Interview
by Afuhfuihgs
The fact that Roel could sense my existence was something I’d already experienced in the previous world. But the question is, why now? I lost consciousness for three days due to the penalty of continuing the battle. I was literally defenseless.
Roel, being a fourth-year student, would be living in the academy’s dormitory. It’s close enough that you could reach Modiste’s secret hideout with a 10-minute walk from the academy. If he wanted to, he could have easily come to find me, so why did he only show up at Modiste after three days?
The possibility that Roel didn’t come looking for me, but happened to come to use Modiste, was low. In the first place, Roel never directly used Modiste in the novel. Just looking at Estelle’s reaction, as if she hadn’t expected Roel to come here at all, it was clear that the reason for his visit was me.
Suddenly, what Ross of Aspiration said popped into my head. Roel isn’t an enemy, but the hero we’ve so desperately yearned for. I still couldn’t agree with that statement. No, I couldn’t understand it at all. It wasn’t just once or twice that I almost died at the hands of Ross from another world.
Even Roel, whom I met in the passage before coming to this world, was a crazy bastard who swung his holy sword at me without hesitation, trying to kill me. At this point, his favorability should be reduced to minus, not just 0.
“It seems like he’s here for you. What should we do?”
I nodded to Estelle, who asked me with a troubled expression. Since Roel sensed me anyway, there was no way to run away or avoid him. If you can’t avoid it, you have to enjoy it. Of course, I couldn’t have a pleasant conversation with someone who tried to kill me countless times, but I had to at least get some benefit out of it.
Estelle put the mask she had taken off back on, then opened the door and talked to Danger outside. Seeing her put the mask back on, it seems she still doesn’t intend to reveal her identity to Roel. Even in the novel, her identity as the guild master of Modiste was never revealed until the end, and she was only mentioned a few times as Rosalyn’s friend.
Estelle’s actions might be extremely natural actions that fit the plausibility. If she suddenly reveals her identity here, it would be an unnatural flow that is completely different from the original work.
I heard the sound of two people’s footsteps from outside the door. Roel, guided by Danger, who was somehow clearly happy, came into the room and met my eyes. His big eyes got a little bigger, and he reflexively shrugged his shoulders slightly. I twisted one corner of my mouth.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Roel gave a bitter smile at the voice with a cold sneer.
“It really is you, Ross.”
He looks no different from Roel in my memory. His arms are fine, and his handsome face has no scars. The only difference would be the holy sword he’s carrying on his back. As Roel approached the table, Estelle asked me quietly.
“Should I leave you two alone for a moment?”
If I hadn’t explained about the other world, I would have asked her to leave so that the two of us could talk alone. But Estelle already knows a lot from my explanation. I’m not sure if she’ll be on my side, but Estelle in front of me, from what I’ve experienced so far, will definitely help me, even if it’s just for her own curiosity.
“You can stay by my side if you don’t mind.”
Estelle nodded vigorously. There would be a lot of information she could gain just by watching our conversation from the side. Estelle couldn’t possibly not know that, so that’s why she’s so happy.
Roel’s hand slowly reached for the holy sword he was carrying on his back. Estelle looked at Roel with a tense expression for a moment, but I watched Roel with a calm face.
I had a feeling that Roel wouldn’t just swing his sword at me. I’m back from the dead. Moreover, Roel can know that my soul is not tainted by demons.
I judged that the probability of Roel, who came to me with curiosity, suddenly swinging his sword was low. That expectation was correct. It was just an action to hang the holy sword next to the table because he couldn’t sit on the chair with the holy sword on his back.
Roel sat in the chair across from me, which Estelle had vacated, and Estelle sat next to me. Roel glanced at Estelle, then turned to me and said.
“I don’t know where to start. It’s my first time seeing someone who died come back to life…”
Silence fell in the room for a moment. It’s a crossroads of choices. I had to decide whether to approach Roel aggressively or to engage in a conversation with a friendly and rational attitude. After thinking for a moment, I made a decision and stared intently into Roel’s eyes.
“You already know that the Ross you killed and I are different people, right?”
It wasn’t an emotional and aggressive tone, nor was it a friendly voice exchanged in a friendly relationship. It was closer to a dry voice, as if treating a stranger.
Roel, who had been looking at me silently, gave me a faint smile.
“That’s right, that’s why I’m even more surprised. Because Ross’s soul and another soul are mixed together. I was a little worried that maybe a demon used your soul to create a new chimera, so I even brought my holy sword.”
“So, how is it now that you’ve met me in person? Do you think you did a good job bringing the holy sword?”
I deliberately spoke in a slightly sarcastic way to gauge Roel’s reaction. Roel lowered his gaze with a faint smile, then met my eyes again. His blue eyes were slightly watery.
“No, even if the souls are mixed, I don’t doubt that you in front of me are my brother Ross.”
Roel’s words were not a lie. I could clearly feel the sincerity in his voice. I could believe that he trusted me enough to show me his back defenselessly.
That’s why I was even more confused. Roel in the world I was originally in always trusted me and always supported me. Even if it was a guilty conscience for the parasitism created by the plausibility that stole everything from me, it was an undeniable truth that Roel sincerely cared about me and cherished me like a loving family.
But it was also an undeniable truth that Roel tried to kill me. For the salvation of the world that had reached destruction, or to become one with himself, or simply because he saw me in the passage, he swung his sword recklessly.
In a way, there was no need to think about Roel in a complicated way. Roel is someone who can kill even a lover he truly loves with his own hands for the sake of everyone’s salvation. In fact, it was Roel who killed his lover Ilia in the world just before its destruction.
It’s easier to think that Roel is someone who can swing his sword even at his beloved family for the sake of his own justice. However, if I simply define Roel that way, I will never understand the words of Ross of Aspiration, ‘the hero we yearned for and longed for’.
So, all I can do is understand Roel a little bit through conversation. What is his purpose in acting, and what is the ending he truly dreams of? If the scene I saw in the cult leader’s trap is true, is he really endlessly repeating regression? All those questions were problems that could be solved by understanding Roel.
“You came to find me later than I thought? I thought if it was you, you would come to find me as soon as you sensed my existence.”
Roel’s eyes, which had been meeting mine, wavered, and he replied in a slightly subdued voice.
“You… you know my secret. Judging from the fact that you think I can sense your existence…”
“Yeah, I came from a different world than this one.”
It was a statement with a lack of context, a lack of consideration for the other person, and an extremely insufficient amount of information, but Roel interpreted it accurately.
“I see, I understand a little better now. The sense of inferiority I always felt when I looked at you has disappeared, and your appearance has become much more masculine than before…”
Roel nodded as if he understood and continued.
“It seems that you in that world… were able to grow into a good man, unlike here.”
Roel’s voice was mixed with complex emotions. Perhaps he was regretting the choice he made to kill me, who had sold my soul to the Demon King. He might be thinking that if he hadn’t given up and stopped his brother, he might have been able to grow up like I am now.
But Roel soon smiled. Regret was only for a moment, and he looked like he believed that his choice was the best.
I felt a strange excitement at Roel’s appearance. The reason I came to this world was to compare the world that flowed according to the original work and the world where the discarded settings were revived to see what plausibility had changed.
Roel in front of me was Roel who flowed according to the original work, and he was the character I understood the most. If I could find the differences between Roel in my world and Roel in the original work, I felt a strong intuition that many questions would be resolved.
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