Whoosh~

A gust of clear wind blew by, rustling the treetops and issuing creaking sounds, bringing a touch of change to this utterly silent night.

‘Everything is ready!’

Thump.

Sitting by the windowsill under the bright moonlight, constantly fiddling with the medallion in his hand, Lynn abruptly stood up as if having made some resolution.

‘As long as I do this and that, hehe, tomorrow that guy Ivan will definitely be able to take the stage and astonish everyone!’

He paced back and forth with intense concentration, his eyes gleaming, looking completely certain.

‘Since the plan is complete, all that's left is to... hehehe.’

Lynn stretched, the corners of his mouth curling up so high that even his handsome features appeared somewhat sinister. But what was even more bizarre was that, despite his performance already being so peculiar, he still exuded an indescribable charm.

At least, to the sole witness, that was the case.

"Master, where are you going so late at night?"

Raising a just-lit Magic Crystal Lamp, Matilda looked at the illumination device continuously emitting light powered by the Magic Crystal Stone with heartache, practically bleeding inwardly.

‘Honestly, does the young master not know how dire our family situation is? But…’

Looking at Lynn's expression, akin to a mischievous child caught by his mother and feeling guilty, Matilda found herself utterly unable to harden her heart and scold her young master.

Especially when she compared Lynn with the other arrogant Sun Clan members she had seen throughout her life, from the Mage Tower and beyond, Matilda found it even more impossible to ignore this 'Master' who always looked at her with apologetic eyes.

‘And, and.’

For some reason, Matilda's mind quietly surfaced the words Lynn had spoken today in front of Her Highness Louise.

"I-I..." Lynn was sent shivering under Matilda's tranquil gaze.

‘What's going on today? Why is each one more troublesome than the last? Other female leads and important female supporting characters aside, why is Matilda, who had little screen time in the original work and was just background decoration, acting so strange? Didn't she usually just directly get angry at me when she was mad?’

To be honest, Lynn would rather be scolded harshly by Matilda than be stared at by her with a calm face concealing a heavy atmosphere.

‘How strange? Clearly, in my previous life, we had cooperated seamlessly, hadn't we?’

Although sometimes he did silly things to complete the Heavenly Book tasks, overall, they were indeed rare partners.

After all, in the game, Matilda didn't even count as a supporting female character and had almost no plot. Him forming a partnership with her wouldn't affect the protagonist's script arranged by the World-Saving Heavenly Scripture.

‘And, I didn't mistreat her, did I?’

Lynn defended himself inwardly, somewhat shrinking back.

‘Come on, before I sacrificed myself, I even converted all my accumulated rewards into Mithril Coins, clearing the debt in one go, and gave the remaining assets to that steward miss? Wasn't that making up for the grievances she suffered over the years?’

Clearly, although most of their interactions in the previous life ended with Matilda unilaterally making sarcastic remarks at him, Lynn believed that, on the contrary, it meant the two were comrades with no barriers, completely open-hearted with each other.

But Matilda's current appearance clearly indicated she was hiding something from him?

For some reason, Lynn felt a bit depressed.

"So, why did you sneak out of the dormitory late at night, breaking the Mage Tower's student regulations?"

A shrewd light flashed in Matilda's eyes, and a profoundly mysterious smile suddenly emerged on her face.

"Could it be that you've finally come to your senses and want to properly cultivate your... friendships with the female gender? For instance, Her Highness Louise from this afternoon? She's quite suitable—noble blood, immensely wealthy, and a princess."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Seeing Matilda returning to her usual loquaciousness, Lynn felt relieved instead of awkward for a rare moment... Though he didn't know why, had this steward miss finally returned to normal?

‘But Louise? Tsk tsk, what was she thinking? Normally she was so astute; how could she fail to see that Her Highness Louise was disgusted by me? Ah, wait! Right, with Matilda's intelligence, it was naturally impossible for her not to see that Louise loathed me. Yet she actually encouraged me to go after her? Could it be…’

Lynn suddenly recalled his 'teasing and insulting' of Matilda this afternoon.

‘It... it's only natural. Clearly, because of my adoptive father's situation, their family had fallen into decline and been reduced to the frustrating position of managing the estate of a baron of a small, hopeless town. And who would have thought that I, an ungrateful profligate, would go even further and attempt to tease and even violate her? If it were anyone, they would surely be so disheartened that they'd give up, and at the very least, no longer assist with utmost dedication, right? In other words. Matilda is no longer my comrade?’

Lynn suddenly realized the truth, understanding everything.

"..."

And then, he fell into an unusual silence.

For a brief moment, Lynn felt his mood grow somewhat heavy.

‘Though I brought it upon myself, the taste of being abandoned... is indeed unpleasant. But this is the price of being the villain, isn't it?’

In the previous life, Lynn only chose the script of a mere stepping-stone side character, so he naturally didn't need to distance himself from characters other than the female lead and supporting girl.

But in this life, he had actually chosen the villain's path. Even if it was to avoid involving others, he should walk it alone to the end.

Or else, was he supposed to go against the script as that unscrupulous black cat suggested?

Heh, others might not know the Guide's temper, but wouldn't he, as both a transmigrator and a reborn individual, know?

‘So, only this path remained.’

Lynn quickly resolved himself.

"Matilda."

After a long silence, having sorted out his thoughts, Lynn spoke again.

This time, his voice was no longer as affable as usual.

"I believe that everyone living in this world has their own script. Everyone just needs to obediently perform, don't you think?"

Lynn asked meaningfully.

This profoundly philosophical, somewhat chuunibyou-sounding dialogue was naturally not his own idea. Rather, it was the cruel response from the original work when Lynn walked the Fallen Branch Route and was dissuaded by Matilda.

According to the game script from before transmigration, in Lynn's villain fallen branch route, after he said these words, a despairing Matilda completely abandoned Lynn and joined the Justice Camp.

However, even so, this pitiful girl still did not forget 'loyalty'.

In the later stages of the plot, when the long murderous villain Lynn was defeated by the protagonist Ivan and begged for his life out of fear, Matilda was actually swayed by him. She even stood in front of Lynn to plead with Ivan and the others on his behalf. The result, however, was that she was backstabbed by Lynn, her soul drained and turned into nourishment for Lynn's desperate counterattack.

Lynn naturally would not allow such a tragedy to occur.

Therefore, Lynn must distance himself from Matilda.

"Script?" Matilda never expected such a string of baffling words to come out of her young master's mouth.

"Uh..."

‘No, which screw in Young Master Lynn's head was loose again? Forget it.’

Matilda quickly decided not to probe further. According to her experience, whenever the young master had a sudden whim and acted crazy, the best approach was to leave him be and let him have his fit. In a few days, he would naturally tuck his tail between his legs and obediently come to apologize and admit his mistakes to her.

Thus, Matilda turned aside and stopped questioning the purpose of Lynn's trip.

"Fine. In that case, you... take good care of yourself."

‘Hehe.’

Lynn smirked smugly.

That 'declaration of severance' of his had indeed thoroughly disheartened Matilda, right?

Hehehe, next, he just had to follow his plan: properly train Ivan to grasp the complete form of 'Indestructible Body,' then wait until tomorrow's reception for the Saintess. After that, find an excuse to create an opportunity for Ivan to shine brilliantly and thoroughly slap his face.

Then he could smoothly, logically, abandon himself to despair, and by the way kick Matilda out of the house, maintaining distance to avoid the tragedy of the game's Fallen Branch Route?

Wahaha, killing two birds with one stone, killing two birds with one stone!

Lynn excitedly clenched the medallion he had snatched from Ivan, and contentedly ignored Matilda as he pushed open the door.

"Hmm?"

Just as Matilda was about to turn off the Magic Crystal Lamp and rest early, she noticed the medallion Lynn clutched tightly in his hand.

‘That pattern on the medallion…’

Watching Lynn's hurried silhouette, Matilda fell into thought, ‘It seems very similar to the family crest on the adoption contract document from back then, when the young master was brought home from his relatives by the Old Master?’

Although Matilda was only six years old at that time, having been cultivated from a young age to become a master in the Word Spirit Domain of the Moon Clan, her memory was naturally extraordinary. Moreover...

Back when they were little, the young master did often mumble to himself about wanting to go home.

"No wonder I felt Young Master Lynn was acting strange today." Matilda murmured with a sympathetic expression, "So... he misses home, his dad and mom?"

‘Home, huh.’

Looking at the empty room before her, Matilda felt a sense of loss.

‘Don't worry, Young Master. As long as I'm here, one day, we will take back everything we've lost.’

The steward miss swore secretly.

* * *

At the same time, in the basement dormitory for servant disciples of the Mage Tower.

"Hey, new guy, your bed is over there."

Thump.

Ivan was shoved forcefully and stumbled.

"You?!" He looked furiously at the man with ill intentions who had pushed him.

‘A mere menial, daring to offend this Savior? Just wait. In a few days, you, that hateful Lynn, and that tactless Chris… Hmph hmph, not a single one will escape!’

"What about me?" The man with a face full of brutish flesh, seeing Ivan's angry expression, provocatively tilted his head up.

"You're just a Dust Clan brat. Who knows what dumb luck you ran into to even sneak into our esteemed Five Rings Mage Tower?"

Ivan subconsciously touched his chest, where that medallion was—proof of his mysterious origins, hinting at an incomparably noble background that his master never openly stated but implicitly expressed.

But Ivan's hand grasped at nothing. His chest was empty.

‘Lynn!’

Ivan suddenly recalled today's humiliation. His treasured ancestral medallion had actually been snatched away by that despicable villain!

‘But, but... what if Lynn discovers the secret of the medallion?!’

Ivan turned ashen-faced, his expression utterly terrified.

'Don't panic, kid.'

Just as Ivan's emotions were about to collapse, the wily voice of his master resurfaced in his mind.

'That medallion isn't something just anyone can activate. Only a true direct line descendant can gain its recognition and obtain the Indestructible Body.'

‘So that's it?!’

Ivan clapped his hands in immense delight, boundless hope bursting from his eyes.

'Hmph hmph, that Lynn is probably racking his brains right now, wondering why that miraculous medallion turned into a dead object in his hands?'

‘Haha, right, that's more like it. Such a miraculous item naturally belongs to this Savior alone!’

"Boss!"

Just as Ivan was feeling smug, another menial disciple walked in.

"Uh, someone's looking for that new guy."

"Oh, who is it?" Glaring fiercely at Ivan, the brutish man asked impatiently.

"..."

The menial disciple looked terrified.

"It's-it's Lynn, the year Prefect, the Student Vice-Chairman."

"What?!" The brutish man was shocked and looked at Ivan in disbelief.

'Haha, speak of the devil. Kid, that Lynn probably couldn't figure out how to use the medallion and came looking for you. Next, you can follow my method and use this Arcane Art to negotiate with him to get the medallion back...'

Ivan grew more excited the more he listened.

‘Phew. The chance to turn the tables is right now. A menial disciple, a lowly Dust Clan member?’

Ivan sneered scornfully.

‘These are but minor hardships before the rise of the Savior. And you, Lynn, are my first stepping stone!’