Chapter 25

Finally, I’m outside!

It’s kinda chilly since it’s around sunset. There’s mostly just rocks and sand around here, so the temperature difference between day and night must be pretty big.

And I’ve confirmed that the cold outside and the chill piercing my body are totally different things.

If the cold is a long stretch of frost reaching to the tips of my fingers, then what I usually feel is a coldness that bores into the very center of my heart.

I’ve kinda thought before that they might not be the same, but feeling it like this makes me feel weird.

To shake off that feeling, I looked up at the sky.

The sky is dyed with twilight, and to the west, there’s plenty of sunset, with weathered stone pillars sporadically standing tall beneath it.

When I lower my gaze from there, there’s a vast rock desert scattered with rocks much bigger than me and ones smaller than me, lying around randomly. And in between them, sparse trees similar to cactuses stand.

It’s more like the wilderness you see in American movies rather than Middle Eastern deserts.

Seeing the world through human memories and actually experiencing it are different. Compared to when I was human, the colors seem completely different.

Or maybe it’s just that what I see has changed?

I placed my feet on the ground.

And then I hop.

Just a little over a foot high.

It’s not like I’ve suddenly become super strong or anything. I really just need to do some exercises to maintain my body. I stretched while recalling videos I saw back when I was human.

You know, stretching.

There’s someone looking at me with a really strange expression. It’s none other than Hyungkeschuni.

Maybe because it’s chilly, she’s sitting where the sunset shines, but she’s staring at me with an expression full of questions.

“Hyungkeschuni-sama, don’t you exercise?”

Joanna approaches her and asks.

“Huh? Ah, no need for me. This body doesn’t change no matter how much I train.”

She casually answers Joanna. Even though we’ve spent about the same amount of time together, her attitude towards me is different.

Well, yeah, I get why I might look dangerous.

But even if I look dangerous, I haven’t actually done anything bad, right?

Still, they call me an outsider. If I’m gonna be an outsider, maybe I should try something, huh?

Of course, I’m just thinking that way.

After thoroughly loosening my body, I started running at a moderate speed. The area around the village is mostly flat, so it’s perfect for jogging.

At first, Hyungkeschuni was tightly gripping her cane while watching me run, but after a while, she let go of it.

That’s because Joanna, who’s running next to me, is incredibly fast. How can she run that fast?!

I think I’m running at a teenage level, but Joanna is ridiculously quick. Her body must have changed a lot after her transformation.

Of course, I wasn’t unaware of this. Haven’t I been seeing Joanna through Joanna’s eyes until now? At night, she goes to where warriors train and practices with them.

And when I check her stamina and movement abilities during those times, she ranks among the top of those who’ve received my blessings.

What’s odd is that these abilities don’t apply to me, but isn’t that common in fantasy works? Someone uses all their talents to contain another person.

Could it be that kind of situation?

I’m probably quite heavy, so I should understand.

Instead, I think about something else.

I need to figure out how to expand the harvester system going forward.

My main goal has been achieved splendidly, and things are progressing better than ever.

Every day, I bless three people.

And after receiving my blessing, they undergo a bit of training before heading to the battlefield.

In doing so, I notice something.

The country Hieronymus seems to harbor resentment toward is likely the Ansellus Kingdom to the southeast.

At first glance, it seems he evenly sends people to the three largest kingdoms around here, but there are disproportionately more people leaving with specific missions compared to those simply liberating oppressed regions or converting others.

Additionally, among those who return successfully, many who received blessings in exchange for their devotion to the Future Hope Church come from the Ansellus Kingdom.

He’s definitely not an ordinary person.

He’s meticulously gathering information and preparing for something.

But he hasn’t told me anything. He knows I’m not the god Cruxshibal, yet our contract remains. So I’ll move as he uses me. Nothing more.

If I were smarter, I could figure out Hieronymus’s purpose by now and make a deal with him.

If I were even smarter, I could manipulate Hieronymus to do what I want.

Unfortunately, I lack that ability.

Attempting recklessly would likely result in immediate death.

So I keep my head down and eat the food he gives. I don’t want to irritate him and end up back in that cold place.

Besides, he has the ability to replace me.

Hmm? Wait a second. Something just crossed my mind.

Replacement?

No, that’s right. He called me.

Even though it was like fishing, he had the technology to bring me into this world.

Apparently, he originally intended to summon something else.

Which means, if specified, he can summon me.

Even after the Future Hope Church falls, there will still be a way to summon me.

A way to bring me here.

This is it.

Haha.

Yeah, I’ve found my next goal.

Until now, every time I blessed someone, it was like scattering seeds and praying they grow however they please.

It’s less like farming and more like ants leaving seeds behind to collect later—except some ants actually farm fungi to eat.

Compared to that, this is just gathering. After all, harvesters are meant to harvest.

So what happens if I scatter seeds and they don’t grow?

Thus, I need to prepare for such eventualities.

A way to bring me back to this world.

Someone who might know this is guessable.

Hyungkeschuni and Hieronymus.

But both are highly wary of me.

Then how can I make a contract with them?

I need to think carefully about this.

And it became difficult to continue thinking further.

Because I face-planted onto the ground. I must’ve stepped wrong.

Oof.

Thud!

“Rebecca-sama!”

As I fell to the ground, Joanna, who was running ahead of me, rushed over urgently. Hyungkeschuni, who was sitting far away, also approached me with her cane.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. I lost my balance.”

I placed my hand on my chest. My heart is spinning vigorously. It doesn’t beat; I replaced it because it was too noisy when I first entered this body.

Though I’ve grown accustomed to the sounds of my body now.

There’s no need to change it again since I already did. Is there a problem with my heart?

Examining my body, aside from grazed knees and hands from falling, there are no injuries. Both my heart and blood vessels are functioning without any unusual noises.

Joanna panics so much that Hyungkeschuni places her hand on Joanna’s waist as she approaches.

“Calm down, Joanna.”

Then she came closer to me.

“You’ve scraped your hands and knees. So, you’re injured like humans.”

“Don’t you remember? This body is human.”

I am inside Rebecca Rolfe’s body.

“I know. Well, I thought I did, but I didn’t expect you to make such a mistake.”

Hmm?

Hyungkeschuni carefully examines my hands.

Then she turns around and rummages through her waist. Through the cloth, I see a small bag. She pulls out a bandage and a blue bottle.

Hyungkeschuni opens the blue bottle and sprinkles its contents on my wound.

It stings.

That’s what the flesh says.

She sprinkles it on my palms and knees, then wraps the bandage around them.

Her expression is half research, half compassion.

Hehe.

Indeed.

Now that I’m injured, do I seem more human? Do I have the ability to empathize with someone else’s wounds?

Boring.

Joanna beside me relaxes after watching Hyungkeschuni treat me. If you think of children, it’s educationally better to brush off such minor injuries.

But that’s not appropriate advice for Joanna, who lost her child before holding it in her arms.

And I’m not Joanna’s child either.

Of course, it might just be worry for someone they care about who got hurt!

I examine the slightly yellow bandage on my palm. It’s not dirty; it’s just this color.

Or does bleach processing happen afterward? Or is it the difference between hemp and flax? I only vaguely know these things, so I can’t tell.

They might not even be the same species anyway.

But at least the concept of disinfection exists, so I shouldn’t worry too much about infection—or maybe whether infection is even possible here.

“Alright, done. Does it hurt?”

“It tingles.”

“Yeah. That’s normal. It’s medicine. But it’ll heal quickly, so don’t worry about injuring your body.”

With that, I nodded. Now the emotion directed at me has almost turned into pity.

Then her expression stiffens as if something occurs to her.

“Will you continue this exercise despite being injured?”

She asked me like this, seemingly troubled by something.

I nod.

“I’ll continue. I’ll be more careful next time not to get injured.”

How will Hyungkeschuni react to that?

“Okay. Be careful. Will you come out at this time every day?”

She seems slightly relieved. In other words, it means I should continue coming out. So, is she trying to observe my interactions with others?

Or is she trying to find someone attempting to interact with me?

Either way, it sounds interesting.

Still, it’s getting a bit too dark now.

We should shift the timing earlier to avoid confusion.

“After fulfilling my contract with Hieronymus.”

“Fulfilling? Oh, you mean blessings. Alright, understood.”

That means she’ll relay this to Hieronymus.

Right after my conversation with Hyungkeschuni ended, Joanna picked me up and headed toward the room.

I don’t know what this person is thinking either.

While observing her expression in her embrace, I think about that.

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