Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Malik? Isn't that our new art teacher's name?" Rei Saotome said, somewhat puzzled. "Could it be—"

“It’s probably just a coincidence of names, right? Because Malik, the leader of the Gluths, is still on the international bounty list and hasn’t been caught yet,” Asuka guessed. “Besides, I don’t think that frivolous new teacher would be the leader of a thief group.”

“I used to skip stones here when the riverbed wasn’t properly maintained,” Judai said with some emotion. “I didn’t realize it when I lived in Domino City, but now that I’m back, Domino City feels completely different.”

"Because of the 'novelty'? Or rather, because of the 'sense of difference' arising from the change in impressions and reality?" Rei smiled. "It's like when I met you again after being apart for a while, and I liked you even more, Jaden-sama~"

Faced with such a direct declaration of love, Jaden had no choice but to change the subject, saying, "Speaking of which, although it's Sunday, there are really few people around in the old capital."

"It really is quiet on the streets; I don't see anyone around." Asuka looked around. "Even on a weekend, aren't the citizens of Domino a little too leisurely?"

“I think it’s probably because yesterday was the free open day at the Seahorse Park, and a lot of people were tired from playing. It’s not like this has happened before; even I have had times when I was so tired from playing that I slept all morning on Sunday,” Saotome Rei guessed.

Upon hearing this, Asuka glanced at Rei Saotome and said, "She's still just a child."

"Huh? What are you pretending to be an adult for? Playing to your heart's content when it's time to play is a sign of maturity, isn't it?" Saotome Rei retorted. "It's better than having free time and money, buying a bunch of top-of-the-line equipment, only to find that you no longer have the energy to play games."

"That's hard to argue with." Asuka shrugged. "Then you should keep playing games. How about Jaden and I take you to the Kaiba Park in Domino City?"

"Never!"

Seeing the two about to start fighting at the slightest disagreement, Jaden smiled, but the smile quickly faded.

His estrangement from his friends after returning from the other world had its own reasons, because the one who brought about a series of calamities—Saiou, Yubel, and others—was none other than Jaden himself.

Because of his connection with the [Hero] series of cards, Edward's father was murdered after designing [D·hero], and Saiou was later chosen and possessed by the "Light of Destruction"; because of his past with Yubel, everyone in the academy recently experienced many hardships.

This made Jaden wonder if he should keep his distance from others. After all, it was his own power that had brought so much misfortune upon others...

In other words, he didn't have a chance to meet Hayato after returning to the real world. Otherwise, he would have really wanted to consult his teacher about this matter, to see how the strongest person in the world viewed the misfortunes and calamities that were attracted by his power.

However, although I didn't go to see Hayato-sensei, I might run into Yugi Muto, whom I haven't seen in a while, at the Kame-ki Card Shop on my next stop. Perhaps I can ask him about this item then.

As he walked around the street corner, the moment he saw the sign for Kameji Card Shop in the distance, Jaden's pupils contracted—he saw a person lying in front of the Card Shop.

That hairstyle... without a doubt!

It's Mr. Gamer!?