When Hikaru returned to the Academy, he saw a huge crowd on the island holding banners to welcome him.
For a moment, Hikaru thought he had been isekai'd again.
Once he stepped ashore, he found out the Academy had arranged the entire welcome party—apparently under direct orders from the principal.
'Geez… that principal really goes with whatever pops into his head.'
Thankfully, the students were just having some fun.
After a round of fussing, they returned to their usual activities—grumbling about lost study time, missed dates, library plans, etc.
"Hikaru-kun." As Hikaru and Professor Crowler walked toward the Fusion Club, the professor kept dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief, overwhelmed with emotion. "If Professor Banner's spirit is watching, he would be so proud of you—"
"Ah—uh... yeah." Hikaru wanted to say Banner wasn't actually "dead" but had been reincarnated. However, realizing the professor might not exactly think in spirit-world terms, he held back.
After sharing some emotions and perspectives, Crowler also asked about Hikaru's trip—how he got along with Funglow Company and what he experienced there.
Truthfully, Crowler had really wanted to go with him. Even so, he couldn't abandon the situation with Zane Truesdale. For the past while, he'd been running around nonstop handling it.
He wasn't a multitasking wizard, so no matter how much he worried, he could only let Hikaru travel alone.
"Professor—technically, I'm the one who traveled far," Hikaru muttered.
"No, Hikaru-kun. This is your home," Crowler said with rare seriousness, wiping his tears and squaring his face. He looked Hikaru straight in the eye. "This Academy is your home. You're always welcome here. Always."
"Don't lie to me, Hikaru-kun," Crowler added solemnly.
Ever since Hikaru came to him with a pile of gemstones, requesting him as his guardian to handle the sales, Crowler had looked into his background.
A complete blank. No parents. Hikaru had become a student of Duel Academy solely through dueling.
He had no "home".
So the Academy would be it.
"Professor." Hikaru understood. He took a deep breath. "You really are the best professor I've ever had."
Crowler grinned proudly. "Well, of course I am!"
They returned to the Fusion Club. Before entering, Hikaru noticed the place was decorated from wall to wall.
Banners, streamers, even new ones saying "Welcome Back, Victorious Captain!"
But... no one was outside?
"Mamma mia, what is going on?" Crowler was baffled.
Wasn't Hikaru supposed to be greeted by a whole crowd?
Inside, they heard the noise and realized what was going on.
"Why did Mr. Rex use Card Destruction there? Couldn't he just Normal Summon and hit 4000 ATK?"
"He probably had follow-ups in hand. We should ask Hikaru later."
"Whoa, field wipe! Hikaru's Ultimate Golem got taken out!!"
"Too bad. If there had been a second Ancient Gear Golem in his Graveyard, he could've won right there."
Excited chatter echoed all around.
"Overload Fusion! Whoosh! As expected—you have to use Cyber Dragon at a time like that!"
"Whoa, he won! He actually won!"
"That's Hikaru for you! He beat a Legendary Duelist!"
Hikaru and Crowler stepped in. Crowler cleared his throat. "Ehem."
Students who were mid-cheer turned, startled. "Hikaru's back! And—Professor!"
"The captain's back!? Where's the welcome committee?"
"Uh... we were watching the video..." one student awkwardly scratched his head.
Totally fair. Probably.
"Hikaru! You were amazing! You actually beat one of those Legendary Duelists!" Jaden shouted excitedly.
"Eh, it was mostly luck." Hikaru tilted his head. Indeed, Rex really was strong. "If we dueled again, I couldn't guarantee a win."
"Well done, Hikaru." Zane nodded. "With this victory, more students will feel empowered to aim higher."
After finishing his own pro duel and some paperwork, Zane had returned to the Academy, heard what happened, and watched the duel replay with the Fusion Club.
Getting to face a Legendary Duelist—it fired him up, too.
Especially since Hikaru had used a Cyber-style card at the end!
That gave Zane, who hadn't participated, an odd feeling of involvement. He was kind of hyped.
"What's that?" Hikaru looked at the screen. "A video?"
"Yep. Your duel with Mr. Rex," Chazz replied. "Someone recorded it, making it already trending online. I found it and showed the club."
Hikaru watched closely. From the camera angle... it didn't look like a random bystander's footage.
Probably a pre-planned promo clip. Maybe something for the company's social media.
Hikaru nodded and circled back to a student's earlier question. "Rex had 'Tyranno Infinity' in hand, whose base ATK equals the number of banished Dinosaurs x 1000.
So he wasn't just summoning power, he was also setting up banishes."
He rubbed his chin. "When I reviewed the duel, I realized if I hadn't finished that turn, he could've summoned a 4000 ATK Tyranno Infinity next turn. Game over."
"I see. So he held back because he had a field wipe card?" Zane rapidly put it all together. "Rex Raptor, he really is a Legendary Duelist."
"So cool—I wanna duel him too!" Jaden shouted.
Hikaru laughed. "If you're serious, you might get a chance. He said he might visit during break—maybe even as soon as tomorrow, depending on KaibaCorp's event schedule."
"OOOOHHH!!"
Everyone watched the duel again. The more they saw it, the more intense and thrilling it felt.
As evening approached, Hikaru checked the time. "Jaden, have you decided where to go for the next interdimensional trip?"
If Hikaru needed a partner, he'd definitely want the strongest, most compatible ally.
"Oh, the one you mentioned before, the dimension of [The Mountain], right?" Jaden tilted his head, arms crossed, clearly torn. "I really want to go, but Atticus-senpai asked me to check if he could go instead."
"Atticus-senpai?"
Hikaru looked around. The Rhodes siblings weren't here.
He never expected that guy—the musical, trolling, sister-pranking Atticus—to volunteer for an interdimensional mission.
Though, honestly, that was fine too.
He was still an upperclassman. Plus, as a vessel of "Darkness", his spirit level wasn't an issue.