"I'm not letting you get away this time, Miles!"
A faint blush lingered on Irena's cheeks from the day before.
"I-Irena?"
Miles had anticipated that Irena, one of the few people who knew the truth, might recognize him substituting for Irene through the Millennium Puzzle.
Luckily, the duel platform was far from the audience seating, so no one could hear their conversation.
And knowing Irena's personality, even if she figured it out, she wouldn't report it. (Not that it would help.)
Still, Miles hadn't expected such a dramatic reaction from her… Was it just his imagination, or did she look like she wanted to devour him?
Definitely not imagination!
That was raw desire!
"What the heck is going on, Miles?! Why did Irena-senpai call your name?!"
Right. The person having an even bigger reaction was Irene.
In the Soul Room within the Millennium Puzzle, she glared at Miles like a girlfriend catching her boyfriend cheating.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a secret between us—well, us and Aisha?! Why does some other girl know too?!"
"It's a long story. I'll explain after the duel, okay, Ren?"
"Promise?"
"Yeah."
...Which meant he'd ask Aisha to do the explaining later and avoid a possible love triangle mess altogether.
"Even if she knows who you are, you better not hold back, Miles! You can't betray me and Aisha!"
"As if I would."
With practiced hands, Miles lifted Irene's short skirt and retrieved the HERO Deck strapped to her pale thigh, slotting it into the activated Duel Disk.
Hold back against Irena? That would be suicide.
"No matter the duel, I give it my all. A HERO never runs away from battle, Ren!"
"Duel—!"
[Irena, LP: 4000]
[Irene, LP: 4000]
The duel began. The glow of Spirit Eyes lit up on Irena's arm, indicating she had the first turn.
"My turn, draw!"
As she drew her card, the excitement from earlier shifted into a sly smile.
"If I knew I'd run into you here, Miles, I wouldn't have wasted all that time preparing. Let's settle who's more reliable with this duel!"
She had lost to Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, but Miles had pulled off a comeback using her body and her Deck. Even if he'd had help from Aisha during the Shadow Game, it still left a lingering frustration in Irena's heart: someone else had used her Deck and body better than she could.
"If it's a duel issue, then let's settle it with a duel. I summon in Defense Position—Magician's Valkyria!"
[Magician's Valkyria] Level 4│LIGHT│Spellcaster│1800 DEF
[Monsters your opponent controls cannot target face-up Spellcaster-Type monsters for attacks, except this one.]
A 4-star monster with 1800 Defense and a solid 1600 Attack, plus a taunt effect for Spellcasters.
Most importantly, she resembled a grown-up Dark Magician Girl—cute, but with a touch of maturity.
The moment Magician's Valkyria appeared, cheers erupted from the audience.
Who doesn't love a high-charisma girl card?
"I set one card and end my turn."
As the crowd buzzed, the turn passed.
"My turn, draw!"
Miles scanned his opening hand.
No Polymerization. No Mask Change. Absolute garbage.
In this HERO Deck, no Fusion or Transformation meant no combat.
While lower-level HERO trades might work among first-years, trying that against Irena would be suicide.
"I Set one monster in face-down Defense Position and Set one card. Turn end."
Smooth as ever, Miles dropped one horizontal and one vertical card—turning HERO into Hinder-O.
"Ooooh! Did you see that?!"
The Austin brothers erupted in excitement over that simple play.
"My little sister summoned a monster on the grand stage of the Festival!"
"Amazing, Ren!"
Holding her face in her hands, their mother had been watching carefully since the duel started.
"Say, doesn't Ren seem a bit different while dueling?"
"You noticed too, dear."
Their father smiled knowingly.
"This is our daughter's growth as a Duelist. Looks like the Academy has taught her a lot in just a year."
"Ah, growth as a Duelist! No wonder I almost didn't recognize her."
"My turn, draw."
As Irena began her second turn, her gaze toward Miles changed again.
Her light blue eyes, once excited and playful, now took on a hazy softness that matched the blush on her cheeks.
"Hey, Miles... Since we're finally dueling, why don't we make it interesting?"
"Interesting how?"
"If I win, you spend a few days with me. Like... on a date~"
"A date?! You traitor, Miles!!"
"N-no! I'm just a soul spirit! What right do I have to go on a date with you, senpai?!"
Miles was finally starting to get why Irena seemed off.
Her mood swings, her unpredictability… she was acting like she'd drunk something weird.
"No backing out now. If you want to reject me, do it with your strength. I summon a second Magician's Valkyria in Attack Position, and switch the first one to Attack as well!"
[Magician's Valkyria, ATK: 1600] x2
Two monsters with 1600 Attack—the highest stat for low-level monsters like Sparkman.
"Battle! Magician's Valkyrias, attack! Valkyria Blaster Burst!"
Promptly, the cute but fierce magical energy at the tips of the Valkyrias' staves exploded toward Miles's face-down monster.
"Then I'll reject your date with raw power, Irena-senpai."
His monster flipped—[Elemental HERO Clayman], with 2000 DEF, outmatched the Valkyria's 1600 ATK.
"You think that's enough to reject me?! You're gonna need more than that, Miles!"
Unwilling to back down, Irena flipped her Set card the moment she declared her attack.
"Trap Card—Magician's Circle!"
...
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