The days following Howard and Maria Stark's funeral quickly settled back into routine, and for Alexander, that was perhaps the greatest luxury of all.
Each weekday began the same way.
School occupied the mornings, where classes remained just as completely tedious as usual, but still Alexander kept up appearances and didn't cause any trouble, maintaining an engaged look and replying to any question even if his mind wandered everywhere else.
After the regular classes, he inevitably found himself at the Chess Club alongside Ginny and Chuck.
While chess had once been the primary reason for gathering in that club, Duel Monsters had gradually begun stealing more and more of the conversations.
"There's no way Summoned Skull should only need one Tribute."
"It absolutely should."
"No, think about it! Six stars and 2500 attack? That's stronger than many higher-level monsters currently in the game."
Chuck folded his arms with complete confidence while Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "You're only saying that because Victor beat you three times with it last weekend."
"Four," Alexander corrected absentmindedly while setting up a chessboard.
Chuck looked offended and almost shouted, "It was three."
"It was four."
"...I choose to remember only three."
Ginny snorted before taking her seat opposite Alexander.
"You know what the real problem is?" she asked while moving her first pawn. "Nobody builds balanced decks anymore. Everyone just crams in every high-Level monster they own and hopes they draw something useful."
"That's because most of them are twelve and high-level monsters are cooler," Alexander replied.
"Fair point."
Around them, similar conversations echoed throughout the club.
Some debated the strongest Spell Cards, others argued over which monsters deserved to be considered rare.
Everyone wanted to discuss new strategies, new combinations, and rumours about upcoming cards.
The chessboards themselves had slowly become secondary attractions, something the supervising teacher noticed with growing resignation.
"I keep telling myself this is still the Chess Club," he muttered while looking around the room.
Nobody seemed particularly convinced anymore.
After school ended, the group naturally split apart.
Chuck, now proudly in possession of his driver's license, would leave in his own car to meet Julia, never missing an opportunity to spend time with his girlfriend.
Alexander and Ginny, meanwhile, were greeted outside the school by Roland.
Before anything else, they always drove Ginny home, and only after watching her safely disappear inside the house would Roland finally steer the car toward the next destination.
The drive also doubled as Alexander's daily briefing, where Roland kept him updated about Industrial Illusion's production numbers, sales figures, distribution updates, tournament preparations and registrations, retail partnerships, new requests from hobby stores, complaints, suggestions.
Every day there was something new; every day Duel Monsters continued growing.
Afterwards came what Alexander jokingly referred to as his "undercover market research."
Armed with a pair of fake glasses, a hat, and clothes chosen specifically to avoid attracting attention, he spent roughly an hour visiting playgrounds, public parks, and hobby stores throughout Los Angeles.
Officially, he was observing how people played, studying the market, and learning about what his targeted audience thought about the game.
Unofficially, he was farming Duel Energy and Duel Points as it remained one of the safest and most efficient methods available.
By the time Roland picked him up again, Alexander had usually accumulated enough DP to make the outing worthwhile while also learning what players genuinely enjoyed about the game.
Returning home hardly meant relaxing.
Exercise came first.
While his body still lagged far behind the monsters hidden within Marvel, thanks to the awakening of his Spiritual Energy and the massive increase of his Ba, he was slowly approaching supernatural levels, and these exercises helped him refine and maintain his fitness; after all, a stronger body was always better.
Dinner followed shortly afterwards and then came several uninterrupted hours inside the study where he created prototype card after prototype card and dealt/negotiated with the Duel Spirits connected to them.
The grind never truly ended.
Finally, sometime late into the evening, Alexander would collapse into bed before repeating everything the next day.
The weekends, fortunately, offered a welcome change of pace.
Whether it was visiting arcades, watching movies, exploring shopping centres, or simply spending an afternoon together, Alexander genuinely enjoyed the company of Ginny, Chuck, and Julia, and very, very rarely even Victor came and joined them.
For the first time in maybe both his lives, he could honestly say he had genuine friends.
It wasn't a bad life, and for nearly two weeks nothing unusual happened.
Until one afternoon.
~~~▽~~~
The neighbourhood playground looked no different from dozens of others Alexander had visited over the past month.
Children occupied the swings while parents chatted nearby, teenagers gathered around picnic tables, and near one corner of the park, several boys sat in a loose circle, enthusiastically playing Duel Monsters.
Seeing that, Alexander smiled to himself as it was exactly what he was looking for.
Rather than approaching immediately, Alexander spent several minutes simply observing.
The differences between groups were always interesting.
Some treated every duel as though the world depended on it, carefully measuring every decision before playing a single card, while others cared far less about winning than they did about summoning their favourite monsters.
One particularly young boy proudly announced every draw before showing it to everyone around him, regardless of whether it was useful, "I got Giant Soldier of Stone!"
"...You showed us."
"I know!"
The excitement proved contagious as the entire table laughed.
Nearby, another group had already begun arguing.
"No, no, no! You can't attack twice!"
"I didn't!"
"You said you were!"
"I changed my mind!"
Alexander couldn't help smiling.
It was chaotic, it was occasionally wrong, and it was exactly what he wanted to see.
People weren't simply buying Duel Monsters, but they were making memories with it.
That was infinitely more valuable than any sales report Roland could place on his desk.
He quietly joined another nearby group after introducing himself under his usual disguise.
The duels proceeded normally, filled with laughter, arguments over strategy, excited reactions whenever someone drew a powerful monster, and groans when a particularly nasty trap or spell meted out yet another victim.
Everything seemed perfectly ordinary until Alexander noticed one of the cards and his smile almost disappeared as he immediately realised, 'Shit... That's fake.'
He didn't react, didn't stare, and didn't call attention to it; instead, he continued playing as though nothing had happened.
Then another counterfeit appeared, and another, and by the end of the afternoon, Alexander had identified several fake cards spread among different players, making him almost sigh out loud while thinking, 'So it finally happened.'
Honestly, he was more surprised it had taken this long, as success inevitably attracted imitators but counterfeiters had simply arrived later than expected.
Rather than confronting anyone, Alexander casually guided the conversations elsewhere, ensuring that none of the children suspected anything.
Why would they?
To them, he was simply another player making conversation between duels.
The questions sounded innocent and natural, and he made sure to spread them throughout casual discussion and chatter that usually happens during a duel.
"Nice card. Which shop did you get that booster from?"
"I traded for this one."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. My cousin got it from a store downtown."
Alexander nodded casually.
"This one came up from a new set of booster packs that can only be found in that store."
"Oh? They still had boxes in stock?"
"I think so. I remember seeing a lot of them..."
Another boy joined the conversation.
"My dad buys ours from a hobby shop near the mall."
"I've never been there before. Is it a good store?"
"They're cheaper there."
"Really?" Alexander asked with just enough curiosity to sound natural.
"Yeah. Almost two dollars less for a batch purchase."
Hearing that, Alexander thought, 'Interesting. This means it's not an official distributor then.'
He quietly committed the information to memory without letting the thought show on his face.
As the afternoon continued, more small pieces gradually fell into place.
Different stores, different neighbourhoods, different children, yet the counterfeit cards all shared the same flaws.
That strongly suggested a common supplier somewhere higher in the distribution chain rather than isolated attempts by individual shop owners.
By the time the games finally wrapped up and he left the playground, Alexander had learned far more than simply where the fake cards had appeared; he had quietly collected several names and locations without making anyone suspicious.
Thanks to that, he had the beginnings of a map.
~~~▽~~~
Roland immediately noticed Alexander's unusually serious expression as soon as he entered the car, so he asked, "Did something happen?"
Alexander removed the fake glasses before nodding and replying, "Yes... We officially have counterfeit cards on the market."
Roland's expression instantly sharpened before he asked, "Is that so...? I have to admit that it took much longer than expected. Maybe the novelty of the genre and the detailed artwork delayed their emergence in some way..."
Alexander simply nodded and said, "That's one possibility. But that isn't important; what is important is that they've started circulating."
For several moments, silence filled the vehicle before Roland finally asked the question that mattered most, "How good are they?"
Alexander leaned back against the seat and casually said, "Better than I expected."
That alone was enough to earn Roland's full attention.
"The print quality is decent at first glance," Alexander continued. "Good enough to fool children or someone unfamiliar with our cards."
"But?"
Alexander smiled faintly and declared, "But they're still obvious fakes."
He began counting on his fingers as he explained, "Card backs use slightly incorrect colours. The artwork loses detail. Some cards are slightly larger. The font isn't consistent. There are grammar mistakes in names and effect text. In a few cases, the wording doesn't even make sense."
Roland nodded thoughtfully before he asked, "Anything else?"
Alexander picked up one of the samples he had acquired by trading a card of his secondary deck and said, "The biggest giveaway is..."
He pointed toward the lower-right corner and concluded, "...That they don't have the Eye of Anubis hologram."
Roland studied the card before letting out an amused chuckle, "I remember arguing against that."
Alexander raised an eyebrow and agreed, "You did."
"I thought adding a holographic security foil to every single card was excessive."
He shook his head and added, "And expensive."
Another brief laugh escaped him before he said, "I'll gladly admit I was wrong."
He looked at Alexander with clear admiration as he commented, "That decision may end up saving us millions."
Alexander simply shrugged his shoulders and commented, "I planned for success."
"You planned for counterfeiting."
"Same thing."
Roland couldn't even disagree with that.
Then Roland turned his head to take a good look at Alexander and stated with a small smile, "If people are copying your product..."
Alexander finished the sentence, "...it means the product is valuable."
After another moment of silence, Roland asked, "Will this affect the tournament circuit?"
Alexander shook his head immediately and declared with certainty, "No. We've already instructed judges to inspect every deck during registration. No hologram. No tournament."
Roland visibly relaxed and said, "That's good."
Then his expression became thoughtful again before he asked, "So... How do you intend to deal with the counterfeiters?"
"There isn't much to discuss." Alexander's answer came without hesitation as he said, "We'll sue them."
Roland remained silent for a moment before asking, "Is litigation really enough?"
Alexander nodded and said, "It has to be."
Seeing Roland's expression, he elaborated, "This isn't just about lost sales."
He held up the counterfeit card once more and continued, "If customers stop trusting that the cards they're buying are genuine, every legitimate retailer suffers. The distributors start receiving complaints. The stores start demanding refunds. The parents stop buying boosters. And eventually people begin questioning whether Duel Monsters is worth collecting at all."
He turned the fake card over between his fingers and added, "The damage spreads much further than the factory that printed it."
Roland slowly nodded and said, "So we're protecting confidence."
"Exactly."
"The cards only have value because people believe in the product behind them."
"And that," Alexander concluded, "is something we're not going to compromise on."
Roland blinked as he added, "No matter what."
Alexander's tone remained calm while he explained, "We don't necessarily need to bankrupt every single counterfeiter. We need to bankrupt enough of them that everyone else realises counterfeiting Duel Monsters isn't worth the risk."
Roland slowly nodded and said, "A public example."
"Exactly."
Then Alexander added, "On top of that, with counterfeit cards not being allowed for official tournaments and being quite easy to recognise, they will inevitably lose value to the point that making them will become a clean loss and thus they will fade away enough to become irrelevant."
For several seconds neither spoke, then Roland sighed and commented, "Haa... This is going to create an incredible amount of legal work."
Alexander silently agreed before Roland continued, "I'm not sure Elizabeth's firm has enough manpower."
After another small pause to let that last comment sink in, Roland asked, "Are you thinking about hiring a larger law firm?"
Alexander shook his head and replied decisively, "No."
"Building our own legal department?"
Again.
"No."
Roland looked genuinely surprised as he asked, "Then what?"
Alexander smiled slightly and declared, "I'd rather work with people I trust."
Roland smiled slightly hearing that, then he immediately understood where the conversation was heading and said, "You want Elizabeth."
Alexander nodded and admitted, "I do. I'd like to make her an offer before considering anyone else."
"What kind of offer?"
"I'll explain it directly to her."
Roland remained thoughtful and suggested, "That conversation is probably better held somewhere private."
"My thoughts exactly." Alexander looked toward him with a faint smile and started with, "And since you're her uncle..."
Roland sighed dramatically, already knowing what he was implying and said, "I knew family connections would eventually come back to haunt me."
But Alexander continued as though Roland hadn't interrupted, "...Would you mind inviting her to dinner at the mansion? This way there won't be any reporters. No unnecessary attention. And we can discuss everything freely."
Roland stared at him for a few seconds before a small smirk slowly appeared, "I'll call her tonight. If she's available..."
He started the engine and concluded, "...we'll have dinner together."
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