Chapter Twenty-Three: If You Like Her So Much, Why Not Just Confess? The Two’s Great Love Campaign

After gathering the cards from the duel stage and tucking his deck away, Hayato walked down the lifting platform to meet Yugi and the others, who had been waiting for him.

"Congratulations, Hayato!" Yugi, Anzu, and Honda cheered for his triumphant return. Hayato responded with a bright smile. "I won. That was truly an interesting duel."

"Congrats, Hayato," Jounouchi added, though his expression was peculiar. "But it feels so strange that the final victory came from a spell card instead of a monster. Isn't this supposed to be Duel Monsters?"

"You shouldn't look at it that way, Jounouchi. Spell cards are a vital part of Duel Monsters. Monsters represent power, while spells represent wisdom," Yugi explained his philosophy. "Testing one's strength is important, but magic is one of the keys to victory. Only those who possess both power and wisdom can go further and achieve ultimate victory."

"In other words: 'Spell cards are part of Duel Monsters; if you can't handle it, don't play,'" Hayato summarized, thinking to himself, *'When I used "Goblin Thief" for the finishing blow, I felt a bit guilty for being so underhanded while everyone else was so straightforward. But here you are, Yugi, treating it as a matter of course. You truly are the King of Backrow.'*

It was no wonder that Yugi’s future deck constructions would be so soul-crushing if he could accept "unconventional" victory methods with such composure. Perhaps every duelist of his era would eventually have his classic "T-shape" backrow setup etched into their DNA.

Hayato, already planning to pack a "Straight Flush" if he ever dueled Yugi, noticed Shoji Manjoume walking down from the other side of the stage, looking utterly dejected.

As the boy approached him in his gloom, Hayato tilted his head and asked, "Is there something else, Manjoume?"

"I won't give up on pursuing 'Ribbon-chan' just like that." Manjoume tried to muster some spirit to deliver a harsh line, but he quickly slumped again. He sighed, "I carry the honor of the Manjoume name... though I’d like to say that, a bet is a bet. I will give up on pursuing Miho Nosaka."

He looked up at Hayato—a boy who excelled in his studies, was handsome, had a good family background, and was even formidable at Duel Monsters. Though frustrated, Shoji had to accept his defeat.

Seeing the lingering resentment in his eyes, Hayato hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Look, I want to clarify one thing first—didn't you misunderstand something from the very beginning? I never had any intention of pursuing 'Ribbon-chan'."

"Are you going to humiliate me without a shred of honor even after winning the duel, Hayato Kobayashi!" Manjoume was quite agitated. "How can you say you have no intention of pursuing Miho Nosaka when you specifically used 'returning the camera' as an excuse just to touch her hand!"

*Wait, touching a hand means you're pursuing her?* Manjoume’s bizarre logic made Hayato laugh. "Do you really think I wanted to return that camera? I'll be honest with you: while I think she's quite pretty, I don't have any desire to date her."

"How could anyone not want to date Miho Nosaka!"

Hayato turned his head in confusion. He felt like he had just heard that sentence in stereo, as if two voices had spoken at once.

In fact, there were two people speaking. Aside from Shoji Manjoume, the other person was none other than Hiroto Honda, standing right behind Hayato.

"Miho is so beautiful, has a great personality, and is so stylish—how could anyone not like her!" Honda was currently acting like a fan whose idol had just been accused of wearing padding. He was incredibly agitated.

"You! Don't tell me!?" Manjoume looked at Honda in astonishment.

Hayato shrugged helplessly. "You guessed it. The one who likes 'Ribbon-chan' isn't me, it's this guy. He was the one who borrowed the camera from her, but he lost his nerve when it came time to return it, so I did it for him."

Manjoume’s attention, however, had shifted away from Hayato; he was now looking at Honda with utter disdain.

"So, after all this, my rival isn't Hayato Kobayashi, but someone like you?" Manjoume clutched his forehead, looking pained. "Ugh, this is so embarrassing. If I’d known it was someone like him, I wouldn't have been nervous in the first place!"

"Exactly! Hayato never wanted to pursue Miho, you—" Honda started to retort, but stopped midway as he realized what had been said. "Hey, you jerk! Are you saying I'm not a threat!"

"Isn't that obvious!" Manjoume regained his confident posture from before the duel. "Whether it's academic performance, school reputation, or looks, I am undoubtedly superior to you, am I not?"

Anzu watched the two "rivals" begin their staring contest, rubbed her temples in frustration, and turned to ask Yugi and Jounouchi, "These two are really... oh, by the way, Yugi, Jounouchi, do you guys like Miho too?"

"Well, I have a good impression of 'Ribbon-chan'; she’s quite popular at school. But as for a girlfriend, she’s not really my type," Jounouchi scratched the back of his head. "I prefer more mature women—ideally a beauty with long blonde hair and a great figure. It’d be even better if she liked Duel Monsters."

*Long blonde hair, beautiful duelist... I suspect you're dropping hints about Mai Kujaku.* Hayato thought, recalling the classic pairing of Jounouchi and Mai.

"I think the figure isn't that important; personality compatibility matters more for dating," Yugi shared his views on romance. "As for Miho, I agree with Jounouchi. I admire her, but I have no desire to pursue her."

"And as for me, it goes without saying. Besides, we're still just students, right? At the very least, I don't want to date until I have enough income to support two people," Hayato said, quoting a famous line from the future. "I'm going to be the strongest duelist. Women just get in the way."

While the four of them chatted, Shoji Manjoume and Honda were still bickering:

"My family is rich!"

"Who doesn't have a little money!"

"I'm super good at Duel Monsters!"

"But you still lost to Hayato!"

"I'm more handsome than you!"

"Bullshit!"

Annoyed by their kindergarten-level squabbling, Hayato interjected, "Since you both like 'Ribbon-chan,' why don't you just go and confess to her? What’s the point of arguing endlessly here?"

As soon as Hayato said those words, the two who had been chattering incessantly stopped dead in their tracks.