“…What are you talking about? You… What…?”
“Now now! Let’s not stand here and talk! Let’s talk inside! Don’t you think that would be better for you too?”
“Tch…!”
Isaac spoke as if continuing that loud discussion in the hallway would be bad for Zenon, who grimaced, but let him inside his room, before closing the door.
Once inside, Isaac got another look at Zenon, and snorted while speaking with a mocking tone.
“You look terrible! I mean, that’s the face of a failure right there!”
“Quiet…! Shut up shut up shut up!!”
Zenon yelled with a shrill voice at Isaac’s provocations, without a hint of the vigor he had when he first joined the academy.
His once beautiful silver hair was a mess, and his golden eyes housed only an empty madness. There was nothing left of the self-proclaimed main character.
This was what was left of the one who defeated the worst scum in this academy, and was rapidly set up as a hero…
“Now now, let’s calm down. I’m offering a failure like you his final chance.”
Said Isaac mockingly, with a half mad smile.
“…What do you mean?”
“I told you, let’s duel. If you win, you can have all the materials I’ve collected. Not to brag, but I’ve built up quite the stock, that I can’t even use on my own. You can get more than suitable equipment if you take them, and have enough leftover for your partners. It’s another chance to be a hero… Tempting, isn’t it?”
“Another…!? So I can have a continue if I win…!!”
Isaac’s voice sounded to Zenon as though he was singing, as Zenon himself repeated those words as if in a delirium.
After multiple failures, he lost the students’ trust, and met a game over. But now that a chance to come back presented itself, Zenon gulped while indulging in sweet delusions, before Claire interjected to try to snap him out of it.
“Hold it, Mister Isaac. What would Mister Zenon bet? Surely there is something you want from him?”
“Haha!! Of course. Obviously there’s only one thing he has that attracts me, right?”
Said Isaac while raising his right arm at high level.
He pointed straight at Claire, and with a smile bursting with lust, spoke at her.
“What I want from Zenon… Is you, Claire Rouge. If Zenon loses, you’re mine.”
“Wha…!?”
“…!?”
Zenon let out a sound of surprise, and Claire’s expression showed anguish, as it was made clear her fears were real.
Their reactions were different, and Isaac found all of it funny.
He had no intention to just hand over materials, or losing in the first place for that matter. But while he laughed on the inside, Zenon shook his head so hard it almost felt like it would snap off, and refused.
“N-no! Not that! I’m not handing Claire away! Absolutely not Claire!”
“Hm… Okay. I’m fine either way, but… Even if you don’t lose Claire today, there’s going to be a day in the not too distant future where someone takes her from you anyway, right?”
“Uu…!”
Isaac said it did not matter to him, but he continued to mercilessly press Zenon with his words.
Zenon trembled, as Isaac continued to poke at his insecurity over the future that awaited him.
“If you stay locked in this room forever, the gap between you and the students taking lessons and accepting quests is just going to get bigger, right? You got Claire from beating that scum, but that doesn’t mean that’s over and done. If the Rouge family decides you’re not fit for her… They’ll give her to another guy. You know that, right?”
“S-shut up… Shut up…!”
“The more time you waste the harder it will be for you to get back on your feet. Shouldn’t you get moving now while you still have a chance? If you keep doing nothing, soon Claire will be gone from you. Then you’ll have nothing. Isn’t it better to act before then?”
“Uuuuuu, uu, uuu…”
Isaac told no lies. Zenon’s situation would only get worse if he stayed in that room.
As things stood, Zenon was far from being the protagonist of Luminous History. Unlike the main character who earned the privilege to be with her by repeatedly doing things that earned him the respect of everyone around him, Zenon was a pitiful boy who lost everything and locked himself in his room.
He lost the right to be the main character, and constantly felt anxious over Claire going over to someone else.
He was desperately trying to avert his eyes from that reality and keep himself at peace, but now that Isaac made him face it, he was flooded with a lot of anxiety.
“Let’s duel, Zenon. You might still have a shot, and this chance may never come again… If you want to bloom again, shouldn’t you accept this?”
“No Mister Zenon! Don’t fall for his provocations! You are both physically and mentally exhausted, and in no shape to duel! Please stay calm!”
“I-I… I…!?”
He knew it was a trap. Claire was right, he was in no condition to fight. He even knew that Isaac proposed this duel with that in mind.
But… He also knew this might be his last chance to get back to being a prospective hero.
If he let it get away, he would never recover. The gap between him and the others would keep getting bigger, and he would never fill it, let alone overtake them.
But if he lost and lost Claire, he would truly have nothing.
Then again, if he kept running, he would lose her eventually. But the risk was too big…
Isaac chuckled at Zenon’s indecision, as he got close to his ear, and gave him the final push he needed, quietly enough for Claire to not hear.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
Seeing how she stuck with loser 1, i honestly dont care what happens to any of them