If it were merely a matter of a fictional world rising and falling, then of course, there would be no need to care.
After all, if an author ceased to write the continuation of a world, would the world live on despite that? Or would it end right at that moment?
Moving just one, or perhaps a couple steps forward, you could instead come to the conclusion that the fictional worlds were instead being replicated and made into reality through the use of magic or something alike it into these Illusory Worlds. In other words, as the Librarian had told the reality to be.
But then, even if it were due to magic, there must still be some kind of explanation for why things are the way they are.
What this World Stability is and why it is necessary for Illusory Worlds to exist.
Why Antagonists are able to maintain said World Stability.
Why Protagonists are able to absorb and steal it; why they are compelled to.
Where any of them even come from, and why they exist in the first place.
How any of it makes sense... You can't explain it all by simply saying, "Oh, well, it's due to magic, and since magic is magic, well, that's it?", right?
At least, that kind of bullshit is an excuse I'll never accept.
For the moment, though, I only had one lead on what the progenitor of it all might possibly be.
'The Augury Tower...? No, but even that must have come from somewhere in the universe, right? It can't have just popped up out of nowhere. Then, the source must be something else...'
In the end, there was only one person I could ask.
"Librarian? If anyone would know, it'd be you, right?"
Honestly, I don't know what kind of a response I expected to hear. Whether it was a candid answer to my question that told me precisely what I wanted to know, or an abashed apology that told she knew nothing at all about why this was happening.
Needless to say, I expected the latter.
However.
[...My sincerest apologies, Enki.]
The answer I did receive was neither of those.
[I do not possess the required Authority to answer this question for you.]
Immediately, I realised.
The Librarian knew the answer to my question, but wasn't allowed to tell me.
She would have answered in a way that left no room for ambiguity if she truly didn't know anything, and if she didn't want to tell me, she wouldn't have even hinted that she knew something.
Besides, it hasn't been long since we met, but having spent even this much time with her in my head at all times, I was certain that my judgement of her character was accurate.
At least, I wanted to believe as much.
"I see. It's probably up to the decision of that Library Spirit, right? Nevermind it then."
Being respectful was, thus, the only response I could give.
My Authority would increase again before long, and so long as it continued to do so, I would eventually find out.
So, I ceased any pointless questioning.
In reality, I wasn't exactly worried or concerned about what the answer might be―After all, regardless of 'why' the Tower and all these Illusory Worlds, these Antagonists and Protagonists were coming into existence all of a sudden, even if my curiosity to discover those answers burned like a distant star, the truth was that it didn't matter.
Before me was the opportunity to grow into something akin to a superhuman or perhaps even greater thanks to the benefits of the Library, which might even enable me to challenge the Tower one day.
An opportunity I was extraordinarily lucky to stumble across.
One that, if I were honest, I probably didn't deserve.
'...Well, none of it is probably something I need to think about right now, anyway. If there were any urgent issues, I'm sure she would let me know...'
Ring~!
At that moment, as if waiting for the perfect time, the academy bell resounded, signalling the start of lunch.
'Ah. Finally...'
Because I had returned to waiting patiently outside Lucretia's classroom, she would probably come out soon, and sure enough, whilst everyone else was leaving and casting strange glances at me, there she emerged.
Exiting the classroom, she immediately paused when she found me, seemingly not expecting to see me here.
"You're here."
'What kind of look is that? Did she forget I'm her bodyguard or something?'
"Of course I am."
"...Good. Keep up with it."
Saying only that much, she started off down the corridor. Watching her, I shrugged.
'Well. She's definitely better than the whiny Protagonist.'
❖─────★★★☆☆─────❖
There was still one question that remained unanswered.
The Librarian told me I can only hear the game's music because I have the Authority, but I was sure the music was also only supposed to appear during a 「scene」. And, naturally, since I was never a character in the game, it shouldn't be possible for a 「scene」 involving me to exist.
However, that's exactly what happened.
The answer to that lied in the Librarian's explanation.
[...the Protagonist may have identified you as a 「target of interest」...!]
[Even if she recognises you as a 「target of interest」, your Authority will protect you from the Beloved's influence!]
At the time, I couldn't ask because I had to deal with the Protagonist at hand, and then I got distracted whenever the topic about essence or whatever got mentioned later on, but now I could reflect back and think freely.
'Beloved'.
In all the Contracts until now, the only time I was ever concerned about the 'category' of Protagonist I was hunting was during the very first.
'Hero'.
Due to the threat of his Holy Sword, which I still have in the Storage right now, and his divine power that provided an enhancement to his constitution, I had no choice but to be concerned.
The second Contract's 'Chosen One', and the third Contract's 'Avenger'―Thankfully, there was no need for me to be concerned at all about what hidden powers they might hold when I took them on. If they even had such a thing, that is.
This time, however, was different.
According to the Librarian, the Beloved identified me as a so-called 「target of interest」 when I consoled her.
Right now, we're in a 'school' setting with the primary genre being 'romance'. Admittedly, by no means am I the sharpest tool in the shed even at the best of times. Despite that, it's not like I'm a complete moron, and I wasn't such an idiot that I couldn't figure it out even with this many clues.
'――It's a dating game, right?'
I was sure of it. This was like the sort of game where the Protagonist interacts with various secondary characters who she has the option to romance. Or at least, something along those lines.
And since I had become such a 「target of interest」, didn't that effectively mean the Protagonist would begin to see me as one of those options...?
'That's what the #OtomeGame Tag is about... I think.'
Again, the term was faintly familiar, but the target audience was undoubtedly focused towards young females, so was it Ina that I had heard it from before?
[C-certainly! Well... essentially? I suppose so...! I-I must say, Enki, these kinds of things lie outside my area of expertise...!]
'Aren't you the Curator of the Illusory Library? It's your job to know these kinds of things, isn't it? Honestly, you should have explained it to me earlier on.'
[M-my apologies, but there simply was not enough time for me to learn about every single form of publicisation prior to your arrival...! Ahem! I also... m-mayhaps, have possibly, might have gotten just a little bit into those, um... as they are called, 'Light Novels'...]
'...You serious? How can you even read?'
[Oh oh, look, do you see that?! Miss Antagonist is looking at you!]
'What?'
Focusing my gaze, I really noticed Lucretia staring up at me from her seat.