After saying goodbye to the old woman, Roger didn't linger in Rod Village.
Pulling on the cloak, he planned to cross the forest and head to the royal capital, Mitras, which wasn't all that far from here.
The old woman was puzzled. In her eyes, it was already late; he shouldn't be wandering around outside, but finding a place to rest as soon as possible.
Roger turned her down.
He declined her kindness.
She tried hard to keep him. She didn't want to see Roger starving out in the wilds, only to end up brutally killed by wolves.
Roger gave her an excuse, saying his companions were still waiting for him in the forest, and that he couldn't rest easy unless he found them.
At that, the old woman said no more.
If this young man couldn't let go of his friends, then there was nothing she could do.
She didn't understand young people's business anymore.
In her mind, one should live quietly and steadily in one place.
But young people seemed to like charging all over the world.
"Just like my son, that little brat—only thinks about making a name for himself, never comes home. I haven't even seen him at all lately."
She complained.
Beside her, her husband tried to soothe her, telling her to put her mind at ease.
Roger had no intention of telling them their son was already dead—
And that he'd been killed by one of Roger's own subordinates.
He didn't say anything more. Bowing, he prepared to leave.
The woman didn't want to just watch him go, so she wrapped some fruit in a bundle for him to eat along the way.
There was nowhere in the village that sold processed foods; they could only gather the fruit they grew and keep it as snacks.
Like parents fussing over a child about to travel, stuffing them with all kinds of things they'd never actually need, Roger couldn't withstand her enthusiasm and accepted the fruit.
But once he stepped outside, he quietly set the bundle back down by their door.
[You really are stiff as a board, you know.]
"Everything comes with a price," Roger replied when Ken Kaneki grumbled. "This kind of favor is better not to owe. Besides, I'm the one who got their son killed. Leaving now and pretending I was never here at least leaves them someone they can hate."
[Uh, didn't get that.]
"You don't need to." Roger said. "Hatred is an emotion born in each person's heart. Whatever they do because of it means nothing to anyone else."
[Huh?]
[So what, bad people deserve sympathy now?]
"I never talk about feelings. To me, the world only has 'victory' and 'defeat'—and 'I want to kill you.'"
[What a… novel logic.]
[I'll admit it, your mindset is even more screwed up than mine used to be.]
[Back then, I thought the one who was wrong wasn't me—it was the whole world.]
[But you don't care about right or wrong at all. You only care about winning and losing.]
"That's about right."
[Hah…]
[Do you know what people call someone like you?]
[Monster.]
[Demon.]
[In any case, nothing good.]
"I don't need their praise or their approval. I just need to get what I want and succeed in what I decide to do. Everything else has nothing to do with me."
[Fine, fine, whatever you say.]
[Anyway, it's already dark.]
[How are you planning to cross this forest?]
Ken Kaneki asked.
Roger looked up at the forest ahead.
Night had draped itself over the trees.
Inside the woods, countless eyes were watching.
Beasts—
all staring at Roger.
To them, Roger was their ideal meal.
To Roger—
They were just moving targets.
"I'll just charge straight through."
With that, Roger plunged into the forest.
Birds and beasts scattered in panic.
The sound of blades cutting through flesh rang out again and again.
The cries of terrified animals grew more and more frequent.
The mountain paths were muddy and steep.
After a whole night of slaughter, Roger actually walked out of the vast mountain forest on foot.
Standing outside the treeline, he found a narrow river and used the water to wash the blood from his body.
Then he remembered.
Back outside the Walls, by a little river, scooping water to drink.
At that time, he'd only just entered the Walls.
All he'd had in his heart was revenge.
Now, things were different.
Roger had more on his mind.
He no longer thought only of revenge; more than anything, he wanted to kill the enemies looming in front of him.
Roger still knew far too little about Dior and the others' abilities.
You could even say he knew nothing at all.
He'd have to wait until he met Mr. Torin before he could make any real plans.
After washing his clothes, Roger looked up at the sun and roughly calculated his position.
Head east.
Before long, he arrived at the royal capital, Mitras.
Because of his tattered clothes, the Military Police at the gate had no intention of letting him pass.
Even after all this time, even with the regime inside the Walls having changed hands, the Military Police were still the same useless trash.
Roger punched one of them—
And misjudged his strength, sending the man flying.
With a crash, the soldier slammed into the wall and blacked out on the spot.
"With a constitution like that, you still dare to be a soldier?"
Roger said disdainfully.
In the Scorpion Corps, taking a punch like that was the absolute baseline.
If you couldn't withstand even that, there was no point in any further training.
The Military Police buzzed like a disturbed hive of hornets, swarming in front of Roger.
Cursing under their breath, they pulled out their guns.
Aiming at him, they pulled the trigger.
Roger couldn't be bothered to argue with them.
He just walked away without looking back.
Bang!
A bullet went straight through his skull—
And the hole closed in an instant.
"Wha—!"
The Military Police froze, stunned.
They had no idea if the man before them was human or something else altogether.
"Just let him through…"
Someone suggested timidly.
Everyone nodded at once.
Less trouble was better than more.
In their line of work, any Military Policeman who stuck his nose too far into things usually got punished by some noble sooner or later.
They'd still have to file a report, of course.
But by the time they did—
Roger had already reached the entrance to the underground city.
These days, the underground city was almost completely abandoned.
With the change of regime inside the Walls, the nobles' properties had all been confiscated.
Their houses were auctioned off at low prices for commoners to live in.
The people who had once struggled to survive in the underground finally had a chance to turn their lives around.
And the one they thanked… was Roger.
If he hadn't led the Scorpion Corps in revolt, they never would've had the lives they had now.
Once they'd settled down, most of them ended up joining the Scorpion Corps.
Walking down the cold, silent stairs—
Roger saw what the underground city looked like now.
Pitch black, almost no one around.
Only a few beggars huddled together, sleeping.
"I knew you'd come."
A long-missed voice suddenly rang out.
Roger turned his head and saw a ragged one-eyed beggar—
Mr. Torin, who'd lost so much hair he'd finally shaved his head clean.
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