A mysterious man?

…What on earth should I do?

At night, I gazed out the window, lost in worry.

I wanted to expel the fake “Sophia,” but I had no means to do it.

“Sophia” herself had absurdly high resistance.

Whatever method I could think of would probably be completely ineffective against her.

Was the only option truly to harm the real Sophia?

The cold night breeze whooshed past the window, tangling my thoughts even further.

Whoosh!

Then came the sharp sound of something cutting through the air…

Spotting the arrow flying straight toward me, I hooked its tail with wind magic and stopped it mid-flight.

Truthfully, judging from its trajectory, it would have missed me even if I hadn’t interfered—just grazing past my shoulder.

But I didn’t want it punching a hole in the dormitory wall… and it might have woken Elizabeth, causing unnecessary worry.

Upon closer inspection, there was a rolled-up piece of paper tied to the shaft.

A message arrow, huh.

Who on earth would send me a letter this way?

I untied the paper and opened it.

Only two short lines were written:

“I have the information you want. 11:30 p.m., rear garden of the academy.”

…

The information I want?

Could it be… a way to save Sophia?

The letter was suspicious to the extreme, but if there was even a chance, I wanted to take it.

Very well. I would meet this uninvited guest for now.

I glanced at the soundly sleeping Elizabeth, then quietly slipped out of the dormitory.

As promised, a figure cloaked entirely in black stood waiting in the garden.

A wide black robe covered their whole body; most of their face was hidden beneath a deep hood, revealing only half a faint smile.

The robe appeared heavily padded, making the silhouette tall and bulky…

“Hehe~ So punctual~”

Their voice carried a strange texture—distorted, unreal.

I couldn’t even tell their gender.

Probably a magical effect. From the moment I saw them, I sensed they were actively using magic.

But the flow of mana was only gathered around them; there was no sign of hostility.

“Who are you?”

“That’s not important, is it? What matters is that you want certain information, right, ‘derailer’?”

“…Derailer?”

Just those three syllables were enough to put me on highest alert.

Why would he use that word? Could he also know the game’s plot?

But for now, I wouldn’t admit anything. Better to play dumb and fish for more.

“What does that mean?”

“Hehe~ No need to pretend. I know everything about you…

You only took actions that would cause ‘derailment’ because you know the original story, correct?”

…

So he really did possess knowledge of the game… Another transmigrator?

The only transmigrators I knew of right now were… well, probably two.

Could he be the fake “Sophia”?

…No, unlikely. I had successfully tricked her into believing I was a transmigrator too.

Then there was Beglit—she was the straightforward type; she wouldn’t go about things so circuitously.

…Which meant a third transmigrator had appeared, and one who knew everything about us?

“Don’t look at me so warily~ I have no intention of harming you.

In fact, I’m holding the exact information you desire.”

The mysterious person paused, smile unwavering.

“You must be wondering how to save the ‘imprisoned’ protagonist, yes?”

How did he even know that? Did he eavesdrop on our conversation earlier today?

“So relax. I truly have no wish to hurt any of you.

I’m only here to pass along information to those in need.

If I had to call myself anything… a passing knight of justice, perhaps~”

“If you’re only here to give information, then spit it all out right now.”

“Hehe~ Although the ‘heroine’ has resistance similar to a high-ranking demon and is highly immune to mental magic, she is not completely unaffected.”

With that, he tossed me a small box-like object.

“This is the «Casket of Imprisonment». An item that can seal a designated consciousness inside it.

You can obtain it by defeating the «Lord of Paradise», the dwarf Dahlia.

Of course, the one in front of you is just a replica.”

«Casket of Imprisonment»… I remembered that item.

It was a reward from a side quest… When I was doing the assassin route, my little sister told me it was essential for completing Daniel’s route.

Because that route had dynamic difficulty, she recommended I pick it up early.

But before I could finish the quest, I had already left that world behind…

It’s been so long—wonder how my sister is doing?

Anyway, I never imagined this thing had such a dangerous function.

Though considering Daniel’s unstable personality, it made sense…

“With this, you can seal the ‘outsider’ consciousness without harming the vessel and reclaim the friend you know.

As for where to obtain the real one…”

At some point, a map had appeared on the ground.

“It’s marked right there.”

I glanced at it—the circled location matched my memory almost perfectly.

That lent his words a little more credibility…

“Why are you telling me all this?”

I shot him another suspicious look.

“I told you, just think of me as a kind passing knight~

Though, well… sealing her would benefit me too.

Call it mutually beneficial cooperation.”

He gave what looked like a shrug beneath the bulky robe.

“Believe me or don’t; that’s up to you.”

A perfectly vague answer. “Mutual benefit” with zero credibility.

But…

Even the faintest hope—I wanted to grasp it.

“Looks like you’ve made your decision~”

The mysterious figure turned to leave.

“Thank you for the information, but…”

I gathered the mana inside me.

“Before you go, let me see your real face!”

The moment the words left my mouth, an icy gust whipped through the garden—aimed straight at his hood!

Caught off guard by my sudden attack, he reached for the hood too late.

Black, tousled hair fluttered in the wind…

A man?

And a face I had never seen before…

His smile vanished the instant his face was revealed.

“Playing such a cheap trick… You’ve made me a little angry, you know?

But whatever. We won’t be meeting again anyway.”

With those parting words, the mysterious man melted into the night.

I stared at the map he left behind, deep in thought.

“Mmm… everything went according to plan.”

“She actually used wind magic to rip off my hood in the end…

Good thing I prepared light refraction magic and altered my appearance beforehand.”

“Soon… very soon, I’ll have you all to myself, my one and only…”