Though they intended to return to the Upper City first, the two girls ultimately didn’t get their wish.
Not long after they left that street, people from the Duelist Association found them.
They detected the lingering aura of a dark duel in the area, so they quickly dispatched personnel to investigate the situation.
However, they didn’t expect to find two young girls there.
Upon seeing the Duelist Association members, the two girls didn’t hide anything and recounted what had happened to each of them.
Of course, it was the version that concealed Yide.
But heard that way, the story became even more sensational.
Finally, Tivia produced the [Lifedrain Shadow]. After confirming that the card indeed retained a strong shadow energy, the Duelist Association investigators believed their words.
However, when they heard Tivia say that there was a manipulator behind the dark duelists, the investigators’ expressions became extremely serious.
The Duelist Association would not interfere with private disputes.
But if someone was colluding with dark duelists, they would absolutely not let them off easily.
Soon, the residents of Ringworld City discovered that the atmosphere had been somewhat off recently.
Gris’s defeat led to chaos in Zone Six.
In the Upper City, when Tivia’s father heard about this, he was furious and jointly investigated with the Duelist Association.
In both the Upper and Lower Cities, undercurrents began to surge.
The nobles of the Upper City, who learned what had happened that night, couldn’t help but turn their attention to the two girls.
Tivia had stayed home for several days after experiencing the dark duel that night, seemingly not allowed to go out.
As for the center of another vortex, Sonia Seth…
“Hello, I’d like two petrified cockatrice egg tarts, two pairs of white feather wyvern grilled wings, and two cokes!”
Sonia stood in front of the young lady at the counter, making a big “V” sign.
“Okay, Miss Sonia, you are a duelist from our [Throne of Heaven Duel Arena]. As of the end of last month, your rank was two hundred thirty-two, so this month you have a free spending limit of five hundred. This order does not require payment. Enjoy your meal.”
Yide: “This world, besides the titles and travel methods resembling the Middle Ages, really is leaning towards modern times in every other aspect.”
He had wanted to complain about this since the Loveland period.
“Mr. Yide, you’re saying things I don’t understand again.”
Sonia took the receipt and sat down at a table, then waved happily at a figure she saw outside.
“Tivia, over here!”
The red-haired girl pounced forward upon seeing Sonia waving, hugging Sonia and vigorously rubbing her small head.
“Mmm, absorbing Sonia’s energy.”
“Haha, Tivia, stop it.”
Her hair was messy, but Sonia wasn’t angry; instead, she lifted her head, letting Tivia rub her more comfortably.
After rubbing enough, Tivia bent down again, looking at the Millennium Puzzle directly, and greeted it.
“Yide, long time no see.”
Yide: “Long time no see.”
After exchanging greetings, the two girls sat down.
Looking at the egg tarts and spicy wings placed in front of Sonia, Tivia couldn’t help but sigh.
“I really envy you, Sonia. You can still run around so freely these past few days.”
“Unlike me, after I went back, Father and Mother were furious and directly grounded me.”
“Pat, Tivia.”
Sonia stood up, leaned forward, and gently patted Tivia’s head.
“Alright, don’t be sad. I just ordered two portions of everything; we’ll each have one later.”
“Waaah, Sonia, you really are an angel.”
After comforting Tivia, Sonia sat down again, finally getting to the point.
“Alright, Tivia, what did you want to see me about?”
“Hehe, of course it’s… this!”
Tivia pulled a card from her pocket.
“This is… [Fusion]?”
Seeing the familiar vortex on the card art, Sonia couldn’t help but show a surprised expression.
Even Yide was a little surprised.
“This is a tradable card of [Fusion]?”
“Didn’t expect that, did you?”
Seeing that the surprise she prepared was successful, Tivia smiled.
“This card was voluntarily surrendered by Gris. That guy threw everything away just to survive.”
“You and Yide defeated him, so this tradable card is naturally your spoils of war. The Association has no objections either, so feel free to accept it.”
“Thank you, Tivia!”
Sonia knew that Tivia already had [Fusion], so she didn’t refuse again.
She also knew that to get this card, Tivia must have put in effort.
If her good friend hadn’t spoken up, the Association wouldn’t have proposed giving [Fusion] to her out of nowhere.
“Hehe, don’t thank me yet; there’s another surprise waiting for you.”
Tivia cleared her throat twice, then her tone became serious: “Student Sonia Seth, may I ask, Sonia, are you still interested in returning to the academy?”
“Can I?”
Sonia’s eyes widened: “But, isn’t the representative of the Ixion family…”
Tivia chuckled: “Oh, her? She won’t be able to bother with you for now…”
…
As the two girls discussed the topic.
Duel Academy, a quiet garden.
Five figures exuding an aura of high status sat around a small round table, enjoying afternoon tea, while a man in a black uniform silently poured tea nearby.
Four of the figures appeared quite familiar with each other, while one gentle woman with long white hair seemed a bit out of place, as if still unfamiliar with the surroundings.
“I never imagined Miss Andrea would come all the way from the distant Kingdom of Sissel to visit Ringworld City, and even choose our Duel Academy as her base.” The man with a monocle initiated a conversation.
The white-haired woman, called Andrea, smiled faintly: “After all, I used to be a teacher at our kingdom’s Royal Duel Academy, and coming to a new place, I wanted to see what students from other academies were like.”
“From what I’ve seen, your academy’s students are excellent.”
The monocle-wearing man humbly replied, “You flatter us. Your sister is the true genius; her reputation echoes even in a frontier land like ours.”
“Compared to her, our students are nothing.”
Andrea simply smiled without saying much.
“Speaking of which, the representative from the Ixion family hasn’t been seen these past few days. Has she encountered some trouble?”
“No… there’s no need to worry about her. She just has some family matters to attend to.” The monocle-wearing man’s expression was a little unnatural.
Suddenly, an old voice interjected.
“She’s merely paying for her mistakes.” The old gentleman with a handlebar mustache suddenly appeared in the garden.
“Regunas?” The man in black stopped the old principal, frowning at the old man he had defeated just a few days ago.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ve only come to ask you to revoke a mistaken resolution.” After speaking, the old principal bowed to the white-haired woman: “My apologies, Miss Andrea, for disrupting your lovely afternoon tea.”
“It’s fine, Mr. Regunas, please proceed.” Andrea didn’t say much, instead watching the scene before her with curiosity.
Seeing that Andrea had said it was fine, the monocle-wearing man couldn’t dismiss the old principal anymore and reluctantly asked with a frown, “What ‘mistaken resolution’ are you referring to?”
“I’m referring, of course, to the decision to prohibit Sonia Seth from enrolling.”
“Sonia Seth? Are you talking about the one that Ixion woman proposed to expel?”
“Precisely.” The old principal leaned on his cane: “That resolution was proposed by Edna Ixion purely out of personal grievances.”
“Now Sonia Seth has defeated a C-rank duelist, proving that losing her would be a loss to the academy, so that mistaken resolution must be revoked!”
“Impossible!” The sole remaining woman among the four shook her head: “Even if it’s wrong, a resolution is a resolution; there’s no reason to change it.”
“Otherwise, where would the dignity of our five great families stand?”
“The dignity of the five great families has already been disgraced because of the Ixion incident, hasn’t it?” The old principal stroked his beard and uttered these words.
“You!…” The monocle-wearing man glared angrily but couldn’t utter a word.
The old principal shook his head: “Colluding with dark duelists—even if it’s likely to remain unresolved due to lack of evidence in the end, public opinion never relies solely on evidence.”
“What needs to be done now is not how to maintain, but how to compensate.”
The four members of the school board fell silent. The scene settled into a subtle atmosphere.
Suddenly, Andrea spoke: “Excuse me, I have a question.”
“The Sonia Seth you’re talking about, is she the black-haired girl who created the ‘Flash’ term?”
The old principal was a bit surprised: “Have you met her, Miss Andrea?”
“Yes,” Andrea nodded, “She’s a wonderful child. When I saw her that day, she had just registered the ‘Flash’ term and twelve effects with the Duelist Association.”
“Twelve effects??” The old principal and the school board members were stunned.
Another update?
“Looking at her age and attire, I thought she was a student of your academy. She isn’t?”
The old principal regained his composure and shook his head: “I apologize, due to some reasons, she is no longer one.”
Hearing the old principal’s words, the four school board members couldn’t help but subtly look away.
Andrea didn’t pay attention to their reactions: “Hmm… Although I don’t understand what happened, if that little girl was a student of your academy before, I suggest your academy reinstates her student status.”
“After all, competition fosters growth. Mr. Regunas said that little girl has already defeated a C-rank duelist. Such a strong opponent can also inspire a competitive spirit in other students, right?”
The monocle-wearing man was startled. Hearing Andrea say this, he suddenly realized another fact.
Competitive spirit was secondary.
A C-rank duelist was already the standard for an excellent graduate.
This meant that even if Sonia Seth stood still from now on, she would still have the potential to defeat excellent graduates three years from now!
If students who studied diligently at the academy for three years were still inferior to a wild girl who grew up in the Lower City, then their current school board representatives would definitely be nailed to the pillar of shame!
Recruit!
She must be recruited!
The monocle-wearing man stood up: “I propose we revoke the previous resolution and reinstate Sonia Seth’s student status!”
The man in black looked anxious: “But, sir, if we’re to vote, Ms. Edna isn’t here right now…”
“It’s fine, we’re just revoking the original resolution. Those who agree simply raise their hands.” After he finished speaking, all four raised their hands simultaneously.
Everyone’s expression was calm, as if they had expected this.
The monocle-wearing man turned his head: “Alright, her attitude is not important now.”
The man in black: ??
“What are you standing around for?” Seeing the man in black still standing there, the monocle-wearing man frowned: “Hurry up and convey our decision to the academic affairs office.”
“Haha, I’ll go instead.” Having achieved his wish, the old principal stroked his beard, laughed twice, and turned to leave.
This way, he had fulfilled his promise.
Soon, students throughout the academy heard a new piece of news.
Sonia Seth, this time, was really coming back!