Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

"...Oh well, it's not the first time anyway."

Izayoi Rose was too lazy to argue with Sigurd any further, since there was no point in continuing the discussion anyway.

She came this time with other important business to discuss.

"Sigurd, for the next period of time, I will temporarily hand over the work to Ruger. If you need anything, go to him."

"what?"

Upon hearing Izayoi Rose's words, Sigurd, who had been leisurely lounging on the sofa enjoying the soft fragrance of her arms, immediately sat up. He looked at his manager, who had helped him so much since his debut, with surprise: "What's going on? Rose-neechan, where are you going?"

"I have something to do back in my hometown, so I need to go back."

Izayoi Rose replied, "It won't take long. You just need to stay here obediently and follow Ruger's instructions. I've already explained everything to Ruger. As long as you don't cause trouble, there won't be any problems."

"Hometown, ah—do you mean Chenguang City?"

After a moment's thought, Sigurd immediately understood why Izayoi Rose had left.

"So that's true. Your daughter has obtained the Starlight Water, and Shinji has been defeated and the 'Stardust Dragon' has been retrieved. Therefore, there's a high chance that Mr. Izayoi Hoshi will awaken from his long coma—congratulations, Rose-nee. All your hard work has paid off."

“That’s natural. From the beginning, I didn’t think Xing would keep sleeping like that. So you understand now? I don’t have time for you right now. If there’s anything that even Luger can’t handle, you can wait until I get back…”

Izayoi Rose accepted Sigurd's congratulations without hesitation. Having finished explaining her business, she was about to leave when Sigurd called her back.

"Wait, wait, Sister Rose, don't rush off."

"Anything else?"

Izayoi Rose turned around, her expression already showing a hint of impatience: "I should have said it, I don't have time for you right now."

"No, I have important business to attend to this time."

Sigurd quickly corrected Izayoi Rose's misunderstanding: "Rose-nee, if you're going back to Dawn City, please take me with you."

"you?"

"Eh—Mr. Sigurd, are you going to such a far place too?"

Just as she was about to leave, Izayoi Rose glanced back at the young man. The blonde woman in her arms let out a surprised and reluctant sound, but Sigurd ignored her and continued speaking to Izayoi Rose, "Yes, I also have great respect for Mr. Izayoi Hoshi, and I'd like to meet him in person if I have the chance. I want to know what kind of person could make a good woman like you, Rose, so devoted. And..."

As he said this, Sigurd's runic eyes flashed with a faint light, and a warlike smile appeared on his lips.

"The person who helped your daughter win the Star Cup is called Izumi Yuki, right? He seems to use the God Card called Phantom God. To be honest, I'm much more interested in him than Izayoi Hoshi. Since you're going back, Rose-nee, I can take this opportunity to meet him."

"Let's see, whether his three Phantom Gods are stronger, or my three Astral Gods are superior."

……

Meanwhile, when Sigurd decided to go to the Eastern Conference with Izayoi Rose, the conversation among Yuuki and the others about their manager came to an end.

"I don't know if my mom would be willing to help, but I'll ask her."

"No problem, no problem. Xiao Xi has helped us a lot, so Aunt Qiangwei wouldn't refuse to return the favor. Besides, with Xiao Xi's current fame, no agent would turn him away, right?"

Hoshinobu smiled and responded to Izayoi Yuki, then said to Yuki, "Yuki, you can put these requests for cooperation on hold for now. You can decide what to do after you meet Aunt Rose. For now, just stick to your job with Kaiba Corporation."

"Well, let's do it."

You Xi readily accepted the suggestions and categorized the text messages and emails one by one. After clearing out these, most of what remained were congratulatory messages from various parties about winning the championship.

Friends I met here included Yan Xiao and Ranpo Jonouchi, as well as Akabane Ryo and Kido Harutora who came to watch and cheer me on. Uncle Logan goes without saying, and even Satomi Teruaki, the chairman of Morning Light Academy, sent me a text message.

What surprised Yu Xi the most was Father Anderson.

It was a bit surprising that the usually serious and rigid priest was also watching the game and even sending me congratulatory messages.

After showing it to Xingye Wu, the girl felt the same way and even couldn't help but laugh.

"Hmph, Father Anderson is such a tsundere. Now I can have a good laugh at him when we get back."

“It’s not nice to make fun of people about something like this, Mai.”

Gently scolding her female companion for her sudden prank, unlike the business text messages she didn't know how to handle, You Xi tapped the keypad on her phone with her thumb and began replying to her friends' messages one by one.

During the reply process, the three of them arrived at the private airport in a car dispatched by the Haima family.

Chapter 274 Surgery

"Yuki! You absolutely have to come visit again sometime! I'll come see you whenever I have time!"

"Okay, see you later, Mashiro!"

After greeting the bunny-eared loli who kept waving her arms, Yu Xi and her two companions boarded the plane under the watchful eyes of the Star Vanguard team. The captain then started the engine, and after a rapid sprint down the long runway, the plane took off and soared into the sky.

Kiyosumi's group arrived in Hoshino City by train, so let's not talk about Hoshino Mai and Izayoi Yuki. This was Yuki's first time taking a plane.

The feeling of looking down at the earth from high above the clouds is quite novel and unique, and the speed of an airplane is indeed incomparable to that of a train.

In just a few hours, they traversed the long and distant distance between Star Peak City and Morning Light City, setting foot on familiar land once again.

"Ahhh! I'm back! It's so much more comfortable here!"

As soon as she got off the plane, Xing Yewu opened her arms wide and breathed heavily, shouting loudly without regard for those around her.

Even though the surroundings weren't places she frequented, the atmosphere was different for Xingye Wu. It was like the difference between being a guest at someone else's house and being at home.

The sense of security they provide is completely different.

Yu Xi felt the same way, but now was not the time to be moved by it.

"Xue, are we going straight to the hospital? Or...?"

"Go to the hospital."

You Xi cast a questioning glance at the white-haired girl, who immediately gave an answer.

She had already planned what to do next before boarding the plane.

“I have already notified the hospital, and the attending physician said they will make time for us so that the surgery can begin immediately once the person and card arrive.”

It's clear that, perhaps due to their long-standing interactions, Izayoi Yuki and the hospital have a very good relationship.

Not wanting to waste a moment, Izayoi Yuki took out her phone as soon as she landed and used an online ride-hailing app to call a taxi.

The taxi sped towards the hospital with the three of them. Fortunately, they had changed into their usual clothes and covered their faces with glasses and masks, so the driver did not recognize You Xi and the others.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the doctor, who had been waiting for some time, obtained the card from You Xi.

"Well done, Izayoi-kun, Yuuki-kun. I didn't expect you to actually succeed. The surgery will take about five hours, so please wait patiently here. Don't worry, now that we've retrieved the 'Stardust Dragon' and the culprit behind the Dark Duel has been defeated, there's basically no chance of the surgery failing. If it hadn't taken so long, we wouldn't even have needed to perform the surgery."

The attending physician left these last words and then went into the operating room with his assistants, leaving only You Xi and the other two outside.

"Five hours, that's quite a long time."

Xing Yewu held her head in both hands, somewhat surprised.

As far as she knew, such a dark duel-related treatment shouldn't take this long.

"The main problem is that it has taken too long."

Izayoi Yuki stared at the door with the words "Operation in Progress" lit up, her hands unconsciously clenching. Even with the doctor's repeated assurances, she still couldn't completely relax until the results came out.

However, this did not prevent her from explaining Xingyewu.

"Those who have been harmed by Dark Duels may have the punishment and damage completely undone if they can defeat the person who used Dark Duels within a few days, depending on the type of harm inflicted. This is similar to the terrorist attack on Duel Isle by [Doomsday Bell]."

At the time, the Doomsday Bell attempted to turn the many contestants on the island into sacrificial offerings for a grand ritual to revive the evil god. Later, after the evil god was defeated, all these souls were freed and returned to their original state. This is the same principle.

If we let some more time pass, say another month or so, those souls will be completely digested.

Once death is established as a fact, it is absolutely impossible to bring the animal back to life unless time is reversed.

The cultists of "Doomsday Bell" could have done the same, but they had already been marked by "Earthbound Gods" and had no chance of escaping from the beginning.

“My father, if we could defeat Makoto within a week of encountering him, he would probably wake up on the spot. However, no one could find Makoto's whereabouts at the time, so the best time to rescue him was missed. That's why we need to expend so much extra effort now.”

"But no matter what, the fact that they were able to save the person is the best news."

Yuki said to Izayoi Yuki, who was still staring at the operating room door, "Even if we fail this time, it's okay. We still have the power of the Star Cup. We will definitely be able to save Uncle."

"Ah."

The white-haired girl nodded, and due to the serious atmosphere, the three of them stopped talking.

Time passed by, second by second. In the quiet corridor, it seemed that only the beating of a few hearts and the sound of breathing echoed.

The long wait was extremely boring, and with the rush to get back in between, Xingye Wu only managed to doze off for a short while on the plane before she drifted off to sleep.

As the biggest contributor to the championship, Yu Xi was only slightly better off than the blonde girl. As her eyelids drooped, everything in front of her gradually became blurry, and she fell asleep without realizing it.

When she woke up, she found herself covered with a thin blanket and snuggled up next to Xing Yewu. The latter was smacking her lips and talking in her sleep about herself.

It's obvious who did it.

"Snow?"

"Sleeping like that makes you very susceptible to catching a cold."

Izayoi Yuki handed Yuki a thermos box.

"Here, this is some eight-treasure porridge I bought from a shop outside the hospital. You really like this, don't you, Youxi? You must be a little hungry since you just woke up, so drink it while it's hot. Of course, Wu also gets some; I'll give it to her when she wakes up."

"Thank you."

The eight-treasure porridge from Izayoi Yuki arrived just in time, as You Xi was feeling rather hungry.

He reached out and took the eight-treasure porridge and spoon that the girl had specially bought, savoring the unique flavor of the porridge. The shop that Izayoi Yuki had chosen had a good reputation, and the eight-treasure porridge was delicious, although it couldn't compare to the ones the girls made themselves.

While sipping her eight-treasure porridge, You Xi looked at the operating room door and asked, "Is the surgery still not over? What time is it?"

He noticed that the lights in the corridor had been turned on. When he returned to Morninglight City after finishing the Star Cup match in the morning, it was already afternoon, and the sun had long begun to set. It was now clearly night.

Izayoi Yuki's answer confirmed his guess.

"It will take about five hours."

"That is to say..."

"Yes, if nothing unexpected happens, according to the doctor, the surgery should be over soon."

As soon as Izayoi Yuki finished speaking, the lights in the operating room suddenly changed to green.

Then, the door opened, and a man in a white coat wearing a mask walked out.

"doctor!"