21 The three of us sometimes go out drinking together –
Me, Daia, and Kusakabe (detective san), are from the same university.
We all went to the same university in our prefecture, a little ways from the town where I now run my card shop “Duelist”.
The reason was that the strongest fighters in the prefecture gathered there.
Daia was already active as a pro fighter, and I didn’t really need to attend a university known for its strong fighters since I planned to open a card shop.
But since we were recommended to go there, the two of us enrolled.
Two years later, detective san also enrolled at that university.
Even before then, I had helped detective san with some issues, so we had a fairly close friendship.
detective san and Daia also seemed to get along well, so the three of us did a lot together during our university days.
That relationship continues to this day.
And because of that, we occasionally do a certain activity together –
What is it? Well, going out drinking.
Though in Daia’s case, he is extremely busy most of the time.
detective san can also be busy depending on the period, so we don’t get many chances to meet up.
But by chance, there was a timing where all three of our schedules were open.
As for me, I’m generally pretty free –
in fact, opening the card shop was partly so I’d have that free time.
Having too little free time would be more of a problem for me.
“Well then, cheers!”
“Yeah.”
“Ah.”
When the three of us are together, I tend to take the lead somehow.
We clink glasses at the izakaya we’ve gathered at.
This is the izakaya we always use when the three of us meet up.
Apparently detective san is a regular here, so he can book a private room with just a phone call.
Inside is a relaxing Japanese-style room.
It’s a bit pricey, giving an impression like a ryokan inn.
In this private room, I’m dressed in my usual casual clothes.
detective san is in a suit minus the coat – even without the coat, he still has that brusque demeanor about him.
As for Daia, naturally in the private room he has taken off his sunglasses and knit cap,
fully revealing his very distinctive hairstyle.
“That said…Kusakabe has really risen through detective san ranks…”
“You flatter me by saying that, Aida…”
“What’s this ‘risen through the ranks’ stuff? And don’t be shy around other guys.”
Daia and detective san have a real natural rapport.
They’re both kind of airheaded, so their exchange flows at a nice conversational pace without needing any retorts.
Though I guess I’m the one providing those retorts?
Even though they’re not drunk yet, what is this conversation, you two?
Anyway, their conversation was about a recent event.
Basically, our drinking meetups never lack for conversation topics.
It goes without saying for Daia as the national champion, but he tends to get wrapped up in all sorts of incidents.
detective san is also positioned to have plenty of story-worthy cases,
though there are quite a few confidential cases he can’t discuss.
I’ve got plenty to talk about too.
While I don’t get involved in incidents as much as those two, just describing the daily goings-on is more than enough for conversation topics.
This time it seems Daia and detective san will be the main conversation drivers though.
“You know I fought that Ignition alien the other day, right?”
“Of course I know, but the way you bring it up makes it sound like you’re some weirdo, Daia.”
“The weirdness lies in the phrase ‘Ignition alien’, not me.”
That was an agreement I could only nod to.
In any case,
it seems the Ignition alien approached Daia again afterwards.
“That Ignition alien asked me to participate in the ‘Galactic Fire Card Battle Tournament’.”
“Oh? So they have Ignition Fight tournaments in space too?”
A very understandable invitation, given how incomprehensible it sounds.
While having Ignition alien tournaments in space sounds unheard of until now,
it wouldn’t be that strange if Ignition aliens exist in the first place.
Well no, it is strange.
“So Daia, are you going to space then?”
“This would actually be my second time going to space. The first was when I fought on the moon, wasn’t it?”
“…There can’t be that many fighters who’ve gone to space twice in their life.”
Now that you mention it,
you did fight in space back in high school, Daia.
detective san seemed genuinely surprised since it was news to him and gave that retort.
“Honestly, I’m thinking of accepting.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, I can use the Ignition alien’s spaceship for transport, and they said they’ll take care of accommodations while I’m there.”
An all-inclusive package, huh?
Well, I can understand the appeal.
Considering how intense the fight against the Ignition alien was,
it’s not surprising they would be so enamored with Daia.
“But…there are a couple issues.”
“Oh? It seems problem-free to me.”
“One is…it’s a team battle. The Ignition alien told me to choose my own teammates besides myself.”
I see, a team battle.
This world does have “pro teams” that exist, like pro baseball teams.
But Daia doesn’t belong to any particular team
since he’s an unsponsored, freelance pro fighter.
Teams are created by the sponsor companies of pro fighters.
“For that team…Mitsuru, would you be interested in joining?”
“Me…? Well, if there’s no strange conspiracy involved, I could probably participate.”
“That’s a no-go for me. I’m nowhere near as strong as you two, the Manager and Aida.”
If he’s aiming for the strongest possible team, I can understand Daia thinking to include me.
Being counted among that group is an immense honor.
As for whether I’ll accept or not though, I can’t give an answer here and now.
“Ah, you don’t need to answer right away. You’ve got the shop and whatnot to think about.”
“That’s a relief then.”
“And…there’s one more issue.”
“One more?”
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Daia said, taking a drink:
“The Ignition alien’s sense of time is different from humans’…the tournament is being held ten years from now.”
He stated it bluntly.
“Ten years, huh…”
“Well, we don’t need to answer right away then.”
At that point, I’ll be in my late 30s.
Whether I’ll still have the passion to venture into space then…honestly, I can’t say for sure.
And the conversation stopped there for the moment.
Next, detective san spoke up:
“This is rare, but in the time since that Dark Fighter group ‘Hound’ was taken down, we haven’t seen any new Dark Fighters appear.”
“Ah, you mean the one Ren’s group took down.”
Daia chimed in with that confirmation.
“Well, since Ren’s agency is supposed to be a secret organization, best not to state it outright.”
“My apologies. But if no new Dark Fighters are appearing, isn’t that a good thing?”
“That’s true, but…”
detective san trailed off, sounding uneasy.
It would certainly be better if no Dark Fighters existed.
But I can understand the unease of not seeing any at all –
you start to wonder if some larger conspiracy is unfolding right under your nose.
“Even so, if that were the case, Ren would be making moves. Since she’s not, we have to conclude this is just a peaceful period, don’t we?”
“Well, I suppose..”
I made that point and detective san nodded in agreement.
Since there’s no other conclusion for now besides waiting and seeing, this was just a preamble to a new topic.
“Oh, that reminds me, there’s been an increase in wandering duelists instead lately.”
“I’m interested”
Daia’s eyes lit up as he said those those words.
After all, most wandering duelists are fighters in their own hidden realms.
Some of them must be unknown and hardcore fighters.
“The most famous is this samurai duelist named Futarou. Apparently he’s from the Hidden Realm and has been on a warrior’s pilgrimage of late.”
“I know of him, we’ve dueled about three times. He’s a strong fighter.”
“Oh, how excellent!”
Daia’s eyes lit up again as he said those those words.
Now that it’s mentioned, Futarou did say he wanted to duel Daia.
I should set that up next time.
“And then there’s -“
At that point, detective san glanced briefly at Daia.
Seeing Daia’s quizzical look,
“A musclebound macho man over 6’2″ wearing sunglasses and a knit cap acting suspiciously. Self-proclaimed ‘Tier King’.”
detective san stated simply
Wait a minute here.
“…Excuse me, I’ll use the restroom.”
“Hey wait, Daia!”
Taia King?
Did he just mash up Daia’s name by changing one letter and combining it with ‘King’?
If you’re going to be that obvious, you might as well just call him Dia King.
I have a lot of things I want to say, but…
“Why are you getting named along with them, Daia?”
“It’s a misunderstanding! I was the one challenged to duel! And I only fought him once!”
“But you did call yourself the ‘Tier King’, didn’t you ?”
“…It just happened to turn out that way!”
detective san and I double-teamed grilling Daia.
He tried making excuses, but Daia’s strength and striking appearance clearly made an overwhelming impression.
To become talked about to this degree after just one duel…
That said…
“You need to have more self-awareness as the strongest fighter, Daia.”
“Ngh…I didn’t want to hear that from you of all people, Mitsuru!”
And just like that, our friendly bickering escalated louder and louder, fueled by the alcohol.
It ultimately devolved into an impromptu duel –
Which I won.
“See, that’s why…I didn’t want to hear that from you…”
Daia mumbled that resigned comment to me, but I found myself unable to say anything back.
TIPS: The duel footage from that day’s drinking session (with the fighters’ permission) went viral, exceeding 1 million views in just one day.
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