Roland was quite surprised at how quickly these people grew accustomed to his condition. Because, frankly, he sure as hell wasn’t.

Soul beasts were one thing, but a soul capable of coherent thought inhabiting an inanimate object? He just couldn’t fathom how it was possible! While he couldn’t recall them with any clarity, his intuition was screaming at him that this was completely unheard of.

An exasperated sigh escaped him.

“That’s the fourth time since lunch. What’s got you down this time?” Johan asked.

Roland shook his head, not even sure himself. He raised a boney hand, staring at it. “There’s just too many questions, too many implications, that this,” he gestured to himself, “has. I mean, does this mean I’m immortal, or will my soul decay without a proper vessel? What triggered this? Can it be replicated? Questions just keep popping up and I have no way to answer any of them. Not here, at least,” he said, gaze despondent.

Roland couldn’t say why he had bothered explaining any of this to someone clearly too young to have the life experience required to offer any substantial advice.

Johan crossed his arms and gave him a stern look, “Stop being so stubborn.”

“Huh?” Roland said incredulously.

“You’ve been given a second chance at life. Not only that, instead of having to brave the trek on foot, alone and no way to defend yourself, you’ve got a capable team protecting you and a free ride straight to the capital. If you’re as smart as you claim you are, I’m sure you’ll have a place to do your research in no time.”

“How is that me being stubborn?”

“You’ve acknowledged that you can’t do your research while we’re traveling, but you’re still all mopey about it.”

Roland grumbled. The kid sure is mature for his age. What’d he have to go through to get like that? Back in his day, the youth had to grow up fast, it being a time of war and all. But, according to what he’d been told, the war had ended nearly two hundred years ago.

Despite not having the muscles or tissue necessary to make facial expressions, something must have tipped Johan off. “I’m an orphan. Never knew my parents, so I can’t say I miss ‘em. Didn’t have a family at the orphanage either, everyone else got adopted pretty quick. Really, it was just the caretaker and I most of the time. Dunno if you were aware, but Lord Cadius puts a lot of stock in us kids, saying that growin’ up in a good home makes for good citizens. Not sure if that’s true, but it did mean I had food and a roof over my head. Anyways, the point is, I had a lot of time to myself. I would walk around town, listening and observing whatever or whoever caught my interest. So, I’m pretty damn sure that I know people. And you, without your smarts, you’d probably end up on the streets as some drunkard, moaning about how unfortunate you are and how unfair the world is.”

Roland felt offended at that, but only for a moment. Dang it. He’s right.

Johan continued. “The best thing you can do right now is to just get your mind off of it. You haven’t talked to us in the four days since we’ve met. Why not start by asking about us? Do you even know where we’re going or why? Or who we’re working for?” He shook his head.

“I-” Roland felt defeated, completely and utterly. “…Alright,” he eventually said.