"Let's follow her quietly, Ren."
"Roger!"
Like most back alleys, this one was narrow and winding.
The moment Ren saw the girl who looked like Luca, she immediately started tailing her.
Abruptly, however, the blonde girl twisted and turned through the maze-like streets, making it hard for Ren to close the distance—several times, she almost lost her.
Then, Ren suddenly realized something.
"Miles, why are we sneaking around like this, acting all suspicious?"
They weren't doing anything wrong… if they just wanted to confirm the girl's identity, she could have simply gone up and asked.
"(￣ー￣) How should I put it? Doesn't this whole situation feel like one of those classic 'secretly follow and uncover a shocking hidden truth' setups?"
"I told you, stop copying Little Ai's tone to dodge responsibility! Ugh, fine… I'm just going to catch up before we lose her again."
Ren quickened her pace, trying to close in on the girl.
But as Ren sped up, the blonde girl quickened her steps too.
"Wait a second… does that mean—"
Miles said, "She's already noticed us."
"Tch, then there's no point hiding anymore!"
Ren broke into a full sprint, charging after the girl ahead.
"Waaaahhh!"
With a startled cry stretched thin by the wind, the blonde girl bolted too.
It had to be said—when a person's survival instincts kick in, their potential skyrockets.
Even with Ren's athletic reflexes, she couldn't immediately catch up to the fleeing girl.
After a long chase, the girl appeared to have reached a safe zone. Ren could only watch helplessly as she darted inside an old, rundown building and slammed the door shut.
"Damn… did she just get away?"
Miles remarked, "No, I'd say we just got lucky."
If the girl had run into her own house and locked the door, there'd be nothing they could do—breaking in would be out of the question.
However, this decrepit building wasn't just any random residence.
[Glass Witch Workshop – Axet Branch]
The place the girl had escaped into was none other than the Glass Witch Workshop Alester had recommended.
Especially with that tongue-out logo on the signboard.
That's why Miles called it lucky—now they wouldn't even have to ask for directions.
Plus, it wasn't like a shop would be closed for business in broad daylight.
"Let's go in, Ren."
"So this is the shop Alester-senpai recommended, huh?"
The building was unbelievably run-down—even worse than the other shabby buildings on the street.
"Can we really trust this place?" she muttered, but still pushed open the door.
The creak of the warped wooden door made it sound like it could fall off its hinges at any second.
The first thing she saw inside was… emptiness. A barren, dusty shop floor that only deepened Ren's skepticism.
"Welcome!"
The greeting that came the moment they stepped in was surprisingly enthusiastic—though the voice sounded far too young.
"Dear customer, whatever you need, just say the word. As long as it's not crabs, I can get you anything."
"Can a place like this really make D-Wheels?" Ren murmured under her breath.
"D-Wheels? Oh, yes yes yes!" the childish voice suddenly brightened with giddy excitement—like someone who hadn't had business in ages finally spotting a big catch.
Albeit when Ren looked toward the counter where the voice came from, there was… no one.
"Invisible person?"
"Down here!"
"So tiny!"
Ren approached and finally spotted a little girl—her head barely reaching over the counter.
"Hey there, are you helping watch the shop, little one?"
The chubby cheeks of the adorable loli made Ren instinctively soften her tone.
"What're you talking about?" The little girl puffed out her chest proudly. "I'm the owner!"
"You're the… owner?"
"And I'm not a kid! I'll have you know I'm definitely older than you."
"..."
Ren couldn't tell if it was a joke or not… regardless, the loli's earnest expression was oddly entertaining.
"So you're here for a D-Wheel, huh? Then you've come to the right place! In all of Axet, this workshop makes the best D-Wheels, hands down!"
"Wait, forget the D-Wheel for now. Boss, is there anyone else working here?"
Ren got straight to the point—asking about Luca.
"Someone else? Hmm… well, there is a helper." The girl's eyes flickered strangely. "Why do you ask?"
"Where's that helper now?"
"She just got back and ran into the kitchen—probably making dinner."
Ren recalled the blonde girl had indeed been carrying a basket of groceries earlier.
"Boss, can I meet her?"
"What's there to see? If you think she's cute, I'll warn you—she's actually kind of boring."
The girl turned toward the kitchen door and shouted.
"Hey, kid! Someone's here to see you! Come out and don't keep the customer waiting!"
"Ah… mm…"
The reply from inside wasn't human speech so much as a series of awkward sounds.
"She seems a little scared of you. Weird."
The tiny boss rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then decided to go in herself.
Through the thin wooden door, Ren could hear the childish voice conversing with the muffled "aaah-oooh" from inside.
"Ah-ah."
"What? You're saying someone was following you while you were shopping?"
"Mmm."
"So you got scared and ran straight back here?"
"Ah!"
"That's a customer, you know! We finally get some business, and you're hiding? If we lose this one, we won't even have food money next month!"
It was clear that the Glass Witch Workshop's finances were dire.
Not surprising—setting up shop in a place like this, it was a miracle they had any customers at all.
After half a minute of persuasion, the tiny boss finally used her 'authority' to drag the blonde girl out by force.
"Greeting customers is part of your job too!"
"Uuuh…"
The girl looked uneasy.
Nonetheless, to Ren and Miles, that expression meant something else entirely.
Ren & Miles yelled in unison: "It is Luca Slint!"
There was no mistaking it. Seeing her from afar on the street could've been a coincidence—but here, face-to-face, there was no doubt.
It was definitely Luca Slint.
"Luca… why are you here?"
Luca said nothing.
The one who answered was the little boss.
"You'll get nowhere talking to her. She hasn't learned how to speak yet—only knows a few simple sounds. Judging by your reactions, though, you knew the person this body used to belong to, didn't you?"
In truth, she had already guessed as much when Ren first spoke up.
"Hasn't learned to speak… What do you mean?"
In Ren's memories, Luca was anything but mute—if anything, she'd been a chatterbox.
The girl, Viel, shrugged and explained casually.
"It couldn't be helped. A month ago, that body was nothing but an empty shell—without a soul."
Back in the royal capital, Luca's soul had indeed been burned away along with her body by The Winged Dragon of Ra.
Though both her body and soul had been incinerated, Miles had noticed something distinctly off at the time.
For one, the Luca who appeared last had displayed physical strength far beyond that of an ordinary human—and the scar from her "Iron Tears" ordeal had vanished completely, as if she were inhabiting a completely different body.
Meanwhile, the Luca standing before them now—this body—was the same one that had borne that scar, the one they'd once found hanging from a tree.
Viel explained: "When I found this empty body in the royal capital, I brought it to Axet and implanted a new consciousness into it. I gave her a new personality and taught her a few chores to help out around the busy shop."
This shameless little loli actually had the nerve to call her business "busy," even though the counter looked like it hadn't seen a customer in months.
Ren blinked. "You can just recreate a personality and put it into an empty body like that?"
"With my skills? Of course!" Viel lifted her nose proudly.
No wonder Alester had recommended her. The way she so casually discussed something that sounded like forbidden sorcery—she was, in her own way, completely mad.
Still, upon learning the truth, both Miles and Ren couldn't help feeling conflicted.
Luca's soul had been destroyed, leaving only her body.
So then… this girl standing before them—rebuilt with a new personality, no memories, unable even to speak properly—could she really still be called Luca Slint?
"...Miles?"
"It's fine, Ren," Miles decided calmly. "She's just a girl who happens to look like Luca. We were mistaken."
"I see… okay."
Ren's helpless gaze dropped to the Millennium Puzzle resting against her chest. As if reacting to Miles's words, Luca gently tugged at Ren's sleeve.
"Th… thank… you…"
Even the simplest words came out haltingly.
Even so, Viel beamed with pride. "See? She's learning! That's the first real step toward communicating like a normal person!"
To Viel, this reconstructed Luca was practically her child—and any small progress was something to celebrate.
"This is actually her first time greeting customers! So about that D-Wheel—you still need one, right? You definitely do, right!?"
Of course, the greedy gleam in Viel's eyes was unmistakable. She clearly needed the sale to fill the workshop's empty coffers.
"Yes, I do." Ren nodded. "But… I don't actually see any D-Wheels here?"
"Of course not! The Glass Witch Workshop's rule is simple—everything is custom-made to the client's exact specifications. The quality will blow any mass-produced model out of the water. You say the word, pay the fee, and I'll start work immediately!"
Miles exclaimed, "A custom D-Wheel!?"
Just hearing the phrase made Miles's heart race—exclusive gear like that was the kind of thing anime protagonists got.
Ren's brows knitted. "But if it's custom-built, can it be finished in time for tomorrow's duel?"
Tomorrow was the start of the Synchron Academy exchange program. The opening matches were bound to include duels—and, given Synchron's reputation, likely Turbo Duels.
"It'll be ready—no problem at all!"
Viel's eyes sparkled, seeing the sheep before her grow plumper by the second.
"Seriously? You can have it done by tomorrow?"
Rubbing her tiny fingers together, Viel grinned slyly. "As long as payment's ready—forget tomorrow, I can have it done tonight! Perfect quality, guaranteed!"
To go from nothing to a fully custom D-Wheel in half a day—if this wasn't a scam, then this loli was terrifyingly capable.
Miles could finally see why Alester had recommended this workshop.
Despite its shabby, almost derelict exterior, the owner herself might actually be the real deal.
Of course, Viel had made one thing perfectly clear.
As long as the money was right.
"So, how much are we talking?" Ren asked nervously.
A fully custom build, perfect quality, and completed overnight—it all sounded expensive enough to make her sweat.
"According to Axet law, D-Wheels can only be purchased using SP Points. Since only Duelists can operate them, restricting transactions to SP prevents illegal secondhand trading."
"Only SP Points? Then… how many?"
"One hundred."
"That much!?"
Sure enough—a massive price tag. One hundred SP Points was enough to support an average family in the Axet Republic for two years of comfortable living.
And Ren currently only had 17 SP Points—even counting the 30 she'd earned from her duel with Aisha, that was just 47.
Not even half.
Could they farm more SP Points by dueling Lost again?
Miles knew better. Forced duels rarely yielded high SP rewards; the energy of a true fight couldn't be faked.
"So D-Wheels are really that expensive?"
Viel nodded sagely. "Ah, so this is your first time buying one. To be honest, a standard D-Wheel costs about 30 points. This one's pricier because it's fully custom."
"Does customization really make it that much more expensive?"
A single custom D-Wheel cost more than three normal ones combined. It almost seemed smarter to buy off-the-shelf.
"A basic model won't hold up in a high-intensity Turbo Duel. And since you don't have one yet, I'm guessing you don't know much about the requirements."
"What kind of requirements?"
When it came to Turbo Duels, Ren was admittedly a total beginner.
That said, since Viel was selling D-Wheels, it was only natural that she'd explain the selling points.
"The difference between D-Wheels in Turbo Duels can be summed up in one word: speed."
That made sense—like racing cars. Cheap ones ran slow; expensive ones, fast.
"What does speed have to do with dueling? I thought as long as you're dueling on the D-Wheel, it counts as a Turbo Duel."
"In Turbo Duels, there's something called a Speed Counter. If your opponent laps you once, they gain one Speed Counter. In high-level duels, even a single counter can decide the match."
As she spoke, Viel's gaze flicked toward the Millennium Puzzle.
"Of course, that's just the basics. Normally, if two D-Wheels aren't too different in performance, it's hard to lap an opponent. Although there's something even more important about D-Wheel speed—something only a few people know."
"Something more important?"
"That's right—the threshold. Once your D-Wheel reaches a certain level of speed, it unlocks the ultimate Synchro Summon."
"The ultimate Synchro Summon!" Miles's eyes widened. "You mean that! You mean—"
"The Synchro that surpasses light itself—Accel Synchro!"
Even Miles remembered that one clearly. The higher tier of Synchro Summoning required extreme D-Wheel velocity to achieve Accel Synchro Summon.
In that case, mass-produced D-Wheels might be cheaper and usable—but if their speed couldn't reach the threshold for Accel Synchro, that was the real loss.
And for this loli to know about Accel Synchro at all… she was definitely no ordinary mechanic.
"We have to buy it, Ren!"
"But… 100 SP Points… we don't have enough."
Ren cursed herself for not being a rich girl. If she could just whip out a card and buy the custom D-Wheel Miles wanted so badly, no man could resist that kind of charm.
"Wait!" Ren suddenly remembered something and pulled a business card from her pocket.
"We're here on recommendation from Alester-senpai. He said mentioning his name would get us a special discount."
For the first time, Ren truly understood the power of connections. Having friends really did make life easier.
"Alester, huh?" Viel tilted her head, a flicker of surprise crossing her eyes. "Guess he must really think highly of his kouhais."
"So… we can get a discount, right!?"
"Fufufu." The round-headed loli tilted her head mischievously, grinning. "Sure—150 SP Points. Not a single point less."
So much for connections!
...
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