I left Victoria’s house with Polaris.
“We’re heading to the place where Victoria’s parents sent the letter.”
“Is that over there?”
Polaris pointed to a massive body of water that looked like a gigantic inflated hat rising in the east of Bern City. With the morning sun shining, it appeared as if a huge hat made of water was floating in mid-air.
The tip of it was gently swaying above us, allowing us to gauge just how enormous it was.
“Yes. The letter from Victoria’s parents came from the eastern part of Bern City.”
I said that while mentioning the house address. However, Polaris had a blank expression, seeming not to understand the address.
“Can you find it with that?”
“Yes. I know how to read addresses.”
Overlaying the memories I absorbed while siphoning warmth, my knowledge of Bern City’s geography was nearly flawless.
So I pressed on without hesitation.
By the way, I noticed a strange sight—a few houses were glowing. Not from a source of light, but what I presumed to be souls. In other words, it meant there were people around.
These were not empty houses but those with doors and windows boarded up.
As I walked, thinking that there might be people in there, Polaris approached me and whispered.
“Bell. We’re being followed.”
“If they don’t mess with us, let them be.”
Since I could see through Polaris’ eyes, I noticed someone was indeed tailing us. Among them was someone I had seen inside a house earlier.
Interestingly, they followed us from a distance.
What business could this little kid have?
Predicting that they’d gain some warmth from doing something, I headed northeast along the well-paved road.
When glancing behind, I noticed some were following us until they suddenly disappeared, replaced by others.
Hmm. Is it surveillance?
But it felt more like a nuisance that Polaris was grumbling about, following us with relentless energy.
However, if we tried fleeing, I felt they would give chase. The alley where they were lurking would be an easy entry point for escape.
If we unknowingly entered an alley with people, we’d probably bump into them immediately.
Oh.
Am I just testing them?
For now, there appeared to be numerous harvesters ranking high in Bern City.
Right now, the interior of Bern City was forcibly distorting magic power with some strange energy, affecting even normally healthy individuals.
As long as there’s a source of energy called magic power, it’s strange for the body to not use it, right? Most living creatures in this area use magic power to some degree.
So in a situation where magic power is blocked, they wouldn’t be able to exert much strength.
Uh, then is Polaris in danger?
I examined Polaris’ face, and although she looked uncomfortable, it was due to a bad feeling, not any physical pain.
There weren’t any discomforts aside from her clothing being a bit tight. In other words, there shouldn’t be any danger.
“Polaris. Just in case, why don’t you try threatening them? Maybe throw a stone?”
“Uh… I think that’d be a bad idea. I could use magic to scare them off, but the magic power here feels unsettlingly sticky enough that I really don’t want to use it.”
But Polaris refused with a frown.
The sensation of feeling magic power was something I truly didn’t know.
Looking through memories, I had a rough idea of what that sensation was like, but when watching harvesters simultaneously, no matter how similar the magic was, that sensation was completely absent.
When I feel a stomach ache, I’m aware of the sensation of having a stomach ache too.
I even felt the pleasure of creating life and the pain of childbirth while watching concurrently. I’ve experienced the abnormal feelings of euphoria induced by hallucinogens or the experience of burning to death.
It’s probably because I’m not a human that such experiences don’t influence my personality.
If focusing on just one person, it’s hard to tell, but when there are too many, the sensations feel like mere noise.
The suffering of someone whose nervous system was utterly destroyed looked like a self-defeating clown from afar, something I could only laugh at, but leaving that aside.
“Is that so? So they’re not approaching us because they’re looking at my head and Polaris’ hair color.”
“Hair color?”
“The people who gave me my abilities can use psychic powers even without magic.”
After listening to me, Polaris looked up at the sky.
As if gravity were pulling upwards, the sea was gently rippling upside down.
The water level of the sea covering the sky was gradually rising, making it extremely dark below even though it was still morning.
In other words, it means even in this area where magic powers cannot be used, there exists power.
Polaris figured out how strong the harvesters were in this place.
“So that’s why they’re just watching. Ugh, this is unsettling… Don’t you feel uncomfortable with that, Bell?”
Her feelings were entirely aligned with the hatred towards stalkers.
Me?
First off, since there aren’t any gazes directed my way, they’re not harvesters. This implies either prospective harvesters or warmth providers.
“No. There’s no reason to feel bad.”
If they’re coming to voluntarily deliver warmth, then why not?
“That’s quite generous of you.”
No animal dislikes food crawling into its mouth. Though the expression of being generous seems odd in that context, let’s go with it.
It’s not that I don’t understand.
Part of it may be because I’m intentionally wearing the guise of a good person.
On top of that, I was pleased that Polaris was mistakenly thinking of me as she wished.
As we moved, the straight road became winding, and the buildings appeared more varied.
Then, the glances we noticed seemed to vanish instead.
The road twisted, and numerous three-story buildings packed densely like chicken coops surrounded us. I thought it was perfect for an ambush, but they had completely disappeared.
“What is this place…?”
Polaris mumbled.
Everywhere I looked, identical buildings lined the sides of the road haphazardly.
Yet most of those buildings resembled ruins. It looked as though there had been a massive fire, as more than half of them were charred black, leaving only the frame remaining. The acrid stench of decaying corpses wafted through the air among those ruins.
“Are Victoria’s parents really in a place like this…?”
To the north of Bern City are rivers. To the west is the sea. Therefore, if you’re blocking Bern City, it has to be from the east or south. But the south rises gradually and has been artificially turned into a cliff, making it hard to traverse.
Of course, there are paths leading south, but saying that only means there’s a way down from more than thirty meters high cliffs.
Artillery has been fired from the east or across the river.
So in other words, the east was a battlefield.
Moreover, since the fight isn’t over yet, they won’t bother with gathering corpses or rescuing the injured.
It’s a dangerous space filled with wild beasts and bugs, where it’s uncertain when a plague might break out.
“Hurry, let’s meet with Victoria. We might be needed.”
Having predicted one outcome, Polaris spoke to me while looking straight at me. I nodded, understanding, and walked toward the spot where Victoria was.
Oh, speaking of Victoria, one thing comes to mind.
What the Harvesters in Bern City, including the purple dusk society, are thinking is quite bizarre. If Victoria creates chaos in the east, then they plan to deal with both her and the troops that attacked Bern City afterward.
The logic seems off.
Victoria is an enemy, and the soldiers are also enemies. But they claim that Victoria will take care of the soldiers? They refer to them as royal lackeys, but then the soldiers would be on the same side as Victoria, right?
They interpret things their way and think of how to profit from it.
Yeah.
Standard fare.
Especially common in the stock market.
I carefully tread forward as we walked.
Given the surrounding situation of being encircled, moving like this was dangerous.
The only relief is that there aren’t many straight roads, so buildings obscure my view.
Furthermore, it might be noon soon, but down here is dark like evening. The sunlight pouring vertically from above doesn’t seem to reach the ground anymore.
It’s unreachable, mainly due to the abundant water.
So even though it’s noon, we can move a bit more safely.
And as for Victoria, she is currently sneaking through the gaps between buildings, having entered a house.
She had been hiding in Dae-gon’s forward base all along.
After obtaining lethal weapons, she didn’t just roam around in the open; she attacked stealthily from behind.
So it’s not odd for her to be sneaking around in this situation.
Rather, it’s a rational choice, as most of the attention was likely drawn upwards.
She probably refrains from using her power since she knows an address vicinity is around.
If not careful, her parents could get hurt, so she’s acting cautiously.
However, Victoria soon came to a halt.
That’s because all that lay before her was nothing but collapsed ruins ahead of the line drawn by the army. There’s no building left to pass through.
I was watching in anticipation of what she’d do next when Victoria’s gaze shot upwards.
And a gigantic droplet fell—thunk.
Splash!
Water fell from a height of around five stories. But perhaps due to it being a droplet or maybe because it wasn’t compressed water that fell, the soldiers jumping around didn’t seem significantly injured.
To break through the barrier, shouldn’t a stronger attack be required?
Plop.
Plop.
Huh?
Drops of water kept falling. Raising my head, I noticed droplets descending not just from this spot but from all sides, some small like rain while others were as large as a person.
Could it be a lack of power? Or a lack of control?
I hurriedly grabbed Polaris’ hand and bolted towards Victoria’s direction. Large droplets make a loud noise upon hitting the ground.
We can run now.
We have to go quite a distance, but if we’re not careful, we might end up swept away.
If that water pours down, I might be fine, but Polaris would die.
“Where are you going?!”
“To Victoria!”
Polaris followed me with a tense expression. It seemed she understood what this meant.
The army that had been waiting behind the line was also in a panic, fleeing. If the water pours down, they’ll all die too.
Is that what she wants?
Huh?
Victoria laughed.
She was laughing, watching the soldiers scattering chaotically.
Ah. If such immense water was about to fall, they’d surely run away first. Was that her plan, to scare them off that way?
She’s truly clever.
I made sure to confirm Polaris’s stamina as she diligently held my hand and followed closely, and I ran fervently.
I figured it’s best for us to cross the barrier while we had this chance.
So I ran.
I ran with everything I had.
