The Ultimate Protagonist/Powerhouse of the previous story : “Daia”
I’m Touma Aida,
and Mitsuru Tanafuda, the owner of card shop “Duelist”, is my childhood friend.
He’s… to borrow his own words, like “the protagonist from the previous work in an anime or game.”
The role in the story of guiding and watching over the protagonist of the sequel from the sidelines.
It seems he settled into that position from a young age.
Perhaps because he had a sort of mature composure and calmness about him.
Even though he’s my childhood friend, I actually didn’t meet him until middle school.
We got to know each other as two stellar duelists who entered the same prestigious private school in our prefecture on special admissions.
By then, his current composed demeanor was already fully formed.
It’s not uncommon for young prodigies to be swept up in major incidents as duelists from an early age.
One look at him and anyone could tell he had experienced such incidents growing up.
Being a special admissions student, he was someone looked up to from the start.
Not long after enrolling, I became embroiled in a certain incident myself.
It was a world-shaking event, and I was thrown into the center of it, willing or not.
However, I’ve always been the kind of person who struggles with sudden-death, one-shot, high-pressure situations.
It’s not that I’m weak—just that I’m relatively bad at them.
Still, I often feel the pressure in those critical moments.
I’d already decided in my heart that I wanted to become a professional fighter rather than an agent.
Mitsuru, on the other hand,
was the exact opposite of me.
He was strong when it came to one-shot matches and gave me a lot of advice. His advice was always precise, almost as if he’d seen exactly the situations I was stuck in.
It was uncanny. Even though I hadn’t told him about the major incident I was caught up in, he was still able to give such spot-on advice. That alone was enough to make me uneasy.
Yes, I’d kept the truth from him.
I hadn’t told him because I thought he was dealing with a big incident of his own.
Well, as it turned out, that wasn’t the case at all.
When I found out, the shock was indescribable.
I quite literally collapsed to my knees, something I’ve never experienced before or since.
And what’s more, Mitsuru confessed that he’d never been involved in any such incidents before.
When he first told me that, I didn’t believe him.
How could I?
There’s no way someone with no experience or knowledge of the world’s dark side could offer advice on underground fights. It didn’t make sense.
But as the years went by and we stayed friends, I had to start believing him. Strange things happened repeatedly that made me reconsider.
For example, Mitsuru somehow always managed to avoid being caught up in the main events of an incident.
If some lackey from an organization causing trouble got involved with him, they’d quickly decide to leave him alone.
If an incident was unfolding, he’d coincidentally have plans somewhere far away.
Sometimes, he wouldn’t even realize something had happened until it was already resolved.
After seeing this happen again and again, I had no choice but to believe him.
So, where did he get that calm, composed demeanor from?
That remains… a mystery.
There’s no reason to dig deeper into it, after all.
Tanafuda Mitsuru is just Tanafuda Mitsuru.
A man strong in Ignition Fights, calm, composed—like the protagonist of a previous story.
That fact doesn’t change, no matter who he is or what his past may be.
And isn’t that enough?
Besides, it’s not like Mitsuru is destined to stay completely uninvolved in every incident.
He does get involved sometimes.
Just in “safe” incidents.
For instance, Ignition Fight tournaments that don’t involve large conspiracies.
Not everything in this world is tied to global crises.
In fact, most things aren’t.
Ignition Fight tournaments, for example, are major events held all over the world.
There are student tournaments, amateur tournaments open to everyone,
and even team-based competitions.
I’ve participated in some of those tournaments with Mitsuru and other classmates.
We achieved excellent results, and Mitsuru was a standout fighter.
He even placed third in a major tournament during university.
By the way, I’m the one who defeated him in the semifinals of that tournament.
That was the first and last time I ever beat Mitsuru, who’s so strong in one-shot matches, in such a setting.
That experience was one of the most fulfilling moments of my life, second only to saving the world.
After all, it was that tournament that set me on the path to becoming the current Japanese champion.
So, no, Mitsuru isn’t someone who’s always left out.
It’s just that the world he lives in doesn’t overlap with deadly, catastrophic incidents.
There are people like that sometimes.
And there’s nothing wrong with it.
Living in a peaceful world is a blessing. It’s a sign of great fortune.
But in Mitsuru’s case, what’s strange is…where did he pick up that protagonist-like aura?
Really, where did he get that kind of atmosphere ……?
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The shop has grown much livelier since then.
Kids are joyfully dueling each other, rummaging through the storage area for cards.
This, without a doubt, is how a card shop should be.
As I was watching the scene with Dia, he suddenly asked me a question.
“Manager, you were born under a star that keeps you out of incidents, weren’t you?”
“Well, yeah, I suppose you could say that.”
“…Do you resent the old me for that?”
“What are you talking about?”
I genuinely had no idea what he meant.
But when he explained, it was simple.
He was talking about the time when he saved the world.
That was one incident where, if Daia had asked for my help, I might’ve been involved.
But he chose to hold back, and so I wasn’t.
Well, my advice, based on what I knew about world-ending crises in card game stories from my previous life, did help him. So it’s not like I did nothing.
“Oh, that? Don’t worry about it.”
“Sorry for bringing it up.”
“No, it’s fine. Honestly…”
I continued, still watching the shop.
“It doesn’t matter either way.”
“Doesn’t matter?”
“Yeah. Think about it—throwing yourself into danger for no reason is reckless, and it causes trouble for everyone around you. It’s not like I have a death wish.”
“That’s a pretty mature way of thinking for back then, don’t you think?”
Maybe it was.
After all, I’m a reincarnated person—
or perhaps someone who’s traveled back to a slightly different version of the past.
Sure, there are times I feel frustrated about not being able to get involved in certain incidents.
But I’m not so immature that I let it weigh me down.
And there’s one more reason.
“I like fun things,”
It’s as simple as that. I just enjoy the Ignition Fights in this world.
“I like watching people have fun dueling. Even if I’m not part of it, that’s enough for me.”
“Why do you feel that way?”
“Because this world is fun.”
Both in my past life and this one,
the life I’m living and the environment I’m surrounded by—it’s all fun.
Look at this world. So many people are enjoying card games.
Just living here is enough to make me happy.
“I’d like you to join that circle, too,”
“Haha, I’m already part of it. This is enough for me.”
That’s why I opened this card shop, Duelist.
Because I want to watch people enjoy card games.
And if I can support them just a little, that’s all the happiness I need.
“That’s what makes you seem like the protagonist of a previous story,”
“Now that you mention it…maybe so.”
I couldn’t entirely deny it.
But watching you, Dia, as you smile and observe these happy fighters, I’d say you’re starting to look like a previous protagonist yourself.
Yes, this scene is something I never want to lose.
Something irreplaceable.
And so—
No matter what happens, I’ll protect it.
That, I vowed silently in my heart.
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