Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Jaden Yuki and Manjoume, with their arms around each other's shoulders, patted their chests, displaying the Gate Keys that the Seven Star Kings had never taken away.

“Heh…indeed! Keeping important things within your sight is generally considered the safest option…” Magure nodded with a smile, but then suddenly changed the subject: “However! This is tantamount to revealing the location of important items to others without reservation! It’s a rather foolish thing to do!”

"...Huh? Is that so?" Scratching his head, Jaden Yuki, freed from the constraints of Manjoume, blinked innocently: "So, Detective Magure, what do you think?"

"Good question!" With a smile, Magure patted Yuki Judai on the shoulder, glanced around at the crowd, and said with a laugh, "I would like to suggest... that everyone keep their keys safe and not just hang them on their bodies like this!"

……

Magure's proposal was met with both agreement and opposition, or confusion.

Yusei and Asuka still felt that their own surroundings were the safest place, and there was no need to hide them. As before, they would only take off their keys and keep them by their side when taking a shower or sleeping. At other times, they would keep their keys inseparable from them.

Manjoume and Judai made different choices. Accompanied by Magure and Gao Ge, who worked as a dormitory handyman, they hid the key under the sink in the room and in a drawer against the wall.

Of course, as the person who initiated the proposal, Master Daitokuji naturally took the lead and put his key in the safe in his office.

"I see. The bottom of the pool is indeed an unexpected spot, and not many people would specifically search for it..."

"Hmm... places that are more unassuming are less likely to be discovered. Young man, your idea is quite good!"

"Oh dear! Putting the key in the safe is indeed an extremely safe method! Unless you're a professional thief, you probably wouldn't be able to break through this ironclad defense!"

Stroking his chin, Magure shared his thoughts on the three men's hiding places.

He also highly praised the choice made by Daitokuji Temple.

"Speaking of which, I've noticed some suspicious guys since just now!"

"A suspicious guy?"

Crossing his arms, Magure watched as the group, having hidden the keys and regrouped, frowned and offered his guess: "When Manjoume hid the keys under the sink, that guy named Gao Ge was watching the whole time. Although he was wiping the walls, I noticed his gaze kept glancing at us..."

"When Judai put the key inside the drawer, that short student named Zeke was also hiding behind the door, secretly watching our actions..."

"Just now, when Master Daitokuji put the key in the safe, that security guard named Cliff happened to pass by and even glanced at us furtively... which makes me wonder if he did it on purpose..."

"Indeed... I have the same idea."

Yusei also expressed considerable agreement with Magure's guess: "Just like Detective Magure said... handyman Gogo, transfer student Zeke, school doctor Mina, security guard Cliff... recently, there have indeed been some unfamiliar new faces in Duel Academy."

"Perhaps... a new crisis is already lurking around us."

"Haha...you guys are overthinking it, aren't you? There's no way it's that exaggerated!"

Seeing Magure and Yusei's furrowed brows, Jaden Yuki couldn't help but laugh and say, "Are you suggesting that they are all members of the Seven Star Kings and are eyeing the key we have?"

After defeating Darkness, Camilla, and Tania, the Seven Star Kings have four members remaining.

And the extra people who have recently arrived, besides Magure who is responsible for protecting the key, make up exactly four...

389 Detective Yusei

The number of remaining members of the Seven Star Kings and the number of new faces that came up in the Duel Academy are basically the same.

After Detective Magure raised questions, the new faces that had recently appeared at Duel Academy immediately became the prime suspects.

But... doubt is just doubt after all; it's impossible to actually do anything based on these uncertain speculations.

There is probably no necessary connection between the two.

After all, it's impossible that the remaining Seven Star Kings would choose to come out in full force at this time and plan to start the final battle ahead of schedule, right?

After placing the key, Detective Magure stayed with Master Daitokuji, intending to rest in the guest room, while the rest of the group returned to their respective dormitories, awaiting the arrival of the Seven Star King.

Then, while they were asleep, the Black Scorpion thieves seized the opportunity and secretly took their keys from their hideout...

……

"Hmm... what's going on? Even with the Seven Star Gate key, there's no reaction when I insert it into this seal?"

"Could it be because we don't have enough keys?"

"Impossible! If that's the case... then why were those gates open before?"

Beneath the Duel Academy, the members of the Black Scorpion Thieves, who had taken the key from everyone's hiding place, secretly gathered at the location of the seal.

Having obtained three keys from under the sink, at the bottom of the drawer, and in the safe, they rushed to the underground seal of the Duel Academy under the cover of night.

Their plan was simple: to break the seal by using methods unique to thieves, bypassing the duel altogether.

Although Yusei and Asuka kept the key close to their chests, it was not easily obtained.

But the remaining three keys still exceeded the total amount obtained previously.

"Camilla broke two seals... while we have three keys! In terms of merit alone, we're the better ones!"

Pushing up his glasses, the thin-faced Cliff, disguised as a school security guard, gripped a dagger and pondered, "But we can't trigger the Seven Star Gate's seal just by bringing the key here... Could it be that this seal can only be opened through a duel?"

"Really?! Our boss went out of his way to cover for us... and this is the result?" Gao Ge, a burly man in the thief gang, slammed his fist down, his face contorted with indignation. "...I can't accept this! If this is the case, then what was the point of me working so hard cleaning the dorm all these days?"

“Stop complaining! The current situation is that the door can’t be opened, and we can’t get the treasure inside! Besides the key, there must be other mechanisms…” Mina, the only female member of the thieves’ group, clicked her tongue and showed an impatient expression: “Just like Cliff said, this mechanism may have to be solved through a duel.”

"Gulp... So, does that mean we have to retreat tonight? We've already reached the last step..." The short Zik stared at the seal that remained unmoved even after the key was inserted, his face full of resentment.

"I understand how you feel... but this is the end for today!"

"...There's no other way, let's retreat."

Comforting each other, the members of the Black Scorpion Thieves, realizing that their previous plan had changed, disappeared and left the location of the seal.

What happened tonight is known only to them and has not been discovered by anyone else.

So after today, they can still return to their original positions and blend into the crowd, just like before.

Of course, this is on the premise that their actions are not discovered.

……

"...Manjoume...Manjoume!"

"I've said it so many times... It's Mr. Manjoume!"

That night, in Osiris Red Dormitory, in a single room with a thousand heads.

Manjoume, who was asleep, was awakened by a noisy commotion. He opened his eyes impatiently and, the moment he took the earplugs out of his ears, he saw the flustered Yuki Judai and the silent Yusei leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

"What's going on? What are you two doing in my room?"

With a big question mark above his head and still in a state of confusion, Wan Zhangmu couldn't help but ask, "I remember I should have locked the door before I went to sleep, right?"

"Yes, yes! I'm talking about the door!" Hearing Banjou's complaint, Yuki Judai quickly pointed to the door... no! It should be said that it used to be a door: "Banjou, your door is gone."

The thing that should have been called a door now looked as if it had been hit by a tank, lying crookedly to the side along with a lot of sawdust, barely recognizable as a door.

"Holy crap! My door! Which bastard did this?!"

His eyes widened suddenly as he looked in the direction Judai Yuki was pointing, at the dilapidated and miserable state of his door. Manjou's heart sank.

Feeling as if his heart was bleeding, he instinctively jumped out of bed and began checking his belongings to see if anything was missing.

Calligraphy and paintings, furniture, wallets, cards...

Fortunately, all the valuables are still there and haven't been stolen.

After checking everything and finding that he hadn't lost anything, Manjoume breathed a sigh of relief and showed a relieved expression.

"Manjoume...did you know your key is missing?" Seeing Manjoume's movements, Yusei, who had lowered his arm, kindly reminded him.

Lost in the blind spot, Manjou seemed to have forgotten the key he had personally hidden during the day.

"What...key?!"

After being reminded by Yusei, Manjoume, who then remembered this matter, hurriedly ran to the water tank to confirm.

However… upon seeing the dilapidated state of the sink, his vision went black, and he let out a desperate sigh: “Ughhhhh… my keys are gone, did you two do this?”

"What are you talking about, Manjoume? My key was stolen too!" Judai Yuki, who was being accused by Manjoume, leaned closer to Manjoume and gave him an innocent look.

"Are you an idiot... Manjoume? Why would we do something like this?" Yusei rolled his eyes at Manjoume and mocked him, who was in a panic. "If we really only stole your key, why would we bother to remind you?"

"This..." Speechless after being rebuked by Yusei, Manjoume stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say.

At that moment, he realized that his actions just now seemed to have a hint of impotent rage.

"...So, have you calmed down now?"

The way Wan Zhangmu is acting now is no different from a mad dog that bites anyone it sees.

Youxing was considering whether he should give him a paternal slap to bring him to his senses and stop him from making baseless accusations against innocent people like them.

"Wait, so... besides me, Judai's key is also gone?"

"If that's the case... then the other keys must also be..." After hearing Judai's explanation, Manjoume, who had gradually calmed down, began to think about the current situation.

He did indeed see the key on Yusei's chest.

Because he didn't heed Magure's well-intentioned advice, his key wasn't stolen by anyone...

Ironically, it was those who secured the new hiding place who lost... or were forced to lose their keys!

Magule, damn it!

Look what you've done!

You bastard, you wouldn't happen to be a spy sent by the Seven Stars, would you?

"...Anyway, let's get everyone together first!"

With a helpless sigh, Yusei looked at Manjoume, who was gradually calming down, and offered his advice.

The two people who have lost their keys—Manjoume and Yuki Judai—were both people who placed the keys somewhere according to Magure's instructions.

People like Yusei, who always have their keys with them, didn't experience this problem.

Now that the incident has occurred and the key has been lost, gathering everyone together to minimize the damage is probably the wisest choice.

……

"...So, Daitokuji-sensei, you've lost your key too, right?"

The group, summoned by Yusei, gathered in Manjoume's room.

Yusei spoke to the third person who had hidden the key.