Greg silently gave himself a thumbs-up, feeling that his judgment and decision had been very wise.
Not only had he avoided trouble, but he had also let Victoria meet Chloe ahead of time as a customer. Perhaps they would no longer end up in the same inexplicable conflict as in the original story.
However, just as he began to think he had everything under control, Sylvia, who had been quietly observing beside him, suddenly covered her mouth with one hand. Her pink eyes widened slightly, filled with surprise and a hint of... unease.
"Ah! Wh-why is it her?"
"Hm?"
Greg's heart sank, and an ominous feeling welled up inside him. He turned to Sylvia and asked, "You... know each other?"
Sylvia nodded, the worry on her face deepening. She spoke softly and quickly:
"Y-yes... On the very first day after the rumors about your disappearance spread through the Academy, Greg, she suddenly stopped Victoria and me on our way to the Library."
She paused, seemingly recalling that unpleasant encounter:
"She... she seemed to be in a really bad mood. When she saw us, she started saying some... well, not very nice things. She deliberately gave us a hard time, questioned Victoria's control over her magic, and said we were blocking her way... Basically, she picked on us for no apparent reason."
Sylvia's voice carried a note of hurt:
"In the end, a young professor who happened to be passing by stepped in and made her leave. Otherwise, things definitely would have gotten worse... And we still don't know why she did that. We'd never even met her before."
Greg: "..."
He silently raised a hand and covered his face.
Sure enough... the butterfly effect had struck again...
His disappearance had somehow brought forward a conflict that should only have happened