Chapter 222

Surrounded by an increasing number of people.

The harvesting system stands up from its seat, looking dazed.

Victoria’s glaring at me like she wants to drill a hole through, but what can I do? I don’t plan on missing any chance to create a harvester.

That’s how it’s been all along.

I’ve done it this way consistently.

Making it look like I’m saving people in any situation.

Of course, after becoming a harvester, anything goes. As long as it’s not a total massacre like last time, I have no intention of interfering.

“what do you expect us to do?”

The harvester closest to me asks while looking at me. They used to have a proper job, but with the rising cost of living near the water’s edge, the shop they worked for couldn’t keep up and collapsed, leaving them unemployed.

They have five family members who need feeding, and their attack on the Mechanical Knight School wasn’t due to some grand reason.

At least, at that point, they believed the people responsible for their current state were within the school. And they vaguely thought they’d receive compensation after killing everyone.

Caught up in a group, they blindly believed they were doing the right thing.

Most of the harvesters in front of me now are like that. There’s a girl who picked up a weapon without much thought, believing this life would improve. There’s also an old man holding a club, thinking he’d get some reward for eliminating bad people.

There’s no one here brimming with pure malice.

These people believed they were doing the right thing, unaware of what was true or false, just following others’ vague promises of better outcomes.

And they failed.

That’s all. From start to finish, failure. And now, they’ve become harvesters.

The unfortunate end of choices.

This is their fate, I guess. Instead of explicitly expressing it, I tell these already utterly defeated individuals:

“Do whatever you want. I’m not here to restrict you. I don’t ask for anything in return for giving you this.”

Will a few charge at Victoria and die, then run away?

Maybe someone will gain psychic powers and stand against her?

“Hey, uh, what are we gonna do?”

“You?”

“Don’t know. Keep doing what we’ve been doing?”

“I feel younger?”

“Eh? Aren’t you that old guy from before?”

They’re whispering anxiously, looking confused as the ice beneath them slowly sinks into the ground.

Ah. Victoria must be preparing to use her powers again.

I hope they survive. Watching these foolish ones standing here, I think.

“Let’s stop this.”

Huh? Isn’t Victoria right there, ready to kill you all?

“What are we doing? Attacking the school won’t make anything better anyway.”

Are they realizing something and tearing up?

“With this new body, maybe I’ll find work.”

Have you forgotten about the harvester among your group earlier? Because they knew about harvesters, they’re aware of what’s happening.

In other words, becoming a harvester doesn’t mean things improve.

Ignoring my gaze, they bow their heads deeply as if they can’t face the sky, fleeing from this place like sinners.

Hmm?

Well… since they ran away, let’s call it good.

If word spreads, I wouldn’t mind.

I turned around.

There’s Victoria, glaring fiercely at me.

She’s my teacher’s enemy, my friend’s enemy. To revive and release them…

A normal person would say cut ties immediately.

Surprisingly, if Victoria had massacred them, it wouldn’t be considered a crime. Why? It’s obvious. Laws are important for society to function.

They hinder societal progress; she restores order.

Why isn’t it a crime to kill people then?

No, it’s not. Laws preventing people from killing each other exist to maintain a workforce and prevent population decline.

Why does a ruler or a rich person killing someone go unpunished?

Because it doesn’t harm society. The law may seem fair, but certain classes benefit more.

Anyway, Victoria could’ve just acted on her anger and taken revenge.

But now, because they escaped, this is the result.

“Bell. Are you seriously saving anyone, regardless? You know better.”

Victoria points at them with disdain-filled words, throwing them at me.

“Did they really have to be saved?”

She asks the same question again.

Technically, it’s not a question. She knows the answer will be the same, yet she can’t help but ask.

Here’s my reply.

“I did what I wanted to do.”

Ah, I shouldn’t have said that.

Now it sounds like I’m telling her not to restrain me. But honestly, I’m fine. After all, even when someone becomes a harvester, they don’t lose warmth right away.

Harvesters directly and indirectly take warmth from living beings they kill, and when a harvester dies, their warmth is absorbed too.

There’s no way to measure it.

Victoria raises her hand to cover her face and bows her head.

Is she crying?

Nope. No tears fall from her eyes, no sobs escape her throat. She just pretends to cry, then moves on.

She walks past me without a glance.

That direction leads to the Mechanical Knight School.

What choice will she make?

Thinking I should head back to the accommodation, my feet automatically follow Victoria instead.

Hmm.

Yeah, probably curiosity.

Even though we might not see each other’s faces again, I follow the path Victoria takes.

***

Black smoke rises, and amidst the burning school, those who killed its inhabitants laugh and chatter.

Into this hellish scene, Victoria returns.

Will she absorb a lot of warmth now?

Instead of boldly walking in, Victoria steadies her breathing where a wall used to be and sneaks into a shadowy area filled with debris and trees. Then, swoosh.

The nearest person starts coughing violently and collapses. Since no warmth was taken, they’re not dead.

Achoo!

After a loud sneeze, another person starts coughing violently and falls.

At first, nobody notices the first few people falling. The commotion was too loud. But once ten people have fallen, the festive atmosphere turns eerily quiet.

It seems like she used water to block qi flow, causing unconsciousness. What’s she doing?

As I watch curiously, fear spreads across people’s faces. They turn their heads around until they spot me.

But they quickly look away.

Huh?

I thought they’d accuse me since I’m near the school, but they ignore me?

I wondered if Victoria was going to involve me in something, but apparently not.

Over time, more people collapse while coughing. When someone whispers that it might be a disease, panic erupts like a balloon inflating.

When someone nearby coughs, the surrounding area immediately empties.

The person who coughed looks pale and desperate, reaching out to others.

“S-someone, save me!”

They fall pitifully. Then, like infection spreading via spittle, the next person starts coughing.

“Isn’t someone cursing us?”

“Magic? Is there such a thing?”

“No, I don’t sense any magic power. This isn’t magic.”

“Then what is it?”

“I don’t know. Never seen anything like this. Could it be illness?”

“Illness? An illness that spreads this fast? Where does that exist?”

“It’s plague.”

“Plague? Why would that happen suddenly?”

“I’m getting out of here!”

One person runs off hurriedly, starting a chain reaction. People are brave when there’s an enemy to fight, but plague isn’t something you can fight.

Chaos spreads uncontrollably. People scream and flee.

Rumors of plague spread rapidly. Even the looters searching for trouble see the coughing, collapsing people and flee in terror.

Ordinary people and harvesters alike run away.

Even harvesters not present at the initial attack hear rumors of the spreading plague and flee home without verifying the truth.

Just thirty-odd people passed out from respiratory distress, yet over ten thousand rioters fled instantly.

Could it be…

Did Victoria design this?

Using such a small trick to scare everyone off?

Before long, the school is completely deserted.

Where people once stood, emptiness remains.

Victoria emerges from hiding.

She sighs deeply, then sweeps her hands.

Torn corpses fly toward her. She carefully pieces them together and places them on the ground.

Walking around the school, Victoria gathers the bodies.

Occasionally, remaining rioters encounter her, only to collapse with a whooshing sound, spilling water.

We don’t need water anymore. She must have extracted fluid from their lungs.

No warmth was taken, so they aren’t dead.

She really didn’t kill anyone.

Me?

Approaching the bodies, I pretend to check them but actually gather lingering warmth.

Hehe.

“What are you doing here?”

The first person to faint regains consciousness. Trembling, they stare at me. Not a harvester, just an ordinary person.

“Taking the warmth from the dead.”

Since I’m not lying, I tell the truth.

Upon hearing this, they immediately kneel down.

“Please save me! Please save me! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Even though they don’t believe their own words…

Regardless, I approach the bodies Victoria painstakingly reassembled and touch their chests.

Hmm. This one’s empty. Despite being killed around the same time, why the difference?

Discovering aspects of light and warmth I didn’t know, I move between the bodies, collecting warmth. If even a tiny bit of light remains, warmth is present too.

Light can exist without warmth, but warmth cannot exist without light.

If light represents the soul, could it be part of the soul’s essence? Something like spirit energy?

While pondering this, I search the bodies based on Victoria’s trail.

Yeah. Totally a hyena now.

Hopefully, no overly terrifying rumors will spread.

With that thought, I collect as much warmth as possible.

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