Chapter 163

It’s been a week since Maryweather became my bodyguard.

Her appearance hasn’t changed my life one bit. It’s still the same routine: commuting between the Royal Academy and the dormitory every day like clockwork.

Victoria is getting used to going back and forth to the school for wind-up knights. She’s even getting slightly longer breaks now.

Maryweather spent a few days asking classmates about me but eventually stopped when she figured out I don’t form proper relationships with others.

Information agents might be disappointed, but I’m just not that social person.

There’s the Royal Academy, and then there’s Brightshin with its Harvesting System.

They’ve practically returned to a slum-like existence. Some people are trying to improve their lives, but most aren’t.

Just like how people start exercising to lose weight but give up after three days, change doesn’t last forever.

Their bodies may have improved, but they’ve fallen back into dirt and despair. In this world of rigid capital and class structures, it’s hard to climb higher even if things get better for a while.

In short, life has gone back to normal.

The capital is peaceful.

Or rather, the areas outside the capital aren’t peaceful.

For one thing, Kannas, who went back to her hometown, hasn’t been able to return to the capital yet. This shows how northern clans prioritize land.

Monsters—creatures we can call such—are swarming the ground.

The only silver lining is that they’re fighting each other.

But overall, it’s just a small portion. Various monsters are flooding into this country.

It almost feels like a Demon King ordered an invasion.

But according to Kanna’s memories, these monsters aren’t inherently evil invaders. It’s more like a natural phenomenon.

It’s simply the overlapping breeding cycles of monsters every few years. When the population grows beyond what the land can handle, they spread out in all directions, causing ecological chaos that ripples outward like waves.

I’ve seen something similar before.

In faded memories, there’s the year when 13-year and 17-year cicadas overlap. Billions of cicadas emerge and cover an entire continent.

Here, instead of cicadas, we have big monsters—and not just one species but multiple ones overlapping.

It’s like an ecosystem-wide real estate crisis where those pushed out of territory fights migrate farther away, leading to disaster.

So what is Kanna doing?

She’s right in the middle of the battlefield, wielding a massive axe-spear and fighting fiercely. You’d never guess she was someone who lived her whole life with a limp as she jumps around carrying such heavy weapons.

Her stamina surprises even herself. Maybe she has psychic abilities like Tisah.

Anyway, it’s not a battle against a Demon King’s army but rather dealing with panicked beasts so they move elsewhere. Since we don’t know exactly when these waves will happen, everyone available is brought in to fight until the monsters retreat.

Every time Kanna swings her weapon, warmth occasionally flows into her—it’s a strange sensation.

Heheh.

Creatures here are peculiar. Size doesn’t necessarily correlate with warmth; some creatures smaller than a human’s waist emit as much warmth as a person.

But generally speaking, compared to humans, most creatures emit less warmth per unit of life.

Especially domesticated animals—some have less warmth than insects. That’s something I knew from the first world.

Humans are the most efficient. And since I know them well, I’ll continue choosing humans moving forward.

Though being here makes me question how well I truly know them, I can at least explain why I acted the way I did.

Is it only the north that’s busy relative to the capital?

Nope.

South of the capital lies Bern City.

Chaos erupted there too—but not because of monsters.

Rather, it’s human conflict.

Initially, people demanded an investigation into certain incidents, but the Bern City mayor’s office refused to respond.

When a group gathered to ask questions, the authorities sent enforcers to silence them violently.

What they didn’t realize was that among those people was a harvester with psychic abilities.

Psychic abilities aren’t versatile like magic; users excel only in specific areas but control them like extensions of themselves.

They quickly subdued the opposition and identified them as soldiers tasked with eliminating terrorists.

Judging this situation as beyond his capacity alone, the harvester reported it to the Twilight Association and requested help.

Assuming everything was fine, the Twilight Association organized a protest at city hall, which attracted survivors from Bern City.

Because of the goodwill they had shown, no one doubted the Twilight Association.

In fact, when the mayor labeled them as a terrorist group, nobody believed him.

To spread information widely, you need prohibition.

Ironically, the attempt to suppress their questions only made them spread further.

What really happened during the Bern City tragedy?

Why are they forcing this inquiry?

The south is at the heart of this issue.

Yet people living in the capital remain unaware. Newspapers and broadcasts show nothing but normalcy.

Bloodshed has already occurred.

Unfortunately, no harvesters have started killing yet.

But once a fight breaks out, harvesters will unleash their powerful abilities—they’re strong, smart, and some even possess psychic powers.

Casualties will skyrocket, and once blood is spilled, it’s hard to go back to normal, isn’t it?

Heheh.

Seeing all this, it seems this world isn’t much different, so I feel somewhat relieved.

And unlike last time, there’s no worry of everything disappearing without a trace.

After all, the person who initially asked the questions has already been killed.

The Twilight Association is rightfully angry, resisting injustice.

Since blood is already flowing, it’s impossible not to see it now.

What will happen next?

How about Victoria?

Will Morris and Beatrice get involved in anything bad?

We should watch carefully. The downside is that Morris and Beatrice rarely cross paths with any harvesters, so it’s unclear how they’re spending their days.

They live in neighborhoods with many harvesters, so I occasionally spot them.

Beatrice appears to be going to work, and Morris seems to still be staying home.

This could change if Bern City turns into a warzone.

I’ve decided to stay silent. The fact that I can see through a harvester’s eyes is a secret—I won’t tell anyone since harvesters serve as windows to the world until their final moments.

“Bell! Let’s go out and play today!”

While I was thinking about this, Victoria suddenly said that to me.

“Alright.”

It’s after afternoon classes. I planned to return to the dorm, shower, rest, and sleep anyway, so going out shouldn’t cause any problems.

“Can you decide that without your bodyguard’s permission?”

Maryweather, sitting beside me, asks this.

But wouldn’t mentioning “guard” reveal surveillance? Since I consider her purely as a bodyguard, I point that out.

“A bodyguard is just someone who protects, right?”

“Bell has solid boundaries~ The more I observe, the clearer they become. Got it. Since you’re the bodyguard, I’ll follow.”

Victoria nods approvingly.

Almost a month.

Victoria has been studying diligently. Given her usual habits, it’s about time she took a break.

Rather, she deserves praise for enduring this long.

“So let’s just drop our bags and go! Meet me at the school gate, okay?”

Victoria stuffs her textbooks, notebooks, and writing tools into her bag while saying this. I left my book tucked away in the classroom.

“I don’t have any baggage.”

Upon hearing this, Victoria looks at me with a vague expression.

“I envy how Bell doesn’t need to study.”

“It’s simple if it’s just recalling memorized information.”

At this, Maryweather interjects.

“Oh? I thought Bell didn’t study? There are kids who carry books around, so I assumed Bell did too.”

Victoria glances at me, pulls a textbook from her bag, and tosses it to Maryweather.

“Ask me any random sentence from any page.”

With a curious look, Maryweather flips open the textbook and asks. After I recite the correct passage, she’s astonished.

“She remembers everything she reads.”

Technically, it’s closer to taking a photo and saving it to a folder rather than memorizing.

History is easy, but technology or math is tough because they require more than rote memorization.

“Only excels at memorization.”

“So that’s manipulation…”

Sighing at Victoria’s lamentation, Maryweather smiles softly and returns the textbook.

“At least Bell read the entire textbook, right? That counts. So, Tori, do you have somewhere fun in mind for today?”

Victoria takes the textbook back from Maryweather, puts it in her bag, and stands up. Come to think of it, Maryweather doesn’t have a textbook either. She leans casually against the desk, and no one bats an eye.

Perhaps she has some function that lets her act freely without consequences.

That said, she doesn’t rely solely on that ability. Sometimes, I see her having deep conversations with other students.

Not in terms of knowledge quantity, but in connecting with people emotionally. Occasionally, she gives responses that seem very mature, suggesting she might be older than she looks.

Despite being among students, she blends in perfectly as their peer, meaning she either has excellent disguise skills or is naturally youthful-looking.

Considering these aspects, she definitely seems connected to the Information Bureau.

“I attended a wind-up knight school in the capital until just before summer vacation, so I know some good places to hang out.”

Victoria stands up and leaves the classroom. I follow her.

For Victoria, this is truly a rare day off.

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