(Lost... Is he really the one pulling the strings behind this incident, after all?)
Lost was the hooded figure Hugo had met only once before, during the incident with Neid.
The man had known that Hugo was originally an otherworlder named Yugo Kurei.
If that were the case, there was a high probability that he was a reincarnator just like Hugo. And if he were a reincarnator, it wouldn't be strange for him to be familiar with the tropes of those hero movies.
Most importantly, he had a history of distributing items that transformed humans into Magic Armor Beasts. Both Neid and Rush had been victims, twisted into monsters by his schemes.
Every piece of the puzzle suggested that Lost was the mastermind.
However, throughout the recent chaos, Hugo had also discovered the existence of someone named Drop, another individual spreading tools of transformation.
As he pieced the information together, the picture began to clarify.
The enemies were reincarnators like him. But unlike Hugo, they had formed a faction and were operating in the shadows to destabilize the world.
Whether Lost had personally planned this Clear Plate Incident was still up in the air, but their shadow undoubtedly loomed over it.
Hugo didn't know what their ultimate goal was, but if they were reincarnators, he felt that he—sharing that same origin—was the only one who could protect this world. As the thought crossed his mind, another doubt surfaced.
(Wait a minute. I haven't really questioned it until now, but what is this world, exactly?)
It was the alphabet. It was used everywhere in this world.
He should have realized it the moment he saw magic items with literal names like Giga Scissors, but this world shared far too many similarities with the one he’d left behind.
Until now, he’d simply written it off as a quirk of being reincarnated into another world and hadn't given it much thought. But looking at it again... wasn't it strange?
Between the presence of other reincarnators like Lost and the nature of the world itself, Hugo felt an alien atmosphere settling over everything. At that moment, the door burst open, and a winded Security Force officer stumbled inside.
"Captain Shepherd, it’s an emergency!"
"What happened? Has another Clear Plate possessor caused an incident?"
"Y-yes! Two sightseeing boats carrying students on a school trip have been hijacked!"
"Sightseeing boats? You don't mean—"
"The boats Fee-kun and the others are on...!"
Hugo and his companions widened their eyes in shock.
He wanted to sprint out the door immediately, but he forced himself to stay and listen, knowing he needed more information before acting.
"What’s the situation?" Shepherd barked. "Has the Coastal Security Force responded?"
"The Coastal Security Force deployed ships and sent a boarding party to rescue the hostages and arrest the perpetrators. However... they were repelled by the Clear Plate possessors. The mission was a total failure."
"How many are we dealing with? Have they made any demands?"
"According to the survivors, there are five culprits. They’ve split up between the two ships. We haven't been able to confirm their specific abilities yet. However..."
"However what?"
The officer choked on his words. Sensing the man’s hesitation, Shepherd urged him to continue. The officer’s expression darkened as he finally spoke.
"There are reports that Gomez-san was among the hijackers."
"Gomez? You can't mean Gomez Do! Impossible! That man would never turn to a life of crime!"
"The unit members who fought them were adamant before they lost consciousness. I’m afraid there's no mistake."
"No... how could this happen?"
Shepherd, who had remained professional and calm until now, slumped back, stunned.
The other officer looked just as grim. Intrigued by the name, Hugo turned to Shepherd.
"Shepherd-san, who is this Gomez person you're talking about?"
"...Gomez Do is a man once hailed as a hero. The Hero of Wind Island."
"What?"
Despite his own distress, Shepherd answered, realizing that Hugo was terrified for his brother.
As Hugo reeled from the mention of the word 'hero,' Shepherd explained further.
"It was a long time ago, but Gomez-san was a legendary fisherman here. He sailed out to battle Sahagins, Krakens, and Giant Sharks—dangerous monsters of the deep. He was a great man who protected the peace of this island time and time again. Why would someone like him do this?"
The reverence in Shepherd’s voice was unmistakable. For someone as capable as the Captain to respect him this much, Gomez’s legacy had to be immense.
He was supposedly retired, but he was clearly a figure the people of Wind Island held in the highest regard.
The group fell into a shocked silence, wondering why such a hero would participate in a hijacking. Just then, another officer burst into the room.
"Report! We’ve received a demand from the culprits... from Gomez-san!"
"What is it? What does he want?" Shepherd asked, the air in the room thick with tension.
The officers and students alike braced themselves for whatever demands a fallen hero might make. But the words that came out of the officer's mouth were entirely unexpected.
"The demand from Gomez Do is to bring the student named Hugo Clay to the ship he’s on!"