The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 154: Nothing is going smoothly (9)

Polaris turned her gaze from me and directed it at Victoria.

"Tori, what kind of magic was that? I couldn’t feel any mana at all, but it was the same as when the floor got wet earlier, right?"

Her voice, which had been talking to me until now, was filled with an overwhelming excitement as she looked at Victoria. She immediately used a nickname for her. She's quite the person, getting closer so quickly.

Victoria looked at me with an expression of great embarrassment. Even though she looked at me like that, there was nothing I could do.

"Is it really a superpower like they showed on the broadcast? What else can you do?"

Polaris moved in closer.

Victoria hesitated and started explaining.

"Yes. A superpower. The only thing I can control is water."

Victoria raised a thin stream of water from the air. Polaris stared at it closely.

"There's no mana, after all. So that means it's not magic. Hmm. A superpower that’s easy to use, even in a city with little mana? That’s scary."

Victoria tilted her head at Polaris' words.

"Scary? It’s nothing compared to magic, right?"

Polaris chuckled and poked Victoria's chest above her heart with her index finger.

"It's not the superpower that’s scary. It’s you, Tori. You’re thinking of burying me, aren’t you? I could feel the murderous intent."

At those words, Victoria subtly turned her head away, avoiding Polaris' gaze. Then Polaris straightened her shoulders.

"See? You're a rare type of kid. And with this kind of power. Are you interested in becoming a knight? You’d be nobility, and I could help you a lot, you know?"

From a commoner to a knight. In a society still bound by class systems, it’s a good opportunity. But Victoria shook her head.

"A knight is a knight, but my dream is to be a clockwork knight. If you want another knight, look for someone else."

"How about I give you a factory?"

At Polaris' casual offer, Victoria’s expression became intrigued. Then she shook her head violently, rejecting it, and Polaris chuckled.

"What a pity. If you change your mind, come to the Barrington Marquis house. If I still like you by then, I won’t hold back on the support."

Polaris gave a brief nod and headed back toward the building.

"She’s a stormy person. But I don’t think she’s a bad person. When she mentioned a colleague quitting, her voice dropped, so it seems like she was trying to help Bell," Victoria said.

"Really?" I asked.

"It was funny how she was wary of the prince just because he talked to you," Victoria said.

"I think so too."

It seems like there was a bloody conflict with someone from the same grade as the prince. Even if you need a benefactor, using them as bait is a sign of passing the harvest period. If I leave that aside, it doesn’t matter much.

"Now, are you going to Shiodor?"

Victoria cautiously asked while looking at me. Instead of answering, I slightly changed the subject.

"I didn’t know Shiodor was like that."

"You met him last time, didn’t you? Didn’t you know then?"

"He was sitting the whole time. I just thought that’s how people in high ranks are, so I didn’t pay attention."

In every world, I was close to an outsider, so this kind of attention is new for me.

As long as this world has a body, it's not like I watch from the harvest period—I’m in this world, not outside it.

I could just gather the warmth that spilled over as I followed the flow. But can I create the flow?

It feels like realizing while playing a simulation game that you can go inside and become the player.

I want to act like I have no ego until I establish my base. But I don’t think I’ll get this opportunity often.

Hmm.

When have I ever been one to question everything? I’ve always just focused on one goal and done what I could along the way.

I’ll just deal with things as they come this time too.

Changing the topic, instead of asking more about Shiodor, Victoria started grumbling.

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"Why did I suddenly end up entering the Royal Academy and end up like this?"

"From the perspective of accepting prominent people without rejecting them, it should be seen as open-minded."

You’d need to know the history and current international situation to understand that properly. But I don’t know that. The memories in my harvest period hardly contain any information about foreign countries.

At best, I only know rumors of big events or the small fact that the food there was good.

If I make Shiodor that person in the harvest period, I think I could get some good information.

But I won’t make contact.

It’s not a difficult situation at all. Using facts as a weapon makes you dependent on those facts. As strong as they are, they come with limitations.

And if the goal is to treat the handicap, they’ll come to us first, so let’s take the initiative here.

"Hey, is Bell smart?"

"No. I’m not very smart. I know a lot, so I’m confident in interpreting, but I can’t make new things or predict things with the knowledge I have. In short, I lack creativity."

Interpreting the things in front of me based on the information I’ve accepted is one thing, but predicting the future is a whole different function.

But Victoria seemed to disagree.

"You should apologize to those aspiring clockwork knights for not even being able to make simple interpretations."

"I’ll memorize it well," I replied.

"No matter how much you memorize, it won’t work!" she retorted.

It turns out she was talking about herself. Victoria was grumbling.

Was memorizing really that hard?

I rummaged through my faded memories.

I do have memories of struggling with memorization. In other words, being good at memorizing means being smart too. Even if I have knowledge, it’s frustrating how I can’t create something new with it.

"We’ll say that the person who can create something with that is amazing."

"Even a monster envies what it doesn’t have..."

It seems like Victoria had an epiphany as she stared blankly at the air.

It’s true that you’re more aware of what you’re lacking. Once envy sticks, it’s hard to shake off.

So, I’ve been in an environment where it’s easy to gather warmth, and I’d actually recommend it.

Anyway.

"Let’s go home now."

"You mean the dormitory? I’ve got somewhere to stop by, so I can’t go with you."

Victoria is busy preparing to become a clockwork knight.

"Ah, right. Where are you living now, Bell?"

Victoria asked the valid question. So I pointed toward the front gate of the Royal Academy.

"I live in the building just to the left of the main gate, based on the main street."

"Left of the main gate? Oh, that one."

She seemed to remember after recalling it. The clockwork knight school is also in the capital, like the Royal Academy. Moreover, since Victoria had been around this area, she could probably recall it.

"So, what do you do when you go back to your room, Bell? Do you watch videos? You don’t cook or clean or anything, right?"

Victoria was asking about my actions at her house. So I shook my head.

"Those things are done by the people working inside. I just go into my room and sit still."

"You don’t do anything else?"

"No. There’s no need to."

Victoria looked at me with a worried expression.

"Don’t you get bored?"

"It passes quickly."

I have over 10,000 harvest periods. In other words, there are that many channels. I can’t just watch one; I watch them all at the same time. And that’s still the case.

So, there’s no time to get bored.

If I had to describe it, it’s like watching a very short edited video while lying on a bed in a faded memory.

Human life is basically a comedy from a distance, so I enjoy watching it.

So far, the only warmth I’ve gathered has been from harvesters who died under construction materials, but one day, I’ll get a lot of warmth.

Of course, it’s not just from humans; even killing animals brings warmth.

But that's still insufficient. Slaughtering livestock brings almost no warmth. In fact, insects on the roadside have more warmth than those animals.

That probably means those kinds of livestock are inherently closed off in terms of potential.

Of course, there are many other creatures. On the small harbor, I watched the jungle as I was heading to Vern City.

There were plenty of creatures with a lot of warmth there. If I clear that out and develop it, I could gather a lot of warmth at that moment.

However, ultimately, human warmth is the most efficient. Even if monsters have more warmth individually, humans still have more warmth in terms of density.

From an efficiency standpoint, humans are the best candidates for harvest periods.

"It passes quickly? Does that mean time feels faster as you age? You sound like an old woman. Ah, by the way, how old are you?"

"When you age, time feels like it passes faster."

Accepting that as the truth, Victoria made a horrified expression.

"Wow, if that’s the case, I don’t want to age. Does that mean time will go by faster when I have more to do?"

"Don’t worry. I won’t age much anymore."

I said, pointing at Victoria.

When someone becomes a harvester, those who were once old become young again, and the young ones age slower. Missing hair grows back, and traces of age disappear.

"Really?"

"Yes. You can think of it as your lifespan doubling."

Of course, from the next generation, it resets, but if I include myself, it extends.

"Bell, you're amazing."

At that, I smiled.

That’s why people cling to me. Everyone ages, and old bodies break down. If you can revert it to how it was, many people would pay any price for it.

King Hipion will definitely come to find me.

Hehe.

But before that, there’s one problem I have to face.

The witch who cursed Aurora.

She might see me as an enemy and attack. I welcome the attack itself. But what worries me is this.

The witch was quick on the uptake. Like Hyeongkesun.

After falling to the ground, I couldn’t turn into a monster and disappeared. Not every human who falls becomes my kind.

That witch had been suspicious of me from the first world.

And she almost reached the truth.

The dark side of the harvest period. The real danger no one knows. The reason I’m inherently a wicked monster.

What will happen if the witch figures it out?

At that point, I might need to use my aggressive forces.

Or, if I can’t get anything and get chased out, it might be better to break this third world and get warmth.

I’ll list some choices I can make and wait.

"If you expect that, you’ll regret it. Victoria."

Then, I moved toward the main gate, and Victoria waved her hand, saying she was going to the faculty office and we parted ways.

The day passed quickly.