My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 205 Resurrection from the Dead

After finishing their meal, Roland and Kalia received a message from Flam.

Roland, who had originally planned to visit Kefas, laughed.

Alright, no need to schedule a time or explain the whole story.

Ms. Fram even helped herself solve the problem of cognitive interference.

It was definitely worth letting her take so many World Tree branches back then.

Although Roland was quite suspicious that Frum might have taken these things to use as something like catnip, he felt it was best not to ask too many questions about such private matters.

After all, after being exposed to an excessive amount of World Tree aura for the first time that day, Flam's behavior was just like a cat that had inhaled a lot of catnip.

Kalia also went to the city defense headquarters with Roland.

Soon the two saw the large barrel of holy water placed at the door of Cafas's office.

And several city defense troops were on high alert, guarding the bucket of holy water.

Several soldiers saluted Roland upon seeing him.

They also read that newspaper a few days ago.

Although he has not yet been officially appointed, these city garrison soldiers consider Roland to be the future nobleman.

Making a good impression beforehand is always a good idea.

"Lord Roland!"

"Alright, alright... What is this? It looks a bit like holy water from the Vatican?"

"Your Excellency, it doesn't look like it! This is the Holy Water of the Vatican!"

Kalia also saw the bucket and muttered to herself, somewhat speechless, "So much holy water... Has the city defense headquarters been bewitched?"

"Even if something were cursed, it wouldn't need this much..."

Roland nodded in agreement: "Yes... but why would the Holy See be willing to give so much holy water? Could this place really be cursed?"

The soldier snapped to attention and replied, "Reporting, Lord Roland! This holy water belongs to Lady Fram; we are only temporarily responsible for its safekeeping! You see, there's even a lid here!"

"...Then why not put the lid on?"

"Sir! We're also curious about what's in this bucket!"

"now what?"

"Sir! We are very disappointed!"

"...Alright, that's all for you. Go back to your reading."

Ignoring a few somewhat bored city defense soldiers, Roland and Kalia pushed open the door and entered the office.

Inside the office, Kefas, Fram, and even Federico, all wore solemn expressions.

The tense atmosphere intensified upon seeing Roland and Kalia arrive.

Seeing this, Roland first gestured for Kalia to find a seat, and then said, "It seems that you all already know."

"Now, we can talk..."

"Regarding the question of who 'I' am."

Roland said, taking out old Lancelot's notebook from his pocket: "Looking back now, the thought that the contents of this diary had been altered was probably a misunderstanding."

"The above record is indeed accurate."

"The problem lies with everyone else, including me."

As Roland spoke, he took out his notebook and walked toward Kefas and Flam.

Fram looked up at Roland: "You found out a long time ago?"

“It was just a guess before… but Mr. Delan just told me about His Majesty’s discovery.”

Roland pulled out a chair and sat down, then recounted what Delan had told him, as well as the real reason why the hatters had come to Riskan.

Kefas sighed, "I was too careless. A comfortable life really makes people let their guard down... I should have realized it sooner."

“I should have realized it when I found out you were Caul’s son.”

"Your age doesn't match..."

Frum didn't say much, but looked at Roland and asked, "What do you plan to do next?"

"I don't know." Roland shrugged, giving up entirely: "I can't think of a way to prove that I am the real Roland Lancelot."

"And...as things unfolded."

"I feel like my identity is getting stranger and stranger."

"To say that I am really just an ordinary adventurer's child... I find that unrealistic."

Federico then asked, "Your Excellency Roland, I mean no offense... Could you please provide some evidence to support your claim?"

"The blessing of the Great Source, the chosen one of the World Tree, the master of the Holy Sword... is that enough?"

As soon as Roland finished speaking, a hint of embarrassment appeared on Federico's serious face.

He felt like he was just asking a question.

His professional habit as the commander of the Imperial Guards made him subconsciously suspicious of everything, especially when the person involved was related to the royal family.

Federico's face showed only embarrassment, while Kefas and Fram were shocked.

You mean protection!?

Frum jumped up immediately: "Are you sure it's a blessing?!"

"Hmm... let's let the Demon King's remnant soul examine it for now."

Roland pointed to the gauntlets at his waist as he spoke.

"The Demon King..."

Kefas's expression was complicated, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

At his level, receiving blessings was no secret, which was why he was surprised.

After a moment of shock, Flam calmed down and said, "Fine... you always manage to come up with something new."

After saying that, Fram sighed and stepped forward to pat Roland on the shoulder: "Actually, you don't need to be too nervous... Just like I said before, if you can gain the World Tree's approval, you can't be a monster."

"Ultimately, the question of who you are is something that can be investigated or not. It has no impact on your life now."

Kalia echoed, "Exactly! Anyway, the Roland everyone knows is the same person you are now, so it doesn't matter at all!"

After sighing, Kefas nodded: "Although I really want to find out the truth about this... Miss Kalia is right, it doesn't affect your life now."

Roland smiled and said, "Thank you all... but I don't want to live with questions in my heart."

"I don't care who I am, but I need to know the truth."

Roland then looked at Cafas: "Mr. Cafas, according to the information you inadvertently revealed to His Majesty..."

"First of all, the last time your father wrote to you was on May 28, 1000."

"And then there were no more letters, right?"

Kefas nodded, agreeing with Roland's statement.

“Although I know you are affected by cognitive interference, it is clear that my father did have your contact information, otherwise he would not have been able to share his joy of getting married and having children with you.”

As Roland spoke, he took out a number of booklets that he had found in the old house after returning to Riskan.

Then he pulled out the book, and in a page full of meaningless doodles, the only meaningful character was Kefas.

Roland pointed to the name on the board and said, "I originally thought that Father had noticed something amiss with the Iris and that's why he wanted to ask you for help." "But judging from this incident... perhaps that's not the case."

"Just like now, after I was able to freely wield the power given to me by the World Tree, I only realized it after I noticed something was wrong and Mr. Delan told me about the anomaly."

"The cognitive interference left in these booklets is not the same force as that in my father's notebook."

Roland looked at the puzzled-looking Flam and continued, "This is not my presumption."

"After confronting that half-god of evil... I can be certain of this."

"Even the slight disturbance left in this booklet is different from other booklets."

Federico then spoke up: "Sir, may I see that booklet?"

"Don't misunderstand, before officially joining His Majesty's Royal Guard, I was a high-ranking paladin of the Holy See."

“I’ve learned how to identify script corrupted by the power of evil gods… Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Kefas exclaimed in surprise, "The Vatican still teaches this? Aren't cults almost extinct in the Empire these days? Only the Chaos Cultists are still tirelessly causing trouble."

Federic sighed: "That's now... well, although there weren't many cultists in the Empire during my years as a paladin..."

"But in the more expansive northern plains, there are many cult groups."

"If the territories of the federation of nations were combined, they would be equivalent to three empires... It's fortunate that they can't unite."

"I've gone off-topic, so, Your Excellency Roland, could you please give me the booklet?"

Roland nodded: "It's possible... but I always feel that this is not interference from an evil god."

After sharing his subconscious intuition, Roland handed over the booklet.

Federico got up, grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, and began to reconstruct and record the events.

Soon, Lancelot's original records began to be reconstructed.

Oh damn... bro, I don't know where to begin.

I know you hold a high position now, and I know you're not the kind of person who would ignore a friend's difficulties.

But Kefas... I really don't know whether I should ask you for help this time.

I don't know if you received the letter I wrote to you five years ago, since you never replied.

So here I'll briefly talk about what happened five years ago...

That day was my son's birthday. I had planned to take Roland out to sea to fish near the harbor... but a wave came and he fell in... I didn't have time to react...

In short, he died, swallowed by a whirlpool in the sea...

This is how it should have been.

But yesterday... yesterday...

[My God, bro, I don't know how to describe all of that to you...]

Lily is back... She's been dead for thirteen years... Why... Not only is she back, but she's even... holding a baby...

I can't be mistaken. That baby looks exactly like Roland when he was little. I'll always remember how he looked when I took him from Lily's arms—the same gray hair and lake-green eyes…

But they should all be dead by now!

Hey bro, if you can and have the time, please come to Riskan.

Kaul Lancelot

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

Federico put down his pen and handed the completed copy to Kefas.

He felt it would be more appropriate for the person involved to first look at the letter that had never been sent.

Kefas took the paper, glanced at it briefly, and then complained, "There's really no need to copy down the ellipses as well; just use commas instead."

“This is to restore the writer’s emotions,” Federico then added, “if what Mr. Caul said is true.”

"His background as Lord Roland... is indeed still open to discussion."

"Of course, there may be some errors in the translation of information. Although the general content will not be wrong, some minor errors or omissions are inevitable."

"After all, these characters have been distorted into almost meaningless lines."

"I can only manage a barely accurate restoration."

The paper was quickly passed around among everyone, and even Kalia read it.

After reading the letter, Cafas had the most complicated feelings.

Five years before 1013, that was 1008... but he was quite certain he had not received the letter.

It seems there was an error during delivery.

Or perhaps for some other reason.

If I had received the letter back then, would things have been different?
Kefas didn't know.

Frum remained calm.

She simply circled around Roland out of curiosity, seemingly observing something.

No matter how she observed, she could only conclude that Roland was a completely normal, living, and healthy human being.

On the contrary, Kalia seemed rather...active?
She started touching Roland inappropriately.

One moment they'd tug at Roland's face, the next they'd poke Roland's stomach, as if they were using touch to confirm something.

"You didn't actually die once, did you?"

"...Hey Leah, that's enough. You can only listen to stories about the dead and coming back to life."

Roland found the idea of ​​someone coming back from the dead completely unbelievable.

After all, he was actually a native of the area.

I understand the basic rules and theorems of this world.

That is, death is absolute and irreversible.

The god of death and the end will take the souls and flesh of all the dead into the world behind the gate of the underworld, and then into the cycle of life and death.

This deity is not even among the gods worshipped by the Holy See, nor does He have any followers—because He never answers prayers.

He is like death itself, silent, waiting for everyone at the end.

The Demon King's situation is special. Since his soul was not completely obliterated and a vessel for his soul was prepared in advance—the thirteen prototypes of the Demon King's Hand—he is actually only in a state where his physical body has been destroyed.

For a powerhouse of this level, the soul is the key; the physical body is merely a vessel.

So he wasn't actually completely dead, but rather in a state of being half-alive and half-dead, which means he successfully exploited a bug.

But all souls will eventually belong to Death, and no one, no god, can break this ironclad law.

A wise man once said, half-jokingly, "Unless death itself pardons you, you cannot escape death."

Therefore, there are no necromancers or similar beings in this world, and all cult sacrifices must be live sacrifices; the killing and collection of souls cannot be carried out in advance.

Otherwise, even those evil gods wouldn't be able to steal souls from that god of death.

In short, the concept of "resurrection" only exists in those who are not completely dead, or those whose physical bodies have been destroyed but whose souls are still preserved in the mortal world.

A child who died five years ago is reborn as an infant five years later...

This story is just too far-fetched.

Surely I can't be Death's favorite son?

(End of this chapter)