"Did you miss me, Master? To meet again across the sea of stars and time—it must be fate's red string pulling us together~ Now come, you can snuggle into Tamamo's soft, fluffy tail all you want!"

The moment the exchange succeeded, unlike the usual summoning where Heroic Spirits appeared as cards, Tamamo-no-Mae materialized right beside Hoshino, her tail happily swaying in delight.

Having just witnessed Hoshino and Seto's random, baffling duel, and now faced with the sudden appearance of Tamamo, Yugi looked understandably confused.

"Hoshino, why did you suddenly start picking on Seto? And... who is this?"

The pair of fluffy ears atop Tamamo's head twitched—then suddenly, a long strand of hair, an ahoge, stood up like an antenna.

"Danger alert! Wife-sense activated! Enemy approaching Master! Tamamo's Spirit Bomb of Spite, charging—wait!"

Before she could finish her ominous-sounding attack, Hoshino grabbed Tamamo's tail, instantly canceling the forming Tamamo Spite Bomb. Despite the name, it was just river water she'd absorbed nearby—at worst, it would've left someone wet.

"Quit fooling around, Tamamo. You'll get your head chopped off if you attack Yugi inside the palace. And besides, there's no way Yugi has any hostility toward me."

Jeez, she's overflowing with energy, Hoshino thought while expertly kneading Tamamo's tail—though she had to admit, it felt incredibly nice.

"Master, I'm not a Saiyan, so that's not my weak point! Next time, if you want to stop me—block my mouth instead~ And by the way, Tamamo's idea of 'hostility' may not be the same as yours."

This fox... She's rarely serious, but sometimes the things she says are hard to decode.

"Apologies for the scene, Pharaoh!"

Seto, who had just been thoroughly beaten by Hoshino, dusted off his cloak and stood up. Despite the heavy loss, he didn't feel particularly humiliated—it was clear their power gap was like heaven and earth. Admitting one's shortcomings was part of maturity.

"I led half the city guard last night to the explosion site outside the city, searching for any remains of the Thief King Bakura, but we couldn't find a single clue."

Yugi's expression tightened. After all, Bakura was a national threat—especially with his eyes set on the Millennium Items. Not being able to confirm whether he was alive or dead was a huge concern.

Hoshino speculated,

"With the blast at that range, maybe there was nothing left. If his soul was already spent, I can't imagine anyone surviving that kind of attack."

Yes. Definitely impossible. Even Yugi, who had felt the magical impact up close, knew how terrifying that final strike from Nero had been. And yet—even the tiniest sliver of possibility left Yugi uneasy.

"In this strange world, Master, nothing is ever truly impossible~"

Tamamo said softly, looking up at the sky. Her gaze locked on the tip of the inverted golden pyramid, piercing through the heavens.

No one else in this world—other than Hoshino and Yugi—could sense the unnatural disturbance hanging in the sky.

"Tamamo, are you saying... Bakura might still be alive?"

Tamamo's serious expression vanished in an instant, replaced by her usual cheeky grin.

"Not at all, Master~ I was just talking nonsense. After all, I don't even know what kind of creature this 'Bakura' is. Ehehe~"

Yugi quickly issued another order:

"Seto, you've worked hard searching all night. Let Mahad take over now. You should go rest."

"Yes, Pharaoh!"

Grateful for the concern, Seto knew full well that after getting thoroughly wrecked in that duel, if he didn't take a break now, he'd collapse long before finding Bakura.

Thankfully, he had a kind king who cared for his subordinates—and reliable comrades to fight beside. Turning on his heel, Seto headed off to deliver the Pharaoh's message and hand off duties to Mahad.

But given that Mahad had now been assigned to lead the search...

"Let's go play, Prince~ ♪"

As expected, no more than a few minutes after Seto left, Mana—now free from Mahad's restraint—immediately came skipping back. There was no way she'd actually go train. All she wanted was to play with Yugi all day.

"A woman's scent! Tamamo emergency mode: anti-harem punch chargin—mmph!"

Tamamo, who had raised both fists and entered a combat stance, suddenly had her mouth covered by Hoshino.

"Mmmphhh! Mahhfer, wha arrr you doin'?!"

(Tamamo's muffled complaint.)

Hoshino tilted her head and replied:

"Didn't you say that if I wanted to stop you next time, I should block your mouth?"

"I meant using your mouth to block my mouth! What's with this childish palm cover nonsense?!"

Crushed by disappointment, Tamamo dropped her half-charged anti-harem fist.

"Mmm... But your palm smells like grapes, Master. So good. Lick~"

"Ah, that's probably from the grapes we had this morning for breakfast."

Mana came skipping over, and atop her head stood... a familiar ahoge.

"Mana danger antenna activated: Another beautiful, mysterious woman has appeared at the Prince's side... and she's got huge boobs!"

Hoshino internally grumbled:

Why do all of you have that weird danger antenna thing?! What even IS that skill?! Can someone teach me? I've got an ahoge too, you know!

Watching Mana already slacking off the moment Mahad left, Yugi could only force out a helpless smile.

"If Mahad's not around, I suppose slacking a bit is fine. But it's almost lunchtime—let's eat first, then we can play, Mana~"

Human adaptability is a scary thing. After eating two straight meals of ancient Egyptian cuisine, Hoshino and Yugi were starting to get used to it. That rock-hard black bread? It actually didn't taste half bad...

"Lunch time! It's time to show off my ultimate wifey skills! Where's the kitchen? Let Tamamo personally cook lunch for her beloved Master!"

"Then Mana will cook lunch too—for her beloved Hoshino!"

Wait... Mana, what are you even competing for? Can you cook? And since when were you my wife?!

(*****)

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