There was a pretty spacious dining area inside the ship.
Of course, it wasn’t luxurious like a high-end passenger ship, but it looked clean. A curious point was that all the tables and chairs were fixed in place. It makes sense being on a ship, but it’s a bummer that when I sit down, the distance between the chair and table feels a bit too far.
The menu wasn’t anything special, so when I ordered, they brought out some meat mixed with flour dishes, bread, and fresh vegetables.
So those first two are fine, but vegetables?
I picked up a piece of vegetable with my fork.
“Don’t you have a storage device in the place you lived?”
“Aren’t you worried about it going bad?”
Storage device?
Digging through Victoria’s memories with that keyword revealed something. By putting a special field on magic power to suppress the flow, various reactions that occur inside are also suppressed, and there’s a technology that preserves various substances by merging it with refrigeration devices.
But I didn’t really understand what that meant.
But seeing the word refrigeration, I guess it’s like a refrigerator.
“Something similar exists.”
“Don’t leave anything.”
What does that mean all of a sudden?
Victoria’s words suddenly twisted, and looking at her, she was staring at a fork with broccoli and asparagus all mixed together.
Ah.
Now that I think about it, picky eating exists. Soo-oh eats well, so I’ve never thought about it.
In the first place, I was never in a position to pick and choose food there anyway.
Thinking that, I brought the food to my mouth.
Nom.
“What’s wrong? You’re eating well.”
“You shouldn’t leave food.”
“You really sound like a mom.”
“Is that so?”
Strictly speaking, Soo-oh wasn’t someone I raised; she was just someone I was with. I might call her family, but I have no intention of taking her real family away.
“I lived with a child for almost two years, so I guess that’s why.”
“That sounds like a headache. Is such a small child raising a child?”
“I didn’t raise her; we just lived together. And back then, I was two heads taller than I am now.”
Choseol was about that size.
She grew taller than her age due to being raised in abnormal conditions. If I hadn’t come in and become the offering, Choseol wouldn’t have lived long.
So after I came in, I cleverly swapped her with something alright.
Victoria devoured her food like a glutton. Then she said,
“You’re really not a person, are you?”
“I told you I’m a monster.”
“You don’t look like one at all.”
Victoria quickly finished her plate and ordered cake and tea.
I thought it had been a while since I had something sweet as I waited for the cake, and what came out was a cake full of cream and chocolate mousse, distinctly American, that made you realize the amount of sugar in it just by glancing at it.
By the looks on Victoria’s face, it seemed this was normal food.
I cut it a bit with the special dish that came with it, and I could feel the sticky sweetness through the dish.
Just a little bit seems like my veins might burst from this.
As I brought it to my mouth, the sweet flavor burst in my mouth.
I took a bite and it was greasy.
I didn’t want to eat anymore, but Victoria was enjoying it.
“Do you have a small appetite?”
“No. Eat more. It must be hard using your powers, right?”
“I’m super hungry.”
Victoria nodded and immediately began to eat.
She was gulping down her tea, just to wash everything down.
I wasn’t really interested in the cake or tea.
Looking back at faded memories, I had liked them to some extent, but I didn’t want to eat with this body. For me, physical pleasures, pains, and even states of nothingness are all the same.
Just like how a player who experiences a panic state in a game with their character doesn’t fall into panic themselves, right?
Seeing Victoria eat more than the average amount, it seemed that her psychic abilities made her hungry too.
In other words, using psychic powers makes you lose weight.
I think this could sell well. But hoping to lose weight like that could lead to your abilities popping out or not getting any at all.
It seems it would take a pathological level to see a change, but until I experiment, who really knows?
So after waiting for Victoria to finish eating, we went back to the room together.
Well, I thought we were heading back.
“Let’s go take a look at the ship.”
Beep beep beep.
Just then, the ship started up again, and the horn sounded.
While we were on our way back, hearing that sound, Victoria suggested something with a spark of inspiration.
Since there wasn’t much to do in the room anyway, I nodded.
“Sure.”
“Let’s go!”
When talking about looking at the ship, one would think of the night view from the window or the brilliantly decorated main hall, but…
Victoria went up to the deck and examined the huge waterwheel at the back.
To be precise, she was looking at the engine that turns the waterwheel.
With sparkling eyes, she observed the mechanical device.
But it seems they’re not using screws here.
Is there some kind of limitation? Considering the technical level, it seems like there shouldn’t be any screws, but strangely there was a wheel-like mechanism installed.
Thinking that, I watched Victoria, who was tiptoeing to get a better view in front of a sign saying “No Entry for General Public.”
That’s when it happened.
Suddenly, a thick hand covered my mouth and grabbed me tightly.
Turning my gaze, I saw three men standing there. They pulled me down toward the lower deck of the ship.
It seemed like a relatively cheap space, equivalent to third class. As soon as we went inside, stale air rushed in.
In the narrowing corridor, they dragged me to the rear of the ship.
It was a rather dark place with loud engine noises. Glancing with my eyes, it looked like a storage area for lifeboats.
A place where few people come and it’s so noisy that even if something made a sound, it would be hard for others to hear.
There were two large men waiting for the three guys who dragged me in.
“Oh, you brought her?”
“Are you sure it’s alright?”
“Yeah. A stowaway is just a stowaway. If something happens to a stowaway on a ship like this, it just gets handled as if nothing ever happened, right?”
“Plus, the person who was with her was just a girl. What could such a girl do besides whine, right?”
One guy mocked the sound of a crying girl, and the others chuckled.
Listening to their conversation, it seems at least one of the guys who brought me was watching me and Victoria boarding the ship.
They seem to know quite a bit.
“Wow, look at how pretty she is. She’s not really the daughter of some great person, right?”
“Look at her clothes. They’re all dirty and look like rags. Would a rich person wear such clothes?”
They ripped off my clothes. The ragged clothes they mentioned were the ones I wore in the second world. Since the fashion is different, it makes sense they would think it looked odd.
“Hey, get your hands off. What, are you so still?”
The guy’s hand dropped away.
“Hello?”
“Is this girl mental?”
Smack.
I greeted them, and they suddenly slapped my cheek. Then, grabbing my hair, they pulled my head close and started narrating their plans.
Uh, well.
Seems healthy. As a living being, anyway.
In a social sense, they were treading on thin ice, but at least it means they chose a victim they couldn’t hurt.
“Hearty girl. Not even a single tear? Or are you too young to understand the situation?”
Around me, five guys all looked down on me, and among them was one girl whom they could do anything to.
I wasn’t naive enough not to understand the situation.
So, I said,
“Don’t you want to live a better life than this?”
“What?”
“Hey, Smith, keep your mouth shut and get it done. Or I’ll go first.”
“No, let’s see what nonsense you’re talking.”
The tacky man, the guy dropping his pants, and the five.
“I mean, for example, that guy over there is limping when he walks. Running is impossible, right? His pelvis is twisted, and the direction of his foot is odd, meaning he must have gotten a serious injury.”
“What, are you playing detective now, little girl?”
Pointing out the first victim that catches my eye. It’s the easiest target to spot when he’s healed.
“If you sign a contract with me, I’ll heal your injury right now. If the injury doesn’t heal, I’ll actively move you.”
Casting my bait of desires, I wait for the man to take it.
“Hey, try it out.”
“Ooh, way to go! Awesome, right? We have nothing to lose!”
“When would we have another chance like this? Give it a shot.”
As the others egged him on, the man scratched his head and stepped forward. Though hidden in the shadows, his face bore a large scar, one that must have been a bad injury that didn’t heal right.
“What do I need to do?”
“I will give myself to you. In exchange, once you finish everything, I’ll receive everything you have. What do you think?”
“Sounds good.”
At that moment, the man’s face cracked. Then his skin started peeling off like pottery, revealing a fair complexion underneath.
Smooth, scar-free skin. And his gait became straight and unawkward.
Anyone could see he moved gracefully, and when he leaped from his seated position, he jumped high enough to hit the ceiling.
“Uh. What’s this?”
“Uh-oh?”
“Brutal?”
The man, whose hair turned purple, stared at his body with a bewildered expression.
I smiled at them and said,
Once again.
“Don’t you want to live a better life than this?”
Now, they all hesitated and moved back from me.
What a shocking event. In this world, it’s hard to easily heal injuries without powerful magic or at least being from the upper class.
“Every single injury will heal.”
I waved my hand at the man named Reason Brutal.
“You’ll become stronger. And smarter.”
I don’t know to what extent, but the fact that it will actually happen is true.
“You guys have a chance for a better life.”
To do more violent deeds, to live in accordance with their desires, and to have the chance to harm many others.
“I’ll only ask one thing from those who sign a contract with me.”
Then I stepped into the center of them.
“To live like a person, doing what you want.”
How delightful it is for the villains to gather.
Those who spring into action to relieve their biological impulses upon having an opportunity.
Those who can easily trample on others.
It’s a perfect harvesting period.
“If you can keep my request, sign a contract with me.”
And
I created a total of 5 harvesting periods today.
So easy.
