Gilbert flinched at Veronica’s sudden change, but when she mentioned Kang Dojun’s name, he realized the Q&A had begun.

He hadn’t expected that using causality to answer questions meant utilizing the Saint’s body.

Or perhaps he had guessed it somewhat.

Recalling how Veronica said she needed to go to the prayer room, this too was likely part of the plan. He only wondered how the system was connected to the divine that it would send revelations through Veronica.

“User Kang Dojun. Thank you for your efforts in coming this far.”

“Can you now answer all my questions?”

“Unfortunately, that’s not possible. Even with the accumulated causality, there are limits.”

Though her voice was monotone, her expression conveyed genuine regret. Since he had anticipated this to some extent, he decided to skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point.

“No need to waste time then. First, explain why I was brought here.”

This was one of the things he most wanted to know.

The reason why Kang Dojun was dragged here and became Gilbert.

The game he had been playing wasn’t a typical fantasy with heroes and demon lords, but one centered around mechanized armor and warfare.

The maximum goal was merely continental unification, and there seemed no reason to possess Gilbert’s body with Kang Dojun just for that purpose.

Especially if he was given transcendent power through the system, it made even less sense.

“Given the limited causality I must explain with, please understand there will be some abbreviation in my explanation.”

“As long as I can understand it, that’s fine.”

“The reason User Kang Dojun was summoned to this world, though cliché, was to prevent this world from collapsing.”

The system administrator, speaking through Veronica’s body, explained only the essentials.

According to her, the reason Kang Dojun came here was one of the most common: a threat had come to the world, and the system chose Kang Dojun as the solution.

When asked why, she simply answered that he had the highest probability of resolving it.

For Gilbert, it was a moment that made him regret the time he’d spent wondering if there was some profound reason behind it all.

“Then, what is this world? In my world, this place appeared as a game.”

“All worlds are organically connected. Whether it’s this world or the one User Kang Dojun was in, they’re connected in some way. It just happened that the medium in your world took the form of a game.”

“All worlds… That sounds like there are other worlds besides here and where I came from.”

“Precisely. To add, in some worlds, User Kang Dojun’s world is a fictional world in novels.”

Gilbert had heard his original world described as pulp fiction, but he wasn’t shaken.

He already recognized this current world as reality, not just a game.

Clearly, this world was very similar to the game, but that wasn’t all there was to it.

This was undeniably another world where living beings existed.

Meanwhile, he wasn’t shocked to hear that his original world was fiction in other worlds. Kang Dojun, who had lived fiercely in that world, was a real human being, not a fictional character.

“You’re quite composed.”

“There’s nothing particularly surprising about it.”

“I can see why the system chose User Kang Dojun.”

“So what exactly is this ‘system’?”

“You can think of it as the will that constitutes the world. Administrators like me coordinate the system and manage causality to prevent imbalance.”

Gilbert became curious about something else. From what he heard, the system was the will that constituted the world, and there were administrators who managed this system.

Then what exactly was it that Veronica received in the form of revelation?

“That was the system manifesting in the form of revelation. The system exists yet does not exist, does not exist yet exists. It is unique and without equal.”

“So it’s essentially a god, just called a system?”

“Theologically speaking, yes. I used the term ‘system’ to explain it in terms User Kang Dojun would understand, but if you were a theologian, I wouldn’t hesitate to call it God.”

“Then what does that make the administrator?”

“An apostle, naturally.”

He now had a rough understanding of what the system was.

A system that could be called God, and administrators who were apostles. Then the various system windows that Gilbert received help from could be interpreted as divine powers.

“Is traveling between worlds a common occurrence?”

“No, it’s extremely rare. Under normal circumstances, User Kang Dojun would never have come to this world. For that, I apologize on behalf of the system.”

Gilbert waved his hand as the administrator bowed her head.

“Apologies aren’t important for what’s already happened. More importantly, how can I return to my original world?”

This was perhaps the most crucial question.

For him, the reason he was summoned here was merely secondary information that was good to know.

What Gilbert truly wanted to know was just one thing.

Return.

The method to go back to the world he came from.

“It’s possible. As you might expect, once this world is normalized, you can return to your original world.”

“By normalization, you mean defeating the Demon Lord?”

“Something similar to that. I’m afraid the remaining causality isn’t enough to explain in detail.”

The administrator, who briefly gazed into empty space as if looking at something, couldn’t provide a clear answer.

However, just hearing that he could return was enough for Gilbert to feel his journey to the Holy Empire was worthwhile.

The administrator looked curiously at Gilbert’s relieved expression before asking:

“User Kang Dojun. May I ask you a personal question?”

“Me? I don’t mind.”

“From what I understand, you suffered injuries in your world that left you with permanent disabilities. Wasn’t it difficult for you to even move because of that? If you balance the world and prevent its collapse, wouldn’t it be better for you to stay here?”

Gilbert scratched his chin at the administrator’s question. It was true.

He had sustained critical injuries during his last mission.

Fortunately, he survived, but the aftermath left him partially paralyzed, making even movement difficult.

To be honest, it might be better to live here as Gilbert, with a perfect body. He preferred this strong, healthy body to his own that ached and throbbed with pain on rainy days.

But that world was where his comrades who had gone before him rested.

It was the homeland he had protected without hesitation, even as his body was torn apart.

He could never stay here and not return there. Even if all that awaited him was a broken body, he had to go back.

The administrator held back her words upon hearing Gilbert’s firm resolve.

If there had been enough causality, there would have been more to tell, but she needed to conserve her words to deliver important information.

So the administrator opted for the next best thing.

An alternative that someone like Kang Dojun would surely contemplate deeply.

“I understand your intention, User Kang Dojun. But please don’t forget that you’ve also gained new comrades here. They too have stood with you on the battlefield.”

“…”

Gilbert chose silence instead of answering.

Perhaps he had been intentionally avoiding this thought.

Although only about a year had passed since he opened his eyes in this world, he had been on the battlefield during that short time.

Even when things seemed relaxed, there was never a moment without mortal danger, and the same was true for the comrades who went to battle with him.

For someone without family like him, comrades were synonymous with family.

This was true both before and after his possession, which is why he avoided thinking about it.

But now, forced to confront it by the administrator, countless indefinable thoughts swirled in his mind.

“It seems I’ve said something unnecessary. I apologize.”

The administrator, seeing Gilbert’s complex expression, had to admit this wasn’t the best alternative.

However, she didn’t regret it, as Kang Dojun needed to reconsider his decision to return.

“User Kang Dojun. There isn’t much causality left. If you have another question, please choose carefully.”

“I heard the condition for my return is normalizing the world. And I can easily guess that normalization method probably involves dealing with the Demon Lord. I’m just curious—are the Hero and Demon Lord classified as abnormalities in this world?”

The administrator calculated the causality for Gilbert’s question.

A detailed explanation would be woefully insufficient, but there was still enough to simply address the normal versus abnormal aspect.

“Originally, they are not abnormal.”

Gilbert fell into thought again after hearing this brief answer.

If the appearance of the Hero and Demon Lord wasn’t abnormal, then the cause of the world’s destabilization lay elsewhere.

Thinking more flexibly, something troubling occurred to him.

Based on the circumstances, he was summoned as the Hero, and at the opposite end was the Demon Lord.

Gilbert looked intensely at the administrator, as if he’d found a clue.

“Among the system of Hero and Demon Lord, am I assigned the role of Hero?”

“That’s correct.”

This time, about half of the remaining causality was consumed.

There was very little left to answer with now.

But seeing Gilbert’s piercing gaze, the administrator realized what he was about to ask.

Indeed, he was a man with the potential worthy of being summoned from another world to take on the role of Hero.

“User Kang Dojun. This will be my final answer. As you suspect, the Demon Lord is a possessor from the same world as you.”

Gilbert accepted the administrator’s words without showing surprise, as if he had known all along.