Whether Aisha believed it or not, You Ling still told her his experiences after death without reservation.
Since his soul would have to reside in the Millennium Puzzle and depend on this girl in the future, basic trust between them was necessary.
"I see, Mr. You Ling passed away due to an accident, and then your soul transmigrated into the Millennium Puzzle. What a sad story, please accept my condolences."
Somewhat surprising to You Ling was Aisha's exceptionally high level of acceptance.
Regarding death, transmigration, plus the outrageous matter of becoming a spirit haunting from behind, she didn't show even a trace of doubt. She had even completely discarded her previous wariness about having her thoughts read and began sympathizing with You Ling's plight.
Of course, there wasn't much to be guarded about regarding reading thoughts anyway.
Communicating through thoughts was very idealistic.
The other party could only hear the words one intended to convey, just like a normal conversation, without needing to worry excessively about leaking secrets or the like.
"I understand." Then, as if having made a decision, Aisha nodded heavily and said: "Since Mr. You Ling is so pitiful, please feel at ease living inside the Millennium Puzzle. I will take responsibility for taking good care of you!"
"No, no, no, that's not right. I didn't say all this for you to take care of me. Besides, how would you take care of me?"
Aisha thought seriously: "If I diligently maintain and wipe this puzzle every day, wouldn't that be equivalent to cleaning Mr. You Ling's room?"
"..."
As the host, the girl Aisha's first impression on You Ling seemed to be that of an unguarded, good-natured person, and somewhat clumsy.
Coupled with her cute appearance and the constantly trembling ahoge when she nodded, she even seemed a bit stupidly cute.
"Alright, since you have the heart, I'll accept it with gratitude."
If forced to say whether the first impression was good or bad, it should probably be considered good.
You Ling didn't dislike this kind of silly, good-natured personality.
"That being said, I can't live in your... place for free. Let's make a deal," You Ling immediately switched to the main topic.
"A deal?" Aisha's trembling white ahoge curled slightly, forming the shape of a questioning question mark.
"Sorry for eavesdropping on a part of the conversation between you and your friend earlier. But if I understood correctly, Aisha, if you lose one more duel, you'll be expelled, right?"
"Ah, wu, actually it's not..." Awkwardly scratching her cheek, the ahoge atop Aisha's head trembled due to nervousness.
But after experiencing a few seconds of internal struggle between dignity and honesty, Aisha still decided to confess and be lenient.
"Okay, that's right. Sumimasen, I'm too trash, wuwuwuwuwu." The white ahoge drooped due to dejection.
"It's okay to be trash, as long as others are trash but still addicted, it'll work out."
"Eh, I somehow feel like I was just insulted?"
"Part one of the deal. Since you provided the Millennium Puzzle for my soul to reside in, as repayment, I can duel in your place in the future."
"In my place? How can you do that."
"You'll know if you try. Aisha, try to empty your mind, don't think about anything."
"Empty my mind. Feels kind of difficult, eh, I might not be able to do it."
Following You Ling's suggestion, gently closed her eyes.
"No, you're very talented." Only two seconds passed, and You Ling sensed that Aisha had already succeeded, "Perhaps you're a genius at emptying your mind, Aisha."
Perhaps it was an innate skill obtained after becoming a spirit haunting from behind; You Ling naturally possessed knowledge about soul exchange.
After Aisha's mind successfully emptied, You Ling's soul, existing within the Millennium Puzzle, seemed to have found a brand new destination.
——Soul Exchange!
Opening his eyes again, You Ling felt his body seemed much lighter.
He tried clenching his hand; the girl's slender fingers, like white scallions, appeared in You Ling's vision.
Immediately following was the unique, fresh and elegant fragrance characteristic of a girl.
Undoubtedly, You Ling's soul exchange was successful. He had now, through the power of the Millennium Puzzle, temporarily gained control of Aisha's body.
"So this is a girl's body, huh. Feels quite strange, but it's not inconvenient."
Anyway, for You Ling, as long as he could play cards, it was fine. The peculiar experience brought by a girl's body wasn't that important.
"Th-th-th! What is going on, Mr. You Ling!"
Conversely, the soul exchange seemed far too stimulating for the original owner of this body, Aisha.
From Aisha's anxious inquiries echoing in You Ling's mind, it wasn't hard to tell that the girl had already started panicking.
When the soul exists within the Millennium Puzzle, it's like arriving in one's own 'mind' room.
You Ling didn't know what Aisha's mind room looked like.
But You Ling's own mind room, aside from card-related data, basically had nothing else.
When the soul is in the mind room, it cannot control the body, but it can share the body's vision and hearing.
And communicate with the other soul through thoughts, like You Ling and Aisha were doing.
"Don't be nervous yet, Aisha," You Ling comforted, "This is the method I mentioned earlier for dueling in your place. With soul exchange, control of the body is temporarily transferred."
"That's not the point!" Even in a soul state, Aisha could feel her cheeks flushing hot with embarrassment.
"That's my body, mine! Mr. You Ling, you should be a boy, right? I, I..."
"Correction, I was male when I was alive. Now that my physical body has been crushed, I should just be a soul."
Understanding Aisha's predicament as a girl, You Ling could only make up a somewhat acceptable reason to fool her.
"But even so, I'm still very embarrassed!" Aisha said frankly, "I'll be very shy!"
"Don't worry, this was just an experimental soul exchange. I promise that in the future, I will only come out during duels, is that okay?"
"Really?"
"Truer than pearls."
"Then can you return my body to me now?"
"Of course."
——Soul Exchange!
Returning to the mind room within the Millennium Puzzle, You Ling handed back control of Aisha's body.
"I actually came back again, how magical."
Having received You Ling's promise and successfully returned to her own body, Aisha gradually relaxed.
The naive girl without much scheming had already begun to gradually trust You Ling.
"Suddenly receiving help from a master inside a mysterious item, this is just like the protagonist in a novel who obtained a ring grandpa. I feel a bit excited, Mr. You Ling!"
"Oh, ring grandpa? So this world also has power fantasy novels. But I can't help you cheat like the old grandpa in the novels, I can only help you play cards."
"That's enough!"
The deal was completed, and communication with the host was also very smooth.
For You Ling, who had transmigrated only as a soul, starting out in this other world like this should be considered quite good.
However, Aisha Yuna Carlos's luck was not as good as You Ling's.
After the afternoon classes ended, the homeroom teacher, Aileen Rockefeller, announced the opponents for the first-year students' practical combat tests this week, arranged by the Academy.
Aisha Yuna Carlos's practical combat opponent this week was the Duke's son who had just summoned Red-Eyes Black Dragon——Kevin Set.