The next day.
The weekend is just around the corner! Students love their days off, so normally on weekends, whispers of excitement fill the air. But today is different.
It’s raining from the sky.
Maybe it’s because the weather is chillier compared to the day before, many students are complaining about the cold, and the gloomy sky adds to the heavy atmosphere.
A student who’s been in the capital for a long time laments that once the rain stops, it’ll get really cold, and that just makes the classroom even more depressing.
If we take a look at the memories of the Harvesting Machine, it’s the same.
There are some strange seasons that suddenly jump out at you, while others might have no winter at all, or an unusually long winter—that’s close to an incident rather than climate.
Why is that?
Because there’s a monster that can change the seasons.
But fundamentally, it doesn’t drop below zero degrees here. If you go further west, the ocean stretches out immediately, and even if you head east, there’s the sea. In fact, there’s a round body of water in the center of the country that couldn’t look any less like a giant crater.
Draw a short rectangular prism from the equator to the northern hemisphere, and just a bit below in the center of the pillar. Attach a circle where the left side of the pillar is the diameter, and that’s a simple map of this continent.
For reference, this world has more land in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere.
Although it’s not detailed, I have an outline of the entire land. Certainly, many areas remain unexplored, but I could at least sketch the coastlines.
Anyway.
Even in winter, this country doesn’t get cold enough for snow.
So why are keywords like “lack of diversity” or terms like “market” and “supply chain” becoming so prominent these days?
It feels unusually emphasized since arriving in this world.
No, that’s not right.
It’s just that gathering a lot of warmth from the first world connected with that memory. In the second world, my life was almost like the Stone Age, so there wasn’t much to draw from those memories.
And then there’s Daegon, who had a vast amount of memories from ruling an entire world. Gaining his memories was quite late in the game.
Thinking back on how long it took to digest that, it makes sense that the memories shine more frequently in the third world.
So, as I extend my Harvesting Machine, the number of shining memories increases.
Let’s consider that a good thing.
Even if it sometimes throws out incorrect information in simple searches, it isn’t involved in decision-making.
“Why does she look so vibrant?”
Since that day, Polaris, who talks to us two or three times a week, tugged on the glimmering cheeks of Victoria and asked.
“When it rains, Victoria becomes lively.”
“Getting stronger with rain, are you a water spirit from a fairy tale?”
Polaris pinched Victoria’s cheeks and brought her fingers to her own eyes with a very surprised expression.
“What’s this sensation?”
“Hehe, there are many things you can do with water. For example, to push away your fierce grip!”
Victoria’s skin shimmered slightly.
There’s a thin layer of water covering her.
Wow, this girl can do that now.
Wait, isn’t she getting better and better?
Not long ago, she could only wash quickly and squeeze out the water. Now she can do this?
“Is something going on? You’re covering your entire body with this, right?”
At that, Victoria smiled wryly and shook her head.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Polaris. Just doing this keeps my skin in perfect condition, and I realized I can raise the temperature like this!”
“That sounds more magical than magic.”
Wow.
I was surprised too. So, Victoria can create a thin water shield around her body and warm herself up at the same time?
“How do you keep it warm?”
Curious, I asked, and Victoria raised her index finger.
Then, at the tip of her finger, water droplets formed in mid-air.
As the droplet grew, once it was the size of a nail, Victoria spoke again.
“If you harden this water, the temperature drops.”
The water had solidified. In other words, it froze.
“If you make it tremble, the temperature rises.”
And it began to vibrate slowly.
“I tried to solve the tension in my shoulders yesterday, and this happened.”
Pang.
In an instant, the nail-sized droplet turned into white vapor and disappeared into the air. In other words, it turned into steam.
It truly means you can do anything with water.
Wait.
Come to think of it, she could already do this.
Back in Bern City, in her last moments, Victoria dropped the ocean onto the ground, compressing it until it solidified into a mirror-like surface.
When Victoria relaxed, a white fog surrounded the glassy surface. That meant the temperature dropped when the water solidified.
There were indications.
Is it too casual to say that if it’s water, you can handle anything?
In the first world, the Harvesting Machine didn’t possess abilities that went this far.
How fascinating.
“Hey, can I do that too?”
“It’s hard to wrap around like me, but this part works.”
And with that, Victoria took Polaris’s hand. Her hand shimmered slightly, and Polaris’s expression melted away instantly.
“Warm.”
“Right?”
Seeing that expression, Victoria giggled.
From my memories, the words “steam engine” and “mini reactor level” glimmered and then faded away.
Surely, boiling water to turn turbines sounds reasonable.
Considering the amount of volume Victoria consumed, isn’t that almost on the level of creating something from nothing?
Of course, I don’t plan on mentioning that.
In the first place, this world knows electricity as that thing that happens when lightning strikes.
Even the distinction between static electricity and electric current isn’t something that even the educated know.
If the learned don’t understand, who does? It seems like soldiers or those who catch monsters know more about it.
Among the monsters, there are ones that discharge electricity using magical powers.
As long as they’re in contact with water, there are dangers related to that, just like how metals can be electrified.
That’s why facilities like lightning rods are properly placed on buildings.
But that’s about it.
There’s no foundational knowledge, and above all, there’s a lack of technology to create turbines. It’s odd that there’s a winding mechanism but no turbines, but the technology hasn’t developed that far.
Memories seem to convey the same. When I see related searches like “fluid dynamics” or “steel,” it doesn’t feel like just one or two pieces of information are missing.
“What, should I warm you up too?”
“Yes! No, um, not that. It’s fine if it’s about warmth.”
After answering without thinking to Victoria’s question, I suddenly realized that warmth isn’t just about that type of heat…
Warmth.
I’ve been feeling it a little lately.
More and more transport workers among the Harvesters have increased, but lately, the intensity has risen. Fundamentally, Harvesters have strong physical abilities, so they crush anything easily.
Originally, if someone killed like that, they would at least be taken by the police or the local authorities to write up a report. In any society, people don’t just go around killing each other openly.
Not that they particularly value morals, but it’s not the same reason.
It’s acceptable for rulers to exploit and torture subjects, or to kill for amusement.
In faded memories, if I had to find an understandable analogy, it would be that.
It’s fine to throw workers into the opponent’s territory to light up the map. But if my workers fight each other and get chopped down, that’s a failing game, right?
It’s the same principle.
Originally, the ruling class thinks it’s acceptable to wear out their own possessions, but they don’t want to see their assets reducing due to infighting.
Divide and rule.
There’s that saying, but if division leads to no one being left and they stab each other to ruin, there’s nothing left to rule over.
Laws exist to prevent that kind of asset depletion.
But those laws are gradually becoming looser.
Maybe due to rising costs, there are more brigands. As they try to protect their lives, they think killing others isn’t a crime. The numbness to killing another person is growing. Or maybe it’s a world where one cannot survive without doing so.
This problem seems to have arisen from rejecting mechanical puppets.
But the royal family is developing independent technology that isn’t compatible with three corporations, allowing for transparency within.
It might be a little chaotic now, but things will be good soon.
Until then, I should enjoy the warmth that’s creeping in.
“It’s not too cold right now.”
Hmm. But if I just end it there, I feel like I’ll be pressed to explain what I meant by the cold. Let’s change the subject. People talk animatedly about their problems. Let’s poke at it.
“So, Victoria, are you doing well in the dormitory? I know the warm water works well there.”
The question about are you doing well is something I can ask even if I know the answer, and I do know that the warm water runs well.
But from the mention of the cold, it follows that they probably think I’m hinting at something. Plus, I know Victoria’s been unhappy in the dormitory.
I nudged her a bit to spill that out.
And Victoria bit the bait right away.
“The water comes out great. But when it comes to living in the dormitory, well…”
“Why, is something wrong with the dormitory?”
Polaris looked at her with an expression of surprise. Polaris is the eldest daughter of Marquis Barrington. She’s not so poor that she’d need to live in a dormitory.
Nobles entering dormitories are usually those of an ambiguous status.
“You know a lot of noble students have entered the dormitory, right?”
“Yeah. I heard our kid got in there, and she was lamenting about it. Is there a bully or a suicidal wannabe?”
Victoria glared at Polaris with a sour face. It seems to be because she brought up a subordinate’s story.
But Victoria didn’t point that out and let slip her own problems.
“That won’t kill anyone. Honestly, there are more people who block the path, squabbling in the corridors. Girls like me have to either turn back or go out the window.”
“Whoa! How brazen of them, blocking your path.”
“Polaris.”
“Hehe, but that’s true.”
When Victoria glared, Polaris flinched and turned her gaze elsewhere. Her mouth was smiling, but her murmurs could be heard by Victoria.
Victoria pretended not to hear it and continued talking.
“Still, there are many fun things happening.”
“Fun things?”
Victoria approached Polaris, lowering her voice and opening up.
There’s a guy who comes visiting from the boys’ dorm at night, or fights over one guy saying “break up with him” or “love me more,” and so on.
With that, the two chatted away until the break ended.
Me?
I was seriously contemplating whether I could approach the defeated girl and propose an idea about the Harvesting Machine.
