“Hold on, Claire. If it’s not possible right now… Can you convince Zenon by tomorrow?”
“Eh…?”
Yuugo approached Claire, who turned around with surprise.
Despite the hesitation on his face, a resolute fire burned in his eyes, as he faced Claire directly and spoke.
“Honestly, I don’t really resent Zenon or anything. I was going to help if he asked, and I want to fight Isaac on his behalf anyway. But… After hearing all that, I’ve changed my mind a little.
I can help Zenon, but I have a couple of conditions.”
Yuugo expressed to Claire that despite his willingness to help Zenon, he would not do so unconditionally.
Claire gulped, and Yuugo quietly stated those conditions.
“First, like Melt said, I want Zenon to apologize for what he’s done. Can you convince him to bow and apologize before the duel tomorrow?”
“O-of course, but will that be enough?”
“I told you, I don’t resent him… But if I just help him without any conditions, it won’t do him any good.
You accepted the shame of coming here and asking for this, right? He should be doing things for you too.”
Said Yuugo, while thinking back to what Melt said.
Zenon could not think less of Yuugo. Bowing to the one he kept calling scum would be quite the humiliation, but… If he really cared about Claire, he should be able to do at least that.
If something like that was out of the question for him, there was no way he could make Claire happy… Was what Melt said, not Yuugo, but he agreed.
And then, he moved on to his second condition.
“Second, when I win, I get all the materials Isaac bet.”
“Yes, no problem. If you are taking over, that was my intention from the start.”
“…If you promise to uphold those two conditions, I’ll fight Isaac instead of Zenon. Will you?”
“Yes, but…”
Claire nodded to the conditions that were much lighter than she expected, but her eyes went from Yuugo to Melt.
She was worried about what the girl putting her on blast thought of these conditions, but Melt responded with a short sigh.
“…I respect Yuugo’s opinion. If Zenon bows and apologizes for everything, I’m not gonna say any more. But if he doesn’t, I’ll take Yuugo with me even if I have to drag him away.”
“Yes…! I promise I will convince him. I’m very grateful that you accepted this request…!”
“Thank me after this is over. For now, just focus on convincing Zenon.”
Claire bowed with tears welling up in her eyes, but Yuugo urged her to go back.
Yuugo watched as Claire left to go convince Zenon to apologize, fulfilling one of his conditions, and then turned to Melt with an awkward expression and apologized.
“Ah… Sorry Melt. I guess this is how it turned out anyway.”
“It’s fine. I know you’re not the type to abandon people in a situation like this. But be honest, do you still have feelings for your former fiancee? Is that why you accepted her request, because it came from her?”
A tinge of jealousy leaked from Melt’s expression, as she puffed her cheeks.
After thinking about it for a second, Yuugo quietly shook his head, and denied it.
“No, it’s not that. I would’ve done it regardless of who asked.
Isaac is dangerous. Someone’s gotta stop him. Despite how weird it is, I have no reason to reject this opportunity. But… I do feel a little guilty about Claire. She’s in that position because I wasn’t a good fiance. I have some responsibility for this situation developing, and I have to fight to make up for it.”
“…I see. Got it.”
Melt nodded, accepting Yuugo’s answer that he was not doing it out of lingering affection or feelings of love.
Yuugo felt she understood, and continued to express his gratitude.
“…Thanks, Melt. What you said really made me see things clearly. I can’t just blindly help people because they’re in trouble. If I really care, sometimes I have to say no. Sorry you had to play the bad guy.”
“…It’s fine. Just like that girl is doing that for Zenon, I did that for you. But this still isn’t set in stone, right? If Zenon doesn’t apologize tomorrow… I really am going to bring you back even if I have to put a rope around your neck and drag you!”
Melt raised both arms while making a strange threatening sound effect, and Yuugo laughed awkwardly.
He then looked away from her, and squinted in the direction Claire went.
(…I have no memory of being her fiance. I’m actually not her fiance at all, I’m a guy from another world. But I’ve decided to live as Yuugo Clay, so… I need to accept that past too.)
The old Yuugo’s problems were Yuugo’s. At the very least, he felt responsibility for what his past self did, now that he accepted he was Yuugo Clay.
He was certain this was something he had to do after being reincarnated… And with a silent breath, he started thinking about the duel taking place the next day.
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