In the principal's office, watching the duel end, Professor Cronos excitedly jumped onto the desk, stepping on it, and danced a bizarre dance while continuously punching the air with excitement.
"Yes!!!!!!!"
"As expected of Tenjo!"
"So amazing!"
"Super Mamma Mia! Haha!"
It wasn't until he realized where he was and what he was doing that he quickly coughed twice, jumped down from the desk, and tried to look like an expert while secretly tidying up the desk with his left hand.
However, at this moment, Instructor Napoleon would not reprimand him or remind him to maintain decorum, because Instructor Napoleon was sitting in a chair, looking particularly disappointed and dejected with a face ashen gray.
The duel ended, the virtual images slowly faded away, and Tenjo Hikari put away the cards from his deck, shuffled them, used the Duel Disk's auto-sort feature to sort the deck, then removed the deck and retracted the Duel Disk.
Afterward, he extended both hands, waved to his classmates on both sides, and smiled as he thanked them.
"Awesome, Master!!" Serena beamed brightly and waved her hand enthusiastically, responding to Tenjo Hikari, "That was so strong!"
Previously, she could only watch recordings or live broadcasts from others. Although watching Tenjo Hikari duel then was also exciting, it was not the same as being on site.
Now, at the Duel Academy's dueling arena, in the first row, watching the physical images of monsters clash, witnessing a towering Darklord attacking opponents, that intense feeling made her want to find someone to duel with on the spot to release this passion!
So cool!
Polymerization!
The older classmates looked at her with that heated expression and smiled gently.
In the beginning, Serena did not have many emotional fluctuations, and she wasn't like a typical girl, perhaps because Professor Akuma's training made her too unfeeling; at that time, they felt Serena was not easy to approach.
Nevertheless, Serena took dueling very seriously and had a good attitude, so everyone liked her. As they spent more time with her, everyone realized that she just lacked common sense, not emotions, thus more willing to help her.
It was also because of her existence that they somewhat understood Marufuji Ryo's feelings of helping juniors.
On the other hand, Tenjo Hikari finished the duel and, after bowing, turned around. Rox, who had just knelt on the ground due to failure, finally came to his senses, stood up, and wanted to stop Tenjo Hikari: "Wait—wait, Tenjo Hikari, I still have something to say!"
Tenjo Hikari paused for a moment and looked back at him.
"You are indeed very strong, but in this world, this universe, no, in many worlds, there are beings stronger than you. If you cannot..."
However, Tenjo Hikari had completely ignored him halfway through his speech and walked straight towards the lounge.
He still needed to wait for Professor Cronos.
Over there, Rox, realizing that Tenjo Hikari was completely ignoring him, finally gave up his last hope, staring blankly as he left.
The words he said in the duel were not lies, Tenjo Hikari was not showcasing his powerful Fusion Power to gain the students' trust.
He was simply there to duel.
The greatest contempt in the world is not words, not eyesight, but two characters.
Silence.
Tenjo Hikari had already shown through his actions that he was not at all interested in his theories!
Is there actually such a pure person in the world?
Just... simply likes Polymerization...
Tenjo Hikari reached the lounge; he rubbed his head. Beside him, Tierra, who hadn't said much during the normal duel and just watched her creations, finally felt like talking about other things with Tenjo Hikari: "Tenjo Hikari, that human just now, from my feeling, should sincerely believe what he's saying and genuinely want to help you become the Emperor of the Academy.
In other words, although he is Akaba's subordinate of sorts, his mind is not aligned."
She tilted her head, touched her chin with one hand, and told Tenjo Hikari this.
Tenjo Hikari nodded.
In her view, this Rox seemed a bit abstract.
But in Tenjo Hikari's eyes...
What is this even?
Isn't he just a slightly eccentric teacher?
In the original work, teachers like this were not few in Duel Academy.
Duel Academy was always teeming with talent.
In the original series, most of the teachers had their unique specialties.
Characters like the curry maniac and the toxic milk physician were within the "normal range," and although Professor Cronos was a good teacher, he was also, in a real sense, a noble.
Beyond that, openly, the academy's head, Principal Samejima, was not only a teacher at Duel Academy but also a master of the "Cyber Style" school, being the "teacher" and leader worldwide of the Cyber Style school.
These are the official side teachers.
Teacher Daitokuji, who appeared weak and frail with a penchant for cats, was secretly the world's strongest alchemist, capable of creating artificial life and producing the Philosopher's Stone as a super alchemist. Apart from him, Duel Academy's main and branch campuses were filled with teachers who possessed unique skills. For instance, Professor Cobra from the Western Branch of Duel Academy could dupe even the near-complete Judai using a duel, with his full resistance special victory monster being a legend among legends.
If you consider the manga's world view, the bizarre teachers in Duel Academy would be even more numerous.
Perhaps for this reason, in this world, even someone like Akaba Leo, who seemed abnormal at first glance, could casually be a teacher at Duel Academy.
After all, Duel Academy was not short of an eccentric teacher.
Meanwhile, as Tenjo Hikari was waiting.
The office door burst open with a bang, and Instructor Napoleon slammed the door fiercely, then shouted inside: "You'll regret this, Cronos!"
"I am the principal, Instructor Napoleon!" Professor Cronos stood proudly, adjusting his evening coat, looking quite refreshed, totally free from the previous tension under Instructor Napoleon's pressure.
"Acting principal!" Instructor Napoleon retorted with dissatisfaction.
However, even at this time, Professor Cronos, who usually loathed the word "temporary," did not mind at all.
The defeated opponent's scolding was the sweetest music to his ears~
Instructor Napoleon snorted coldly, and upon noticing Tenjo Hikari, quickly adjusted his expression and smiled at him, "Tenjo-san, your duel performance was excellent, and you'll be promoted to the Blue Academy later."
"Thank you, Instructor Napoleon."
Instructor Napoleon had no issues with Tenjo Hikari. After exchanging some pleasantries, he glared fiercely at Professor Cronos again and then left.
Professor Cronos watched with a smile as he left like a defeated dog, chuckling for a long time; upon noticing the time, he coughed twice and said to Tenjo Hikari: "Tenjo-san, your performance was truly outstanding! You are truly the glory of the academy!"
"You flatter me, Professor." Tenjo Hikari entered the principal's office with Professor Cronos and curiously asked, "Did you have something else to discuss with me?"
Originally, after the duel, he would just go about his usual business. Unexpectedly, Professor Cronos actually had something more to discuss with him.