Yusuke took a bite of the bread.
The coarse rye scraped against his teeth, and the dry crumbs scratched their way down his throat.
It was hardly what anyone would call good food, but the unmistakable taste of grain spread across his senses all the same.
And this time, it wasn’t a sensation transmitted remotely through the body in Satellite.
His true body was actually eating.
A tremendous sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
Along with an obvious question.
‘Where the hell did this come from?’ Fraulein seemed a little intimidated by how seriously he was staring at her.
Her fingers nervously gathered the fabric of her Gothic skirt as she answered in a small voice.
“F-From the kitchen…
Why?” “That’s not what I mean,” Yusuke said.
“How did you bring something from Satellite into the temple?” Fraulein stumbled through an explanation, using her hands almost as much as her words.
It took Yusuke a while to piece together what she was trying to say.
Apparently, Vampire Fraulein normally existed in Satellite as an incorporeal spirit, but she could temporarily manifest a physical body if she concentrated.
Maintaining that physical form was extremely tiring, so she couldn’t sustain it for very long.
While materialized, however, she could touch and carry physical objects.
More importantly, if she traveled between Satellite and the temple while holding something in that state…
the object came with her.
Hope immediately flared inside Yusuke.
“Quick.
Try taking me out of here.” For the first time since he’d become trapped in this place, escape seemed almost within reach.
Fraulein looked confused, but obediently did as she was told.
She wrapped her slender arms around Yusuke’s body and took a deep breath.
Then— Whoosh.
Fraulein vanished.
Yusuke remained exactly where he was.
Alone.
Inside the temple.
His expression slowly collapsed.
‘…Failed.’ Back in the room in Satellite, Fraulein’s ghostly form reappeared by herself.
She gave him an innocent look through their connection.
“Don’t ask me.
I don’t know why either…” After some more experimentation, Yusuke eventually worked out the basic limitation.
Fraulein could carry objects between the two places, but apparently only things below a certain size and weight.
At least for now, she could only transport relatively small items.
Yusuke was disappointed, naturally, but he recovered quickly.
Even if he still couldn’t escape, this discovery was already enormously useful.
From now on, Fraulein could bring supplies into the temple and finally improve the miserable conditions his true body had been enduring.
And lightweight objects such as cards presented no problem whatsoever.
That gave Yusuke another idea.
Any cards he acquired in Satellite could now be transferred directly into the temple for storage.
In other words, the temple could function as an enormous private warehouse.
As long as an object wasn’t too large, he could simply have Fraulein carry it in and leave it there.
With that thought in mind, Yusuke picked up the mysterious golden octahedron again and slowly ran his fingers over its surface.
The artifact remained completely dormant.
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of the strange reaction it had shown when he’d first discovered it.
‘Still nothing…’ Unfortunately, he still had no idea how to make it activate again.
Even so, the discoveries he’d made today had put Yusuke in an excellent mood.
He had Fraulein transport the rest of his breakfast into the temple as well.
Warm food finally entered his true body’s stomach.
As the heat slowly spread through him, an almost overwhelming sense of fulfillment washed over Yusuke.
For one ridiculous moment, he nearly wanted to pick Fraulein up and kiss her.
Finally.
After all this time, he’d eaten something warm.
He genuinely had no idea how he’d survived all those endless days in the temple without it.
“Good job,” Yusuke said, remembering to praise the vampire girl who had spent the morning running back and forth for him.
“You worked hard.” Fraulein’s pale cheeks brightened slightly.
She straightened her back with obvious pride.
Then— Snap.
The old parasol resting against her shoulder suddenly folded shut again.
Sunlight poured through the skylight overhead and landed directly on her.
Fraulein froze in place, still maintaining her proud little pose.
“H-Help…
h-help-help…” Yusuke stared at her.
“…” With her Master’s assistance, Fraulein finally managed to open the parasol again.
She let out a huge sigh of relief.
“That was awful.
I almost died!” Yusuke gave her a strange look.
“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask.
If your parasol is this unreliable, why do you keep standing directly under the sunlight?” The temple had plenty of skylights, but it was still an enormous indoor structure.
Most of the place remained shaded.
She was a vampire.
Even with a parasol, why did she insist on standing in the sun?
Fraulein answered with complete confidence.
“Because I like sunbathing.
It’s warm and feels nice.” Yusuke stared at her.
“…?” A vampire who enjoyed sunbathing.
Was that even legal?
Whatever.
The sunlight didn’t seem capable of actually killing her, so she could do whatever she wanted.
Yusuke just hoped too much exposure wouldn’t make her even dumber.
…
After finishing breakfast, Yusuke followed his original plan and headed toward Rud’s General Store.
Now that he was considering building around Zombies, he wanted to try his luck and see whether Rud had any useful support cards hidden among his stock.
The shop door was unlocked when he arrived.
Yusuke pushed it open.
“Uncle Rud?” No answer.
The silence inside immediately felt wrong.
There wasn’t a single person in sight.
Shelves stood crooked along the walls, merchandise was scattered across the floor, and several wooden cabinets had clearly been dragged out of place with force.
The entire shop looked as though a storm had torn through it.
Yusuke’s expression tightened.
Something had happened.
He stepped carefully through the wreckage and headed toward the back of the store.
Behind the main shop was a small open yard where Rud sometimes piled miscellaneous goods and sorted old inventory.
When Yusuke reached it, he found cards scattered everywhere across the ground.
Any experienced Yu-Gi-Oh!
player seeing that scene would probably have only two possible explanations immediately hardwired into his brain.
Either a Cyber Dragon player had just gone through some kind of catastrophic struggle here…
or somebody had lost a Shadow Duel.
Then Yusuke heard voices farther inside.
He hurried around a toppled wooden crate and finally found their source.
Rud was lying on the cold ground.
Several large men stood around him, and from their clothing, Yusuke immediately recognized them as members of the Fang Gang.
A bald man who appeared to be leading the group looked down at Rud.
“Come on, old man.
Why are you being so stubborn?
We want your cards.
It’s not like we’re refusing to pay.” Rud’s breathing was ragged.
He struggled to prop himself up, his voice hoarse but stubborn.
“The price you’re offering wouldn’t even buy scraps from a junk heap.” He glared at them.
“And I’ve already told you.
Those cards aren’t for sale.
They’re the most important things a friend entrusted to me.
I wouldn’t sell them no matter how much you offered.” The bald man clicked his tongue impatiently and kicked Rud back to the ground.
“You’re already this old.
Why are you still saying childish crap like that?” He scowled.
“Sentimental keepsakes from a friend?
Cards are cards.
They represent power.
That’s all they are.” His gaze hardened.
“And power belongs in the hands of people who can actually make use of it.” He held out a hand.
“Enough nonsense.
Give us the cards.
Considering how many years you’ve done business under Fang Gang protection, we won’t make things any harder for you.” A crooked smile appeared on his face.
“We’ll even waive next month’s protection fee.
Fair enough, right?” Of course, everyone involved knew that promise meant absolutely nothing.
By next month, the Fang Gang was already planning to pack up and flee the district entirely.
Yusuke more or less understood the situation now.
Apparently, the Fang Gang had taken a liking to some cards Rud owned.
Rud refused to sell because they were precious mementos from a friend.
So instead of settling things with a proper card Duel…
the Fang Gang had decided to initiate a fist Duel and take them by force.
Yusuke’s expression became strange.
‘What kind of Kaiba behavior is this?’