"You all—rather than standing around bragging about being the King of Duels, wouldn't it be better to hurry back to your dorms and join the 'Freshman Welcome Party'?!"
A spirited female voice rang out from the main entrance of the newly built Duel Arena. Everyone turned to look and saw a tall, alluring blonde girl in a predominantly white Obelisk Blue girls' uniform standing there, arms crossed, glaring at the five of them with a displeased expression.
"Asuka…"
With an admiring look at the blonde girl, Manjoume quickly snapped back to his senses. He glanced at the two boys in red uniforms beside him, scoffed, and flicked the hem of his blue trench-coat-style school uniform before walking off with his two underlings toward another entrance.
"Yuki Judai… was it? Consider yourself lucky this time!"
Just as he reached the door, Manjoume suddenly turned back to look at Judai and arrogantly tossed out that line, then laughed loudly as he and his lackeys headed back to their Obelisk Blue dormitory.
"Tsk!"
Judai clicked his tongue in annoyance. The way that guy talked, it was like he was clearly stronger than him. If what that blonde girl said wasn't true—about the Freshman Welcome Party starting soon—he would've dueled him on the spot! He'd show him what a real King of Duels looks like!
"My name is Yuki Judai. I hope we get along from now on!"
Judai introduced himself to Asuka. She replied, "Asuka. Tenjoin Asuka. That's my name."
With that, Judai and his reluctantly accepted underling, Sho Marufuji took off running toward the Osiris Red dormitory.
Watching the two students from the Red dorm leave, Asuka waited until they were completely out of sight before suddenly speaking a seemingly out-of-place line:
"You've been watching long enough. Now that they're gone, don't you think it's time to come out?"
"Yaa~ As expected of Asuka!"
Wearing a red cap and still dressed in his casual clothes, Yuya Sakaki stepped out from a corner of the spectator seats. With a leap, he landed beside Asuka.
"Long time no see, Asuka!"
"You too!"
Asuka greeted him with a smile, then her expression shifted as she teasingly asked,
"So, how did you do in the placement test and practical exam?"
"Eh, it was alright. Of course, I'm not talking about the results, but the questions themselves. You know how strong I am."
Yuya spread his arms, clearly saying the test questions and practical duels were a breeze for him—though they were probably just right for incoming students.
"Hmm~ By the way, I guess you haven't decided which dorm color to join yet, have you?"
While Asuka didn't know the full extent of Yuya's abilities, she had a general idea. At the very least, she knew he wouldn't lose out to her "older brother."
"Ah? What about it?"
Asuka looked him up and down, inspecting his outfit—which, of course, perfectly matched his personality. Smiling, she said:
"You're still wearing your usual clothes. Not choosing a dorm means you can't attend any of the dorm-specific freshman welcome parties. So, how about joining me at the Obelisk Blue Girls' dorm welcome party instead?"
"Seriously?!"
Yuya's spirits soared instantly, but just as quickly, he returned to his usual slightly laid-back tone and said:
"Ahem, don't get me wrong. I'm only going because you invited me."
"I get it, I get it."
Asuka covered her mouth and laughed. As Yuya's childhood friend, she knew very well that Yuya wasn't the lecherous type (Not lecherous doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy appreciating the pure, snowy-white charm of those innocent schoolgirls—after all, those who know, know). That's precisely why she felt comfortable inviting him.
As for whether the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm would welcome a male guest? Asuka wasn't sure how the other girls would feel, but the dorm leader—Miss Emi Namikawa, who also taught health and P.E.—would welcome Yuya.
There was no helping it. His status was simply too special. Even the academy's headmaster, Principal Samejima, couldn't do anything to him unless he committed some major offense against school rules. Of course, as a new-generation "five-good" pretty boy (handsome score: 96), Yuya would never do anything bad.
"Well then, I'll have to trouble Miss Asuka to lead the way."
Bowing like a true gentleman, Yuya followed just a step behind Asuka on their way to the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm to attend the Freshman Welcome Party.
———Divider Line———
The next day, all first-year students officially began their classes.
Professor Chronos was in charge of teaching the theoretical knowledge of Duel Monsters.
The tall, slim, squint-eyed teacher who always carried a fat cat—Professor Daitokuji—taught the ancient and nearly lost art of alchemy.
The Obelisk Blue girls' dorm leader, Miss Emi Namikawa (mentioned earlier), taught health and P.E.
That afternoon, during P.E. class—
"Where the heck is Sho?! Class is about to start!"
Arriving at the gym a few minutes early, Judai lined up with the other students and looked around, growing anxious when he didn't see his underling, Sho.
So… what exactly was Sho doing right then?
"Crap, crap, crap!!"
Sho had just arrived at his shoe locker and was frantically removing his indoor shoes, quickly grabbing his designated P.E. sneakers to change into.
"Huh? What's this?"
As he was slipping off his shoes and picking up the sneakers to put them on, a glint of white caught his eye from inside the shoe. Curious, he pulled it out—and discovered it was a folded piece of stationery.
"A fiery red lipstick mark… no way!!"
Seeing the blazing red lip print on the envelope, Sho let out a loud gasp, then immediately clamped his mouth shut. After checking to make sure no one else was around, he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.
"T-this… this is a love letter… from Asuka?!"
As he quickly scanned through the contents, Sho's face turned beet red. By the time he finished reading, he practically turned into a human steam engine.
'Judai's little lackey is dreaming about peaches.'
From the shadows, Yuya looked on speechlessly at Sho, who stood there grinning foolishly with a lovestruck expression, giggling "Hehe, hehehee~" like he was already lost in a fantasy.
Due to his special status—and the fact that both his theoretical knowledge and practical dueling ability had far exceeded normal student levels—Principal Samejima had said this to him:
"Yuya, you're free to attend classes and fulfill the responsibilities of a student, or you can simply wander around the campus, as long as you don't disrupt those who are seriously attending class."
So now, while aimlessly wandering the campus under this special privilege, Yuya had coincidentally spotted the petty Professor Chronos lurking suspiciously near the boys' locker room. Naturally, curiosity got the better of him, and he followed.
After Chronos left, Yuya had intended to sneak in and peek at the letter—but right then, Judai's underling, that blue-haired kid Sho, had come running in. Left with no choice, Yuya had to hide again and observe silently.
"Kids will be kids. To get carried away like this over nothing…"
Once Sho finished changing and dashed off toward the gym, Yuya finally emerged from his hiding spot. Watching the boy's retreating figure disappear into the distance, Yuya sighed and turned toward the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm.
"I wonder if telling Asuka about this will lead to anything interesting?"
Don't be fooled by Asuka's gentle and kind demeanor. Because if you spend enough time around her, you'll realize—
That fair-skinned, beautiful school idol… is pitch black on the inside!