The Outer God Needs Warmth

While I was chatting away, the sky outside the window turned a lovely shade of yellow.

It’s evening.

Victoria asked me if I wanted to have dinner with her, but I shook my head because I had somewhere to go first.

Since her dorm serves dinner, at least she wouldn’t go hungry.

So I felt relieved and said goodbye to Victoria, promising to see her tomorrow, and left the student dorm.

Just outside the main gate, to the left, there’s a big building.

That’s where I’m going to stay.

As soon as I walked in, someone came out to greet me. Not a caretaker, but a genuine butler. Since it’s a place provided by the Highpion King, it would actually be weird if there wasn’t someone like this.

Once inside, things are pretty simple.

Shower, change clothes, eat, and then chill.

The only issue is that I don’t have any money on me.

No one has explained why I was put in the Royal Academy, so we all have to just speculate, which is a bit frustrating.

I don’t have a great mind, and while interpreting what I’ve experienced isn’t too bad, predicting what will happen next or trying to understand someone I’ve never met before is a different ball game.

But it’s not bad enough to warrant asking questions.

Someday, the Highpion will grow old, and as they do, their body will deteriorate, leading to illness. Eventually, they’ll get the chance for treatment during the harvesting period. I don’t know when that single opportunity will come, but they will definitely use it.

After all, they’ve built it up as something great, haven’t they?

When that time comes, I’ll gain memories that are organized in my mind, so it might be better to aim for that moment.

In the harvesting period, reading memories isn’t the same. I remember because I was there with them. There’s a subtle difference. If memories include the subject’s subjectivity, then it also includes my subjectivity because I was watching alongside them.

Of course, it’s not just downside.

Literally, I can’t control that body, but I can feel the same things. Actually, I feel even more.

I experience every single movement of the body that could be considered unconscious, all the way from the skin surface to the internal organs.

And that’s how I spent my day.

*

The next day.

While my body was asleep, I woke up on time with the morning.

A maid entered the room and gave me a look of horror as she saw me waking up.

Is it really that strange?

Considering Soo-oh’s tall stature, it might look a bit like Choseol mixed in there, since I have such pale skin that looks almost eerily white.

Once I got out of bed, the maid approached me. She guided me on when to wash up and what to wear.

After breakfast, an unnamed butler asked if I wanted a carriage prepared, but I shook my head to refuse.

I figured if I didn’t walk at least a little, I wouldn’t move enough.

So I said goodbye to the butler at the entrance and headed straight to the Royal Academy.

From the front gate to the building in the center of the school, a road stretches wide.

Alongside it, students coming out of the dorms are on their way to school. There are people living outside like me, and there are also those living in the dorms.

The building’s architecture is very classical. There are ascending stairs at the entrance with large columns standing in a row, reminiscent of a temple.

Upon entering, there’s a spacious area. On both sides of this wide space are stairs that spiral up in different directions.

But I won’t need to go up there until next year.

The grade and floor correspond, you see.

Since I’m a first-year, I headed to the classroom on the first floor.

Inside, it didn’t look like a classroom from a faded memory with desks and chairs crammed together.

On the contrary, it was very spacious. There’s a fan-shaped area at the front, where a teacher stands on a podium, teaching like in a performance. Around that, tables and chairs are arranged in a stair-like structure.

Considering the number of people, it’s so spacious it’s almost too low-density to be called a classroom.

Inside, several students had already arrived. There’s a mix of boys and girls.

Standing at the entrance and looking around, I could see four main groups. Strictly speaking, five.

The last one is a group without a group. Victoria and I are part of that.

Victoria hasn’t arrived yet.

She often sleeps in, and it’s true today. I hope she isn’t late as she rushes to get here.

Thinking that, I made my way to the seat I had sat in yesterday.

When I climbed the stairs, someone was already sitting in that spot.

“Eek!”

A girl was startled as she saw me, hopped up from her seat, and ran away, saying she was sorry. But since she was in this class yesterday, it’s not like she could just run away. Why would she?

Before I could even say anything, she had dashed off.

Feeling awkward about moving to another seat, I settled back into the one I had used yesterday.

Just in case, I gave the seat a once-over, and it was clean.

If she had done something, then she must have.

Since it wasn’t anything obvious, it seemed she was just sitting there and got scared when I came.

I could have just gone to an empty seat.

I thought that since the spot I sat in yesterday was also open, I could sit there all the time, but could it be that seats change by the day?

Not long after, Victoria came in.

Just after her, the teacher entered, so she narrowly avoided being late.

Victoria took a seat next to me like before.

She must have rushed over because I could feel the heat radiating from her.

Well, at least she should get up a bit earlier.

Thank goodness, or is it a waste of psychic ability to evaporate the sweat from her body so it doesn’t soak her clothes?

I thought there’d be a struggle to breathe at first, but the sweat evaporated as soon as it appeared.

Seeing that, I realized she was using her psychic powers.

That was a trifle, but soon enough, the first class of the day ended and lunchtime arrived.

“It’s tough, Bell…”

As everyone started leaving their seats, Victoria whispered to me. Her expression showed she was not physically tired but mentally worn out.

There are many people here who are in different positions than the ones she usually meets. So, I guess it’s exhausting for her to be here.

Honestly, Victoria is not that social.

She seems to take after her dad more than her mom, enjoying fiddling with clockwork machines. Tossing her into a relationship-heavy place like this could wear anyone out.

“Eating will help.”

“I’m not that simple!”

But a smile appeared at her lips.

I remember how she wolfed down her food yesterday, raving about how tasty it was. It was not just delicious; it seemed to help relieve some stress as well.

Since the structure implies that the higher-ranking individuals leave first, Victoria and I waited at our seats, when suddenly a girl approached me.

“You’re Bell, right? Come with me.”

She introduced herself in a commanding tone without any pleasantries. But I nodded in response. When I did so without speaking, she gave me an irritated look but said nothing.

It seems she wanted to speak but was somehow suppressing it. In other words, someone had sent this girl to call me. Since the command only involved bringing me along, she’s likely holding back.

“Bell, you don’t have to go.”

“Go ahead and eat.”

Victoria worriedly asked me. It’s funny who’s worried about whom.

I followed the girl who called me.

She didn’t lead me to the dining hall but instead to a place away from the classroom.

Deep inside the building.

She even turned sharply at a 90-degree angle before going farther in.

As I walked in, the smell changed. Outside had the typical school scent, while inside, it was rich. Or rather, it was a dense, grassy smell?

“Shiodore-sama, I’ve brought him.”

“Good work. You can leave.”

As I stepped in, a sharp-looking girl was sitting there. What’s peculiar is that even though it’s summer, she’s wearing a long dress unlike anyone else.

Considering the other students wore relatively short clothing, this girl is likely someone who cares about tradition or is out of touch with the times.

“Shiodore-sama, he’s an unidentified outsider.”

“It’s fine. Or should I have to give you an order?”

The girl who brought me here bowed her head, then brushed past me while whispering.

“Behave respectfully to Shiodore-sama.”

Then she exited the room. She’s quite the considerate person. Not in a sycophantic way, but it feels genuine deep inside.

Shiodore seems to be a person of influence.

“Now, take a seat.”

The one whose name I didn’t catch indicated in front of her. There’s a table, and a cup is laid out in the empty space.

So, I sat down.

“For someone the royal court has elevated, you’re rather quiet. On the broadcast, you seemed sharper.”

She said while looking at me.

To someone who doesn’t know her, her face might seem intimidating, but she was watching with curiosity and no particular emotion.

“I’m Kanna Temrane Shiodore. You’re Bell, aren’t you?”

Shiodore house. That’s quite a high-ranking family. I’ve heard that name in Aurora’s memories.

“Yes, I’m currently using the name Bell.”

So I answered truthfully.

“You speak oddly. Do you have a real name?”

Her expression is filled with doubt. And since her tone changed a bit, it seems the stiff way of speaking was a facade. It looks like this is her natural way of talking. Perhaps she hadn’t expected to think deeply, making it hard for her.

“Normally, one uses their original name, but I don’t have one.”

Since I’m an artificially created chunk of meat, I don’t have a name.

The girl in front of me pondered over what I said for quite a while.

“Ah. Are you perhaps saying the body and mind are owned by different entities?”

I don’t recall that ever being mentioned in broadcasts or newspapers. Has she figured that out from what I said?

“That’s correct. How did you know?”

When I said that, she was the one who looked more surprised and pulled back.

Fear, disgust, doubt, and curiosity.

Her face was a jumble of various emotions.

“I just thought that could be a possibility because what you said was similar to what I imagined.”

I didn’t quite get what she meant.

It sounded like she had previously imagined that the body and mind could be different things, and I just happened to say something that matched her thoughts.

“You’re really intriguing.”

Her eyes blinked widely.

“Are you not going to do anything to me?”

“Why would I?”

“If the owners of the body are different… No, right. I see now, an originally empty body. That means, because you claimed to have no name, you’re confident you haven’t stolen anything?”

She asked that as she immediately processed it and hit on the truth.

This girl is smart. I was mistaken to think she might be foolish since her speech pattern changed so easily.

“Yes.”

She’s got a sharp mind. Just like Daegon and the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. Though I have memories, I can’t do what they can.

“You don’t say much, do you? Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, I’m just not the talkative type.”

Too much talking can lead to mistakes, and from the faded era, I wasn’t one to talk a lot.

And I’ve said enough to make my speech pattern revert back to normal. I begged, pleaded, and kept doing so.

Anyway.

“What do you want from me?”

You must have called me for some purpose, right? I looked straight at her and asked. She thought for a moment and then said:

“I’m here this time to introduce myself. And from now on, if anything happens, just say that Princess Shiodore called for you and come find me.”

She spoke as if she already knew something would happen.

I took a drink from the beverage in front of me. It was really bland. No, I should say it was clear, but it’s not to my taste.

She then flashed a wry smile.

“You’re pretty reckless, aren’t you? What if that was poison?”

That sounded more like advice than a joke. I guess she’s called me here to gauge something about me.

In that case, let’s give her something to ponder on.

I strive to speak only the truth, so I answered:

“It’s hard for monsters to die.”

Then I stood up from my seat, said my farewells to her, and left the room.

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