SWNOVELXO Chapter 55: DSMW [55]
"Pharaoh-san... are you leaving?"
"If I interfere too much, the Spirit Continent—already unbalanced between light and darkness—will only spiral into greater chaos."
"Miles, Yuna... dueling you tonight has given me the confidence to entrust this continent's future to you."
The Pharaoh's semi-transparent body, wrapped in light, was beginning to fade. As a spirit from another world, it was clear he couldn't remain here for long.
Being suddenly entrusted with the future... While Aisha seemed her usual carefree self, Miles felt the weight on his shoulders grow significantly heavier.
He'd thought his goal after reincarnating here was simple: help Aisha grow stronger, graduate, restore the Carlos family through dueling, then use noble connections to forge a new body—and eventually become Duel King of the continent.
A nice, easy, well-planned second life.
...Until tonight that a main quest suddenly dropped straight out of a nightmare:
—Don't let the Millennium Items fall into the hands of evildoers.
Which basically meant he had to collect the Millennium Items himself—and fight their wielders.
Not that every Item wielder was necessarily evil... but the one holding the Millennium Ring was obviously bad news. The "Cult Leader" Megan and others mentioned was almost certainly the true owner of the Millennium Ring.
"Dueling Item wielders... yeah, this won't be simple," Miles muttered. "If you'd just left the three God Cards behind, Pharaoh, this would've been a lot easier."
"Heh. It's not time yet."
Even Miles's grumbling in soul form didn't escape the Pharaoh's ears.
"When the dark demon god awakens, the light of the Gods will come to your side as well. That is my promise to you."
"Promise... Wait—what's the 'dark demon god'?!"
...
This time, even when asked directly, the Pharaoh gave no answer.
With his final promise made, the last fragments of light scattered, and the Pharaoh vanished before Miles and Aisha.
"He's gone, Miles-san."
"Seriously... For a king, he's surprisingly selfish. Shows up out of nowhere, then dumps a massive headache on us before leaving."
"But... Pharaoh-san really is a good person, isn't he?"
Looking at the four cards in her hand, it was clear. A Duelist strong enough to summon a God was, surprisingly... so gentle.
"That kindness... It's kind of like you, Miles-san."
"Like me?"
"Yeah."
Finally able to leave the academy's rear mountain, Aisha slipped past dorm supervisor Lily—thanks to Irene waiting to cover for her—and made it back to her room after curfew.
"Alright, the duel's over, the problem's solved. Now spill it."
Sitting in front of Aisha, Irene's serious expression was exactly like a parent scolding a kid for sneaking out.
"Ren-chan... I'm soooo tired..."
Putting on her cutest face, Aisha tried to dodge the interrogation. And honestly, it wasn't a lie—after the longest night of her life, she'd never felt this exhausted.
"Nope. Cute mode denied. Dodging questions, double denied!"
Irene crossed her arms into a giant X in front of her.
"I'm not the only one who saw it. Half the academy did. Fess up, Aisha."
She meant, of course, the duel against the God on the rear mountain.
The instant Slifer the Sky Dragon appeared, it was inevitable—this was going to shake the entire Fusion Academy.
"Zzz... huhuhu... zzz..."
"She... fell asleep sitting up?!"
The flood of exhaustion overwhelmed Aisha the moment her body relaxed. Her head bobbed like a chick pecking rice before finally slumping forward—fast asleep right on the bench.
"Not fair, Aisha. Only you... only you know everything! I want to—"
"Then let me explain, Ren."
"You're... Miles?!"
Soul Swap. Miles had tested it before—when Aisha was asleep, her mind was most defenseless.
At times like this, as long as he wished, it was easy to swap souls and operate Aisha's body.
He could even do... unspeakable things in her bed, and she'd never notice.
Of course, Miles would never do that.
Out of respect for his host—and their original promise to only swap for dueling—he had never once used her body while she was asleep.
But after the battle tonight... something felt different. Their bond had undeniably deepened.
So this time, using her sleeping body just to explain things to Irene... didn't feel like crossing a line.
After some consideration, Miles chose to explain what happened with the Pharaoh—while carefully omitting the dangerous topic of the Millennium Items.
Even with parts left out, tonight's story left Irene absolutely stunned.
There was no doubt—adorable Irene was the perfect listener.
With every sentence Miles spoke, her wide, ruby eyes filled with shock and wonder—never the same reaction twice.
It made Miles talk even more enthusiastically. He even used Aisha's hands to gesture wildly, describing just how insanely overwhelming it was when Slifer appeared.
"Ugh! So close!"
Hearing how Slifer tanked through [Goddess of Sweet Revenge]'s effect, Irene tilted her head, her face scrunching into a hilariously frustrated expression.
"You and Aisha were this close to beating the Pharaoh! But that cheating Slifer... totally unfair!"
"Haha, yeah, that's pretty much how it went."
With a listener like Irene, Miles felt immensely satisfied—like telling war stories with a friend.
That long-forgotten joy of bragging, embellishing, and storytelling... made him unexpectedly nostalgic.
"That's all?"
Not ready for it to end, Irene blinked her big red eyes, leaning forward like she wanted to know more.
"That's pretty much everything. After the duel ended, we came straight back."
"Hmm... I see."
Subtly, she reached across the table and grabbed Aisha's hand—or rather, Miles's hand in Aisha's body—clasping it tightly.
"I'm jealous."
It felt familiar yet slightly different... Irene couldn't tell if it was just her imagination.
Aisha's hands were always cold—summer or winter.
But when Miles was controlling her body... they felt just a little bit warmer.
"Jealous?"
"Jealous that Aisha got to duel alongside you, Miles. And you sent me home first!"
"Ah, sorry, Ren. I was just being cautious."
Puffing her cheeks in fake annoyance, Irene pretended to sulk.
...Only to last about five seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Pfft—hahaha! Just kidding! You really are serious about certain things, huh, Miles? You big dummy~"
Just kidding.
'What I'm jealous of... wasn't that at all.'
...
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