Glad to see you guys were a lot more understanding towards Mitsumi's predicament and problems! Just to clarify with you guys, Mitsumi's true self has already been revealed. It's just in her thoughts, like, her true self really wants to punch Shingo, or she really wants to say bad things out loud, or she likes to point out the obvious, like how Yuto and Yuya don't even look alike. Well, that's all from me right now, so enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!

"Smiley, you're such a pervert."

"Wha-?! How can you accuse me of such a thing?!"

"Because we're standing in front of a maid café, you idiot!"

It was true; both Mitsumi and Nico were in front of a maid café called Éclair de Lux, the most famous maid café in Maiami City. They served a variety of desserts and other dishes, with their most famous desert being the incredible eclairs. Unlike most other maid cafes and butler cafes, the employees were given the option of wearing either a butler or maid outfit, no matter what gender they were, which was part of how the maid café was so popular. That, and it mostly consisted of female employees that customers viewed the maid-wearing ones cute, and the butler-wearing ones cool-looking and beautiful.

"Wait, wait! I know what this looks like, but it's much more than that!" cried out Nico, cringing at the disgusted, sharp glare Mitsumi was giving him. "This is also actually a Duel School, as well!"

"...What."

"I'm serious! This is where your last, official duel is supposed to take place! Look, they may look like a maid café-"

"It IS a maid café."

"Right, it is a maid café, but it also functions as a Duel School, as well. In fact, this school is basically the sister version of the Cuisine Duel School! But, at the same time, it's also the rival school for that duel school."

"That's right!~"

Both of them turned and saw an older teen with long, blond hair, wearing a neko eared headband that matched the color of her hair. Like all of the other female employees, she was wearing a maid outfit and bowed her head to the two customers with a bright, cheerful smile on her face.

"Welcome to Éclair de Lux! How may I serve you?"

Seeing the dazed expression on Nico's face, Mitsumi nudged him quite roughly with her arm. "Psst! Smiley! Wipe that drool off your face!"

"W-What? Oh, how unprofessional of me! My apologies!" exclaimed Nico, snapping out of it. "We're here for the official duel that's scheduled to take place soon, and this here is Mitsumi Nazuno, the opponent chosen for the official duel."

"Oh, my!~ So, you're Mitsumi-chan? It's so nice to meet you!" squealed the maid, grabbing her arms and shaking them up and down. "I'm Karis, the head maid of this café and your opponent! I can't wait to duel such a cutie like you!~"

"Y-yeah...nice to meet you, too," said Mitsumi, sheepishly grinning. 'Please tell me that I don't have to dress up just like in my last duel!'

"Moreover, you have the option of dressing up as a maid or a butler during our duel! I do hope you pick the cute maid option!~"

'LIKE HELL!' thought Mitsumi, horrified as her face turned tomato-colored red. She wouldn't want to be caught dead in such an outfit!

"Oh, Mitsumi-chan, why don't you?"

"What the-?! Grandma?!" exclaimed Mitsumi, who didn't expect Aoi to walk up to her out of nowhere. "What are you doing here?! And aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Dear, it's my day off, so I can enjoy it however I like," replied Aoi, smiling.

'Oh, right. I kinda forgot that today is her day off,' Mitsumi thought, sweatdropping. "Well, what are you doing near the café, anyways?"

"Well, I've never been to a maid café, before, so I wanted to go and visit one for myself, and imagine my surprise when I found you and Mr. Smiley here," replied Aoi, giggling. "My, my, Mitsumi-chan, if you wanted to employ here, you should have asked me beforehand."

"W-What?! No, no, no! I'm not here for that!" assured Mitsumi. "It's just for a duel, after all!"

"Hmm...Are you sure? You are pretty cute and petite, so you'd look fantastic as one of our maids!~" cooed Karis.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope! Not gonna happen! Now, let's just duel!"

Karis nodded. "Alright, then! But before we do, you simply must wear one of the cute outfits, so choose your pick! Maid or butler?"

Mitsumi gave Nico a look that pleaded, "HELP ME!" Instead, the announcer/dueling manager shook his head and said, "Hey, I'm only in charge of arranging official duels and bringing commentary and information to the duels! I don't make up the conditions made up by an official Duel School! If you want to win this official duel, then I'm afraid you'll have to comply to their conditions."

'Goddamnit,' Mitsumi thought. 'Wait, I can always just refuse! Yeah! If I refuse, then I automatically lose this duel! And, I won't have to participate in this stupid tournament, anymore! I'll just tell the others that because of the unfair conditions of this duel, they disqualified me! Yeah! It's a win-win situation for me!'

As though sensing what she was thinking, Aoi walked up to Mitsumi and clasped her hands into her granddaughter's. "Mitsumi-chan...I really do hope you'll pick a good outfit for this duel. It's not everyday that I get to see my dearly little granddaughter dress up so cutely!~ So, you'll dress up nicely for your dear, sweet, grandmother, won't you, Mitsumi-chan?" Aoi strangely and creepily leaned in close to Mitsumi's face the more she spoke, effectively freaking her out.

'...Oh, yeah. I totally got my manipulative skills from her,' Mitsumi thought. 'Damnit! I can't deny Grandma anything! One weakness of mine is that I constantly have to obey her wishes, no matter what! Gaah! Fine, damnit! I'll wear the stupid outfit! But, I'm not wearing any maid costume! The skirts are WAY too short, for one!'

"Alright, alright! I'll take the butler outfit," said Mitsumi, only taking it because it covers much more skin than the maid outfit. "And-Grandma, what are you doing?"

"Hmm? Oh, I just called your friends. They're watching Yuya-kun and Gongenzaka-kun's duel right now, so they promised to be here as soon as possible to watch your duel!~"

"...Why would you tell them that?!" exclaimed Mitsumi, horrified. It was one thing to wear one of the outfits, but to have her friends watching her duel inside a maid café while wearing said outfit? Utterly embarrassing!

"Oh, I just want you to hang out with your friends more. They seem really excited and happy to watch you duel," replied Aoi, smiling.

"...Get me to the dressing room, now!" Mitsumi demanded to Karis, who was too eager to argue back and wanted to happily see the girl in a butler outfit.

A few minutes later...

The inside of the Éclair de Lux café was much larger than Mitsumi anticipated, which makes sense, given that the café was also meant to be a Duel School as well. After Mitsumi hurriedly dressed herself up, much to her disgruntle, she was escorted to the largest room the café has to offer, which resembled a large arena with the audience mostly consisting of customers, including Nico and Aoi.

Karis entered into the arena, though her attire was a little bit different than her maid outfit. She still wore a maid outfit, but the skirt's length was much longer and she wore white stockings, and she had draconic eared headband attached to her head. For some odd reason, she chose to exchange the cute neko headband for this particular headband.

As for Mitsumi, while she chose not to wear the maid outfit, she still had to choose the other option, which was a butler's outfit. Her butler outfit had no skirt nor showed any sort of cleavage, much to her relief, however, she still caused a bit of attention towards her. Because her long hair might get in the way, she tied it in a ponytail with a ribbon she found in the dressing room, and now her new hairstyle, along with her outfit and her refined looks, made her look like a sharp, cool-looking battle butler.

"Wow! You really look cool! You know, I think I prefer you like this than with the maid outfit!~" cooed Karis. "Oh, and if possible, I'd like you to act like a butler, too! It's nothing too much trouble! All you have to do is be polite and elegant and say things like, 'Master' or 'Mistress!'"

Mitsumi didn't really have a problem acting out the polite and elegant roles, but going so far as to say, "Master" or "Mistress" was a bit too much for her. However, when she saw the nod coming from her grandmother from the audience, Mitsumi internally groaned, knowing she might have to act on that in order to make her grandmother happy.

Stuffing down her internal feelings, Mitsumi turned around and kneeled down on one knee, bowing her head as she politely spoke, "Of course, head maid Karis-san. I shall live up to your expectations."

The audience awed and cheered at Mitsumi's first impression of being a maid. Although Mitsumi herself thought nothing of it, she had unknowingly incorporated her etiquette skills into her first impression, something she learned from various harsh lessons from her parents when she was still a Junior Pro Duelist. As a result, the audience was star-struck at how elegant, yet calming her posture and alluring words were.

Even Karis was stunned, until she snapped out it herself and proclaimed, "Alright! That's the spirit! Wow, what a great first impression! Now, let's get this duel started!"

Both girls stood up straight and nodded to each other, activating their duel disks to signal the start of their duel. In the meantime, the audience began to chant the Action Field incantation for the two female opponents.

"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their Monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! ACTTTIOOOOON-!"

"DUEL!"

- DUEL -

Mitsumi - 4000 LP

VS

Karis - 4000 LP

The Action Field was like the combination of the inside of a large mansion and a tea party all inside the one large area the two girls were standing on. Etiquette wares were displayed all over the place, elegant and beautiful paintings all around, and even a kitchen was included, so in many ways, this appeared more of a tea party inside a mansion than a regular Action Field.

"As head maid, I shall allow you to take the first command, Mitsumi-chan," said Karis happily.

Remembering her role as a butler, Mitsumi bowed her head in courtesy. "You honor me, head maid Karis-san. I shall go first. From my hand, I activate the Ritual Spell, Gishki Aquamirror, and Tribute both Gishki Noellia and Gishki Abyss from my hand in order to Ritual Summon the Level 6 Ritual Monster, Evigishki Gustkraken!"

Evigishki Gustkraken - (WATER/Aqua/Ritual) - LV6 - (2400/1000)

"When this Monster is Ritual Summoned, I can up look to 2 random cards in my opponent's hand, and then shuffle one of them into the deck." Mitsumi pointed to the two cards on Karis' hand that she wanted to see, and although she didn't recognize one of them, she did recognize the other card. "I command you to shuffle Mirror Force back into your deck!"

"Awww! I was hoping you wouldn't pick that one!" pouted Karis as she did as Mitsumi ordered.

"...I set a card and end my turn."

"Then, it's my turn!" said Karis. "From my hand, I summon Chamber Dragonmaid to the field!"

Chamber Dragonmaid - (DARK/Dragon) - LV4 - (500/1800)

"And, when she's Normal or Special Summoned, I get to add 1 Dragonmaid Spell/Trap from my deck to my hand! I choose Dragonmaid Welcome! And now, I enter the Battle Phase!"

'Huh? She's entering the Battle Phase even though her Monster's weaker than mine? Her Monster must have some special ability to make up for her lack of Attack Points,' Mitsumi thought, suspiciously.

"I now activate Chamber's effect! At the start of the Battle Phase, I can return her from the field to my hand, and then, I get to Special Summon 1 Level 7 or higher Dragonmaid Monster from my hand or Graveyard! I choose to Special Summon Dragonmaid Ernus!"

Dragonmaid Ernus - (EARTH/Dragon) - LV7 - (2600/1600)

"And now, I attack your Ritual Monster with my Ernus!"

'Okay, the first Monster, I could get why she's a Dragonmaid, but this Monster doesn't even remotely look like a maid!' thought Mitsumi before shaking her head. 'No, what am I thinking?! The appearance isn't important! What's more important is the fact that her Monster is much more stronger than mine! I need an Action Card!'

Mitsumi glanced around and started running, trying to take in her surroundings and search for an Action Card. However, because she was unfamiliar with the Action Spell, and due to numerous obstacles in her path, she not only couldn't find an Action Card, but she ended up knocking over a vase, thus causing it to crash and fall. Mitsumi didn't pay too much heed to it, until an Action Trap appeared in front of her, penalizing her.

Mitsumi - 3000 LP

Karis - 4000 LP

"Action Trap, Consequence Correction," explained Karis. "You lose 1000 Life Points."

In addition to the Action Trap, Ernus finally overpowered Mitsumi's Ritual Monster, Gustkraken, and obliterated her with a dragon's breath, flying back to her mistress' side with a confident expression.

Mitsumi - 2800 LP

Karis - 4000 LP

"Wait, wait, wait! How did I trigger the Action Trap? I didn't even pick up an Action Card!" said Mitsumi.

"It's quite simple, really," said Karis. "Unlike most other Action Fields, this one is just one of the few, special, rare kinds where it'll take more than just picking up an Action Card in order to play it. Well, technically, in this Action Field, you don't need to pick up Action Cards. Instead, your actions determine what kind of Action Card you'll get."

"Could you elaborate?"

"Certainly! In this Action Field, Elegant Hearth, the methods to receiving an Action Card are quite different than simply picking one up off the floor. Instead, you must perform your duties and follow the rules that a servant should always do. For example, watch me pour this cup of tea." She strolled over to a small table and gently tipped the teapot over to the edge of a cup of tea, pouring elegantly into the tea cup until it was halfway full before stopping.

Mitsumi was surprised to see an Action Card pop up, revealing what kind it was. "Action Card, Refreshment Reward...Lets you gain 500 Life Points?"

Mitsumi - 2800 LP

Karis - 4500 LP

"Exactly!" said Karis. "As a servant, you must always follow the house rules and perform your duties perfectly! You can come across many tasks around this Action Field, and if you succeed, then you may get a reward in the form of an Action Spell! However, if you fail that task, or if you break a house rule, like when you broke that vase earlier, you'll be penalized with an Action Trap!"

'I see, it makes more sense now,' thought Mitsumi. 'I should be really careful. But, if she said that I have to follow house rules, too, then technically, when I ran earlier, I should have already received an Action Trap. Does that mean running in the area is permitted because this is an Action Field? If so, then I'll take advantage of that!'

"Impressed?" asked Karis happily. "We also use this Action Field for training to perform our etiquette skills to the maximum! And now, I activate the Continuous Spell, Dragonmaid Welcome! All Monsters I control gain 100 extra Attack and Defense Points for each Dragonmaid I control! I control only 1 so far, so she gains 100 extra Attack and Defense Points!"

Dragonmaid Ernus - (EARTH/Dragon) - LV7 - (2700/1700)

"I'll end my turn with that!"

"I draw!" said Mitsumi. "...I end my turn."

"What a shame. Then again, I suppose I can't blame you since you only have 1 card in your hand," sighed Karis. "Draw! I set a card, and then summon Laundry Dragonmaid!"

Laundry Dragonmaid - (WATER/Dragon) - LV2 - (500/1600)

"When she's Normal or Special Summoned, I can send the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard. I now head over to the Battle Phase and activate Laundry's effect! At the start of the Battle Phase, I can return her from my field to my hand, and if I do, I get to Special Summon a Level 7 Dragonmaid Monster from my hand or Graveyard! I Special Summon Dragonmaid Nudyarl!"

Dragonmaid Nudyarl - (WATER/Dragon) - LV7 - (2600/1600)

"Because of Dragonmaid Welcome, both my Monsters gain 100 extra Attack and Defense Points for each Dragonmaid Monster I control, and since there are 2, that's 200 extra for both of them!"

Dragonmaid Ernus - (EARTH/Dragon) - LV7 - (2800/1800)

Dragonmaid Nudyarl - (WATER/Dragon) - LV7 - (2800/1800)

"And now, I'll attack you directly with Ernus! It's over!" exclaimed Karis, watching Mitsumi heading towards the kitchen, specifically the kitchen sink.

As strange as it may be during an duel, Mitsumi rolled up her sleeves, took off her butler gloves and replaced them with kitchen gloves before proceeding to wash the dishes. In normal cases, this would be weird, but because this was a special Action Field that required tasks to be completed in order to obtain Action Cards, Mitsumi was doing just that to fulfil the necessary conditions.

"I activate my facedown card!" called out Mitsumi, pausing her dish washing activity to activate her card. "Aquamirror Illusion! I now Special Summon 1 Gishki Ritual Monster from my hand! It cannot attack, and it's returned to my hand at the end of the Battle Phase! I Special Summon Gishki Zielgigas!"

Gishki Zielgigas - (WATER/Aqua/Ritual) - LV10 - (3200/0)

Karis' eyes widened. "Ernus, wai-!"

Unfortunately for her, Ernus, who had been charging up an earth elemental dragon's breath, fired at the last second. Gishki Zielgigas raised up his hands to deflect the dragon's breath before opening his palms out and wide, firing out four geysers of water that destroyed the powerful dragon.

Mitsumi - 2800 LP

Karis - 4100 LP

While on her last plate, Mitsumi looked up at Karis and asked, "Would you like to continue the Battle Phase, Karis-san?"

"...No, I'll end the Battle Phase," sighed Karis, shaking her head in defeat, knowing she couldn't do anything to harm Zielgigas, even if he was only temporarily on the field thanks to Mitsumi's previously used card.

Placing the last, clean plate onto the dish rack to dry, Mitsumi proceeded to dry her hands with a nearby towel before putting her butler gloves back. The moment she completed her task, an Action Card appeared before her very eyes. "Action Card, Menial Measure! According to this, I get to choose 1 Monster you control and reduce that Monster's Attack Points to 0, and you cannot change the Attack Points. It looks like you can't use Dragonmaid Welcome on her, then!"

Dragonmaid Nudyarl - (WATER/Dragon) - LV7 - (0/1800)

Karis grinned. "Oh, really? I activate Nudyarl's effect! At the end of the Battle Phase, I can return her from the field to my hand in order to Special Summon 1 Level 3 Dragonmaid Monster from my hand! I Special Summon Nurse Dragonmaid from my hand!"

Nurse Dragonmaid - (EARTH/Dragon) - LV2 - (500/1600)

"And when she's Normal or Special Summoned, I get to target 1 Level 4 or lower Dragonmaid from my Graveyard and Special Summon that Monster! I Special Summon Chamber Dragonmaid to the field in Defense Mode!"

Chamber Dragonmaid - (DARK/Dragon) - LV4 - (500/1800)

"Wait, when was she in your Graveyard? I thought you returned her to your hand to Special Summon that Ernus Monster!" cried out Mitsumi.

"You're not wrong. In fact, there's a copy of her in my hand right now," said Karis. "But do you remember Laundry Dragonmaid's effect? When she was first summoned, she had me discard the top three cards into my Graveyard, and one of them happened to be another Chamber Dragonmaid, so I took advantage of that knowledge! And now, I activate Chamber's effect! When she's Normal or Special Summoned, I get to add 1 Dragonmaid Spell/Trap from my deck to my hand! I add Dragonmaid Changeover to my hand! And now, Dragonmaid Welcome's effect activates, giving my two Dragonmaids 200 extra Attack and Defense Points!"

Nurse Dragonmaid - (EARTH/Dragon) - LV2 - (700/1700)

Chamber Dragonmaid - (DARK/Dragon) - LV4 - (700/2000)

"Now I will activate Dragonmaid Changeover! I Fusion Summon using Monsters on my field or hand to Fusion Summon a Dragon-Type Monster from my Extra Deck! I fuse the Nudyarl from my hand with Nurse Dragonmaid on my field in order to Fusion Summon Dragonmaid Strahl, my most powerful Monster!"

Dragonmaid Strahl - (LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion) - LV10 - (3500/2000)

'She Fusion Summoned her most powerful Monster so easily in a few turns?!' thought Mitsumi, hastily taking out a cloth rag to dry the clean dishes in order to obtain an Action Card. 'Luckily for me, the Battle Phase is over, but I need to come up with something, quick!'

"There's something else you should know!" called out Karis. "I activate Dragonmaid Changeover's effect from my Graveyard! I target 1 Dragonmaid I control, add Dragonmaid Changeover back to my hand, and if I do, I get to return that Dragonmaid Monster back to my hand! I return not only the Fusion Spell card, but also Chamber Dragonmaid back to my hand!'

Halfway finished, Mitsumi thought, 'Great, and now she not only has a potential Fusion-Material Monster back to her hand, but that Spell that lets her Fusion Summon as well! Who knows what other Fusion Monsters she has in stock?'

"Now, Dragonmaid Welcome's effect activates, granting Strahl 100 extra Attack and Defense Points!"

Dragonmaid Strahl - (LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion) - LV10 - (3600/2100)

"I end my turn with that."

"And with the turn now over, Gishki Zielgigas returns to my hand," said Mitsumi, leaving her field devoid of any cards.

Just as Karis finished her turn, Mitsumi finished drying the sparkling clean dishes before she drew her card. "My turn, draw!" At that moment, upon the completion of yet another task, another Action Card appeared before her, allowing her to activate it. "I activate the Action Spell, Hardworking Harvest! Now, I get to draw three additional cards! I activate the effect of Swap Frog from my hand! I discard 1 WATER Monster from my hand in order to Special Summon him! I discard Gishki Zielgigas"

Swap Frog - (WATER/Aqua) - LV2 - (1000/500)

"Next, when this card is summoned, I get to send 1 Level 2 or lower Aqua-Type Monster from my deck or field to the Graveyard. I choose to send Gishki Reliever from my deck to the Graveyard! And now, I summon from my hand Gishki Abyss!"

Gishki Abyss - (WATER/Fish) - LV2 - (800/500)

"When he's summoned, I get to add a Gishki Monster with 1000 or less Defense Points from my deck to my hand. I add Gishki Mollusk to my hand! And now, I Overlay my two Level 2 WATER Monsters to build the Overlay Network! I XYZ Summon Rank 2! Cat Shark! In Defense Mode!"

Cat Shark - (WATER/Beast/XYZ) - Rank 2 - (500/500)

"I set a card and end my turn."

"My turn, draw!" said Karis, heading towards a messy bookshelf. "I summon from my hand, Parlor Dragonmaid!"

Parlor Dragonmaid - (WIND/Dragon) - LV3 - (500/1700)

"And now, Dragonmaid Welcome's effect activates! For every Dragonmaid monster I control, they gain 100 extra Attack and Defense Points each! Now, there's two, so now, they gains 200 extra Attack and Defense Points!"

Dragonmaid Strahl - (LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion) - LV10 - (3700/2200)

Parlor Dragonmaid - (WIND/Dragon) - LV3 - (700/1900)

"I attack!" declared Karis. "Parlor Dragonmaid, destroy her Cat Shark!"

'Judging from her actions, I'd say that she doesn't have one of those high leveled Dragonmaid Monsters, otherwise, she would have already used the effect from Parlor. Or, maybe she thinks that she'll be able to finish me off this turn, so there's no point Fusion Summoning another, stronger Monster,' thought Mitsumi, taking a bowl of fruit from the kitchen and proceeding to wash the fruit to disinfect any germs. Allowing the sink's water to wash over the fruit, Mitsumi focused back on the battle. "I activate my Trap, Wall of Disruption! When you declare an attack, all Monsters you control in Attack Mode loses 800 Attack Points for every one."

"Not so fast!" said Karis. "I activate my Continuous Trap, Dragonmaid Downtime! I target 1 Dragonmaid Monster I control and activate one of the effects specified on my Trap card! I activate the second effect! I return Parlor Dragonmaid to my hand in order to return 1 Spell/Trap you control back to your hand!"

Mitsumi turned off the sink water in time to catch her Wall of Disruption card just as Parlor Dragonmaid returned to Karis' hand. Karis was busy rearranging the books near the messy bookshelf and proceeded to continue her Battle Phase.

"And because of Dragonmaid Welcome, Strahl only gains 100 extra Attack and Defense Points."

Dragonmaid Strahl - (LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion) - LV10 - (3600/2100)

"Battle! I continue the attack with Strahl!"

"At this time, I activate Cat Shark's effect!" shouted Mitsumi, who was cleaning up the fruit with the stored up sink water. "When he has an XYZ Material that's originally WATER Attribute, he can't be destroyed in battle!'

"Then, I activate Dragonmaid Strahl's effect!" declared Karis. "When my opponent activates a card or effect, I can negate the activation, and if I do, destroy that card, so Cat Shark is destroyed!"

With that declaration, Strahl flapped her wings to release a sparkling coating effect that covered Cat Shark, destroying him upon making contact before the Fusion Dragon Monster vanished into Karis' Extra Deck.

"Strahl has another effect. After negating the activation and destroying your card, she has to return to my Extra Deck. However, when that happens, I get to Special Summon House Dragonmaid from my Extra Deck!"

House Dragonmaid - (LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion) - LV9 - (3000/2000)

'Another Fusion Monster? Terrific,' thought Mitsumi.

"And because of the Continuous Spell, Dragonmaid Welcome, she gains 100 extra Attack and Defense Points!"

House Dragonmaid - (LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion) - LV9 - (3100/2100)

"I continue the attack!" said Karis, watching as her Dragon-Type Monster began to charge up an energy ball within her draconic claws.

Mitsumi finished cleaning the rest of the fruits in time right before House Dragonmaid fired the energy ball at Mitsumi, causing a bit of an explosion. Just when Karis thought she had won the duel, she was dumbfounded to see Mitsumi still standing.

Mitsumi - 1250 LP

Karis - 2550 LP

"But how?! And how did I lose Life Points in the process?"

"It's because...Right now, after I finished my task, an Action Card saved me," panted Mitsumi, brushing the dust off her butler clothes. "I activated Equivalent Exchange, which halves all Battle Damage from one Monster's attack and transfer half of that damage to you, Karis-san."

"But that's not fair! I didn't even deserve to get punished!" pouted Karis, crossing her arms and stomping her foot like a child.

"Should a head maid really act childish when it's her duty to see things through to the end?" asked Mitsumi, slightly amused.

"...Fine! I end my turn!"

"My turn!" said Mitsumi, drawing her card. "I summon from my hand, Abyss Soldier!"

Abyss Soldier - (WATER/Aqua) - LV4 - (1800/1300)

"And now I activate his effect! I discard 1 WATER Monster from my hand to the Graveyard in order to return 1 card you control back to the hand! I discard Gishki Mollusk to return House Dragonmaid back to your hand, though technically, because she's a Fusion Monster, she must return to the Extra Deck!"

Karis clicked her tongue in frustration as House Dragonmaid was forced to return back to her Extra Deck in a bright light.

"And now, Gishki Mollusk's effect activates! When he's sent to the Graveyard through a card effect, I can look at the top 3 cards of my deck and then return them all to either the top of bottom of my deck!" After drawing and examining the three cards, Mitsumi decided to return them back to the bottom of her deck. "And now, I activate Gishki Vision's effect from my hand! I discard him in order to add a Gishki Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand! I add Gishki Psychelone to my hand! I now activate Gishki Aquamirror from my hand and Tribute Abyss Soldier on the field in order to Ritual Summon Gishki Psychelone!"

Gishki Psychelone - (WATER/Fiend/Ritual) - LV4 - (2150/1650)

Karis sighed in relief before smirking. "Ha! So, even if I lose a lot of Life Points, I'll still be safe and I'll be able to Fusion Summon next turn!"

"Don't assume things until you see them through. I thought all maids, including the head maid, were supposed to know something as simple as that? A task isn't completed until you finish it yourself," advised Mitsumi. "I activate the Equip Spell, Ritual Weapon, and equip it onto my Ritual Monster, Gishki Psychelone! Now, she gains 1500 extra Attack and Defense Points!"

Gishki Psychelone - (WATER/Fiend/Ritual) - LV4 - (3650/3150)

"Oh, no!"

"Gishki Psychelone, attack her directly! Finish this!"

Gishki Psychelone, armed with her newly equipped magical crossbow, took aim at Karis, and, combining with her own water magic, created a water arrow before firing off her water-enhanced arrow from the crossbow, shooting Karis and depleting the last of her Life Points.

Mitsumi - 1250 LP

Karis - 0 LP

Winner: Mitsumi

The audience howled and cheered, applauding for a magnificent performance between the two. Mitsumi watched as Karis was rolling around, throwing a mini, childish tantrum as she sweatdropped.

'I won? I seriously won? Oh crap, that means that I'm pretty much qualified to enter the next stage of the tournament. ...Great,' thought Mitsumi with an annoyed look. 'On the bright side, I'll just wing it. It's not like it matters if I win or lose, not that I plan on winning the tournament, of course.'

"Wow, you did absolutely amazing, Mitsumi-chan!" exclaimed Karis, rushing up to her and shaking her arms up and down with childish excitement written all over her face.

"Er...thanks? I mean, thank you very much, head maid Karis-san!" said Mitsumi politely. "But, you were much more amazing than I was! I still have...a long ways to go before I'm just as good as you and any other strong duelist!"

Karis shook her head. "No, no! You're quite excellent the way you are right now, Mitsumi-chan! Although, I do admit, you can improve! But right now, you were elegant, cool, calm, and beautiful during that duel! The way you commanded with your voice that resounded and sounded both clear and professional during the Battle Phases, your effective and swift method of performing each task perfectly, and your determined and unbending stance all while standing strong and beautiful! Kya!~ I can't help but admire you! How'd you do it, anyways? It's like you were trained to be a Pro Duelist!"

A pained expression flashed onto Mitsumi's face for a second before she covered it up with a fake soft and gentle smile as she bowed her head, if only to hide her pain within. "No, no. I still have much to improve. I was just lucky, like extremely lucky this time, but I'll be sure to improve in the future."

Karis grinned. "See that you do!"

Yeah, no way was Mitsumi ever going to tell someone she just met for the first time today about her dark backstory. The only reason why she was able to perform so elegantly with etiquette skills was because, this was yet another one of the things drilled into her head thanks to her parents. They wanted her not only to win duels as a Pro Duelist, but to be a proper, mature, and respectful duelist as well, hence the harsh etiquette skills that would probably forever be engraved into her as part of muscle memory. Compared to her secret of being a Pro Duelist, Mitsumi actually had no problems exposing her etiquette, elegant skills. In a harmless way, she, too, also wanted to be a proper, mature, and respectful person, but not in the way her parents envisioned, at least, not using abusive methods.

"Mitsumi!"

Recognizing the voice, Mitsumi turned around and saw not just her grandmother, but Yuya, Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Sora, Shuzo, Yoko, Nico, Tatsuya, Futoshi, and Ayu all in one big group heading towards her. Mitsumi mentally gasped in horror as she just now remembered that before the duel, Aoi called her friends to let them know of her duel. She had been so focused on the duel, she completely forgot about that fact!

"H-Hello, everyone!" said Mitsumi, walking towards them and trying to stay calm. "How long have you guys been here? ...And how long were you watching?"

"The whole time!" said Shuzo excitedly. "We actually arrived before your duel, but Aoi said to keep our arrival a secret and for us to remain quiet during the duel for some reason!"

Mitsumi whirled towards her grandmother, who chuckled and mischievously smirked at her granddaughter, revealing her devious side to Mitsumi, whom she had definitely inherited from. If there was one person Mitsumi could never get angry at, it was her own loving grandmother, even if she did manipulate and trick things a bit.

"Mitsumi-chan, you did amazing!" cried out Yuzu, clasping her hands together. "You've definitely improved a lot during your duels! Back then, you couldn't even hold a candle to any one of us, but now? You're incredible!"

'Well, guess faking and purposely losing is kinda out of the question,' thought Mitsumi, wondering about how her future duels with her friends should go.

Gongenzaka nodded. "Yes! That was surely a welcoming duel, especially after my duel with Yuya!"

"Wait, you dueled Yuya?"

Yuya said, "Yeah! Like, before we came here, my final duel to meet the requirements for entering the tournament was to duel Gongenzaka, and I won, so I'm qualified to enter!"

Mitsumi looked over to Gongenzaka worriedly. "Then...what about you, Gongenzaka?"

"Don't worry! I have other methods of meeting the qualifications as well, so you don't have to worry! Congratulations on winning the duel, though. Through your stern and calm demeanor during the duel, I can sense the fire within! You have definitely grown stronger, Mitsumi!"

"O-Oh, no, like I said, this was completely out of luck! I just got lucky!" assured Mitsumi, hoping to fan out the expectations for her being much more stronger. She still wanted to be viewed as the weakest duelist amongst her group of friends, even if she was seen as growing stronger.

"Mitsumi-chan, it would be such a waste if you only wore that butler outfit for just this duel, so how about a bit of a proposal?" requested Karis, winking at her. "Why not work here for just today?"

"E-Eh?!" exclaimed Mitsumi, shocked.

"Ooh! Say yes! I wanna see you in a cute maid outfit!" squealed Yuzu.

"I heard that the desserts here are especially delicious!" said Yuya before receiving a glare from his mother nearby. "N-Not that they're as good as yours or Mitsumi's, Mom!"

"Hmph! They better not! Though, I do want to try out the sweets here," said Yoko before turning to Yuya. "Don't get the wrong idea, though, Yuya! Maid cafes are still expensive and some are...inappropriate, which is why I don't really allow you to go in there, but, just this once, I'm willing to make an exception."

"I've never been to a maid café, before! It's like being in a bakery! I wanna try things out here!" said Ayu.

"Me too!" both Futoshi and Tatsuya cried out.

Karis grinned and announced, "Well, you folks are in luck, because this week only, we have everything half off! You'll still have to pay, of course, but the prices are much more cheaper compared to the original prices!"

The audience roared in happiness; their voices echoing and in so much high volume, the air slightly shook before the audience started rushing over towards the large maid café, intent on taking advantage of the half-priced meals and so forth, causing the duel arena to be vacant except for Karis, Mitsumi, and her friends.

"...Yeah, so give me a reason why I should agree to helping you for today?" Mitsumi whispered to Karis. "I barely know anything of how to run a maid café! And I am not wearing a maid outfit."

"Don't worry! I get the feeling that you'll be able to get accustomed to things real quickly, and my intuition's never failed me, before!" assured Karis. "Besides, despite our large staff, we do need more employees, even if for today."

"Yeah, but..."

"You won't even have to wear the maid outfit if you don't want to. Plus, you'll be paid handsomely..."

"...How much?"

Later...

"Your omurice is ready, sir. Please enjoy."

Gongenzaka nodded. "Thank you, Mitsumi."

"Mitsumi-chan! Can you refill my juice, please? I'm all out!"

"Ah, coming, Sora! I-I mean, sir!"

"Mmm! I'm done with this plate!"

"I'll be right there, Yuzu! Urk! I mean, Miss!"

"I'd love another piece of cake, please!"

"Yok-I mean, I'll be with you shortly, Miss! Please give me a moment!"

After being given a generous offer by Karis to work for one full day, Mitsumi was fully devoted to working as one of the employees, managing her work well just like the other professional employees. In fact, several of the customers she's served has commented on how, despite how young she may be, that youthfulness has worked to her advantage as well as her precise and swift actions, serving with elegance and an air of coolness that may her stand out a lot from the other female butlers.

Mitsumi was starting to get used to her duty as one of the butler waiters. She's still a bit more clumsy, but as time passed, she spoke with a formal and polite tone, answering questions and taking orders as quickly as possible to serve the customers.

As Mitsumi was handing another table their orders, Mitsumi glanced back to Shuzo, who had been the cause of her having to participate in the tournament. A small, unnoticeable smirk formed on her face as she decided to take this opportunity to get back at him, even if a little.

"Sir, we have a very special dessert for you!" said Mitsumi, walking up to Shuzo a few minutes later, holding a cutely-decorated cake piece-like dessert in a plate before setting it down in front of her. "We still haven't come up with a name for it, but we'd like you to be amongst one of the few to eat it and test it out!"

Shuzo glanced down at the cake slice, and no matter how cute it looked, he had a feeling there was something more to it that gave him an uneased feeling. "Um...Mitsumi-chan? I never ordered something like this."

"Don't worry, it's just one of our test desserts! We like to...experiment on some of the possibly new desserts to other people, and if they like it enough, it'll be put in the menu! It's also free, so long as you finish the whole thing from scratch! If not, then you'll have to pay for the highly expensive, full price of the dessert, even if today is a half-off event!~"

Yuzu, who was seated near Shuzo, smiled as she took a bite of her pie. "Don't worry, Dad! If it's too much, I can take some of it-"

"Oh, and I forgot to mention, you can't share it with other people, otherwise, it'll be seen as cheating," assured Mitsumi. "Good luck, sir."

Shuzo spoke up, "Wait...why would you want to give me something like this?"

"Other than the experimental customers being random, I just wanted to repay you for giving me a reason to participate in the tournament," spoke Mitsumi in a sickly, sweet tone that only Shuzo recognized as he shuddered from the comment. "Now, I have to go back to work, but I hope you enjoy. Like, I really hope you enjoy."

Shuzo gulped as he watched Mitsumi leave, writing down another customer's orders down her notepad before he turned back to his cute-looking cake piece. Well, it seemed harmless enough, so it should be fine...right?

He was instantly proven wrong the moment his taste buds kicked in. It tasted so...SALTY! Like, it was like eating a soft, squishy version of salt itself! Shuzo internally squealed and gulped down his entire drink in one fell swoop, panting before glaring at the abomination of the salt cake he took a bite out of. He was expected to eat THIS?! Granted, he should be lucky he's not eating the entire salty cake and instead has to eat the cake piece he was given, otherwise, he would have to pay the full price.

Why? Why was he given such a dessert? Shuzo recalled Mitsumi's previous words, specifically on the part when she said she wanted to repay him for making her participate in the tournament. Technically, he did kinda pressure her a little bit even though she didn't want to take part of it, so he could imagine that she must have been quite upset and pissed off at somewhat being forced to participate. Was this her way of "repaying" him back?

He glanced over to Mitsumi, who had just finished delivering foods to another table. He blinked twice, but he was certain he caught her smirking sinisterly at him. Yup, she definitely had to have been pissed off at the time when he convinced her to participate in the tournament, and the cake with the consequences of not finishing it himself was proof of her vengeance towards him. She turned slightly to face him from afar, pressing a finger to her lips as she shook her head slowly, giving him a clear message.

No one will believe you.

The frustrating part was, Shuzo knew that she was telling the truth. Who would think that sweet, kind, innocent, shy Mitsumi-chan could ever be capable of purposely delivering an EXTREMELY SALTY cake to her teacher? In fact, who would think that she would pull a prank or even so much as harm a poor little puppy? Yeah, no doubt nobody was going to believe Shuzo if he even thinks of telling them.

So, in order not to pay for the expensive price, Shuzo tearfully and cringingly started devouring the salty cake piece.

Knowing that her harmless revenge was complete, Mitsumi hummed to herself as she made her way to the front of the maid café, since it was now her turn to escort and become the next party's waitress. However, it may have proven bad luck to her right now, because...

"Ah, Mitsumi-chan! So, it was true! You are indeed working as an employee here! I must say, the maid outfit would suit you much better, but you look beautiful in anything you wear!"

….Shingo Sawatari and his friends.

On one half of her mind, Mitsumi wanted to throw down whatever she had and kick Shingo right where the sun doesn't shine. On the other, more reasonable half of her mind, it was to take advantage and possibly conjure up a harmless revenge against Shingo, just like what she did with Shuzo.

She chose the second option as a result.

"Hello, sir! You're just in luck. We have a table available for you and your friends," welcomed Mitsumi, moving out of the way. "Now, please follow me, and I will take you to your table."

Shingo smirked. "Ah, of course. Thank you ever so much. Perhaps a kiss will be reward-"

"Please note that customers are not allowed to touch the employees here in any manner whatsoever or else it will be considered sexual harassment."

"Ah, but perhaps a kiss to the cheek-"

"Sawatari-san, there are also students here from our school and they understand full well that touching me, a temporary employee, will result in being seen as sexually harassing me. I don't think you want that reputation to be spread at school."

"Tch! ...Fine, you've got a point, but next time we're alone, Mitsumi-chan, I'll be expecting a kiss!~"

'Not happening,' thought Mitsumi, still smiling sweetly. "Well, follow me! And you know, Sawatari-san, we're trying out some experimental desserts to possibly put on the menu, and I was hoping you'd like to try it out."

"Of course! Anything you'd deliver to me, I'd happily eat!"

"Oh, you are SO gonna regret those words..."

"Did you say something?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing! Let's go!"

Hehehe! I had a bit of fun with this chapter, especially towards the end! Yeah, Mitsumi was still a bit ticked off towards Shuzo, but we resolved that pretty simply. As for Shingo...well, she has more reason to dislike him, so I resolved things in a funny way!

That said, yeah! This time, her duelist's deck is the newest archetype, Dragonmaid! Apparently, it was inspired from some other dragon maid anime involving someone named Kobayashi, and so forth. Also, Call Brig On Over, you were totally right! You were the first person to guess that Dragonmaids were definitely gonna be on this duel! Congratulations!

Alright, now! So, this will be the last chapter for a while, because I'm busy with life and I wanna work on my other stories, so until next time, stay strong! Also, read and review!