On that day, Rindou Shouma who was coming back home from school, went straight into the warehouse behind his house.

At the end of the last year, my grandparents, which had become my foster parents, pa.s.sed away, so I decided to organize all their belongings.

I’m glad my grandparents kept all their stuff, but it’s hard to clean that all by myself. Seeing how I have nothing else to do, this is good enough to relieve my boredom.

I started this thinking it was going to be fairly easy, but it turned out to be harder than what I expected. I had already spent half a year organizing my stuff in the house, but then I remembered recently that I hadn’t arranged anything in the warehouse yet.

My grandparents would always spend time with each other and cherish some items they bought before as mementos of their love – even if it was only an old dusty cloth. They were together for long enough to even host a golden wedding ceremony.

There was such a large quant.i.ty of memorabilia that they would not fit in the house anymore, so my grandparents bought a vacant house and left a lot of stuff behind. That’s why they build this big warehouse.

That was about 20 years ago.

Thinking about the fact that some of the memorial goods have been preserved from 3 years before I was born, it would be a heavy responsibility for me and make me a bit nervous to tidy them up by myself…

However, it cannot be left as it is.

Shouma had lived with his grandparents since he was five years old when he lost his parents in a traffic accident. Now a decision had to be made between what had been really important to the two of them and what hadn’t been that important.

I need to transfer the important things to the two bedrooms and keep the rest in the vacant rooms or in the warehouse. Therefore, I need to clean the room until I have enough s.p.a.ce to move around. Well, I have no family left anyway.

“While organizing this stuff, it may be possible to find the Wiz cards. But grandpa, where would you hide such a large amount of Wiz cards…”

When opening the rusty door of the warehouse, the smell of mold attacked my nasal cavity. Besides that, it looked like there was a lot of dust. I thought it would be better to come back and get a mask… Come to think of it, I think I’m out of masks after cleaning the house.

“……..”

Well, if I take care of ventilation, there will not be a problem.

Shouma, who had fully opened the heavy door, had just stepped in the warehouse to start cleaning up – right at that time.

“… – …”

I could hear a woman’s voice from somewhere.

I wondered if someone was outside the warehouse, but I couldn’t see a person in the overgrown garden. There was no person hiding in the warehouse s.p.a.ce of about 15 tatami mats[1], maybe someone was talking outside?

That’s what Shouma convinced himself of.

“….. ! …!”

I carried out the luggage I got from the warehouse to the garden and then I heard the voice again.

“……”

Shouma frowned and closed the door of the warehouse.

I listened carefully in the dark. Somewhat, I could still hear the same voice as before. The quality of the voice was the same as before closing the door – rather, it was slightly clearer as the noise from the outside was blocked.

That means that it was actually coming from somewhere inside the warehouse.

But, where?

Again, I open the doors of the warehouse. Even while it was illuminated by the setting sun and dyed in an orange color, I couldn’t find any trace of a

human. But they had to be hiding somewhere.

Shouma listened carefully and searched for the source of the voice. . .

“This girl…”

I turned around.

I took a box that was shaped like a ring case – it had been placed on top of a cardboard box. I thought that the voice had to be coming from a doll with a conversation function, but this box was not big enough to contain such a doll.

However, the voice certainly came from here.

“Well, I’ll know for certain once I opened it.”

Even though I thought I was normally always calm and rational, I was curious, so curious that I opened the box without hesitation. There was a golden ring in it.

I touched the ring and carefully inspected it all over.

I didn’t find anything suspicious. It was a very ordinary ring. Speaking of characteristic features, there were some unreadable kanji on the inside.

However…

“Please Atsumori! Let’s have a rematch!”

Even if it had been decorated with its own unique details, this ring couldn’t possibly compare to the surprise I felt upon hearing the voice.

“Rematch?”

“…! Atsumori? 50 years have already pa.s.sed since our promise!”

I had only muttered to myself, but I soon got a reply. Apparently, the ring worked as a communication device.

Shouma was trying to say that they mistook him for someone else when suddenly the voice turned frantic.

“I finally caught thou[2]! I will never let thou go again! Let’s have a rematch just like thou promised! Let’s go back to Astral![3]”

‘I am not Atsumori my name is Shouma’, I was trying to say that, but suddenly a geometric pattern appeared under my feet so I closed my mouth. At that moment, the pattern began to s.h.i.+ne with crimson light.

The brightness of the red s.h.i.+ne increased really quickly and Shouma additionally also closed his eyes. He judged intuitively that it would be dangerous to move, so he stuck to the spot and waited for the convergence of the light while having his eyes closed.

“… Who are thou?”

At the same time as I felt the convergence of light through my eyelids, I heard a certain voice.

“That’s my question, who are you?”

Replying to that, Shouma opened his eyes. What he saw with his blurred vision was a purely white girl.

She looked like she was sixteen years old and she had a rather beautiful appearance. Delicate silver hair that was so long that it reached her waist, and these eyes with a crimson s.h.i.+ne under the shallow eyebrows which were beautifully arranged.

Her delicate body was wrapped in a highly exposing costume. I could see big parts of her soft b.r.e.a.s.t.s because of the wide open chest area.

I faced such a G.o.dly beautiful woman – ‘I… I cannot bear it.’

Then, his curiosity was directed at another place.

“Wait… What is this place?”

Shouma’s voice was trembling. He was not afraid, it was only trembling due to his curiosity.

There was a cloud floating above in the sky, the land he was standing on was devastated and behind the girl there stood a big withered tree.

If you spread out the entire horizon, it would only be 20 meters.

It was not too far. Was it normal to be four or five meters away from the horizon?

Shouma went ahead and decided to check it with his own legs.

“H-Hey. Where are thou going?! Wait!”

Ignoring the girl’s calling I continued walking straight. I came back to the place I was one minute ago.

‘… Hmm I get it.’

It was an ultra-small planet covered with thick clouds overhead. Also, I was summoned to such a mysterious world.

“Have thou finished walking?”

It’s that white woman.

“Oh, the fun walk is over. From here on, I will be entertained by having a conversation with you. Well, who are you? And where is this place?”

“I am Iris.[4] And this is a “locked world” created somewhere in Astral.”

“Can I call it [Prison]?”

“Prison, right….”

While I was out walking, I hadn’t found any hide or hair of a living thing, so it was clear that the only prisoner was Iris. She had the face of an angel who couldn’t hurt a bug, so what in the world had she done?

“Well, I answered thy questions. Now it’s thy turn.”

“I am Rindou Shouma. If the Atsumori you’re talking about is Rindou Atsumori, that’s my grandpa.”

“Thy grandpa!? So I was mistaken!? Huh, what a disgrace! How did I make such a  mistake in this situation? My whole life is a mistake!”

“I get it. Your mistake was jumping to a hasty conclusion… You seem to have some business with grandpa, but grandpa died half a year ago.”

“? … Now. . . How?”

“Rindou Atsumori is dead.”

Shouma briefly explained.

My grandmother pa.s.sed away last year and my grandfather left the world shortly after that, as if to follow her. Both of them had a peaceful death.

Shouma, while listening to Iris’ voice, tried to make sense of everything that had happened. The moment he touched the ring some pattern appeared below his feet, and before he could do anything about it he was already here.

When I finished talking about everything, Iris was drooling.

“Is that so, Atsumori pa.s.sed away…? That is disappointing… Well, this is quite a disappointing situation… I’m sorry, but I can’t afford to be sympathetic because of thy lost relatives.”

“What do you mean you can’t afford to show sympathy for my situation? Does my grandfather have anything to do with your circ.u.mstances here?”

Shouma knew that Atsumori was an ordinary salary man – the only thing special about him besides being a loving husband was that he possessed a lot of Wiz cards. It was clear that this world was not Earth, but for such a grandfather, what kind of contacts could there possibly be between this mysterious beautiful girl from another world and him?

Iris put her hands on her chin, making a gesture.

“…Well, thou could say that there is some sort of relation between us two. I am pleased to talk with another person for the first time in a long time, and this summoning was also for my own convenience. I will tell thou about the relations.h.i.+p between me and Atsumori.”

With a coughing sound, she started talking boldly.

“I lost a fight to Atsumori about fifty years ago, and I was deprived of my power. It cannot be really understood just by looking at it, but I only have a spiritual body. Here, the evidence…”

With these words, Iris reached out to Shouma’s chest. Her narrow arm penetrated his chest without any resistance and came out of his back.

“…”

After Iris took her arm out again, Shouma couldn’t help but touch his chest.

There was no pain, no wounds. There also was no blood stain on the white s.h.i.+rt.

‘Her having only a spiritual body seems to be true.’

“That’s why I’m neither dead nor alive. Or maybe I’m already dead and I just have not noticed that yet.”

Iris was laughing m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tically. Staring at her, Shouma told her.

“What a waste…”

“…What a waste? What is a waste?”

“If you only have a spiritual body, having those splendid b.r.e.a.s.t.s is a waste.”

Hearing that, Iris’ face turned red.

“Even if it was not a spiritual body I would not let thou grope them.”

Iris covered her big b.r.e.a.s.t.s with both arms. Seeing that, Shouma couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Don’t shout at me like that. Well, your face now looks far better than that listless one you showed me before.”

Iris started gazing at Shouma.

“Well, did thou deliberately do something perverted to cheer me up?”

“Do you become excited when I say something erotic?”

“It’s not like that!”

“You are a living spiritual body. You are definitely alive.”

“Of course! I am alive…”

Iris turned silent.

And then she looked at Shouma with a serious look in her eyes.

“Thou are quite a funny guy… Thou do not seem to be a bad person.”

“Hey, c’mon , who calls a person they are meeting for the first time a “funny guy”?”

“Well, thou are the one who thought about groping my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. No, this topic is over already. Let’s not talk about that for so long… Let this be the end of that.”

Iris cleared her throat to calm down the tone of her voice and resumed talking. Her voice was different compared to before, it was full of vigor.

“Atsumori deprived me of my powers and I became a spiritual body, and as a final blow I was trapped in here. [Reflect here for 50 years and then we’ll have a rematch. If you can win I’ll return your powers] … Saying such things Atsumori left me.”

I didn’t know grandfather had such a vivacious personality. What kind of evil did she commit for grandfather to have sentenced her to fifty years in prison?

“…What have you[5] done?”

“I do not know how to explain it well… That’s right… Well, I was the supreme G.o.d who managed Astral here… Those who lived in Astral were incredibly bad. I wanted to improve their relations.h.i.+ps, so I imposed a lot of trials.”

“Trials?”

“I intentionally caused a catastrophe. If thou cooperate and transcend hards.h.i.+ps, I believe that bad relations.h.i.+ps will be improved.”

Iris sighed deeply. It seemed evident that the relations.h.i.+p restoration she was after didn’t work out.

“I am sorry about continuing to ask you so many questions. Why did grandpa come here?”

My acquaintance with Iris seemed something straight out of a fairy tale. I understood that there was a relations.h.i.+p between Atsumori and Iris… but what exactly led up to that remained unknown.

“Someone in Astral summoned Atsumori.”

So it was just like with him. Shouma was summoned by Iris… Did Atsumori get summoned by someone else?

“Can the people of this world use this summoning technique anytime?”

“It is not a summoning technique. It is a Summoning Wiz card.”

“… What did you say?”

He tried to confirm it because he thought he heard it wrong.

“Me, and some others brought people from other worlds using Wiz cards which had a summoning magic incorporated. It seemed that Atsumori was chosen at random, but I chose to summon thou, in a way. I gave the command to [Summon a person who touches Rindou Atsumori’s magic ring[6]]. Well, apparently I made a mistake.”

“That doesn’t matter!”

“It doesn’t matter thou say? Is it because it is other people’s business? Is it!?”

“Yeah, of course. This is other people’s problems. Astral has Wiz… In this world Wiz cards are like some kind of magic… And I was summoned to such a wonderful world! Am I correct?”

Seeing Shouma being so enthusiastic, Iris calmed down.

“Well, yes. Thou are correct. Various kinds of magic are incorporated into Wiz cards, the effects can only be activated by casting them… By the way, do thou know Wiz?”

“Yeah. I used to have a lot of card battles with grandpa back in the day.”

His memory might be bad… but if someone asked him [What do you enjoy the most?] Shouma would immediately reply with [Wiz card battles] – he liked Wiz to such a degree.

In order to cheer up Shouma who was depressed because of the death of his parents, Atsumori invited him to play Wiz. Speaking of the card game, for the 5 year old Shouma who only knew about Trump so far, Wiz was a groundbreaking game. Shouma became entranced by Wiz even though he lost after only two rounds. It was fun even though he lost against Atsumori, who had used a variety of tactics.

By the time he was in junior high school, he grew up to be able to compete with Atsumori. Watching Shouma playing Wiz with Atsumori everyday, his grandmother used to say [Shouma cannot make friends with people of the same age as he is]. After that she warned Atsumori to stop playing Wiz.

Shouma did not see any Wiz cards after that day.

My grandparents did not tell me the secret place where the Wiz cards were hidden, but I tried to find them by myself. But after looking for a long time I wasn’t able to find them, I even tried searching for Wiz cards using the library’s PC so I could buy them. But such a product apparently did not exist in this world.

I did not know from where or how my grandfather got these Wiz cards… Well, it seemed that Atsumori had acquired Wiz in a different world. Indeed, this was an unexpected way of acquiring it.

“Are the Wiz that grandpa owned and the Wiz of this world the same?”

It was more of a confirmation than a question.

Iris nodded.

“However, the effects of Wiz cards can only be activated in Astral, so in that sense they work in a completely different way.”

“I see… d.a.m.n it! I regret not finding more Wiz cards!”

Atsumori said that he possessed countless varieties of Wiz cards, maybe more than 10000. Shouma could do whatever he wanted in this world with those Wiz cards. Being a millionaire was not a dream either.

“Thou should’ve touched the ring before coming here then. Where is it now?”

“It is here!”

Shouma opened his right hand and showed the golden ring that he had never seen before today to Iris.

“That is called a magic ring. Atsumori added communication functions and translation functions and other functions through Wiz card effects, but originally the magic ring was only for storing Wiz cards. While wearing it think [Open][7] and thou will see a 「Card List」[8] describing all of thy Wiz cards.”

Hearing that, Shouma put the magic ring on a finger of his right hand and thought [Open].

Shortly after, a book appeared. It was thick enough to be used as a blunt weapon. Although it seemed to be really heavy at first sight, it did not weigh anything at all because it was floating in front of Shouma’s chest.

He was not particularly surprised. Rather, he wanted to check the card list as soon as possible. Turning the cover engraved with the words 「Card List」, there was a bold card name written on the first page.

Next to the name there was a number displaying the amount of owned cards with this name: “x8 cards”.  After checking the imprint, the total number of Wiz cards owned, etc., he noticed a “Wiz completion rate”.

50 more cards were required to complete the collection of all kinds of Wiz cards.

“With the name of the Wiz card in mind, if thou say “Search[9]”, it will go directly to the page where that Wiz card is located. If thou want to close the 「Card List」, say

.”

“Got it. By the way, to use the Wiz card I want, do I need to take it out of the 「Card List」?”

“The 「Card List」 is for confirmation only. Although it can still be used even if taken out. Keep wearing the magic ring and have in mind the name of the Wiz card thou want to use and then the card will materialize. If thou cast it, there will be a mechanism to activate the effect.”

“I see. Then…”

He tried to remember the name of the Wiz card he saw earlier… A card appeared in front of Shouma’s chest. Shouma took the floating card, which looked as if it had an invisible wall surrounding it, and studied it with his gaze.

The size was about twice as big as usual playing cards. Both sides were black, on the upper part of the front side there was an ill.u.s.tration of a fire pillar penetrating the sky, the lower part showed some text indicating the effect. And then there was a red pattern drawn on the back. It was the same pattern that had appeared when he was being summoned.

“Which card did thou call forth?”

“Hmm, this one.”

“I’m sorry but I cannot tell what card that is. As long as thou do not show it to me by thine own will, a Wiz card appears pale white to anyone but the owner. In order to make it harder for the opponent to know which Wiz card is being used in battle.“

“I see. I will tell you then. It’s the one called 「Flame Pillar」[11]!”

Shouma casted the Wiz card… At that moment, a magic circle appeared at the base of the big tree as the target… there was a big blaze. The flame spewed out from the magic circle and penetrated the thick cloud whirling overhead. The prison world was wrapped in heat for a moment and stinging pain attacked the skin. When the flame pillar disappeared, the big tree had turned into ashes, and Shouma who saw that sight laughed out loud.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is awesome, it is actually magic.”

“D-Did thou have to use it so suddenly?”

“Let’s have a card battle!”

“Listen to what I have to say!!”

“Don’t get that angry. I didn’t use it in a crowded area like a town or anything.”

With a “Humph” sound from her nose, Iris continued talking with a softer tone of voice.

“Although Atsumori was able to extensively use Wiz cards here, in Astral we cannot use Wiz cards with the purpose of attack… Even if it is not aimed directly as an attack, it cannot be used for an act of violence. It will be troublesome is someone like thou appears!”

Apparently there were split views in this town when the subject was Wiz.

“I do not want to be told that by the person who caused a catastrophe.”

“Gunuh… Don’t rub salt into my wounds.”

Well, even when she caused a major disaster, Iris might not have recognized it as a 「Violent Act」… To cause such a catastrophe while only having kind thoughts, that was really bad. I guess Iris also regretted it after being confined here for fifty years.

“So… the [Trials] were not caused due to a Wiz card attack… or maybe the supreme G.o.d has the power to cause a disaster?”

“My ability is only 「Create」[12]. If thou use this 「Omnis」[13], thou can create a [Wiz card with thy desired effect].”

Due to Atsumori having sealed her powers, Iris was unable to use 「Create」.

“In other words, you can produce cheat cards freely?”

“Yes. However, Wiz cards created using my 「Create」 ability will disappear after being used once. Well, anyway, the Wiz card that was created for the Trials was not created for attack purposes. So it can be used freely.”

“I see. So, I do not possess the Wiz created by you?”

“Thou only do not possess the Wiz produced by 「Create」. I also created the Wiz cards that are normally distributed, so what I mean is, thou do possess the Wiz I created.”

“So you were the creator of Wiz! I want to fight you more and more after listening to this.”

“What a belligerent guy thou are… I have no reason to battle with thou. I wanted to fight Atsumori.”

Iris was trying to recover her lost power by defeating Atsumori. Then, she could regain her body. However, Iris couldn’t fight Atsumori, so she would remain a spiritual body.

“Well, I will be freed from this suffering soon. A spiritual body cannot eat, so for the past fifty years that I have been imprisoned here I’ve been sucking the life force of that big tree, but now the big tree has withered away, so I lost it as a source of energy. There’s nothing else to do… My life will be over in about a week.”

The reason why Iris was troubled was clear. It was not unreasonable to get impatient if your food supply got cut off.

“Then just possess me, your problem would be solved for now.”

“Are you crazy? Once thou are possessed, I will not be able to leave thy body until thou, the host, die. Do thou know that?”

“Even so, I don’t mind. However, you have to listen to my conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“Fight with me.”

“That again? I’m glad thou offered that, but let’s stop that.”

Shouma clicked his tongue, obviously displeased.

“Why, are you scared to fight me?”

“It’s not like that. My objective to fulfill is to govern Astral as the supreme G.o.d. For that purpose, the ability 「Create」 is indispensable, so it has to be completely restored. Since I cannot recover my body, it is an unreachable dream.”

Even if Iris possessed Shouma, there was no reason to continue living only sucking his life force, that’s what she meant.

“Besides defeating grandpa, is there no other way for you to completely recover?”

“Well, there is a way to recover my body… But, thou are inadequate.”

To these words, Shouma showed a lascivious smile.

“Whether I’m inadequate or not, you should give it a try.”

“Normally, thou would not be able to battle me. Oh well, let’s just see if thou are inadequate or not. Let’s do a test. To see if thou are special.”

“Special… And usually I would not be able to battle you?”

“Yes. Originally thou would have to collect all kinds of Wiz cards to fight me. A thousand years have pa.s.sed since I became the supreme G.o.d, and I can count the number of creatures who faced me on one hand. It was thy grandfather Rindou Atsumori alone who was able to win against me and get the reward, 「Omnis」.”

Iris said “I did not imagine that that power could be used to seal myself though.”

By the way, Atsumori seemed to have returned to his former world by using the original Wiz card that Iris had… [Return[14]] which had the effect to [Transfer the target to its birth place].

“It’s your advantage to be able to create original Wiz cards, but you almost never battled with anyone??? What a waste… It’d be better to give me these Wiz cards of yours than to waste them by letting them loaf around uselessly in a magic ring.”

“If by any chance thou win against me, at that time I’ll comply with thy demands.”

“Eeh… so if I can win you’ll follow my demands? I’m starting to like this world more and more. Then, please start explaining the rules.”

This situation was going to be different from the time when he used to have fights with Atsumori, because in Astral Wiz had magical components. It was something beyond a table game. Surely the rules had to be different.

“To have a card battle with Wiz… There are five basic rules for the Duel”

Iris started talking about the rules while counting.

Each player is given 1000 life points.

A player whose life points reach 0 while in the Duel is defeated.

You can select up to 5 Wiz cards to make your initial hand, if you possess any remaining cards, these will be treated as the deck (you can only have up to 3 copies of the same card). Every time the cards in your hand get reduced, you can replenish your hand with one card from your deck.

Each player can establish up to three rules of their own if both players accept them, as long as they do not conflict with the other basic rules.

The loser of the Duel must comply with the same number of requests as the number of rules they set up by using the previous rule.

“So, these are the five rules of a Duel. Did thou understand all of them?”

“Yeah. Thanks for explaining them in an easily understandable way.”

[4] and [5] were different from the card game he played with Atsumori… but at the same time these were what gave life to the Duel.

If you made three rules that were advantageous to you, the chances of winning would increase, but the rules that were made also increased the risks you took if you were defeated. In the worst case, your life may end with one defeat.

“I will just ask to confirm this… Do all people in Astral battle like this?”

As expected, Iris nodded.

“Here, any violent acts such as murder, rape or robbery are forbidden… Or rather, I forbade these acts using 「Omnis」. Even if thou try to harm others, thy body will just refuse to do so.”

“That seems really effective… But why bother with forbidding violence?”

“Originally the fights just would not stop…Everyone was struggling for power, and a lot of people were sacrificed. Luckily or unluckily I became the supreme G.o.d… Meaning to solve the conflicts peacefully, thinking that such tragedies should never happen again… I introduced Duels. Obviously there were sacrifices, because ever since then I’ve never seen a person who likes Duels as a hobby. Everyone surely likes making rules though.“

After explaining this, Iris gazed at Shouma with a serious look.

“Which rules will thou make?”

“I will not make any rules.”

Hearing that unexpected reply, Iris’ face showed signs of confusion.

“Are thou serious? Thou will take risks. It is overwhelmingly unfavorable if thou do not make additional rules.”

“I will decide whether it is disadvantageous or not.” (TL note: What a bada.s.s MC xD)

“…It is impossible to say that thou want to make an additional rule after the start of the Duel, do thou understand that?”

“Yes, I do. Please decide on your rules quickly and let’s get started with this.”

“What a belligerent man. There is no need to hurry, I already decided on the rules. In order to beat Atsumori, for the past fifty years I’ve been thinking of rules that will definitely make me win.”

Iris listed the rules proudly.

“My rules are the following two. [I can only use one Wiz cards while thou can use five], [When thou run out of Wiz cards to use it is my victory, even if there are still life points remaining].”

“Got it.” Saying that, Shouma started to think.

There would be only one card in Iris’ hand. In contrast there would be five in Shouma’s. Obviously, rules gave you an overwhelmingly advantage. The previous 「Flame Pillar」’s description said [Cause 500 damage to the target]. If he used two of these he could make Iris’ life points. .h.i.t 0.

This was the strategy that Iris created during these fifty years. It would not be easy.

‘What’s important here is… What card will Iris use?’

There could be the following two patterns:

[One Wiz card that will make Shouma’s life points. .h.i.t 0.]

[One Wiz card that can prevent all attacks coming from Shouma.]

‘I’m almost sure Iris will choose the latter.’

It was reasonable to think that Iris thought about both rules one after another in order to use a specialized defense Wiz. In that case she would use a [Wiz card to prevent multiple attacks] …?

For example, in Wiz there was an effect stating [Reduce the attack from the target player to 0 for 5 times]. In that case, Shouma would have to use more than five attacks with five Wiz cards… He had to think of a combo that could leave Iris with no remaining life points.

Well, five times was only something Shouma guessed, what Iris would use could be more powerful.

No.

‘I don’t think she would actually prevent more than five attacks.’

Iris had her original Wiz cards… [I thought I had the strongest Wiz cards] was what she had boasted about.

And if she’s proud of having a strong defense, the [Reduce the damage received to 0. After doing this for five times, this Wiz card will be destroyed] effect was what came to mind.

‘By strengthening this effect… does it permanently invalidate the damage?’

However, the second rule may have been a bluff to mislead Shouma to think that [Iris will use a Wiz card specialized in defense].

If Iris would use a card specialized in attack, there’s a possibility that she could use a card that could defeat him with one hit, and make his life points. .h.i.t 0.

‘But Iris said that she spent fifty years thinking about this tactic.

After fifty year of consideration, I do not think that she will be using a tactic like [A wiz card that can make you win with one single hit], since there is the possibility that both attacks. .h.i.t at the same time. That’s why the possibility of Iris using a tactic focusing on attacking is extremely low… Still, it would be irresponsible to throw away that possibility.

But…

Taking into account all the information I have so far, there is no way to figure out Iris’ tactics.’

“… Okay. There is no problem with those rules.”

After thinking for about a minute, Shouma finally said that. Iris couldn’t help but look at Shouma with a surprised look on her face.

“Is that it? I understand thy desire to fight, but thou do not have to hurry this much.”

“To be honest, I think we already spent too much time.”

“Well, if thou say so… Then, if thou are not dissatisfied with the rules, I will call the referee, is that okay?”

“Do the Duels have a referee?”

“Yes. To confirm the rules are correct before the match starts. Or if there is a situation where it cannot be decided who the winner is, the remaining life points or the remaining number of Wiz cards should be taken into account to make a final decision. The referee is in a completely neutral position… the spirit will never take a side.”

“I understood that. But we’re in a prison here. How can you call a referee? And if you can, how will the referee come?”

“The referee, or rather, the spirit, can visit any place where a Duel’s agreements are settled. Atsumori used a 「Barrier」 Wiz card to prevent this place from being detected… But the detecting ability of the spirit exceeds the efficiency of the 「Barrier」. This is why myself[15] can give birth[16] to the spirit like that.”

“I thought you were a s.e.xy type, but you are just a keisanpu[17]?”

“I did not give birth!! I never meant that in the first place. When I said [give birth] I meant that I created it.”

“Of course I know that.”

“So why did thou call me a keisanpu?”

“I thought that would raise the tension before the battle.”

“Don’t do unnecessary things!”

Iris luridly grinded her teeth.

“Unbelievable, what a crazy man. Thou are even more horrible than Atsumori.”

“So if I win the Duel, I will have surpa.s.sed grandpa in everything.”

“Maybe. Of course, there’s no way I’m going to lose. Well then, let me call the referee spirit. Since the Duel’s agreements have already been made between thou and me, soon the spirit should come… Well, it already came.”

Shouma followed Iris’ line of sight.

A crimson magic circle emerged where the big tree had turned into scorched earth, and a red s.h.i.+ne was released. While Shouma was thinking about his summoning, a little girl appeared in the red s.h.i.+ne with her eyes tightly closed. She’s a very young lady.

Tenuous blond hair, a fair but young face. There were still some childlike features, combined with thin lips. You could see an immature bulge on her chest. She was about 130cm tall and she wore a costume with red underlying tones. A halo-like ring was s.h.i.+ning above her head as if she was an angel.

The spirit slowly opened her blue eyes and looked at Iris…

“!”

At that moment, she appeared startled.

“Ah, it’s Iris-sama!? You are alive! Because a new spirit had to be created, I thought you had definitely died.”

“Well, thou could say I’m currently half dead.”

“Wow, gee. This is big news. Tina will be pleased to hear this.”

Knowing her creator still existed, the spirit jumped with joy.

“Anyway, uh… thou should be called Ninfa, right?”

“Yes, I’m Ninfa. The 10000th spirit Iris-sama created.”

“She is a quite self-a.s.sertive individual. Or are all spirits like this?” While Shouma was wondering about that, Iris told Ninfa about the rules of the Duel.

Ninfa nodded vigorously while saying “I remember the rules.” Then she looked at Shouma with her crisp blue eyes and presented a rectangular box with a bell.

“This is a card holster. In the stage of the Duel, the battlefield where I will guide you both to later, it is a rule that only Wiz cards in a holster can be used.”

“It looks like a deck case.”

Shouma fixed the card holster to the top belt loop of his trousers and called out five Wiz cards, the rest he put in the holster. Then the Wiz cards he put in the holster disappeared.

“Hey referee… The cards have disappeared.”

“Do not worry. In the Duel’s basic rules the highest number of cards you can hold were stated, right? Well, the number of cards the card holster can hold is infinite. It looks like they disappeared, but in reality they are not gone! Well, do you understand it now?”

“Ah, I understand. In short it’s like a magical ring shaped like a card holster.”

“Yeah, that’s it… Because it was easy to understand, will you be using it from now on?”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Yes, thank you so much.”

After confirming that the two contestants were ready, Ninfa said with a loud voice.

“Well then… I will guide you to the battlefield!”

Ninfa, who transported the partic.i.p.ants to the battlefield, was talking with a young voice while floating in the clean air.

“Then let’s make a final check of the rules. Please listen carefully.”

The place was a gra.s.sland zone. On the flat ground without any hills, there were weeds that were tall enough to hide your ankles, and if you looked up at the sky, it’s all blue without a single cloud… It’s a peaceful scenery.

After the referee spirit received the rules it built this s.p.a.ce, common sense from the real world wasn’t useful in here… Damage received in the battlefield did not physically damage you. However, you still felt pain, but not enough to cause you to wish to die.

Nonetheless, although you would never actually die, there was something like a ‘death cla.s.sification’. Partic.i.p.ants whose life points. .h.i.t 0 would be transferred to an [Isolated s.p.a.ce] and would not be able to interfere with the Duel.

In that battlefield, Shouma and Iris stood face to face, with a distance of about 15 meters separating them.

There were five Wiz cards floating in front of Shouma’s chest. In front of Iris’ chest there was one which appeared pale white. The number 1000 was floating above both of their heads, they had the same amount of life points.

“The new rules are [Iris can only use one Wiz card while Shouma can only use five] and [When Shouma runs out of Wiz cards to use, Iris will win even if Shouma still has life points remaining], is everything correct?”

Confirming what Ninfa said with a “Let’s do this”, Shouma reviewed his plan in his mind.

Like in the card battles with Atsumori, there was no turn system in the Duels. A momentary delay in judgment or a lack of determination, that was what decided the battle. However, playing a fast-paced game was not what’s important. To read your enemy’s hand, that’s the key to victory.

…So.

I repeated the tricks that I was taught during my battles with Atsumori in my brain.

“Well then… Duel, Start!”

To not be a hindrance during the battle, Ninfa disappeared at the same time she gave the command. Shortly afterwards, both of them started chanting.

“「Material Create」[18]!”

“「Aegis Field」[19]!”

Shouma was a few seconds quicker. A magic circle expanded in front of Shouma’s eyes, and a coc.o.o.n of about 2 meters in diameter and 80 centimeters in width emerged from it. At the same time a magic circle appeared below Iris’ feet but disappeared without causing any damage.

Iris reacted in a calm manner.

“Hoho, thou used a wild Wiz card.”

As expected from the creator of Wiz, it seemed that she was able to specify the effect of a Wiz card just by the name or just by looking at the coc.o.o.n.

In fact, the effect of Shouma’s [coc.o.o.n] Wiz card was a clone effect. The table game was interesting, but at least visually this version of it seemed to be more enjoyable.

“So you’re using a defensive Wiz.”

I proclaimed that with confidence. And Iris replied with a nod “Thou’re right.”

“Well, of course I’m using one. It’s obvious that I would choose a defensive tactic when thou are going to deal damage.”

Iris laughed provocatively.

“Ufufu. Did thou ever think I would use an attacking strategy?”

“I naturally considered that possibility. But it turns out that the second rule was not a bluff.”

Saying that, Shouma caressed the rough surface of the coc.o.o.n.

“If you were going to use an attacking Wiz card, I would be replaced by this coc.o.o.n.”

“What a defensive guy thou are. A valuable card became useless. So… Try to defeat me with the remaining four!”

Iris said while smiling confidently.

Whether they had powerful effects or not, Shouma could not win with those four cards. That’s what Iris was convinced of.

“I may have four cards in my hand, but you should not be too sure of that. I may have more.”

“Hmm, it’s useless to bluff. Thou can only bring up to five Wiz cards following the rules I set. Even if thou did bring more Wiz cards, the referee Ninfa would not allow that. In other words, the fact that thou are still on the battlefield now means that thou have four remaining cards in thy hand.”

Iris confidently pointed that out… Shouma just laughed.

“However, increasing the Wiz cards in the battlefield is not a rule violation, right?”

In response to that remark, Iris withdrew her smile.

“But how will thou increase thy amount of Wiz cards in this place? How will thou do it…? Oh, I get it. Wiz cards can also duplicate other Wiz cards. So if I were to use an attacking Wiz card you’d prevent it using clones, and if I were to use a defensive Wiz card you’d fight it with clones… To be able to think of these tactics… impressive.“

She let out a sigh of admiration – after that, Iris jubilantly boasted to him.

“But thou cannot win against me with such a tactic! The effect of 「Aegis Field」 is [Permanently invalidate attacks from one target]!”

Iris triumphantly declared her victory.

“It doesn’t matter if thou have one, ten, or hundreds of clones, the attacks will not reach me. Although it is a clone, it will not change the fact that it is thou, Rindou Shouma! If thou still want to fight even knowing this – come. Attack me all you want!”

“You don’t need to tell me, that’s my plan.”

However… Shouma started to grin.

“The one who will fight you… is yourself.”

Iris opened her mouth in shock.

“!?… What are thou talking about?”

Shouma clicked his tongue.

“What a dull woman. Well then, let me show you what the content of 「Material Create」 is!” (ED note: The coc.o.o.n summoned by 「Material Create」 is also named 「Material Create」. I know, what a great naming sense, right? It still sounds weird to me…)

The moment Shouma touched the coc.o.o.n, it turned into particles of light, and the contents of the coc.o.o.n emerged.

Without a doubt… that was Iris.

To be correct, it was a clone of Iris. It’s not a figure that had been born naturally, but a figure that I had created… She wore a pure white costume and a gold ring on her finger. Only the appearance was copied, so the ring didn’t contain anything.

Even if that was the case, Shouma still took a long look at it.

“The clones will disappear in five minutes, but it would be a waste to have them disappear just like that. At least I should touch them, I will grope their b.r.e.a.s.t.s before they disappear.”

“Don’t…!”

The original Iris shouted. Her clone was waiting for Shouma’s instructions with empty eyes. Apparently nothing was reflected in the clone’s eyes.

“This is only similar to you, but it’s not you. It’s illogical to get angry because of this.”

“Well, yeah…”

Iris was shaking.

“Eh, stop joking around and attack quickly. However, it’s useless. Thine attacks will not reach me.”

“Did you seriously think I made a clone of you just to rub its b.r.e.a.s.t.s… are you serious?”

“Am I wrong?”

Shouma sighed.

“This is the Supreme G.o.d you’re looking at, this world’s level is of no importance. I will show it to you if you don’t understand. This is the solution to break through your 「Aegis Field」!”

After having said that, Shouma had four Wiz cards floating in front of his chest.

He pa.s.sed all of them to Iris’ clone.

“…! W-wait. No way…”

Finally understanding Shouma’s strategy, Iris’ face turned pale.

“Oh, that.”

Certainly, 「Aegis Field」 was invincible.

You couldn’t damage Iris even if you cast hundreds or thousands of Wiz. Because all attacks of Rindou Shouma were permanently invalidated.

But…

“Do not let other people use Wiz cards – there was no rule like that.”

So, she was boasting over the strongest defensive power of her 「Aegis Field」, but that was only effective against Rindou Shouma.

That’s it…

Iris… can’t cancel the attack of her clone.

“T-That’s impossible! Thou have to decide who is going to be copied by 「Material Create」 while casting it. Don’t tell me that thou predicted that my card was going to be [Permanently invalidate Rindou Shouma’s attacks]!!”

“Exactly.”

“H-How!? How did thou understand my tactics? How?”

“You gave me a hint you know? The power to produce the strongest Wiz cards… Speaking of a defensive effect it would be [Permanent damage invalidation]. I was worrying that its actual effect would be [Prevent all kinds of attacks]. But that concern was unnecessary. In the first place, you never antic.i.p.ated a team attack.”

Iris who wasn’t supposed to battle against multiple opponents was only prepared to prevent attacks from one person.

She did not create a Wiz card to defend against all attacks… her way of thinking was flawed!

“W-Why? How did thou figure all of that out!?”

“You said you only used to fight against those who collected all Wiz cards… You had the intention to have a one-on-one Duel, that’s why you didn’t even think of creating a team attack Wiz card. Am I wrong?”

“… ugh.”

Iris choked on her words.

She opened her mouth to retort something… but no matter how much she wanted to refused it, there was no chance for her to win.

Because she didn’t have any more Wiz cards…

“… I lost.”

Iris who didn’t have a plan to recover from that setback had already given up.

It was just after that that Iris’ clone blew the original away.

After the Duel had ended…

Shouma and Iris returned from the battlefield to the [Locked World].

“Well, Iris added two rules. Because of that, Shouma can make two requests of her.”

That’s what Ninfa stated. It seemed like she was begging for forgiveness for her master Iris on the inside. She may have been emotional like that, but she didn’t let that influence the fact that she would judge fairly.

Iris was aware of that and nodded.

“It was a rule that I made. I am the one who knows the most about it. The winner’s requests will be realized even if the will of the loser has to be twisted… This rule is absolute and n.o.body can go against it.”

She was glancing at Shouma with watery eyes. Was she scared?

“Now, command it. I will listen to everything you say!”

Shouma’s mouth turned into a light smile.

“Anything… you say?”

As soon as he said that, Iris covered her big b.r.e.a.s.t.s with both of her hands.

“B-But, don’t ask for anything perverted… I would like to treasure my first time and give it to someone special, if possible…”

Although rape was prohibited… if the Duel’s winner requested it, rape would be considered as a penalty, robbery as a transfer and murder as suicide. Basically, you could use the Duel’s rules as a way to commit violent acts.

“Don’t worry. I won’t make such a request. Well, you have a spiritual body, right? Even if I tried to do anything I’d just pa.s.s through you.”

No one could touch Iris’ body.

“Thou are right…” Iris exhaled a sigh of relief. “I thought thou would definitely make a perverted request, but… I guess I had misunderstood thou, I’m sorry for that.”

“No problem. That’s why… your panties…”

“I knew it, it’s a perverted request. But well, it’s a cheap price to pay. It’s embarra.s.sing to let thou look at them… but if it’s just looking, go ahead.”

Saying that, Iris looked away.

Even so, the white clothes that Iris wore had a bold design and were very exposing from the beginning. At first, Shouma thought [Is she a pervert?] To see such a shameful expression on her face was weird… so her exposed panties were not [namapan[20]] but actually [misepan[20]].

‘Anyway, I would like to see her namapan and I would like to hear Iris say “Shouma you’re such a cheater”! And so on.’

“These are not your real panties.”

Iris started to tremble.

“W-What are thou talking about? Why did thou decide that they are not genuine panties? T-That’s a strange thing to say.”

Saying that, she avoided looking into his eyes. Shouma finally started to laugh.

“Eeh, Iris loves to show her panties. What a nice hobby.”

“I-I do not have such a hobby. Because I rarely meet people, I was just careless. I’m just wearing the same clothes I usually wear all the time.”

“It doesn’t matter how much you try to deny it, the fact that you are exposing your panties has not changed. Hey, why don’t you just admit that you are a lewd squirrel girl whose whole philosophy is [I’m a pervert that likes when my panties are seen].”

“Do not give me such a weird nickname. Gununu… As expected from the grandson of Rindou Atsumori, thou’re just like him… Okay, thou can look as much as thou like.”

Sighing as if she had given up, Iris reached down to her panties. She tightly bit her lips in order to bear with the embarra.s.sment, and lowered her panties down to her thighs. (TL note: I wish I could have those panties ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) / ED note: I wish I could sniff them—I didn’t say anything :P)

“Are thou satisfied with that…?”

Iris exposed her string panties that covered barely enough of her “special place”, with teary eyes. She tried to hide her thighs even though the other panties were covering most of her inner thighs… It’s not easy to see such an absurdly beautiful woman being so shy.

I would have loved to continue looking forever… however, Ninfa was staring over here for some time now.

Even if this was only seen by a third party girl who did not know about the impurity of this world, I couldn’t calmly appreciate it.

‘I’ll continue this another time, when I have the opportunity.’

“Nice panties, it’s enough now!”

Shouma gave her a thumbs up and told her with a smile. As soon as Iris managed to hurriedly put back her 2nd pair of panties, she asked him embarra.s.sedly while blus.h.i.+ng a lot.

“Then, what about the remaining request…?”

“What are you talking about? I still have two requests left.”

Iris had a really puzzled look on her face.

“What are thou talking about? Thou just requested [Show your panties], right?”

“I have not asked for such a thing. Right, Ninfa?”

Ninfa who got included in the conversation nodded.

“Shouma-san only said [Panties]. This is not a request.”

“Wha…! So, I just got ahead of myself? Is that it!?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I-Impossible… So me showing my panties was a disadvantage that I created for myself…?”

Shouma laughed.

“Well, lesson learned. Next time you listen ‘till I finish talking.”

“Gununu… I want to show my anger but I can’t say anything… But I do not feel bad. Next time, I won’t fall for the same trick. Now, request quickly.”

“I will do that.”

After saying that, Shouma’s face turned serious.

“The first request. Iris, give me all the Wiz cards you own. This includes everything, even the original Wiz cards.”

Iris took that request calmly.

“Well, I thought it’d be like that. That’s a pretty standard request. Move thy magic ring close to mine.”

“Like that?”

When they brought the rings closer together, both of them glowed.

“…Well, the transfer is over.”

Iris said that after about 10 seconds had pa.s.sed. When I looked at it, the color of Iris’ ring changed from gold to copper. Is the color of the magic ring related to the amount of Wiz cards it holds?

“There are the 8000 original Wiz cards I held and all of the 10000 regular Wiz cards, they are thine now. Well, thou should have already had the 10000 regular ones.”

“Only the 8000 original Wiz cards are enough. Can I also see them in the 「Card List」?”

“Yes. There are two types of cards in the 「Card List」, [General] and [Special]. The original ones are cla.s.sified as special cards.”

“That guy should have had the ability to create original Wiz cards. So why didn’t the list have any special entries?”

“Original Wiz cards can be many different things… Thou can make thy own possessions such as food, currency and houses into Wiz cards by having the item in mind and holding the magic ring in thy hands. However, creatures cannot be made into Wiz cards and cannot be used in Duels.”

“I see. Won’t the food rot?”

“It won’t. Anyway, will thou not make thy second request? Be faster, I want to be released from this fear as soon as possible.”

I thought about checking the 「Card List」 again… Well, I’ll have fun with that later.

“Then… the second request is…”

Shouma gazed into Iris’ red eyes, and then continued.

“Iris… Become my bride.”

“Why a bride and not a slave? If thou make me into a slave thou could do any perverted things thou could ever want, right?  I thought that thou would definitely make me into a slave.”

Iris was slightly panicking because Shouma didn’t show any desire for slavery, at least it seemed that way right now.

The Duel’s winner can enslave the loser… Guessing from what Iris said, it seemed that slavery is not handled by the rule of this world, [the forbiddance of all acts of violence]. As a Duel request, rape would be considered as consensual s.e.xual intercourse and homicide as suicide.

If so, enslaving Iris meant she wasn’t able to die.

“I like Wiz. And you are the creator of Wiz… This is why you are someone I should pay respect to. Besides, you are the benefactor who summoned me to Astral. I am grateful to you. I could make any other person a slave, but I cannot do that to you, Iris. So, I’ll make you into my bride. If you are my bride, I can repay your kindness whenever I like.”

Shouma told her in a gentle voice.

“…Thou are grateful to me?”

Shouma nodded deeply which caused Iris to be surprised.

“Yeah, I’m really grateful! If this is not enough for you to be convinced, I can think of other things to do…”

“N-no, thy feelings were well transmitted.”

Hearing that, Shouma laughed.

“Well, if you became my bride, I would be able to do erotic things as much as I want.”

“I didn’t want to hear that.”

“Too bad you have a spiritual body.”

“I’m glad I have a spiritual body. I’m really glad.”

“By the way, can you tell me more about that [There is a way to regain my body] that you were talking about before the Duel?”

“Knowing about this topic might be dangerous for thou.”

“Tell me. It’s an order from your husband.”

“Thou’re a domineering husband? I thought we would be a lovey-dovey couple.”

“There are no requests left, but it is okay for a couple to spend some time together, right?”

Ninfa chimed in the conversation.

The previous request was realized, so Shouma and Iris are already recognized as a married couple.

“Good job.”

In contrast to Iris’ tired face, Shouma looked at Ninfa with a very lively smile.

“…Well, ok.”

After Ninfa disappeared, Iris said so.

“Well, thou pa.s.sed on my test, so I’ll tell thou how to regain my body… Thou can do it by collecting all Wiz cards and reaching the 「G.o.d’s s.p.a.ce」.”

“「G.o.d’s s.p.a.ce」?”

“It was the s.p.a.ce where I lived before being defeated by Atsumori. Only people who collected all Wiz cards can get there. I lost the power of Supreme G.o.d by being defeated by Atsumori, I cannot return there on my own.”

“What should I do after reaching the 「G.o.d’s s.p.a.ce」?”

“Listen well, from here on it is important… It’s meaningless for thou to go alone. Thou have to take me along. In the 「G.o.d’s s.p.a.ce」 there is a stockpile of [Mana] which is the source of power. It was created with the power of the complete set of Wiz cards. Anyway, if we make it in, we can regain the power to create one 「Omnis」.”

“I see. With an 「Omnis」, you can create a Wiz card that can [Give a spirit a physical body].”

“Yes. If thou can regain my body, the power of the Supreme G.o.d will recover naturally. However, as I said, only those who collect all Wiz cards can go to the 「G.o.d’s s.p.a.ce」… But if I take possession of thou…”

“If I collect them all alone, you would not be able to accompany me?”

“That’s correct.”

“10050 kinds of cards are needed to complete the collection.”

When looking at the 「Card List」 earlier, it was written [10000 / 10050]. That definitely had to be about how many Wiz cards were needed until completion.

“Then the remaining 50 cards were not created by you, right Iris?”

Because Atsumori collected all kinds of Wiz cards, he could fight Iris in the 「G.o.d’s s.p.a.ce」. However, now there were 50 missing until completion. In the past 50 years Iris couldn’t have created new Wiz cards… So, there was someone who created those new Wiz cards.

“Tina… The Supreme G.o.d’s representative is creating Wiz cards. After being defeated by Atsumori, I told the situation to Tina by using 「Telepathy[21]」, and now she’s representing the Supreme G.o.d. Tina is the one being I trust the most in the world.”

Apart from Tina, it seemed that the incident with Rindou Atsumori, the Supreme G.o.d’s defeat and confinement, was not a well-known event. Well, if you did not know the circ.u.mstances, and you were the closest person to Iris, it may raise suspicions. Ninfa could have wondered [Did something happen to the Supreme G.o.d?].

“Anyway, if only fifty cards are needed, I may finish this soon.”

“It’s not that simple… is what I would like to say. But, as this is about cards, thou might be able to end this soon.”

Shouma already had almost all kinds of Wiz cards. Besides, he possessed 8000 cheat Wiz cards that no one else had.

He had the strongest equipment from the very start.

A card gamer who received guidance from the Supreme G.o.d starting from a young age, it was the first time in history.

That was Rindou Shouma.

“Rindou Shouma… Thou are the strongest Wiz user in the world. I can guarantee it.”

Suddenly, Iris’ expression turned cloudy.

“But still, there is something thou cannot do… Escaping this [Locked World] is impossible even with thy power.”