prevent unnecessary panic.

In the end, while Slifer's appearance had been awe-inspiring, it caused no real harm to the academy. The incident faded quietly with time.

The following Thursday—

It was another weekly Monster Summoning class.

After days of research, You Ling had fully explored the new branch of Aisha's Spell Catalog related to the Poker Knights (Jack, Queen, King).

His conclusion?

Of course the Pharaoh's cards would be expensive.

Though the Poker Knights' support spells and traps weren't as numerous as the HERO archetype's—or even the weak Normal Monsters'—each card was high-tier.

The lowest-grade support spells were B-rank.

Two cards the Pharaoh had used stood out:

Continuous Trap Card [Bond of the Painted Cards]: Allows infinite revival of Poker Knights from the Graveyard once per turn.

Quick-Play Spell Card [Speed Summon]: Tributes the three Poker Knights to summon a God Card from the deck.

Both were top-tier A-rank spells, costing 400 spell points each.

[Speed Summon] was useless to You Ling—Aisha's deck had no God Cards. [Bond of the Painted Cards], while tempting, paled in priority compared to A-rank staples like Graceful Charity or Painful Choice.

What intrigued You Ling most was the B-rank spell [Painted Card Fusion], designed to fuse the three Poker Knights.

Though Aisha lacked the points to craft it, the card's existence hinted that the Poker Knights—normally just tribute fodder for the Gods—might have a hidden fused form.

In this world, any plausible fusion could be tested. But after several forced duels with Ilin, You Ling's experiments failed.

[Polymerization] showed no reaction during the duels.

"Strange, why did it fail? There's no reason for it. Fusion in this world shouldn't be so difficult, right? It worked perfectly with the Primordial Dragon."

For the past few days, this issue had become You Ling's biggest headache, constantly swirling in his thoughts.

"So, Little Ai, is You Ling still obsessing over the fusion problem?"

Before the summoning class officially began, Ilin leaned over to Aisha to ask.

Aisha forced a subtle smile.

"Haha, it seems so."

Thanks to the connection between their souls, You Ling's thoughts sometimes appeared in Aisha's mind.

And recently, the occasional messages she received were all about why the Three Knights couldn't complete their fusion.

Sigh, I wish Mr. You Ling would care more about me than just dueling.

Aisha sighed.

Over the past few days, Aisha's troubles were no less than You Ling's.

While You Ling was troubled by dueling matters, Aisha was troubled by real-life issues.

As for the cause of Aisha's troubles…

"So, Aisha, are you confident about today's summoning class?"

The cause of her troubles was none other than Kevin Seto, who had inexplicably become very friendly after recovering from his defeat against Kaiba Seto.

"Hmm, it's the same as usual. I don't feel much difference, Kevin."

Aisha replied helplessly, trying to brush him off.

"That might not be the case, Aisha. I'm feeling in top form today, and as my rival, I'm sure you'll make a breakthrough too!"

"Rival… rival?"

Why had she suddenly become Kevin's rival, and why had the once aloof Kevin become so enthusiastic? Aisha couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she thought.

Was it just because You Ling had beaten him once?

However, Aisha didn't know that this was the answer Kevin had found after yet another defeat at the hands of his sister… no, his brother.

Why was it that even though his win rate in the first year was better than Kaiba's, the gap between them was still so obvious?

The answer was that, compared to his brother Kaiba, he lacked a rival like Ilena, the Gray Witch, someone to compete with.

Aisha Yuna Carlos, who had once defeated him, was undoubtedly the best candidate for this role.

Even though she seemed like just another ordinary, troublesome girl in daily life, Kevin was convinced that he hadn't mistaken the sense of rivalry during their duel.

"Let's both make a breakthrough in today's summoning class, Aisha!"

"You're so weird, Kevin! Stay away from my Little Ai! Shoo, shoo!"

Quickly pulling Aisha into a protective hug, Ilin shooed Kevin away like he was a stray dog.

"Tch, what a bothersome woman."

"Ahem, settle down, everyone."

With a light cough to quiet the class, Teacher Erin walked in, casually holding a cigarette as usual, using the excuse that class hadn't officially started yet.

"Before we begin today's summoning class, let me introduce a transfer student. From XYZ Academy, please welcome Luka Slint."

Following Teacher Erin into the classroom was a petite girl with a fair, doll-like face that seemed straight out of a fairy tale. Her delicate and pure appearance, paired with her golden hair, made it impossible not to feel a sense ofaffection for her.

"So cute!"

Instantly winning over both boys and girls in the class, most of the students were immediately captivated by the transfer student's adorable appearance.

Ding-ling~~!

You Ling: "Hmm, what's that sound?"

While everyone was marveling at the transfer student's beauty, You Ling, in his soul state, heard a sound—a clear chime, like wind bells, the sound of the Millennium Ring clinking. It was the same sound he had heard back in the mountains.