Hearing the female teacher's name, Yumi still had no idea who she was. Even if his memory of the original Yu-Gi-Oh series was a bit... messy, he was fairly certain he had never heard of anyone named Hoshino Chiyuki.
In fact, he couldn't remember a single important character whose name started with an H.
And for some reason, her Monster Spirit, Illya, reminded him of a blonde guy performing eye surgery.
At the same time, Hoshino was looking at Yumi with a rather complicated expression.
As a transmigrator, she knew quite a bit about the world of Yu-Gi-Oh. However, she had never heard of anyone named Yumi Uzushi. Still, she wasn't exactly surprised by his claim.
For one thing, the boy had the unmistakable "Yu-" prefix commonly associated with the protagonists of the Yu-Gi-Oh world. Then there was his strange hair, his completely abnormal strength, and the fact that he had casually revealed that he could travel between dimensions.
Hoshino already knew that parallel worlds existed, so the idea of someone from another dimension wasn't particularly difficult for her to accept.
And then there was the little matter of what had just happened.
Yumi had destroyed an entire swarm of Duel Monsters with a single attack. That alone was enough to tell her that this boy was an absurd powerhouse. Someone Duel Academy desperately needed right now.
Hoshino didn't particularly like the idea of sending a student onto the front lines, but after seeing what Yumi could do, she was fairly certain that calling him a normal student was already stretching the definition of the word.
A person who could travel between dimensions and casually unleash that kind of overwhelming power...
No matter how she looked at it, Yumi carried the unmistakable aura of a protagonist. Or, depending on how one looked at it... A BOSS.
Either way, right now, they desperately needed someone like him.
"So... what happened here?" Yumi finally asked, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them after their introductions. "Did the Avatar leave the gate between the Spirit World and the human world open?"
"Who's the Avatar?" Hoshino asked, genuinely confused by the reference. She stared at him for a moment before deciding that it was probably some kind of joke from his world. "Anyway, those are Beast Waves. That's what we call the waves of rampaging Duel Monsters that suddenly attack us."
"Beast Wave..." Yumi muttered. "Why does that sound like one of those tasteless RPG tropes?"
"Ehh... when you put it that way, you're not wrong." Hoshino sighed. "We didn't choose the name. The Beast Waves just started appearing one day, and we've been doing whatever we can to deal with them ever since."
"I see." Yumi nodded before getting straight to the point. "Anyway, have you already dealt with the incident where Duel Academy gets transferred into the Spirit World?"
"What!?" Hoshino's voice rose several levels.
Her reaction immediately told Yumi everything he needed to know.
"I see."
Yumi's expression became slightly awkward.
"It hasn't happened yet."
He suddenly felt like a time traveler who had accidentally walked into the middle of a World War in the past, only to casually ask one of the soldiers.
Which World War?
Yeah... Not exactly a good look for him.
"Anyway... I'll be leaving-"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Hoshino immediately reached out and grabbed the back of Yumi's collar before he could walk away. "Don't just drop something like that and leave!"
Although she was a transmigrator herself, she had lived in this world for more than ten years now. During that time, the timeline had changed so much from the original story that even she couldn't remember every single detail anymore.
There were simply too many differences.
So the fact that Yumi knew about something that hadn't happened yet was both concerning and incredibly valuable. She could worry about that problem later. Right now, there was a much more immediate problem.
They needed a powerhouse. And one just so happened to be standing right in front of her.
"Besides, we currently need your help dealing with this incident," Hoshino said, trying to keep her voice calm and reasonable.
"Heh?" Yumi looked back at her. "Why should I?"
Hoshino's confident expression froze.
She had expected him to at least show some interest in helping. Instead, he looked like he genuinely couldn't understand why she thought he would care.
For a moment, she simply stared at him before quickly composing herself.
"Well... isn't that why you're here?"
She released the back of his collar as Yumi turned around to face her properly.
"Nah." Yumi shook his head. "I'm only here because I'm looking for a way to bring the Duel Academy from my dimension back to the human world."
His answer was so casual that Hoshino's eyelid twitched.
'Of course.'
She had briefly hoped that Yumi might be something like a Master, similar to the Master of Chaldea who traveled between different worlds and resolved Singularities despite having no personal connection to them.
Unfortunately, that clearly wasn't the case.
Yumi wasn't here to save their world. He wasn't here because he felt some grand responsibility or duty. He was here because he had a problem in his own world and wanted an answer.
Hoshino couldn't exactly blame him for that.
Yumi Uzushi wasn't the Last Master of Humanity. He wasn't responsible for protecting this world, and there was no reason for him to risk himself for people who weren't even from his own dimension.
Still, that didn't mean she was going to give up.
If Yumi really possessed that much power, then this was probably the best opportunity she was going to get.
With someone like him helping them, they might actually be able to push back the Beast Waves and figure out what was causing them.
"Still..." Hoshino said carefully, choosing her words. "Since you've already come here, couldn't you spare at least a little effort to help us?"
Yumi looked at her without saying anything.
"It wouldn't hurt to try, right?" She continued before he could respond. "You said you're looking for a way to bring your Duel Academy back to the human world, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Then I have a super-genius Heroic Spirit who might be able to help you figure it out."
That finally caught his attention.
"I can give her to you. I'm also willing to give you my other Heroic Spirits too, under one condition."
Hoshino raised one finger.
"You help us resolve our current predicament and help us protect this world."
She tried to sound casual, but internally, she was painfully aware of how desperate she was.
Although it hurt her to hand over her Heroic Spirit cards, Hoshino could always get them back later with Saint Quartz. More importantly, this was probably the only bargaining chip she had that was valuable enough to keep someone like Yumi interested.
Even if he couldn't actually see or use the Heroic Spirit cards himself, her first prority was to get his interest first.
"Heroic Spirit..." Yumi repeated quietly.
Recognition slowly appeared in his eyes.
Hoshino's expression brightened.
'It worked!'
Well, at the very least, she had managed to catch his interest. Now she just had to figure out what she was going to do when he realized he couldn't actually use or see the Heroic Spirit cards. Unfortunately, she hadn't thought that far ahead. She had been a little too desperate to find someone powerful enough to protect her world.
Then Yumi suddenly turned toward Illya.
"No wonder you felt familiar." He stared at the little magical girl for a moment. "The blonde guy did eye surgery for you."
Hoshino: "..."
Illya: "..."
Illya slowly tightened her grip around her magical wand.
"Master, can I hit him?"
"No, Illya. Absolutely not."
Hoshino quickly answered after seeing the increasingly angry expression on Illya's face. Illya's cheeks puffed up slightly as she glared at Yumi. The little girl was practically squeezing her wand in frustration.
"Master, Ruby requests permission to hit him for our adorable Illya's sake!"
The magical wand in Illya's hand suddenly spoke.
"No!" Hoshino's smile twitched. "That goes for you too, Ruby! And the others!"
She could already tell that this was going to become a headache.
Still, that random comment had given her another piece of information.
Yumi might actually be a fellow transmigrator.
That comment wasn't something an ordinary person in this world would make. It was a direct reference to Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works.
He clearly didn't remember everything about it, judging by how strange his reaction was, but the fact that he recognized Illya was enough to make Hoshino suspicious.
At least he was interested in Heroic Spirits.
That was a good start.
"Still, after what happened yesterday, I lost access to my Heroic Spirit cards," Hoshino explained.
She pulled out her Heroic Spirit Deck and showed it to him.
"Thankfully, my Magical Girl cards aren't part of the Heroic Spirit system, so I can still summon them and use Phantasmal Summoning. They're basically my last line of defense right now."
Yumi looked down at the deck. After a moment, he reached out and took one of the cards. It looked completely ordinary in his hand. As far as Yumi could tell, it was nothing more than a blank white piece of cardboard.
"It's blank."
"Yeah." Hoshino nodded. "That's what I expected."
She decided to be honest rather than let him discover it himself later.
"Even if you can't use them, I'm sure Da Vinci-chan could probably figure something out. She's a super genius, after all. I'm sure she could find some way to help you interact with the cards."
Hoshino gave him a small, somewhat awkward smile. She had decided that it was better to be honest with him now rather than let him discover the problem later.
She wanted Yumi's help. But if she was going to ask him to risk himself for her world, then she at least wanted the deal to be based on some level of trust.
Even if the chances of him actually agreeing were still uncertain.
Yumi stared at the blank card for a moment before placing the card onto his Duel Disk.
White light immediately erupted from the Duel Disk.
The light crackled violently around Yumi, spreading outward with enough force to make both Hoshino and Illya instinctively take a step back. Neither of them had expected anything to happen, but the sheer amount of energy gathering in front of them quickly proved that something was very, very wrong with their assumptions.
"Ehhh!?"
Both Hoshino and Illya cried out in surprise as the white light suddenly shot upward like a pillar before rapidly collapsing in on itself.
A figure slowly emerged from within the fading light.
She had a sharp yet distinctly feminine face, with long black hair cascading down her back and a red cape hanging from her shoulders, the fabric gently swaying in the lingering wind. A black cap sat neatly on top of her head, its golden sun-like emblem standing out against the dark material.
Yumi looked at the woman in silence. The woman opened her crimson eyes and looked directly back at him.
"Hmm... so you're the one who forcefully severed my previous contract."
Her voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable edge to it as she stared up at Yumi.
Hoshino's expression immediately became complicated. She knew who this was.
At the same time, on Yumi's Duel Disk, the previously blank card was now displaying an image of the woman along with a name.
[HERO Spirit Oda Nobunaga]
Yumi looked at the newly summoned Heroic Spirit for a moment before asking.
"Where are your clothes?"
Oda looked down at herself. Then she looked back at Yumi. She didn't seem embarrassed in the slightest. Instead, she casually pulled out a matchlock and pointed the barrel directly at his head.
"Any last words?"
Yumi stared at the gun pointed at his forehead.
Then he looked back at her.
"Those aren't as large as the Avenger you."
Oda's eyebrow twitched. A vein almost seemed to appear on her forehead.
She immediately pulled the trigger.
A loud gunshot rang through the academy grounds, but before the bullet could even fully leave the barrel, Raye suddenly materialized between them and swung her blade upward, striking the matchlock and knocking the barrel toward the sky. The bullet flew harmlessly upward, completely missing Yumi's head.
Oda immediately jumped backward, and several more matchlocks suddenly appeared around her in midair, each one floating independently as their barrels turned toward Yumi.
The matchlocks opened fire all at once.
Black Magician Girl appeared beside him, raising her staff as a large magic circle formed directly in front of them. The incoming bullets struck the magical barrier one after another, producing a rapid series of metallic impacts as the projectiles were deflected away before they could reach Yumi.
At the same time, Oda Nobunaga stepped onto one of the floating matchlocks with her bare feet, using it like a platform as she moved through the air and redirected the other weapons. More matchlocks appeared around Yumi from different angles, with several of them firing in an attempt to catch him off guard.
A powerful burst of wind suddenly exploded outward from Yumi, scattering the bullets in every direction and forcing the floating guns away from him.
Illya quickly moved in front of Hoshino, raising her wand and using her magic to block the stray bullets that came flying toward them.
"Master, stay behind me!"
"I was already planning on doing that!"
Meanwhile, another figure had appeared beside Yumi.
Masked HERO Blast stood silently at his side, the green-armored masked hero's long red scarf whipping violently in the wind surrounding his body. He folded his arms before his entire body began to fade into light, his form gradually becoming transparent until he completely overlapped with Yumi.
The moment their bodies merged, Yumi suddenly leaped into the air.
Oda's eyes widened as Yumi appeared directly in front of her, much faster than she had expected; in fact, she didn't believe that an ordinary human could even reach her to begin with. At the same time, Yumi brought his hands together, overlapping them with the hands of Elemental HERO Dark Bright as the Hero's power flowed over his body.
Black lightning immediately began crawling across his right fist.
"Black Flash!"
Yumi swung his fist downward. The punch crashed directly into Oda Nobunaga's chest.
Her eyes widened from the impact, but instead of simply allowing herself to be sent flying, Oda immediately grabbed his fist with both hands and used his momentum against him. She pulled Yumi forward while simultaneously swinging both of her bare feet upward, kicking him directly in the face.
The sudden counterattack threw Yumi off balance.
Using the force of his own punch, Oda dragged him downward with her, twisting her body in midair before wrapping her legs around his neck. She then pulled herself closer and used her momentum to drag him toward the ground.
The two of them continued falling at a height that would have killed an ordinary human on impact.
Elemental HERO The Earth suddenly materialized beneath them and caught both of them before they could hit the ground. The massive HERO absorbed the impact before lowering Yumi safely onto the academy grounds and fading away.
"Enough! Oda Nobunaga, stop!"
Hoshino's voice finally cut through the chaos.
Oda's expression changed the moment she heard that familiar voice.
She turned her head. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the familiar face of her former Master standing there.
"Master?" Oda's expression immediately became complicated. "You're safe?"
Despite her question, she didn't completely relax. She still pressed the barrel of her matchlock against Yumi's head while looking toward Hoshino.
"Yes, yes, I'm safe," Hoshino quickly answered before things could escalate again. She then covered Illya's eyes with one hand, clearly deciding that the little girl had seen enough already. "And Yumi isn't your enemy. He's... your new Master."
Oda froze. "...What?"
Her crimson eyes slowly shifted toward Yumi.
"Master, what do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice becoming increasingly incredulous. "Are you telling me that this guy, who carries the foul presence of something dark and disgusting, is my new Master?"
"Rude," Yumi replied without hesitation.
Oda's face flushed red. She clenched her fist and promptly smacked Yumi on the head.
"Don't breathe so hard down there!"
The meaning of Oda's complaint became painfully obvious considering the position she was currently in, with her legs still wrapped around Yumi's head and her lower half far too close to his face.
Hoshino's expression immediately became one of complete exhaustion.
"Can you two get off each other already!?" she snapped. "And Nobu, put on some clothes!"
She was rapidly losing patience with the situation.
From Hoshino's perspective, the entire thing was ridiculous.
Yumi was technically a Slifer Red student from another dimension, while she was a teacher at Duel Academy, meaning that some part of her brain naturally treated him like one of her students despite knowing perfectly well that he was anything but an ordinary student.
And Oda Nobunaga... Well, she had been Hoshino's Servant.
She never expected Yumi to actually be capable of summoning and using one of her Heroic Spirit cards. More importantly, judging from Oda's reaction, it seemed that the moment Yumi summoned her, the previous contract between Hoshino and Oda had been replaced.
Which meant that Yumi was now her Master.
A Servant trying to kill their new Master the moment they were summoned was already far beyond what Hoshino had expected.
Still, she couldn't exactly complain.
She had agreed to give Yumi her Heroic Spirit cards in exchange for his help protecting this world. The last thing she wanted was for the Servant he obtained from her to actually kill him before they could even make the deal work.
Oda eventually dematerialized her matchlock and finally released her legs from around Yumi's head before jumping away and landing on the ground.
She crossed her arms with an irritated expression.
"I can't be helped... New Master, provide me with some clothes."
Yumi stared down at her for a moment. He didn't seem particularly bothered, as he simply reached into his jacket, his hand dove into the shadow to pull out a deck, and began searching through his cards.
After finding what he wanted, Yumi placed the card onto his Duel Disk.
A flash of light immediately surrounded Oda. When it disappeared, her body was covered by a Victorian-style maid outfit. The black-and-white silk covered her properly enough, while the short skirt and black stockings gave her outfit a rather stylish appearance.
Oda paused, then looked down at herself.
Hoshino looked at Oda.
Nice.
That was the only word that immediately came to Hoshino's mind.
She couldn't help but stare at the newly dressed Maid Oda Nobunaga. Apparently, her student from another dimension had pretty good taste after all.