Black mist filled the entire room. Alicia, her eyes full of both anger and exasperation, muttered under her breath, "Yuui-san, do you know what I'm thinking right now?"
"I can guess… and I'm thinking the same thing."
The two exchanged a look, then simultaneously glared fiercely at the girl standing before them—a third-year student of Saint Fusion Academy wearing the female uniform, and, inexplicably, a Shadow Duelist who had just attacked them out of nowhere.
In their hearts, they both cursed in unison: 'Can we ever have a normal day at this academy?!'
—Half a day earlier—
After Alicia left the Headmaster's office with her reward, things indeed unfolded just as Aleister had said.
Due to the severe structural damage caused by the "Three Sacred Beasts incident," as well as the number of students who had passed out under the Beasts' overwhelming pressure—or had been injured in the resulting collapse—the Academy announced that the start of the semester would be postponed by two days.
Those two days were to be used for reconstruction and for healers skilled in restorative magic to tend to the wounded.
As for Alicia, who had escaped unharmed, she confirmed she wasn't needed for repairs and immediately went to the Academy's card shop to exchange her 100 credits for several much-needed cards—including the long-desired Bubbleman.
Afterward, Alicia was promptly dragged off by her new friend, Alice Tutt, for a full day of exploring the Academy grounds. Along the way, the girl—who was clearly a noble lady—kept grumbling that Alicia hadn't taken her along when the "Three Sacred Beasts" appeared.
It wasn't that Alice wanted to steal Alicia's glory. Rather, she was upset that Alicia had faced such danger alone, without calling on her friend for help.
Alicia felt both awkward and deeply moved by this. Awkward because it was the first time someone had treated her with such warmth; moved because she finally felt she had made a true friend.
The next day, Alicia received the reward bestowed by the King himself. Of course, His Majesty would not personally deliver it—Alicia's achievements weren't that grand—yet she was granted considerable honor nonetheless.
The King sent his eldest son, Prince Zack Bredt of the Bredt Kingdom, to personally deliver the reward.
Of course, that was just the official story. In reality, the prince clearly had other duties at Saint Fusion Academy.
According to what Alicia later learned, after entering the Academy, the prince had one attendant deliver the King's gift to her while he himself, accompanied by more than a dozen Duel Knights, went straight to the Administration Building.
He stayed there for less than half an hour before leaving with a grim expression, still surrounded by his knights. No one knew exactly what had happened, but it seemed clear that the prince's real purpose was to meet with the Headmaster.
As for Alicia's reward… it was merely a side errand.
Albeit for Alicia and Yuui, that "side errand" turned out to be quite the haul.
First, there was a crystal card containing ten thousand gold coins.
In the Bredt Kingdom, a single gold coin could support an ordinary family comfortably for a month… two meals a day, both with meat. For Alicia, who had lived in poverty for over a decade, ten thousand gold was an unimaginable fortune.
When she received the card, her eyes practically sparkled like gold coins, and a line of drool slipped down the corner of her mouth. Who knew what was going through that girl's head at the time?
In addition to the gold, the King—upon learning that Alicia used a HERO Deck—gifted her several rare HERO cards to reward her courage and heroism.
The five rare cards were: Elemental HERO Prisma, Elemental HERO Grandmerge, Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman, the Spell Card Hero's Legacy, and the Equip Spell Favorite HERO.
These five cards were perfect for Alicia and Yuui's HERO Deck—especially the two Spell Cards.
The effect of Hero's Legacy wasn't the same as the version Yuui once used in his old world—it was the manga version, featuring an incredibly strong draw effect. That alone made it a super-rare card among the HERO series.
[Spell Card: Hero's Legacy (Manga Version)] Effect: If there are at least two Level 4 or higher HERO monsters in your Graveyard, draw three cards from your Deck.
As for Favorite HERO, its effect was identical to the version Yuui remembered, albeit its power alone was enough to give their Deck a massive boost. It was, after all, a must-have card for any HERO player.
Five incredibly rare HERO cards and a crystal card worth ten thousand gold were delivered to Alicia by a handsome royal knight. Her hands trembled as she accepted them.
After all, for someone who had lived in poverty her whole life, receiving that much money and such rare cards was enough to make her heart race.
For a moment, the girl even thought, Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the Three Sacred Beasts attacked the Academy again...
Of course, that was only a fleeting thought. It would be best if those Beasts stayed sealed forever.
For the rest of the day, Alicia did nothing else except spend time wandering the Academy with her new friend Alice. They even visited the Academy Library, where Alicia discovered countless books she'd never seen before—records of dueling knowledge and histories of Spirits.
Yuui was unusually pleased and told her to visit the library often, saying there were things written there that even he didn't know.
It truly lived up to its reputation as the greatest library on the continent.
Overall, it had been a happy, peaceful day. The Academy's reconstruction was nearly complete, and with the official start of term the next day, Alicia inevitably felt excited.
That night, however, her good mood was shattered when a stranger—no, a Shadow Duelist—suddenly broke into her dorm room.
...
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