(Amina Moria POV)
"Yes, he has."
Violet responded to my question.
"Who?"
I over-excitedly followed up with another question. Violet fell silent, hesitant to reply to me.
"...Me."
"You?!"
"Yep."
The surprise on my face was evident. Whenever I saw Violet and Jules together, Jules all acted as friends. I couldn't detect any romantic interest between them.
'Then again, I couldn't figure out my feelings. Maybe he still likes Violet?!'
My brain was running through the possibilities as I looked at Violet with envious and slightly murderous eyes.
I think I accidentally activated my {Hawk Eyes}. I saw a hint of blue reflect across her eyes.
"Woah woah, calm down."
"Sorry!"
I put my hands up and apologised. I may have overreacted.
"That was in the past, I don't think he feels that way anymore."
"Oh, then it's fine."
I sighed in relief.
"But I do want to know what has happened in your past lives. You've only told me that you were childhood friends."
"Um... sure. Where should I start?"
Violet tilted her head as she pondered.
"Well, as I said before, he was a meek boy who barely spoke to anyone. He was formerly known as Raymond Jackson or Ray."
"We were friends since childhood as we all went to the same preschool, primary school, middle school and high school."
"We all live near each other, so we've known each other for ages. Our schooling was similar to schooling that the non-mage course experience with some different subjects."
"During high school, we all developed different interests, so we drifted apart, though we made a habit to have a get-together once in a while."
"James, who was known as Howard Rhodes at the time, took an interest in kickboxing. He was an amazing fighter, who used to participate in several competitions and won some of them."
"He was also a big guy, so he used to defend Ray from being bullied. I think the martial arts he used in his previous life heavily influenced his fighting style currently."
"Could you stop talking about your boyfriend? I'm not interested in you fawning over him."
I interjected with an annoyed tone.
"Oh, sorry. I couldn't help it. I was going to explain my experience, but should I skip to Jules'?"
Violet apologised sheepishly.
"Fine, do yours' first then we can to Jules'."
I let her do as she pleased. We had to save the best for last.
"For me, I was known as the goody-two-shoes by my class. I was the girl who always stayed behind to clean the room after school, took up all positions I could and participated wherever I could."
"I was also studious as well, and not to brag, I was always top in the class for Maths and English. English was the language we spoke back in our world by the way."
(AN: For those that don't remember, the language spoken on this continent is Zenal. I called it English when mentioning Zenal so people don't get confused. Though this may be confusing already.)
"I had a lot of friends as well. Well, I guess I haven't changed much since our previous life."
"I wished to be a lawyer, because my father was convicted of a crime he didn't convict. Though he was eventually released, my family had to suffer because of it."
"I guess I fell for Howard somewhere around this time. He was always reliable and was extremely nice to me."
"I'm sure you're not interested in our love story, so I'll talk about Raymond. Haa... what can I say about him."
"He kind of an enigma, even to me who's known him for so long. He rarely interacted with anyone and only spoke to people when necessary."
"I guess the only reason we become friends was that our parents were close. He sat at the back of the class and barely made any because he didn't want any attention."
"He was interested in anime, a type of tv show back in our world. He was quite lazy but very naturally smart and observant."
"He could solve complex puzzles in a matter of minutes."
"If he wasn't so lazy, he probably would've taken my number one spot in studies."
"Yeah, yeah that's nice and all, but how did he fall for you?"
I impatiently asked.
"I was just getting to part Amina."
"I think Raymond developed feelings for me during middle school. It was then I think I saw his behaviour towards me change."
"I don't know why he did, but he would always be strangely nervous around me. He probably couldn't speak up about his feelings. At the time, I was also oblivious to his feelings."
"Things stay the same, until high school where Howard confessed his feelings for me. I immediately reciprocated them without thinking about Ray's feelings."
"I understood at this point that Ray had some feelings for me. Though instead of explaining the situation, I just begged Howard to not reveal our relationship to Ray."
"I just thought, if he didn't know our relationship, our friendship could continue as normal."
"Inevitably, our relationship was discovered a year later and it become incredibly awkward for a week or so."
"Eventually, Ray spoke up about his feelings for me to both of us, stating he was fine with us two dating and that he just wanted to get it off his mind."
"For a week later, Ray would avoid us, though we managed to reconcile our friendship, with Howard doing most of the work."
"Though it didn't last long as we were killed soon after."
The room was silent after Violet finished her story.
"Did he still process any lingering feelings?"
I asked nervously.
"At the time I think yes, but now, I don't know. I can't get a grasp of his emotions nowadays. Back then he was an enigma, but still readable. However now, I cannot get any information from him."
Violet responds despondently.
"Shouldn't you know more about him nowadays?"
Violet asked.
"I know, but he hasn't really opened up to me. All I know is that he experienced bad things in his past and doesn't wish to remember them."
I retorted back.
"Then is probably not a question of whether he likes you, but whether he even wants to get in a relationship."
Violet insightfully made a comment.
"He's been even more distant since the start of the year. When was the last time you spent time together, that wasn't training."
She continued on with her analysis.
I tried to think of the last time we spent time together.
"Last year..."
I unconsciously spoke out loud.
"Then I believe he's not interested in you."
She ruined all my hopes and dreams.
"But, still there is a chance. He might just be embarrassed spending time with me."
I meekly responded.
"I've seen how he acts around you. He's been acting distant. Even when we all get together, he rarely speaks and he's always off looking into the distance."
"I think he's avoiding all of us, not specifically you. I don't why, but as you said, he's experienced a lot."
If you are really serious about this Amina, then you have to get Julius to open up. Even if he accepts, the relationship will only be one-sided. What do you know about his past?"
Violet asked.
"Well, all I know was that his parents were murdered when he was young. He eventually got picked up by one of my grandfather's disciples and got trained by them."
"His goal was revenge, and recently he killed the person who was the reason for his parent's death. I don't know the specifics of what he's experienced, by I have refrained from asking."
I explained.
"His parents were murdered?!"
Violet blurted out in surprise.
"I just thought his parents passed away in a car accident or something similar, not murdered!"
'Oh right, just realising your friend's parents were murdered would be a suprised.'
"Also you speak of killing as if it is an insignificant subject. Most people haven't killed people. It is a crime. If it wasn't for the Ausburn attack, I would've been the same."
Violet passionately exclaimed.
"Oh, I forget you live in a completely different world to us."
I wasn't being sarcastic or making fun of her. I was stating the harsh truths.
"Be honest, how many people have you killed? And how many has Julius killed."
Violet asked with a straight face. I guess we have diverged from my love for Julius to murder. Though it was better to get clarification earlier if we want to sustain our friendship.
"I don't know. Ten, hundred I don't know. All I know is that I killed my first person when I was 12."
"12!"
Violet repeated after me.
"Yes, I remember it vividly. My grandfather forced me to do it and I remember how scared I was. I cried all day as my grandfather held me as I fell asleep. I had nightmares for weeks. I continuously killed until the nightmares disappeared until killing became natural to me."
Violet was staring at me with her eyes wide open. This was definitely an unexpected development for her.
"Then how was Jules' first experience with killing."
"He was completely fine with it. I recall him telling me that wasn't anything special or anything to be scared of."
I related Jules' experience with murder.
"It was to the point that Veronica had to check his mind to see if was alright. Surprisingly he was completely fine. In terms of the absolute number of kills, he definitely surpasses mine, probably in his hundreds, maybe even reaching a thousand."
To say Violet was shocked was an understatement. I guess I dropped a massive bombshell on her. I should've expected this reaction.
"I can say a thousand different things, but that's not the reason we're here. I'll digest this later, but I guess I should give you the advice you're looking for."
I had to give it to her. Despite her surprise about our bloody lives, she put it aside to help me. I couldn't help but respect her. She definitely had the makings of a Hero.
"If you want to know whether or not he likes you, I would say no. He's probably not interested in any girl, just not interested in any romantic interaction.
"That being said, you should still confess your feelings. It's better than keeping it locked up. Though Julius has changed, I know one part that hasn't- he wouldn't hurt someone for no reason."
"He'll respond truthfully and without lying. But you already know that. You should prepare yourself to get hurt though. Both you and I know what his answer is going to be."
She was right. As soon as she mentioned Julius staying away from us, we both realised it wasn't going to work out.
We both knew he has changed since the start of the year and that change had nothing to do with romance.
But still, I wanted to try. We could be wrong. After all, it was just speculation.