The moment Tidris threw her arms around him, Simon felt like a python had coiled around his arm.

Then came a bang. A huge force yanked him sideways and slammed him into the counter.

Tidris jumped at her own overreaction. Her hands tightened instinctively, and the pain twisted Simon’s face.

“C-Can you let go of my hand...?”

Simon looked like he was struggling for dear life. He’d even forgotten to be polite.

This girl... was she some kind of wild super-strength monster?!

“Ah, sorry, sorry!” Snapping back to her senses, Tidris hurriedly let go.

The moment he was free, Simon finally gave in to the pain and started hissing breaths through his teeth. His palm was already squeezed bright red.

He really hadn’t expected his first time having a girl touch his hand to feel like this.

So the stuff people said online in his past life about getting shy really was a lie.

The instant Tidris grabbed him, he didn’t feel even a trace of embarrassment. What he did feel was the terror of imminent death, like prey about to be devoured.

“Your grip is... seriously powerful, miss.” Simon shook his hand with a pained expression.

At that, Tidelys showed a shy smile.

“Hehe... maybe it’s because I eat a lot.”

Then she added, “Manager, you should make sure to eat well too. Your body is too weak... I mean, too skinny.”

Simon: ...

You were about to say weakling, weren’t you?

After taking a moment to recover, Simon finally stopped being distracted by the pain and began to organize his thoughts.

“Miss...”

Tidris cut in, “Manager, just call me Tidris.”

“Alright, Tidris. First, I want to ask roughly how much your budget is.”

“Um, one thousand... two hundred.” Her voice grew smaller and smaller.

“Hiss...” Simon fell into thought again.

That number was poorer than he’d imagined.

“Is it... too little...? Sorry for bothering you!”

Tidris’s eyes turned watery. When she looked like she was about to cry, she resembled a little animal.

She was just about to turn and leave when Simon called out to stop her.

“Wait!”

Forget it. He’d just treat this like poverty relief.

“One thousand two hundred gold, plus one year of unpaid work in my shop. Can you accept that?”

“Yes, yes!” Tidris nodded frantically.

“And one more thing. After you win the duel tomorrow, you have to advertise for me. I’ll tell you the slogan in a bit.”

Tidris had already turned into a nodding machine.

“Good. Then let’s talk about how to help you win.”

Simon drew a card from the card case behind him and pressed it face-down onto the counter.

He didn’t flip it over right away. Instead, he looked straight into Tidris’s eyes and met her gaze.

“Tidris, there’s something I need to make clear first.”

“Even if your deck includes my card, your chances of winning are still very slim.”

“You have too many problems. You lack confidence, your deck itself is too weak, and time is short...”

“...I understand.” Tidris’s voice fell.

“But,” Simon said, changing tone, “if you can imprint this card and use it at the right moment, then you can seize that one sliver of hope.”

Only then did he finally flip the card over.

On the card was a man with a bizarre expression, staring straight ahead while making a strange hand gesture with his right hand.

“What is this, a counter... spell?”

Tidris leaned forward slightly and slowly read out the card’s name while staring at it.

...

The next day, at the academy’s duel arena.

The morning sunlight was gentle and warm. Since the academy was built near the outskirts of the Royal Capital, flocks of birds could be seen from time to time, diving low before shooting back into the sky.

The area around the duel arena was already packed with students. Besides the first-years here for the practical exam, quite a few upperclassmen had gathered too, just to watch the fun.

Because today, the first first-year student to be expelled for failing the practical exam would be decided.

The graduation rate at the Royal Duel Academy wasn’t high to begin with. But students who failed to graduate normally were usually the ones who became crippled, went missing, or died while exploring The Labyrinth.

Getting expelled because of a practical exam? That was something you only saw once in several years.

None of them believed Tidelys could win. After all, card duels still followed basic logic. A B-rank card was a dimensionality gap against a first-year.

“Little Ti, are you really okay?”

At one side of the arena, a girl with black hair and red eyes, with an older-sister kind of vibe, looked at Tidelys with concern.

Tidelys acted like she hadn’t heard her. She’d been in this dazed state since morning.

“Little Ti, Little Ti!”

The black-haired girl called louder and louder, until she finally snapped Tidelys awake.

“Ah! Nana, it’s you. What’s wrong?”

Tidelys shook her head, trying to fling the mush out of her brain.

Wuwuwu... the manager had crammed way too much into her head last night. Her brain really couldn’t hold it all.

“You got back so late last night and only slept a little. Can your body really handle it?”

Remembering Simon’s comment about her “lack of confidence,” Tidelys clenched her fists and tried to encourage herself.

“I should... no, I’ll definitely be fine. I’m ready.”

“—Ready to swallow your final bitter defeat, Tidelys Ursula?”

A tall, straight-backed boy in white formal wear walked toward them.

Lei Norflin, Tidelys’s opponent in this practical exam.

Judging by appearance alone, Lei was undoubtedly among the most outstanding first-years. But when he approached, the surrounding students all hurriedly backed away.

A boy with both looks and bearing like his should’ve been popular.

But in reality, aside from a few students whose families had frequent dealings with House Rod, most first-years wanted nothing to do with him.

As for the reason, Tidelys now understood it too. To borrow the manager’s words from last night: anyone who dueled him never wanted to play cards again.

“You could choose not to step onto the stage. An automatic loss is still better than being expelled in front of everyone.”

The girl Tidelys called Nana spoke up from the side in warning. “Lei Norflin, talking before the practical exam isn’t allowed, and persuading your opponent to surrender is even less allowed. Follow the rules.”

Lei frowned at that. “Second daughter of House Rod, this is a conversation between Ursula and me. Don’t interrupt.”

The red-haired, black-eyed girl was about to say more, but Tidelys raised a hand to stop her.

“Why did you come all the way over just to say that to me, Lei?”

“Because dueling you is meaningless. You’re too weak.”

The words came out of Lei’s mouth without hesitation. He didn’t care in the slightest whether they would hurt his opponent’s pride.

But Tidelys wasn’t shaken. Her resolute eyes stayed fixed on him.

“Is that so? Then I’m really sorry about that.”

“But I still want to try. I want to take this practical exam.”

“What a waste of time.”

Lei seemed a little impatient. He shook his head and was about to leave, but Tidelys kept speaking.

“Maybe you’re right. This may be the last duel of my time at the academy... no, of my life.”

Her words sounded like she was agreeing with Lei, yet also like she was talking to herself.

“But even so, there’s still something I want to prove.”

What is this feeling...?

Tidelys lowered her head and pressed her right hand to her chest. Her heart was beating faster than it ever had since the day she was born.

And yet she didn’t feel the slightest discomfort.

If anything, she felt better than ever!

Tidelys suddenly lifted her head and looked straight at her opponent. There was no trace of hesitation left in her eyes.

“What are you trying to say, Tidelys Ursula?”

Lei frowned.

The silver-haired girl didn’t answer right away. She was feeling the gazes around her.

Confusion, ridicule, pity. All kinds of emotions were reflected onto her.

At this moment, Tidelys’s heart was surging. She took a deep breath and condensed the heat in her chest into the boldest words she had ever spoken.

“Lei Norflin! I will use my ‘weakest’ to defeat your ‘strongest’!”

Drawing from deep in her core, the girl declared her grand vow.