"Easy for you to say." Eiko slipped the Duel Disk back onto her left arm.
"In that case, I recommend you go watch the friendship match between Xyz Academy and Ritual Academy today." Eiko stood up and casually grabbed the blue high-collared long-sleeved coat hanging from the back of the chair, draping it over her shoulders like a cape.
"I heard they're both recommended students personally selected by their academy heads. They'll probably be the biggest opponents in this year's Freshman Tournament."
Rikka pulled out her terminal from the oversized trench coat pocket and quickly swiped across the screen a few times. The ahoge on top of her head perked upright.
"I checked the forums. Apparently Ritual Academy's headmaster, Makoto, and Xyz Academy's headmaster, Mozu Takayama, have had a grudge against each other for a long time."
Eiko walked to the dormitory door and pulled open the handle.
"That's not something we should be worrying about."
The kind of gossip girls occasionally shared about private lives and old grudges clearly had no chance of taking root in this room.
Rikka stuffed the terminal back into her pocket and hurried after her.
Outside the arena, a massive holographic projection continuously displayed the emblems of the two academies. Amid the flowing crowd, Raku's half-transparent spirit body floated leisurely above and behind Phila.
"Morning, Phila."
Phila stopped walking and glanced up into the air. Subconsciously, she tightened her grip on the inverted pyramid pendant resting against her chest.
"Good morning, Mr. Spirit." Phila lowered her voice slightly, a faint embarrassed blush appearing on her pale face. "I didn't expect you to still be here. I thought that after fulfilling your final wish yesterday, you had already passed on to the afterlife."
Raku's floating body stiffened in midair.
"I really should leave eventually. Just not now. I'll probably stick around for a few more months. After that, I'll return to the place I'm supposed to be."
Phila's eyes sparkled. She nodded vigorously.
"I know! A proper funeral, right!"
The muscles on Raku's face began twitching uncontrollably.
…Am I gonna join the Skull Servants?
"I'm glad you understand the meaning of undead... but please don't over-imagine things." Raku gritted his teeth, practically squeezing the sentence out through the gaps between them.
Phila opened her mouth, just about to protest that she absolutely was not imagining things, when a crisp voice suddenly came from behind her.
"It's you."
Rikka stood several steps away, wearing that black trench coat that nearly dragged along the ground. Her gaze passed straight through the patch of empty air beside Phila and landed directly on Phila herself.
"You're the one who beat the undead user, right? Your name's Phila, wasn't it? You came to watch the match too?"
Phila froze briefly, then a delighted smile bloomed across her face.
"Mhm! I came together with Niobe." Phila turned and tugged on the sleeve of the person beside her. "We wanted to broaden our horizons and see how outstanding Duelists fight."
Niobe strode forward casually. She raised one hand in greeting.
"Hello!"
Rikka smiled and stepped forward to greet her.
"Hi, I'm Rikka Hisetsu. You already know her." She pointed beside herself. "This is my roommate, Eiko."
Eiko tilted her head a bit. Those heterochromatic eyes coldly swept across the socially anxious girl in the gothic dress standing before her, as well as the mechanic-looking woman who seemed like she had just crawled out of an auto repair pit.
"Pointless socializing."
Eiko turned around.
"Hurry up and get inside if you want good seats."
Without sparing anyone another glance, she walked straight toward the arena entrance gate.
The somewhat noisy entrance area was instantly swallowed by the wave of heat generated by the tens of thousands gathered inside the giant arena the moment they crossed through the sensor gate.
Even though today was only a so-called friendship match, the atmosphere in the stands had already reached the boiling point.
"Yunagi Minamoto! Go for it! Show these Ritual Academy weirdos who only know how to kneel before stone tablets the iron will and steel-like resilience of our Xyz Academy!"
That roar came from the student block of Xyz Academy. The boys leading the cheers were even shirtless, wildly waving massive academy banners.
On the opposite side of the arena, Ritual Academy's student block appeared far quieter. Dressed in uniform blue robes, they were fewer in number, yet carried a strangely oppressive presence.
"Augustus, teach these noisy fools what a true dueling ritual really is."
One of the senior students from Ritual Academy spoke, his tone calm but filled with disdain.
On the massive floating platform at the center of the arena, the man who had originally been seated slowly rose to his feet.
The tightly tailored military-style uniform jacket wrapped firmly around his tall frame, and the simple motion of Mozu standing up carried an overwhelming sense of pressure. The black feathered cape draped over his shoulders billowed with the wind, and the sharp light in his gray-blue eyes almost seemed capable of piercing straight through the sound system.
"Silence!"
Mozu's voice wasn't loud, but amplified through the arena speakers, it instantly suppressed the noise of the nearly ten thousand people present.
"Find your seats now. The glorious Duel is about to begin."
His blade-like short hair shimmered with a bluish-green sheen beneath the spotlights. Just as he was about to sit back down in the enormous metallic swivel chair, a leisurely sigh came from beside him.
"Isn't this little shrike? Still as serious as ever. How boring."
Makoto was half-sprawled across the plush chair originally meant for Ritual Academy's headmaster.
His dark blue hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin, and the white coat embroidered with star charts hung open, revealing the deep purple kimono underneath. His pale violet slit-like eyes seemed as though they had never fully opened, and in his hand, he lazily swirled a porcelain cup painted with moon patterns.
"Shut up, slit-eyes. Stop making puns with my name."
The veins on Mozu's forehead twitched as he shot Makoto a cold glare.
"Oh my, but they're both adorable, aren't they? Both are birds of prey that like skewering their prey on tree branches." Makoto shrugged and slowly rose to his feet. "Even the recommended student you picked up while traveling during vacation reeks of rust and iron."
He casually placed the porcelain cup onto the table.
"Let me see what that Yunagi you found during your holiday travels is capable of. Don't let my student beat him so badly that he can't even Xyz Summon."
As Makoto passed by Mozu, the wooden sandals on his feet made lazy clacking sounds against the floor.
"Tch. Still better than your Augustus, the one you met while reading historical romance novels together." Mozu sat back down in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke rapidly. "Read less nonsense. It's bad for your Ritual 'products'."
Makoto, who had originally intended to make a stylish exit, stumbled awkwardly. He nearly slipped face-first onto the smooth metal floor. The slit in his eyes widened slightly, revealing the embarrassment of someone who had just had a sore spot exposed.
"Th-That was academic exchange! Academic exchange, understand?!"
Makoto didn't turn back. He merely quickened his pace and hurried back to his own seat.
Meanwhile, down in the spectator stands, Phila was holding onto Niobe's hand while trying her best to avoid the fanatical students from Xyz Academy.
"Mr. Spirit... the headmasters seem to get along really well?" Phila shrank her neck as she asked the empty air in a quiet voice.
"They're basically two birds of a feather." Raku complained.
Yunagi steadily stepped onto the grass field, those icy blue eyes calm without the slightest ripple.
Opposite him, Augustus elegantly adjusted his monocle while the Duel Disk in his hand, folded into the shape of an ancient tome, already emitted faint rune-like light effects.
"But that slit-eyed headmaster was right. If they're careless, something really could go wrong."
Raku's gaze settled on Augustus's Deck position.
The arena lights began to shift, as massive barriers rose from the edges of the grass field.
Augustus stopped walking and took a deep breath.
...
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