NOVEL NEXT Chapter 155
Royal Crown Prince Card of Cards Tournament! We will now begin the final match!!!
With the host’s shout, thunderous cheers erupted from the audience once again.
However, the cheers and the host’s voice were completely lost on William and Aida, who were inside the duel room.
A perfectly soundproofed duel room.
Moreover, even though one could see inside from the outside, the interior structure impeded those within from seeing outside.
The only thing the participants could see inside was their opponent.
“Wow, you’re doing great, mister!”
“Is it already time for compliments right after the duel has started?”
“Yep! Aida knows it when she sees it.”
Aida wasn’t just giving a compliment to make things sound nice; her praise for William was sincere.
‘His eyes aren’t trembling, and his expressions and movements don’t show any particular tension.’
The opponents Aida had faced until now had their own quirks, and it was easy to observe physical changes when they drew cards.
But William, her opponent in the final match, didn’t show a flicker of emotion, and even his gaze, usually the most uncontrollable aspect, remained serene.
On the other hand, William was also reevaluating Aida.
‘Is this really a little girl?’
William had thought he wouldn’t let his guard down after watching Aida’s matches, but facing her directly in the arena left him astonished by her fierce demeanor.
She emitted an aura reminiscent of those hidden powers he had faced in the Empire.
“I will set this card face down and end my turn.”
Never let your guard down.
William decided to regard Aida, the one he was up against, not as a child but as the head of one of the Empire’s noble families.
***
“That guy!! How could he go that far against a child!!”
“Calm down, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Look at him! William is acting so desperate to win against a kid!”
At this tournament, Crown Prince Alex had also attended.
Of course, if his father, the Emperor, found out, he would have a fit.
‘Now you must start learning your duties as Emperor little by little.’
In a situation where the Emperor was subtly teaching his eldest son what the position of Emperor meant by sharing his authority, Alex had sneaked out through a disguise he hadn’t used in ages.
‘Aida is participating in the tournament. Shouldn’t I cheer for her?’
Angered at William, who was his younger brother, he had come secretly to cheer for Aida.
‘Devil’s Gift.’
It was all because of the trap card that uniquely placed itself on his own field monster rather than against the opponent.
“Magic Card: Crossing Souls!”
Aida activated a magic card during her duel, snatching one of William’s monsters from his field to hers.
But that monster had been under the effect of William’s Devil’s Gift card.
-You embed a demon’s heart into the monster on the field. The monster summoned as a tribute will directly hit the player in an attack.
“No!!! Aida, if you take that…!”
If it went on like this, Aida would be guaranteed to lose, and Alex shouted in vain.
Duel rooms were perfectly soundproof, and with no view of the outside world, it was a futile action.
“I will summon the Illusionist Thousand by using the monsters I snatched with Crossing Souls!”
Having taken William’s field monster to summon one of the most powerful monsters, the turn ended, and William focused all his energy on keeping his expression neutral.
‘Now, when I attack, my victory will be certain.’
The combined destruction power of the monsters offered as tributes would strike Aida directly.
The duel was about to conclude at that moment.
“I will set two cards face down on the field and end my turn.”
William feigned a stiff expression, as if he had no monster cards to draw.
It was a clever design to leave the field empty to make it easy for Aida to attack.
“I will attack directly with the Illusionist Thousand!”
But as she was about to attack William, Aida felt a strange sense of disquiet.
Compared to William’s previously powerful skill, he now seemed overwhelmingly passive.
Yet attacking now wouldn’t be an action even a novice would refrain from.
It felt right to attack, but an unsettling sensation made Aida hesitate.
-Should I cherish this card I made for Aida?
At that moment, Aida’s gaze fell on a monster card modeled after her, made by Rupert, which was in her hand.
“I will sacrifice the Illusionist Thousand and the Steel Knight to summon the Winter Princess card!”
And Aida chose to trust her instincts.
The special card that Rupert had modeled after her, who was delighted in a dress designed by Elza.
Aida summoned the Winter Princess.
“And I will use the Magic Card, First Strike, to attack the opposing player directly with the summoned Winter Princess!”
The illustration of the Winter Princess, looking like a grown-up Aida, flew through the duel room, performing a spinning kick towards William.
“And the winner of the final match is Aida Somerset!!!!”
It was the moment the fierce match came to a close.
“Hah… I can’t believe I lost.”
William was still dumbfounded by Aida’s monster summoning and magic card combo, which had unfolded in an instant.
“I suppose it’s appropriate to congratulate you first. Congratulations on your victory.”
“Thank you, mister!”
William approached Aida, who had delivered an impressive match, to shake her hand.
Aida accepted William’s handshake with a smile, recognizing he was not an easy opponent.
She hoped to have a brilliant duel against a strong adversary.
“But I must ask one thing. Why did you attack with the Winter Princess instead of the Illusionist Thousand at the end?”
It was a question stemming from his inability to comprehend.
Did she know that he had prepared the Devil’s Gift in advance?
However, Aida’s response was completely unexpected.
“Because it’s up to me to pave the future!”
In Aida’s hand, the Winter Princess card was held dearly.
***
After the successful conclusion of the Royal Crown Prince Somerset Card Tournament, people’s attention was wholly focused on [King of Cards].
-I shall present this card as a special award to the champion, Aida Somerset.
After the final match concluded, the Emperor directly handed the card to the winner, Aida, in an award ceremony, which was filmed and distributed across the Empire through the Yuren Merchant Association.
“This is insane! When will the guardian cards of the Imperial Family be released!!!”
“I heard those are exclusive treasures given only to the winners, and there’s supposed to be a regular edition too?”
“Starting with the fact that they are bordered in gold, the illustrations on the cards contain real jewels!”
There were a total of three cards titled ‘Guardian of the Imperial Family’ awarded.
All three were adorned with such lavish decorations and illustrations that they made the typical cards, even the ultimate rare ones, look insignificant, causing every card player to crave one.
Thus, immediately after the tournament ended, card collectors from all over the Empire flocked to Somerset Mansion, begging to at least see the cards even if they weren’t for sale.
‘Aida, may I show your cards to the people?’
‘Yep!’
Aida had aimed to win, and she had little interest in the prize cards she received.
Therefore, Rupert chose to display those cards at the Somerset Goods Store in the capital, leading to such a crowd that it nearly paralyzed the surrounding area.
“I can’t believe such a card tournament had such a tremendous influence!”
That wasn’t the end of the tournament’s ripple effects.
Merchants who had witnessed the ability to effectively advertise their products between matches from the start were left in shock.
They had tried their utmost to advertise their items or raise the name of the merchant association with little effect, while Somerset and the Yuren Merchant Association accomplished that daunting task with ease.
After the tournament, it wasn’t uncommon to see people walking the streets humming “Happy Happy Happy Somerset!”
‘Since I’m using the Yuren Merchant Association, I might as well check it out. I’ve heard good things about it lately.’
As many regular customers began using the Yuren Merchant Association, it could not sit idly by.
“We are holding a Duel Tournament sponsored by the Iron Merchant Association!”
“The Harvest Merchant Association is selecting the next generation of comic authors! You too can apply now!”
Other merchant associations began hosting card game tournaments to aim for similar advertising effects, or they aggressively moved to engage in cultural industries like comics or fairy tales, which they had previously only pretended to dabble in.
However, it was no easy feat to surpass the established stronghold of Somerset and the Yuren Merchant Association.
“Why were there no duel tables prepared when you called in duelists for the duel room?”
“It makes no sense that there are no guards to judge any disputes during the duel!”
“Ugh! At the Somerset tournament, the host and commentators made it easy to enjoy watching the matches.”
Even Somerset and the Yuren Merchant Association struggled with the absence of royal support during the tournament, managing to do so without significant errors wouldn’t be possible for an association acting alone.
“Why wouldn’t our association submit works??”
“I’m sorry, but my goal is to serialize in Manapia.”
It was the same story in the realms of fairy tales and comics.
Other associations attempting to gather skilled painters or storytellers through competitions met with dismal participation rates.
‘If I have the chance, I’d want to serialize in Manapia!’
It was due to the admiration artists held for Rupert, who first spread comics throughout the Empire.
In the first place, their desire to create comics began after being influenced by Rupert’s works, which made them prefer Manapia, where Rupert was serializing.
And the Yuren Merchant Association didn’t miss out on such talents, securing contracts and preparing their works.
The Yuren Merchant Association was known for gathering authors with a single condition that they would prioritize considering that when current authors completed their works or increased their output.