"The duel is over. The winner is Hoshino Chiyuki."
"She won!" The four spectators hugged each other in excitement upon seeing Hoshino's victory. "Hoshino actually won against Kajiki Yuta, the third-ranked duelist in the country!" (TL: Author change Mako Tsunami to Kajiki Yuta Author use the manga name or anime?)
"Phew, I finally won." Hoshino let out a long breath on the stage. There was no unusual feeling during the duel, but now she felt her legs slightly weakening.
The two left the duel platform and approached the sunglasses-wearing, black-clad adjudicator.
"You won, Hoshino. You're strong, even stronger than I imagined." Yuta placed the star in Hoshino's hand and held her hand tightly.
"I like you a lot, Hoshino. After the duel, I like you even more. You're cute, strong, and the courage to face despair without giving up. I realized clearly that a man like me doesn't deserve a girl as excellent as you. So, I choose to give up, Hoshino."
The complex emotions swirling in Yuta's heart were probably only clear to himself. The restlessness of youth, the unwillingness of a duelist, and the calm acceptance of failure... The chemical reaction of these mixed feelings would surely help Yuta grow into a stronger duelist.
"Yuta..." Hoshino, not immediately pulling her hand away, looked at Yuta with guilt.
"It's okay. A man of the sea can't stay down for long." Yuta released her hand and left the star, a symbol of the duelists, in Hoshino's palm. "Only one star left, no room for retreat. I have to work even harder."
"Hoshino, you won!" Anzu, excited, ran over and hugged Hoshino tightly.
An…Anzu..." Caught off guard by the sudden hug, Hoshino was a bit at a loss, her delicate face flushing slightly.
As a Shut-in, Hoshino usually resisted physical contact. But somehow, the feeling of being hugged by a friend for the first time wasn't bad at all.
Yugi, Jounouchi, and Honda also gathered around, chattering praises for Hoshino. As the daughter of an entrepreneur, Hoshino had heard all kinds of flattery since childhood. But this time was different. She could genuinely feel that Yugi and his friends were sincerely praising her and truly happy for her victory.
With friends like these, she was sure she could go further in this unfamiliar world.
"Thank you, thank you, everyone." A surge of emotion filled Hoshino's heart, making her feel like she might even cry.
The familiar system voice echoed in Hoshino's mind again.
Finally, the system showed up! It didn't help her when she was most confused, but now it came out to cause trouble at such a touching moment.
"Reward?" Hoshino was puzzled. "Saint Quartz, could I exchange it for money?"
"Wait, what's a card shop? Don't I have all the Servant cards?" Feeling something was off, Hoshino hurriedly asked the system.
"Use rights of High Star Servant Cards? Could it be that I could only draw low-star because I didn't have the rights to use those cards?" Hoshino, who had always thought it was just her bad luck, finally found the answer.
This deceptive system! You only explained things now. Thankfully, she won the first duel. If she had bet two stars in the first duel and lost because she could only draw low rarity card, it would have been truly frustrating.
"So, you're telling me that you lock all the heroic Spirit that I paid for and are now trying to sell them back to me this way?!" Hoshino angrily questioned the system. The feeling of being sold something only to have to buy it back infuriated her.
"Ugh..." Speechless for a moment, Hoshino sighed, "Alright then, open the card shop for me."
[Saint Quartz Summon (Limited Time Banner) Fuyuki Select Hero Recommended Summon]
[Summon x1 costs 3 Saint Quartz][Summon x10 costs 30 Saint Quartz]
The familiar interface rendered Hoshino completely speechless. "So, you're telling me the Saint Quartz you gave me isn't for exchange but for gacha?!" Hoshino silently screamed, feeling targeted.
"Plop~" A loud splash interrupted Hoshino's conversation with the system.
"Ah, Yuta jumped into the water again," Anzu exclaimed as she watched Yuta fall into the water.
"What is that guy up to now?" Jounouchi, already somewhat annoyed with Yuta, grumbled.
Before long, Yuta climbed back onto the shore, holding four fresh fish: "You all must be hungry. Just wait a moment, it will be ready soon."
"Yuta, are you really going to make fish for us?" Despite his earlier annoyance, Jounouchi was now drooling. "I knew Yuta was really a good guy."
The four of them glanced at Jounouchi, the fence-sitter, and shook their heads helplessly.
The aroma of grilled fish soon filled the air.
"Thank you, Yuta," Yugi politely thanked while eating the grilled fish.
"Yuta, you're a lifesaver. If we waited any longer, we might not have made it," Jounouchi said, chomping down on the fish, his earlier hostility seemingly gone.
"Yuta, you're really kind." "Thanks a lot," Anzu and Honda also didn't forget to express their gratitude.
Feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, Yuta scratched his head, "Go ahead and eat, everyone. Since you're Hoshino's friends, this meal is on me."
"Yuta..." Hoshino, squatting by the fire, stared intently at Yuta.
"Hoshino, don't get me wrong." Feeling a bit flustered under her gaze, Yuta hurriedly explained, "I'm not trying to woo you by pleasing your friends. A man of the sea knows when to let go."
"Yuta, I'm still so hungry." After a night of hunger and only a few bites of grilled fish before being pulled into a duel, Hoshino was naturally not satisfied.
"Plop~" The familiar sound of Yuta falling into the water echoed again.