[Zigfried, LP 0]
Fatal blow!
Zigfried stared blankly at the fallen Valkyrie in front of him, watching the cold-hearted white-robed Mage expressionlessly retract the Magic Staff, flick his robe, and turn away. For a moment, he was dumbfounded.
I... lost?
Such a perfect setup, so many lines of defense, and all the countermeasures he prepared...
...were taken out so easily by the opponent!?
No, if it were just defeat, that would be fine. After all, the opponent is the Duel King, and he never held a "100% victory" confidence from the start.
But the key issue is...
...the opponent didn't even use his real Card Deck!
Did Zigfried himself make any mistakes?
He thinks... it's hard to say.
If he had to say it, he felt today he already performed above his usual level. Today's tactics were evidently better than ever before; today's duel should surpass any previous attempt!
But he still lost.
Even up until the duel ended and his Life Points dropped to zero, the feeling of being underestimated lingered.
He was drenched in sweat and exhausted, while the opponent showed no reaction, even seeming slightly bored.
Am I, Zigfried Lloyd, truly so inadequate in skill?
This made the always confident Zigfried, who believed "Yugi and Kaiba were just so-so," somewhat lose his composure...
By now, the NPCs and watching players lost interest in the "opponent serving as a foil to the Duel King."
The bystanders excitedly discussed Youyu's maneuvers and counterattacks just now, debating the characteristics and tactical style of this "Mage Girl" themed cute deck.
The players...
...the players were discussing the SIZE of the Silent Magician...
A bunch of jokers seemed hyper and willing to blow all their money, determined to bring their waifus home.
Yes, waifus, plural. They didn't want to miss any Mage Girl...
Youyu also overheard some jokers starting to set sights on his Silent Magician.
Youyu glanced at the ghostly Silent Magician and chuckled silently.
Ha, dream on.
No matter how hard you think, this card won't be available in stores.
Finished with her match, Silent Magician turned back into her loli form. She didn't seem bothered by others discussing her, quietly standing aside petting Kuriboh.
Perhaps because her petting skills were really good, Kuriboh squinted its eyes and let out a happy sound:
"Kuri~"
"..."
On the rooftop nearby, Kaiba and Mokuba unknowingly had also received the news and watched from there this whole time.
"Youyu is really strong!" Mokuba praised without reserve, "He didn't even use his Hero Deck and beat that pink-haired guy into defeat!"
Kaiba snorted: "Hmph! That's obvious!"
After all, he's the man I haven't managed to take down even once!
How can he be compared to such a flirtatious pink-haired clown?
"Let's go, Mokuba." Kaiba turned, flicking his white coat dramatically.
Mokuba hesitated: "Eh? Going back?"
"Going down," Kaiba said concisely, "Going to meet that guy."
"Oh... oh."
"..."
So shortly thereafter, Kaiba led Mokuba to the street, appearing before Zigfried with an air of superiority.
Upon seeing him, Zigfried couldn't help but frown, and his already bad mood worsened.
This was completely different from his imagined reunion picture.
According to Zigfried's plan, he should have returned to Kaiba's sight as a victor, or at least as a competitor threatening the existence of Kaiba's Group, standing on equal footing with Kaiba.
But not like this.
Failing miserably before Youyu in front of everyone, this reunion made him feel defeated, like a useless, clownish loser.
Of course, it was unfortunate Youyu couldn't guess his inner thoughts.
Otherwise, Youyu might kindly advise him: Be more confident brother, just drop the 'like'...
No matter what, as a competitor, he must keep his mentality in check.
In times like this, losing your demeanor means truly losing.
So Zigfried straightened his back, pretending not to care about the recent win or loss, sticking his right hand into the pocket of his flamboyant pink suit, and snorted lightly: "If you want to laugh, just laugh, President Kaiba Seto."
Kaiba glanced sideways at him, giving him a contemptuous look, and then...
"Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!"
President Kaiba hugged his arms, looking up at the sky, his standard three-part laughter so loud that he wished players passing by a street away would know it was President Kaiba himself in attendance.
Moreover, judging by President Kaiba's lung capacity, it was nothing ordinary. He laughed on without taking a breath, as if the longer he laughed, the happier he was inside...
Zigfried's face turned dark, a '#' mark appeared on his forehead.
Damn it...
...I invited you to laugh, and you actually laughed?
Aren't you ashamed?
But you can't deny, with just one laugh President Kaiba instantly made Zigfried's already shaky momentum collapse even further.
It goes to show that sometimes President Kaiba's signature move is actually quite effective—as long as he doesn't find it awkward...
Zigfried made an effort to pull himself together, forcing a light and breezy smile: "Long time no see, President Kaiba, you remain unchanged... no, you seem even more spirited than before.
Hm, that's to be expected. Planning the transformation of the Kaiba Company, such a colossal entity, by your strength to reach your current position... you're like a whole different person now compared to before, Kaiba."
But unexpectedly, Kaiba listened to his words and frowned for a moment, pondered briefly... then turned to Mokuba beside him.
"Mokuba, have we met this man before?"
Mokuba was equally bewildered, shook his head: "I don't remember..."
Zigfried's carefully maintained image nearly collapsed, almost spitting out blood.
So this guy... doesn't even remember who I am?!
Youyu nearly burst into laughter nearby.
Can't blame the President. Youyu hadn't mentioned Zigfried's matter to him.
President Kaiba probably heard Youyu was playing cards with a bigshot on the street, so he came to watch the show.
He didn't really know where Zigfried Lloyd came from or what he wanted to do...
Zigfried could no longer maintain his composed image, his face became grim: "The Lloyd Consortium, does this name somewhat ring a bell now?
You took everything from me, Kaiba! Our family's prestige, our business, and my father!"
Kaiba hugged his arms and snorted: "Another stray dog that only knows how to bark, huh? I don't have the time to remember the names of all the losers."
Indeed, the President couldn't remember who he was, but that didn't stop him from mocking...
Zigfried gritted his teeth and glared: "You..."
"Ah, I think I do recall now." Mokuba exclaimed, "The Lloyd Consortium... it was a consortium that Kaiba Group used to have dealings with when they were in the arms business. But later it seemed to have been pressured by Kaiba Group and withdrew from the arms field under the new helm.
I recall seeing in a magazine that said the new leader of the consortium is a young genius and a famous European aristocratic beau..."
Upon hearing this, Zigfried felt somewhat dignified again, his back unconsciously straightened, showing an elegant and confident smile. He even wanted to pull out the rose from his pocket to show off again...
Just then, he heard the nearby onlookers start to murmur.
"European aristocratic beau? This? This?"
"Looks more like a woman, doesn't he?"
"Not even a tenth as handsome as Youyu-san!"
"Well, don't expect too much, after all, it's impossible for anyone to look better than Youyu-san..."
"Damn, the guy at the front is sly, always seizing the chance to praise Youyu-san! Get out of my way, watch me charm the crowd!"
"Then I'll charm with double the tongue!"
"..."
Zigfried: #
He's been meaning to complain, what's up with this bunch of lunatics?
Like a bunch of clowns from a monkey show?
"Oh? It's you?" The President finally seemed to remember the person.
"It's me." Zigfried smiled, "Long time no see, President Kaiba."
The name Lloyd Consortium had indeed faded for a while, but they did have disputes with Kaiba Group in the past.
Knowing the other's identity, with President Kaiba's intelligence, he quickly figured out the whole story and even speculated why Youyu and the other party were playing cards here.
He couldn't help but glance towards Youyu.
Hm, meddling too much!
Creating extra work for our company again!
[Affection +1+1+1...]
Youyu: "..."