Charles Patricius

[Bloodedge]

To no one's surprise, Sakura rejected the idea of being taken all the way to Saitama by someone she'd just met. She was here with some group that she had to keep close to. Such was normal for many teens and young adults, so Shota didn't read into it very much. "Well it's not like I plan on showing you right now. Maybe we keep in touch, and I... eventually show you," he suggested as if to imply interest in long-term association.

Speaking of long-term, Sakura seemed to be playing the long game on two fronts. For one, she questioned his ability to spark her interest. It seemed neither arrogant nor malicious coming from her mouth, so Shota didn't take it as such. No, that was a curiosity... perhaps an interest in its own right? "I think so. I do know I could show you things you've never imagined. You don't seem too disinterested in something like that~" he bantered further. Now then, there was another tactic being utilized by the lass. Her mana for the turn was used to set a trap. Shota gazed at the face-down card while drawing to start his turn. "I'll summon a second basic knight and attack with both," he said as another card was placed. Shota still had two mana remaining for the turn, which he wasn't done with quite yet. What would come of Sakura's most recent card, though? He wondered if, and when, it would come into play.

[Apollymi]

Kakihara was odd to Sakura. Her response to not leaving the area was met by the idea that it wasn't an offer to be taken immediately. This lad apparently wanted to keep in touch with her and maybe take her to Saitama some undisclosed time in the future. She'd been lead to believe that such connections of long lasting natures weren't things sought by humans within moments of knowing others. "Sou ka, that's what you meant," she said not giving an affirmative answer one way or another. In truth, seeing new places was a potentially exciting prospect, but she saw no reason to do so with Kakihara over Kazuhiko.

Oddly enough her found her statements not to be negative in anyway. It was strange for her to have a human not misunderstand her meaning. What was more... he came with more flirty banter to go along with what she'd said. Even making the claim that he could show her things she never imagined. Well that was intriguing. There was a hint of fluctuation behind those normally impassive eyes. "You have no idea the things I have seen or imagined. Though it'd always be interesting to learn something beyond my own experiences..." she spoke those words with no teasing quality to her voice but something inching towards more interest than she'd shown before. As for the match, it was heating up as well. After setting her singular card it would be activating after the damage she took. "After damage, I'll activate Divinity's Echo, which allows me to summon 1/1 Mages with Hexproof equal to the amount of damage I took..." she said. if uninterrupted she would soon have a wall of four 1/1 servants to occupy her once open field before he completed his turn. She'd wait for a while after that knowing that her hand would allow her a bit more leeway even if she lost one or two more servants in the meantime. "Is that right? Stack resolution seems to say that this will resolve before your turn's end and whatever else you plan to do..." she said almost curiously. She was still rather interested in the game at hand if nothing else she'd have to keep in mind what to relay to Kazuhiko when she finished the battle, if he wasn't able to spectate it before the end.

[Bloodedge]

Sakura's response to Shota's boast came with a bit of bite, but moreover a sense of intrigue furthered by her second statement to the same clause. She was taking the proverbial bait, as he saw things. Shota even picked up a hint of something beyond the normal impassiveness shown in the girl's face. "You're right; I don't know. But then, you don't know if I'm right or wrong without finding out. The way you make things sound, you could even show me a new thing or two. It's nice helping each other out, isn't it?" he asked in a seemingly earnest manner. That flirtatious tone remained in Shota's voice as he shared those words, and of course... he wasn't done just yet. "And I'll keep showing you the tricks of the game."

Lo and behold, Sakura had some tricks of her own to show. The attacks she so recently received did indeed activate her trap, allowing the summoning of four new Servants to her field. Shota nodded, having no response to give within the game. "Hai hai, they resolve in reverse order. Unless I respond with another Magecraft that has no incantation restriction, your summons happen immediately after damage calculation. But, my turn isn't over," he proclaimed. Two more mana were spent for Shota's third summon. "I'll play Swiftblade Knight, naturally a 1/2 with Double Strike and Haste. Swiftblade will attack one of your mages, and that'll end my turn."

[Apollymi]

There were many things said by Kakihara which made a great deal of sense to Sakura. The man seemed to understand the nature of learning things through one's own experience as well as relying on others to expand one's knowledge. His words had the potential to resonate even without any subtext applied. "Helping each other is always nice, no interaction should be one sided..." she agreed tacitly. Of course, that wasn't to say she was completely onboard with this lad's obvious desires just yet. She understood them and they were even interesting. He was near her senses in such a way as to not be abrasive and she didn't find his potency to be off either. And with the game they were playing he was proving that his head wasn't completely empty either, which was a bonus for those like Sakura who might have sought more than just the physical aspects of her research. "I am liking this game enough already to want to keep learning it..." she said honestly. Perhaps picking his brain a bit was worth extra effort potentially involved. She'd have to consider it a possibility at the very least.

Moving on to their match, it seemed her understanding of stacks was correct. She got to summon her four mages for the sake of her own defense and that was a good thing. With that working the way she thought it did, she gained a bit of comfort in her play. "Sou ka, I'm glad it works that way..." she said immediately. There was a certain happiness that came with understanding something new, it brought a happier light to her eyes than anything aside from Kazuhiko could at this point. It became immediately easier for her to strategize. Even though she lost one of her summons as his turn ended, it didn't matter much for her current strategy. "Draw..." she murmured. "I use two mana to play Medea, 1/1 Mage with Hexproof and Banding," she mentioned seeing as it wasn't usually known what kind of actions servants could take. "With Metis as my Ruler, Mage servants with abilities gain Flash, which lets them be cast as instants for one less mana cost. Medea's ability is Pain Breaker which costs 1 now 0, and heals the Ruler for the amount of combined offensive power on my side of the field. So I healed four damage to my Ruler," she said waiting to see if something would potentially be activated. She'd read that some things could be activated from the hand and didn't know what kind of cards the lad had in his deck to answer. She also wasn't sure where her own deck would have fit into any potential META discussions. So, she'd wait a moment before ending her turn.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, see? You get it," Shota affirmed. It was always best to help one another out, be it in hobbies or other endeavors. As he saw it, they could easily help one another's quality of life via methods that had nothing to do with trading card games. "You know the best people to get help from? People with experience. As your luck would have it, I've got more experience than most. And... I know how to use it," he said, quite confident in his resume of deviance. Sakura also expressed increased interest in the game, which meant she may become a regular at the shop. Shota had all kinds of ideas as he considered that potential. "It's a great game. Seems like you've also made yourself a nice deck. Good job~"

Something changed in Sakura's visage as her playing experience developed ─ something more expressive than her introductory moments. Her appeal was even higher with that twinkle in her eye. Whatever the case, it was Sakura's turn. The Servant she played was one that benefited greatly from her Ruler's supporting ability ─ more so than most he could remember from that set. "Oh? That's a legacy play. Most people don't play Medea in Metis comps anymore. There's nothing wrong with it; it's a really good tech play. So far, you've turned damage received into presence on the battlefield, and even reversed the damage. If you didn't tell me this was your first time playing, I'd think you were a regular in tournaments somewhere else. Clever clever, Tohcchi~♥"

[Apollymi]

Did Sakura get it? Of course she did. She was far from stupid but this kind of activity was as far as she understood it, well outside of standard human behavior. Or perhaps what she'd been observing were non-standard humans. Munetsuchi was an outlier she understood that, but this lad flirted and behaved like someone closer to native than those she'd been accompanying for the last few days. Though they each had their own quiet desires they shared them as secrets. That seemed to be standard in this case as well. what he had to say he said to Sakura alone. Perhaps this was simply the way. Still there was an implication that Sakura was lucky to encounter this lad, that he had a good idea of what to do with the knowledge he'd amassed in life. "Hm? That actually sounds interesting," she mentioned. Truthfully she didn't expect to come across anything resembling wisdom in this world. And anything she could use for her future endeavors was to be gathered and tested. "I just read the cards and added the ones I liked that could benefit from what I chose as my Ruler..." she explained of her own processes. It would seem that her choices in this game were good. That was good information to have, she'd make sure to share her findings with Kazuhiko. At the very least, Kakihara had crossed the threshold to become an object of study.

Moving on, her play didn't seem to be interrupted. Instead the lad just commented upon her use of a specific card. Apparently, Medea wasn't used often in Metis based compositions anymore. Which meant that the tactic she used was previously well known but now might not be so. He analyzed her understanding at this point calling the choice a 'tech play'. "Odd.... I'm not familiar with the term tech play," she mentioned. "Everything I've chosen I did with the intention of figuring out how to make the combinations work. I am happy the tactic is well received," she finished. As it stood there was a bit of an issue going on. She couldn't start attacking his side of the field too readily. His creatures were stronger and being buffed by his Magecraft. But she had an answer for that... but it'd require a bit more set up. in the mean time she'd observe his actions. "I'll end my turn," she offered the man since nothing else was played immediately. By her own approximation she was likely to lose a few more mages but she had a plan to deal with that as well. But it'd take a while.

As time passed in that little card shop. The convenience store was being vacated by its owner. It would seem that Rita had shared all the imformation she thought she could and was leaving Hiroshi and his young companion to running the store for the rest of the night. She was getting off work significantly earlier than normal. It was quite refreshing so she hurried home in the hopes of greeting her husband and perhaps, rekindling the romantic aspect of their relationship that was sorely lacking. Ah, but even the best laid plans came with complications. By the time she got home, freshened up and exited the bath her husband was... asleep in bed. Given his look, he'd likely been that way for a while. Oh well... perhaps she'd be able to put a bit more time into it the next day. Maybe a nice homemade dinner and a quick stop by the shops for some sexy lingerie. There wa a smile on Rita's face as she became pleased beyond reason about the future of her relationship. And maybe... they could even discuss his taking fewer hours if all went well. She'd not even gotten the chance to call him or speak to him about the good news.

[Bloodedge]

Interesting, Sakura called his proposition. The true thing of interest was the fact that Sakura never firmly established her intentions, or lack thereof in whichever case. "You're a tough nut to crack," Shota admitted. In any normal circumstance, he'd be sure exactly where he stood by now. Sakura's strangeness was in the fact that he could tell there was progress, but never how much. Perhaps he'd have to work on expanding his repertoire.

The term 'tech play' was a new concept to Sakura. That made sense for someone not adjusted to playing this sort of game; it was something rarely or never heard anywhere else. In her lack of understanding the phrase, however, she went on to explain her actions... which was precisely Shota's point. "That. That's a tech play. It usually refers to a card most people wouldn't think of using in a certain deck. If you look at meta decks, you'll see some special differences from one to another most times. Those are cards the deck's owner slid in to fit their own playstyle and make their version of the deck work better for them. Something like this," Shota continued while drawing his card for the next turn. Upon slipping that into his hand, he pulled another and put it into play. "I'll pay three mana to set a Magecraft, then summon another basic knight. All three knights will attack your mages. That's it for my turn," he said. He wouldn't be trying to get rid of Medea, as this was still a learning game. Once Sakura drew her card for the next turn, however, his set Magecraft would be flipped. "Dreadful Depletion. Two mana from your turn becomes mine, with the condition that it be used by itself."

In the meantime, Hiroshi and Kaguya found themselves alone in the convenience store. Rita managed a fair enough explanation of the business flow in this establishment, but as he stood amidst the aisles, Hiroshi knew there were very few things among all those packages he understood. "Ridiculous. I can hardly consider this worth my being employed if I don't commit to the trade. I'll need to know everything possible," he said absently, turning to Kaguya thereafter. "I take it you are familiar enough with all these items? A lesson is in order."

[Apollymi]

"People aren't nuts... they shouldn't crack," Sakura said aloud with that completely deadpan expression of hers. Anyone who knew her, truly would know she was absolutely serious in saying such a thing, but she let that singular sentence go without much thought. She didn't know that her own demeanor wasn't truly understood and she couldn't know that anyone thought she was being coy or playing hard to get. She was far too literal to be doing something like that purposefully.

Whatever the case, she received a proper definition of the term 'tech play' and it was... the thing she'd done. Specifically it was playing a card which wasn't often seen to make one's own playstyle work. "Sou ka... that makes sense. All people should play like that," she said. Gaining information was fine, knowing how to use it to make yourself or those around you better was wise. This she fully understood as a child of wisdom. What was more she was soon shown Kakihara's own play type. He seemed willing to summon another knight and attack her pre-existing summons. But not Medea. Perhaps this was the type of handicap he spoke of. She had mentioned she didn't need such a thing but maybe there was something more to it? He also set a Magecraft which made her believe he was up to something. As she drew that spell was activated and it was interesting. Apparently, it would give him two of her Mana which he had to use separately. She looked at the cards she had in her hand including the one she just drew. She'd planned a specific action but it seemed an adjustment would need to be made to overcome the lack of mana she had to work with. "Sou ka, that's an interesting card. Will it remain for all of my turns or am I only being shorted this one?" she asked in a straight-forward way. Kakihara's answer would determine her shift in strategy.

At the same time, Kaguya and Hiroshi were now alone in the convenience store. It would appear that Hiroshi was a very interesting man, or rather former elf, deciding to completely dedicate himself to learning everything about the convenience store. "Sou ka, that's pretty admirable. Not to discourage you or anything, but this just isn't the kind of job people normally put that kind of effort into," she said for the sake of sharing information. As for her knowledge of things in the store she gave a casual shrug. "I can't tell you too much about the technology but I have a pretty decent understanding of most things. I am a modern teen..." she said with a flirty little smirk coming to her face. She began to have a thorough look around. "Point out anything you really don't understand... I'll try and keep a list going so you can get the most of it," she said having some idea of where this could be going.

[Bloodedge]

Shota offered a very common phrase, and was given the most literal response possible. That deadpan expression made him want to believe she was serious. Could that be the reason Sakura, a total unknown, suddenly appeared in a card shop? Maybe she was some rich shut-in who finally escaped her cage of a home to discover the joys of real, authentic human interaction. If that were the case, perhaps Shota was even luckier than he anticipated. "It's just a saying, Tohcchi~. It just means you're difficult to figure out," he explained.

At the start of Sakura's turn, two of her available mana to spend were taken for Shota's following turn. She had only half the available resources for this turn, but she'd not yet play anything. No, the girl instead sought additional explanation from her opponent. "It only lasts for the turn. There is a stronger play that drains the opponent every turn, but... this deck can't handle a card like that," he said, knowing that a turn-by-turn mana drain was a very rare card that was difficult to fit in any deck, as many legendary-rarity cards were. "I do have a copy of that card though. Maybe you'd be able to use it better than me. Though... I wouldn't just let it go for nothing."

While Sakura considered the path her next turn would take, Hiroshi considered the acquisition of necessary knowledge. As Kaguya alleged, this sort of job was not one people gave such commitment to. Poppycock, he thought. "If it is a job, it should be done to the fullest of one's ability. Have a look around, consider what each item you see is, and come back to me; I can get by on the basic understanding of everything," he said. Hiroshi would take all knowledge available at Kaguya's leisure. With that simple request made, he returned to the register. There were no customers in the building at present, but as he understood it, that was to be his primary place of operation.

[Apollymi]

Sakura's literal response to a euphemism seemed to gain her more understanding. "Sou ka..." she found herself murmuring. She'd set these sayings aside along with a mental note to ask more about them. They seemed pretty close to sarcasm and she didn't like how much was being hidden by human speech simply because they were lacking in the ability to be literal. Ah, but her gripes with humanity would have to wait for a while longer. Mostly due to her own advancement. The spell used by this lad, lasted only for the turn. There was apparently another card which would last multiple turns but he couldn't make it work within the confines of his deck. "I'd have to know exactly what it did to want to offer anything for it," she said about the card. But knowing that she wouldn't be stunned for turns to come, she supposed she could actually give her own turn a proper play through.

"Alright, I think I know what to do..." she said finally. "I'll use my two mana to play the Magecraft, Trench Raiding, which I can activate for two mana when you have more servants than I do on the field. It will allow me to gain mana equal to the number of servants you have on the field which is four," she expressed waiting to see if she'd be getting any reactions or shut downs. There was a card in her hand she intended to play a few turns from now, but it seemed like she'd be overwhelmed if she didn't drop it in this turn given Kakihara's field advantage. If her stack was allowed to continue she had five mana which she would use to summon a very specific card which had been in her hand since her first turn. A blonde man looked at her in the card, and though he was quite skinny she found his ability was fairly useful and would help her shift the tides of this battle while she fished for more controlling options within her cards. Things were getting quite intense, at the very least Sakura seemed to be enjoying the game which provided her new challenges at every interaction. She'd have to be sure to share her newfound joy with Kazuhiko.

In the meantime, Kaguya was hearing a bit more of the elf mentality from Hiroshi. This man seemed to think that any job which should be completed should be done to the best of one's ability. "Sou ka, high fantasy elf that lives in the magical world equivalent of a utopia. Probably with a little classism thrown in, gotta love high fantasy tropes," she murmured seeming to understand how an elf would end up with ideations like the ones that Hiroshi expressed while never having visited the homeland of elves within the world of Alaya. Regardless she'd do her part to help the elf get well acquainted with his job. "Still, I'll make sure to keep the stores items in mind. Be right back," she claimed. She had a casual walk around the store. Noting everything from laundry detergent to quick foods. It'd take her about five minutes to have a good hold of the entire stock of the store, but once she did... she'd return to Hiroshi's side to find out how he planned to take his lesson.

[Bloodedge]

"It's a legendary Magecraft called Origin Cast. It equips to any God-type Ruler or greater and limits the opponent's mana each turn, while giving extra mana to the controlling player for everything the opponent does," Shota explained of the card in question. That card was perhaps one of the most sought-after cards in the game, though most could not play it without limiting their decks. Given Sakura's unusual tactics, he actually thought she could make use of it. "I have four copies, and only one can be legally played," he said further, wondering if Sakura would indeed be interested in exchanging something for such a rare card.

As for her turn, it involved another Magecraft to return more mana than she'd lost. It was an interesting play that reeked of potential comebacks, and Shota was made curious. "You've got an interesting mix of Metis's aggro and control variants going there. You should enter a tournament; I haven't gone this long without my opponent being half-dead in weeks," he admitted. Since it seemed Sakura was waiting for potential response, Shota extended a hand in a gesture that said 'carry on'. "As you were, Tohcchi. I like watching you work. You get a cute little glint in your eye when your combos are working~♥" he flirted a bit more openly.

Meanwhile, Hiroshi was hearing the most accurate understanding of elf society from one who spent only a few days on Alaya. By his own understanding, the former elf figured her mentor or Solomon had given her much information. "You know a strange amount about my homeland," he stated in the most absent way. Moving on, Kaguya went about scanning the shop's wares while Hiroshi took his place behind the counter. For a business to be so barren of customers, he wondered how it managed to stay afloat. Of course, he figured the changes coming the next day would bring customers en masse.

[Apollymi]

"Origin Cast..." Sakura repeated the name. This was done only for a moment simply as she searched through her memory of deck building with Kazuhiko's collection. She didn't remember a card with that title so she was sure he didn't have any copies of it. "I haven't seen that one yet, it must be quite rare," she said even though it was her first day, she could tell by how passionate Kazuhiko was that if it was something he had it would have been present along with the other 'staples' as he called them. Especially with him playing a goddess as the main form of Ruler for his own deck. "It definitely sounds like it would fit into my own strategy..." she commented. "I could likely take a copy off your hands, if it would help both of us out. It sounds like an offer I would take," she said there was a small smile on her face when she said this. Perhaps she was trying to be flirty or perhaps she was simply thinking of the eventual fun such a card would present to the control aspect of her deck.

Moving on from this, there was a commentary about the nature of the combination of tactics in her deck. Kakihara claimed that it was a mix of 'aggro' and 'control' as variants for Metis's deck. She could understand those terms given the aggressive nature of some of the creatures she thought she could slot in. But her main goal was controlling the field and making sure that at the end she'd have enough power to back the things she was doing with a decisive victory. She thought in this way, she'd make her mother proud. He even had gripes about the nature of his games in the last few weeks, "That isn't very surprising. You seem clever enough to have an established strategy and with many people playing pre-existing strategies it has to be oddly easy to win," she analyzed the potential situation. "It sounds boring to be honest. But I'll likely enter a tournament," she added soon after. He claimed she could carry on, and even made an issuance of a kind of flirt she was familiar with. "Sou ka, I guess I am not misunderstanding this then... you are definitely not just being nice to me... and are in fact propositioning me. I suppose that makes things much easier. I can do what I want in this case," she murmured, seeming to come to the conclusion that this lad could indeed be used for her observations of normal humans. Still her play would carry on as he said. "I'll activate the Magecraft, Smoke Screen for a single 2 mana which summons a number of 1/1 Mages to my side of the field with equal to the number of servants on yours with Hexproof and allows me to save the rest of the mana from this turn to use on my next. And I'll end my turn," she finished her round with an extra four servants and two extra mana to use at the start of her next turn. Such was the method of combined control and aggro she was going for.

At the same time, it was acknowledged by Hiroshi that Kaguya seemed to have a thorough understanding of homeland. As she wandered she shelves she could speak on that easily. "Right you guys only just got here. For reasons I do not fully understand yet, our world contains a lot of information about the magical one, in the form of stories and fantasy media. I happen to be the one in our friend group most interested in high magical societies so I keep track of that kind of thing really easily. Elves are considered non-existent magical creatures here, but they appear a lot in fantasy media, so I've been extrapolating," she explained of her own knowledge. By the time she returned she had gathered all the necessary information about food and objects stocked by the store at a basic understanding. It would likely be clear enough though she could explain anything he needed to know... verbally likely. "So then, Hi-aniki... how are you taking your lesson~"

[Bloodedge]

As expected, anyone who took interest in this particular card game could see the potential benefits of Origin Cast. It was one of the game's most powerful cards, and even if one couldn't use it in their deck of choice, its value alone could be exchanged for full, tournament-ready decks. "It is rare. You could buy all those cases over there, and never see one," he said, pointing to the shop's front where many cases, each filled with ten large boxes of cards, were displayed. Sakura claimed she'd take the offer of a copy, but that... wouldn't be so easy. Shota was still trying to figure her out, and this was a method of doing so. "Given how much it's worth, I couldn't just give you one, sadly. But... we agreed to help each other out, right? I'm sure there's some kind of arrangement we can reach, yeah?"

Shota's greater interest was being made more clear by the moment. While the game they played was the most interesting he'd experienced in some time, but Sakura herself was more interesting than anything he'd ever witnessed. He kept playing and discussing the game, but his gaze was fixed on Sakura. "I guess I'll be seeing you in the tournament then, huh? I always enter," he said while leaning on the backs of his own hands. More important than other matters, was Sakura claiming to understand his propositions. He wondered previously if she'd gotten the point of it all. In said understanding, the purple-haired girl declared she could do what she wanted. "Oh? Does that coincide with what I want, by chance? Because there's a lot I want," Shota stated firmly. At the end of another turn, Shota pulled another card and found use for its play immediately. "I'll spend that two mana from earlier to activate Void Drain. One extra mana will be taken from me, and one from your next turn. In exchange, all of my Summons gain Trample for the turn. I'll then spend my remaining three to summon the Hooded Maiden, a 2/1 Mage. My knights are now all 4/1, and my Swiftblade Knight is up to 5/2. Each knight will attack one of your new summons. Swiftblade will attack your Medea, and the Hooded Maiden will strike at your Ruler. My turn will be over then."

Hiroshi knew nothing of this world's... media ─ whatever that was. He'd surely have to find out more about that as well, but more important was the lesson he required. "If you are able, you must teach me about that as well. What you speak of is a foreign concept to me," he stated. By the time Kaguya reached him at the register, Hiroshi was ready to learn about any and everything she could teach this day. How would he be taking his lesson? Well, there were some factors to consider, he thought. "I suppose that depends. If I need to get the sensation of anything, we'll have to perform a full transfer. If not, I can settle for taking this lesson by tongue instead, as that would be more time-efficient. You are the teacher, however. If you have a specific preference, I must defer to your wishes."

[Apollymi]

Apparently the rarity of the card known as Origin Cast was to be exemplified. All of the cases in the boxes at the front of the store could be purchased and the card in question might not be seen. "So very rare indeed. Getting four copies either makes you exceedingly lucky or oddly resourceful," she said seeming to give it thought. She'd been led to believe that humans weren't as prone on this side to presenting offerings to goddesses. But it seemed that even without the innate understanding of divinity that came to life on Alaya, such offers were still being made like they were in ancient times. The dynamic seemed to have shifted slightly... it was less obvious what was being exchanged, but the exchange itself remained the same. "I understand your meaning... though it took a while longer to figure out than I would have expected. Do you truly believe a trade like that would be fair?" she said looking up and letting the intensity of that deadpan stare fall onto him. Truly he had the most of any human in this building to offer. He was also going out of his way to show her his worth in the old way, even if he didn't fully realize it. He would definitely be useful to her understanding of this world.

Oddly enough, with the added potential learning of the game, the access to him as a part of her experiments and figuring out how humans actually functioned on this planet, as well as any sexual information he might have, she saw no reason to say no to him. "Yes, you'll likely see me at a tournament and probably before then as well," she said clearly. In all likelihood she would be appearing at a tournament eventually, she couldn't think of any reason not to go, if she found it interesting. As for his now very clear desires and her acquiescing to them... there was only one thing to say. "As long as it aligns to my own goals I see no problem with what it is obvious you want. You are the most interesting person in this shop I don't know... though it'd have to be later, I don't know if I'll have other obligations immediately," she said. Knowing she'd at least need to touch base with others long before she started her personal research. Whatever the case, their game seemed to have taken a rather drastic turn. She seemed to find herself down another mana and rather suddenly down to only 2 remaining life points on her Ruler. "Sou ka, that's how those kinds of abilities work in practice. I see... it was about what I expected there is a certain rush style tactic which overwhelms in a single instant," she said analyzing the strategy, that light in her eyes seeming to dance as she came to a fuller understanding. "It really can be problematic though. If people are playing in such a way to build up the proper forces before turn five. I should definitely adjust perhaps get a few more mana giving Magecrafts and swap a few servants for speed adjustments. I still like my overall choices though... I could still control the flow of the game and slow it a bit," she murmured through her own thought processes before drawing a card. "Draw," she wouldn't be stopping before she tested the validity of her last strategy. "I use five mana to summon Jason, a warrior 1/4 with Disengage and Banding," she commented absently. "His ability allows the instant summon of one of the Argonauts from the hand at lowered cost," she explained her choice. "I'll choose Atalanta, a warrior 4/1 with Haste, First Strike and Banding," she mentioned looking at the field. She had an interesting play in mind but needed to first see if there were going to be reactions to her initial summons.

It would seem media on the whole was missing from Alaya. That was a shame, but she supposed the magical world had to do different things for the sake of entertainment. Perhaps it was the nature of world-wide magical threats which kept the humans there from the kind of leisure based activities that the ones on this world had. Aside from a few massive weapons, most humans couldn't wipe out large population here so life was a bit more open to leisure. "Hai hai, but the media could just be experiences, movies, tv shows, games... these are all things that are way funner to experience directly," Kaguya claimed. Still there was the matter of this man's lesson which he claimed sh could teach the way she wanted but he thought it would be more efficient to take with the tongue. "Well... Mon-sama did say stuff was a bit weird here. Perhaps a bit of experimentation is in order~" the girl teased. Truly Hiroshi was quite the specimen as a human and she took no issue interacting with him in this form either. Besides, it was rare for her be the one distracted and it could be fun to experience things as a human would. "So... how about we slip back to the office and start at the top and work our way down. You know... Take care of your learning and find out how our bodies are working now for the group's knowledge~" she offered with just a hint of deviance in her eyes. Well, she'd already decided to have fun with her life from now on, it wouldn't be stopping any time soon.

[Bloodedge]

There was no conceivable reason for a single player to possess four copies of that card. In truth, Shota hadn't pulled a single copy from a pack. "Ante rule. I got all four copies by winning against people who had them, betting my most valuable card for theirs," he affirmed with a quick nod. Sakura registered what he was getting at with the card offer, thinking to question its fairness. As Shota considered her question, he did understand that one could purchase a couple of prostitutes for its value. On the other hand, those prostitutes couldn't physically compare anywhere in Japan, or likely elsewhere. "Fair? Hmm, I guess not in a mathematical sense. For you, though... I'd do it," he said with a cheeky wink. "Besides, if you think it's unfair, you could always sweeten the deal. You talk like you could do something for me I've never seen before~♥"

According to Sakura, the chance of meeting her in the tournament was high... and he'd likely be seeing her before it as well. Shota took the latter half of that clause as an open invitation, and her follow-up statements fed into the notion. It sounded like he would probably see no action today. Though that was fine, arrangements were necessary in such moments. "Then we should agree to meet up. Whenever you're not busy, give me a call. I'll give you my number," he said, holding out his phone to offer an exchange. Ah, but the game was still ongoing. Sakura, down to two life points, still had a few moves to test. She summoned the Legendary Hero Jason, proving that she did in fact possess at least multiple members of the Argonaut set. "I was wondering if you had the rest," Shota commented. Seeing Atalanta summoned to the field afterwards, he thought the game was taking an interesting turn. Sakura could surely flip the script, as it were. "Not bad, not bad. I haven't seen anyone commit to the Argonaut set in months. No response."

Just as Kaguya said, they were all warned by Solomon's previous incarnation that things functioned differently in this world. It was best to be mindful of what said differences were, in this case... and some personal study was always beneficial. Of course, Hiroshi didn't miss a bit of deviance radiating from Kaguya as she suggested as much. He even hazarded the lightest chuckle in his response. "Hm. All in the spirit of learning, is it? I must say, it would be an interesting experiment. If we were warned by him, there's sure to be some relevance to our daily lives. We should explore all possible avenues," Hiroshi agreed. Without further hesitation, he began walking toward the office. Thanks to a certain elafia, he'd begun to see the fun of... study sessions. Kaguya proved herself similar enough to the other girl that he could fall into deviance with her as well. "I nearly forgot that you seem to be the scamp of the pair... some key moments aside."