World Doomed by Card Games Volume 1 Chapter 4 part 1

  1. It’s totally fine to have as many previous protagonists as you want”
     

Being a card shop owner is considered a very popular job here.
 
In my previous life, it was just a service industry job, but here, cards are the center of the world itself.
 
Being the owner of a shop that sells them is an easy object of aspiration that people can understand.
 
It’s a job that always ranks at the top of popular jobs for kids.
 
Other popular jobs include being an agency agent and a pro duelist.
 
A pro duelist is literally a professional ignition fights duelist,
 
like a professional baseball player.
 
In that case, is an agency agent like a firefighter?
 
In terms of being a popular job for kids.
 
So, it’s only natural that I, in my mid-twenties owning a shop, would be well-regarded.
 
That ties into people thinking “He must have some secret” about me.
 
In reality, I just opened this shop with the prize money I won from placing third in a major tournament during college.
 
Thankfully, my shop has been thriving since its opening.
 
Of course, there are hardly any customers during weekday daytimes.
 
But it’s always packed after school when students are free, and on holidays.
 
Well, we do get some weird customers like that samurai the other day from time to time.
 
But I guess that’s just common in this world.
 
You get used to it, and it’s kind of fun, in an odd way.
 
Speaking of weird customers, we have an odd regular here.
 
Sometimes it’s just a character who’s an eccentric weirdo.
 
But in “his” case, he can’t help but act weird even though he’s actually normal.
 
He’s not a bad guy – in fact, he’s been my friend since we were students… but…
 

“Welcome!”
 
Sensing the door opening, I glanced over and greeted him.
 
There stood a man wearing a knit cap and sunglasses.
 
He was over 190cm tall and had an extremely large, solidly-built physique.
 
The knit cap and sunglasses made him look like a robber, but from his build, I immediately realized this “friend” was him.
 
“Hey ‘Dia’, looking lively as always.”
 
“Long time no see, Shop Manager. You’re looking well yourself.”
 
“Well, it is the quiet period right now.”
 
It was currently 3pm, that ambiguous time when elementary school students were just finishing up or not quite yet.
 
People would start increasing soon, but there weren’t many right now.
 
I had basically finished my preparations and was about to retreat to the back room.
 
If a friend came to visit, it wouldn’t hurt to chat.
 
As a service industry, you could say it’s questionable, but card shops tend to have close staff-customer relationships.
 
Especially so for an individually-run shop like mine.
 
“For me, I’m most at ease when this shop is lively.”
 
“You flatter me, Dia.”
 
Dia… that’s like a handle name.
 
At shop tournaments, you enter a name when registering to participate.
 
You can use your real name with no issues, or participate under a handle name.
 
For adults especially, using a handle name is more common, just like in my previous world.
 
“Speaking of which, you seem to be doing well too. Wasn’t your next event an overseas expedition?”
 
“…Ah yes, the world tournament in Europe. An honor.”
 
Daia glanced around before answering.

READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM


 



Don’t worry, I only bring up topics like this when there are no customers or other staff around.
 
Well, the staff seem to have figured out Dia’s real identity.
 
Dia’s real name is Touma Aida.
 
He’s the current Ignition Fight Japan Champion.
 
In other words, he’s the strongest duelist in Japan.
 
He even holds the insane record of being undefeated in official matches for the entire year.
 
He’s called the strongest Japanese champion pro duelist in history.
 
No wonder he comes in disguise like this.
 
Touma’s hairstyle is especially crazy,
 
so if he doesn’t wear a hat it’s an instant giveaway that he’s the protagonist of a card game story.
 
Well, wandering around in such a suspicious getup makes it clear he’s a celebrity, even if you can’t tell which one right away.
 
That’s pretty important.
 
“You don’t need to hide your identity at my shop, you know.”
 
“While that may be true here, it won’t work outside the shop. Besides, the other regulars already know me as ‘Dia’, so revealing my identity now would be embarrassing.”
 
“For the record, people have mostly figured out who you really are.”
 
Ah, Daia goes silent.
 
Many of our shop’s customers, like the staff, have realized Dia’s identity.
 
Well, of course – he’s “my friend” and “over 190cm tall and well-built.”
 
The only person fitting that description is Touma Aida.
 
In other words,
 
he’s the “friend who ended up saving the world again” I mentioned before.
 
Plus, my friendship with Daia is information that’s out there if you search online.
 
The information age is frightening.
 
“Well, since everyone understands but doesn’t point it out… I’ll happily take advantage of that courtesy. Here, I’m just the suspicious regular ‘Dia.’ That’s fine, isn’t it?”
 
“I suppose so.”
 
For Dia, this place where he can relax without worrying about his standing as a pro is probably important.
 
I know my childhood friend has to deal with a lot in his professional life.
 
If he has a place where he can take it easy, even a little, that’s a good thing.
 
“Still, being the Japan champion sure is tough. Did you see that news the other day?”
 
“…Which one?”
 
“You know, that ignition alien fight for the fate of this planet?”
 
It may sound like a plotline about shogi aliens invading Earth,
 
but that’s exactly what happened.
 
And Daia fought as Earth’s representative against the invading ignition aliens.
 
From my perspective, you could say Daia was on the alien side to begin with.
 
“Ah, that… It was definitely tough. Especially with the fate of this planet riding on a one-shot fight.”
 
“Agents are always dueling world-threatening crises in one-shot battles, aren’t they?”
 
“When you put it that way, I can’t really argue…”
 
Pro duelists are evaluated on their yearly win rate.
 
They fight countless times a day, always having to be strong.
 
For Daia living in that world, sudden-death one-shot matches are probably not his favorite..
 
Occasionally big upsets happen in one-shot tournaments after all.
 
The polar opposite are the agency agents who fight in battles related to demon cards.
 
Those are always life-or-death sudden death matches for them.
 
Lose and the world ends – under that pressure, that’s how they fight.
 
If you ask which is tougher, I suppose it depends on the person.
 
But an outsider like me can’t help but think both sound incredibly difficult.
 
“If the Shop Manager had been there at that time…”
 
“Hey now, don’t try dragging a mere card shop owner into dueling ignition aliens.”
 
Daia says with a hint of resentment.
 
“For sudden death matches, a card shop owner is stronger than me. It wouldn’t be too bad, would it?”
 
It’s an open secret at this shop that Daia is really Touma Aida.
 
But if a regular heard I was better than Daia in one-shot matches, their jaw would drop.
 
The truth is, under certain conditions, I can defeat Dia.
 
Or you could say our strengths are about even.
 
Out of 100 matches, Daia would win more overall. But in a single sudden death match, I’d have the edge.
 
With that power balance, we’ve been rivals since long ago.
 
“Shop Manager, any interest in becoming a pro duelist or agent yourself?”
 
“I’m more suited to my leisurely life as a Shop Manager.”
 
Personally, having never been involved in any major incidents in my life so far has its upsides, but…
 
That doesn’t mean I’m the type to go sticking my neck out on my own.
 
I’m satisfied with my current position.
 
Understanding that, Daia doesn’t push further.
 
“I see. Still… I do wish we could have an official match again sometime.”
 
“I’m not opposed to the idea myself. If an opportunity arises, I’d love to take you up on it.”
 
“Yeah.”
 
Exchanging those words and smiles—
 
“Hehe, first one in!”
 
“Necca, keep it down.”
 
The hot-blooded boy Necca and the cool boy Clau burst through the door, school having just ended.
 
Glancing at Dia, I saw him smiling warmly as he watched the boys.
 
Reminiscing about his own childhood days, no doubt, looking dazzled.
 
“Still, in a way… Watching over the kids like that, you’re just like the protagonist from the previous work in an anime or game, you know?”
 
“…You’re one to say that.”
 
Wow, he’s giving me quite a look.
 

TIPS: All the regulars have figured out Dia’s disguise.


The poll is open again, please vote!!!

Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!

BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!

Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.



Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.


Donation for faster release is always welcome

Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.

Spread the translation

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *