“…”
Someone watched Yuugo sleep on a bed in the hospital.
The person who seemed like he was about to cry, but looked like he had no idea what to do, was the reincarnated student Zenon.
He shook his head several times, opened his mouth like he was about to say something, closed it, shook his head… This kept happening, until he squeezed out the feelings from deep in his heart.
“You knew this would happen… So why go so far…!?”
The other reincarnated students were caught in the explosion and passed out… but Zenon, the one who ran and hid, was relatively unharmed.
Suffice to say, he did not lose consciousness, and saw Yuugo’s fight against Zaraki.
He had no chance of winning, abandoned Ryuuga, and watched Yuugo take on the fight he gave up on, and could only be amazed by the incredible power Yuugo showed him. And he was more than shocked that Yuugo actually managed to beat back Zaraki.
But in the end, Yuugo was unconscious and severely wounded, bringing a strange feeling to Zenon’s heart.
“Why, how come… Don’t you feel like it serves us right…!?”
Yuugo was scum who hurt his favorite character Claire, and in the end, used his little brother as a sacrifice to try to get revenge.
If Shian and the others saw how he looked now, they would definitely be pleased and laugh scornfully.
He thought the same. He thought he would also feel that way.
But… Zenon felt a pain in his chest as he looked at Yuugo.
And although he asked why, he actually knew.
“I don’t get it… Why are you this strong? You’re scum, small fry, a villain for the main character to defeat. How did you become this…!?”
Yuugo clearly changed when Zenon ignored the scenario and defeated him.
Did it cause a bug? Did god intervene? Zenon did not know, but this Yuugo was a completely different person from the one in Luminous History.
Zenon slacked off on leveling up, but even if he did not, Yuugo would still be far stronger.
Nevermind that, he was shocked by the difference in their power when he saw Yuugo defeat Zaraki… And when he collapsed, he felt some sort of sympathy.
“Why did I understand how you felt…!?”
He wanted to save his friend Ryuuga, so he faced off against Zaraki despite knowing it was crazy.
Surely Shian and the others would see that as needless. They would make fun of the silliness that was a game character putting his life on the line to save another game character.
But… Zenon understood how Yuugo felt.
He understood him putting his life at risk to save Ryuuga.
That day, when the insectary was attacked, Zenon saw Claire in danger, and could not stand still.
He knew he was facing something stronger than him, something he could do nothing about… but still faced off against monster armor beasts to save someone he cared about.
After losing so much, he could not stand to lose Claire, who did not abandon him.
With mixed feelings in his heart, he faced the horror in front of him.
Yuugo also… No, everyone in this world would have felt the same way.
There was not that big of a difference between main characters and villains, reincarnated people and game characters.
Wanting to protect people dear to them, being thankful for being saved… Everyone lived in this world as a human.
That was when Zenon finally realized it.
“We’re the same…! Main characters, hero prospects, it doesn’t matter… The people around us aren’t game characters, they’re people…!!”
The people he cut aside as background characters and treated as if they were insignificant were also alive.
That day, when the toad stinger attacked that village, he swung his sword at people not caring if they lived or died, but they must have had people who cared about them.
He took that away. He also incited his partners, not only putting them at risk of dying, but having them kill people as well.
He was a main character, not like the others, so all was allowed… He thought as he did what he pleased, but he groaned as he realized his mistake.
“What, what should I do…!?”
What he did would be rewritten. The crimes he committed would not go away. The lives lost would not return.
He faced the lives he thought little of, but that made him understand the gravity of what he did, plunging him into a deep despair… But then the door quietly opened, and someone came in and spoke to him.
“Oh, you…? Seto? What a coincidence…!!”
“Egos!?”
Zenon turned around, and gulped with surprise when he saw Egos Cutman, who was expelled from the academy.
Egos grinned and put his index finger in front of his nose, signaling for him to be quiet as he spoke quietly.
“Keep your voice down. I took advantage of the confusion with the guards to escape.”
“Escape… Why did you come here…!?”
Asked Zenon, feeling even more surprised because he escaped and went to a hospital.
Egos responded with an evil smile.
“Isn’t it obvious? To finish off Yuugo…!!”
“…!?”
Zenon’s eyes were wide open, but Egos did not care much, and continued.
“I heard while I was in captivity that he was unconscious and seriously hurt. So… it wouldn’t be that weird for him to die when no one’s looking, right?”
“A-are you serious? You want to kill Yuugo…!?”
“So what? It’s just a game character. Who cares if the worst of scum dies? It’s payback for all the humiliation I’ve felt. It’s gonna feel good.”
Zenon understood his evil, so he understood Egos’ who stood in the same position.
Was I also like this, not caring about others’ lives and happily taking them, he asked himself as Egos’ selfishness made him freeze.
“Move aside, it’ll be over soon. I’m gonna kill this scum, and then I’ll have to think of a way to come back as a main character.”
…Zenon knew what Egos wanted to do was not good, but in this situation where neither had weapons, there was a big gap between them.
He did not have the power to take Egos down. No way to reverse this situation.
But still… Even he could not believe he was unable to abandon Yuugo.
(I don’t want to commit more crimes. I… I…!!)
…Zenon himself was unaware, but watching Yuugo fight made him understand deep down.
What he needed to make a change was not huge power or a plan beyond imagination.
He only needed the courage to take a step forward. Overcome his fear, and have the will to face it.
Zenon got that courage from Yuugo… No, Seto Haino did. He faced the evil in front of him, and spoke with a strained, yet clear voice.
“Stop…! Stop it…!!”
“Ah? What did you say? Are you also gonna cover for this scum…”
“Stop it already!! This world isn’t for us to do as we please!!”
He yelled at Egos, trying his best to intimidate him.
The fact that this was a hospital and Egos was trying to make a comeback as a main character played in his favor.
Egos wanted to assassinate Yuugo and go away for a while.
It would be simple to make Zenon and Yuugo disappear with magic, but then it would be likely that he would be tracked down and he would be seen as a criminal even more.
Egos looked at Zenon with annoyance, having never expected another reincarnated student to get in his way. Zenon trembled, but both glared at each other as they sensed someone approaching.
“Tch…!!”
“Uwah!? W-wait!!”
Egos was a fugitive, so if he was seen there, it would cause an uproar.
He gave up on venting his humiliation and knocked Zenon aside, before opening and jumping out the window.
Zenon had fallen back, but he got up and approached the window to chase egos.
It would be best to just report it, but… his guilty conscience and the fact that it was a problem between reincarnated students made him feel like he should do something about it. And so, he decided to do something about it himself.
He was about to jump out the window, but stopped and saw the pen and paper next to the sleeping Yuugo.
For some reason, he felt he had to do this.
Spurred on by this feeling, he hurriedly grabbed them to write a message, which he then put in Yuugo’s hand before jumping out.
“Wait! Egos! Wait!!”
He was not sure if this course of action would benefit him, or if it really was the right thing to do.
But he knew he would not regret it.
He chased the fleeing Egos, and at this moment… when he applied his game knowledge in the most correct way, he felt satisfied and refreshed.
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redemption arc 😤😤😤
thank you for the continuous release and translations!
That’s what I love about this story! The character development is good, in my opinion.