“Both of you performed splendidly.
You have earned your admission.” At this moment, the chief examiner had already finished entering their scores.
Not only had Elsie won the duel, but even Kaiba Hanatsuki’s displayed strength alone far exceeded that of ordinary freshmen.
Thus, on the electronic student IDs handed to them, both of their Duelist Ranks were directly set to LV3.
At DM Academy, there is no concept of grade levels.
Only the first year after enrollment is considered the “freshman period”, during which special protection rules apply, but it is also the phase where students are most likely to be eliminated and forced to leave the academy.
Once you are no longer classified as a freshman, everything is judged purely by Duelist Rank.
To be honest, compared to a school, this place is more like a company, just without all the rigid regulations and social formalities.
Everything is decided by duels.
“Yay!”
Holding her student ID, Elsie couldn’t help but cheer with teary eyes.
“I finally got in…
huh?”
Before she could even finish striking her celebratory pose, her whole body tilted forward uncontrollably, looking as though she was about to faceplant.
“Hmm…
at least in terms of mental stamina, she’s completely freshman-tier.” Yugi quickly reached out and caught her, preventing her from smashing headfirst into the ground.
Then, in one smooth motion, he slung the girl over his shoulder like a sack.
“So…
can someone point the way?
Where are the dorms?”
A Duelist’s rank is corresponded directly to their treatment.
As a LV3 Duelist, Elsie didn’t have to stay in the four-person freshman dorms like LV1 and LV2 newcomers.
At the very least, she got a small single room.
This made Yugi breathe a small sigh of relief, after all, a grown man constantly going in and out of the girls’ dorm would be way too inconvenient.
“I’m really sorry, Mr.
Yugi…”
Elsie, exhausted beyond words on his shoulder, still murmured softly, “I’ll work harder…
I’ll work hard to become a Duelist worthy of you.”
She was genuinely grateful to the duel spirit she had summoned, and sincerely wanted to grow stronger so she wouldn’t hold him back.
But the response she got was…
“Whether you’re outstanding or not doesn’t really matter.
I’ll slowly turn you into someone from the underworld.”
Elsie: ?
?
?
Considering that freshmen are usually utterly exhausted after the entrance exam, there were no classes on the first day.
Yugi placed Elsie onto the bed, helped her take off her shoes, and tucked her in.
Although there was inevitably some physical contact, his heart remained completely calm.
It wasn’t that becoming a duel spirit had stripped him of worldly desires, it was more like…
how should he put it?
Who in their right mind would feel anything lewd towards Little Blue?
Seeing the girl gradually fall asleep, Yugi tiptoed to his feet and prepared to leave the room.
“Um…”
Elsie lay pale-faced on the bed, yet one trembling hand was holding up a 1,000-yen bill.
Yugi: “Uh?”
“T- That is…
pocket money.” Elsie’s voice grew smaller and smaller.
“I’m really sorry, this is all I have on me right now…
boohoo…
Mr.
Yugi, please don’t be angry.
Next month the academy will distribute living expenses, and I’ll definitely make it up to you properly.”
“No, no, what I mean is, why are you giving me pocket money?” Yugi genuinely didn’t know what expression to make.
Such a tiny thing, and she’s giving pocket money?
Do you think you’re Kokkoro or something?
Have some self-awareness as Little Blue, will you!
“Duelists are supposed to take good care of their duel spirits.
The higher a duel spirit’s affection level, the more power they can unleash, and they can even obtain corresponding archetype cards.
Boohoo…
it’s all because I’m too useless.
Mr.
Yugi, please don’t be angry.
Next month I’ll give you all my living expenses.
I-I can survive on grass.”
Yugi: “………..”
What kind of scumbag exploiting a timid girlfriend scene is this?
It made even his underworld conscience ache faintly.
“Stop thinking about all that nonsense.
You should just rest properly first.” He reached out and patted Elsie’s small head.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.
As for affection levels and stuff, we can talk about that slowly later.”
Who would have thought that this ironclad straight man would end up being the one getting “captured”?
Thinking about it, being a duel spirit wasn’t bad at all, being pampered, fed, and doted on by a Duelist.
The slightest displeasure and the other side would get all nervous.
If he ever met a rich summoner, wouldn’t that be a straight path to heaven?
Of course, Yugi wasn’t that lucky, so he met Elsie instead.
But since it was this little girl…
it wasn’t bad either.
At least he had no intention of switching to a new Duelist.
“Ehehe.” Elsie rubbed her cheek against Yugi’s palm.
“Thank you, Mr.
Yugi.
I’ll definitely work harder…”
She muttered like this as she drifted off to sleep, while Yugi’s departing footsteps unconsciously slowed. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Repeating “thank you” and “I’ll work harder” over and over…
just how afraid is this little girl of being abandoned?” His gaze softened slightly.
He didn’t know much about Elsie’s past, but for the future, he chose to face it together with this little girl.
And then train her into someone from the underworld.
Yes.
After all, her surname is Mutou, and his name is Yugi.
Put those four characters together, if you don’t play some underworld-style tactics, it just feels uncomfortable all over.
Yugi didn’t take that pitiful little 1,000 yen from Elsie.
Instead, he picked up the Duel Disk and strapped it to his wrist.
After all, he couldn’t really rely on a little girl to support him, and with only that tiny sum between them, the two of them would probably have to survive on grass tonight.
So, he decided to make some money.
Even though together they only had that 1,000 yen, less than 50 yuan in conversion, back in the day, Chen Daozai could turn 20 yuan into 37 million.
For an underworld man like him, making some living expenses out of thin air wasn’t unreasonable.
Yugi casually asked a passing staff member for directions, and just as casually, the person told him where the underground dueling arena was.
Unlike the official Academy tournaments or auction halls, this place was more like a street stall.
The advantage: no academy fees for trades or gambling.
The disadvantage: no protection, easy to get ripped off.
Honestly, Elsie had a lot of powerful cards.
If they were sold, the two of them could get rich overnight.
But these cards had been passed down through the Mutou family for generations.
Taking them to sell would be too cruel.
So, Yugi regrettably couldn’t do what other time-travel protagonists do, like selling a “Chainsaw Insect” for a fortune.
His plan was…
to sell himself.
Cough cough.
Not in the way you’re imagining.
Yugi simply found a corner, picked up a sign, and wrote: “Brother back from the bank starting over, duel spirits on sale!”
Perhaps his sales pitch was so ridiculous that it quickly attracted a crowd of Duelists.
Someone couldn’t resist asking the price.
Yugi waved a finger and smiled: “100,000 yen per match.”
“100,000 per match?” The crowd frowned.
“Aren’t you here to sell duel spirits?”
“Oh, sorry.
Selling skills, not myself.”
Hearing this, people were about to call him clickbait, but then Yugi wiggled his fingers and said, “However, if you can defeat me in a duel, you can take one of my spirits directly.”
“What?!”
The onlookers couldn’t stay calm.
Someone asked, “Where’s your spirit?
At least summon it so we can see!”
Yugi clenched his fist, and a rainbow glow spread from his entire body: “It’s me.”
After all, he was selling his dueling skills, how was that not selling art?