Chapter 162

One rare weekend morning…

I was resting at the accommodation when someone doing butler duties came to tell me that my escort, Maryweather Alquet, had arrived and requested I go to the first-floor reception room.

When I got there, a girl with black hair, which is quite rare around here, was sitting. I went over and sat opposite her.

“Hello.”

“Hey? So you’re Bell, huh? The one who needs an escort?”

She’s pretty lively. She seems younger than most escorts, but if we’re entering the Royal Academy together then it’s not too strange.

“I’ve heard someone like you would be coming. Are you starting your escort duties today?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

As she said that, she handed me some kind of paper. When I read it, it said by royal decree she’d be my escort for this year.

Her name is…

“Merryweather Alquet?”

“Uh-huh, but I’d prefer if you called me Mari instead of such a stiff name.”

I nodded at Merryweather’s words. I thought an escort would be all serious, but maybe not.

The northern people Kanna knows are more barbarian warriors despite being called knights, and Aurora knows them as stiff-faced patrol guards in the castle.

“Will you be following me around constantly?”

“Next chapter – job scope!”

When she said that, I flipped through the paper and sure enough, there were detailed job descriptions. It’s basically all day long.

Escort duty… surprisingly harsh work. No days off. There’s not even any shift changes; it says Merryweather will do it all.

Maybe the royal family wants to catch the witch more than control me. Since I can only use the harvesting system once for treatment, if the witch curses me again, things could get tough. They might prioritize catching her over dealing with me.

And maybe she’s not even a knight. Someone was assigned as an escort, but no one ever specified who.

“Yes, I’ve confirmed.”

After replying like that, Merryweather stared at me. Wondering what was wrong, I waited for her next words until she finally spoke.

“Hmm, is that all? You’re no fun. Okay, fine. If that’s how you are, I’ll have to try harder! Nice to meet you, Bell.”

Merryweather said that with a grin…

Though while talking, a faint hostility lingered on one side of her face. Her acting skills are good, but I can read her emotions.

She must have been told by the king to be careful since I’m a monster.

But I don’t plan to do anything visibly bad, so it’s fine.

I’ve already done everything I need to do anyway. People can’t stay on guard forever – it’s tiring, boring, and troublesome after all.

“Yes, nice to meet you too, Merryweather.”

“Call me Mari, I said.”

Today, I’ve been assigned an escort.

***

The next day. School week began.

As usual, I woke up, cleaned up, changed clothes, ate breakfast, and headed to school. The difference now is that Merryweather comes along with me.

Merryweather is wearing something similar to me, but being taller gives her a different vibe.

My apparent youth is probably the issue.

How old she really is, I don’t know, but going to school together makes her look like a student. Is she enrolling as a student?

Transferring would be too conspicuous…

With that thought, I entered the classroom, sat down, and Merryweather followed suit beside me.

It’s weird.

Clearly there’s a new student sitting there, yet no one pays her any attention.

Compared to when Victoria and I first came, where we drew stares even without anyone speaking to us, this lack of attention is strange.

No one finds Merryweather casually lounging in her seat unusual, though according to Kanna’s memories, this should raise eyebrows.

That’s when Victoria entered the class.

“Hi, Bell. Oh sorry, what was your name again?”

Then after sitting next to me, she asks Merryweather her name as if they’re vaguely acquainted but she can’t recall it.

“I’m Mari. And you’re Victoria, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Sorry about forgetting. Call me Tori though.”

Victoria nods without suspicion, accepting it easily. She must have some sort of memory-altering technique.

Could she be from intelligence rather than a knight?

Aurora doesn’t know much, and while Kanna knows such departments exist, she’s never seen one directly. Maybe she’s from that side.

If someone can seamlessly insert themselves anywhere and appear familiar, it would definitely help in intelligence work.

I thought magic only developed in engineering aspects, but this kind of technology has advanced too.

Even without checking Daegon’s memories, Yasle’s recollections contain information about such techniques. Since it’s something humans can do, it’s not particularly special.

“Are you two close?”

“Yeah, super close.”

Between the two of them, conversations unfold with me stuck in the middle.

“Seems like you don’t do much at home, isn’t it a bit boring?”

She’s referring to yesterday afternoon and evening. While we didn’t talk much, she did keep giving me odd looks while I mostly stayed still.

“Oh really? That wasn’t the case when I was at our place. She did cleaning, cooking, and was closer to mom than me. Plus, she kept waking me up early every morning during vacation. Ugh, it was annoying.”

That was a big complaint.

Beatrix is very energetic, so she disliked Victoria sleeping in during vacations.

“Aha, I get that. I love lying around and sleeping during breaks too. But Bell seems completely different from how she acts at home?”

“How different?”

While I understand the conversation turning to me, I wish they’d stop discussing me as if I’m not here.

“This kid just sat still in the same position on the chair from noon till night, then went straight to bed when it was time. She was like a doll.”

At Merryweather’s words, Victoria looked at me worriedly.

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“No, I don’t need to do anything so I don’t. Doing those tasks would inconvenience the staff there.”

There’s at least that much awareness. It seems quite strict since it’s a place meant for serving higher-ups.

Even with me, who lacks rank, coming in, there’s still pride in their roles. No need to take that away and cause unnecessary animosity.

“Pride in work is a good thing. It’s what I expect from someone contracted to me.”

Obtained pride eventually wavers and turns into arrogance, skills become outdated, leaving behind only those stuck in the past.

By then, they’ve opened their eyes to exploiting others.

It’s convenient and easy, after all.

Look at the master-apprentice system.

Of course, the system itself isn’t bad. Properly passing down and further developing skills is good.

However, the teacher holds power while the learner becomes vulnerable. That’s problematic. It’s easy to exploit and discard them when desired.

Of course, doing it openly violates ethics. But there are many ways to do it subtly.

For example, overwhelming them with impossible amounts of work and mentally abusing them for failing.

Human wisdom shines brightest in these moments.

Making someone take their own life is the best.

That’s why I can easily obtain warmth. With my hands clean, I merely provided strength while pretending ignorance.

“Yeah, Bell always talks like this. Scary~”

Victoria giggles while pointing at me. What? This is slander. Scary, me?

“Why is it scary? I like it. Isn’t having pride in work a good thing?”

Merryweather’s question makes Victoria stare blankly.

“Why?”

“Yeah, it’s definitely a pleasant statement. She fully supports whatever I want to do. Just…”

Victoria pauses to think. Merryweather urges her curiously, and I look at Victoria, equally curious.

“If Bell will support whatever I do…”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

She knows me well. Even if Victoria does bad things or uses psychic abilities to dominate others, I’ll cheer her on.

“Because she lacks discernment. In that sense, Bell isn’t human.”

“Ah, then it’s kind of annoying. Honestly, that’s just indifference.”

They sure do talk a lot with me stuck in the middle. Is this gossip? No, talking about me right in front of me is bullying, isn’t it?

Victoria wears an exasperated expression.

“Indifferent? Her?”

“No, saying anything goes means nothing matters. That’s indifference.”

“No, it’s not like that. More like… boundless tolerance? Intense magnetism? Something like that.”

Gradually, I understand.

Merryweather Alquet is indeed from intelligence, not knighthood. Escorting is one thing, but she’s simultaneously gathering information on me.

Assuming this strange perception distortion is also aimed at me…

In her view, I shouldn’t have any doubts about this current conversation.

Plus, with the excuse of being an escort, even if caught, it can be ignored. Clever move, king.

It seemed like he knew something about me, so assigning someone like this isn’t strange.

It’s a bit overt, but there seems to be some special item involved… Here, I should pretend to fall for it. Since she didn’t ask me directly, I’m not at fault.

I merely embraced the doubt. If asked why I didn’t point it out, I can say I thought it was part of your culture.

Hehe.

“It’s indifference. You keep using honorifics and call me Victoria instead of Tori.”

Her words made Victoria’s gaze turn to me.

“That bugs me too. But if I say that…”

“It’s a mental illness.”

“That’s what I mean.”

Merryweather wore an expression questioning if I was serious. So I nodded.

“That’s a bit… a cowardly way.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Both Victoria and Merryweather seem fine getting along. Though I’m a bit worried about their friendship once this perception-distorting skill disappears.

Hmm…

We’ll see how it goes.

Soon the teacher came in, took attendance, and started the lesson. Somewhere along the line, Merryweather’s name appeared on the attendance list. The kingdom’s intelligence department is truly terrifying.

I need to be careful.