Chapter 156

Here it comes, the wacky anime-style translation!

Once again, it’s back to midweek.

Weekends with only one day sure do fly by fast.

It’s kinda weird that we even have weekends at all. Most worlds don’t have such things as breaks.

Anyway, right now we’re in the middle of class.

History class, but this is SO edited down it barely feels like history. Like, they talk about wars without mentioning causes, or whole decades just disappearing when some country got invaded.

Sure, later on they say how everything got destroyed so there wasn’t much left… but still, it’s pretty lacking for actual history.

Though there ARE fun parts! Last semester we learned about this historical text where the Hero who defeated the Demon King actually became a king himself and didn’t get betrayed and killed like you’d expect. Instead he opened up a restaurant and lived to be super old! Textbooks said he traveled across continents trying different foods – that part made me laugh!

Anyways…

After that history lesson full of ancient stuff, lunchtime arrived!

“Hey, what exactly DID you do yesterday?”

Victoria slapped a newspaper down in front of me. Turns out I made the front page for setting up my Harvesting System in the slums.

There’s a picture of me from far away, plus a bunch of people kneeling waiting their turn.

The article calls me some modern-day saint or something.

This isn’t how the Dormiens Royal Family wanted things portrayed though – they’ve been trying hard to keep religious aspects out of this. I wonder if this newspaper’s gonna get shut down?

But then again, it IS one of the more famous papers that lots of people like. Known here AND in Bern City.

They’ll probably print a retraction later since people enjoy it so much.

“I gave myself to those who sought me.”

“What does THAT mean?”

Victoria gives me this confused look. I’m the one wondering why she can’t figure it out!

“When we made our contract, don’t you remember?”

“I remember it clearly. But that’s not what I’m asking! Why did you suddenly go to THAT place?”

I could answer directly, but decided to play dumb to maintain my air of innocence.

“That kind of place?”

“Slums are dangerous, you know!”

Yeah, totally normal dangerous place. I get it. It’s where people die regularly and sane folks avoid.

Like how when you travel, you shouldn’t go to areas with bad security.

But hey Victoria…

“That’s a place where people who want to survive but can’t move forward scream. Remember that day? Just like you were back then.”

Back when she was Sahaquin and waiting for death, wanting to become a Windup Knight. Even after failing completely and breaking her nest, she was filled with despair waiting to die.

“Ah… yeah…”

Victoria starts nervously scratching her head. Not very ladylike, but it shows how much that day still hurts her.

She looked all tough on the outside, but people aren’t that simple.

Thinking she might scratch herself raw, I grab her arm and lower it. She’s still underage after all.

“Did you go there to save people?”

Victoria looks up at me while staring at my hands.

So you see me as a savior, huh? Actually, it’s the opposite. Taking warmth means taking away all possibilities from that soul.

It’s like those human experiments where they lure socially marginalized people in with promises of treatment.

“No. They should figure it out themselves. I just went and told them they can still dream, in vague terms.”

Splitting the harvester into two – half goes to Daegon, half to Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. I insert pieces of their memories. I tell people to do what they want, but guess what?

Most people don’t have dreams. They don’t know what they want to do.

But what happens if something flows into that void?

Won’t it become a dream?

It’s all deception. You always have to be careful what you say openly. Make sure nothing incriminating gets recorded. If it does, make sure it sounds like you were just being nice.

And by “nice”, I mean “beneficial to me”.

Gather as many people as possible.

The first world handled over a hundred million people. A few tens of thousands becoming harvesters won’t collapse the world.

Contracts don’t transfer through childbirth unless specifically allowed. And even then, it’s not automatic.

Meaning I can choose NOT to insert it. That’s what I plan to try with the harvester’s descendants.

“You’re saying vague things again…”

“It’s the truth!”

That’s right. The truth.

I let go of Victoria’s hand. Most people receiving the harvester system act really happy at first, like they’ve been reborn. But soon they’ll realize…

Nothing has changed.

Unless someone’s missing limbs or has serious scars, most people don’t change much physically.

Their bodies might improve, they might get smarter, but in an advanced society that doesn’t instantly change your social position. Class barriers just get higher over time.

Unless it’s a world like the second one where pure power is all that matters. In a world where killing is normal, moving up just means changing from being a sword to being the person wielding swords.

Wherever you are…

What matters is having the memory of someone reaching out and helping you rise.

People who’ve only ever known despair just accept reality without hope. But once they’ve seen hope, they’ll strive for it. They’ll do anything to get ahead, no matter how cowardly or dirty.

That’s why false hope is so great.

There’s no moral problem at all. All I did was encourage dreaming, right?

I’m totally justified!

But explaining WHY it’s false would be complicated. Stick to the facts to avoid mistakes. So let’s shift topics slightly.

“Isn’t Victoria moving towards her own dreams too? You’ve been pretty busy lately. How’s it going?”

I ask about what she’s been doing when we’re apart. Of course I can see through her eyes and know everything, but knowing things I shouldn’t is suspicious, right?

So I prepare by asking beforehand.

“Me? Yesterday I met with a teacher from the Windup Knight Academy for counseling. We agreed I’ll learn whatever I can here and there!”

Then Victoria glances up at the sky for a moment.

“Though it’s basically like attending two schools. But that’s something I can handle with effort. The teachers helped me so much, so I’ll work hard too!”

There really are so many good people around.

Teachers from both the Royal Academy and the Windup Knight Academy. There’s definitely some difference between them, yet when Victoria expressed interest, neither objected and instead happily offered support.

The Windup Knight teacher probably likes her because she’s a dedicated student, but the Royal Academy teacher is surprisingly accommodating.

When you think about it, she’s learning from others rather than directly from teachers…

Or maybe it’s just good timing that she entered during a period with such excellent teachers.

If there’s such a thing as fate, it’s probably not meant for Victoria.

If I hadn’t been there, she would have died there.

Maybe this current setup in Bern City is ideal for me – a society that consumes people like fuel.

It’s too radical and will collapse eventually, but it’ll last until efficiency drops enough to discard it.

Thinking about that, maybe it would have been better for Victoria to die there. Then she couldn’t have made contact with the Dormiens royal family and turned their princess into a harvester.

Hmm… no.

Because then I wouldn’t have been able to mess with the Dormiens royals. So it wasn’t bad.

And if…

If I myself am within the grand flow of fate…

Then I’ll destroy that fate no matter what. What buried me at rock bottom and made me shiver in cold…

I can’t forgive it.

“Bell, your expression is scary. Is it because you don’t want to separate from me or something?”

“Just thinking about other things.”

I almost mentioned fate but swallowed it back. That’s not something to discuss with people.

“I’m worried that if this keeps up, Victoria won’t make any friends. Do you even have time to make friends while studying?”

Victoria makes a pained expression.

“Ah, no. Studying is important, right? I can make friends later. Yeah, you encouraged my dreams too, right? It’ll be fine, probably…”

She’s making excuses.

Looks like she realizes the problem herself. Maybe it’d be better to go to Polaris and take over a factory or something.

Though the main work there seems to involve killing people rather than being a Windup Knight.

Wait… would that be better FOR ME?

“Hey Victoria, what about meeting with Polaris?”

I casually ask. She shakes her head with a troubled expression.

“I already declined that. I’ll try doing what I can first. Though I’ll probably be crying for help during exam periods…”

“If you’re prepared for that, do as you wish.”

Then Victoria pokes my cheek with her finger.

“You’re annoying. So what about you Bell? You’ve been here quite a while now. Isn’t there anything you want to do?”

Hmm…

That’s partly genuine curiosity.

“I need warmth. Always have. So I keep working towards getting it. Like what was in that newspaper.”

She tilts her head in confusion.

“Warmth?”

“One day, when people do what they want and die, I’ll leave behind their souls and just take the last remaining warmth.”

Using easily misunderstood phrasing while sticking strictly to facts. Twisting words to make something completely different seem the same.

“Wherever you go, wherever you are, I’ll be with you until you die.”

“Hey, I need to get married someday so we can’t stay together forever!”

Oh, you interpreted it that way, huh? In cases like this, it’s better to clarify.

“Even if this body dies and disappears, I’ll still be with you.”

She looks surprised. The worry in her expression is kinda cute.

“Don’t die before me.”

“This body is just a vessel. I myself cannot die, so there’s no need to worry.”

Victoria looks at me with a complex mix of emotions.

“Is that what you call a god?”

“Well, shall we call me an outsider like others do?”

I joke as I stand up from the table.

Got to get going or next class will start. Thus ends lunchtime.