[TL/N: Read my new work - Detective Conan: I'm a Succubus?!]
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"This guy, Bartolomeo, is seriously something else."
—One Piece World—
Leo observed the masked team that Bartolomeo had assembled in just a few days and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in approval.
Honestly, he had once felt that keeping Bartolomeo confined to an E-level world was a bit of a waste of his potential.
But now?
Just a few months later, Bartolomeo had completely reshaped the world of Detective Conan beyond recognition.
Especially with the Masked Team he had created.
Through his surveillance, Leo had watched as the Masked Team rose to fame, not just in Tokyo but across all of Japan.
To be honest…
If not for the strict rules preventing him from leaving, he would have jumped into the world of Conan himself—teaming up with Bartolomeo to expand this masked crime-fighting force.
"Being the boss is tough. All I can do is watch my employees work their asses off while I'm stuck here."
"Sigh..."
With a sigh of longing, Leo shifted his gaze toward another subordinate.
—Days Later—
After a long period of stagnation, Nami's earnings finally saw a notable increase.
"Oh?"
"Nami, are you finally starting to show your true potential?"
1,500 points had suddenly been credited to her account.
Granted, compared to the tens or even hundreds of thousands that others were earning, it was still a drop in the ocean.
But for Nami—who had been scraping by with mere 10- or 20-point increments—it was a huge step forward.
After all, the rules of her world were far from ordinary.
—Another World—
In the cityscape of Domino City, reinforced concrete towers loomed over the streets.
Under a flickering streetlight, Nami stood quietly, holding a delicate parasol. She wore an off-white, tulle dress that swayed gently in the evening breeze.
The transparent lace hem reached just past her knees, revealing slender, fair calves wrapped in white stockings.
Her vibrant orange hair cascaded down her back, framing her porcelain-white shoulders.
On her bare left arm, she wore a peculiar, square-shaped device.
The moment passersby caught sight of it, their expressions changed—shifting from curiosity to awe.
"It's almost time."
Glancing up at the city's towering street clocks, a subtle smile played on Nami's lips.
Today marked exactly three months since her arrival in this world.
And in those three months, she had successfully adapted to its strange rules, regaining a significant portion of her strength.
Reflecting on how weak she had been when she first arrived, she couldn't help but sigh.
This world was special.
When she first crossed over, her trusted companions—Pikachu and Butterfree—had vanished, transformed into mere cards.
The sight had terrified her.
She had feared that they had been erased by some incomprehensible rule of this world.
But then—
When ethereal projections of Pichu and Caterpie emerged from the cards, she finally understood.
Her Pokémon weren't dead.
They had simply changed, adapting to the laws of this world.
That realization had been a massive relief.
And thankfully, the place where she had arrived was a peaceful town.
There had been no immediate danger—only kindhearted strangers who had unknowingly helped her through her vulnerable phase.
As time passed, her strength gradually returned.
Yet, something was off.
Even though she could feel her power growing, it no longer existed in the same form as before.
It was… different.
Even stranger, the number of cards linked to Pikachu and Butterfree kept increasing.
And the once-weak projections of Pichu and Caterpie had gradually evolved—transforming back into Pikachu and Butterfree.
Now, after three months, she has recovered nearly 80% of her strength.
And through her investigations, she had begun to unravel the mysteries of this world.
It was unlike any world she had known.
This world was governed by an entity that converted most natural power into strange beings known as Duel Monsters.
These Duel Monsters resided in a Schrödinger-like subspace—a reality that existed and didn't exist at the same time.
This subspace was parasitic to the main world—the one Nami now lived in.
Under the influence of the world's will, these duel monsters and other entities from the subspace would periodically release their power into the main world, allowing people to harness and control them.
Thus, the very rules of this world had been shaped by these mysterious forces.
Through months of research, Nami had uncovered something even more intriguing—
Throughout history, this world had harbored a secretive group of individuals known as Dark Duelists.
These Dark Duelists wielded the power of Duel Monsters, engaging in forbidden competitions known as Dark Games.
In these games, participants could wager anything.
And once the duel concluded—
Both parties were bound to their bet.
Even if the price was their very life—
There was no turning back.
The power of the Dark Games left no room for regrets.
In recent years, whether due to the influence of the world's will or the natural course of its development, something unexpected had occurred—
A card game featuring Duel Monsters had suddenly taken the world by storm.
Even the Dark Duelists had begun to dominate this game.
Half a year ago, Pegasus J. Crawford, the heir to a wealthy American family that owned a Las Vegas casino, invested a fortune into creating a unique tournament known as Duelist Kingdom—shining an even brighter global spotlight on the game.
As a result, duelists began emerging from every corner of the world.
Some were merely casual players, swept up in the game's popularity.
Others, however, were chosen by Duel Monsters themselves, rising to fame as powerful duelists.
Seeing this, Nami seized the moment and officially named this world—Duel World.
Of course, naming a world was the least of her concerns.
She hadn't traveled thousands of miles across dimensions just to understand the rules of a single world.
As a trainee dimensional merchant, she had a mission to complete—a transaction quota of one million points.
And in a world ruled by Duel Monsters, it was obvious what held the greatest source of original power...
The cards.
These sacred objects, revered by duelists, contained immense energy.
However, Nami soon discovered an obstacle—not all cards were valuable for dimensional trade.
Most were nothing more than ordinary paper.
Only the cards possessed by truly powerful duelists contained the essence of Duel Monsters, making them eligible for trading.
So, when Nami finally attempted her first dimensional trade, eager to exchange with duelists...
She ran into an unexpected problem.
The duelists who had been chosen by Duel Monsters simply refused to trade their cards—
Even when they understood that through trading, they could gain even greater power.
Perhaps, this was exactly why they were chosen by the Duel Monsters in the first place.
But for Nami, this was troublesome.
If she couldn't gather enough points in this world, she would never move on to the next one—never becoming a fully-fledged dimensional merchant.
Luckily, fate had other plans.
Just when she thought her prospects looked grim, an unexpected encounter opened the door to a new opportunity.
One day, two thugs cornered her, clearly intent on harassing her.
At first, Nami was prepared to simply knock them out with her half-recovered strength—a single punch would have sufficed.
But then, to her surprise—
These fools actually proposed a duel.
If they won, she had to entertain their advances.
If she won, they would hand over their rare cards.
The absurdity of the situation left Nami speechless.
But, as someone still unfamiliar with the customs of this world at the time, she agreed.
The result?
Well, that was obvious.
Even though Pikachu and Butterfree had taken on the form of Duel Monster cards, when Nami wielded them, she felt as though she had been blessed—
As if she had been born to play this game.
Just like she had been born to fight.
In the end, the two gangsters had no choice but to hand over the rarest cards in their decks.
And then—
Something extraordinary happened.
Nami felt it.
For the first time, she sensed the permission to trade these two cards.
Which meant—
These cards, infused with original power, had been acknowledged by the will of this world.
From that moment on, everything changed.
Nami began seriously studying the art of dueling.
She actively sought out challengers, constantly improving her skills and her deck.
Of course, she wasn't reckless.
Since her full strength had yet to return, she avoided the truly elite duelists—sticking to the streets, where she could duel low-tier opponents for effortless victories and steady gains.
Three months passed.
Both Nami and her Pikachu-Butterfree deck had grown significantly stronger.
And then—
A new rumor spread like wildfire among the duelists.
The Kaiba Corporation had developed a revolutionary portable duel device.
Now, duelists could battle anytime, anywhere—without needing a designated duel arena.
To promote this groundbreaking invention, Kaiba Corp had announced an exclusive Duelist Carnival in Domino City.
However, participation was restricted.
Only duelists ranked LV5 or higher, according to the Kaiba Corporation's evaluation system, would be eligible.
Although the official rules had yet to be revealed, rumors suggested a high-stakes format—
The losing duelist would be forced to hand over a card of the winner's choosing.
The moment Nami heard this, she was ecstatic.
Up until now, despite her growing strength and reputation, finding duelists willing to wager valuable cards had been nearly impossible.
But this tournament?
It was exactly what she had been waiting for.
Without hesitation, she challenged a well-known duelist to a public duel, ensuring that her victory would be recorded in the system.
And with that, her rank was officially recognized—
She was now eligible to compete.
...
...
"Miss Nami, we meet again."
As Nami waited, a blonde beauty approached from a short distance away, her voice carrying a hint of familiarity.
"Miss Mai."
Upon seeing the woman, Nami's lips curved into a warm smile.
After all, if Mai hadn't agreed to their public duel back then—acknowledging Nami's dueling skills as the third-place duelist of Duelist Kingdom—she wouldn't have reached LV5 duelist status so effortlessly.
Standing beside her, Mai's gaze lingered briefly on the exposed portion of Nami's chest before she instinctively straightened her own posture. A flicker of guilt crossed her face as she sighed.
"So, you only dueled me because you wanted to qualify for today's competition, huh?"
Then, with a smirk, she added, "I knew it! I tracked you down the moment I saw the participant list!"
"This time, I won't lose to you again~!"
Recalling their previous duel, Mai still felt a lingering sense of unease. However, she believed in her deck—in her Harpie Lady—and she wouldn't falter.
"Oh?" Nami's eyes gleamed at Mai's bold challenge, as though she had just spotted a hidden treasure.
"I'm looking forward to it, then."
Her voice was calm, yet beneath the surface was a palpable hunger.
"But be warned, Miss Mai… If you lose to me again, I won't hesitate to claim another of your rarest cards."
"Uh…"
Mai stiffened.
For a brief moment, she seriously reconsidered whether dueling Nami right away was a good idea.
But then, she burst into laughter.
"I swear, they got your nickname right."
"Card Thief Nami..."
She placed her hands on her hips, though her fingers instinctively moved to shield her deck behind her.
"The competition hasn't even started, and you're already eyeing my rarest cards?"
After all, ever since Nami had dueled her, she had accepted numerous duel challenges.
And in every single duel, there was one constant rule—
Just like in this tournament, the winner had the right to take a card from the loser's deck.
In a short time, Nami had defeated so many opponents that she had earned a notorious title among duelists—
"Card Thief."
Still, Mai found herself intrigued.
She had never even heard of Nami before their duel.
Despite Nami's undeniable strength, she had never competed in any official tournaments before.
Her identity and abilities remained an enigma.
But one thing Mai knew for certain—
That day, Nami hadn't used her full strength.
It wasn't just a hunch. It was the instinct of a seasoned duelist.
It was the intuition of a woman.
Nami, noticing the flicker of curiosity in Mai's violet eyes, simply smiled, saying nothing more.
Deep down, she respected the blonde duelist.
After all, not everyone would accept a public challenge from an unknown opponent.
Nami would not forget that Mai had given her that chance.
And if the opportunity arose, she wouldn't mind helping Mai grow even stronger.
After all, this world had unimaginable potential.
With every duel, Nami accumulated more and more points.
From barely earning a few dozen points in her early days…
To now, where she sometimes gained tens of thousands in a single day.
And more importantly—
Her dimensional merchant system had detected something else.
There was a terrifying presence hidden within this city.
Something immensely powerful.
Something that, according to this world's rules, could only be one thing—
A rare and legendary card!
If she could obtain that card, her internship mission would be complete in an instant.
Perhaps, if everything went according to plan, she would even make this world her primary base of operations as a dimensional merchant.
And for that—
She needed allies.
Mai Valentine would be the first.