Evening.
Joanna suggested to Hieronymus that she wanted a room with a window. So, Hieronymus and Joanna wandered around late into the night looking for a decent room.
And I discovered something interesting.
Joanna’s night vision is quite impressive.
The moment I realized this was when Hieronymus was examining the room. He was fumbling around as if he were in a pitch-dark place, unable to see anything.
In a room that was brightly lit by moonlight.
Well, to be precise, it wasn’t fully illuminated by moonlight, since the moon visible from the window was a crescent.
It wasn’t that bright of a night. Maybe Joanna already knew this, as she immediately found a small lamp and turned it on.
I thought I knew everything, but there were surprises.
The world seems much brighter compared to Joanna’s memories. However, I didn’t expect the difference to be this stark.
In other words, what I see might not be exactly what someone else feels.
I need to be careful about this.
I may think I know everything, but I might end up realizing different things later.
Seeing through someone else’s gaze, I mustn’t fall into the illusion of knowing everything about them. The moment I forget this could be when I’ve completely lost interest in others.
After checking five different rooms, I picked one. Joanna tidied it up all by herself.
Hieronymus offered to have someone help her, but Joanna declined.
So, throughout the night, Joanna cleaned up the place alone, bringing in necessary items by herself. There’s a materials storage, after all. She carried large wardrobes and beds all by herself.
Hasn’t she gotten stronger since the first time I saw her?
As she finished arranging the room alone, dawn broke from afar. The sunlight shone into the room that Joanna had cleaned.
And through a life-sized mirror hanging on one side of the room, I could see Joanna’s reflection.
Beyond the light, in Joanna’s memories, was a girl from long ago. Her hair was purple, her skin blue, and her light brown eyes had turned yellow, while the whites had turned black, making her look a bit less human.
Is she thinking about that time?
Joanna stared at the mirror for a while without any special reaction before she started moving again.
She prepared my breakfast and simultaneously made her own meal. She eats a considerable amount. It seems like she eats four times what I do.
I may not be eating enough, but when my stomach is full, it becomes bothersome. So I don’t force myself to eat. I wondered if I might be eating too little, so I looked at the body of Rebecca Rolfe, who was still asleep.
She isn’t emaciated at all.
Only missing six days of food doesn’t make one wither away. In fact, she seems to have gained weight. She was bound in chains and unable to eat anything until she became an offering.
Of course, since it’s only been about two days, she’s slightly thin, but she’s not skeletal. And she was gruesomely killed, having her heart ripped out by a strange device.
Then when she opened her eyes next, I was there.
I regenerated. However, when I first entered, the sounds from a human body were so jarring that I replaced the loudest noise—the heartbeat.
Even now, Rebecca Rolfe’s heart doesn’t beat. Instead, a sphere connected to the blood vessels spins and pushes blood at a constant rate.
It’s amazing that there are no issues. Or maybe it’s already in pieces and I’m just forcing it to move.
But that’s a thought for later.
After all, I have no means to repair it if it breaks.
So, let’s pass on that.
How much does entering a human body change it?
I have more to learn.
Let’s organize it once.
Main goal: Harvesting Period Production.
Currently 4 operating.
Future production plans possible.
Secondary goals: Checking improvement stats of the harvesting device.
Vision, strength, endurance, regeneration, special flames.
This needs to be confirmed gradually as I increase the number of harvesting devices. There’s a chance each one could gain different abilities, like special abilities.
This is related to my warmth.
Then there’s the goal related to the Future Hope Church.
Understanding the relationship between Hieronymus and Andrew.
Is this a struggle between the current leader and his aspiring second-in-command? I have no idea what past they might share to get to this point.
I’m fine either way. Hieronymus could lead the Future Hope Church as a formidable force, projecting the harvesting device toward other nations.
But it’s also fine if there’s a split with Andrew and they start fighting among themselves. Given how powerful my harvesting device is, whoever acquires me will likely demand me to churn them out.
Hehe.
No matter how much I’m squeezed in when making the harvesting devices, it feels like nothing decreases. In other words, I still have no sense of any population limitations. So I should make as many as I can.
Of course, a third possibility will likely emerge.
I’m excited.
And the sixth day of waking time is approaching.
I greet Joanna as she enters.
“Good morning, Joanna.”
“Yes, good morning, Rebecca.”
I get up, wash up, eat breakfast, and change clothes. I can summon the dark purple mist to make clothes like before, but I’ve postponed that.
If I use it too often, Hieronymus might react sharply.
After saying that, Joanna talks about moving rooms. When she asks if it’s okay to move now, I tell her to go ahead.
Then Joanna bows to me before leaving the room.
I wonder if she can find where Hieronymus is?
Joanna’s steps are filled with confidence.
How does she know? Could I find out where Hieronymus is by meticulously digging through Joanna’s memories?
As I’m skimming through the memories I gained from Joanna again, the door opens.
Did I just misjudge the timing? I thought.
However, what came in was a small girl.
Well, it’s easy to mistake, especially since both Hieronymus and Joanna are on the taller side for women. But she’s not that small.
She’s just slightly shorter than me?
I know her name.
Hyungkesuni.
A girl with silver hair and a small stature, holding a solid staff, her expression is one of suppressed misfortune.
“Hello, Hyungkesuni.”
“Oh, hey. Hello, Rebecca Rolfe.”
She spoke while tightly gripping her staff. I can see her trembling faintly? She appears to be very scared of me.
Did something happen for her to be scared of me? But that doesn’t seem likely. Then, did she suffer something terrible from Hieronymus?
Considering I don’t know the details, that’s a possibility.
However, for someone who’s been abused, she seemed surprisingly bold when we first met.
I stood up from my seat.
Immediately, tension tightened in Hyungkesuni’s grip. Unpleasant energy started to emanate from inside her. Unlike me, who spills out energies from above, it seems like she’s pulling something from her own pocket inside.
There are plenty of creations filled with mana, dantian, and contained power. Did she pull something from those? Or it could be from the realm of the soul.
But it doesn’t seem like it’s emitting light, does it? Right now, I’m speculating that soul and light might not be the same.
Anyway, it’s clear she’s quite tense. So instead of approaching, I decided to keep my distance.
“What are you doing right now?”
I noticed she hesitated when I asked, her voice trembling. I pressed myself against the wall to peek around her.
“Hyungkesuni seems to be afraid of me.”
She flinched.
Perhaps it sent chills down her spine as Hyungkesuni trembled all over.
Oh, what a mistake. Should I have held back the information about being able to read emotions for later? A creature that can gauge people is certainly scarier than one that can’t.
Because it means I can deal with people.
I’d like to calm her down, but since I’m already enforcing a pet-like meta, I can’t really use too much intelligent language.
So I keep it simple.
“So, you avoided me.”
Hyungkesuni chuckles nervously.
“Ah, no need for that. From now on, I’ll be looking after you too. I have to put in effort as well. Okay.”
She’s trying to fool herself with a desperate laugh from her fear. What’s pushing her like that?
There seems to be some intention behind it.
In that case, I’ll use it.
Like an idiot, I’ll approach her.
“Smiling means you’re okay, right?”
Of course, I know Hyungkesuni is afraid. But I’m judging based on appearances, pretending to be indifferent to others’ emotions. I move closer.
The more I approach, the cuter her resolve to brace herself becomes.
The light is somewhat faded, but there’s a considerable glow in her chest. Still, the warmth is quite low.
If possible, I feel like I could draw out more warmth. Since the opportunity is here, I might as well experiment with that.
I stood right in front of Hyungkesuni. So close I could feel her breath.
There’s a private area around faces, but I deliberately breached that space.
Yes. Now Hyungkesuni is flustered. Her confusion and tension amplify her trembling.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Now, what’s the appropriate answer here? She’s a creature utterly clueless about humans, so she could very well take offense.
I reached out with one hand and pressed it against Hyungkesuni’s cheek. It’s amusing to feel the grim energy lurking beneath her pale skin. Is it really that scary?
“Isn’t this how you treat a child?”
“Ooops, who did you learn that from?”
“Rebecca Rolfe did it like this.”
Yes. Since I’ve already let her know that I possess the memories, I can pretend to be familiar only with Rebecca Rolfe.
Like I’m adapting to humanity, gradually.
“Aha, right. That’s her body. If it’s a memory, it must remain in the brain, right? But I’m not a child.”
“You’re small, and your body ratio shows your head is large.”
“It’s just that I’ve been stuck in this shape for a reason. To put it easier for you to understand, I’m fixed in a child’s state.”
Oh, I see. So, she’s an adult in a child’s appearance. Yeah, I had a suspicion since the beginning she was a witch.
“So, is this action unnecessary?”
Hmm. Surprisingly, her cheek is soft. Is she really fixed in a child’s state? Since there’s a faint vibration coming through her skin, I don’t want to overdo it, but I still want to enjoy it a bit longer.
“Please take your hand away. I don’t need that.”
She could have simply told me not to, but she places limits only on herself? What’s her intention? As I was piecing together the puzzle, I lowered my hand.
In response, Hyungkesuni stepped back three paces. Then she briefly placed her hand on her cheek, only to remove it again.
And with an exaggerated motion, she bowed her head.
“I am Hyungkesuni, who will look after you, along with the woman by your side. Nice to meet you, Rebecca.”
“Yes, Hyungkesuni.”
I nodded. The pieces of the puzzle spilled out all at once. Now, I need to take my time to slowly unravel what’s on her mind.
It’s nice that there are more things to enjoy.
I smiled at the small silver-haired girl while also catching sight of Joanna returning with Hieronymus.
