Chapter 16: Please Care for the Underage Elderly in Empty Nests

The appearance of Kaiba was ultimately just an episode; afterward, everyone in Joey's Game Shop happily returned to studying Duel Monsters cards. Hayato and Yugi, who possessed the deepest understanding of Duel Monsters, explained various aspects of the game to the newcomer, Honda, while Jonouchi—who had played for a while but was effectively no different from a complete novice—sat obediently to the side. Meanwhile, Anzu was very enthusiastically helping Grandpa Muto.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, dinner time had arrived. Hayato and the others said their goodbyes to Yugi and headed back to their respective homes.

Hayato walked home alone. Just as he reached the front gate and before his key could even enter the lock, his attention was drawn to a letter tucked under the doormat.

【For Hayato's Eyes Only】

Picking up the envelope, Hayato saw those few lonely words written on it. However, he did not rush to open it; instead, he opened the door first and called out into the house, "I-I'm home."

After all, Hayato was not Japanese in his previous life, and saying "I'm home" when returning felt somewhat unnatural.

However, the expected "Welcome back" did not come from inside the house for a long time.

Feeling puzzled, Hayato took off his shoes at the entryway and entered the house to investigate. To his surprise, there was not a single soul in the house; it was empty and silent. Well, not entirely silent—the robot vacuum had started running automatically at its preset time, its suction system making a "vroom vroom" sound as it faithfully began cleaning the debris from the floor.

Hayato was a transmigrator, and the parents of transmigrators often held high-risk professions. However, in this life, Hayato's parents were both alive and well. The woman he had seen right after waking up in this world was his mother, named "Sumire Kobayashi." She seemed to be a tax manager in the finance department of an international company, though Hayato couldn't remember the company's name since he had only heard it once.

As for Hayato's father, his name was "Hiroshi Kobayashi," a diplomat. Due to his profession, he was frequently abroad. Since Hayato had only been in this world for a day, he had only seen his father's likeness in family photos and had yet to meet him in person.

However, what puzzled Hayato was that although his mother, Ms. Sumire Kobayashi, was often busy with company affairs, she should have been on annual leave recently. Why wasn't she home? Could she have gone shopping with her friends?

The only clue Hayato had was the envelope he had picked up at the door.

Setting aside his bag, Hayato sat cross-legged by the kotatsu in the living room, finding the tatami mat beneath him quite comfortable. Taking a letter opener from the table, he sliced open the envelope and pulled out a letter and a bank card.

Placing the bank card on the table, Hayato first opened the letter and began to read

【Dear Hayato

By the time you read this, Mom might have already boarded a plane to London. I'm going to find your father; come to think of it, that's where we met all those years ago...

...】

Hayato read through quickly. The letter was written by his mother, Sumire Kobayashi, and the general sentiment was: "Before I knew it, my son has grown so much. I feel very at ease with you, so I'm going to find your dad during this annual leave."

His mother also mentioned that after flying to London, she would likely stay there for more than a month because her company needed to launch a trade plan there in the coming period, and as a member of the finance department, she had to participate.

Therefore, for a considerable amount of time, Hayato would likely have to live on his own. The bank card was the pocket money and living expenses his mother had left for him, containing 200,000 yen. Whenever the card ran low, she would transfer funds promptly. The PIN was "030221."

"Is this what they call 'busy parents, empty house'?" Hayato muttered a casual complaint, though he felt somewhat relieved.

Even though he could interact normally with Yugi and the others, they didn't actually know him that well. At most, they would simply remark that Hayato's personality was different from how he acted at school; they wouldn't harbor much suspicion.

But if he had to face the original owner's parents, Hayato would feel immense pressure. After all, parents know their children best; if he displayed anything strange, they would surely become suspicious.

Not having to spend every moment with his mother, Sumire, truly made Hayato feel much more relaxed.

Rummaging through the refrigerator, he found some eggs, vegetables, and a can of luncheon meat. Hayato opened a pack of instant noodles, deciding to just have a simple meal tonight. While waiting for the water to boil, with no one else around, he summoned his System.

With practiced ease, he clicked into the 【Warehouse】 module. Among the endless storage slots, only four items were placed there: his current deck, an R-rank card pack (Dragon Race), an SR-rank card pack, and an R-rank selection ticket.

With the mindset of saving the best for last, Hayato first opened the R-rank card pack (Dragon Race).

Unlike basic card packs, the minimum pull from an R-rank pack is an R-rank card. However, as a trade-off for the higher floor, the maximum pull is also only R-rank; there is no possibility of pulling a UR card.

The pack Hayato was opening now was even more specialized. The "(Dragon Race)" suffix meant that the cards appearing in the pack were limited to Dragon-type monsters and Dragon-related support cards. Unfortunately, Hayato's current deck consisted mostly of Warrior-type monsters.

However, Hayato took a look and saw that "Dragon's Mirror" was actually counted as a Dragon support card, so perhaps some of the cards in the pack could still be useful.

【You have opened an R-rank Card Pack (Dragon Race). Congratulations, you have obtained the following cards

Curse Dragon, Winged Dragon, Dragon's Mirror, Baby Dragon, Dark Dragon King】

"Holy crap," Hayato exclaimed. Of the five cards pulled, four were common Dragon-type monsters, and they were all classic monsters.

However, Hayato had expected this; knowing an R-rank pack wouldn't yield anything extraordinary, he wasn't overly excited. Furthermore, Dragons were a symbol of strength; even these few cards were much stronger than the "small fry" common monsters in his own deck, making them worth adding to his deck.

The only confusing one was this 【Dragon's Mirror】.

"The only materials I've gathered so far are Chaos Sorcerer and Gaia the Fierce Knight, but Chaos Sorcerer isn't a Dragon, so I can't use it. That means I can only fuse Gaia," Hayato thought as he put the instant noodles into the boiling water, adding the vegetables and an egg. "But the problem is I have the materials but not 【Gaia the Fierce Knight】. Even if you give me 【Dragon's Mirror】, I can't use it!"