“I’m back, Hugo. It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?”
“O-Oh, welcome back. Yeah. It was a complete mess.”
Startled by his Partner’s sudden return, Hugo responded while forcing himself to stop overanalyzing the situation with the Reincarnators.
Ryuga set down his things and took a drink of water. Hugo watched him with lingering agitation, but it was Ryuga who broke the silence.
“...Is something wrong, Partner? You’ve been acting strange for a while now.”
“Eh...!?”
Hugo’s heart hammered against his ribs at the question.
He realized there was no way his Partner would have missed the distress that even Fee had pointed out. Ryuga continued to press the issue.
“Ever since the topic of Reincarnators came up, you’ve clearly been off. Even if that sister Dogma’s story was shocking, I don't think the usual you would be this shaken.”
“Ah, no, well...”
“...I won't force you to talk. I’ve kept secrets and told lies to you as well. If you don't want to say anything, that’s fine. I’m not going to blame you.”
“...Sorry.”
Most likely, even Ryuga didn't suspect that Hugo was a Reincarnator just like the Former Hero Candidates. Hugo fell silent, grateful to his Partner for trusting him enough to let him choose the timing of his confession.
But a part of him was still trying to run away. Right now, there was something more important than his theories about the Flame of Judgment or the other Reincarnators.
Should he reveal his true identity to his friends...? That was the question Hugo had to desperately answer.
Now that the existence of Reincarnators had been exposed, wouldn't it be better to admit he was one of them? He had suffered from pangs of conscience before, but he was currently facing his greatest conflict yet.
Beyond the fact that he was deceiving his friends, he feared his presence might be distorting the very fate of this world. If he was truly a Foreign Object to this world, perhaps it would be better if he simply disappeared.
He had tried to live a life he wouldn't be ashamed of as a Righteous Hero who helped others... but he had begun to fear that his very existence was an evil act.
Most of all, he was terrified of Fee’s reaction when the secret came out.
The majority of his companions—Melt, Anhel, Ryuga, Yui, and the Warrior Shrine Maidens—were friends he had met only after reincarnating. They didn't know the past... they didn't know the Real Yugo Kurei.
Marcos had some involvement with him in the past, but they hadn't been close friends.
The friendship those people felt was for the Current Yugo, the person he had become since his reincarnation. Therefore, there was a good chance their bonds would remain unchanged even if he revealed the truth.
However, Fee was different. Fee yearned for the brother who had reached out to him in the past. The Real Older Brother.
If Fee found out that the personality of the brother who had loved him—however arrogant he might have been—had been overwritten by a complete stranger... and if he learned that the man who had hijacked his brother’s life had been lying to him all this time... how would Fee feel?
Perhaps Hugo’s goal of becoming a brother Fee could be proud of had only been a way to gloss over his own guilt.
The thought of how much Fee would be hurt, and the way his brother would look at him after learning the truth, was unbearably frightening.
(But I should be the one to tell them. If the Flame of Judgment had turned black, I would have ended up confessing in the worst possible way...)
Hugo exhaled softly as he imagined that scenario.
He had managed to steel his resolve in the moment, but if his secrets had been exposed by a third party, Fee and Ryuga would have been devastated to learn they had been deceived by someone they trusted.
If he was going to speak, he should be the one to bring it up. However, he felt that now wasn't the right time.
The entire academy was in chaos, and Hugo didn't feel like he could explain everything calmly. He needed to settle down first and plan how to approach the conversation. In the meantime, more information about the Reincarnators might come to light.
(I should have done this much sooner...)
At the very least, he should have told Fee everything long ago. If he had, the wound in his brother’s heart would have been at least a little shallower.
Regretting his decision to keep secrets, Hugo lay on his bed and sighed at the ceiling, his expression bitter as he realized his own cowardice was only making things harder for his brother.
Beside him, Ryuga watched his Partner in silence, his expression unreadable but heavy with meaning.