Reading settings
Chapter 768: It's Your Fault for Annoying Me
Squatting in the corner of the Room, Mana, who had blurted out her embarrassing outburst without checking if anyone was in the Room, covered her face with her hands: "Waaah, I can't show my face anymore!"
Saying something like that was already very embarrassing for Mana, but to say it in front of five people besides the Prince made her feel so much shame that she wished she could just die right there.
Beside Mana, Joey sighed helplessly and complained, "See? You only have yourself to blame. You should have checked the Room before speaking—"
"I don't care! It's your fault for embarrassing me!"
It took both Téa and Yugi comforting her to get the agitated Mana to lower the Staff she was waving and calm down a little.
After calming down slightly, only then did Mana belatedly realize something: "Huh? Speaking of which, who are you all? I've never seen you in the Royal Palace before, and how did you end up in the Prince's Room?"
"We were wondering the same thing. Why can't anyone else see us, but this young girl who looks so much like **Dark Magician Girl** can?" Tristan said, looking pleadingly towards Hayato, who had arrived in the Memory World earlier than them.
Hayato pointed to Mana's eyes, which were still under the effect of the Magic she had cast earlier, and said, "It's probably because of this Magic. Also, I should explain that Mana's Teacher is Priest Mahad, but Mahad sacrificed himself in the struggle against Bakura and has now transformed into the Millennium Stone Spirit **Dark Magician**."
"Huh? **Dark Magician**! Besides methods like Diabolo's, can humans actually turn into Card Spirits?!" Joey said, somewhat surprised. However, his ability to accept things was quite good, and he even realized something. "So, **Dark Magician Girl** is her?!"
"Hmph, I have my own name, you suspicious-looking blondie. My name is Mana," Mana snorted lightly, looking at Joey with dissatisfaction.
Joey just laughed carelessly and said to Mana, "My name is Katsuya Jounouchi, and that idiotic-looking guy over there is Tristan Taylor, and—"
"Just introduce yourself, and don't add your adjectives before my name, you suspicious, idiotic-looking blondie Joey!"
Honda reached out and clamped Joey's head with his arm, trying to crush his pal's head with his biceps.
Téa ignored their bickering and smiled gently at Mana: "Hello, Mana, my name is Téa Mazaki. Although Joey and Tristan might look strange, we are actually all Yugi—all the Pharaoh's friends."
"Hmm? Is that really true? I don't quite believe it."
Mana was only a little distant towards Joey and Tristan, as it was their first meeting, but she was full of hostility towards Téa. "Mana has been by the Prince's side since she was a child. Your lies, you woman who just secretly touched the Prince's face, can't fool me at all!"
'No, your reaction clearly isn't disbelief in Téa's words, you're simply just jealous, aren't you?' Tristan and Joey's inner thoughts were surprisingly synchronized as they muttered to themselves.
Mana continued, "Not only that, but there's also this person!"
As she spoke, Mana's finger swept past Hayato and pointed directly at the weak, pitiful, and helpless Yugi: "This guy actually has the same face as the Prince! It's too strange, he even copied the Prince's hairstyle!"
Unlike the original plot progression where Dark Yugi was missing and Mana mistook Yugi for the Pharaoh at first sight, Dark Yugi was currently lying peacefully on the hospital bed. Even if Mana couldn't distinguish the difference in appearance between Yugi and Dark Yugi, she wouldn't mistake Yugi for the Pharaoh again.
Seeing how stubborn Mana was, Hayato leaned into Yugi's ear and whispered a couple of sentences to him. Yugi was startled by this and looked at Hayato, saying, "Huh? If I say that, will Mana really believe it?"
Seeing Hayato nod, Yugi looked at Mana with some uncertainty. Mana, who was constantly watching Yugi's actions, naturally noticed the communication between Hayato and Yugi just now and snorted with her arms crossed in a tsundere manner: "Hmph, Mana is very smart. Even counting within ten doesn't trouble me. Don't think you can deceive me with just a few words."
Yugi sighed, saying helplessly, "Mana, on your Spellbook, you wrote—"
"S-shut up!" Yugi had barely opened his mouth and said a couple of words when he heard Mana suddenly blushed and quickly interrupted him, "M-my Spellbook has nothing on it at all! Don't say anything more!"
"I-I believe you are the Prince's friends!"
Yugi looked back at Hayato, who was giving him a thumbs-up, and sighed speechlessly. Due to the viewing angle during the Duel and the fact that Yugi was the only one who had collected the **Dark Magician Girl** Card before entering the Memory World, he was arguably the sole person who could see what was written inside the *Magic Spellbook* when **Dark Magician Girl** equipped it and spread it open.
Combining the fact that **Dark Magician** was Priest Mahad from three thousand years ago, and **Dark Magician Girl** was the disciple of **Dark Magician**, this also corresponded to Mana being the disciple of Priest Mahad. Yugi felt that some things related to **Dark Magician Girl** that appeared during the Duel might actually be Mana's true experiences from three thousand years ago, and the content on the *Magic Spellbook* might also be true.
Hayato had just told Yugi to say something only he knew about **Dark Magician Girl**. With the idea of giving it a try, Yugi planned to reveal the content of the *Magic Spellbook* that made **Dark Magician Girl** blush for half a day every time she looked at it. As a result, he hadn't even activated the skill yet, and Mana had already revealed it herself.
And Mana had no choice but to believe Yugi's words. After all, although her Spellbook was a copy of Master Mahad's Spellbook and recorded the same Magic, Mana had secretly used the unused blank pages of the Spellbook to write a diary. In her opinion, a Spellbook that only her Mystical Power could open was simply the most suitable item for writing a diary.
Up until now, only three people had seen her Spellbook: Master Mahad, the Prince, and Mana herself.
Because she would show her diary to the Prince, Mana didn't really write her innermost thoughts in the diary. After all, what you write down isn't really your innermost thoughts, and besides, proper people don't keep diaries. But the diary actually contained quite a bit of text that made Mana extremely embarrassed.
It wasn't anything inappropriate for children; actually, what was written in Mana's diary were all chuunibyou quotes she came up with when she was around middle school age, such as "Death is like the wind, always by my side," or "I bloom in slaughter, like a flower in the dawn."
When she showed these words to the Prince and Master Mahad, Mana didn't feel anything, but if others knew, Mana felt like the mere possibility of it made her so awkward she could dig a Pyramid into the ground with her toes.
Damn it, the Prince actually told others something he swore he would never tell! So annoying! I'm definitely not going to talk to him next, at least for a day!
Dark Yugi, lying unconscious on the hospital bed, was completely unaware that he had been unfairly blamed for something he didn't do. However, if he knew he was taking the blame for Yugi, he probably wouldn't mind, perhaps.
Mana's arrival was a minor interlude, but after confirming that Mana could still see Yugi and the others' existence, just like in the plot he knew, Hayato also breathed a sigh of relief and said to the others, "Since Mana can see your existence, Yugi, I can somewhat put my mind at ease about the Pharaoh's safety. We can depart for Necrovalley now."
Yugi was a little strange: "Why do you say that? Hayato, are you worried that Bakura might sneak into the Royal Palace again to attack The Other Me?"
Because Hayato had previously explained what happened before Yugi and the others came to the Memory World, Yugi also knew about the series of incidents that had occurred recently.
"As for Bakura, he probably won't come back to the Royal Palace to cause trouble anytime soon. Repeatedly plotting without getting any reward, his patience is probably worn thin. No matter how foolish he is, he should change the direction of his strategy and implement more profitable plans with a higher chance of success."
Hayato shook his head, paused, and then said, "Yugi, what do you feel about the Priest who came to visit the Pharaoh earlier, the one Mana mentioned?"
"The Priest? The one named Aknadin?" Hearing Hayato's words, although he didn't understand why Hayato suddenly brought up That Person, Yugi thought for a moment and answered, "My feeling about That Person is that although he looks like a good person at first glance, I always feel like he's hiding something deep down. He's a very deep-minded person."
"Me too, me too! For some reason, That Person just looks super annoying," Joey chimed in, but was met with a retort from Tristan, "I think you just can't stand him because he has a Millennium Eye like Pegasus."
"Even if that's the case."
Unable to use his "memory" as evidence, Hayato could only guide Yugi and the others to raise their guard against Aknadin. He nodded and said, "To be honest, I have the same feeling. Although all the information I've obtained in this era suggests that Priest Aknadin is a very kind and benevolent Priest, and many people inside and outside the Royal Palace greatly trust and admire him."
"However, a certain hair gel user once said that admiration is the furthest feeling from understanding. Aknadin has never revealed what kind of desire he has in his heart. The more perfect his outward appearance, the more dangerous I feel he is."
Looking at Dark Yugi on the bed, Hayato said solemnly, "Although there's no evidence, I suspect that Aknadin is very likely hiding an unknown conspiracy in the dark, and may even be detrimental to the Pharaoh. Just in case, you few, Yugi, who cannot be seen by anyone, have become the last barrier protecting him."
"Although others cannot see you, you also cannot interact with others at the same time. However, with Mana's existence, the situation is different again."
Hayato said, walking towards the outside of the Room, "After I confirm the safety of the two Priests who went out, I will return as soon as possible. I'll leave things to you, Yugi, during this time."
Hearing this, Yugi nodded: "Okay, if anyone wants to hurt The Other Me, they'll have to step over me first."
"As long as Lord Joey is here, no one can hurt The Other Yugi," Joey also said confidently, pointing to himself.
As Duelists, although they couldn't bring their Duel Disks into the Memory World and couldn't use them at full power even if they had due to the different rules of the world, even in the Memory World, they both had the ability to wield Spirit Power. However, like Hayato, there was a certain restriction and they couldn't use it too much.
With the two of them guarding, plus Mana's existence, and Seto keeping him occupied, even if Aknadin wanted to make a move on the unconscious Dark Yugi, it would be impossible to succeed.
The core of this Memory World's existence is Dark Yugi himself. If the Pharaoh were killed, everything would end. Without worries, Hayato said goodbye to Yugi and the others and went to the Open Space outside the Medical Ward.
As he left the Medical Ward, Hayato also passed by the Room where Seto, Kisara, and Priest Shada were. Similarly suffering from excessive use of Spirit Power, Shada seemed much weaker; he was still in Slumber until Hayato left, completely useless for anything.
As for Seto, Hayato initially thought about informing him of his departure, but when he glimpsed Seto, that pervert, taking advantage of Kisara being asleep to sneakily touch her face and cheek, Hayato decisively chose not to disturb him.
If he were to suddenly appear and let Seto know that his appearance had been exposed, Hayato speculated based on Kaiba's personality that Seto might shout things like "Crush! Shatter! Great Applause!" and chase after him.
His consciousness withdrew, and Hayato felt two perspectives appear before his eyes simultaneously: one was the Open Space of the Medical Ward before him, and the other was the "Player" perspective overlooking the Chessboard. And the two Hayatos made synchronized movements, simultaneously taking a transparent bottle into their hands.
The stopper was pulled out of the bottle with the wording "Golden Wind" printed on it. Immediately, an updraft suddenly rose around Hayato, and with Hayato's will, it quickly locked onto a direction and changed its direction of travel.
Locking onto the direction of Necrovalley, which he had confirmed from the map earlier, Hayato rode the golden airflow and transformed into Radiance, disappearing from the spot. But just as the Radiance was moving forward, a figure with a frustrated face walked out from the door of the Medical Ward.
"Hmph, this ancient building is so confusingly built, making me waste so much time finding my way. That guy who looked a lot like me should have come this way, right?" Kaiba Seto walked leisurely around the Corner, only to see a beam of golden light rushing straight towards his face.
"Bang!"
With a muffled sound, Kaiba was knocked unconscious by the Light, which was like a physical form, and disappeared from the spot along with the Gale around the Light.
A thousand miles away in the next moment, two figures suddenly appeared in mid-air.
(End of Chapter)
Squatting in the corner of the Room, Mana, who had blurted out her embarrassing outburst without checking if anyone was in the Room, covered her face with her hands: "Waaah, I can't show my face anymore!"
Saying something like that was already very embarrassing for Mana, but to say it in front of five people besides the Prince made her feel so much shame that she wished she could just die right there.
Beside Mana, Joey sighed helplessly and complained, "See? You only have yourself to blame. You should have checked the Room before speaking—"
"I don't care! It's your fault for embarrassing me!"
It took both Téa and Yugi comforting her to get the agitated Mana to lower the Staff she was waving and calm down a little.
After calming down slightly, only then did Mana belatedly realize something: "Huh? Speaking of which, who are you all? I've never seen you in the Royal Palace before, and how did you end up in the Prince's Room?"
"We were wondering the same thing. Why can't anyone else see us, but this young girl who looks so much like **Dark Magician Girl** can?" Tristan said, looking pleadingly towards Hayato, who had arrived in the Memory World earlier than them.
Hayato pointed to Mana's eyes, which were still under the effect of the Magic she had cast earlier, and said, "It's probably because of this Magic. Also, I should explain that Mana's Teacher is Priest Mahad, but Mahad sacrificed himself in the struggle against Bakura and has now transformed into the Millennium Stone Spirit **Dark Magician**."
"Huh? **Dark Magician**! Besides methods like Diabolo's, can humans actually turn into Card Spirits?!" Joey said, somewhat surprised. However, his ability to accept things was quite good, and he even realized something. "So, **Dark Magician Girl** is her?!"
"Hmph, I have my own name, you suspicious-looking blondie. My name is Mana," Mana snorted lightly, looking at Joey with dissatisfaction.
Joey just laughed carelessly and said to Mana, "My name is Katsuya Jounouchi, and that idiotic-looking guy over there is Tristan Taylor, and—"
"Just introduce yourself, and don't add your adjectives before my name, you suspicious, idiotic-looking blondie Joey!"
Honda reached out and clamped Joey's head with his arm, trying to crush his pal's head with his biceps.
Téa ignored their bickering and smiled gently at Mana: "Hello, Mana, my name is Téa Mazaki. Although Joey and Tristan might look strange, we are actually all Yugi—all the Pharaoh's friends."
"Hmm? Is that really true? I don't quite believe it."
Mana was only a little distant towards Joey and Tristan, as it was their first meeting, but she was full of hostility towards Téa. "Mana has been by the Prince's side since she was a child. Your lies, you woman who just secretly touched the Prince's face, can't fool me at all!"
'No, your reaction clearly isn't disbelief in Téa's words, you're simply just jealous, aren't you?' Tristan and Joey's inner thoughts were surprisingly synchronized as they muttered to themselves.
Mana continued, "Not only that, but there's also this person!"
As she spoke, Mana's finger swept past Hayato and pointed directly at the weak, pitiful, and helpless Yugi: "This guy actually has the same face as the Prince! It's too strange, he even copied the Prince's hairstyle!"
Unlike the original plot progression where Dark Yugi was missing and Mana mistook Yugi for the Pharaoh at first sight, Dark Yugi was currently lying peacefully on the hospital bed. Even if Mana couldn't distinguish the difference in appearance between Yugi and Dark Yugi, she wouldn't mistake Yugi for the Pharaoh again.
Seeing how stubborn Mana was, Hayato leaned into Yugi's ear and whispered a couple of sentences to him. Yugi was startled by this and looked at Hayato, saying, "Huh? If I say that, will Mana really believe it?"
Seeing Hayato nod, Yugi looked at Mana with some uncertainty. Mana, who was constantly watching Yugi's actions, naturally noticed the communication between Hayato and Yugi just now and snorted with her arms crossed in a tsundere manner: "Hmph, Mana is very smart. Even counting within ten doesn't trouble me. Don't think you can deceive me with just a few words."
Yugi sighed, saying helplessly, "Mana, on your Spellbook, you wrote—"
"S-shut up!" Yugi had barely opened his mouth and said a couple of words when he heard Mana suddenly blushed and quickly interrupted him, "M-my Spellbook has nothing on it at all! Don't say anything more!"
"I-I believe you are the Prince's friends!"
Yugi looked back at Hayato, who was giving him a thumbs-up, and sighed speechlessly. Due to the viewing angle during the Duel and the fact that Yugi was the only one who had collected the **Dark Magician Girl** Card before entering the Memory World, he was arguably the sole person who could see what was written inside the *Magic Spellbook* when **Dark Magician Girl** equipped it and spread it open.
Combining the fact that **Dark Magician** was Priest Mahad from three thousand years ago, and **Dark Magician Girl** was the disciple of **Dark Magician**, this also corresponded to Mana being the disciple of Priest Mahad. Yugi felt that some things related to **Dark Magician Girl** that appeared during the Duel might actually be Mana's true experiences from three thousand years ago, and the content on the *Magic Spellbook* might also be true.
Hayato had just told Yugi to say something only he knew about **Dark Magician Girl**. With the idea of giving it a try, Yugi planned to reveal the content of the *Magic Spellbook* that made **Dark Magician Girl** blush for half a day every time she looked at it. As a result, he hadn't even activated the skill yet, and Mana had already revealed it herself.
And Mana had no choice but to believe Yugi's words. After all, although her Spellbook was a copy of Master Mahad's Spellbook and recorded the same Magic, Mana had secretly used the unused blank pages of the Spellbook to write a diary. In her opinion, a Spellbook that only her Mystical Power could open was simply the most suitable item for writing a diary.
Up until now, only three people had seen her Spellbook: Master Mahad, the Prince, and Mana herself.
Because she would show her diary to the Prince, Mana didn't really write her innermost thoughts in the diary. After all, what you write down isn't really your innermost thoughts, and besides, proper people don't keep diaries. But the diary actually contained quite a bit of text that made Mana extremely embarrassed.
It wasn't anything inappropriate for children; actually, what was written in Mana's diary were all chuunibyou quotes she came up with when she was around middle school age, such as "Death is like the wind, always by my side," or "I bloom in slaughter, like a flower in the dawn."
When she showed these words to the Prince and Master Mahad, Mana didn't feel anything, but if others knew, Mana felt like the mere possibility of it made her so awkward she could dig a Pyramid into the ground with her toes.
Damn it, the Prince actually told others something he swore he would never tell! So annoying! I'm definitely not going to talk to him next, at least for a day!
Dark Yugi, lying unconscious on the hospital bed, was completely unaware that he had been unfairly blamed for something he didn't do. However, if he knew he was taking the blame for Yugi, he probably wouldn't mind, perhaps.
Mana's arrival was a minor interlude, but after confirming that Mana could still see Yugi and the others' existence, just like in the plot he knew, Hayato also breathed a sigh of relief and said to the others, "Since Mana can see your existence, Yugi, I can somewhat put my mind at ease about the Pharaoh's safety. We can depart for Necrovalley now."
Yugi was a little strange: "Why do you say that? Hayato, are you worried that Bakura might sneak into the Royal Palace again to attack The Other Me?"
Because Hayato had previously explained what happened before Yugi and the others came to the Memory World, Yugi also knew about the series of incidents that had occurred recently.
"As for Bakura, he probably won't come back to the Royal Palace to cause trouble anytime soon. Repeatedly plotting without getting any reward, his patience is probably worn thin. No matter how foolish he is, he should change the direction of his strategy and implement more profitable plans with a higher chance of success."
Hayato shook his head, paused, and then said, "Yugi, what do you feel about the Priest who came to visit the Pharaoh earlier, the one Mana mentioned?"
"The Priest? The one named Aknadin?" Hearing Hayato's words, although he didn't understand why Hayato suddenly brought up That Person, Yugi thought for a moment and answered, "My feeling about That Person is that although he looks like a good person at first glance, I always feel like he's hiding something deep down. He's a very deep-minded person."
"Me too, me too! For some reason, That Person just looks super annoying," Joey chimed in, but was met with a retort from Tristan, "I think you just can't stand him because he has a Millennium Eye like Pegasus."
"Even if that's the case."
Unable to use his "memory" as evidence, Hayato could only guide Yugi and the others to raise their guard against Aknadin. He nodded and said, "To be honest, I have the same feeling. Although all the information I've obtained in this era suggests that Priest Aknadin is a very kind and benevolent Priest, and many people inside and outside the Royal Palace greatly trust and admire him."
"However, a certain hair gel user once said that admiration is the furthest feeling from understanding. Aknadin has never revealed what kind of desire he has in his heart. The more perfect his outward appearance, the more dangerous I feel he is."
Looking at Dark Yugi on the bed, Hayato said solemnly, "Although there's no evidence, I suspect that Aknadin is very likely hiding an unknown conspiracy in the dark, and may even be detrimental to the Pharaoh. Just in case, you few, Yugi, who cannot be seen by anyone, have become the last barrier protecting him."
"Although others cannot see you, you also cannot interact with others at the same time. However, with Mana's existence, the situation is different again."
Hayato said, walking towards the outside of the Room, "After I confirm the safety of the two Priests who went out, I will return as soon as possible. I'll leave things to you, Yugi, during this time."
Hearing this, Yugi nodded: "Okay, if anyone wants to hurt The Other Me, they'll have to step over me first."
"As long as Lord Joey is here, no one can hurt The Other Yugi," Joey also said confidently, pointing to himself.
As Duelists, although they couldn't bring their Duel Disks into the Memory World and couldn't use them at full power even if they had due to the different rules of the world, even in the Memory World, they both had the ability to wield Spirit Power. However, like Hayato, there was a certain restriction and they couldn't use it too much.
With the two of them guarding, plus Mana's existence, and Seto keeping him occupied, even if Aknadin wanted to make a move on the unconscious Dark Yugi, it would be impossible to succeed.
The core of this Memory World's existence is Dark Yugi himself. If the Pharaoh were killed, everything would end. Without worries, Hayato said goodbye to Yugi and the others and went to the Open Space outside the Medical Ward.
As he left the Medical Ward, Hayato also passed by the Room where Seto, Kisara, and Priest Shada were. Similarly suffering from excessive use of Spirit Power, Shada seemed much weaker; he was still in Slumber until Hayato left, completely useless for anything.
As for Seto, Hayato initially thought about informing him of his departure, but when he glimpsed Seto, that pervert, taking advantage of Kisara being asleep to sneakily touch her face and cheek, Hayato decisively chose not to disturb him.
If he were to suddenly appear and let Seto know that his appearance had been exposed, Hayato speculated based on Kaiba's personality that Seto might shout things like "Crush! Shatter! Great Applause!" and chase after him.
His consciousness withdrew, and Hayato felt two perspectives appear before his eyes simultaneously: one was the Open Space of the Medical Ward before him, and the other was the "Player" perspective overlooking the Chessboard. And the two Hayatos made synchronized movements, simultaneously taking a transparent bottle into their hands.
The stopper was pulled out of the bottle with the wording "Golden Wind" printed on it. Immediately, an updraft suddenly rose around Hayato, and with Hayato's will, it quickly locked onto a direction and changed its direction of travel.
Locking onto the direction of Necrovalley, which he had confirmed from the map earlier, Hayato rode the golden airflow and transformed into Radiance, disappearing from the spot. But just as the Radiance was moving forward, a figure with a frustrated face walked out from the door of the Medical Ward.
"Hmph, this ancient building is so confusingly built, making me waste so much time finding my way. That guy who looked a lot like me should have come this way, right?" Kaiba Seto walked leisurely around the Corner, only to see a beam of golden light rushing straight towards his face.
"Bang!"
With a muffled sound, Kaiba was knocked unconscious by the Light, which was like a physical form, and disappeared from the spot along with the Gale around the Light.
A thousand miles away in the next moment, two figures suddenly appeared in mid-air.
(End of Chapter)
