Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

However, I am no longer the same person I was back then. Although I was defeated in the same way—by having my lines broken through and my life points wiped out—my feelings and mindset are completely different now. More importantly, I am no longer the same person I was back then.

In the dueling environment of professional duelists, although the pressure is not small, Edward basically acts according to the divination and prophecy devised by his manager, Saiou, in every duel. When everything is expected in advance, he will not be surprised or at a loss for words due to sudden changes.

This certainly gives Edward a strange calmness and composure in every duel. Even when he loses a duel whose outcome was already known in the prophecy, Edward's expression only gives people the feeling that "all of this is in the plan." This has earned Edward, who comes from an ordinary background and even has an expired parent voucher like most superheroes, the affectionate nickname of "the noble prince of destiny" among his fans.

However! Precisely because everything was as expected, Edward, like the "seedling" in the story of "pulling up seedlings to help them grow," lost the resistance to "breaking out of the cocoon." Although his dueling skills still far surpassed those of his peers, it invisibly left many drawbacks for his dueling.

Over-reliance on [D·hero Blood Demon-D], over-reliance on effect damage, and over-reliance on prior information have exposed Edward's weaknesses in recent duels where he lost Saiou's assistance, causing him to fall into a disadvantageous position and even miss out on victory at one point.

However, he is different now than he was in the past! Unlike the Ed Phoenix of the past! The many duels he fought after arriving at the Duel Academy exposed Ed's flaws, and Ed, realizing his shortcomings, worked hard to change himself and make up for them in each duel.

He is called a genius in the dueling world, but being a genius alone is not enough to support him in fully developing his potential and becoming a strongman. Edward is not lacking in the ability to work hard.

Upon reflection, although it seemed rather frivolous, Ed found that this "wilderness survival" was indeed an extremely effective off-campus practice. The growth he experienced during this time, while not meteoric, was certainly significant. In just one week, the results were more effective than a year of intensive, closed-door training!

Not only that, but during this "Wilderness Survival" event, I successfully integrated the power that Saiou entrusted to me—[V·hero]—into my current deck. I even just resolved a long-standing inner conflict and suddenly felt much closer to the hearts of the [D·hero]s.

And all of this is thanks to Jaden's help.

Looking at Jaden, who was clamoring, "Can't I really wish for fried shrimp?", Edward smiled from the bottom of his heart and sincerely thanked him, "Thank you, Jaden."

"Huh? Why are you thanking me all of a sudden?" Caught off guard by Edward's sudden thanks, Jaden was a little confused, but he quickly came to his own conclusion with his extraordinary wisdom. "I see. Edward, you're thanking me because I gave you a super enjoyable duel with my 'strongest' [E·hero], right?"

"Hahaha, there's no need to thank me for that kind of thing. Isn't that what dueling is all about—a game that brings smiles to people's faces?"

"Although you defeated me, Jaden, I still firmly believe that [D·hero] is the strongest hero, and I still don't think that a duel can necessarily bring smiles." Edward seemed stubbornly unmoved as he spoke to Jaden. But after a pause, he continued, "However, at least for today, [E·hero] is temporarily superior to [D·hero], and I did get a smile from my duel with you, Jaden."

"If I only listened to what was said before, I would have thought you were as inflexible as a rock, Edward."

Upon hearing this, Edward shrugged: "I'm not some thirteen or fourteen-year-old kid. Besides, I think my loss this time is purely due to my own shortcomings. In other words, [D·hero] is still the strongest [Hero]!"

"Huh? Still being stubborn? Clearly, both my [N] and [M·hero] are better than Edward's [D·hero], which have effects that feel outdated."

"You're not allowed to say anything bad about my [D·hero]!"

"What's wrong with saying that the [D·hero] design your father created over so many years is outdated?"

That's slander!

"Is what you call slander just me telling the truth?"

The two looked like they were about to argue, walking closer and closer to each other after the duel ended. However, neither Kenzan, Manjoume, nor Hayato, nor anyone else present tried to stop them. Even those standing on the sidelines could see that although the two seemed to have irreconcilable differences, they had no intention of arguing at all.

Jaden and Edward, standing very close together, stared at each other as if playing a game where whoever blinks first loses. But in the end, they both couldn't hold back their expressions and started pointing at each other and laughing at the same time.

"You look so serious, Edward, you're so funny."

"How dare you say that to me? Do you have to compete to be the strongest? Are you a child?"

"It's definitely older than you, not Edward, who's thirteen or fourteen or fifteen, a first-year student."

"To win a duel with such a close call even though someone a year older than me? What a terrible senior."

After a pause, Edward smiled and extended his hand to Judai, saying, "However, I look forward to guiding you for the next two years, Judai-senpai?"

"What kind of address is that? It's so formal," Jaden muttered with disdain, not even bothering to shake Edward's hand. "Do friends really have to shake hands?"

“Friends?” Ed paused for a moment, then laughed. “It was indeed my mistake. How can friends shake hands?”

“If we’re going to introduce ourselves, shouldn’t I start?” Under Edward’s gaze, Jaden raised one fist and smiled at Edward, “My name is Jaden Yuki. My long-term goal is to become the Duel King, and my current goal is to make friends with all the students in the school.”

“A very ambitious long-term goal, but it suits you well.” Ed pointed to himself with his thumb. “Ed Phoenix, your goal is to become the strongest [Hero] user. Unfortunately, there is a conflict between our wishes, so don’t think you can easily escape the battle with me that will inevitably come again in the future, Jaden.”

"How could I possibly refuse something like that? But my [E·hero] and I will never lose!"

The two simultaneously extended their fists and brought them together, then bumped them together again. Edward, without any instruction, raised his right hand in unison and swung it towards the sky, shouting in unison, "What an interesting duel!"

"Yes, kids, the duel was so much fun." Hayato instructed Malik to save this scene from the surveillance camera and show it to the two of them when they grew up, showing them this scene of their chuunibyou (delusional) behavior. It would be best to show it in an environment with many onlookers, like a wedding. I'm sure they'll have some pretty delicious, embarrassed expressions then!

However, none of this had anything to do with him, Hayato Kobayashi. After all, the screenshots were done by the despicable and shameless international fugitive Malik, so what did it have to do with him, the glorious and righteous duelist, Hayato Kobayashi?

He even greeted Jaden and Edward with a smile: "It's really surprising. I originally expected it to take you almost a month to get here, but I didn't expect everyone to complete this 'Great Expedition' in just one week."

"You haven't given up on that inexplicable name yet, Hayato-sensei?" Manjoume couldn't help but complain. "Besides, I almost forgot about it. Before we started, they said there were only some 'small animals' on the island, but the actual situation is completely different from what you said, Hayato-sensei."

"Although I was mentally prepared that the activities organized by Hayato-sensei would not be easy for us, the situation was really different from what I expected. I almost got injured several times." Misawa couldn't help but talk about the dangers he encountered on the island. However, it seems that he is one of the few people who did not encounter "safety officers" and did not know that the dangers on the island were actually within a controllable range.

"I don't think I'm wrong, because you see, at least on my side, those materialized dueling monsters on the island are just 'small animals', aren't they?" Having experienced several battles to save the world, Hayato really couldn't feel any pressure from the cats, dogs, and birds on the island, not to mention that he had also found so many safety officers for the students.

"But you've gone through so much trouble to find this place, I'm sure you didn't come here to complain to me. Have you gained anything during this time?" Hayato asked with a smile as his gaze swept over the group. Noticing that Edward, Fubuki, and Jaden seemed to be deep in thought, Hayato nodded. "No answer is needed, because sometimes you yourselves don't even realize the changes in yourselves. I was just asking casually."

"After a long journey through mountains, rivers, and dense forests, you can enjoy your time in this villa. Take a bath, change your clothes, have a good meal, and get some sleep." Hayato paused, then looked at Asuka and Jaden. "As for your wishes, as I said before, you can bring them up to me until graduation. Take your time thinking about them."

"So I think fried shrimp is pretty good—" It's clear that Jaden really loves fried shrimp. Perhaps his favorite hero isn't the Flame Winged Man but the Fried Shrimp Man? However, Asuka rushed over immediately, covered Jaden's mouth to stop him from talking nonsense, and then subtly placed herself between Jaden and Edward, seemingly worried that the two of them might develop some forbidden feelings while playing cards.

An sworn enemy can only be a nemesis.jpg

At the invitation of Hayato's "half-dragon maids," Manjoume and the others entered the villa. After informing Koko of their respective dietary preferences, they each chose a room. After a week of "wilderness survival," no matter how careful they were, hygiene was still necessary, especially since Manjoume and his companions had recently been chased into the dense forest by Sera.

While not quite to the point of being ripped by branches and practically naked, there were still some tears and stains. However, Hayato wasn't so poor as to be unable to provide clothes. He prepared new clothes for everyone and then discarded all the old ones without washing or mending them. This allowed Ran, who hadn't been assigned any tools, to leisurely stroll around the villa. She even dragged the newcomer, the "Dressing Table Dragon Girl," along to show her around, acting quite like a senior.

Hayato, on the other hand, found a place to sit down and made a video call.

Several projection devices suddenly appeared from the ceiling. After they combined and worked together, a familiar face of a bald middle-aged man appeared in front of Hayato. Hayato raised his hand and greeted him, "Yo, long time no see, Mr. Samejima."

"It's only been a week, hasn't it?" Samejima Iemitsu, the vice principal of Duel Academy, sat at his desk and looked at Hayato on the screen. "You've already abandoned all school affairs and dragged the students off-campus since the start of the semester. I really envy your leisure, Hayato. But, you should do something productive once in a while."

"But aren't I doing something important right now? The students I've trained have made great progress recently. For Duel Academy, this can't be more important than anything else, right?" Hayato spread his hands. "Besides, aren't you the one handling the school's affairs? Duel Academy's two capitals and thirteen provinces are all on your shoulders."

"Am I some kind of weightlifting champion? And what's with this 'Beijing Province' thing at Duel Academy?" Samejima complained, scratching his forehead in exasperation, making one wonder if his hair had fallen out because of this habitual action. "Oh well, I already guessed it would be like this when you asked me to be the vice principal."

"However, there are some things I can't make decisions about. How are Youcheng and the others' extracurricular activities going? Do you have time to take care of them?"

"Principal Samejima, you can't make a decision either?" Hayato was somewhat surprised and directly addressed him as "Principal Samejima." Actually, there was nothing wrong with that. Although everyone would say that the principal of Duel Academy is Duel King Kobayashi Hayato, the files on Hayato's desk were used to fold paper airplanes or paper guns. The office software on his computer had never been opened since it was installed; his computer was basically just a game launcher.

All matters, big and small, in the school are handled by the subject teachers, dormitory supervisors, and deans of students according to the actual situation. In the end, they are all summarized by Samejima. Hayato will not interfere at all. This is his self-awareness as a "mascot". Therefore, in terms of actual power, Samejima is more like the principal. But when Hayato wants to do something, his power as the principal is still unlimited!

A file was sent by Samejima, projected as a small icon next to Samejima's face. Hayato then interacted with the seemingly untouchable projection, opening the file.

Chapter 1523 Acting Principal and Acting Vice Principal

"GeneX Tournament Duel Academy Edition?"

Samejima raised an eyebrow, looking at the two people in front of him with some surprise. "How did you come up with this idea, Chronos, Acting Vice Principal, and Coach Gene?"

"What do you think of this idea, Professor Chronos? If our Duel Academy were to hold such a competition on campus this year, it would be the perfect way to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the original GeneX tournament!"

After Hayato ran away, although he wasn't involved in anything anyway, he even skipped the opening ceremony speech. As a last resort, Samejima, the vice principal, had to temporarily step in as acting principal to deliver the speech. Professor Chronos was also temporarily appointed as acting vice principal to share the workload and prevent problems from arising in the school's operation.

After taking on the acting positions, both Chronos, the acting vice principal, and Samejima, the acting principal, were surprised to find that their work seemed no different from usual, and in fact, they were much more relaxed because Hayato was not around.

For this reason, Samejima even joked with Chronos that if he did a good job as acting principal during this period, he could simply drop the word "acting" and become the second vice principal. As the temporary principal, Samejima had enough power to make this decision, both before and after becoming acting principal.

Chronos took these words to heart. So, while he was still in office, he wanted to make some achievements. He put a plan on Samejima's desk and put it next to the plan. He temporarily put a "Acting Principal" sign next to the "Deputy" sign.

However, before Chronos, the "acting vice principal," could even begin his introduction, he was interrupted.

“It’s all thanks to my idea, Aru! It’s all thanks to me!” Beside Professor Chronos, in stark contrast to his tall and thin figure, was a short, chubby “new face” who was wearing the same formal attire for senior teachers as Professor Chronos.

Although he was described as a "new face," he was actually an old acquaintance of Chronos and Samejima—Gene Louis Bonaparte, the head instructor of the Duel Academy who joined the academy a year after Professor Chronos and whose status was similar to his.

However, he is better known to most people by his nickname "Napoleon Bonaparte," for many reasons. For example, the famous emperor from Corsica, Napoleon I, whose full name was Napoleon Bonaparte, is one of the sources of the saying "only dwarfs and women can save France." Jean-Louis Bonaparte was born in Bonaparte, France, and his height shows that he was of pure lineage.

However, Professor Chronos, who also came from a prestigious family—the Medici family of Florence—was not called "Professor Lorenzo," "Professor Ferdinando," or "Professor Cosimo" because of the famous figures in the Medici family's history. The main reason is that in the first GeneX tournament, Coach Gene also participated in the competition. Although he was unstoppable all the way, he suffered a "Waterloo" when he fought against the little-known alchemist Amneru—who is now the head of Osiris Red Dormitory, Hugo Daitokuji.

The person who first coined this nickname wasn't even Hayato, who had read the script and knew the other person's nickname, but rather a group of gamblers who had bet on Coach Gene in the off-the-ground betting games but had suffered heavy losses.

Although he only won the runner-up position in the first GeneX tournament, ranking above Kira Aoki, who was the third place winner that year and is now the head coach of the Sun God-Huang dormitory, he felt somewhat ashamed of his noble lineage because he did not become the champion. He felt that he was not worthy of entering the Duel Academy as a teacher with this identity.

—Afterwards, because the Duel Academy became famous, it was said that Napoleon's wife even had a falling out with him because of this incident, as he had voluntarily given up becoming a teacher, and they divorced.

However, in the second year, with the first year's "trial operation" yielding good results and Duel Academy flourishing all over the world, there was a natural need to expand the teaching staff. Coach Napoleon, who finally won the championship in the second GeneX tournament, joined Duel Academy and became a coach - a position second only to the principal and vice principal, basically on par with Professor Chronos, who served as the director of teaching.

As is well known, Gaul and Syracuse, these two neighboring countries, did have a brotherly relationship during the Carolingian Empire. However, after Gaul gained independence, it continued to expand into surrounding areas, seizing a considerable amount of Syracuse's territory, such as Nice and Corsica. Syracuse had long harbored resentment towards Gaul. In addition, the two countries had different positions on international policies, overlapping and fierce competition in the economic field, and most importantly, Victoria, the notorious troublemaker in northern Europe, was always trying to "balance" the situation on the continent. Ultimately, this led to a tense and complex relationship between Syracuse and Gaul.

Furthermore, although the famous Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica, a territory of Syracuse that had been occupied by Gaul, his family, the Bonaparte, had previously been the lords of Florence and Livorno in Syracuse. Even more remarkably, Napoleon's middle name before adulthood, "Napoleon de Bonaparte," shared the same "De" as Professor Chronos's.

Theoretically, Professor Chronos's Medici family could even be traced back to the Bonaparte family, to which Napoleon belonged. But even brothers can fight over interests, let alone Professor Chronos and Napoleon, who were of similar status and thus felt like "two tigers cannot share one mountain."

Upon hearing Napoleon shamelessly claim all the credit, Professor Chronos retorted without hesitation: "You really have the style of a Gallic barbarian! How dare you say it was your idea all by yourself? It was clearly my idea, wasn't it!"

"I was the one who thought of the GeneX competition being its fifth anniversary this year!"

"But I thought about how we could hold a campus version of the GeneX competition at school!"

"How could you have thought of this without me starting, huh?"

"The important one is not the one who proposes it, but the one who implements it!"

"A tall building without a foundation doesn't exist, aru!"

Watching the two in front of him bickering with their quirky language, one saying "Na-no-ne" and the other "A-ru," Samejima helplessly rubbed his forehead. Although he was a nice guy and held a higher position than Professor Chronos and Coach Napoleon, he couldn't muster any real authority or prestige, and he was at a loss with the two of them.

"Don't get so excited yet, I haven't said that this plan will be approved."

Upon hearing Samejima's words, Coach Napoleon pointed at Professor Chronos without hesitation and said, "Principal Samejima, you heard it too. This was all Professor Chronos's idea, Aru."

"You betrayed us too quickly, didn't you? Just like your ancestor Napoleon's father, you were born a brilliant Gaul." Professor Chronos mocked, though it sounded like he wasn't saying anything, but Napoleon's father, Carlo Bonaparte, was an extremely famous anti-Gaul fighter.

However, he is famous not for his efforts to protect Corsica from Gallic invasion and occupation alongside the resistance fighters, but for his refusal to be exiled with the resistance fighters after the Corsican army was suppressed. Instead, he declared that he would pledge allegiance to Louis XV, the King of Gaul at the time.

"He discovered that incorporating Gaul would bring enormous benefits, and thus he became an excellent Gaul." This was even the assessment of his father by Joseph Bonaparte, Carlo Bonaparte's son and Napoleon's brother. His swiftness in colluding with the enemy, the thoroughness of abandoning resistance, and the ease of surrendering were extremely rare even in Gaulish history.

Despite Professor Chronos's sharp verbal attack, Coach Napoleon remained unfazed: "Even if you attack me personally, it's useless, aru. Duel Academy isn't a place where background matters; what matters is individual ability."

"And if we have to say something, the dark side of the Bonaparte family's character also stems from the Syracuse's treachery, aru."

"Those vulgar nouveau riche from Corsica really dare to say such things, huh?"

"This is a quote from one of the authors of 'Napoleon's Biography,' you know~"

Just before the two were about to start another conflict, Samejima quickly interrupted them, otherwise they probably would have spent the whole day arguing about each other's family history, personal flaws, and many other points that could be used to attack each other.

"So, Acting Vice Principal Chronos, have you considered the students' willingness to participate in the activities?"

"That's right, that's right. Teachers can't just think about their own ideas and ignore the students' ideas, aru. Wouldn't it completely damage the reputation of the GeneX competition if no one participated in this suddenly organized event, aru?"

Seeing that Coach Napoleon was using Principal Samejima's question to intimidate him, Professor Chronos glared at him unhappily, but still looked at Samejima seriously and said, "It would indeed be shameful if no one participated in the activities, but I think our students would never do such a thing. This is my professional judgment based on my understanding of the students, as the highest-ranking person in charge of practical combat and the Dean of Studies since the establishment of the Duel Academy, and now the acting Vice Principal."

"As long as everything goes according to plan."

Upon hearing Professor Chronos's words, Samejima continued reading the plan in front of him and quickly understood what Professor Chronos meant: "Inviting the world's strongest fighters, including professional duelists, to the island for an island-wide, unrestricted duel?"

“Esattamente così (Exactly). For duelists, becoming stronger is more instinctive than breathing, and to be able to duel with so many strong opponents while still in school—this kind of competition is the best reward in itself, na no ne.” After a pause, Professor Chronos added with a touch of regret, “If only I had thought of such a wonderful method earlier, na no ne, our school’s graduates would probably be even more outstanding, right?”

“Speaking of graduates, previous graduates are indeed within the scope of the invitation plan,” Samejima said, looking at the plan in his hand. However, when it comes to “previous graduates,” only Marufuji Ryo, who just graduated this year, was directly listed in the attached list. It’s not that there’s no need to invite other students, but Professor Chronos is extremely proud of nurturing such an excellent duelist as Caesar, so much so that it’s hard not to think of him when mentioning past students.