Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

While on the phone with Hayato, Kaiba seemed to be busy with something, occasionally calling out to his ever-present go-to helper, Isono, asking him to do something.

“Why is it impossible? He’s clearly a Celt, but he’s not red-haired. Instead, he’s blond-haired, like the Saxons who invaded back then. King Arthur’s race could be questionable, so why can’t his gender be questionable?” Hayato argued, hearing Kaiba’s words. “Maybe Merlin, the legendary sorcerer of King Arthur, cast some kind of magic spell on King Arthur to confuse others’ perception of his gender.”

"The drive shaft isn't cold-resistant enough. Have someone send over some aerospace-grade titanium alloy!" Although he sounded busy, he was actually just giving orders to Isono while he sat in front of the computer controlling the robotic arm to create his new invention. He said impatiently to Hayato, "Stop talking to me with all that nonsense. It's the 21st century already. Can't you guys just believe in science for once?"

"I don't have time to talk to you about this boring stuff."

Beside Kaiba, who was in charge of overall control, Keihei, also sitting in front of a computer, was easily typing with one hand while taking a sip of a hot cup of cocoa in the other. Hearing Kaiba's words, he smiled and said, "Even though you say you're impatient, you've never actually hung up on Hayato-nii on your own, have you? So cute~"

"Huh? There seems to be a problem with the data retrieval here? Hmm, it should be changed to this architecture." Seeing Kaiba looking at him, Keihei, though not afraid of what his brother might do to him, still turned back to look at the computer screen to protect his childish pride.

"So, what do you want by calling so early in the morning?"

Because the UK is in the 0 time zone and Japan is in the East 9 time zone, the time difference between the two places is nine hours. After returning to his luxury room from the hotel bar, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was 7 p.m., which meant that it was about 4 a.m. in Domino City.

For a moment, Hayato didn't know which one to complain about first. What was Kaiba up so early doing, inventing things? What was he up to? Wasn't Keipai afraid of not growing tall if he got up so early? And Iso was here too. Even if he was paid overtime, it was still too much work for him.

"I just wanted to ask, how are your preparations for the Duel Academy going?"

Although in Japan, the school term is divided into two periods: the first period from April to September and the second period from October to March, Kaiba did not intend to continue using this timeline for the newly built Duel Academy. After all, the island where the Duel Academy is located is not in Japan but in the Indian Ocean. The final decision was to start the Duel Academy in May.

The first semester is the spring/summer semester, which runs from May to October. This five-month period includes the summer vacation from early July to late August. The second semester is the autumn/winter semester, which runs from November to April of the following year. This period includes two long holidays: the New Year holiday from late December to early January and the winter vacation from late February to late March.

It's April now, and it seems like it won't be long before the Duel Academy opens and the first batch of students begin their studies. Hayato, who no longer needs to attend school, feels a little excited at the thought of seeing people suffer.

"The first cohort will have 80 students enrolled, which is only one-third the number of students in a typical high school, but that's enough. After all, this is only the first cohort. I can understand why the parents of those students don't want their children to attend a vocational school where the future is uncertain."

Despite being only 17 years old, Kaiba spoke with an air of maturity, though his imposing manner made it impossible to notice that he was actually a minor. "Furthermore, the Duel Academy, located on a remote island, does not adopt the class system of public high schools, but rather a 'dormitory' system."

"The highest-ranking dormitory, Obelisk Blue, will receive the best treatment in terms of food, clothing, and accommodation. Next is the Sun God Yellow dormitory, which will be slightly inferior to the Blue dormitory. Finally, there is the Osiris Red dormitory, which is the lowest-ranking in terms of dormitory, food, and even the supply of free supplies."

"Only such class differences can inspire students' competitiveness and ambition, and motivate them to strive to become better."

Although Kaiba's words sounded like a survival-of-the-fittest mentality, Hayato agreed with his idea. After all, it was better to let students adapt to society before graduation than to let them realize its harsh realities upon entering the workforce. Moreover, although it resembled a class system, Kaiba's "dormitory system" wasn't the typical pyramid-shaped hierarchy.

In that kind of class system, the positions of those in power are limited, and if you want to climb up, you need to drag others down to lower positions. But Duel Academy is different. Kaiba has never limited the number of people in each dormitory. If they are all bad students, they will all go to Osiris Red. But if they are all good students, it doesn't matter if they all go to Obelisk Blue.

Over the past few months, with the assistance of Shadow Maru and Anasis, the Kaiba Group has already completed the academy's infrastructure construction on that island. The completed school alone can accommodate more than a thousand people, not to mention the slightly less comfortable students like Sun God Yellow and Osiris Red, who have to share rooms with others instead of single dormitories.

However, Hayato still complained, "Why is Obelisk the highest-ranking one? Ra is clearly the strongest of the three Egyptian God cards. Kaiba, are you abusing your power?"

"Hmph, if it weren't for your and Keipi's strong opposition, I would have named Duel Academy 'Kaiba Academy'. Besides, it's just a name, who would care about such a boring thing as you do?" Kaiba refused to admit that he did have the idea of ​​stepping on Hayato and Yugi's heads when it came to the dormitory's name.

If I can't beat them at cards, can't I just fund the construction of a school and make myself happy with the name?

"If you don't care, then change 'Sun God Yellow' to the one with the best treatment?" Hayato smiled and asked again. "Students are fine with me. What I care about is the teaching staff. After all, Duel Academy is a school, and education is its primary focus."

"Compared to the students' problems, the teachers' problems are minor, because any problem that can be solved with insignificant money isn't a problem for me," Kaiba said. Hayato vaguely heard Keipai's voice next to Kaiba saying, "Because it's not you who's making money, it's me!" It must have been his imagination, hmm.

“Because of the previous GeneX tournament, Duel Academy has recruited a number of qualified teachers. Although some of them are only good at dueling and not good at teaching, after a month of intensive training, they are more than enough to teach students in their teens.” Kaiba said, then paused. “As for the position of principal of Duel Academy, I invited Samejima Iemitsu, the Electro-style instructor you recommended, and he agreed to come to Duel Academy.”

Hayato didn't notice that although Kaiba said Samejima had agreed to come to the Duel Academy, he hadn't specified what position Kaiba had invited Samejima. He continued listening to Kaiba. On the other end of the phone, Kaiba also had a calculating expression on his face.

"However, because of the dormitory system at Duel Academy, my plan is to assign a dormitory head teacher to each dormitory, similar to the class teacher system."

"Osiris Red and Apollo Yellow have already been chosen as dormitory heads: the third-place winner and the champion of the adult division of the GeneX tournament. Despite being the champion, he chose to be the dormitory head of the relatively inconspicuous Apollo Yellow. That guy named Aoki has a really strange personality. However, the guy named Gene Louis Bonaparte, who came in second place, declined to become a teacher at the Duel Academy, so the position of dormitory head for Obelisk Blue is currently vacant."

“I’m thinking about whether to try selecting one of the teachers who have already been hired to take the position.”

“That’s why I called, Seto~” Hayato said with a smile, “I’ve met someone who’s perfect for the position, absolutely capable of being the dormitory head of Obelisk Blue.”

Chapter 1017 The Monastery

Although he didn't confirm Chronos's abilities in person, Kaiba seemed to trust Hayato's judgment and agreed to let Chronos join the Duel Academy as a teacher, and if he was capable enough, he could become Obelisk Blue's dormitory head teacher.

The night passed quickly, and when Hayato woke up the next morning, he found that the rain had finally stopped after falling all night, but a hazy mist still shrouded the land.

It seems that even outside of London, the "Foggy City," one can't completely escape the fog as long as they're still in England. Hayato thought to himself, sitting in the hotel restaurant, looking out the window. Because it was a deluxe room, the hotel offered a full English breakfast, nominally complimentary, but the price was already included in the room rate.

Although British cuisine is notorious worldwide for being unpalatable and bizarre, the English breakfast is an exception. Many family-run hotels in Britain advertise "Bed & Breakfast," meaning they offer a bed and breakfast. Some hotels even advertise "complete English breakfast," meaning you can have an English breakfast even in the afternoon.

Unlike the simple combination of bread and coffee in a continental breakfast, the "English breakfast," famous for its rich variety of dishes, has long transcended the original meaning of "breakfast" and represents a part of the unique British lifestyle on a broader level.

Of course, Hayato himself doesn't have a deep understanding of Britain. The above-mentioned useful but only slightly useful bits and pieces of miscellaneous knowledge mainly came from the hotel staff's introduction. If it were some nouveau riche who likes British culture, they might be happy to listen to the introduction, but unfortunately, neither Hayato nor Chronos is interested in these things.

Although an English breakfast offers more than eight main dishes, more than four types of bread, cereal and other side dishes, as well as drinks such as fruit juice, milk, coffee and English breakfast tea, which can fill a large plate, Chronos, being an Italian, is used to simple breakfasts and can't eat that much. He only ordered two croissants and a cup of espresso.

Hayato is the other extreme. He's the type who frantically presses "Skip" to skip the story while playing games. He doesn't know who he is or what he's supposed to do, but he just goes on a killing spree against enemies whose health bars are showing. He doesn't care about British culture; as long as he's full, he doesn't care about all that nonsense.

Chronos was slightly surprised to see that Hayato could actually eat so much, because in his first impression, people from the Far East were the type to have small appetites and eat little. However, considering Hayato's muscular physique, it seemed normal, or even considered small, that he could eat so much.

After Hayato finished breakfast, the sky over Chronos, which he thought would remain overcast all day, suddenly cleared up. The light mist had been dispelled by the warm sunshine, and the rain that had fallen the night before was evaporating under the sunlight. Instead of feeling stuffy, it was a pleasantly warm and refreshing atmosphere.

"It's like feeling great on the first day of the new year wearing brand new underwear," is the metaphor Hayato used. Although it sounds a bit strange, Chronos thinks it's quite fitting.

Glastonbury Abbey was surprisingly close to Magdalene Street Station, where Hayato and Chronos had arrived the day before. It took them less than six or seven minutes to walk there from their hotel. Unlike the conspicuous entrances to tourist attractions that Hayato remembered, the entrance to Glastonbury Abbey looked quite ordinary, almost blending into the houses and shops on both sides. It was even less noticeable than the sign of a café called "Excalibur" not far away.

Upon entering the monastery, one finds the ticket office, next to a shop selling souvenirs. Hayato considered whether to buy some souvenirs to give to Isis and Yugi, but he decided to wait until after leaving the monastery. For now, he would buy tickets to enter the monastery.

As Chronos previously explained, this is not a large tourist attraction with a limited number of visitors. You can enter simply by buying a ticket. Adult tickets cost seven pounds each, and for an additional seven pounds you can also buy a rather thick booklet detailing the monastery. Although it sounds like a good deal, neither Chronos nor Hayato needed it.

"Good morning, ma'am. Could you please give me two adult tickets? Thank you."

At the ticket window, Chronos spoke to the ticket seller, but before he could hand over the money, Hayato interrupted him, "No, one adult ticket is enough, and then one student ticket. Here is my ID."

Under Chronos's surprised and even somewhat shocked gaze, Hayato took out an ID card that clearly stated that he had just turned 18 this year, even though his birthday had already passed. Although he was not studying in the UK, before coming to the UK, Hayato had already done a little trick to get a student certificate that qualified him to buy student tickets, so he could enjoy a discounted price—although it was only one pound cheaper than an adult ticket, one pound is still money.

"Mommy, are you only 18 years old?!"

Seeing Chronos's frightened expression, Hayato asked, somewhat puzzled, "Hmm? What else? Mr. Chronos, how old do you think I am?"

"With your height, you could easily pass for thirty on the street and people would believe you." Chronos rubbed his temples. "I must have been out of my mind by that cup of coffee this morning that wasn't even real. You're eighteen?"

"I could walk right after I was born, and by four I was as tall as a ten-year-old. I'm still like this now at eighteen." Hayato shrugged helplessly, realizing he couldn't control his own height. "I do think my morning coffee is acceptable, at least it's better than an Americano, right?"

“That’s true. Americano is basically just water soaked in socks. Only those Americans would like to drink it.” Chronos nodded, affirming Hayato’s statement, and temporarily skipped the topic of Hayato’s age.

Judging from Hayato's height and mature demeanor, Chronos assumed that Hayato was at least in his twenties, if not thirties. Who knew he was only eighteen? In Italy, eighteen is considered adulthood.

After passing through the ticket gate, the first thing Hayato and Chronos saw was the Church of Our Lady of the Monastery. According to Chronos, the monastery was destroyed by a fire more than 800 years ago. During the reconstruction after the fire, the monks discovered a huge oak tree five meters underground. Inside the hollowed-out oak tree were two skeletons, and on the oak tree was a lead cross inscribed with "King Arthur rests on the island of Avalon".

The two skeletons, one male and one female, were found. The man had several wounds on his head, while the woman had beautiful golden hair that shimmered so brightly that a monk reached out to touch it, only to turn to ashes the moment he was touched. Based on various pieces of evidence, it is highly likely that the two skeletons are King Arthur and his queen, Guinevere.

The remains were later moved to the south wing of the monastery's main hall. The last relocation occurred in 1278, witnessed by King Edward I and his queen as the skeleton was wrapped in expensive cloth and placed in a black marble coffin. Then, in 1539, during Henry VIII's movement to dissolve the monastery, it was destroyed, and the coffin's whereabouts became unknown. This Church of Our Lady is the best-preserved part of Glastonbury Abbey; even Hayato can still clearly see the intricate and beautiful carvings on the church's arches.

It sounds like a story fabricated by the local tourist attraction to promote itself and sell more tickets, and even comes up with a rather ingenious reason at the end of the story to destroy evidence? After all, in this monastery that was burned to the ground and left only ruins, there is no way to leave any evidence, so they can make up any story they want.

Hayato initially thought so when Chronos, who had previously learned about Glastonbury Abbey, explained the legends surrounding it. However, he quickly realized that it might not be just a story. As Hayato and Chronos walked through the Church of Our Lady and approached the ruins of the former abbey's main building, an unusual aura emanated from Hayato's backpack. However, apart from Hayato, even Chronos, who was standing not far in front of him, did not notice anything amiss.

What Hayato carried in his backpack was none other than the Mold Gold Shawl he had brought from the British Museum. After all, Hayato couldn't possibly leave it in the tavern, so he naturally kept it with him. He also left the Rainbow Kuriboh Pokémon in his backpack for her to look after, since she could glow.

"Kuri kuri~" came the voice of [Rainbow Kuriboh] from his backpack. Kuriboh's language is level nine, which is higher than level ten in the game, so Hayato naturally understood what [Rainbow Kuriboh] meant. She was saying that the golden cape was currently glowing, but because it was in the bag, it couldn't be seen from the outside for the time being, which confirmed Hayato's guess.

"Ah, we've finally arrived. The place just ahead is where the monks unearthed the remains of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. That's where I came to England, no way." Seemingly because he was approaching the main attraction of the scenic area, Chronos looked quite expectant and excited, not noticing that Hayato had grown a little distance behind him.

Hayato saw Chronos quicken his pace and was about to catch up when, in the instant he took a step, the scene before him changed as if the world were spinning.

Glastonbury Abbey, which was just a ruin a moment ago, has completely disappeared, and the surrounding area has become a vast open field. There is no trace of any man-made objects in sight. Even the stone path that Hayato was walking on has disappeared, leaving only lush green grass.

Looking further ahead, Hayato could see in the distance where the ruins of the original monastery's main hall once stood, with a figure standing with his back to him.

"Are you the one who has intruded into Avalon, the unknown king from another land?" As if sensing Hayato's gaze, the figure turned his head to look at Hayato, revealing his profile, and spoke to him.

“Avalon? I have no idea where this is, and I don’t know anything about kings from other lands. I’m just a duelist passing by.” Hayato took out his Duel Disk from his backpack, put it on, and looked at the man in front of him warily. “Rather than saying I broke in, I was brought here by some unknown reason.”

"Strange? But I sensed a familiar aura from your package." As the man spoke, he turned around completely and pointed to the backpack Hayato had put down on the ground. Hayato could clearly see the man's handsome face. Although it should have been the first time he had seen this man, Hayato felt as if he had seen that face somewhere before, but it was probably just his imagination.

Hayato glanced at his backpack, watching as Rainbow Kuriboh peeked out. She looked at the man in the distance and shook her head, indicating she didn't recognize him. Hayato's backpack didn't contain much; besides the Duel Disk he'd already taken out, Rainbow Kuriboh (who didn't recognize the man), there was only the golden cape. He couldn't very well say that the familiar aura came from the wallet and umbrella in Hayato's backpack, could he?

"Is that so? It seems you're not willing to cooperate with me?" The man frowned, but then relaxed, regaining his calm expression as he continued, "I understand. It is indeed impolite not to introduce ourselves before negotiating. My name is Artoris, and I am a knight. You don't need to worry that I will take that familiar item from your bag; that would not be in the character of a knight."

"I just want to find out exactly what opened the gates of Avalon and brought you here from another world, that's all."

Upon hearing the self-proclaimed knight, Atolis, announce his name, Hayato became even more wary and said, "The knight who calls himself Atolis? Are you trying to tell me that you are actually King Arthur, who didn't die back then, and now needs to raise funds to rebuild the army, drive the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons from this land, and restore the glory of the Celts, so do you need me to give you 50?"

"No, I didn't say anything like that." Atolis thought that he had made himself clear and should be able to negotiate with the person in front of him, but how did this guy's thoughts jump to such a strange place, and he couldn't understand what he was saying at all. "My purpose is just to confirm with you what exactly is in your package."

"Huh? Who would show their clothes to some random guy who just appears out of nowhere? It's like asking a woman to show her underwear to someone she just bumped into on the street."

Hayato's completely uncooperative attitude made Atolis a little annoyed. He tried to communicate in Hayato's way: "In that case, just open that package a little bit towards me, like a lady lifting her skirt. You don't need to open it completely or hand it to me."

“I refuse, because I, Dan Rito, love to say no to self-righteous people!” Even though he didn’t know the situation, Hayato still remembered to use a pseudonym. “Besides, if we’re going to cooperate, why can’t it be you cooperating with me? I hate it when other people order me around.”

"And also—"

"Go! [Dragon Art Technique - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = DRA]!"

Chapter 1018 Disappearance

Does Hayato not understand the current situation at all? Not really, after all, he has read all kinds of stories, and the knight who calls himself "Atoris" had mentioned "Avalon" before.

Although there is no concrete evidence, he guessed that he might have encountered what is called "divine disappearance," that is, a sudden spatial transfer into another space different from the normal world.

There was precedent for this. Hayato clearly remembered that during a future Duel Academy expedition, Jaden Yuki and his incompetent teammates encountered a "disappearance" and stumbled into the ruins of a "Grave Guardian" clan. These "Grave Guardians" weren't the same as Isis or Shady's "Grave Guardian Clan," but rather the spirits of Duel Monsters called "Grave Guardians."

This is one of the pieces of evidence that this is an alternate dimension similar to the [Gravekeeper] clan's territory. In the alternate dimension that Jaden and his friends experienced, any card Pokémon that has awakened, even if its own abilities are insufficient, will materialize under the power of the alternate dimension. Even if the user does not yet have the ability to see Pokémon, they can still see their own Pokémon. Hayato just saw that [Rainbow Kuriboh] was in a materialized state.

Referring to this "precedent" from the future, Hayato tentatively guesses that the "Artorias" in front of him might also be a spirit living in a small otherworld like the [Gravekeeper] clan. However, there is more than one card in Duel Monsters based on King Arthur, and Hayato does not know which "Artorias" in front of him is.

If it's [Paladin - Artorias], then Hayato doesn't feel there's anything to be afraid of. He also remembered where he had seen Artorias's face before. There was a [Paladin - Artorias] in his earliest collection of ordinary cards. A mere ordinary card with 1800 attack and defense is nothing to be afraid of.

However, if it's the advanced form of [Holy Knight King] or [Divine Knight King], or [Marvel Hero - King Arthur] and its advanced form [Chaos Xyz - Marvel Hero - Legendary Arthur], or [Hero Champion - Broken Steel Sword King], although it feels like the opponent has wandered into the wrong show and appeared too early, it's still manageable to handle them.

But if it's a upgraded version of [Hero Champion - Steelbreaker King], or the infamous [No. 86 - Hero Champion - Destroyer Gun King], Hayato feels it's better for him to run away early. When playing cards, you can use "Monster All Resistance, not Duelist All Resistance" to circumvent the situation, but now that the opponent's spirit is personally fighting, how do you circumvent that?

However, based on Hayato's observation, the knight who called himself "Atoris" was wielding a two-handed sword instead of a spear, and he also appeared to be human without wearing exaggerated armor. The latter two possibilities are not high, but it is not impossible that he might suddenly conjure up a set of armor after entering the battle, like the fake O Rider, and his weapon might also transform into a spear by shouting "Bankai".

While pretending not to understand the situation and confusing Atolis, Hayato secretly placed his Pokémon cards in the Duel Disk for easy draw. While the conversation distracted Atolis, Hayato summoned his Pokémon to strike first!

It was the same "precedent" from the future. Back then, the attitude of the [Gravekeepers] towards the unwitting outsiders who wandered in could not be described as hatred to the bone, but rather as a desire to kill them as soon as possible. They captured Yuki Judai's teammates who had wandered in and used them as human sacrifices, intending to kill them. If this hadn't been a world of card players, and if Yuki Judai hadn't been so good at cards, that whole group of students would probably have died in the alternate dimension.

Even though the Tenth Generation defeated the leading Elder of the Graveyard, they were still nearly killed. This was because not only the Elder of the Graveyard, but almost all the members of the Graveyard Guardians in that alternate dimension treated outsiders with utter contempt and hostility. Even when the Elder of the Graveyard tried to stop them, he could not control the members of the Graveyard Guardians.

Therefore, although the knight who called himself "Atoris" was friendly, Hayato still did not let his guard down, because he could not be sure whether there were other beings besides Atoris in this alternate dimension that might be "Avalon", or whether Atoris's attitude represented the attitude of other beings.

After all, as everyone knows, "Avalon" is a famous "scenic spot" that has been used to death in many games and movies. In addition to "Apple Island" and "Blessed Island", it is also known as "Fairyland". Although Hayato has only seen Atolis so far, who knows if he will throw his sword as a signal to call for people and summon eight hundred fairy axemen in the blink of an eye.

However, considering that "Artorius" is very likely to be King Arthur, Hayato felt that even if he did not have an absolute leadership position in "Avalon", he should at least have a certain special status. As long as he was taken hostage, he might be able to "use 'Arthur' to command the fairies".

As long as there aren't any traitors like those who think, "A demon born between heaven and earth cannot remain subservient to humans for long," I can rest easy.

As Hayato shouted the name "[Ryugi Takumi - Tenryu Ryusei = DRA]", a star dragon with a mechanical body emerged from Hayato's body—

When Atolis heard Hayato suddenly shout something like "[Ryugi Takumi]", he also abruptly drew the sword he had been leaning on from the ground, ready for a possible surprise attack. However, a gentle breeze blew across the empty plain where Hayato and the two of them were, and apart from the grass swaying in the wind, there was no sound.