Wanna Duel? I've Got the Pharaoh's Deck! [11]

“Come on in, come on in! Sorry if the place is a bit messy.”

“Sorry for the intrusion.”

The key turned smoothly in the lock, and the door at the entryway swung open.

Outside, the rain still poured, tapping steadily against the pavement and showing no signs of letting up. Along with the sound of rain came the host’s casual invitation and the boy’s voice—clear, but slightly hesitant.

Click.

As Hoshino Mai pressed the light switch on the wall, the cold ceiling light instantly dispelled the darkness, giving Yuuhi a full view of the interior.

At first glance, the room was surprisingly tidy—not nearly as chaotic as Mai had made it sound.

The apartment wasn’t large. From the genkan, a small living room opened up, with a glass wall separating the adjacent kitchen. Beyond that were two doors.

“The one on the left’s my bedroom. Right side is the bathroom-slash-shower. You should go take a hot bath first, Yuuhi-kun. I think I’ve got some clothes that'll fit you—I’ll go dig them out.”

Mai placed her folded umbrella on the stand, gestured casually as she introduced the space, then dropped her shopping bags onto the coffee table and started toward her room.

Watching the swift, confident movements of the blonde girl as she turned to leave, Yuuhi couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Wait, Miss Hoshino!”

“Hm? What is it?”

As Mai turned her head, Yuuhi finally voiced the uncertainty he’d been holding in.

“Are you sure this is okay?”

“What exactly do you mean, Yuuhi-kun?”

“I mean… bringing me here like this. Taking a guy home with you at night—it just doesn’t seem right.”

It might’ve sounded odd coming from him, but honestly, what Mai was doing was way too out there. Who brings someone they just met home after a single day? Wasn’t she a little too trusting?

“No problem, no problem! If you did try anything funny, I’m confident I could take you down. Don’t be fooled by appearances—I work out daily and got top marks in my self-defense classes!”

That’s not the issue here...

Yuuhi stared, dumbfounded, as Mai proudly patted her arm, trying to flex a nonexistent bicep, leaving him half-speechless.

“And besides, don’t just blame me. I could say you’re the one being reckless, Yuuhi-kun.”

Mai suddenly flipped the conversation back on him.

“What? You think I’m the reckless one?”

“Aren’t you?”

Dropping her arm, Mai looked him straight in the eye—her gaze steady, catching Yuuhi off-guard.

“A girl just says a few words, and you obediently follow her home? That’s really dangerous, Yuuhi-kun. What if I was a bad woman? Your life could’ve gotten seriously messed up. Did it never cross your mind that I might’ve been lying to you?”

“No, I just… trusted you. I didn’t think you were that kind of person.”

Yuuhi shook his head.

Of course he’d considered the possibility. But after spending a bit of time with her, he couldn’t believe she’d mean him any harm.

He wasn’t the type to read people like a book, but his childhood experiences had honed a gut sense for people’s nature. And the kindness Mai had shown him—it hadn’t felt like a façade.

Upon hearing his answer, Mai closed one eye in a wink and smiled. “That’s exactly what I was going to say too, Yuuhi-kun. So—are you satisfied? If so, then hurry up and go shower. Wait too long and you’ll catch a cold!”

With that, she moved behind him and gave him a playful shove on the back. The unexpected push made him stumble forward a few steps.

“All right, all right, I get it.”

The first time was one thing. But pushing the issue any further when he was the one benefiting just made him seem petty. Yuuhi wisely let it go. Feeling genuinely grateful toward the girl, he stepped into the bathroom.

...

Just like Mai had said, the space inside was used efficiently.

To the side was the sink and a toilet with a flush tank; across from that was the shower head. A shelf in the corner held a full set of toiletries. There was no luxurious bathtub like you’d see in anime—but the room was clean, with no strange smells.

Yuuhi quickly undressed, rinsed off the day’s exhaustion and the chill of the night rain in a hot shower, and changed into the clothes Mai had left for him—everything except his underwear.

“Oh, not bad!”

Still wearing an apron, Mai peeked out from the kitchen and gave him a once-over. Her lips curled into a satisfied smile. “Looks like I’ve still got great taste. How does it feel, Yuuhi-kun?”

“It’s pretty comfortable.”

The shirt she’d picked fit him perfectly, and the neutral style felt fine—as long as he ignored the fact that it was originally meant for girls.

His eyes drifted to the spoon in her hand, and the aroma wafting from the kitchen teased his nose. He couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Hoshino, what are you cooking?”

“Rice porridge. I added a few ingredients to help chase off the chill. It still needs a bit more time, so just sit tight. Oh, and if you’ve got anything important in your clothes, take it out—I’ll toss them in the wash later.”

“Ah, you really don’t have to do that. I can take care of it myself.”

“It’s fine, really. I was going to shower soon anyway, so washing everything together saves time. Just do what I say, Yuuhi-kun. And if you get bored in the meantime, feel free to watch some TV or something.”

Her tone left no room for argument. She wasn’t giving him a choice.

And really, after taking her food, her hospitality, and her clothes, Yuuhi had no ground to object.

That said… he didn’t particularly feel like watching TV.

Back in his old world, he’d long since fallen out of the habit. If he wanted to watch something, he’d just search it up on video platforms directly.

Compared to the TV...

His gaze shifted to something that had caught his eye earlier.

On the coffee table sat an open, already-powered-on laptop, sitting quietly.

“Miss Hoshino, would it be okay if I used your computer for a bit?”

“Sure, go ahead. Use it as much as you want, Yuuhi-kun.”

“Then I won’t hold back.”

With her permission, Yuuhi sat down in front of the computer.

After spending a little time getting used to the OS and software of this world, he opened the browser and slowly typed in four characters:

海马公司 — Kaiba Corporation.

The moment he participated in the dueling demo and won the Duel Disk, something had struck him as strange. “Kaiba Corporation” and “Atem” were names that should only exist in the Duel Monsters anime.

Yet they’d shown up here.

Was he mistaken? Was this still the world of the anime? Or was it all just a weird coincidence?

Whatever the truth was—he was about to find out.

Soon, the search engine loaded the results.

Yuuhi clicked on the top entries: an Encyclopedia article and Kaiba Corp’s official homepage.

Lines and lines of information about Kaiba Corp filled the screen—detailed history, corporate structure, public data.

And then… the moment he saw the founder’s name and photo—

Yuuhi’s face drained of color. His voice trembled in shock:

“What… This is—! Impossible!?”

---

T/N: it better be Kaiba

This is a fan translation of 打牌吗？ 我王样卡组！by 夏日戏言 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!