Wanna Duel? I've Got the Pharaoh's Deck! [23]

It was unexpected, yet somehow inevitable.

Less than ten minutes into their first meeting, Yuuhi and Satomi Shou were already engaged in a heated confrontation, culminating in an immediate challenge to a duel.

And on the line for both sides was their continued existence within the Duel Club itself.

Counting his earlier duel with Izayoi Yuki, it seemed that despite having only been in this world for slightly more than a day, Yuuhi was adapting quite naturally to this unfamiliar environment.

He was quickly learning to fight using the logic and rules of this world.

Something perhaps only someone like him, at this exact moment, could achieve.

However, facing Yuuhi’s direct challenge, Satomi Shou didn’t immediately respond.

“Haaah!? You think you can duel our boss? Who the hell do you think you are!?”

Instead, it was one of Shou’s lackeys who reacted first—again the red-haired delinquent named Riku. Mindful of his earlier humiliating defeat, he didn’t dare attack Yuuhi physically again, instead shouting and cursing loudly.

“Quit dreaming, brat! Do you even know who you're facing?”

“And who would that be?”

“He’s the son of Kiyosumi Academy’s chairman! Someone like you doesn’t even deserve to duel him. Don’t you feel embarrassed?”

“No, not really,” Yuuhi replied calmly. “No matter how grand someone’s background is, on the duel field, we’re all simply Duelists. Isn’t that what dueling’s supposed to be about? Besides winning and losing, is there really any need to rank Duelists as higher or lower?”

“Hahaha, well said, Yuuhi-kun! I might just adopt that as my new motto,” Mai laughed softly, openly supportive.

Yuki sighed lightly, shooting Yuuhi an irritated glance for rashly acting without consulting her, but eventually turned her attention back to Shou. “You heard him. Do you accept Izumi-kun’s challenge or not, Satomi Shou?”

“...Heh heh. Interesting.”

Seeing both girls firmly supporting Yuuhi, Satomi Shou could no longer remain silent.

He smiled lightly. “Indeed, a duel is the quickest and most convenient way to decide who’s superior. It’ll also help Yuuhi-kun see clearly just how insignificant he is.”

“Then…”

“But,” Shou abruptly changed his tone, “even if Duelists don’t have ranks, I’m still your senior in the club. It’s only proper to respect your seniors, right? So, I can’t just accept your challenge that easily.”

Mai smacked a fist into her palm theatrically. “Oh, I see! You're just a coward trying to find an excuse to run away, right?”

“Of course not.” Shou smiled thinly. “I simply want Yuuhi-kun to fulfill a certain prerequisite—first, he has to defeat my friends.”

“You mean these delinquents?”

Yuuhi glanced toward Shou’s two lackeys. The yellow-haired one, still unnamed, snapped back angrily, “Who are you calling delinquents? I’m your senior too, brat, show some respect!”

Riku chimed in: “Exactly! If you want to duel our boss, you’ll have to go through us first. If you can't even beat us, dreaming of dueling the boss is a joke!”

“So basically, it’s like a video game boss rush.”

Ignoring their bluster entirely, Yuuhi quickly grasped Shou’s intentions.

Shou was clearly planning to use these disposable pawns to gauge Yuuhi’s strength and figure out his capabilities.

This transparent plan was obvious to everyone present.

“Wait, I don’t agree with this—”

“It’s okay, President.”

“Izumi-kun?”

Yuki stared at Yuuhi in surprise as he gently stopped her. Lowering his voice, he explained, “There’s something I want to confirm. This might be the perfect chance.”

Turning back to Shou, Yuuhi nodded firmly. “Fine, I accept these conditions. Just don’t go back on your word again.”

“Relax, at least I have that much integrity.”

Shou glanced at his lackeys. “Go ahead, Riku, Raiku. You know what to do.”

“Yes, boss!”

The delinquents, blissfully unaware of their impending doom, cracked their knuckles and necks with malicious grins aimed at Yuuhi.

“Hehehe, better brace yourself, pretty boy. We’ll make you regret ever crossing us!”

…

“Ahhhhhhh!!”

Inside the dueling arena, bright sunlight bathed the field while a gentle breeze brushed past—perfect weather for a duel.

Yet just moments after threatening Yuuhi, Riku was now soaring backward across the field, screaming in terror before collapsing next to his partner, both sprawled miserably on the ground with their eyes shut in defeat.

Standing opposite them was a skeletal white demon cloaked in crackling lightning, radiating terrifying strength.

“It looks like I win. Seems I won't be seeing that fate you threatened me with anytime soon.”

The demon’s master, Yuuhi, lowered his Duel Disk, expression notably calm, lacking any real joy over the victory.

Partly because his opponents had proven weaker than expected, and partly because he’d just confirmed something important.

As expected, the number of cards in my card box didn’t increase.

He'd initially assumed that winning a duel would reward him with new cards, but that apparently wasn't the case. Even dragging out the duel to make it appear more dramatic hadn’t changed the result.

Considering everything carefully, the conclusion was painfully clear.

Regular duels wouldn’t be enough to trigger his golden finger’s card creation—at least, not against weak opponents like these. Most likely, he needed to duel stronger opponents, like Mai, to meet the conditions.

Whether there were additional conditions, or if repeated duels with the same person counted, he’d have to find out later.

“Now that should satisfy your conditions.”

As Yuuhi stepped away victorious, Yuki turned coldly to Shou. “Izumi-kun has fulfilled your requirement.”

“He certainly has.”

Having observed both duels from the sidelines, Shou pretended to critique thoughtfully. “Yuuhi-kun’s performance was indeed decent. But unfortunately, considering how much effort he took just to beat Riku and Raiku, he’s still nowhere near my level. You really are desperate to just fill up your team’s numbers, aren’t you, Yuki-chan?”

“No comment.”

Yuki couldn't even be bothered to look at him directly. “If you’re going to talk big, save it for after you've actually won.”

“Fair enough.”

Ignoring his defeated subordinates entirely, Shou ran his fingers through his hair and calmly stepped into the dueling arena, coming face-to-face with Yuuhi.

“As your senior, allow me to fulfill my duty and teach you that there’s always someone stronger. However, this duel might end faster than you expect.”

“If you think you can.”

The skeletal demon vanished as Yuuhi gathered his cards, reshuffling his deck through his Duel Disk automatically, fully prepared.

Even after two duels today, he wasn’t close to exhausted. Rather, he was fully warmed up, perfectly in the zone for this fight.

“Well then, if you’re ready, we’ll begin now~!”

Mai again acted as referee, cheerfully raising her hand, now inexplicably holding a small starter pistol.

“The upcoming duel is between Yuuhi-kun and Satomi Shou. It’ll be a single match—whoever loses must immediately leave the Duel Club unconditionally. Any objections? If not…”

BANG!

Covering one ear playfully, Mai pulled the trigger.

The sharp crack echoed upward, mingling with the duelists’ simultaneous cries—

“Duel!”

[Yuuhi LP: 8000]
[Satomi Shou LP: 8000]

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This is a fan translation of 打牌吗？ 我王样卡组！by 夏日戏言 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!