"Jonouchi, is this okay?" Anzu asked anxiously, looking at the unconscious guard. Although the guard's attitude wasn't great, he was still a staff member here.
"It's fine. If he can't even beat a high school student, it just shows how poor the security is here. It's not our fault," Jonouchi replied arrogantly, dusting off his hands.
With the guard no longer a barrier, the group easily entered Pegasus's castle.
Standing at the castle's entrance, Hoshino looked back at the island of Duelist Kingdom under the setting sun. "It's only been two days, but it feels like so much has happened. This place, carrying so many dreams, is truly magical."
"By the way, I haven't seen Yuta. Did he lose his qualification somewhere?" Though she wondered, Hoshino didn't feel much emotion about it. In this brutal survival competition, one small mistake could lead to total loss, so losing qualification was quite normal.
"And I wonder, how far will I go..." Hoshino asked herself as she followed her companions into the castle.
"This is magnificent!" Mai marveled at the luxurious European-style decor inside the castle. "This is the life of the wealthy. Someday, I'll live in a house like this through my efforts."
"But even though we entered the castle smoothly, this place is huge. Where do we go to find Pegasus?" The pre-tournament rules only mentioned that participants with ten star chips could enter the castle, but gave no further instructions.
As they wandered into the castle, steady footsteps approached.
"Hello, Yugi Mutou, Chiyuki Hoshino, Katsuya Jonouchi, and Mai Valentine, the four qualified participants, and their friends." The elderly steward who usually followed Pegasus now stood before them, bowing deeply. "Following Lord Pegasus's orders, I've arranged rooms for all participants. You are free to use your time as you wish until dinner."
"Hey, where's Pegasus? Isn't it rude of him not to show up? Is this how he treats guests?" Jonouchi's spine tingled at the thought of Pegasus being nearby but not appearing.
"Lord Pegasus is very busy with his duties, and today he also needs to set aside time to duel Seto Kaiba. He can't be here right now," the elderly steward replied professionally, unfazed by Jonouchi's rude question.
"Seto Kaiba..." Hoshino's pupils contracted slightly at the name, then she regained her composure.
"Dueling Kaiba?!" Yugi exclaimed. "Does that mean the duel between Pegasus and Kaiba hasn't started yet?"
"Yes," the steward nodded, glancing at his wristwatch. "The duel is expected to start before dinner. If you're interested, you can watch in the duel hall."
"Pegasus versus Kaiba?" Yugi muttered, deep in thought. "I originally thought Kaiba couldn't beat Pegasus, but the strength Kaiba showed today was unlike anything before."
Having seen Kaiba's newfound strength, even Yugi held a glimmer of hope that Kaiba might defeat Pegasus. "Good luck, Kaiba!"
"As I mentioned earlier, I'll now lead you to the rooms prepared for the participants." The steward gestured for them to follow, and walked down the hallway with measured steps.
Silently, perhaps due to thoughts about Kaiba, the group followed the steward, lost in their reflections.
"These are the rooms prepared for the four participants. As for their friends, I'm afraid you'll have to share rooms with the participants." The steward bowed deeply again after arranging the rooms. "I hope you all get sufficient rest."
"Pegasus gave us such spacious and luxurious rooms," Jonouchi exclaimed, looking around the lavishly decorated room. "Being rich lets you do whatever you want."
"If we have to share, I'll stay with you, Jonouchi." Honda flopped onto the soft bed, sighing contentedly. "Ah~ this bed is comfortable!"
"Hey, who said you could sleep on my bed? You should be grateful to have the floor!" Jonouchi grumbled, annoyed that Honda had taken his bed.
Ignoring their usual antics, the others quietly left Jonouchi's room.
"Bakura, you'll stay with me, alright? No problem?" Yugi asked as the only room left for the boys was his.
"No problem at all, Yugi," Bakura nodded.
"Then I'll stay with Hoshino!" Anzu said, hugging Hoshino and patting her head.
"Anzu..." Hoshino forced a smile, feeling Anzu's warmth. It should have been a happy moment, but she couldn't feel any joy.
"Anzu!" Mai interrupted, pulling Anzu away from Hoshino. "You can stay with me tonight."
"Why..." Anzu began to question, but seeing the serious look in Mai's eyes, she seemed to understand and reluctantly agreed. "Alright~"
"No objections, right, Hoshino? I'll borrow Anzu for one night." Mai teased, tracing Hoshino's face with her fingertip.
"Sure, Mai. I'm just a bit tired, so I'll go rest now." Hoshino replied calmly, turning to her room.
Like Jonouchi's room, it was lavishly decorated, with a massage-equipped bathtub and a fridge stocked with various drinks. But Hoshino had no mood to enjoy any of it.
Lying on the soft bed, Hoshino's small frame almost sank into the mattress. Staring blankly at the ornate chandelier, the bright light stung her eyes, and tears began to fall.
"How can anyone sleep with such blinding light?" She complained, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Why can't I stop crying?" The more she wiped, the more tears flowed down her pale cheeks. "Can someone turn off this stupid light..."
"Stop trembling, hands!" Frustrated with her shaking hands, Hoshino grew more agitated. "It's so uncomfortable with tears all over my face!"
"I'm not crying. It's just the light is too bright." Her self-talk turned to sobs. "It's just one lost duel. What's there to cry about? It's just a game! I lose in LOL all the time!"
But tears don't lie...
Pressing her hands over her eyes, Hoshino gave up resisting and began to cry loudly. "Why do I feel so unwilling? It's just a game, but I don't want to lose!"
"I tried so hard, I was so close to victory!"
"I can't stand it, I want to win! If I don't win, what's the point!!"
Hoshino's heartfelt regret echoed in the bright room.
(*****)
"Mai, what are you peeking at?" Anzu asked, finding Mai outside Hoshino's door.
The door was unlocked, and Mai was peeking through the crack.
"Shh," Mai whispered, signaling Anzu to be quiet, her gentle gaze returning to the room. "She probably cried herself to sleep."
Anzu quietly joined Mai, peeking through the door.
Inside, Hoshino lay on the bed, tears still glistening at the corners of her eyes, peacefully asleep.
"Chiyuki, this feeling of frustration will drive you to new heights," Mai whispered. "You will become stronger, and I'm looking forward to it."
(******)
In her dreams, Hoshino found herself back in that world, walking through a futuristic corridor.
"Where is this?!" Seeing the familiar, modern mechanical corridor before her, Hoshino immediately realized, "This is Chaldea!"
"I remember I was in a guest room in Pegasus's castle," Hoshino said, confused, as she touched her head and instinctively looked around for the Servants, hoping for an explanation.
"Ah! Master spotted!" A familiar energetic voice came from the end of the corridor.
"Okita-san!" Hoshino felt a wave of relief as she saw Okita Souji rushing toward her.
"Hahaha, Master, Okita-san missed you!" Okita Souji suddenly leaped and hugged Hoshino tightly. Despite usually binding her chest, being close revealed that Okita had quite a bit to offer.
"Um, Okita-san, what are you doing?" Hoshino was momentarily stunned by the sudden embrace.
"Today is a day worth celebrating, Master." With eyes sparkling, Okita stood behind Hoshino, placing her hands on Hoshino's shoulders.
"What? Is a day worth celebrating? Ah!" Hoshino exclaimed as Okita, pushing her forward, made her run toward the cafeteria.
"Hehehe, you'll know when you get there, Master. Hurry to the cafeteria." Okita smiled mysteriously as she quickly pushed Hoshino toward the cafeteria. "It's a surprise just for you!"
Resigned, Hoshino gave up resisting and let Okita push her to the cafeteria door.
"So, what's worth celebrating?" Hoshino asked Okita, still full of questions.
"Hehe, open the door and see, Master~" Okita, grinning, released Hoshino's shoulders and eagerly waited for her to open the door.
"Bang!" The sound of celebratory poppers exploded, with confetti raining down on Hoshino's head. Mash, standing at the door with a popper in hand, smiled at the stunned Hoshino.
"Master, congratulations!" All the summoned Servants in the cafeteria shouted in unison.
A variety of dishes filled the tables. Emiya, holding two plates of freshly cooked food, paused his work upon Hoshino's arrival.
A banner hanging from the ceiling caught Hoshino's eye. It read...
"Celebration of Master's First Defeat in Duelist Kingdom!!"
"Okita-san, come here..." Hoshino called out to Okita without bothering to remove the confetti from her head.
"What's wrong, Master?" Still unaware of the danger, Okita innocently approached.
"Is this what you call a celebration? What's there to celebrate!" Hoshino yelled, pinching Okita's cheeks and rubbing them furiously.
"Ow, it's a celebration of your first loss!" Okita managed to mumble through her distorted face.
"Senpai, please don't torture Okita-san," Mash intervened, trying to mediate as she looked sympathetically at Okita's face, which was nearing its limit. "It was Da Vinci's idea."
"Da Vinci? No way," Hoshino said in disbelief, still not stopping her hands. "I haven't even summoned Da Vinci. Shouldn't she be back in Chaldea, working?"
"Hoshino-chan, I'm right here," a familiar voice came from the crowd.
"Da Vinci?!" Hoshino exclaimed, turning to see Da Vinci emerging from the crowd, followed by Holmes holding a box.
"Why is Da Vinci here?" Hoshino was surprised but still confused. "And why this annoying celebration?"
"Although it looks like I'm here, I'm a hologram," Da Vinci said, reaching out to touch Hoshino. Her hand passed right through her body.
"I used my genius to decode this world's holographic technology and compressed the equipment into a small box." Da Vinci proudly pointed to the box Holmes was holding.
"So that's why Mr. Holmes was holding that box. It's Da Vinci's hologram projector," Hoshino said, realizing that Holmes must have been coerced. "So why this 'celebration'?"
"Hehe, calling it a 'Da Vinci-in-a-box' makes it sound like an urn," Da Vinci chuckled without directly answering Hoshino's question. "Let's eat first. Emiya made all the dishes. You must be hungry after not eating all day."
"Yes, Master, it would be a shame if these dishes got cold." Artoria, swallowing her saliva, urged Hoshino, her eyes fixed on the food.
"You can't win battles on an empty stomach, Master!" Nobunaga said, patting Hoshino on the back with a smile.
"I'm not really in the mood to eat, but since Emiya cooked..." The temptation of Emiya's top-tier cooking made Hoshino swallow her saliva, "I guess I'll have a little."
"Alright!" The Servants cheered and eagerly took their seats at the table.
"Rebels must eat well!"
"Emiya, are the burger's ready?"
"What kind of food is this? I don't eat dog food!"
"Sorry, Heracles, can you pass the pepper?"
The once lively cafeteria became even more chaotic after Hoshino gave the go-ahead.
"Senpai, sit here and enjoy Emiya's cooking," Mash said, finding a seat for Hoshino.
"Thank you, Mash~" Hoshino accepted Mash's gesture and sat down.
"Master, if there's anything specific you want, let me know. After all, you're the star today," Emiya said, still busy in the kitchen despite the array of dishes on the table.
"I'd like an omurice, Emiya." Hoshino requested the dish that left a lasting impression from her first visit to Chaldea, though it was only yesterday.
"Coming right up, one omurice!" Emiya expertly flipped the pan in the kitchen.
"Senpai, try this. It's delicious," Mash said, offering a plate of roasted meat with a blissful expression.
"This is amazing! I've never had such delicious roast meat!" Hoshino's face lit up with happiness as she tasted it.
Time passed in the lively atmosphere, and just as Hoshino was beginning to forget her unhappiness, the holographic image of Da Vinci, sitting across from her, suddenly spoke.
"Hoshino-chan, let's talk about the real purpose of this celebration."
"The real purpose?" Hoshino, still chewing, swallowed her food and became serious.
"To be blunt, Hoshino-chan, you're too weak right now."
(*****)
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