Chapter 82: I Swear on My Grandfather's Name
[Congratulations, Duelist, on your victory in the Duel!
Final rewards for this Duel are as follows: 400 DP
Flawless Victory: 200 DP
Used three Spell Cards: 100 DP
Performed three Fusion Summons: 100 DP]
Looking at the System's results screen, Chumley thought to himself: *Good thing this wasn't a Shadow Game, or I would have taken a loss. 400 DP isn't bad. Add that to the 100 DP I earned before, and that covers the cost of one Shadow Game.*
What surprised Chumley, however, was that after the DP acquisition rules were updated, the newly added "Card Drop" feature had triggered in this Duel. It hadn't even activated during his previous Duel with the Rabbit-eared Great Evil God. The Card he received was (*A Legendary Ocean*), an extremely versatile Field Spell for the Water Attribute Deck that Anassis had used.
Not only could it increase the Attack and Defense Points of Water Attribute Monsters, but it could also reduce their Levels by one to make them easier to Summon. It could even be treated as (Umi) to combo with ("Levia-Dragon - Daedalus"). Unfortunately, Chumley didn't have the cards to build a water-themed Deck at the moment; even the "pure Machine-Type" Deck he had just used was filled with quite a few placeholder cards.
Stepping down from the Duel Stage, Chumley saw Bakura walking up to him with an excited expression, a light blush on his cheeks. He smiled and said, "Congratulations, Chumley-kun."
*Wait, why the hell are you blushing?* Chumley would never admit that he had been momentarily stunned looking at Bakura. He turned his head, scratching the back of his neck and laughing it off with a few "ha-ha-has." Turning back, he saw Anassis stepping down from the opposite Duel Stage. Anassis reached out and took a pair of scissors from his secretary, Socrates, and began raising them towards his own neck.
"Stop!"
Chumley's loud shout startled Anassis, who turned his head to look at him. "Why... why are you yelling so loudly?"
"Uncle Anasas, don't do something you'll regret! It's just one lost Duel." Chumley quickly walked over and snatched the scissors from Anassis's hand. "Victory and defeat are all part of the game. Why are you trying to end it all!"
"Huh? I'm not trying to do anything."
"Not trying to do anything? I saw you! You were lifting the scissors to your neck!"
Chumley brandished the "evidence" he had just confiscated—the pair of scissors. Seeing this, Anassis suddenly burst out laughing.
"What's so funny about this?"
Seeing Chumley's serious expression, Anassis patted his own round belly, still smiling. "You kid, you were so sharp during the Duel. How could you forget the wager we made before we started?"
"Eh, our wager? Wasn't it the (Millennium Ring)?" Chumley genuinely couldn't recall any wager that would require Anassis to use scissors on himself.
Anassis clapped Chumley on the shoulder. "So that golden disk is called the (Millennium Ring)? Well, this has nothing to do with that thing. To be honest, I only wanted it so badly because it was a personal hobby of mine."
"Speaking of which, Boss, you have more than enough collectibles already," Socrates chimed in from the side, sounding exasperated. "I can't say anything about your affairs at home, but your office at the company is already overflowing with all sorts of collector's items. That's right, whenever I have to deliver documents to you, I often can't even find a place to stand."
"Ahahaha, is that so?" Anassis laughed perfunctorily, stroking the beard on his chin. "My stake was that golden ring-thing of yours. Do you still remember what your stake was, young Chumley?"
"Uh, I remember now, but I was just kidding at the time." Chumley finally recalled that when they were deciding the Stakes for the Duel, he had casually said that Anassis should shave his beard. "You don't have to take it seriously, Uncle Anasas. I can tell you take great care of your beard."
The first thing most people noticed about Anassis was his magnificent, bushy beard. It was glossy and impeccably styled, clear proof that Anassis meticulously groomed it and held it in high regard. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hesitated when Chumley proposed his beard as the stake for their Duel.
"Although I am indeed reluctant, since I gambled my beard, I must honor our agreement. Integrity is one of the most important virtues of a great merchant." As he spoke, Anassis took the scissors back from Chumley's hand. With two or three quick snips—*snip, snip*—he cut off a large portion of his long beard.
A lot of stubble remained, but Anassis wasn't a professional stylist, after all. Doing it himself with only a pair of scissors, this was the best he could manage. Through the patchy stubble, Chumley could see the chin Anassis had hidden, though its shape was a little... peculiar.
It... it kind of looked like a pair of buttocks.
Forgive Chumley, it wasn't that his mind was in the gutter; Anassis's chin genuinely resembled a pair of buttocks.
"Oh, my heavens, you are most certainly thinking in your head, 'Why does this man's chin look like a pair of buttocks?' I can swear on my grandfather's name, if you laugh at me for this, I will most definitely kick your posterior with my boot."
Though Anassis had been decisive when cutting his beard, now that it was done, he noticed the subtle, trying-not-to-laugh expressions on Chumley's and Bakura's faces as they stared at his chin. Anassis felt incredibly awkward and even began speaking in a strange, translated-sounding manner.
"Oh, for God's sake, just stop with that weird translated speech. I'd rather eat your neighbor Aunt Susan's harder-than-a-boot baked bread than listen to it," Chumley retorted. "Alright, I get it now. The whole reason you grew a beard was to cover up your chin..."
Bakura tugged on Chumley's sleeve, a little embarrassed. "Chumley-kun, isn't it a bit rude to joke about someone's physical appearance?"
"No, it's fine. I think it's time for me to face my true self," Anassis said with a wry smile, though he didn't seem angry. "I used to be very self-conscious about my chin, which is why I grew such a long beard. It's caused me a lot of trouble."
"Food crumbs would always fall into it when I ate, I had to wash and maintain it constantly, and it was so uncomfortable in the summer when my chin would get all sweaty and covered..." As Anassis spoke, he started to open up, complaining about the downsides of his beard. "Now that I've shaved it, I no longer have to hide what my chin looks like from others, and I won't have to put up with the hassle of a beard anymore."
Anassis actually seemed pretty happy about it.
But a single sentence from Socrates made him... well, let's just say silent. "Um, Boss, actually everyone in the company knows what your chin looks like. The photograph of you hanging at the company entrance seems to be from when you were young and hadn't grown a beard yet."
"..."
"Then what was the point of me growing this beard for so long!"
(end of chapter)