Volume 2 Chapter 72 The Truth Behind the Identity Reveal (II)
"A little act... Hmm..."
I crossed my arms and tilted my head.
Kisaragi-san's question circled in my brain.
But honestly... I had no clue at all.
"Tick tick tick tick..."
Kisaragi-san made a ticking sound, like a bomb about to go off.
Her lips curved into a smug little grin.
Super annoying.
"Tick tick tick tick... It's!"
Sakurako-tan suddenly joined in.
Even more annoying.
"Hmm... I don't get it."
I gave up.
My pride shattered in seconds.
"Huh? You seriously haven't noticed, Takeru?!"
Sagawa's voice cracked like he couldn't believe it.
"Ugh, shut up! What's wrong with that?!"
I shouted back on reflex.
Damn it, why did it have to be Sagawa looking at me like that?
"So Takeru-kun really didn't notice, huh? You're so oblivious about these things..."
Rie-tan smiled at me like I was some kind of hopeless case.
Ow, my heart.
"Your obliviousness is as strong as ever, jano. For better or worse."
Sakurako-tan nodded sagely.
Stop nodding. You're not helping.
"W-Wait, both of you..."
I backed away a step.
Somehow, I was the one under attack now.
I could already feel tears pricking the corner of my eyes.
"So, um... what do you mean by 'a little act'?"
I asked.
My voice cracked a little, but I powered through.
I had to know, no matter how embarrassing it was.
"It's... Omega's costume."
Kisaragi-san said it plainly.
"Huh? The costume?"
I blinked.
"Yeah. When Omega did the second stream... you changed the costume, right?"
Rie-tan stepped in, looking a little sheepish.
But she wasn't wrong.
I did change the costume.
But what did that have to do with—
"Before that costume, do you remember talking about Omega's outfit with me and Sagawa at school?"
"Ah...!"
My brain lit up.
I remembered.
Clear as day.
Back then.
Before the second stream.
We were chatting in class.
About costumes.
They'd suggested 'mysterious assassin.'
I thought it was a great idea.
I used it as a reference.
Wait.
Wait wait wait.
"Ah... Aaaahhh?!"
I gasped.
Rie-tan smiled gently.
"Did you figure it out?"
"It was a costume that almost directly adopted both of your ideas...!"
"Yeah. At that point, we confirmed that Takeru-kun was Omega."
Sakurako-tan nodded, arms crossed.
Like this was obvious.
"Wha...?"
I stared into space.
What the heck was I doing?!
I basically confessed without realizing it!!
* * *
"Oh, the costume from Omega's second stream... turned out to be evidence of my identity..."
I groaned.
My head hit the table with a dull thunk.
Self-loathing complete.
"So, that means they knew I was Omega from that point on..."
"Yes. I'm sorry."
Rie-tan apologized again, bowing a little.
I waved my hands quickly.
"No, no, it's fine! Really! Not a big deal!"
I said, forcing a grin.
But inside, my stomach twisted.
"But hey, we were really struggling with that too, you know?"
Sagawa spoke up, scratching his head.
"I mean, once we figured out you were the Omega causing all the buzz, it made it even harder to say anything. Honestly... both Amamiya and I were worried about when to bring it up..."
"Yeah... that's fair."
I nodded.
If our positions were reversed, I'd have no idea how to bring it up either.
"So, after that, the three of us formed a clan, right? We were planning to tell you then. But then you ended up going to the Ryukyu dungeon, so... we never got the chance."
Sagawa let out a sigh.
I could tell it had been bothering him.
"So that's how it was."
I mumbled.
Now that I thought about it, everything lined up.
"And then, in the Hero Brigade, I finally brought it up."
Sagawa continued.
"I decided that if you were willing to keep working with us, I was going to become strong enough to stand beside you."
His expression was serious for once.
Which was rare.
I kinda respected it.
"But in the end, it was when we were exploring the dungeon with the Hero Brigade that you forced me to drink the Trans Potion, which led to me finally revealing the truth."
Sagawa said it so casually, but I froze.
"Huh? Really?"
I blinked.
That's how it went down?
"I mean, you were the one who talked about how my drinking the Trans Potion improved my physical abilities and skills."
Sagawa sighed.
"And you were discussing safe mass production of the Trans Potion with Kisaragi-san and Sakurako-sama, right? I heard about it."
"Uh... y-yeah?"
I nodded slowly.
The flow of this conversation just took a weird turn.
"I... I... because of that... I was called to Amamiya's Development Division by Kisaragi-san."
Sagawa's voice trembled.
Oh no.
"And I ended up being treated like a guinea pig under the guise of helping with analysis!"
His face went pale as he clutched his shoulders.
"According to Sagawa, it seems he was used as a 'valuable guinea pig' after being the first person in this world to drink a Trans Potion from another world."
Kisaragi-san's voice was calm.
Too calm.
"All in the name of 'mass-producing Trans Potions.'"
She nodded, satisfied.
"Hey, Takeru... I'm a fan of Kisaragi-san, but I... unexpectedly came to understand what it means to have Kisaragi-san's mad scientist tendencies directed at me..."
Sagawa shuddered.
I nodded slowly.
"Uh, yeah..."
I could totally imagine it.
"That person isn't human... she's a demon in human skin... no! Something beyond that..."
Sagawa's voice grew higher.
And then—
"Sagawa-kun? Should I keep your mouth shut?"
Kisaragi-san's voice was sweet.
Sickeningly sweet.
"Hiiiiaaahhh...! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorryyyyy!!!!"
Sagawa clamped his hands over his mouth.
His entire body shook.
I gulped.
...What exactly did Kisaragi-san do to him?
"Takeru-kun."
Kisaragi-san turned to me with a polite smile.
"There are things in this world that are better left unknown... you understand, right?"
"Y-yes!!!!"
I nodded so fast my neck cracked.
Right.
Don't ask.
Never ask.
I did my best to follow Kisaragi-san's instructions.
And never, ever asked Sagawa about what happened in the Development Division again.
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