'The first discord...'

  Contrary to my expectations, Lou didn't seem particularly struck by the question. I could imagine her tilting her head in my mind.

  'Hmm, difficult. I remember, but also don't remember...'

  "...You forgot?"

  'N-no! But really, it's not clear enough to pinpoint as "that." More like small deviations gradually growing larger...'

  Lou's voice lacked its usual lightness, unusually serious.

  "...I see."

  Then it couldn't be helped. Honestly, I felt disappointed. Perhaps I'd expected a more dramatic answer like "the world changed from this exact moment."

  "Then do you remember the first major deviation?"

  'That I remember! Precisely when the hero became a shut-in!'

  "...That's when?"

  A convincing answer. But simultaneously—an emotion resembling relief crossed my chest.

  The fact that at least I wasn't the direct cause.

  'That threw all the plans off track. Really, what a problem.'

  I sensed slight anxiety mixed beneath that light tone.

  "...I really need to meet him once."

  The words escaped my lips with surprising naturalness.

  'Eh, Dylan with the hero?'

  Lou's voice rose in surprise.

  "...Can't exactly ignore it after contracting with you."

  Of course, that was a pretense. Though the world had gone mad, hero Leon still possessed the power to save it. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd rehabilitate him, but I wanted to know the situation. Why his spirit broke. Whether there was truly no prospect of recovery. Essential information for seeing ahead.

  'Good! If Dylan meets him, something might change!'

  Lou's voice resonated with excitement. Too optimistic, but far better than doing nothing.

  The question was how to meet him—

  ...Might Oscar know something?

  That guy was oddly knowledgeable about noble affairs in the capital. Frontier village information might be too much even for him, but asking cost nothing.

  "Worth a try—"

  "—No, I honestly don't know."

  Oscar before me answered immediately.

  "Well, figured as much."

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  Would've been scary if he had known. I let out a complicated sigh, somewhere between disappointment and relief.

  "Hey, you barge into someone's room suddenly and then sigh? How rude."

  Oscar directed a withering look while sipping soup.

  "No, my bad. Just didn't pan out."

  "Didn't pan out, huh. What's this about anyway? What do you plan to do with the shut-in hero now?"

  A teasing tone, but his eyes examined me probingly. I resigned myself and voiced the most innocuous—and in a sense truthful—excuse.

  "Not me. Lou's being noisy."

  "...Lou?"

  "Yeah, my spirit. Apparently she's connected to the hero somehow. Keeps pestering me to arrange a meeting."

  'Yes! He's the hero I chose!'

  Ignoring Lou's carefree response in my head, I made an exasperated expression. Oscar compared my face with empty space alternately—then burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.

  "Pfft! Seriously!? You're whipped by your spirit!? That's too funny!"

  "This isn't a laughing matter for me."

  "No no, sorry sorry."

  Oscar suppressed his laughter and returned to a serious expression.

  "But I see. If it's less you moving and more the spirit's wishes, can't be helped. —Still, even so, I can't help."

  "...Any hints at all?"

  "Even if he's the hero, he's just a commoner now. Frontier village movements are outside my information network."

  Oscar shrugged. But he stopped there, stroking his chin. Seemed to have thought of something.

  "Ah, right. There's a perfect guy."

  "A perfect guy?"

  Was there someone in this academy more informed than Oscar?

  "Simple story. For local news, ask a local."

  "Local... ah."

  One man's image rose in my mind. Silver hair. Trained physique. Quiet yet sharp eyes.

  "—Kreis von Altona?"

  "Got it in one."

  Oscar grinned.

  'You're going to meet silver-hair-kun?'

  Lou asked as I walked the dormitory corridor.

  Silver-hair-kun... well, not wrong I guess.

  I nodded while sighing internally. Oscar's advice was accurate. To learn hero Leon's current state, asking Kreis, who shared the same region and likely had connections, was the best shortcut. The problem was whether that man would talk honestly.

  'It'll be fine! I'm with you! If it gets tough, I'll manage with the saint goddess's authority!'

  Please just stay quiet. That would help most.

  I could only see a future where her interference made things worse. Shaking off the noisy voice in my head, I headed toward the training grounds where Kreis likely was.

  How should I broach this... "Tell me what you know about hero Leon" is too direct...

  'It's fine! I'll—'

  Just as I was distracted by exchanges with Lou—

  "...!"

  My heart leapt at a passing figure.

  My feet stopped. My body froze. My breathing halted for just a moment.

  'Dylan?'

  Lou's voice sounded distant. But I—couldn't look away from the scene before me.

  Unkempt red hair. Gaunt physique. And above all—sharp eyes harboring somehow dark light.

  "...Delio?"

  My voice was hoarse, surprising even myself.

  'An acquaintance?'

  ...No.

  —Delio Garon.

  One of the characters appearing in the original Eternal Quest. And—a man who'd been Dylan Belmond's "lackey."

  In the original, he'd entered the academy through Dylan's connections. No money, no pedigree, obtaining a place at the academy solely by moving faithfully as Dylan's toady—that was Delio Garon.

  But the current me hadn't done that. I'd never called out to Delio, never arranged his admission.

  He shouldn't be here.

  Yet this man—wore the academy uniform as if it were natural, walking the corridors.

  Why is he here?

  At that moment, Delio looked this way. Eyes like assessing prey—no, different.

  The instant I noticed, Delio's expression softened. Then he bowed slightly, a small nod. Quite naturally. Without implications. Just courtesy in passing.

  I—couldn't even return the bow.

  'Dylan? What's wrong?'

  Lou's voice echoed in my head. But I couldn't answer.

  The Delio Garon I knew—had connections to an organization.

  —The Truth Seekers.

  A cult of fanatics plotting the Demon King's resurrection. Posing as a charity outwardly, operating covertly behind the scenes. In Eternal Quest—the true mastermind.

  Using the small-time villain Dylan, leaking information from inside the academy, ensnaring the saint, obstructing the hero's adventures. Pulling strings behind the story weren't the Demon King or demons—but this gaunt man.

  But—that was the original story.

  Alicia, Erna, Kreis—all walked different lives from the original. Delio too might have entered the academy through his own efforts without my interference, becoming a different person.

  The possibility—existed.

  No... never mind.

  I responded to Lou and forced my stiffened legs to move.

  Delio's back disappeared around the corridor corner. A small back. The unremarkable rear view of just another student.

  —The story that should have broken felt like it looked back and smiled.