Invitation

"Change this world?"

"That's right."

Hearing Roy's words, the man in black answered.

Then, he waved toward the large screen. At that moment, lines of data appeared across it. Roy was intimately familiar with both the methods used to compile these statistics and the language displayed, and because of that, he knew exactly what these numbers meant.

"Every year, vast numbers of the Infected die. At the same time, the persecution of the Infected by the uninfected is steadily worsening. Take the Ursus Empire in the far north of the continent, for example..."

"Ever since the death of the previous Ursus emperor, Ursus's persecution of the Infected has gradually intensified. Yet the Infected of Ursus have no way to resist those who control the country. They cannot even guarantee that they will live to see tomorrow's sun."

At that point, the man in black fell silent. Then, he looked at Roy.

Although Roy could not see the other man's face, the emotion contained in his words was incredibly intense. It was as though he himself were one of Ursus's Infected, as though he had personally experienced everything they had endured.

Roy did not rush to answer. So far, he had never truly had any deep contact with the Infected. The few times he had encountered them, he had merely sold some things he had no use for to mercenaries.

Still, Roy knew something of the Infected's circumstances. That was precisely why he was interested in what the man in black was saying.

However, Roy still needed to wait a little longer.

"We cannot stand by and ignore these people, and you and I are both indispensable parts of this cause."

"Why?"

"Because you and I possess ideals completely different from those of this era. Because you and I carry bloodlines capable of changing this world. Because you and I cannot stand by and ignore the innocent."

"..."

The man's words left Roy silent.

He had to admit that the man in black was quite skilled with words. By now, Roy had no grounds to refute him. Ideals completely different from this era, bloodlines capable of changing the world—those were all nonsense to Roy. What truly left him unable to argue was that final sentence. Just as the man in black had said, he truly could not stand by and ignore these innocent people. That was also one of the reasons he had joined this operation.

At that moment, the gazes of the Feline woman, the Sarkaz woman, and the man in black were all fixed on Roy. They were waiting for his answer.

"I accept."

In the end, Roy stopped thinking. He chose to follow his heart and accept the other party's invitation.

But not without conditions.

"I will act alongside you, and I will work for the future of the Infected. But if what you do differs from what you have described..."

At that moment, Lemuenia appeared in Roy's hand.

This was his condition for joining the organization known as Babel Tower. If they betrayed the oath they had made today, he would meet them with his blade.

"I will regard you as enemies. I will wipe you out."

"Rest assured. That day will never come."

As his words fell, the man in black turned to look at the two women and raised a hand in an affirmative gesture. At that moment, Roy could clearly feel the temperature in the room rise slightly. Perhaps if his answer had not satisfied them, he would not have been able to leave so easily.

After all, since they knew he possessed the "system," they surely understood its value.

"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Babel Tower's tactical commander. You may call me Doctor."

As he spoke, the other man extended his hand. Roy naturally understood what he meant. Without hesitation, he shook it the next moment.

Since he had made this choice, he would never regret it.

"Roy, a man who still has justice in his heart."

As the words fell, the two released their hands. Then, they walked side by side toward the Feline and the Sarkaz.

Roy did not know this Feline woman, but he did know the Sarkaz woman.

Theresa, Princess of Kazdel, the rightful heir to this land, and one of the current leaders in the Sarkaz civil war.

However, despite knowing her identity, Roy did not bow and scrape as people from past eras had done upon meeting royalty. Perhaps to others, this female Sarkaz might one day become the ruler of this land, but what did that have to do with Roy?

After all, whether kings or emperors... they were all relics that had long since become obsolete to him. The fact that he had not yet joined the tide of the people and brought an end to this rotten feudal system was already more than enough courtesy to show them.

"This is Princess Theresa, a woman devoted to changing Kazdel. This is Dr. Kal'tsit, one of Babel Tower's principal leaders."

"This is Roy, one of my kind."

After a brief round of introductions, Roy had gained a basic understanding of the organization calling itself Babel Tower. At the same time, he had obtained some useful information about this landship.

Just as he had expected, this landship was not a product of this era. It had been excavated from the land known as Rim Billiton. According to the surviving documents aboard the vessel, Babel Tower called it Rhodes Island.

At present, a great many talented individuals served this organization. Its research did not focus solely on treatments to halt and cure Oripathy, but encompassed all sorts of fields.

However, Roy had not joined Babel Tower as a researcher. Though he had a university undergraduate education, his field of study had been criminal investigation. Naturally, there was no way someone like him could "compete on the same stage" as those researchers.

He had joined Babel Tower as a combatant. And though he was of the same kind as the one calling himself Doctor, that was not a reason for him to become part of the upper ranks the moment he entered the organization.

Roy had not yet been assigned to a group, so for now, he still had to fight alone. To him, that was a good thing. If he joined one of those combat groups, he would instead have to adapt to their fighting styles, and that was no simple matter...