The second day of the tournament ended smoothly, with each of the three academies taking one victory apiece.
Since there hadn't been another catastrophic nuclear explosion leveling the track this time, the third day of the Turbo Duel Tournament was scheduled for two days later.
Half of the event had already been played, and by now, Miles could roughly predict who the remaining Duelists from each academy would be.
Although the situation was grim, when it came to the uncertain duels ahead, there wasn't much Miles could do besides leaving it to each contestant's performance… and to whichever side Lady Luck chose to favor in the end.
He had already done everything he could. From here on out, it was up to fate.
With that in mind, Miles glanced at the steadily increasing Republic Knight's Badge value and the nearly 500 Magic Points Aisha had earned over the past few days, and decided to make another trip to Viel's Magic Workshop.
It wasn't that the mid-tier Magic Directory at the academy could no longer satisfy him; rather, simply that once you knew there was a place where you could get a higher-tier Magic Directory for free, it was hard to settle for less.
That was just human nature: No one wants to compromise.
Besides, he might even find some Spell Cards there that couldn't be found in the academy's regular catalog.
Seeing Miles heading out with such high expectations, Aisha, right after lunch, took the opportunity—while Ren and Ecclesia were still busy eating—to sneak away for a walk, telling herself it was just a bit of post-meal exercise, and headed alone toward the shabby workshop.
At this hour, that bratty loli Viel was probably just getting out of bed.
"The town's recovered quite a bit, hasn't it, Mr. Miles?"
"Yeah. Once people get used to convenience, it's hard for them to give it up."
At first, many people in Axet were resistant to using magic stones.
Albeit after a few days, when they realized life without them was nearly impossible, they naturally picked the habit back up.
It was an inevitable result. From the start, Miles had never expected Axet to truly ban the use of magic stones.
And that was good enough.
Ordinary people would simply become more cautious and conservative with their use of energy.
Meanwhile, the upper echelons of the Republic would place greater importance on research and development, exploring ways to improve the magic stones themselves.
Even if the change seemed trivial, the future was often built upon countless such trivial shifts.
"By the way, Mr. Miles, I shouldn't be recognized, right?"
Wearing a pair of ridiculous sunglasses she'd somehow gotten her hands on, Aisha—now known across the Axet Republic as its savior—wasn't exactly free to show her face in public.
If anyone recognized her, the sheer enthusiasm of the crowd would drown them in no time, and Miles's plan to visit Viel's workshop to synthesize cards would go up in smoke.
"With sunglasses that ugly, I doubt anyone could recognize you."
"Geh?! (╯>д<)╯"
The pink-rimmed toad shades covered almost half of Aisha's already small face. Whether or not it was cute was debatable, but Miles was certain it made her unrecognizable.
Still, her concern wasn't entirely misplaced.
Even if no one recognized her, the crowd on the street was growing larger and louder by the minute.
"The commotion seems to be coming from over there, Mr. Miles!"
Relieved that she wasn't the cause, Aisha's natural curiosity flared up instantly.
Miles was also intrigued. "What's going on that could gather this many people at a time like this?"
Carefully, Aisha crept along with the crowd.
Abruptly, halfway there, Miles began to sense something off.
There was a clear air of hostility in the crowd. Everyone's expression was grim.
Whatever was happening at the center of the disturbance… it wasn't good.
"Get out of here! This country doesn't welcome criminals!"
"Why hasn't the Slint family of war criminals been locked up yet?!"
"Trying to reignite war across the continent! Are you sick of peace or what?!"
"If you want to die, fine, but don't drag other nations down with you!"
Amid the angry shouts, bits of trash, eggs, tomatoes, and even cans were hurled at the target of their rage.
The focus of their fury was a silent, black-haired boy—Oga Slint—who ignored the mob entirely, hands in his pockets, walking forward without a word.
When the Xyz Academy delegation had first arrived in Axet, no such incident occurred—likely because the public hadn't known who he was.
However, after his duel against Ren, when it was revealed that Oga Slint belonged to a family of war criminals, he became a pariah overnight.
"Um… Mr. Miles? Shouldn't we help him? Isn't that too harsh?"
Aisha's bleeding-heart instincts were flaring again.
"No need," Miles replied coolly. "This has nothing to do with us… and it's not something we can fix. If you step in now, it'll only make things worse."
The Slint family—Marshal Locke, General Cameron, and the fallen prodigy Luca—had all been defeated by Miles himself.
Of course, to those who knew the truth of the Battle of Livorden, the one credited with their downfall was Aisha Carlos, the Royal Knight of Livorden.
To the Slint family, Aisha Carlos was essentially their mortal enemy.
Though Miles was intrigued by Oga Slint—who seemed to have cleared the Orichalcos "final boss" of his own life—he still preferred Aisha to stay out of it, lest she invite trouble.
"Besides, Oga Slint doesn't need anyone's help."
Even knowing full well how he'd be treated once his lineage became public, Oga had still chosen to leave Synchron Academy and walk openly among the people. No one knew why.
Miles could only tell that Oga didn't care, or perhaps had already grown used to the hatred and insults hurled at him.
He didn't argue. He didn't defend himself. It was as though he'd already pleaded guilty in his heart.
"Let's go, Aisha. This isn't the kind of spectacle worth watching."
Even if curiosity was part of human nature, this sort of mob catharsis—born purely from rage—wasn't something Miles found entertaining. In fact, it irritated him.
Such spontaneous outbursts of anger would fade in time. No matter how furious the people of Axet were now, they couldn't overturn the court's ruling that Oga Slint had already been acquitted.
"Alright, Mr. Miles."
With that, they left the chaos behind. After nearly a week, Miles finally returned to Viel's Magic Workshop.
Of course, he wasn't there as a customer—he was there to freeload again.
Even before entering, he noticed that the chalkboard outside the door had a new line written under the usual business hours:
[Miles owes 133 coins.]
That bratty loli Viel had not only shamelessly posted his debt in public, but had even bothered to write his full name.
Since he'd be borrowing from the High-tier Magic Directory again anyway, Miles, having already swapped control with Aisha for convenience, discreetly wiped off one digit from the sign before entering.
[Miles owes 13 coins.]
The old wooden door creaked open.
Behind the counter, Viel's expression changed in real time—from the bright, expectant smile of someone greeting a potential customer, to the instant, weary pout of someone realizing who had just walked in.
"Tch. It's you. I thought it was business."
"What, I don't count as business?"
"Oh, it's Miles." Viel's tone shifted as she realized who was controlling the body. "Then pay your debt first."
Miles shrugged helplessly. "Axet's SP Settlement Robots are practically rusted over. Where am I supposed to get money to pay you back?"
"Knew it. So if you're broke, what are you even here for?"
Miles casually pulled out the High-tier Magic Directory he'd hidden deep in the shelf last time and gestured toward her.
"Just borrowing this for a bit~"
Nearly a week had passed, yet not a single product in the shop had moved an inch—proof that not one customer had visited during that time.
"Hey! Don't touch stuff if you're not gonna buy anything!"
Viel's blood pressure shot through the roof. It was bad enough having no customers, but now she had to deal with someone who owed her money freeloading off her.
Kicking her short legs, Viel jumped down from her stool behind the counter and called out toward Luca's room.
"Watch the shop for me, Luca. My blood pressure's too high… I can't stand the sight of freeloaders. I'm taking a nap."
Though she'd only just woken up at noon, Miles had already irritated her enough to send her back to bed.
"Okay." From the room emerged Luca, wearing her signature black-and-white stockings. Even without her memories, some things seemed etched into her DNA.
Miles, never one to linger, flipped open the High-tier Magic Directory in his hands.
Since he'd already accumulated enough Magic Points, rather than searching aimlessly for a new card, the first thing he crafted was the Quick-Play Spell [Future Drive], a card meant to support [Number F0: Utopic Future].
A B-rank Spell Card, costing 100 Magic Points—the card materialized at his fingertips and was swiftly placed back into the deck box strapped to Aisha's thigh.
Remaining points: 385. Not quite enough to forge an A-rank rare card.
Of course, if he really wanted to, he could wait.
With the Republic Knight's Badge passively generating points, a few hours at Viel's workshop would be enough to cover the rest.
Despite that, Miles wasn't that stubborn. Even if he couldn't craft an A-rank, finding hidden gems among B or even C-rank cards was one of the joys of the game.
In fact, some low-level cards suited Aisha's deck far better than those whose strength was written all over their faces.
"This High-tier Magic Directory really is great."
The more he flipped through it, the more Miles felt glad he hadn't settled for the academy's mid-tier version.
Even among the B-rank cards—below the top A-rank tier—the High-tier Directory featured plenty of strange, novel finds.
As he scanned the pages, a card illustration caught his eye—a blocky, tofu-shaped creature with a familiar face.
"Aisha, what are you doing here?"
"(oへo╬) What are you talking about, Mr. Miles?"
"Ah, nothing. Just thinking out loud."
Before him were two cards featuring Mokey Mokey, both entirely new entries he'd never seen in the academy's directory.
Apparently, even this High-tier Directory could generate brand-new cards from the most ordinary of archetypes.
"Let's see… a Trap Card—[A Major Upset]?"
[Tribute 1 face-up Level 2 or lower monster you control; return all face-up Level 7 or higher Special Summoned monsters on the field to their owners' hands.]
"So there's a card like this, huh? Interesting."
As expected of a commoner-exclusive card that only appeared in the High-tier Directory—one Mokey Mokey could wipe out an army of Blue-Eyes White Dragons.
"I need this. Now."
Without a shred of uncertainty, Miles printed the card, consuming another 100 Magic Points. The new commoner-support card appeared between his fingers.
After obtaining [A Major Upset], his eyes shifted to the next Mokey Mokey card—a Spell Card this time.
More accurately, it featured not just Mokey Mokey, but a crowd of low-level Normal Monsters.
[Can only be activated while you control five face-up Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters. Each player discards their entire hand and destroys all cards on the field except Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters.]
Compared to the Trap Card [A Major Upset], which only required one weakling on the field, this one's activation condition was far harsher.
Requiring five Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters at once—under normal circumstances, that was nearly impossible.
Still, the payoff matched the difficulty: destroying everything except weak monsters and forcing both players to discard their entire hands.
Not only flipping the table—but flipping the hands too. Even Black Rose Dragon would blush in shame.
"Guess I'll take it. You never know when it might come in handy."
If it were an A-rank card, Miles wouldn't even have considered it. However, for a B-rank costing only 100 points—and with the Knight's Badge passively generating more—it was worth printing just for fun.
A third card obtained. The consecutive printing brought a satisfied smile to his face.
Indeed, collecting cards was part of the joy of Duel Monsters.
Just as he was basking in that satisfaction, the door to the shabby workshop creaked open again.
For a shop that hadn't seen a single customer in a week, having two visitors in one afternoon was almost unheard of.
And by some twist of fate, the person stepping through the door was someone Miles and Aisha had just seen earlier—Oga Slint, bearer of the Orichalcos Serpent God.
Aisha panicked. "M-Mr. Miles! Why does Oga Slint know about Viel's workshop? What's he doing here?"
Miles said calmly, "If I knew that, I wouldn't be just as surprised as you, Aisha."
It must have taken him great effort to shake off the angry mob; his Xyz Academy uniform was still littered with trash hurled by the crowd.
"Welcome~"
Reborn Luca greeted him with one of the few phrases she had learned—"Welcome."
Of course, she said it casually, out of habit.
Occasionally, lost customers would stumble into Viel's Witch Workshop, but the moment they saw the outrageous price tags, they would flee immediately.
Having grown used to days without a single sale, Luca hardly paid any attention to unexpected visitors.
Nonetheless, Oga Slint, who had braved humiliation and scorn just to come here, was a different story.
The boy's black eyes trembled with disbelief.
"Luca… is it really you?"
"Hm?" Luca tilted her head, confused, then nodded.
"Luca… you're alive! I knew it! Father said you died in the royal capital of Livorden, but I always believed… you were still alive!"
"Eh?" Luca looked even more puzzled. Her soul had been reconstructed by Viel; she had no memories left, no idea what Oga Slint was talking about.
"Seems there's a misunderstanding," Miles said, realizing neither of them were on the same wavelength. "Calm down first, Oga Slint."
He closed the Magic Directory and set it back on the shelf. "No matter how emotional you get, Luca can't recognize you anymore."
"She can't recognize me? Wait… you're—Aisha Carlos! Why are you here, with Luca?"
"Before I answer that, I'll need to ask you a few questions. Once I confirm a few things, I'll tell you what's really going on."
"What's really going on?"
"First question, Oga Slint. Who is Luca to you?"
"Luca… Luca Slint, of course, she's my sister!" Oga answered immediately.
"But I heard Luca was adopted into the Slint family."
"Even if she was adopted, we grew up together. She's still my sister!"
"Grew up together, huh… I see."
Miles's eyes glinted—he'd just obtained a crucial piece of information.
"Then second question: since you grew up together, you should know exactly what kind of person Luca Slint used to be, right?"
"..."
This time, Oga didn't answer so quickly. After a long silence, his expression fell.
"I know… because of Grandfather's orders, Luca killed many people."
"And as someone who grew up with her, you never thought to stop her?"
"I couldn't. My grandfather was the Empire Marshal… no one in the entire Varian Empire dared to defy his commands."
By now, Oga's voice had calmed completely.
"Aisha Carlos, I know what you're getting at. Even if I didn't personally take part in those killings, I knew about everything the family did. That's why I've never believed myself to be innocent. The hatred and punishment I bear… it's what I deserve."
"That's not exactly what I wanted to ask… though close enough."
Miles toyed idly with a crystal orb labeled 150,000 on Viel's counter, tossing it into the air.
After just a few questions, he'd realized why Oga Slint irritated him so much.
Was it because of the Slint family name?
No. Miles wasn't the type to judge by lineage.
It was Oga's attitude—the way he accepted his fate as if he had no choice.
"How disappointing. I thought the man who defeated the Orichalcos would be something special. You conquered darkness… yet in the end, you're still living inside it."
He, too, had borne his family's darkness; sins inherited and pardoned by the state.
Their situations were the same.
And yet, Miles had found the resolve to defy his father and carve his own path forward.
"You're not even fit to walk in Kevin's shadow."
...
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