Chapter 153

And then the incident happened the very next day.

The problem is, it wasn’t witch-related at all.

“You’ve gone and approached someone you shouldn’t have.”

A girl stood before me. The sharp eyes of the girl with her long hair tied up in a fluffy ponytail stared straight at me at eye level. For reference, I’m incredibly short.

In other words, the girl in front of me was about my height.

But strength had nothing to do with height.

The girl who approached me grabbed my clothes and effortlessly lifted me up with one hand. My legs floated up.

I often experience this leg-floating thing.

But still… I never thought I’d end up in this situation. Come to think of it, this body was female.

Even on the ship heading to Bern City, I didn’t expect that romance-fantasy type stuff from the world of faded memories would happen…

I never imagined I’d be the protagonist of such a scenario.

Though I know in reality, things tend to get way more sinister and creepy, I didn’t expect it to unfold so openly.

Meanwhile, Victoria, upon seeing me being lifted by my clothes, stormed over angrily but got held back by another classmate.

Worried about me? She must’ve forgotten what I truly am.

While I don’t know how long I can endure it, this body’s pretty sturdy.

But regardless of physical strength, there’s no need to worry about fighting in the first place.

Because I can see the eyes of the girl in front of me. Her bright golden irises aren’t focused on me—they’re scanning the surroundings.

She doesn’t carry jealousy or malice; instead, she has an insistent look, as if searching for something.

When her gaze finally lands on me, she looks at me like I’m some kind of oddity.

“Do you even realize what situation you’re in right now?”

“What situation?”

Thud.

My body was set down. My clothes got a bit disheveled, but though she had enough grip strength to choke someone, she only held onto my clothes and lifted me up.

If she doesn’t intend to attack me, what should I do?

“I see you’re still clueless. We need to talk somewhere safe.”

The girl forced herself to make an exasperated expression and dramatically shook her head before turning her gaze toward Victoria. It’s like she’s warning her privately.

Though she has no intention of doing so.

“There you. If you have any complaints, follow along.”

Pointing her finger directly at Victoria, she spoke. Seeing her call for backup like this makes me think she plans to explain the situation.

Then the girl grabs my wrist and pulls me along.

“Lady Barrington. Even if you do, intimidating an innocent commoner isn’t appropriate.”

The same girl who took me to Shiodore last time blocked the doorway.

“I intend to resolve this verbally, so please step aside. Lady Shekal. Do you really think you can stop me under the name of Shiodore?”

There’s a clear threat in her tone, which is why the girl with the Shekal surname steps back.

She’s taller by a head, but whether it’s the power of authority or simply the strength of this Barrington girl herself, fear is evident on Shekal’s face.

After half a year of studying together, I kinda get it.

As Shekal stepped aside, she whispered to me softly.

“If things get dangerous, call for Lord Shiodore.”

Of course, Barrington heard too, but she just raised an eyebrow without saying anything else and continued dragging me along.

I was led by Barrington toward the east wing, opposite to the west wing where Shiodore had his base.

Instead of entering the building, we turned at a 90-degree angle and exited through a small door.

As soon as we stepped outside, I could feel the moisture around us drying up.

Hmm. Turning my head, I noticed Victoria’s expression looked dangerous. Specifically, it’s the same look she gets when she starts slaughtering Sahaquins—like she’s resolved to do whatever needs to be done.

After stepping outside, we entered a forest artificially cultivated within the Academy grounds. Once we reached a spot where no prying eyes could see us, Barrington finally let go of my wrist.

Then she walked a bit further.

BOOM!

With her bare hands, she snapped a thick tree trunk in half.

It’s surprising how much strength she has in that petite frame, but magical power explains most things.

Still, the issue is the cracks forming in the soil beneath her feet.

“I didn’t bring you here to vent my anger.”

“So you knew after all.”

While brushing her palms off, the girl named Barrington strolled over lazily.

“Wait, what? You weren’t trying to bother Bell for some lame reason, were you?”

To Victoria’s question, Barrington approached without any particular reaction.

“It may seem trivial, but the jealousy of girls because of such reasons isn’t. Last year, one of the workers at our house had their daughter drop out of school after talking to the prince once. Just once.”

True. The prince wasn’t even in the same grade.

And apparently, Cinderella dreams exist in every world.

Victoria glanced at Barrington, then at me, seeming to have realized something. She waved her hand, and the ground slowly became damp. Bubbles began to rise from all sides, water gushing up. The ground transformed into muddy water.

“You’re quite the dangerous person yourself, huh?”

Barrington looked at Victoria with great interest.

“Dangerous? That’s rude! Aren’t you a noble lady?”

“My full name is Polaris Valuin Barrington. Call me Pola.”

At Victoria’s words, Polaris smirked. Victoria, unsure if that was appropriate, gave her a questioning look.

“I’m Bell. The name was given by Victoria standing beside me.”

“I’m Victoria Bet. Close friends call me Tori, but feel free to use it if you want.”

No one outside the family ever called her that.

“You’re giving names?”

Polaris looked at both me and Victoria curiously. Victoria glanced at her briefly, opened her mouth, then stopped.

“Bell, you explain.”

Then she turned to me again.

“It’s easier if you define it yourself, but basically, I’m not human.”

“Do you mean your personality is beyond redemption?”

Polaris blinked as she processed my words, then asked again.

“Race might be an easier term to understand.”

Her expression suggests she already knows what I’m implying, so I told her exactly what she’s thinking.

“No, a monster? All of a sudden?”

“Do humans recover easily?”

I asked a fact everyone knows.

The royal family aggressively promoted it. There was even a special broadcast about my psychic abilities, and they launched the Harvesting System.

The Twilight Association was initially supported by the royal family for that purpose.

Last night, some of the people managing the Twilight Association fought due to the sudden halt in funding and discovered where the money had been coming from.

That’s when I found out too.

And now that their funding has stopped, the Twilight Association is showing signs of cracking.

In other words, they had their reasons for engaging in simple volunteer work.

Yeah. Who would willingly do such work without guaranteed food on the table?

Most of the people in the Twilight Association carried deep wounds, but they healed cleanly after contracting with me.

Even the princess recovered.

“She didn’t heal. So that’s why you did that broadcast. I thought it was strange for the royal family, but it was to cover up the monster.”

While I suspect it was done for Princess Aurora, I didn’t say it aloud.

“So, you came out to preemptively mark your territory to prevent me from being bullied.”

At that, Polaris nodded readily. Like a bear scratching its territory on a tree.

“Were you a good person?”

“Judging people by good or evil doesn’t work.”

Because anyone can become part of the Harvesting System. While I have preferences, warmth matters more than those likes and dislikes.

Anyway.

“I’m not particularly good either.”

After saying that, Polaris went over to a bench in the garden and sat down, lifting her feet. Water dripped from them due to the mud.

Unaware of Victoria approaching, Polaris took off her shoes, rolled down her stockings slightly, and wrung out the water while asking,

“Why does Shiodore’s mutt take your side anyway? From what I’ve heard, the limping princess caused the biggest mess last year.”

“The limping princess?”

Victoria repeated the question. When Victoria spoke directly in front of her, Polaris was startled and looked up.

Trying to soothe her, Victoria placed her hand on Polaris’ shoulder and created a water droplet from the ground to clean her dirty feet.

Polaris blinked repeatedly watching this, confirmed her clothes and shoes were cleaned and dried perfectly, then exclaimed in admiration.

After raising her head, she looked at both Victoria and me and spoke.

“Why ask? That story’s famous in high society, but… sorry. You probably wouldn’t know. She was born with a leg condition. Despite that, she was smart, accomplished a lot, and had plenty of both good and bad stories.”

Here, where many people dress casually regardless of nobility or commoner status, I wondered why she alone wore long clothing.

It was to hide her leg. If one leg is impaired, the muscles on the side you use more will develop disproportionately.

“She made one of the workers’ daughters at our house such a mess that she dropped out, so I assumed she was nasty, but this is protection…”

Then her gaze shifted to me.

“Do you wish to heal her leg?”

“In case of danger, I advised her to mention the name Shiodore.”

Meaning she hasn’t said it yet.

“Trading favors. Yeah, that’s a good way to use them. If you owe someone, it’s easy to drag them around.”

Polaris immediately understood.

“Though I want to say ‘leave that person’s favor alone,’…”

Crossing her arms, Polaris fell into thought.

“Since the strongest force is Shiodore, maybe it’s better to rely on them entirely using me as an excuse. Is it okay for you to proceed with the treatment freely? Can she even be healed in the first place?”

I nodded.

“Yes. If she wishes it, I’ll do it.”

Even in the First World, people presumed to have genetic diseases returned to normal.

“Is it alright to act so freely?”

“So far, no one has imposed limits on me.”

Although restrictions were applied based on necessity last time, there are none in the Third World.

“Do well under Shiodore. By the way, I don’t know about our grade, but upperclassmen still believe they can become the queen if they behave well, so be careful.”

I nodded.

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