On the return journey on the magic train.
Kana was in no mood to appreciate the boring scenery outside the window. She had already fallen asleep with a bottle of wine in her arms, sleeping in an indecent, twisted position.
Fortunately, this was the last train of the day, and there were no other passengers in the carriage except her and Noah.
The ride from Iron Furnace Ridge back to Magnolia took about an hour. Noah had planned to close his eyes and rest for a while, but his attention was suddenly drawn to the faint "ding" echoing in his mind.
He had heard this sound before—whenever a wish order was completed. But now, another prompt had appeared.
Noah frowned. Could it be that some hidden functions of the "Wish" magic could only be gradually unlocked after completing more wish orders?
Glancing at Kana, who was grinning foolishly in her sleep, Noah sighed at her carefree state before activating his "Wish" magic.
White light bloomed in his hands, forming into pages of magic.
[Received a prayer request from another world]
[Long-term Commission: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Road of Friendship (Part 1)]
Yugi Muto is an ordinary high school student in Domino City. He is lonely and desperately wants friends. Please teach him how to make friends.
[Reward: Trap Card "Soul of Resurrection"]
[Deadline: Before Yugi Muto completes the "Millennium Puzzle."]
Noah stared at the request in confusion.
"Wishing to make friends? An isolated student, huh…"
He tilted his head. "But what are trap cards? And what's with that strange time limit? Completing a block puzzle usually takes a few hours, not years."
Still, since this was his first long-term commission, Noah was willing to give it a try.
After all, the words "Yu-Gi-Oh" in the request were intimidating and clearly connected to Yugi Muto himself.
Because he didn't know how soon the so-called "Millennium Puzzle" would be completed, Noah decided to work as quickly as possible.
"Making friends? Hmph. With my experience, I can handle this in minutes…"
But as his fingers hovered over the glowing page, Noah froze. A realization hit him like a rock.
"I… don't really have many friends myself."
In Edolas, during his 18 years as the second prince, though Noah was respected as royalty, most of the people around him were simply acquaintances bound to him by status.
After training, he would retreat to his palace, rarely interacting with others outside of his father. In truth, he lived in near-isolation.
And since coming to Aslant?
Mira's siblings…? Maybe. But weren't they only drawn to him because of his role as the savior? That hardly seemed like true friendship.
Natsu and Happy? Perhaps… but he wasn't sure.
Shaking his head, Noah's gaze settled on the drunken girl across from him. Although they had only known each other for less than a day, he and Kana could probably be considered friends.
But why?
"How… did I become friends with Kana?"
Silence followed. He couldn't actually answer the question.
With a loud *thunk,* Noah banged his head on the small wooden table. A grim thought crossed his mind:
"I don't even know how to make friends… same as my client!"
This was supposed to be a long-term commission, but it was looking impossible right from the start.
Kana stirred at the noise. She opened her bleary eyes, wiped a bit of drool from her mouth, and instinctively reached for her wine bottle. But when her gaze fell on Noah's frustrated face, she blinked curiously.
"Noah, what's wrong? Something bothering you?"
Her mature tone made him hesitate, but eventually, Noah asked the question weighing on his mind.
"Kana… can you tell me how to make friends?"
"Eh?"
Kana froze, startled by Noah's sudden serious expression. She had just woken up, so at first, she misunderstood what he meant.
"Do you really need to be taught something like that? Ah… I see."
Her smile softened tenderly, and she crossed her arms like a big sister comforting a child.
"As your sister figure, of course you should ask me about things like this. Let me tell you—the boys chasing after me could circle the guild three times."
With that, she began reciting clichés she'd read in romance novels: loves filled with passion and hatred, lovers who missed each other endlessly, radiant white moonlight, vows of conquering the world together…
The longer Noah listened, the more his face darkened. *What is she even talking about? This isn't friendship at all!*
Finally, he interrupted her, frustration written all over his expression.
"Kana… I meant a male friend. Someone pretty withdrawn. I just want to gather some *real* experience about making friends so I can help him."
Kana froze, realizing she had been completely off-track. Her cheeks warmed in embarrassment, though she hid it beneath a casual wave of her hand.
"Oh… well, why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Anyway, the easiest way for men to become friends is to fight."
"…What?" Noah stared at her in disbelief. "That'll just make things worse!"
Seeing his disapproval, Kana quickly offered another solution.
"Fine, fine. Drinking together is also a solid way to build friendship."
Noah facepalmed. "He's a high school student. Underage. Don't you get that?"
Kana smacked her lips dismissively. "Tch. Fiore's legal drinking age is fifteen. I started drinking when I was thirteen, and look—I turned out fine!"
Noah gave her a suspicious, tired glance. He was no expert in friendship himself, but trusting a half-drunk Kana about it seemed dubious. Still, with the clock ticking on Yugi's strange time limit, Noah decided to take the gamble.
Slipping away from the carriage, he stepped into the empty train corridor. With a sigh, he scribbled Kana's *unreliable* advice onto the glowing wish page and submitted it.
To his shock, only ten minutes later, a bright notification rang out.
[Otherworld Request Completed]
[Reward: Trap Card "Soul of Resurrection"]
Client's comment: *I don't know who you are, but I'm really grateful. It's a shame I can't drink because I'm underage, but fighting definitely helped me make a friend. Jonouchi-kun even begged me not to die—that's something only a real friend would say.*
Noah's hands trembled.
"You were beaten half to death… and you're still thanking me?"
Guilt flooded him. He really shouldn't have trusted Kana.
But the reward was already granted. He couldn't return or undo it now.
A brilliant white light flashed, and a card materialized in Noah's hands. It had a magenta background, with the kanji printed at the top right.
Soul of Resurrection (effect adjusted for this world)
[Prerequisites: Card Mage; Massive Magic Reserves]
[Effect: Resurrect a dead, ordinary creature.]
[Note: Only works on a single target. If the card is destroyed, the resurrected creature will also die again.]
Noah stared blankly at the card.
Resurrection… even limited to ordinary creatures, it was an incredible power.
"Something like this… in the hands of a high schooler?!"
But he didn't even know card magic…