CHAPTER 22
A/N:
As promised, two chapters this week (CHP 21 & 22). Again, sorry for not realizing that I forgot to post last week.
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Ken knew that Pegasus had included an itinerary in the brown envelope, but he also knew exactly what to expect—some over-the-top guide to London with a sprinkle of eccentricity. Still, after returning from grabbing some fast food, curiosity got the better of him.
Sitting cross-legged on the plush king-sized bed of his hotel room, he pulled out the itinerary and began scanning through its contents. As expected, Pegasus had planned everything down to the minute—flight times, hotel bookings, and an elaborate list of "must-see attractions" in London.
Ken snorted, rolling his eyes as he spotted some of the suggestions.
"Ride the London Eye, visit Buckingham Palace, duel someone in Trafalgar Square, dine in the Hélène Darroze, and promote Duel Monsters. Of course, he'd sneak that in, but I definitely don't need to do the last part."
He glanced out of the window, his gaze landing on a massive electronic billboard across the street. Bright and bold, it showcased the newest booster pack for Duel Monsters and the latest technology of various Duel Disks, complete with flashy animations and a tagline promising to "Revolutionize the Game!"
"Yeah. Definitely don't need to."
He leaned back against the soft pillows with a sigh of contentment before continuing to look through the rather thick booklet in his hands.
Flipping idly through the itinerary, Ken found himself slightly impressed despite himself. Pegasus had clearly poured a lot of effort into crafting the guide, complete with detailed descriptions and notes about each location.
"Tower of London, a historic castle and former prison. Note: 'Fascinating, but do avoid the ravens—they're terrifyingly intelligent.' Pfft, that's a good one."
As expected from the person who actually made an archetype made of cartoons and toons, Pegasus sure is eccentric.
Making a mental note to tick off some of the suggestions once he'd completed them, he placed the thick booklet neatly on the bed before turning on his phone.
Now that he had a whole lot of free time, he figured it was a good opportunity to do some shopping... though he decided to put off purchasing anything Duel Monsters-related for the time being. Just looking at the game still gave him some unpleasant flashbacks.
It's not to say that he'll abruptly quit the game. He'd be a fool to blame the game for all that's happened; the ones responsible are the humans who did it. He's a mature adult in a teenager's body; after all, he can clearly see the cause.
Plus, raging at the world would only be a waste of energy. There was no point in doing so; he might as well put all of that energy into trying to avoid those kinds of situations from happening.
Still, taking a break? That he deserved. Some time to relax and not flinch at every small noise, preparing himself for danger. Those days were behind him... hopefully.
A quick check of his bank account made Ken whistle softly. Being emancipated due to his parents relinquishing their hold on him, Pegasus had since taken care of setting up his financial life while he was recovering in the hospital.
He cursed at his foolishness of accepting cash; the stash that he kept wasn't present when he checked the hidden compartment in his room. Either Bandit Keith's team grabbed it, or his parents used it for their own greed when he was kidnapped.
Pegasus did give him a year's worth of salary as compensation, though, which added up nicely in his account, making him wealthier than he'd realized. Now that he thought about it, 500,000 yen a month really was a bit excessive.
And this total doesn't include his portion of his stream revenue, which he stored in his Dueling Nexus account, where it was still in the currency of Battle Points—thankfully he made the smart move to convert them into yen once he had a bank account.
TLDR; He was kind of rich for a teenager nearing 14 years old.
"Maybe I should donate to a charity or something. Seems like the responsible thing to do."
Looking at all this money in his pocket made him a little sheepish; he's just laying this much money in the bank instead of using it for a better cause.
But first—online shopping!
He started browsing the internet, scrolling through various sites while lying back against the pillows. With his house in shambles thanks to Pegasus' "investigation team," he figured he could use a few replacements for damaged items.
Maybe some new clothes, a decent backpack, or even some tech gadgets he'd been eyeing for a while but avoided buying since his parents would have grilled him about where the money was coming from.
"Guess I don't have to worry about that anymore."
Before he knew it, he was adding anything that caught his attention. LED lights, an ergonomic gaming chair, and a drone, even a 5-foot Blue-Eyes plushie. Eventually, he glanced at the cart icon in the corner of the screen and froze.
[100]
"Okay... Maybe tone it down a little."
He muttered, reminding himself that he wasn't made out of that much money as he removed the items he didn't actually need.
The drone? Gone. The decorative sword lamp? Cool, but poof. He did keep the large Blue-Eyes plushie; it is— ahem—necessary for his recovery... He couldn't justify cutting it from the list, OK? It's really cute.
Soon, he reduced the number to under 50 items, the cart filled with furniture, clothes, and more essential items.
Placing the order and paying for it—the final total made him wince for a second—he breathed out and leaned into the soft pillows of the bed.
Doomscrolling sure is scary, but he could see the appeal; it felt a little liberating to indulge. He'll make sure to not indulge it often; this session already ate a good 20% of his funds.
Tossing his phone onto the bed, Ken let his body sink into the mattress, every muscle relaxing as he exhaled deeply. The soft hum of the room's air conditioning and the faint sounds of the city outside served as ambient noise as they dulled his senses, and sleep gently pulled him under.
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The past few days went by rather comfortably. Ken holed up in his hotel room, enjoying a period of solitude as most of his time was spent lounging on the bed, making full use of the massive 77-inch TV screen the hotel provided.
He'd never actually watched the popular media of this world, so he worked his way through movies he'd missed or had been sitting on his watchlist for far too long.
Action and adventure, heartwarming dramas—no horror; he hates that genre—he indulged in them all, though he noted that most of the movies after the release of Duel Monsters were a little meh.
Maybe it's because of his old soul? He usually preferred old movies and songs even back in his old world.
Anyway, he was enjoying his leisure time reading some, and some pre-Duel Monsters tune played faintly in the background when suddenly a sharp knock on his door jolted him.
"Room service? I didn't order anything, though..."
The knock came again, a little more insistent this time. Shuffling from his bed, he made sure that he was presentable before making his way to the door.
When he opened it, he found himself face-to-face with a well-dressed teenager with gray hair. Sharp blue eyes gleamed as he glanced between a note in his hand and the hotel room number on the wall.
"Hi, you must be Yusou Ken, or... am I in the wrong room?"
The person in front of him double-checked to make sure that this was the right room as Ken narrowed his eyes, trying to recall where he'd seen this person's face before...
It looked familiar, as if someone had shown him a picture of him, but who?
"Uh, yeah, that's me. Who's asking?"
"Oh, my name is Edo Phoenix... Though I'm a little surprised you don't recognize me."
The gray-haired teen chuckled lightly, slipping the note into his pocket. Ken frowned, the name not ringing any bells. Still, the nagging sense of familiarity wouldn't go away.
"Sorry, are you famous or something?"
"Ahaha, well, kind of. But let's put that aside for now; I'm here for a duel."
He said with a little excitement leaking from his tone, brandishing the Duel Disk on his left arm; the custom-made design compared to the usual mass-produced version caught his eyes.
"Sorry, but I'm on break from duelling, so no thanks."
"Hold on for just a moment—I have a message that'll convince you to duel me. It's somewhere in here..."
Ken raised an eyebrow as Edo began patting the pockets of his silver coat, searching for something. With his arms crossed, Ken leaned against the doorframe, waiting for whatever this "convincing message" might be.
After a few seconds of fumbling, Edo finally fished out a small, neatly folded envelope from inside his coat. He held it out to Ken with a calm, confident expression.
"This should explain everything."
Taking the envelope with a thanks, Ken flipped it over to find the logo of Illusions Industrials staring back at him. Cocking his eyebrow in surprise and interest, he opens the envelope and takes out a... postcard with writing on the other side.
["Yusou-boyya!
I hope that this vacation has been fun for you! I'd love to hear all about your adventures once you return—I do have some delightful stories of my own that may interest you!"]
Ken could already feel the beginnings of a headache rising as he glanced up briefly at Edo, who waited patiently.
He returned his focus to the card and continued reading.
["But enough about me! Let's get to the main point of this postcard, shall we? If you'd kindly direct your attention back to Edo-boyya—the handsome, well-dressed fellow who delivered this card—"]
Ken's eyes narrowed as he read the next part.
["I'd like you to duel him! Yes, yes, I know you're on a break but consider it! I assure you; you'll find this match quite enlightening. Do give it your all, won't you?"]
The postcard ended with Pegasus' trademark flourish of a signature, complete with a doodle of Toon World in the corner.
Ken lowered the card, fixing Edo with a flat look.
"Pegasus sent you to drag me out of my vacation for a duel?"
"I was in the area, and Mr. Pegasus was very insistent that this duel happens. And I had the free time, too, if that helps."
"I'm on a break."
"Mr. Pegasus said you'd say that, but could you reconsider? Pegasus told me you're one of the strongest duelists he knows. He even bragged about how you beat him—and the Muto Yugi!"
"... He really likes to talk, doesn't he? And those were due to chances and luck, not skill. I lose to them all the time now after they know my strategies and combos."
Edo nodded to his first sentence before his hands pressed together in a pleading gesture.
"Please! I need this duel. I need to get stronger, and I know you're the perfect opponent to help me do that."
Ken stared at him for a long moment, weighing his options of either slamming the door or ending his distancing from Duel Monsters for at least one match.... He did seem desperate, though.
And he begged nicely too.
With a click of the tongue and cursing his bleeding heart, he made his decision.
"Fine. Let me grab my deck and get this over with."
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