Ding dong! “The weekday has returned!”
There’s only one day that could be called a weekend, so it feels super quick! Whoosh!
Actually, it’s weird to have a weekend at all. There are more worlds without days off. Boom!
Anyway, I’m in the middle of class right now. Tap, tap!
It’s a history class, but it feels so edited that I wonder if it counts as history at all. Hmm…
They explain wars without mentioning the reasons for them, and suddenly years just vanish while saying one country invaded another! Poof!
Of course, many countries were obliterated, leaving nothing behind. But really, there’s a lot lacking to qualify it as history! Sigh…
Still, there’s some interesting stuff. There’s a story about a hero who actually defeated the Demon Lord in the history book we learned last semester. Wahhh!
Surprisingly, he didn’t get stabbed and die like a useless hunting dog after becoming a king but lived happily running a restaurant! The textbook mentions that he cooked delicious dishes based on the food he tasted while crossing the continent, and it’s actually hilarious! Ha ha!
Anyway, after this history class filled with tons of readings about the distant past, it’s lunchtime! Chomp, chomp!
“What the heck did you do yesterday?”
Victoria drops a newspaper in front of me. Looks like my incident, where I created a harvesting process in the slums, made the front page! Wowza!
There’s a pic from afar of me, kneeling with a crowd waiting for their turn. Cough, cough!
It reads something like “A saint who emerged in modern times.” Dun dun dun!
This isn’t how the Dormiens Royal Family wanted it portrayed, but here we are. They were working hard to remove the religious aspect; maybe this newspaper will shut down soon? Swoosh!
But, surprisingly, this paper is quite famous among those who know most of my harvesting process. I mean, it’s known in Bern City too! Buzzz!
Or maybe there’ll be a correction article since many people seem to like it. Tick-tock!
“I gave myself to those who wanted me.”
“What does that even mean?”
Victoria raises an eyebrow, confused. I can’t fathom why she doesn’t get what I’m saying at this point. Scratching head!
“Don’t you remember the contract?”
“I remember it vividly, but what I want to know is why you went to that kind of place all of a sudden.”
I could answer right away, but I asked to play up my image of being clueless about the world. Nervous giggle!
“That kind of place?”
“The slums are dangerous.”
Yeah, I know it’s generally a risky place. It’s definitely a spot where people die, somewhere you shouldn’t step into if you’re in your right mind! Yikes!
When you travel, you avoid areas with poor security to protect yourself, right? Travel tips!
But you know, Victoria…
“That place is where people scream out who want to live but can’t, just like you that day.”
She was in the same state as the Sahaquin, waiting for death. The girl who wanted to become a windup knight did what she could until the moment her life was in danger. Gasp!
Sure, she ultimately failed at the last moment, but she took down the nest. After that, she was just waiting for death, filled with despair and resignation. Sigh…
“Ah, um… right.”
Victoria scratches her head. It’s not the girliest action, but it’s clearly a wound deep inside from that day. Ouch!
She might seem like a special forces operative on the outside, but the human heart is far more complex than that. Heartstrings!
I clench my arms, feeling like they’re about to get skinned. Victoria is still underage. Yikes!
“Were you out there to rescue people?”
Victoria looks at my hands and then raises her gaze to me.
Rescue people? I guess it appears that way, huh? But the reality is the opposite, since taking warmth means robbing all that soul’s potential! Creepy!
Taking warmth is that kind of deal.
To put it simply, it’s like executing experiments on those fallen from society under the pretext of healing them. Yikes!
“No, that’s something they need to sort out themselves. I just made some sweet nonsense that they could still dream!”
I split the harvesting process in half; one for Daegon, the other for the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. I slice their memories and stuff them in. I’m just like, “Do what you want!” But do you know?
Most people live without dreams. They don’t even know what they want! Lost!
But what if something pours into that void?
Wouldn’t that become a dream? Sparkle!
It’s all deceit. Speak on the surface, and always be cautious in actions. Whisper!
Keep things from being caught. If caught, “This person was just too nice,” you know? Wink!
By the way, when I say “nice,” I just interpret it as giving me benefits. Hehe!
I gather many people within me. The first world handled over a hundred million souls, so a mere few thousand becoming harvests won’t shatter the world just yet. Plop!
Even if kids are born, the contract doesn’t switch over to them, I remain the one. So if I add them without permission, I can. But I won’t automatically switch. Hickory dickory dock!
Put simply, it means one can always choose not to add. That’s how I’m thinking of managing descendants of the harvesting process. Calculating!
“You say it’s empty words…”
“It’s the truth!”
Yeah, that’s true.
I let go of Victoria’s hand. Most of the people in the harvesting process seem happy, as if they’ve received a new life. But they’ll learn quickly.
Nothing has really changed. Nada!
Unless you were someone missing limbs or with severe scars, most people haven’t changed much. Womp womp!
Sure, their bodies feel better and they’re sharper, but flipping their position in an advanced society in an instant is tough. The walls separating classes get taller as time goes on. Wall of Jericho!
Unless it’s like a second world where brute force is all you need, but in a world where killing is the norm, climbing higher will just change the tool for killing from a knife to a person! Dun dun dunnnn!
Anywhere is fine.
What’s important is the very memory of having someone lend a hand to lift them up. The truly hopeless succumb to reality without warmth! Sniff!
But if they see hope, people can strive! They can do anything to improve, no matter how cowardly or dirty it may be! Go, go, go!
That’s why false hope is great! Ta-da!
From a moral standpoint, there’s absolutely no issue. I simply told them a nice story about dreaming! Sparkle!
I stand proud.
Yet, explaining why it’s empty words is tough. Since I must only tell the truth, I could err somewhere. So I slightly twist the topic. Wiggle wiggle!
“Victoria, you’re also out there chasing your dream, right? You seem busy these days. How’s the life been?”
I ask about what Victoria did while we weren’t together. Sure, I can see it from her perspective, so I know everything she’s up to, but it’d be weird to know things I shouldn’t. Peek-a-boo!
That’s why I sneakily gather info ahead of time. Ninja!
“Me? I met with a teacher from Windup Knight school yesterday. I decided to learn what I can from both teachers here!” Exciting!
Victoria glances up at the sky for a moment. Looky!
“But it’s like going to two schools, and that’ll work out if I try hard enough. The teachers were super helpful, so I’ll do my best.” Cheerleader mode!
There are really so many good people out there.
The Royal Academy teachers and the Windup Knight school teachers.
There’s surely some difference among them, but when Victoria said she wanted to, they both were happy and considered her. Aww!
Honestly, the Windup Knight school teachers are more accommodating since Victoria used to be a diligent student. But the Royal Academy teachers are a real surprise! Surprise!
In all honesty, she’s learning from others, right? Eureka!
Or perhaps she just entered the good timing of having such a teacher!
It’s not destined for Victoria either.
Without me, she would’ve died there. Wham!
Maybe while I’m here, the perfect environment is being forged in Bern City. A society that uses people like fuel. Zing!
It’s so radical that it’d bring about doom at some point, but at least it’ll exist until the moment when efficiency is dismissed. Tick, tick!
Considering that, it might have been better if Victoria had died there. Sigh…
Hmm… No.
If so, I wouldn’t be able to approach the Dormiens Royal Family to turn that princess into a harvesting process; it wasn’t all bad. I guess. Shrug!
And maybe…
Just maybe, if I’m part of that grand thread of fate…
I’ll wreck that fate no matter what. For having thrust me to the bottom, and letting me shiver in the cold?
I won’t forgive it. Grrr!
“Bell, your expression is scary. What’s up? You don’t want to part with me or something?”
“Just got lost in thought for a moment.” Blink!
I was about to talk about fate, but I swallowed that. This isn’t something to say to a person. Nod!
“I’m worried that if this goes on, Victoria won’t make a single friend. Is there time to meet friends while studying?”
Victoria winces a bit at a sore spot. Bump!
“Ah, no, studying is important, right? I can make friends later. Yeah, you’re rooting for my dream, so it should be okay. Maybe…”
She’s just making excuses. Oops!
Looks like she realizes it’s a problem. Maybe it’d be better if she headed over to Polaris for a factory job. Twink!
The main job seems more about killing than being a Windup Knight, though. Yikes!
Huh? Wouldn’t that be better for me? Blink!
“How about going to meet Polaris, Victoria?”
So I casually asked. Victoria shook her head with a sullen expression. Nuh-uh!
“I turned it down already, and before doing that, I want to see what I can do! When test time hits, I’ll probably be screaming for help…”
“If you’re prepared for that, then go right ahead!”
Then Victoria poked my cheek with her finger. Poke!
“Annoying! So what about you? What do you want to do now that you’ve been here for a while?”
Hmm…
Seems there’s a half-truth in that! Hmm…
“I need warmth. Always. So I’m constantly working toward getting warmth. What happened in that newspaper is part of that!”
Victoria tilts her head, puzzled. Huh?
“Warmth?”
“When the time comes that a person does what they want and dies, I’d just take the final warmth that’s left.”
Using confusing sentences, I simply state the facts. I twist words to make them think it’s something entirely different. Twist-a-twist!
“No matter where you go in the future, no matter where you are, I will be with you until you die.”
“No, I have to get married and all that later! I can’t be with you forever!”
Ah, right. My words might be misinterpreted like that! In this case, I should clarify! Ding!
“Even if this body dies and disappears, I will still be with you.”
She looks at me with a shocked expression, her worry trickling in is cute. Awww!
“I don’t want you to die before me!”
“This body is just a vessel. I myself cannot die, so there’s no need to worry.”
Victoria gazes at me with mixed emotions that are hard to articulate. Hmm!
“Is that what they call a god?”
“Then how about I call myself an outsider as others do?”
I joke lightly and stand up from the table. Ta-da!
If I linger too long, the next class will start! So, lunchtime has ended! Ding ding ding!
