Duel Is Not a Major Matter
The illegal streaming site UkkiKki TV, which Banana Man used to broadcast his sexual exploitation sessions, had a surprisingly large user base. Yu Jin-ri’s appearance in particular had drawn intense interest from the moment it was revealed. A whopping three thousand viewers had paid to watch. Yet none of them got the show they wanted.
What they witnessed instead was a brutal massacre.
A man with red eyes had charged in like a rabid dog and slaughtered every last one of those men. It was savage, yes, but because the site itself was illegal, the viewers couldn’t utter a single complaint. With Banana Man dead, there was no organization left to shield them from the authorities. Running their mouths risked a one-way ticket to prison.
Still, rumors spread whether you want them to or not. The image of one man single-handedly wiping out Banana Man’s entire crew had simply been too intense. In the shadows, whispers began to circulate: the Red-Eyed Mad Dog had appeared in the human city.
The Red-Eyed Mad Dog has come to the human city.
“Red-Eyed Mad Dog? Oh my, that sounds exactly like a monster card name.”
Carpediem’s idol, Irina, wore a shy smile as she played her card game. It was called Duel King, a game that used monster cards, magic cards, trap cards, and the like. Most people thought of it as something only elementary students played, but plenty of adults were hooked on it too.
“Monster effect activated. I can now attack the player directly twice. That means my victory~”
“Whoa, a beautiful girl who’s also a Duel King pro? Incredible!”
The man dueling Irina gazed at her with open admiration. They weren’t the only ones playing. Throughout the spacious banquet hall, people sat at tables everywhere, all absorbed in Duel King. This was the holy ground of dueling, a sanctuary for those who lived and breathed the game. Irina was a well-known duelist here, so the man’s respectful stare was inevitable. The fact that she was also stunning only made it stronger.
“What’s your secret to playing so well?”
“I just think about the thrill.”
“The thrill…?”
“Yes, the thrill. That pure excitement I felt as a child, opening card packs with the five hundred won my parents gave me. I play while remembering that feeling and trusting my deck completely.”
“I see…! I’ve learned something new today!”
The man bowed deeply and moved to another table. Irina slipped her card deck into her inner pocket.
“I think I’ll stop dueling for today. That Red-Eyed Mad Dog story sounds interesting.”
“For Lady Irina to set aside her duels… this is a first. I’m rather surprised,” her butler, Sebas, said with genuine puzzlement.
“It’s not that surprising, is it? Banana Man’s group wasn’t particularly powerful, and from what I saw, Woo Hyun-woo isn’t exactly weak.”
A strong individual destroying a weak organization single-handedly wasn’t unheard of. It only became truly difficult when dealing with something on the level of the War God annihilating Fantasia. Weak groups lacked special combat abilities or proper weapons.
“So why show interest in such a rumor? What is it about Woo Hyun-woo that caught your eye?”
“Hmm… just because?”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. Woo Hyun-woo is handsome, so of course I’m interested.”
“…Pardon?”
Sebas couldn’t make sense of her words. Who could? While he considered it an honor to serve her, their conversations rarely aligned. Her mind operated on an entirely different, almost fourth-dimensional plane.
“To put it simply, it’s like this. Our organization’s man, Chunsik, expanded our territory in the south by taking over a building, right?”
“Correct.”
“That was quite impressive. Honestly, the reason we hadn’t expanded recklessly into the south before was the Jujak Guild. We couldn’t predict how they’d react if we stepped into their turf.”
“True. No matter how little interest the Jujak Guild claims to have in territory, they might sharpen their blades if one of the other three major organizations approached.”
“Exactly. So Chunsik boldly touched the southern district we had never touched before. Typical behavior for the Madman of Drug. Thanks to him, we learned that the Jujak Guild truly has no interest in expanding their domain.”
“Yes… which is why we acknowledged Chunsik’s achievement and are preparing a southern district conquest project with him at the lead. Why are you bringing this up so suddenly?”
“Woo Hyun-woo was a victim created during that process. He was someone who proudly carried the title of having no connection to any organization. Then his building was suddenly stolen, and he became Fantasia’s Fighting Dog. Isn’t that interesting?”
At first it had been simple curiosity. It wasn’t uncommon for someone who suffered at the hands of gangsters to join another organization out of a desire for revenge. But joining a ruined group like Fantasia was unusual. On top of that, Woo Hyun-woo’s growth rate had been astonishing. Even if Gangnam Sam-ung’s Bandalgom was weak, he was still far beyond what an ordinary person could defeat. Yet some rookie had beaten him? It was fascinating.
“That’s why I went to meet him that day. I wondered if he might be hiding some kind of power.”
“But he wasn’t hiding anything. He froze completely at a single shot from a scope laser.”
“Couldn’t that have been an act?”
“Pardon?”
“Or even if it wasn’t, he might be able to ignore a laser scope the next time we meet.”
Irina unfolded her fan and waved it elegantly, smiling.
“His eyes only turn red when he fights. That’s quite unique, isn’t it? It’s not common for someone to possess a male body.”
“Lady Irina, are you suggesting Woo Hyun-woo is a possessor?”
“Yes! And a handsome one at that.”
“Then shouldn’t we eliminate him in advance since he’s a risk factor?”
“No…? Why would we eliminate him? I want to offer him a choice: leave that ruined organization and join Carpediem instead. Taking things is rather enjoyable, don’t you think?”
Here we go again. Sebas knew that once Irina decided she wanted something, she would obtain it by any means necessary. He was well aware of the ruthlessness hidden behind that innocent face.
She probably doesn’t have any deep reason for wanting him. She’s simply intrigued and wants to keep him as a toy.
It was childish. But that childishness was part of her charm. The innocent desire to possess anything that caught her eye, combined with the subtle emptiness lurking beneath it, made her seem so fragile that people couldn’t help wanting to protect her. They wanted to give her love and receive it in return. That was why Carpediem’s members became captivated by Irina. They were ready to sacrifice anything for their idol. Of course, none of it would have happened if she weren’t breathtakingly beautiful.
“Lady Irina, I’ll prepare some gentlemen with physiques similar to Woo Hyun-woo’s today.”
“Oh, Sebas, you really are quick on the uptake. I love that about you.”
When Irina gave him a seductive smile, Sebas maintained a neutral expression as he left the room. He couldn’t quite hide the way the corners of his mouth kept trying to rise, though.
Once Sebas was gone, Irina put a cigarette between her lips and flicked on a turbo lighter.
Whoooosh—
The turbo lighter spat out a fierce flame. Once the cigarette caught, she turned it off and exhaled with clear satisfaction. The manager of the Duel Sanctuary immediately approached.
“Smoking is prohibited in the Duel Sanctuary. It damages the quality of the cards that are like our very souls.”
Irina removed the cigarette from her mouth.
“Is that so?”
Then she pulled out a Duel King card from her pocket, pressed the lit cigarette against it, and smiled.
“So what?”
Duel was no longer a major matter, after all.
“Wh-what?! That’s not allowed!?”
Eris’s loud voice woke me up. Maybe it was because I’d been so tense yesterday, but I ended up sleeping in later than usual. The house also felt especially cramped now that we had too many people. With Eris, Siz, and even Yu Jin-ri, four of us trying to sleep in one room was tight. Eris and Siz had smaller chests so it wasn’t too bad, but Yu Jin-ri’s were… substantial. I hadn’t meant to, but my elbow kept brushing against something soft and squishy. Every time it happened she let out these suggestive little sounds, so I’d moved over to sleep next to Siz out of sheer discomfort. Only then I discovered Eris was right beside her.
Eris kept thrashing around in her sleep like she was trying to grow taller. The woman had already finished her growth period; why was she still flailing like that? It probably wasn’t the tension that kept me up, but Eris’s constant flailing. I think I only fell asleep after she finally woke up. Of course, it was also Eris’s noisy voice that woke me again now.
“What’s all the noise about so early in the morning…”
“Look at that, Hyun-woo! This isn’t the time to be sleeping!”
Eris pointed with a deadly serious expression at the tiny TV. It was an old model that was hard to find these days. The news was playing.
“No! Let me go back in! My soul—my Blue-Eyes is still in there!”
“I loved you… my deck…”
“I can’t let you go! I’m not mentally prepared for this yet!”
What the hell were they going on about?
“Cards? They’re throwing a fit over cards?”
Duel King was, as the name suggested, just the same card game as the one from my original world with the names changed. The author of this world probably did it to avoid copyright issues. Still, it was basically the same thing. I couldn’t understand why anyone would stake their life on a card game.
“What?! You called it throwing a fit over cards?! Hyun-woo! How can you say something like that? Duel is a major matter! A serious, major matter!”
Eris trembled as she opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of cards.
“As a respectable duelist myself, I completely sympathize with the victims’ sorrow. Don’t you feel anything, Hyun-woo? Doesn’t their desperate screaming reach your heart at all?!”
“Well, I don’t exactly hate it or anything.”
Curious what kind of cards Eris had, I asked to see them. She panicked and tried to hide them against her chest.
“N-no! You can’t look!”
She slipped, fell over, and scattered the cards across the floor. Every single one was a low-level normal monster that looked like a baby dragon.
“Are you kidding me? What kind of duelist only has these? You’d get destroyed the second the match starts.”
“B-but even when I saved up money to buy card packs, only these kinds of cards ever came out…”
No money to buy cards and terrible luck. It was honestly pitiful.
“But my heart is that of a true duelist! One day I will become the Duel King!”
That was certainly an ambitious dream. Maybe she should focus on turning Fantasia into the best organization instead.
“Oh, Mr. Hyun-woo, you’re awake?”
While I was staring at Eris with pitying eyes, Yu Jin-ri spoke up, her own eyes sparkling. We had both been so exhausted yesterday that we’d fallen asleep without proper introductions. We needed to talk about who Yu Jin-ri was and what our future direction should be. I opened my mouth to speak—
“Thanks to you yesterday, Mr. Hyun-woo, I was able to satisfy some of my sexual curiosity…♥”
What exactly did you satisfy, you crazy woman? And why are you shyly covering your chest like that?
One of them was screaming that duel was a major matter, the other was making lewd jokes first thing in the morning. This was complete and utter chaos.
“Lord Hyun-woo, you’re awake. You worked hard yesterday. For recovery, how does a bowl of gukbap sound for breakfast?”
At least Siz was still normal.
“That sounds great. We can discuss our plans at the gukbap restaurant—”
“Gukbap?! Steaming hot gukbap!? That’s on the same level of importance as duel! It’s an incredible luxury! Amazing, amazing!”
I was exhausted. I no longer knew how to even react. Maybe it was because it was still morning.
“Gukbap… that pure white broth… this is a great discovery!”
“Stop talking nonsense and put some clothes on, you damn women.”