To Kira's surprise, Pegasus asked for his name directly, without addressing the others.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kira caught a glimpse of Yako, quietly watching from behind.
Could Yako have told Pegasus about their previous duel?
Not impossible.
Kira replied politely, with a hint of playful banter: "Fujiki Kira. Mr. Pegasus, you can call me Kira Boy~"
This was Pegasus's classic catchphrase—in the original series, he was always calling people "Yugi Boy," and "Kaiba Boy." Now, with Pegasus as the older man, calling Kira "boy" made perfect sense.
Pegasus burst out laughing.
"Very good, Kira Boy~. Just as Yako said, you are an interesting duelist~"
Hearing Pegasus's familiar accent, just as he remembered from the anime, Kira felt at ease.
"As Tenma said, designing cards takes not just passion, but also boundless imagination and a pioneering spirit."
Pegasus turned to address everyone.
"If you're content with the status quo, if you're afraid to make changes, you'll never find new paths. So, I hope everyone can be like Kira Boy—open your minds, and dare to try new things."
With the big boss speaking, the experts naturally chimed in support.
"Mr. Pegasus is right."
"A true role model for us researchers!"
Pegasus then turned, patted Kira on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "I'm counting on you, Kira Boy~"
With that, he turned and left.
Beside Kira, Misawa—practically transparent the whole time—gulped and shot Kira a strange look.
He'd already heard the rumors that Kira had caught Seto Kaiba's eye. Now it seemed the so-called "Father of Duel Monsters" Pegasus was interested in him too…
Misawa was even more convinced that his first impression had been right.
From deckbuilding, dueling, to card printing, Kira was just… unscientific from head to toe. Or maybe it was precisely because of this unscientific quality that he always attracted the attention of the bigwigs wherever he went.
Damn, thought Misawa. I was standing right next to him, but the big boss ignored me. Even though my grades are good, and I work hard on research…
Kira fell into deep thought.
It looked like Pegasus hadn't just arrived—he'd probably been secretly observing during the duel.
The reason he appeared after watching the duel was likely not just because Yako mentioned Kira; it was probably because the duel itself piqued his interest.
Yako, as the conference organizer, might have told Pegasus that, while Alexis was the main user of the Cyber deck, it was Kira who guided their research.
In other words, that unique Cyber Angel deck just now was probably Kira's idea.
Pegasus seemed to admire it.
But thinking about it, Kira realized it made sense.
Back in the Duelist Kingdom, Pegasus's Toon deck was all about turning the opponent's monsters into Toons. His final trump card, the "Relinquished" series, was an OG NTR card.
And let's not forget when he used the "Dragon Capture Jar" to infuriate Kaiba…
Tracing it all back, the person with the most scheming energy was probably Pegasus himself. In the hierarchy of trolling Duelists, even the infamous Marik would have to call him senpai.
Kira felt a flash of insight.
After all, similar Stand users are drawn to each other—maybe it was this hidden trait that attracted Pegasus's attention.
Kira: 'Looks like after today's conference, getting sponsorship from Industrial Illusions is a sure thing.'
…
The conference began, with experts taking turns introducing their teams' achievements.
Kira soon noticed that achievements didn't necessarily mean new cards—many people just presented tested new ideas or directions, compiled into papers.
After all, true innovation isn't an everyday thing, and not everyone can just see into the future.
There were some new cards, but most looked like random filler inserted into card packs—utterly baffling.
But that was normal. In Yu-Gi-Oh's bottomless card pool, it's easy to pull out a handful of weird, pointless cards.
Today's strangest card was this one:
[Trap Card – An Unfortunate Report
Effect: Your opponent conducts their next Battle Phase twice.]
Kira had to admit, he didn't even remember this card existed.
Is it useless?
Not exactly. As some big shot once said, "There are no completely useless cards in Yu-Gi-Oh"—even the weirdest things have some use in the right hands.
But it's hard to use and test a player's imagination.
Another confusing card:
[Spell Card – Curse of Fiend
Effect: Change the battle positions of all Attack Position monsters on the field to Defense Position and vice-versa. These positions cannot be changed during the turn this card is activated except by the effect of a Spell, Trap, or Effect Monster Card. You can only activate this card during your Standby Phase.]
At first glance, it seemed fine—a card for forcibly changing all battle positions.
But then you noticed:
It's a normal Spell?
Can only be activated in the Standby Phase?
But Normal Spells are "Spell Speed 1"—they can only be used in the Main Phase. In the Standby Phase, only Traps and Quick-Play Spells (Spell Speed 2) can be activated.
So. this card's effect is inherently contradictory—it shouldn't be usable at all.
But then the presenting expert explained that, after much hard work, their team had finally found a way to allow this card to be activated—by setting it face-down, it could be activated in the next Standby Phase.
Kira: "…"
Well… that's certainly an epic breakthrough.
In fact, in real life, the card's ruling is the same. As an ancient card, most people think it was a printing error, but the ruling allows it to be set and activated in your next Standby Phase—even though it's a Normal Spell.
It's the only Normal Spell in all of Yu-Gi-Oh that can be activated during the Standby Phase—a truly historic breakthrough.
Aside from these two bizarre cards, most reports were normal—nothing too remarkable.
Soon, it was Kira's team's turn.
"The Duel Academy student team has already demonstrated their results through today's duel," said Yako, chairing the conference. "Would you like to give a formal report as well, or…?"
"Of course," Kira replied, standing up with a smile.
"That was just part of what we brought today."
Everyone: "?"
He exchanged a glance with Misawa, who understood and produced several pre-printed cards.
"Our team's research is not limited to Cyber cards," Kira continued.
"We've also studied the relationship between Zombie and Yokai monsters, and have strengthened several Yokai cards."
The experts: "???"