Ryo Nakamuta: "???"
No way!
The homeroom teacher really was Tenjoin Asuka!
Forget everything else—her hairstyle was unmistakable. If it wasn't her, who else could it be?
This was getting interesting, really interesting. A former student of Duel Academy had grown up to become a homeroom teacher at Phantom God Dimension Academy!
"Ahem! Who's Ryo Nakamuta in this class?"
"Your Double Dragon Secret Eight-Character Barbecue Technique has been making waves lately!"
"Stand up so I can get a look at you."
Before the students could react, Asuka, standing at the front, coughed a few times, her face stern as she scanned the room, her gaze locking onto Ryo Nakamuta in the back row by the window.
No doubt about it—Asuka clearly knew what Ryo looked like and was just putting on a show.
Ryo Nakamuta stood up reluctantly, meeting Asuka's gaze head-on.
Only then did he get a clear look at her appearance and demeanor. He had to admit, the grown-up Asuka had an even more refined charm than in the anime. No wonder she was a famous beauty in the GX world!
"Reporting, sensei. I'm Ryo Nakamuta."
"Any further instructions?"
Ryo snapped out of his thoughts and nodded slightly in response. Asuka, meanwhile, strolled leisurely toward him, stopping only when they were less than 30 centimeters apart.
"You're pretty impressive."
"No issue with you being class president, right?"
"I believe under your leadership, our class's dueling grades will see a nice boost."
Class president?
Ryo Nakamuta rubbed his chin, pondering. In theory, being class president meant handling all sorts of miscellaneous tasks for the homeroom teacher—a thankless job that dealt with every little problem.
But this was a dueling-focused class president role. Could it be different?
Plus, getting to interact more with a beauty like Asuka didn't sound half bad!
"No problem. So, any extra perks?"
"Of course. A free invitation to the Duel King lecture series every month."
"That's it? Nothing else?"
"What else do you want? Do you know how many people would kill to attend the Duel King lectures and can't? You're still not satisfied?"
Ryo Nakamuta: "…"
The exchange left both Asuka, the homeroom teacher, and Ryo speechless.
For Asuka, the shock was that this student didn't care about the Duel King lecture invitations. Did he not realize how many people vied for the class president role just for those tickets?
Listening to lectures from Muto Yugi, Yuki Judai, Kaiser Ryo, Fudo Yusei, and others—wasn't that exciting?
For Ryo, the so-called Duel King lectures sounded like those university expert seminars. Who in their right mind went to those? He'd never attended one during his college days.
"Sensei, I object."
"According to past rules, the class president position requires a duel among voluntary candidates."
"Why does he get to be appointed directly?"
Before Ryo could brush off the offer, a white-haired girl with twin tails in a JK uniform, seated in the front row, stood up with a displeased expression.
The other students, seeing it was Suzuki Mina protesting, couldn't help but grin in anticipation of the drama about to unfold.
Suzuki Mina's reputation and status among freshmen rivaled Ryo Nakamuta's. Not only was she the heiress of the Suzuki Group and undeniably cute, but her dueling skills were top-notch. She'd been the consensus top freshman—until Ryo Nakamuta came out of nowhere, stealing the spotlight and the top spot, relegating her to second place. Now, even the class president position was being handed to him. No wonder Suzuki Mina stood up to challenge him.
"Hm, Suzuki-kun has a point."
"But Principal Samejima also said the class president can be awarded to the consensus top student of each Phantom God grade."
"I believe Ryo Nakamuta, with his perfect 100-point score, qualifies without needing a class president duel."
Asuka was clearly prepared, invoking Principal Samejima's name, subtly indicating this wasn't her decision but the principal's.
"Sensei, don't worry about Principal Samejima."
"My daddy will talk to him."
"Today, either he duels me, and if he beats me, the class president spot is his."
"Or I'll transfer to Phantom God Yellow. Over there, the class president spot will be mine anyway!"
Suzuki Mina gritted her teeth, her tone resolute, leaving Asuka at a loss. Letting the second-ranked freshman transfer to Phantom God Yellow would be like handing resources to another homeroom teacher. But a duel would defy Principal Samejima's decision.
"This little miss is cute, but her tone sure isn't."
"Fine, let's duel."
"Saves us time."
Seeing no way to avoid dueling Suzuki Mina, Ryo Nakamuta decided to go for it. Initially uninterested in being class president, her insistence on the position—even willing to transfer to Phantom God Yellow—piqued his curiosity about the Duel King lectures.
Were these lectures really that appealing?
Could they teach him, a modern Yu-Gi-Oh! player, anything new about the game?
"You're sensible! Let's go!"
"We'll duel in the classroom next door!"
"I want to see just how strong your vanilla Red-Eyes really is!"
Satisfied, Suzuki Mina equipped her duel disk, inserted her deck, and headed to the adjacent duel room.
Ryo Nakamuta shrugged, leisurely organizing his duel disk and deck, seemingly unbothered by the upcoming duel.
"Ryo-bro! Be careful!"
"She's running Fruit Magician Girls, and it's a total graveyard nightmare!"
"It's the deck Muto Yugi used against Kaiba Seto!"
"You know the one!"
"It's…"
Ikeda Hiromu hurriedly whispered, spilling all he knew about Suzuki Mina's deck and the Fruit Magician Girls archetype, including its combos and strategies.
Ryo Nakamuta's nonchalant attitude made Ikeda Hiromu's jaw drop.
Big bro was still big bro!
Facing a graveyard-heavy Fruit Magician Girls deck with such calm confidence!
Was he about to unleash that Double Dragon Secret Eight-Character Barbecue Technique again?
Or did Red-Eyes have another hidden trump card they didn't know about?
Ikeda Hiromu scratched the back of his head and followed the crowd, along with Ryo Nakamuta, to the duel room, where Suzuki Mina was already prepared, her duel invitation sent.
Ryo, still unhurried and carefree, activated his duel disk and accepted the invitation.
One second later, the Kaiba-brand virtual duel system activated.
Duel details appeared!
Ryo Nakamuta VS Suzuki Mina!
Both players' Life Points: 8000 LP
First turn: Suzuki Mina
Second turn: Ryo Nakamuta