But Victoria keeps her arms raised.
“I hate this… I have to kill them all here. If I let them go, they’ll just torment me again.”
That’s true.
Would they give up this easily?
If you want to stay safe, you have to kill them all.
They jumped in for greater desires, so it would be even more dangerous if you don’t kill them here.
If there were no harvesting machine among them using the knowledge I provided, I would have just let them all die.
But that can’t happen.
A harvesting machine that barely uses technology has emerged.
I need to see how they shape this world now.
“Those bastards caused all this! Bern City is completely ruined, and now I can’t even see Mom and Dad! Do you think I don’t know? They want to kill me! What the hell is so bad about that?!”
All the rage built up until now bursts out uncontrollably.
Technically, their beginning was normal. They just wanted to uncover the truth behind the massive fire incident that occurred in Bern City.
It was a valid question.
If we were to judge right and wrong, it’s bad that the three corporations bribed Marquis Gaston, who governs the land where Bern City is located, to cover up their issues.
“It’s bad.”
So I said that. Based purely on human standards, it’s bad. Victoria glares at me with a twisted expression.
She looks at me like a lost child who can’t help but be angry.
Yeah, I get it.
What I should do with a child is to empathize and stand by her side to condemn the enemies together.
But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I press her.
“Victoria already knows who is really bad.”
She knows that the three corporations are the culprits.
“The best thing Victoria can do here is not to kill them, but to persuade them.”
It’s fine to call it the best choice, but if I inject my selfish motives into what I consider the best, it isn’t really the best. Being next to Victoria is her misfortune.
Since she’s already standing on the edge of misfortune, it’s just compounded.
I act stiffly, not for Victoria’s sake. I think they wouldn’t be persuaded either.
I just want to comfort her and commend her for what she’s done.
Then Victoria will feel better. Perhaps she might even become dependent on me.
If she becomes dependent, I can have a puppet that follows my words.
But neither option has benefits that outweigh the risks.
I would be positive about the bad act of killing people. That would create a contradiction in all the good acts I’ve performed so far.
With Victoria’s dependence, I could manage the powerful Victoria. But that’s something only someone who doesn’t know her would do.
This child has made the most powerful choice in the worst situation.
She’s already done it once, and there will be a second time.
The fear of what might happen if her resentment towards me turns vicious also contributes to the situation.
So I intentionally treat her harshly. I force her to stand straight and see the truth.
“Victoria, if there’s anyone who’s really doing wrong here, it’s you.”
“Doesn’t Bell get furious about this situation? Or is Bell okay with it because they look up to her? After all, you’re a god to them!”
Yeah. She’s really upset. She’s pointing ahead with her finger and mocking me properly.
“I’m not that kind of crap.”
Huh?
Why?
Why did she suddenly go quiet? Victoria looks at me with a very surprised expression, and Polaris behind her stares at me with a strange look as well.
It’s as if her expression says it’s not the kind of thing I would say, and I’ve said something bad.
I may have acted inwardly, but I never said I was emotionless, did I?
I moved passively, but I acted actively in situations where action was necessary. They must have seen both, so why are they looking at me like that?
“Or should I say this? People should do what they want.”
The mood is weird, so I slightly change the topic. It’s natural to be flustered when the person who has been pushing suddenly pulls back.
The purple shield that’s getting disturbed in the water is close to cracking.
Various abilities that were outside the purple shield have been devoured and disappeared, leaning closer to something black and solid rather than water.
But there’s still some leeway.
Simply pushing will cause people to push back, so I try to persuade Victoria while pulling.
Victoria opens her mouth to my words.
“Why are you trying to stop me?”
Reasons. Reasons.
I have no intention of saying it’s for Victoria, because that’s a lie.
So I need another answer.
A reason to spare them. A reason for Victoria, not just because of me.
Ah, I thought of one.
“Are you going to fight the corporations alone? You need to increase your allies who know the truth.”
I’ve subtly removed the royal family, which seemed like they would lend a hand. They have a tendency to see me and Victoria as one family.
So if Victoria asks, the king will agree.
Moreover, they’ve caused chaos in the country and have recruited those who follow royal orders. There’s no reason not to, in fact.
But let’s leave that aside. To be frank, the human in the water isn’t going to be any help. It’d be a relief if they don’t cause trouble later on.
Instead, they may foolishly reveal their grudges against the person who spared them.
So killing them all would be the most perfect choice, but there’s a harvesting machine that has used technology among them.
There’s a talent that can change the era sleeping inside them. They must be protected.
“The army of Bern City has learned the truth. This time, shouldn’t the citizens know as well? Don’t the citizens need to ask who turned Bern City into a terrible battlefield, or who neglected that incident?”
Probably, even if they know, only at most half will change their minds.
They’ve already given up on the country.
But Victoria here doesn’t know. I take the facts and mold them, and present them to Victoria.
Had I been a cold-blooded or psychopathic person, I would have outright rejected the proposal.
But Victoria isn’t that kind of person.
“That’s true. If a truly bad person gets away, I don’t want that.”
Victoria looks up at me with an incredibly twisted expression. And slowly lowers her arms. Her hand goes towards her eyes. She closes her eyes, and her hand moves up. Tears start flowing.
“I miss Mom and Dad…”
Victoria mutters.
I’m relieved.
The purple shield barely saved those inside. The transparent shield has cracks all over, and there’s already a shield that’s leaking. If I had waited just a little longer, they would have been completely gone.
But the now hardened mass no longer presses against the shield.
Since we’ve avoided annihilation, my plan has been accomplished.
“Let’s head back to the capital for now, Victoria Bet. Quickly, let’s get out of this place. It’s okay to learn the truth later, right?”
I wanted to move to avoid being killed by the survivors who are talking nonsense. The presence in the forest is stirring as well. The army will soon be back here. Some are already hiding.
“No.”
As Victoria lowers her arms, the unouted screams seem to fly up into the sky like a release of cold air.
And instead of water splitting, a black mass contorts and cracks as if metal is bending and breaking. That definitely doesn’t look like water anymore, does it? The spreading chill suggests ice?
But can ice become like that when compressed?
A protection that looks like a broken eggshell appears from within.
“Come out.”
Victoria grabs my shoulder and pushes me behind her as she moves forward.
No, I can’t let her kill…
Even now, deadly intent is swirling around. But I couldn’t move forward. Polaris grabbed me.
This is giving up.
Given my character, I can’t push her away and go to Victoria.
A terrified member of the Twilight Association looks up at Victoria. No one here isn’t afraid of her.
Are they really that scared? Can’t I shout a little louder?
Pressure is leaking from all directions, causing the shield to slowly shrink and begin cracking.
Can you really shout at someone you’ve scared?
“I don’t know what you came here for. I don’t even want to know. But before you take any other action, hear me out. You too have fought to learn the truth, so I deserve the right to tell you what I’ve heard.”
As the cold continues to spread from the black mass, trembling in the cold, people start to step forward one by one.
Before them, Victoria opens her mouth and explains the facts she has uncovered.
The story about the three corporations and Marquis Gaston. That Marquis Gaston killed people. And that their army above was wreaked havoc by the Mechanical Puppet.
And that the corporations caused the rampage.
To those who ask for evidence, Victoria picks up the machinery she was holding before attacking a person, and places it in her hand like water.
And she tells them where it has been.
Then, among those inside, a few react. Some know the machinery Victoria holds; some are aware that a Mechanical Puppet travels under the capital; and some know about the transmitter attached to the programming device Victoria doesn’t remember.
Now everyone here knows about the fatal flaw of the power device they all are aware of.
Surprisingly, Polaris intervenes in the middle and states what happened on the airship.
Even though it was the royal airship, the Mechanical Puppet inside tried to kill people and itself.
It’s a strange sight.
Despite the overwhelming violence just moments before, everyone is now having a coherent conversation. The harvesting machines that were considering taking over the country, and the harvesting machines that tried to create religions to become the leaders of new groups are now seriously engaging in the conversation.
They are thinking properly to uncover the truth.
What follows is even more horrifying.
From behind me, a harvesting machine with a left arm cut off emerges from hiding in the forest.
A harvesting machine whose name is Richard Gaston has entered this conversation.
Weren’t we in a relationship where we slaughtered each other over a long time?
Shouldn’t you be foolishly warming me with desires and impulses?
Foolishly.
No.
That’s not right.
Unfortunately, once you become a harvesting machine, your mind sharpens.
The only clever malice you gain is the ability to take from others, while the overall ability improves.
Especially if you stand here as an individual, not as a group, you start to think even more rationally.
You shouldn’t be doing this.
What are you doing?
If you keep fighting like this, I was going to try to escape during the chaos. A royal flying battleship is currently coming here, not a civilian airship I rode with Polaris.
If they walk just a little north, they’ll join up and everything will be over.
Then both the Twilight Association and Gaston’s army will flee in all directions like baby spiders. And they’ll spread the misfortunes they’ve experienced everywhere.
It would be like guerrillas forming across the entire kingdom.
Then the unfortunate harvesting machines would even more actively accept the knowledge I send, and be on the path to changing the world.
But why did it turn out like this?
I watch from a distance as people with serious expressions do not shy away from their sins and seek the truth.
This alone is a failure.
