"Tom?!" Kaito shouted out loud and laughed. "What a weird name…"
Tom clearly didn't appreciate the comment. "Thomas is one of the most noble names in history!" he snapped proudly.
Kaito gave him a strange look, thinking to himself:
Something's off about this guy… That height, those huge round eyes… and that name? He's definitely not from around here.
While Tom went on about how perfect his name was, Arisa suddenly jumped into the conversation.
"So what if you've got a noble name?!" she barked. "You walk around in torn-up rags!"
Tom opened his mouth to respond, but a small figure beside him raised her hand and calmly stopped him. It was a girl with a neatly tied hairstyle, sipping iced tea.
"And you're unbalanced," Arisa continued. "Who just storms into a restaurant, attacks their opponent and starts yelling at them for not taking the fight seriously?"
The girl with the tea chimed in, sharp and cold:
"And who pretends to be weak in a life-or-death duel, finishes it in seconds, and then asks the opponent out on a date?"
She took another sip, then placed the glass down gently.
"My name is Charlotte. We're from England. And this…" — she pointed to Tom — "…is my dog."
Tom's jaw practically dropped.
"I mean," she corrected herself, "servant."
She turned her eyes to Kaito, lips curled in a slight smirk.
"I just wanted to see who my beloved servant would be up against."
Tom immediately straightened up like a proud peacock, puffed out his chest and stared toward the ceiling as if he'd just won a championship.
But Charlotte wasn't done.
"Even though," she said coolly, "you're unbelievably dumb and clumsy."
With that, she drained the rest of her iced tea, gave a graceful bow like a proper lady, and walked away — Tom trailing after her without a word.
Kaito and Arisa just stood there, dumbfounded.
They stared after the two strange figures, then looked at each other with the same confused expression.
"…What the hell just happened?" Kaito asked.
But then Charlotte's words echoed in his head.
"Wait… What did she mean by life or death?"
Arisa gave him a small smile, though her eyes turned serious.
"You don't know?" she said, leaning in slightly. "Whoever loses… becomes a slave to the one who created these games. It was in the contract you signed."
Kaito blinked, frozen.
"In other words," Arisa went on, "everyone's putting their life on the line. If you lose, they can do whatever they want with you. Sell your organs. Turn you into their servant. Use you for dirty work."
"The chance of living a normal life after losing?" she added, voice cold. "Basically zero."