“There’s nothing I can do… My bad, but I’m suffering from memory loss. Sorry I can’t remember you.”
“Your duel with me is the whole reason why you’re suffering from memory loss! At least remember who your opponent was then!”
“Obviously, I can’t do that. You’re being unreasonable.”
Said Yuugo strongly, feeling exasperated by how Zenon insisted that he remember him despite Yuugo saying he lost his memory.
Zenon was irritated even more by that attitude, but Melt spoke before he could continue.
“Zenon? Did you say Yuugo cheated? It didn’t feel that way at all to me…”
“A-ah… Hn… I’m sorry you had to see me lose my cool, Melt. But think. Isn’t this result clearly strange!?”
The moment Zenon turned to Melt, the rage he displayed when talking to Yuugo was drawn back, and he spoke with a soft tone. And then, he turned to her and all the students gathered there and yelled.
Yuugo frowned, thinking there was something off about his words and actions, and Zenon began to state his opinion in an affected tone.
“Remember! I fought Yuugo and won! And I beat him to a pulp too! If you remember how he was then, you’ll soon realize something isn’t right! He got way too strong in such a short amount of time!”
“I-I guess…!”
“Mister Zenon is right! It’s very weird for the same Yuugo that was humiliated like that to beat Rush in such a one-sided fight!”
Noise began to spread through the students again, after hearing Zenon yell.
They began to question Yuugo’s power, as he seemed to have become stronger since his duel with Zenon, despite the short amount of time that passed. Everyone turned to Yuugo with suspicion in their eyes.
“How could you become so strong after losing Garandil, and started using an old model magic item!? There’s obviously foul play here!”
“Yes! Zenon is right!”
“Soiling a sacred duel! He really is the lowest of scum!”
Heated abuse began to fill the audience.
The hatred of Yuugo that once subsided was reignited by Zenon, as Yuugo was showered with more intense abuse than when he fought Rush.
Yuugo frowned, being thrown into that feeling of being in an away game again, and Zenon continued throwing strong condemning words.
“Say it! How did you do it!? Did you get someone to buff you with magic before the duel!? Or is there some sort of secret to this magic item!?”
“I didn’t cheat! I just fought and won.”
“Don’t lie! How do you explain this power then!? How are you this strong when you lost to me so embarrassingly!?”
“Hold on! I get why you would question Yuugo’s strength, but you’re wrong! I fought monster armor beasts along with him, and he was even stronger then!”
“Melt, you’re being tricked! He set that up to trick you too!”
“Eh…!?”
Melt seemed surprised by that insane statement.
Zenon then continued stating his convenient delusions, as if they were fact, in a way to try to convince her.
“Despite how rotten he is, he was the eldest son of a noted family. He should have considerable influence. He went on patrol duty with you, and put on a little performance to show himself as a strong and capable guy that can beat monster armor beasts. It was all set up using his noble connections, Melt!”
“I see, that’s it! When you say it like that, it all makes sense!”
“There’s no way that Yuugo would save people. It’s obvious that he set the whole thing up!”
Yuugo thought it was like hypnosis.
Everything Zenon said was being taken as fact. It was a strange situation, but considering the hate the students felt for him, maybe it was not all that surprising.
They were always looking for reasons to attack the target of their hate, Yuugo Clay. Even if it was not true, even if it was doubtful, everything worked for them if they got to strike at him.
And Zenon was the person to satisfy that desire. Not to mention that he was the hero that beat him.
The students hung on to his words, and attacked Yuugo, without even stopping to think if they were true.
“But…! Yuugo wouldn’t…!!”
“I understand that you’re shocked. But Melt, that’s just how he is. He’ll do anything to achieve his goals. That’s the true nature of the scum known as Yuugo Clay!”
And then, Zenon turned that hypnotism to Melt.
He plotted to get her away from Yuugo, and spoke of how Yuugo was scum that could not be trusted in a believable way. He then took her hand gently, and spoke the killing blow while looking straight into her eyes.
“Come back, Melt. You shouldn’t be at the side of someone like this. I will protect you from the grasp of any guy. So… Come to my side.”
That’s good, said one of the male students.
If it’s Mister Zenon, you can rest easy, said some of the female students with shrill voices.
With the atmosphere in the air completely on his side, a smile characteristic of a main character formed on Zenon’s face, that charmed anyone and was full of charisma that made people want to trust him. He turned to Melt, and nodded strongly.
She saw his smile, heard the urging voices of the other students, and turned her eyes to them. And then, she turned back to Zenon, and with a big bright smile on her face, accepted becoming his companion, or rather, his wom…
“…Are you listening to what you’re saying? That was really creepy.”
“…Eh?”
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I guess Zenon lack social skills in his previous life. I assume this is his first time he spoke to Melt, and that is definitely not how you speak to someone who barely knows you.
That much is obvious. Melt was probably also removed from the system when she joined Yuugo and is no longer affected by his charisma buff from it.
She seemed pretty damn effected
The worst she can say is no, amirite?
whats sad is, you’ll think this kind of person exist only in novels and manga but i sht you not they exist irl.
He has mental hypnosis ability, eh? Truly villainous behavior. My hypothesis that the main characters were summoned here by the demon lord equivalent are making more and more sense.