The grand auditorium of Luminas Academy sparkled with the hopes and expectations of new students.

  Future prime ministers, generals, and court magicians—the nation's elite gathered here, hearts racing with anticipation.

  Everyone except me, Dylan Belmond.

  Stay calm...

  Beneath the glittering chandeliers, I felt like a criminal being led to the gallows, cold sweat trickling down my spine.

  My gloves felt too tight. Or maybe my hands were just shaking.

  I swallowed once, and the sound seemed louder than it should have been.

  Today's the day. Today, everything begins. The culmination of my desperate struggle to crush every single death flag...!

  Deep in my chest, memories from five years ago resurfaced.

  My tenth birthday.

  Surrounded by cake at the dining table, I regained the memories of my previous life.

  A life as an ordinary university student.

  And the realization that this world was the setting of an RPG called Eternal Quest.

  Dylan Belmond.

  The villain who gets taken down by the hero.

  Dylan's fate in the game was tragic, to say the least. Slain by the hero. Publicly executed by the saint. Though there were many routes, the endings were always the same: exile or death. There were no other outcomes.

  In that moment, my life changed.

  The sword practice I started the next day. I threw myself into my studies so hard the servants were stunned. A diet of plain food and physical training no noble would be caught dead doing.

  "Master Dylan, you'll destroy your health!"

  I remember the first winter when I collapsed with a high fever. My attendants tried to stop me several times. But even so, the next day, I gripped my sword again.

  A cracked practice blade. Fingers split at the knuckles. Breath turning white in the stable yard.

  I kept swinging until the world narrowed to nothing but the next step.

  "It doesn't matter. If I don't go this far—"

  I'll die.

  I couldn't tell anyone. No one would understand. Yet that fear, certain and ever-present, was the only thing that drove me forward.

  After five years of perfect preparation, I finally arrived at the story's starting point: the Luminas Academy entrance ceremony.

  I scanned my surroundings like a hawk.

  Where's the hero candidate, Leon? If this follows the original story, he should be in the front row of the commoner seats. His whole justice complex is a problem. I have to avoid getting involved with him.

  My eyes swept the crowd frantically, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  No whispers of "the prodigy commoner." No nervous giggles. No pointed stares.

  Just… normal.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Then what about the Saint, Alicia? She should also be in the commoner seats... She's not here either. I don't see her. Good, that works in my favor. Even if I did run into her now, I could pull off a perfect gentleman act, but it's better not to meet at all.

  If any problems arose, I was even prepared to lick the saint's shoes with a smile.

  But something seemed off.

  In the original story, the hero and saint were supposed to have a big destined meeting at this entrance ceremony. The classic event where a villainous noble like me harasses a commoner student, and the hero swoops in to save them—that should be taking place right now.

  Yet here we were—not a single conflict. Everyone getting along harmoniously. It was far too peaceful.

  And contrary to my expectations, the headmaster's boring congratulatory speech began without incident.

  My anxiety grew by the second.

  This is wrong. Something is critically wrong...! In the original, during this speech, a vanguard of monsters should burst through the windows, throwing the academy into chaos!

  A glance at the stained glass windows showed nothing but clear blue skies. A peaceful scene where you could almost hear the birds chirping.

  And then, just like that, the entrance ceremony just... ended.

  "...Huh?"

  I could only stand there in shock. I'd been so nervous I couldn't sleep last night, and this was the result?

  Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

  "Hey, Dylan."

  It was Oscar, the second son of a marquis and one of my few friends—my childhood friend, to be precise.

  His grin was the same as always, completely unaware of what was going through my head.

  "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

  "O-Oscar... No, it's nothing. More importantly, I want to ask you something."

  My throat dry, I voiced my biggest question.

  "Did you hear about a man named Leon among this year's scholarship students?"

  Leon, the hero. A commoner with rare talent for the sword and the hero's mark—the protagonist of this story. It was impossible for him not to be here.

  But Oscar nodded lightly and spoke matter-of-factly:

  "Leon? Oh, you mean that hero guy. Of course I know about him. But he's not coming to the academy, is he?"

  "Wha—? W-why not!?"

  Impossible. If the hero doesn't come to the academy, the story can't begin.

  I raised my voice without thinking. Oscar looked at me, genuinely confused.

  "What rock have you been living under, Dylan? It's famous throughout the entire country."

  Famous? While I was focusing on my training?

  For a moment, relief flickered in my chest.

  If it was famous, it meant it was manageable. Predictable.

  An unpleasant premonition ran down my spine.

  Then Oscar spoke words that would completely overturn my death flag avoidance plan.

  "After being attacked by a horde of goblins on his first adventure, his spirit completely broke. He's been holed up in his parents' house in the village ever since."

  "...What?"

  The hero is... a shut-in...?

  My brain couldn't process what he'd just said; my thoughts completely froze. But I quickly grasped at another possibility.

  "Th-then! What about the Saint, Lady Alicia? Don't tell me she's also...?"

  The saint hadn't come to this venue either. I couldn't imagine that pure and merciful saint straying from her path, but I couldn't shake the bad feeling.

  "Ah, Lady Alicia recently started a business. It's called the 'Alicia Trading Company,' and apparently it's doing quite well."

  "B-business? The saint is?"

  "She declared, 'Earning money is more reliable than praying to God,' and now she's apparently haggling with merchants in the marketplace."

  A saint... what?

  I didn't want to imagine that saint, who had been wrapped in divine light, glaring at price tags.

  "...Then what about the Sage, Lady Erna? Don't tell me even she...?"

  As I asked with my last shred of hope, Oscar pointed to a poster on the wall by the auditorium entrance with a wry smile.

  3rd Annual Noble-Exclusive Matchmaking Party!

  ~For Gentlemen Seeking Intellectual and Beautiful Partners~

  Special Guest: Court Magician Erna Griebel

  "I'll captivate your heart with my magical knowledge"

  Venue: Royal Academy Second Auditorium / Entry Fee: 50 Gold Coins

  "...What?"

  I couldn't believe my eyes. What was this cursed document? The more I read it, the worse my headache became.

  Of all people, that brilliant sage who had devoted herself entirely to magic had switched classes to a party girl. Who could have predicted that?

  "...That's enough."

  My knees buckled.

  The hero was a shut-in. The saint was a merchant. The sage was on the marriage hunt.

  What was this... The hero's party had spectacularly abandoned their roles.

  I looked up at the heavens. Did they have any idea how desperately I'd been preparing?

  "What's wrong, Dylan? Were you trying to make connections with them already?"

  Oscar was grinning at me.

  No, quite the opposite. I'd just been trying to avoid getting involved with them.

  "But your information is outdated. Have you been holed up in the mountains for the past few months or something?"

  Yeah, that's right. I'd been training desperately in the mountains for half a year. I'd been training like my life depended on it, hoping to avoid my destruction...

  ...Wait, could that be the cause?

  Because I didn't act tyrannically when I was supposed to? Because Dylan Belmond, who was supposed to be nothing but obnoxious, was actually important enough to shake the foundations of this world?

  In my head, I heard the sound of five years of accumulated effort crumbling to pieces.