"Where is it? Where the hell is it? If I can just find that, I can—one more time...!"
Around the same time Yugo and his friends were enjoying their recovery celebration party, a shadow was creeping through a room in the Fifth Dormitory.
In the lightless room, a man with bloodshot eyes rummaged through drawers like a common thief. It was Egos Cutman, currently serving a suspension ordered by Uno.
His status among the students and teachers had hit rock bottom after his failed attempt to kill Fee and frame Yugo. Now, pushed to the brink, he was beyond the point of caring about appearances. He had seized the opportunity to sneak away while the other Hero Candidates were also under suspension and surveillance was lax. Driven by the desperate hope of finding a way to claw back his reputation, he groaned in frustration at his lack of progress.
"It has to be here! The Luminous History archive said it exists, so it must be here somewhere. The diary that reveals Ryuga’s true objective...!"
The object of Egos’s obsession was one of Luminous History’s collection items: Ryuga’s Diary. In the game, players could obtain it by fulfilling specific conditions, eventually learning the truth behind Ryuga’s enrollment at Luminous Academy as an exchange student.
While Ryuga’s claim to Yugo—that he wanted to achieve great deeds to secure a good job and support his family—wasn't a lie, he harbored a much deeper, mandatory mission in this country.
If Egos could expose Ryuga’s true motives, it would create a massive scandal. Such information would corner the swordsman while simultaneously catapulting Egos back into his rightful place as a Hero Candidate.
Under normal circumstances, Ryuga’s true purpose would only be revealed much later in the story, but Egos was in no position to be picky about the timeline. Even if it derailed the future narrative or triggered game-breaking bugs, he had no future at all if he didn't escape his current predicament first.
Having heard that Yugo’s group was heading out, Egos had broken into the room to find decisive evidence. Unfortunately, no matter how many bags he emptied or desks he rifled through, the diary was nowhere to be found.
"Dammit! Why? Do I really have to meet the specific conditions for it to spawn after all!?"
Egos clutched his head in despair. In his obsession with reclaiming his status, he failed to realize the obvious: a man like Ryuga would never leave such incriminating physical evidence lying around. Even in the game, the diary wasn't an object found in a specific location; it was a system-level unlock that appeared in the player's archive. It didn't exist in the physical room at all.
What Egos was doing was a completely futile exercise. Yet, possessed by the idea that this was his only remaining path, his vision had narrowed so much that he couldn't even grasp that reality.
As he ground his teeth in a mixture of impatience and misery, a light knock echoed through the room.
"Excuse me, it’s Utusemi... Ryuga-san, are you there?"
Egos’s heart nearly hammered its way out of his chest. Panic surged as he remembered he had forgotten to relock the door after using a skill to pick it. He clamped a hand over his mouth, holding his breath and praying Raiha would just leave.
It seemed she had come looking for Ryuga. If she realized he wasn't there, she would surely go away. As if his desperate wish had reached the heavens, Raiha took his silence as a sign of absence.
"Maybe he already left," she murmured to herself outside. "Perhaps he went to pick up Yui-san..."
Hearing her voice fade, Egos started to relax. Just as he felt he might overcome this crisis, fate betrayed him spectacularly.
A book he had carelessly tossed aside while ransacking the room finally tipped over, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
Egos froze, the blood draining from his face.
"Eh? What was that noise?" Raiha's voice was sharp with suspicion. "Wait, is the door unlocked? Why...?"
"Ah... a-ah...!"
The doorknob turned. The door creaked open. Raiha stepped inside and flicked on the light. To Egos, every sound felt like the rhythmic tread of the Reaper.
"What...? What happened here!?" Raiha gasped, her eyes widening at the state of the devastated room.
Egos huddled in the shadows, hoping she would run for help, but she stepped further inside to investigate. His cover was blown. When their eyes finally met, Raiha flinched in shock, then stared at him in utter disbelief.