Yugo’s eyes went wide the moment he heard Zenon’s true name—Seto Haino, the name he had carried before his reincarnation.
Assuming from the name that Zenon was a fellow Japanese person, Yugo remained silent as the man continued his story.
"In my previous life, I was a high schooler with very few friends. I was pretty well-versed in the whole 'otherworld reincarnation' trope, so I was actually thrilled when a Goddess chose me and told me I’d be reborn in this world."
"A Goddess...?"
"The being who brought us here. Though, I haven't seen her face since that day."
Yugo’s expression turned solemn as he processed this fresh piece of information. The existence of a 'Goddess' was entirely news to him.
Zenon was clearly from the same country as Yugo, yet he had been reincarnated through an entirely different process. It was a relentless barrage of surprises that left Yugo in a state of perpetual bewilderment.
"I have a question," Ryuga interjected. "You said you and the others, like Cyan and Egos, were chosen by this Goddess to be reincarnated. Was there some specific quality you all shared that made her pick you?"
"...I don't think it was anything like that. Like I said, I was just a student... but Egos was a middle-aged guy in his past life, and the others all had different ages and professions. Oh, but—!"
Zenon had been explaining that they weren't chosen for any particular talent when he suddenly cried out, as if struck by a vital realization. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke again, his voice heavy with the weight of a grave truth.
"The reincarnators did have one thing in common. Every single one of us was a player of a game called Luminous History."
"Lumi... what?"
"Luminous History. It was an explosively popular Academy RPG in our world. You might find this hard to believe, but this world is an exact replica of that game's setting."
"What...?"
Yugo was struck by yet another wave of shock. He had believed he had simply been reborn as a hated villain student destined for a humiliating downfall, but the truth went deeper—he was living inside the world of a video game.
"U-um... what exactly is this 'game' you keep mentioning?" Yui asked, her voice trembling.
"To put it simply, it’s a form of entertainment that blends a story with play," Claire explained gently. "There are many types of games, each with different objectives. By achieving goals set within the game, the story progresses and new objectives appear. It’s a pastime built on that cycle."
"Judging by your tone, Claire..." Yugo began.
"Yes. Lord Zenon has already explained everything to me."
Yugo wasn't sure when it had happened, but it seemed Claire had known the secret of Zenon’s reincarnation for some time. That certainly explained her preternatural calm. He glanced at his partner and saw that Ryuga was also unfazed, suggesting he had also put the pieces together to some extent.
There were still countless things Yugo didn't understand, and plenty he wanted to say, but for now, it was best to keep listening. As Yugo fell silent, Yui, who was struggling to grasp the situation, spoke up in a daze.
"W-wait a moment. Are you saying, Mr. Zenon... that we are just characters in a story?"
"...That’s exactly what we thought right after we arrived. We believed this was a game world, and that the people who lived here were just characters made of data. That’s why the Goddess told us to aim for the role of the hero, just like the protagonists we used to control!"
"A hero...?"
"The Goddess gave us skills as reincarnation bonuses for that very purpose. We were granted Protagonist Charisma to make us loved and respected by everyone, along with higher growth rates and exceptional initial status. Above all, she let us perform character creation to design our ideal protagonists and reshaped our bodies to match."
It sounded exactly like the setup process for a new RPG. You create your character from scratch, are told you are a special being destined for greatness, and are then cast into an unknown world. Even though it involved the supernatural phenomenon of reincarnation, the process itself was virtually identical to starting a new save file.
More than anything, the sheer excitement of being reborn into a game they had actually played must have made the hearts of Zenon's group race. As a fellow reincarnator, Yugo felt he could understand the expectations they must have felt when faced with the "royal road development" of being reborn into a world they had already mastered.
"Right after reincarnating, we didn't have a shred of doubt that this was the game world of Luminous History. We didn't care about characters who weren't relevant to the plot, or people we didn't happen to like. Since we'd been reborn as handsome protagonists in our favorite game, we figured we’d use our mastery of the game’s secrets to win over the best characters, build a harem, and reach the ending. To us, that’s all this was."
"But things are different now, aren't they?" Yugo asked. "What made you start thinking this world wasn't a game?"
"...There are a few reasons. One is that we hit a point where things started happening that weren't in the game. The story went off the rails, unknown Magic Armor Beasts appeared... those things made me realize this wasn't the Luminous History I knew. But the moment I truly knew something was wrong was when I noticed the changes that occurred after a Game Over."