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No one accepted my good intentions.

Well, that’s to be expected.

It’s a matter of life and death, so what difference does it make if a single monster barks?

It only serves to infuriate me further.

Among the protesters in front of me, there were some who recognized me.

However, there are no harvesting machines. In other words, there’s no one capable of adequately proving my abilities.

Perhaps that’s why they reached out to grab me.

“If it’s you, those guys will listen to us.”

“Sorry. Please sacrifice yourself for us.”

Rough hands touched my shoulder.

“You haven’t done anything wrong.”

So I told them. Of course, no one was actually listening to me.

At the very least, I had done what I was supposed to do. So, could I finally let go of such thoughts?

I walked straight toward the sharp wooden stick. The piercing end would soon stab into my chest, and the man grimaced at the chilling sensation.

“Huh?”

Pshh!

I pierced his heart exactly, and blood shot forward. The person in front got doused in a sudden fountain of blood.

“Kyahhhhhh!”

The one drenched in blood wore a dazed expression, while the woman beside him screamed.

“What are you doing!”

Then the man beside her grabbed the collar of the one who stabbed me and shouted.

“Uh, no, that’s not what I was trying to do…”

The beastman recoiled in confusion, shaking his head. However, no one believed him. I specifically chose a fearsome-looking person for this.

Blood flowed steadily from the wooden stick lodged in my chest, causing the man to ultimately panic and lower his hand holding the stick.

The smell of blood spread everywhere.

“Bell. What are you doing?”

At that moment, Victoria casually questioned me from behind.

Yet, contrary to my expectations, no one came this way. The smell of blood was suffocating, quickly dulling my senses. Once confusion starts, it will be like a domino effect—everyone will kill each other.

I thought so, but it didn’t happen.

Hmm, it seems I’ve failed to raise a bit of warmth by inciting a fight. And I’ve also failed to incapacitate Victoria beforehand.

I stood up and pulled the wooden stick from my chest.

With a squelching sound, blood gushed out.

At the same time, my skin turned even whiter. If I were alive, I would have already been dead. In reality, blood would not reach my brain, and my muscles would gradually loosen.

However, to me, life isn’t that important.

The vessel is what matters.

“People can’t stop when there’s no blood and corpses, can they?”

“No, but how can you do that?”

Oops.

Feeling that no one was moving for some reason, I turned around and learned the reason. Behind Victoria, a massive stream of water was swirling and growing larger.

Well, of course.

When confronted with such overwhelming power, death isn’t really an issue.

“Is life that light?”

“Didn’t you know? At least as far as I know, I can’t die.”

That’s the cheapest thing there is.

Why would one feel value in something they have in infinite supply? Let alone something they want to discard but can’t.

“Victoria has completely turned into a thug.”

“If I don’t do this, the soldiers behind will cast magic here. I wouldn’t know, but to others, this looks like a horrendous murder scene.”

Yes. At least for now, she still has enough sense to use her powers for others.

It seems the events in Bern City that happened just a while ago are still fresh in her mind.

So I wasn’t surprised when I died.

In a situation that should be chaotic, her stronger power distracts the attention.

That’s the taste of power. It’s sweet. Unfortunately, it’s stopped the chaos. It would have been better for Victoria to leave things be.

Anyway.

As my body started creaking, I pressed down on reality to heal my wounds.

“Shall we go?”

“Even your clothes are healing… Yeah, let’s go.”

Victoria checked my clothes and started walking. Then everyone parted for her. Of course, no one thought to part out of the goodness of their hearts.

A thin stream moved straight ahead, parting while hissing sideways to create a path. Of course, there were those who tried to resist.

But they were swept aside like they were pushed by a steel bar.

In the end, they couldn’t stop me.

I thought so as I followed Victoria.

After weaving through the crowd for a while, we reached the end of the protesters. There were those following behind for some unknown reason, but when Victoria gave them a subtle glance, they stopped dead in their tracks.

No, they couldn’t move.

There was a ring made of water wrapped around their ankles. No matter how hard they tried to move, they couldn’t catch up.

She truly uses her psychic abilities as if they were part of her own body.

The more she uses it, the more she’s become accustomed to it; in that sense, it’s similar to being physical. No, perhaps she’s using it even more freely than her own body, right?

What exactly is this psychic ability?

Surprisingly, I have no recollection of this part. Even Daegon and the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, who have the most information, returned no results.

Psychic ability remains a mystery.

Thinking like that, I made my way down the main road toward the Mechanical Knight School.

Though it’s still far from dinner time, half the sky above the capital is filled with murky smoke.

If I sleep outside now, I might freeze to death. This country has a mild average temperature even in winter, but for those living here, it’s cold weather.

If I merely lower my head a bit, I can see buildings boarded up with planks and stores reinforced with steel sheets.

Of course, there aren’t no people around.

It’s just that they don’t buy anything; they stand there with wooden boards around their necks, asking for work.

I see many people looking disheveled, with gloomy expressions, occupying various places on the street.

I pass through such a city.

It’s hard to believe this is a nation’s capital.

And in just two months, food prices have tripled. Especially perishable goods have skyrocketed in price.

In line with the atmosphere of such a city, Victoria’s expression also gradually becomes more rigid. It’s not because it’s hard to walk through such a place… it’s because black smoke is rising from a specific location. That place is known to Victoria as well.

It’s where she’s going to study now.

Victoria’s pace quickens.

Before long, she leaves me behind and runs toward that place.

I know what’s happening at the Mechanical Knight School. So rather than hastening to catch up with Victoria, I keep my walking pace.

Currently, the Mechanical Knight School is a complete mess.

The citizens of the capital broke down the school walls around lunchtime.

Desperate citizens armed with sticks invaded and began to smash everything. Of course, students who hadn’t finished their studies were also among the targets.

The citizens’ logic is this.

It’s because of you that we shiver in the cold and starve.

It’s because you created those worthless mechanical devices that we’re suffering like this.

Being an institution that’s been around for a long time, you are all evil, and we’ve come to execute that evil as righteous heroes.

Strictly speaking, this isn’t revenge.

It’s an outlet for their anger.

They needed a target to vent their anger. At a time when the economy was plummeting, they needed someone to blame for this situation.

Ideally, this scapegoat should have been the king, and regardless of the truth, the king should be the one to be slandered.

However, this country has handled media too well.

Three corporations became enemies, the issues caused by the mechanical devices they produced were thoroughly explained, and it was clearly propagated who to hate.

Yet, all of this only appeared in newspapers or broadcasts.

They couldn’t feel it for themselves.

All they could feel was that the temperatures in their homes were dropping day by day and that prices were soaring to the point where they couldn’t afford even a single meal.

Life was becoming increasingly terrible, and they were too distant from the entities to blame.

So, they created a scapegoat they could beat up in revenge. Someone they could punch to make their anger feel justified.

Not a noble who was still untouchable, but a school attended by commoners.

A place related to the mechanical devices that created the cold and hunger in their reality.

In reality, it doesn’t matter what that place is or if it actually bears culpability.

It doesn’t matter that it’s a research and development hub aimed at improving problematic mechanical devices and returning to the original life.

There was a suitable target to pour out their emotions, so the citizens rushed to the Mechanical Knight School, dragged out teachers and students to kill them, and smashed and burned all the equipment.

Among those were also harvesting machines, which I knew very well.

As if gone mad, they dragged out a student who had once lived next door and tore them to pieces. Regardless of age or gender, they trampled on the corpses.

They believed that by doing this, the society that had horrifically changed in just half a year would return to its original state.

Of course, the students inside weren’t just sitting there doing nothing. They had mechanical devices, machines that played a heavy equipment role in this world.

They fought utilizing those.

Blood splatters, and people die.

What I had previously attempted was occurring here. Having killed fellow citizens, there’s now no one to stop them. No, there might be some, but they’re quickly eliminated.

They’re murdered.

After eliminating the traitors, they unleash their anger even more harshly, claiming righteous fury that our noble allies have died. Anyone even slightly related is captured and tortured to death.

Yes. This is humanity.

Blaming one’s own misfortune on others. Shifting the responsibility and using it as an excuse to kill one’s opponent. The pleasure one gains from such moments is significant.

Because it’s a pleasure learned in ancient times when humans began to form groups to maintain the pack. If they eliminate the enemy of the pack, the pack lives on.

It’s primal pleasure. It isn’t wrong. Without this reward system, no one would have wielded a weapon for the group. A group without this reward system would have disbanded and perished.

This is a product of evolution.

A trait acquired by humans as social animals.

If someone in charge here could correct this, there might be a chance to change their minds….

But the law enforcement isn’t actively defending this place.

Perhaps they’re short on manpower.

Because most of the troops are guarding around the Royal Academy.

So in a place where there’s no one to dissuade them, they’re killing each other. Victoria arrives at a place where only meaningless hatred is ignited.

With a face pale as a sheet, she watches the teacher who had once divided time to teach her at another school, now crumpled on the ground. Strictly speaking, the teacher, once flesh, is now a piece of meat, as citizens dance and laugh joyously upon stepping on it.

Victoria now faces the harsh reality that the right place is the one filled with emotions.