"You... you... you bastards! What is the meaning of this!?"
"Whoa! You guys are...!"
The door slammed open with a violent crash, and the Yamato trio—the losers of the recent duel—stormed into the room.
Enji and Masanaga, standing at the fore, were clearly frantic, their chests heaving as they struggled to catch their breath.
Enji should have been in the infirmary with his relatively severe injuries, and Masanaga ought to have been packing his bags for a shameful retreat. The fact that they had come all this way to see the very faces they surely never wanted to see again suggested something catastrophic had occurred.
As Yugo and the others watched them, sensing the sheer desperation in the air, Masanaga thrust a sheet of paper toward them and screamed.
"What the hell is this!? An invoice!? Why are we being billed such an astronomical amount!?"
"An invoice? What are you talking about? We don't know anything about that."
It was indeed a bill.
They seemed to have barged in specifically because they were horrified by the contents and the total sum, but Yugo hadn't tried to charge them for a single thing. He was utterly baffled.
However, Anhel, who was standing in the room with a brilliantly cheerful smile, faced the frantic heirs with complete nonchalance.
"Ah, that? I’m the one who sent it. So, I’ll be expecting prompt payment! Thanks!"
"Don't you 'thanks' us, woman! Why are you trying to force this debt onto us!? For that matter, what is with this number!?"
Enji shrieked at the smiling Anhel, his composure gone.
Curious about the contents of the invoice that had pushed them to the brink of a breakdown, Yugo took the paper from Enji’s hand. He and his companions crowded around to check the amount, and then...
"Gyah!? What... what is this!?"
"Th-this is... I mean..."
"It’s an unbelievable sum. Truly."
"I... I’m so shocked I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head...!"
Fee let out a strangled cry as he counted the string of zeros. Melt was left speechless, while Marcos provided his assessment with a twitching face.
Even Ryuga showed a hint of agitation at the staggering figure. As Yugo wiped a cold sweat from his brow, his own eyes bulging, Enji screamed again.
"Woman! What kind of sick game is this!? How do you expect us to pay this!? This makes no sense!"
"Depending on your answer, I’ll take your head right here and now!"
"Now, now, don't say such scary things. I merely sent the invoice in accordance with the terms of our duel."
"The terms of the duel...? What are you talking about!?"
"Wait, didn't you hear the details of the stakes? If you guys had won, you could have dictated whatever you wanted for the future of Setsuna and the others at the academy. But if you lost... the deal was that you’d become our sponsors and provide full funding for as long as we’re enrolled here. Right?"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! I never heard a word of this!"
"Neither did I! You saw that we were in no state to argue after the duel and tried to squeeze money out of us while we were down! You despicable woman! I'll cut you down!"
"Well, you can say that, but... I made sure to get proper consent. I even have it in writing!"
"What...?"
As she spoke, Anhel rummaged through her prized four-dimensional cleavage and pulled out a single sheet of paper.
Enji and Masanaga leaned in side-by-side to stare at the document. It was a formal deed, and they were rendered speechless when they saw a clause explicitly stating they would become Yugo’s sponsors in the event of their defeat.
Then, they saw the name written at the bottom as proof of the contract. The two of them spun around in unison and bellowed.
"Katsuyori! What have you done!?"
"Yeah... well... look, I'm sorry. But it couldn't be helped, could it?"
"What do you mean 'couldn't be helped'!? Are you kidding me!?"
There, at the bottom of the contract, in the signature line, was Katsuyori’s name.
Enji and Masanaga looked like their hair was about to stand on end from pure rage as they screamed at him, but Katsuyori simply stood there with his arms folded majestically. Having offered his apology, he remained stoically silent.
"Hey, uh, Katsuyori? What's the deal here? We’re just as confused as they are. Can you explain?"
Yugo, having absolutely no idea what was happening, asked for clarification.
Finally responding to the request, Katsuyori nodded and at last opened his mouth.
"It was last night. I was approached by that girl over there—"