"Hey, have you heard? About that story..."
"I heard it! He actually let people die, didn't he? He was cutting them down himself."
(What... what the hell is this!? What is going on!?)
While listening to the voices of the students whispering and staring at him, Zenon found himself unable to accept his current reality.
Whether he was in the dorms, the dining hall, or anywhere else... everyone was talking about him.
The topic was the incident during the recent request—the events at Mount Yumyum.
To be precise, they were discussing the casualties that had occurred there and the person responsible for them.
"I heard Zenon told everyone he had no choice because it was an emergency. They say he was even taking the lead in attacking them."
"There might be some truth to that, but it’s a bit chilling to think that people actually died because of him..."
"Apparently, he couldn't do a thing against the Magic Armor Beast and just lost. A witness said he’s only good at bullying the weak."
"He looked so cool when he beat Yugo, and I really looked up to him...! But now, I’m just so disillusioned..."
"I feel so sorry for Claire-san. Honestly, wouldn't even Yugo have been better than this?"
(Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Every single one of them is turning on me! Why!? Sure, I lost to that crab, but I took down the rioters who were being controlled. My Affection Level should have skyrocketed, shouldn't it!?)
Because of the unexpected turn of events, Zenon hadn't been able to perform as well as he'd hoped. However, the aftermath of the incident proved to be even more catastrophic than he could have imagined.
The students of Luminous Academy now looked at him with nothing but disgust, keeping their distance.
Those who once worshipped him as the hero who defeated Yugo were now turning their backs on him, openly gossiping about what a terrible person he was.
Even the students who had accompanied him on the request had distanced themselves. Zenon was sinking deeper into a pit of isolation.
This was wrong. It was impossible. Within the game's system, a request like that was supposed to raise Affection Levels; it should never have decreased them.
Then why was he being subjected to this? Why was he falling so far from grace?
Unable to understand a single thing, Zenon fled from the students' contemptuous and mocking stares, retreating to his private room in the dorms. He collapsed onto the bed and slammed his fists into his pillow over and over again.
While thrashing about in his luxurious bedding, he desperately tried to identify the cause of his downfall.
(It’s wrong. Everything is wrong. It started with being unable to recruit Melt, then Rush turned into a Magic Armor Beast, and even the boss for the request changed. Why did it turn out like this? What's the problem?)
He realized the answer almost immediately. Or perhaps he had known from the very beginning but had simply chosen to ignore it.
The start of all these anomalies was his decision to ignore the scenario and defeat Yugo early. In his obsession with protecting Claire’s First Kiss, he had challenged Yugo to a duel far sooner than the original story dictated.
Everything had changed after that. Yugo had lost his memories, and despite losing Galandil, he had somehow become stronger and even grown close to Melt.
Meanwhile, Zenon, the one who was supposed to have won the duel, was falling further into ruin. His current miserable state made his initial glory feel like a fever dream.
What was this? No matter how he looked at it, it was absurd.
He had always assumed that Yugo was the one destined for this fate, and that he should be standing where Yugo was now. As that thought took hold, Zenon’s eyes widened in sheer horror.
(No way... have we swapped? Our roles...! Because I defeated him, have I ended up taking Yugo’s position!?)
If he looked at it that way, everything made sense. His downfall and this entire situation were finally explained.
If one were to summarize Zenon's current reputation, he was "a dangerous man who did whatever he wanted using his power as a shield, someone who might end up hurting his own lover."
That was the exact description of the Yugo who appeared as the Prologue Boss for the protagonist to overcome. He was nothing more than a cheap imitation of that original villain.
Conversely, the amnesiac Yugo had transformed into a heroic figure adored by his brother and Melt.
While the trust of the other students was still thin due to his past actions... if one replaced that reason with "because he’s a transfer student from the countryside," his circumstances were identical to those of the protagonist.
It was reversed. Everything. The roles had been completely swapped.
Zenon realized that he, who believed himself to be the protagonist, had become the villain, and Yugo, whom he had dismissed as a mere villain, had settled into the role of the protagonist. As this realization dawned on him, Zenon's despair deepened, and his breathing became ragged and frantic.
If the scenario continued like this, he would eventually be struck down by the protagonist in Yugo’s place.
Even if Yugo did nothing, there was a high probability that the other Reincarnators would challenge him to a duel to steal Claire. As he was now officially recognized as a dangerous man who might harm her, they would have a perfectly righteous excuse to take her away.
If that happened, it would be the end. He would be stuck in Yugo’s original role from the game, fated to follow the exact same path to destruction.
Having realized that despite being reincarnated as the protagonist, he had been ousted from his throne and turned into a villain, Zenon began to scream in absolute despair.
"N-No! I don't want this! No! Nooo! I was supposed to be the hero! I was going to build a harem and live the ultimate life...! Why did it turn out like this!? Why do I have to die a pathetic death in Yugo’s place!?"
He had to do something, or he would be ruined. But he had no idea how to avoid his fate.
In Luminous History, Yugo was doomed to fall no matter what he did. Zenon couldn't think of a single way to change that scenario now.
Even as he spiraled, the day of destiny was drawing closer by the second. Once the other Reincarnators gained enough power and challenged him to a duel... it would be all over.
He had no allies. His knowledge was useless. He was inferior to the other Reincarnators in strength, charisma—everything. This was nothing but an impossible game.
"I... I’m the protagonist...! The heroic, strongest, invincible protagonist...! A-Ah... Aaaaaaagh!!"
Zenon finally realized, far too late, that his very first move had been a catastrophic failure.
He'd had countless chances to notice, but because he couldn't let go of the ego of being the protagonist, he had continued to make mistake after mistake.
This was the result. Zenon had reached the point of no return.
As he contemplated his inescapable fate, the words he had seen countless times when he lived as Seto Haino floated to the front of his mind.
GAME OVER