"Chumley, you're a bit too cautious, aren't you?" Having been let in by Chumley, Joey started complaining about the recording he had heard at the door before he even took off his shoes.
Chumley spread his hands helplessly. "I did have an armed home invasion last time, after all. It's not too much to be a little cautious, right? The property security guards are on a fixed salary. To ensure my own safety, I have to rely on being careful in my daily life."
"That's right. Chumley is doing this for safety's sake. It's already incredibly unlucky to encounter something like that once in a lifetime," Téa said, changing into the indoor slippers Chumley had prepared and coming to his defense. She was holding a file in her hand. "Chumley, these are the notes from today's class."
"Thanks a lot, Téa."
Chumley led the group into the living room and had them sit down to rest for a bit; the journey from the hospital to his house was quite long. He then went into the kitchen to prepare some tea and snacks to welcome them.
"Chumley's house is huge! The living room alone is nearly forty square meters, and that TV screen is massive." Joey, who came from a humble background, was like a country bumpkin seeing the big city for the first time, looking all around at the decor in Chumley's home. The LCD TV without a bulky back, the smart home voice assistant, and the robotic vacuum on the floor all amazed him.
"Tristan's house is pretty big too, isn't it?" Yugi asked, looking at Tristan. Among the group, besides Chumley, Tristan's family was the most well-off.
Tristan estimated, "My living room is just a little over half the size of Chumley's. We have an LCD TV, but it's not ridiculously huge like it's almost a whole wall. And don't even get me started on the robot vacuum and voice assistant."
"Snacks are here! Don't be shy, dig in." Chumley emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray. On it were three types of drinks—coconut milk, orange juice, and soda—along with a large plate of sweet snacks. Placing the tray on the table, Chumley set a cup in front of each person. "What were you guys talking about just now?"
"We were just saying how big your house is, Chumley," Joey said, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. He downed it in one gulp and continued, "Do you live here by yourself?"
"No, I live with my parents. It's just that my father is a diplomat and has gone abroad to the UK," Chumley explained while pouring himself half a glass of soda from a special dispenser. He picked up a microwaved egg tart and ate as he spoke. "My mother works at a company and is on annual leave recently. But after the first day, she flew to London to join my father."
"Ah, speaking of which, I almost forgot something." Yugi, holding a cup of coconut milk in one hand and about to pop a small piece of chocolate cake into his mouth with the other, suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly started rummaging through the school bag he had brought.
In a few moments, Yugi pulled a Golden Box out of his bag. The box was covered in Ancient Egyptian Text, with a symbol of the Eye of Horus imprinted on the front.
"Yugi, what's this?" Chumley asked, puzzled. If he remembered correctly, wasn't this the box that was originally used to hold the unassembled Millennium Puzzle? Why would Yugi be carrying it around?
"Because I saw that you always keep your Deck in that iron box for protection, Chumley. I thought it was a good way to protect my own Deck, so I got a metal box too."
*This is a serious problem, Yugi,* Chumley thought. *My iron box is light, and I usually just store it in the System's Inventory. If I remember correctly, your thing is pure gold, isn't it? Let's just pretend for a moment that everyone is a saint who won't get greedy at the sight of a large chunk of gold. Are you telling me wearing the Millennium Puzzle around your neck isn't tiring enough? No wonder you're not growing any taller.*
Yugi didn't hear Chumley's inner monologue. He opened the lid of the (Gold Sarcophagus) and took out his Deck. After flipping through a few cards, he drew one from his Deck and presented it to Chumley with both hands. "Chumley, I'm returning this card to you. It was thanks to this powerful card that I was able to defeat Kaiba."
It was the very (Man-Eater Bug) that Chumley had lent to Yugi.
*Just listen to that, the art of conversation!* Chumley had been a spectator during that Duel; how could he not know what happened? Yes, the (Man-Eater Bug) did destroy one of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes and even chipped away a hefty 1500 of his Life Points, but didn't Kaiba just Revive the Blue-Eyes in a matter of moments?
Besides, Yugi didn't defeat Kaiba with that card; he won with his God Draw of (Exodia). But from the way Yugi told it, Chumley had become the greatest hero of his victory. Chumley couldn't help but sigh internally—*Yugi is so good with words. The only reason he has so few friends must be because his Dueling style is too much for the Shadow Realm.*
With that thought, Chumley didn't take the (Man-Eater Bug) Yugi offered. Instead, he pushed it back. "The card is a gift for you, Yugi."
"Huh? Chumley, why?"
Yugi was a bit confused.
"Come on, do you need a reason to give a card? I'm just glad it could help you out. Don't be so formal with me," Chumley said evasively. But seeing Yugi's still-serious gaze, he told him the real reason. "To be honest, I feel like this monster doesn't really fit with my Deck."
"But isn't this (Man-Eater Bug) a really powerful card?" Joey chimed in, leaning over. Seeing the simple yet brutal Effect of the (Man-Eater Bug), he was also confused. "If you Summon this monster on your first turn, wouldn't your opponent be doomed the moment they Attack?"
"Think about what kind of monsters are in my Deck," Chumley explained. "Dragon-Type, Warrior-Type, and a few Beast-Type monsters, mostly Normal Monsters. This is to maximize the effect of my (Soul-Eating Demon Blade). But look, (Man-Eater Bug) is an Effect Monster, and it's an Insect-Type, so it can't be boosted by my Spell Cards."
"When you put it that way, I guess that makes sense," Joey said, somewhat convinced. Seeing this, Chumley immediately added, "Anyway, even if you gave it back, I wouldn't put it in my Deck. You don't want this card to go to waste, do you, Yugi? So just take it."
"Okay, I'll make good use of this monster, Chumley." With Chumley having said so much, Yugi couldn't refuse any longer and accepted the (Man-Eater Bug).
"By the way, these pastries taste amazing! Where did you buy them, Chumley?" Téa asked, using a fork to pick up a cherry-shaped piece of chocolate from a cake and placing it in her mouth. She closed her eyes blissfully, savoring the taste of cream and chocolate melting together.
"Some of it was pre-made food my mother made and froze, like the egg tarts and cookies. You just have to heat them up when you want to eat them. I made these cakes and cream puffs myself this afternoon. I'm glad you like them. I have more than I can eat, so if you want, you can take some home."
"Really? Thanks so much, Chumley!" Joey rarely got to eat such a sumptuous feast of desserts, let alone take some home.
Time flew by, and after relaxing at Chumley's house for quite a while, Yugi and the others finally left as Chumley saw them off.
After closing the main door, Chumley heard the TV in the living room suddenly light up without anyone touching it. A voice with a strange accent came from it. "To think you would give such a powerful card to *your friend*. *Me* am truly moved by your friendship, Chumley-*boy*~"
Seeing the silver-haired man on the TV, Chumley showed no surprise at all. He pulled a chair over to sit directly in front of the television. Looking at the flashing [Quest] Section on his System interface, he said vaguely, "Who knows if I truly gave it to him from the heart?"
This guy really is something else.
(end of chapter)