"Roland-kun?"
On another ordinary morning, Roland was walking back to his apartment when a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. Turning around, he saw Kotomine Kirei, who had just run down the hill.
After their chance encounter that day, the two of them became just running friends. All they knew about each other was their names and identities in society.
Although influenced by past prejudices, Roland had to admit that it was a pleasant experience to get along with Kotomine Kirei, even though he was full of curiosity about what Roland had said that day. The other party's depressed and cautious personality also prevented Kotomine Kirei from making any unnecessary moves.
At this time, he would neither impose his desires on others nor do anything offensive, such as inquiring about identities or even asking questions like checking a household registration book. He maintained a wonderful sense of distance.
For Roland, who doesn't have a very high sense of security, this way of getting along is perfect.
"Ah, sorry, Kotomine-kun, we have a lot of shifts scheduled these two days. It seems that the store manager is being transferred."
"This means that Roland-kun will be promoted, which should be a good thing."
Kotomine Kirei couldn't understand why he was happy about the promotion. He was the kind of weirdo who treated everything other than his goal as worthless. He would do it, but wouldn't feel sorry if it was discarded.
But he still tried his best to understand the meaning of this passage from the perspective of common sense.
"Rather than a promotion, I still hope the store manager can find another part-time worker as soon as possible. I have a shift to work on, so I'm leaving first, Kotomine-kun."
Roland curled his lips and did not comment too much on this matter.
All he needs is a suitable identity. Unlike Kira Yoshikage, who is very concerned about his image and uses luxurious brand names for clothing and other items, his material desires are quite low.
"I see."
Kotomine Kirei nodded and left in silence. This was the current relationship between the two. Although he was full of doubts, Kotomine Kirei had always been a serious person, even more so when facing the answers he was pursuing.
For a confused man like him, guidance is necessary to find the answer. In order to obtain this guidance and truth, he can disregard the will of his father and master and give up all the external things he has in the world.
Therefore, he was very cautious about whether the other party could give an answer. In the past few days, not only Roland was observing him, but he was also observing Roland.
Although there is no information about Roland, since I have him as a reference, these are useless.
He believed in his own judgment. His father and his master were both people who lived by the correct rules and were integrated into the secular world. But through observation over the past few days, Kotomine Kirei was convinced that this young man named Roland was different.
He is very self-disciplined and has good time management. Even in a short conversation, he can make shocking remarks on politics, economics, and the roots of social phenomena. The same goes for his actions. On the first day, he was like a beginner, but in the next few days he gradually adjusted to the most standard posture. There was no disorder in his breathing rhythm, and there was no problem using him as a textbook demonstration.
This excellence between his speech and actions cannot be concealed. There is no doubt that Roland has extraordinary abilities, but he feels almost isolated from the world. He does not care about the recognition and wealth that most people would be happy about, nor does he have the ambition that comes with excellent abilities.
In general, if we only look at lifestyle, Roland is very similar to me.
But he is fundamentally different from himself. He is full of enthusiasm, joy, and vitality as if he has found his goal.
Halfway through the walk, Kotomine Kirei suddenly turned around and looked at Roland, who had already left the street long ago, without even a trace of him left.
It was certain that Roland had found the answer.
For the first time in his life, Kotomine Kirei felt a sense of throbbing in his heart. He had never had this feeling when facing his father's recognition, at the wedding, or when he had offspring, but Kotomine Kirei's heart told him clearly.
He wanted to get rid of this loneliness, to end this depression, and to have a companion who could understand him...
——He wanted to become friends with the man named Roland.
————
"strangeness?"
Roland, who paid great attention to time management, arrived at the store a little early. When he entered the lounge, he suddenly paused.
He frowned, a look of vigilance appeared on his face, and his sharp eyes looked around.
After a long while, Roland showed a confused expression after confirming that there was no one around except the store manager who was yawning behind the counter.
It was not known whether it was due to the increase in vitality and mental strength after becoming a Stand User, or the intuition brought by good luck, but Roland would occasionally feel a certain premonition.
And what he noticed just now was exactly this signal.
It wasn't the sense of danger that came from being targeted by a hunter, but a strange intuition that I was in trouble.
"Have you been entangled by some terrible guy?"
Roland didn't think any more and went into the lounge to start preparing for work.
Soon, before business hours started, the store manager kept his promise and brought in new people to reduce Roland's burden.
"Roland-kun, this is the new person who will be working with you starting today, Uryu Ryunosuke. Although Uryuu-kun has some part-time work experience, you are his senior after all, so please take care of him in your future work."
"Hello, Senpai Roland, I am Ryuunosuke Uryuu, please give me your guidance."
"Please advise me."
Although he did not intend to attribute the previous encounter to an unrepeatable coincidence, Roland still showed a rather complicated expression when faced with this situation.
Although I have heard that Ryuunosuke Uryuu seems to regard his evil deeds as artistic creations and himself as an artist, apart from creating works, he earns his daily expenses by working part-time. He firmly sticks to his perverted identity as a serial killer and feels superior to robbers.
But seeing this scene in person, there is still a sense of absurdity. He clearly has the talent of a professional killer, but instead of going out into the other world to make a name for himself, he is content to stay in a convenience store and work honestly?
Is this something a perverted murderer should do?
After a brief conversation, Ryuunosuke Uryuu wisely got back to work, leaving the space for Roland and the store manager.
"How is it? Pretty good, right? I was a little surprised during the interview, but I didn't expect that although he was dressed a little fancy, Uryuu-kun was actually very enthusiastic and very easy to get along with."
"I have no doubt about that. A few days ago, he lent me 100 yen to help me when I was in trouble."
"Yeah, I said that?"
The store manager patted his chest happily, "Uryuu-kun's personality is very suitable for Fuyuki City. Fuyuki was once famous for its simple folk customs. Oh, I'm so lucky to meet you two when I need to find someone."
Ignoring the manager who was still sighing, Roland lowered his eyes and moved his fingers impatiently. The nails on his hands, which had been neatly trimmed just yesterday, were now growing another centimeter at a slow and steady pace, like new buds.