Mr. Stein leaned back against the corner, tipped his head up, and drew in a deep breath.
Then he looked up at the sky.
"As expected… I still lost."
He shook his head, regret on his face.
Kira stood silently in front of him for a moment, then walked over and sat down beside him.
"From how you're talking, you already expected this result, didn't you?"
He looked over at Stein.
Stein let out a bitter laugh. "You're the undefeated king of the dueling world. The number of strong duelists you've beaten can't even be counted. And I can't even remember how long it's been since I last set foot on a real tournament field. Do I even need to say how this was going to end?"
Earlier, Kira could faintly feel the influence of dark energy around Stein. He knew that was most likely due to Yubel.
But that fluctuation had already vanished.
He could tell that, for now, Stein was back to normal—or at least, he was free of the dark power's influence.
As for whether his mental state was actually normal, that was another question.
Noticing the way Kira was looking at him, Stein waved a hand. "Don't look at me so suspiciously, Kira-kun. I no longer have the strength to fight. I can't… cough, cough… drag this ruined body of mine into causing you more trouble."
As he spoke he shook his head, looking at Kira with a somewhat aggrieved expression.
"But you really are full of tricks, Kira-kun. The Dark Scorpion Burglars, and then the Storm Caller… you deliberately gave me those monsters, didn't you?"
"You knew the effect of Scab Scarknight from the start, and you understood my dueling style. You purposely chose those mole-type cards for me, then turned around and used my own monsters' effects to help you assemble your kill-combo."
Kira neither admitted nor denied it.
"Haha, as expected of the Duel King," Stein said. "Even if you say my classes are worthless, even if you say my dueling is outdated… in the end, it turns out the champion slacker who keeps cutting my class understands me best, understands my duels and my tactics more than anyone… cough, cough…"
He shook his head and gave a bitter smile.
"What a joke, huh."
Strictly speaking, Kira didn't think of himself as cutting class.
The school allowed free course selection. But it didn't matter. He didn't bother to correct or argue.
Mr. Stein was now truly experiencing firsthand why this sunny student before him was so famous around the academy as the Lord in Yellow.
Stein, who wielded Scab Scarknight, had played NTR decks his whole life, and yet he had never once run into a situation like today—enough to make a NTR player of ten years cough blood and convert to pure romance.
Now he'd probably have a psychological shadow and never dare to casually NTR someone else's monsters again.
It was a bit cruel to do this to a professor who'd given so much to teaching, but the fact was, his teaching methods were outdated.
In the anime, other than Jaden, fewer and fewer students bothered to attend his lectures, until in the end almost no one went.
Even the academy's most exemplary student, Alexis Rhodes, eventually started skipping his class. If even Alexis felt it was too dull and boring…
Stein looked up at the sky. "Looks like you've proven you were right, Kira-kun."
"About what?"
"About me." Stein gently closed his eyes. "Whether as a professor or as a duelist, I'm just… a failure."
Saying that line seemed to cost him a tremendous amount of courage.
"No one comes to my class. I'm rejected by my students. It's not because of you, or any other student. It's because of me. Because I failed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't live up to expectations, couldn't become someone others needed, and so…"
He shook his head.
"I just desperately needed a reason to tell myself it was all someone else's fault. I blamed you for it, but in truth it was never like that. This is my failure as a professor. Nothing more."
Kira, sitting beside him like a friend chatting, patted his shoulder.
"Maybe I don't like your class, professor, but a lot of what I said just now was just trash talk in the middle of the duel. You know—pros do that all the time to throw off their opponents, right?
I said your dueling is outdated and worthless, but that's not really true. You're a very good duelist, Professor. Just from looking at Scab Scarknight, you can tell how much expectation you placed in that monster, how much of your fighting spirit as a duelist you entrusted to it.
It's a shame your body won't let you keep fighting. If it weren't for that, I'm sure you would have gone much further in the pro circuit."
Stein glanced sideways at him, met his eyes for a few seconds, and suddenly snorted with laughter.
"I didn't expect that from you, Kira-kun. To think that you could actually say something so comforting and encouraging."
Kira: "…"
Is that really the image he had in his professor's heart?
"Enough." Stein shook his head and said blandly, "I knew I probably couldn't beat you, but I still came. Partly because… I was egged on, that much is true."
"Professor Viper, right?" Kira asked.
Stein smiled. "Looks like nothing on this island can be hidden from the King. So you already knew."
He paused, then continued. "The other reason is that… at the very end, no matter what, I wanted to settle things with you. As a professor, and as a duelist."
He picked up Scab Scarknight from his hand and smiled.
"In the very end, if I still hadn't dueled you at least once, my old friend here probably wouldn't forgive me."
As he spoke, Kira really did see the spirit of Scab Scarknight appear as a faint illusion, drifting at Stein's side, quietly watching him, eyes carrying a hint of grievance.
Kira frowned slightly.
"Professor, you said, 'at the very end'?"
"Ah. That's right."
Stein slowly raised his head and looked at him.
"My time is running out. It's probably all those accumulated injuries from the years of high-intensity matches back in the pro scene… They've become a condition that can't be cured anymore…"
Kira was silent for a moment.
"KaibaCorp's medical tech is extremely advanced these days. I don't know what illness you have, Professor, but it might not be hopeless—"
Stein shook his head.
"It's too late. This is the fate of a warrior. A fighter who carries countless expectations and heavy hopes will one day have no choice but to fall.
But before that…"
He took a deep breath and held the card out to Kira.
This time, Kira was genuinely surprised.
He looked at the Scab Scarknight in Stein's hand, but didn't take it. He just frowned. "Isn't that your most important card, Professor?"
"It is." Stein nodded, smiling. "I've heard the Duel King loves to collect the cards of his defeated opponents as proof of his victories, isn't that right?"
Kira shook his head and pushed Stein's hand back.
"Not this time. Not yours, Professor."
"That only makes it more necessary for me to insist." Stein said seriously, "I told you, I'm finished. And even if I do luck out and keep this life, with this body, it'll be almost impossible for me to ever return to the competitive field.
But I don't want, and I can't allow, Scab Scarknight to go down with me. He's a warrior. He should return to the arena—no, I want him to stand at the very top of the world.
And among all the people I know, only you, Kira-kun, are capable of that. So, as your professor's final wish… please. I'm begging you, will you accept him?"
Kira looked at the card he was offering, then at the sincere look in his eyes.
After thinking for a moment, Kira reached out and took it.
"Alright."