Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 3 [Alice Secret]

- Part 13

Now that was all over, I decided to head home back to Drachma Red.

Unfortunately, the whole ordeal with Oozora took longer than I expected, so I wasn't able to meet up with Yukimura before his study session with Taiga like we planned earlier. I'll have to apologise to him later.

Anyways, I was tired and wanted to go back to my room so I could sleep off the stress. As I walked through the dorm lobby to get to the elevator, a familiar face greeted me.

"Yo, Takanori-kun."

It was Kuwahara Jomei, X's messenger.

"...Kuwahara-senpai? Hisashiburi."

"Ha ha ha, hisashiburi! It feels like ages since we've talked to each other."

"Yeah... I'm surprised to see you here. Don't you share an apartment with Matsushita-san?"

"Yep, still do. Actually, I'm here to speak with you on behalf of my friend."

"Him, again...?"

Rather than talking to Kuwahara, it was more like I was talking to X. This guy was pretty much a puppet for him.

"Yeah. He's heard about your situation, with Oozora-kun. You're trying to expel him, right?"

"...I am."

It was a bit unsettling that he knew about this already, since I've only started trying to do it today. Where did he hear this from?

"Well, my friend's offering to pay you the remaining 10 million private points."

"...huh?"

I was genuinely speechless at the offer. It was exactly what I needed.

This seemed to good to be true, but Kuwahara looked at me with complete seriousness. I couldn't feel a hint of trickery in his words or actions at all.

However, questions began pouring into my head rapidly one after another as I started to rationally think about the situation. There were a lot of things that didn't seem right about this offer.

"Hold on. How does he know I need 10 million Pr? What's the catch if I accept? Why is he doing this?"

Firstly, there should be no way for X to know I struck a deal with Kaido.

The only people who would be aware are me, Kaido, Kurosaki, Sakate, and Itteki.

Either one of those four are X, or are working alongside him like Kuwahara is.

Secondly, there's no way X is just giving me 10 million points for free.

I know how he operates, he's looking for something in return out of this.

Before, he tried bribing me to join his side with 1 million private points, but I ripped up his offer.

Thirdly, what is X's motivation?

He's been silent up until now, so the fact he's suddenly sprang back up out of nowhere with this offer makes me think he still has an eye on me.

Or rather, he's been keeping a close eye on me this entire time.

In a way, it was almost as if X was my own stalker...

"I don't know. My friend just knows you need another 10 million Pr to expel Oozora-kun. As for the catch... there is none. My friend wants to expel Oozora-kun too, but he obviously also wants to keep his anonymity. When someone is being expelled by someone else, they have a right to know who's expelling them. That's why, if you're the one pulling the trigger against Oozora-kun, he doesn't mind helping out as a phantom hand."

I didn't know that about expelling people through private points. I guess that's a reasonable explanation for X, who wants to maintain his identity as a secret...

"I still can't believe it... you're saying that X will really contribute 10 million Pr free of charge?"

"X?"

"Oh... sorry, that's my name for your friend in my head."

"X, huh? I'll have to tell him later. It kind of suits him, actually. X-san, a ha ha ha!"

Kuwahara laughed.

"But yes, he'll fund 10 million towards expelling Oozora-kun. Think of it as a fee to get his way while staying hidden. What do you say, Takanori-kun? Will you accept?"

"...this can't be real. This doesn't feel real."

"Ha ha ha, my friend is a very generous man. He loves helping others and spending his points for their sake."

"Can he... deliver the points right now?"

"Well, he can't, but I can."

Kuwahara took out his phone and showed me that he had 10 million points loaded on his account ready to transfer.

I took a deep breath and sighed.

"...and there really isn't any catch?"

"No. Nope. None whatsoever."

For a moment, I hesitated.

This sounded too good to be true, but...

I had to seize this chance while it was still available to me.

I'll worry about the consequences later.

Right now, I just want to expel Oozora.

"...I'll take it."

Kuwahara smiled.

"My friend will be very happy once he hears about this."

What a confusing man... one moment, X is hunting me down, the next moment, he's helping me out.

Kuwahara transferred 10 million points to my account.

Seriously, who is this guy? And how is he this rich but liberal with his money? I don't understand...

"There, all done."

His account balance went from 10 million to nearly 0.

Checking my phone, my hand started shaking seeing such a large number displayed on my screen.

My account balance jumped from 150k to a whopping 10 million.

This is really happening...

"Well, hope this helps ya. I'm gonna head back now, g'night!"

"Uh... y-yeah, sure..."

I turned off my phone and sighed.

I guess I need to pay Kaido another visit today, huh?