Chapter 38: Hayato, and the Cream Puffs, too. Go ahead and take some.
"Hayato, your vigilance is a bit too high, isn't it?" Joey Wheeler hadn't even taken off his shoes yet after being let into the house by Hayato when he started ranting about the recording he'd heard at the door.
Hayato spread his hands helplessly. "After all, last time I encountered an armed home invasion. Isn't being a little more vigilant not too much? The property's security guards only get paid a fixed salary. To ensure your own Life Points, you still have to rely on your own daily precautions."
"Exactly, Hayato is doing this for safety. Encountering something like that once in a lifetime is already unlucky enough," Téa said, changing into the indoor slippers Hayato had prepared, speaking up for him. She was also holding a document in her hand. "Hayato-kun, these are the Notes from today's class."
"Thank you, Téa ."
Hayato led them into the living room and arranged for them to sit down and rest for a while, as the distance from the Hospital to his house was quite long. He then went into the kitchen to prepare tea and small snacks to welcome them.
"Hayato's house is really big. Just the living room alone is nearly forty square meters, and the TV screen is huge." Joey Wheeler , who came from a poor family, looked around Hayato's home decor like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden. Everything from the flat-screen LCD TV without a big back, the high-intelligence voice-controlled home assistant, to the sweeping robot on the floor, left him quite astonished.
"Honda-kun's house is also very big, right?" Yugi looked at Tristan . Among the few of them, besides Hayato, Tristan 's family had the best conditions.
Honda estimated, "My living room is only a little more than half the size of Hayato's. Although we also have an LCD TV, it's not as exaggeratedly large as nearly a whole wall. Not to mention that sweeping robot and voice assistant."
"Snacks are here~ Everyone, don't be shy, please enjoy." Hayato walked out of the kitchen, holding a tray with three drinks: coconut milk, orange juice, and soda, as well as a large plate of sweet snacks. Placing the tray on the table, Hayato prepared a cup in front of each person. "What were you guys just talking about?"
"We were saying how big your house is, Hayato," Joey Wheeler poured himself a cup of orange juice, then drank it in one gulp. After finishing the cup of orange juice, Joey Wheeler said, "Do you live alone?"
"No, I live with my parents. It's just that my father is a Diplomat and has gone abroad to England." Hayato put the soda into a special dispenser, poured himself half a cup, and ate a microwave-heated egg tart while talking. "As for my mother, she works at a company and is currently on annual leave. However, except for the first day, she flew to London on the second day to find my father."
"Ah, speaking of which, I almost forgot something." Yugi held a cup of coconut milk in one hand and a cut piece of chocolate cake in the other, about to put it in his mouth, when he suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly rummaged through the backpack he was carrying.
In just a few moments, Yugi found a Golden Box from his backpack. The box was covered in Ancient Egyptian Text, and the Eye of Sigatos symbol was printed on the front.
"Yugi, what is this?" Hayato asked, puzzled. If he remembered correctly, this should be the box originally used to hold the unassembled Millennium Puzzle, right? Why would Yugi carry this with him?
"Because I saw that you always put your Deck into that Deck Box for safekeeping, and I thought it was a good way to protect your Deck, so I also got a metal box."
There's quite a problem here, Yugi-san. My Deck Box is light, and I usually put it into the System Warehouse. If I remember correctly, this thing of yours should be pure gold, right? Let's assume everyone here is a saint who won't get greedy upon seeing a large piece of gold. So, you haven't gotten tired of hanging the Millennium Puzzle around your neck yet? No wonder you haven't grown taller.
Hayato's thoughts were not heard by Yugi. He opened the lid of the Golden Box, took out his Deck, searched through a few Cards, and then pulled out a Card from the Deck. He held it with both hands and handed it to Hayato. "Hayato-kun, here's this Card back. Thanks to this powerful Card of yours, I was able to defeat Kaiba."
It was the Man-Eater Bug that Hayato had lent to Yugi.
Listen to that, what an art of speaking? Hayato was a bystander during that Duel, how could he not know what happened? Yes, the Man-Eater Bug did indeed take down one of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes and reduced his Life Points by a full 1500 points, but didn't Kaiba just revive Blue-Eyes moments later?
Moreover, Yugi's Victory over Kaiba didn't rely on this Card, but on his Divine Draw of Exodia. Yet, in Yugi's words, Hayato had become the biggest contributor to his victory. Hayato couldn't help but sigh inwardly—Yugi is clearly so good at talking, the reason he has so few Friends must be because his Dueling is too shady, right?
Thinking this, Hayato didn't take the Man-Eater Bug that Yugi handed over. Instead, he pushed it back. "I'll give you this Card, Yugi."
"Huh? Hayato-kun, why?"
Yugi was a little confused.
"Oh, do I need a reason to give you a Card? I'm just glad I could help you out, don't be polite with me." Hayato said dismissively, but seeing Yugi's serious gaze, he spoke the truth. "Actually, I feel like the existence of this Monster is out of place in my Deck."
"Isn't this Man-Eater Bug a very powerful Card?" Joey Wheeler also leaned over and saw the simple and brutal Effect of the Man-Eater Bug, somewhat puzzled. "If you Summon this Monster on the first Turn, wouldn't the opponent lose as soon as they Attack once?"
"You can think about what kind of Monsters are in my Deck, right?" Hayato explained. "Dragon Type, Warrior Type, and a few Beast-Type. And mostly Normal Monsters, so I can maximize the Effect of my Axe of Despair. But look, Man-Eater Bug is an Effect Monster, and it's an Insect Type, unable to receive the enhancements from my Spell Cards."
"Thinking about it that way, it does seem so?" Joey Wheeler was somewhat convinced. Seeing this, Hayato immediately added, "Anyway, even if you give it back to me, I won't add it to my Deck. Yugi, you don't want this Card to be wasted, do you? So just keep it."
"Okay, I'll make good use of this Monster, Hayato-kun." Since Hayato had said so much, Yugi couldn't refuse and reluctantly accepted the Man-Eater Bug.
"Speaking of which, these pastries taste amazing! Hayato-kun, where did you buy them?" Téa used a fork to pick up a cherry-shaped chocolate from the cake and put it in her mouth, enjoying the taste of cream and chocolate melting in her mouth, closing her eyes blissfully.
"Some of these things are quick meals my mother made before and froze in the freezer, like the egg tarts and cookies. You just need to heat them up to eat. These cakes and Cream Puffs I made myself this afternoon when I was home alone. I'm glad you like them. I have plenty left over, so if you want, you can take some back with you."
"Really? Thank you so much, Hayato." Joey Wheeler usually didn't get to eat such a rich dessert feast, let alone take some home.
Time passed quickly. After resting for quite a while at Hayato's house, Yugi and the others finally left with Hayato seeing them off.
Closing the front door, Hayato heard the TV in the living room suddenly light up without anyone touching it. A voice with a strange accent came from it: "To give such a powerful Card to your Friend, me is truly moved by your friendship, Hayato boy~"
Looking at the Silver-haired man who appeared on the TV, Hayato didn't show the slightest surprise. He moved a chair and sat down facing the TV. Looking at the Quests section that lit up on the System interface, he said vaguely, "Who knows if I truly gave it to him?"