The Outer God Needs Warmth

That day, after afternoon classes, I parted ways with Victoria.

Victoria was full of motivation, determined not to give up on her dreams and to try various things.

After we split, she promptly went to the faculty room to consult a teacher. Thanks to that teacher’s recommendation, she met with another teacher who teaches the subject of clockwork knights, which she hadn’t encountered before.

That teacher also agreed to help her pursue what she wanted after hearing her aspirations.

Both teachers, true to their roles, were supporting a student who was striving for her dreams.

It wasn’t fake; it was real.

How disappointing!

Isn’t it too clean for a royal academy?

Since it’s fundamentally a school for nobles, aren’t the teachers usually the type to discriminate or refuse to do anything unless it concerns them?

But they were seriously listening to the student’s concerns and providing advice.

I don’t know if it’s generosity from the storeroom or if Victoria did something that deserved some kindness, but there are no bad people around.

Things are progressing surprisingly smoothly.

It’s a strange world.

You can’t be too kind, you know?

From what I know, the development of human society requires a lot of people whose corpses could pile up.

Victims have always existed, and I believe that will never change.

And those abandoned sacrifices will give me warmth.

As time passes and society progresses, the number of sacrifices will likely increase.

I hope this world isn’t one where the formula I know doesn’t apply.

Oh, of course, I don’t mean that people are becoming more evil. If there are bad people, there are also good people.

Even if the ratio is the same, the total amount makes the warmth different, right?

If the world hadn’t shattered when too much of me was contained, everyone would have received warmth during the harvesting period. Everyone would have gotten warmth without anyone being discarded.

The first world almost succeeded.

But how could anyone predict that too many harvesters would break the world?

So in the second world, I held back.

In fact, I held back so much that the harvesters couldn’t exceed a hundred, and I eventually got kicked out of that world. It wasn’t a complete loss, but personally, it felt like a failure. A failure.

So in the third world, I’m going to act a bit more proactively.

Above all, this world has largely cut away religion. People now believe in reason and technology instead of gods and envision a future that can create a better world using them.

In other words, there’s a greater likelihood that there won’t be anyone like Seongsin Church from the first world or Gonryun from the second world to interfere with me.

Very good indeed.

But I won’t spread the harvesters. At least, not for now.

Right now, I’ll just give to those who truly desire it.

Instead, I’m using another method.

I currently have nearly ten thousand harvesters. In other words, it means there are many entities whose memories I can send.

The memories from the first world aren’t particularly useful. Sure, I acquired the whole world, and among them, there are some decent techniques.

But they just can’t compare to the memories of Daegon and the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign from the second world.

Daegon represents a civilization focused on hero units, and thus, all the powerful techniques require equally powerful mental and physical abilities. It means only superhumans can use those techniques.

But not everything is useless.

Daegon holds all memories from a time when his civilization developed gradually.

From when he was once just a simple fishman, to becoming a god who ruled an entire world and invaded other worlds — all those memories. Everything from the very start to when he reached the peak.

The earlier parts could be useful.

Especially in a world where technology is only moderately developed.

The memories of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign are similar, but he collaborated with other immortals to create much of it. In other words, the Primeval Heavenly Sovereign doesn’t have all the information either.

I don’t understand the initial technologies very well either. However, as I distribute them, there will definitely be people who will understand.

After pondering which option is better, I decided to initially split them in half: one side holds Daegon’s memories. The other side will have the memories of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign cut and included.

While I’m at it, I’ll include the One Stroke Cheonma Martial Art in everyone’s collection. Although learning it won’t necessarily turn someone into a Cheonma, it will certainly be helpful.

There’s a minor issue where memories don’t actually transfer to particularly strong-willed individuals, but how much self-esteem could they possibly have?

Heh heh.

I may have to wait for decades, but it will surely bloom spectacularly.

I know.

There was a world where, in pursuit of pure reason, a holocaust emerged instead of mere slaughter.

Slaughter means killing people, while a holocaust means removing objects. It happened extremely rationally and routinely.

The law deemed it the right thing, and people thought it was a moral obligation.

Erasing an entire race was considered a good deed.

Therefore, not everything the law demands needs to be upheld, and just because someone is doing something good, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.

They fulfilled their obligation and caused a horrific event that changed the era.

In a world where the moral standards leaned on the absolute being referred to as god are shattered, how quickly might something similar occur?

This is my investment plan.

Before human culture catches up, let merciless technology consume humanity.

I returned to the accommodation where I’m staying and meticulously divided the memories, sending necessary portions to the harvesters living in this world.

Of course, I’m constantly sending technologies that can summon me to harvesters in other worlds.

However, any technology that can summon me inherently requires economies of scale… So I guess I’ll try without expecting too much.

*

Hmm.

I wished that time could flow smoothly like this.

“How is it? Are you doing well at the Royal Academy?”

Solindiges blatantly showed up at the Royal Academy and whisked me away to the guest room in the royal palace.

Yes, the prince of this country. He took advantage of the gap when my classes finished.

If I dissect the whispering voices at that time, it turns out Solindiges attends the Royal Academy as well, so strictly speaking, it’s accurate to say he came to collect me on his way back.

I didn’t know because I didn’t care.

I was focusing on the fact that the next harvester would likely be the Highpion King, so I overlooked Solindiges.

He never even visited me at the royal palace. I figured he wasn’t interested, so our chances of meeting again seemed far away, but what could it be?

For now, I nodded in response to his question.

“Yes.”

He then smiled wryly.

“I see. It seems you’re not really adjusting well, either here or in the palace. If your living situation is a burden and making things tough, let me know. I’ll never forget the favor of waking that girl.”

Oh?

Gratitude and concern are evident in his expression. Perhaps not coming to the palace to see me was an act of consideration?

Now that I think about it, on the first day, no one reproached me for coming back late to the accommodation. Their attitude was too soft to be called captivity or confinement.

Hmm…?

Let’s recall the actions I’ve taken in the palace or here.

Doing nothing and just sitting still, huh?

Yes.

In a way, I might seem tense or stressed from doing nothing.

This body doesn’t have an original owner, and it’s not even human, so there’s no need to exercise separately…

The Dormiens royal family doesn’t seem to have any thoughts of collecting or using information about me. Isn’t a royal family a place more full of conspiracy and intrigue?

Even if Aurora is treated like a golden egg, I find it strange how well the family gets along.

“I’m fine.”

Honestly, I have nothing I desire right now. But I’ll keep the right to ask for help in the future.

“If something really urgent comes up, I might ask for a favor.”

It may sound like flattery, but if I speak only the truth without any lies henceforth, this statement becomes a mere fact.

It could mean that I requested help because I genuinely needed it.

I wouldn’t mind if he refused at that time. Just having the chance to ask is sufficient over being unable to engage at all.

Solindiges nodded.

“Alright. Feel free to speak up, especially if something strange happens.”

There, I caught a fleeting glimpse of guilt mixed in with survival instincts. This sentence hints that something might happen.

Something strange is bound to occur, and it likely involves a target imbued with murderous intent, which suggests I could be used as bait.

There’s a possibility regarding whether that might happen, and then I recalled the moment when I made Aurora into a harvester.

At that time, there was a very faint resistance…

Somebody turned Aurora into that, and I can infer that the Dormiens royal family couldn’t catch that person.

And there’s a high likelihood that this same someone could approach me.

Then the perspective shifts a bit. Letting me roam freely isn’t just courtesy; it’s a setup for someone to ambush me.

The perpetrator who turned Aurora into that.

The witch who cursed the Dormiens royal family.

No one knows where she is, but if she realizes the curse has been broken, she’s likely to come and deal with it.

That means she intends to use me as bait to catch them.

Phew.

What a relief.

I thought this world was filled only with good people. I was worried there might only be something disguised as people, not real humans.

Indeed, people seem to be the same everywhere.

A royal is someone who can ruthlessly grind down people unrelated to them and use them as test subjects without hesitation.

I wondered if only kings would do that, but the prince turned out to be one of those people too. No, it seems everyone is like that. Themselves first. Those around them take higher priority. Anyone outside that is an afterthought.

If the rankings are the same, that person likely has no interest in the world, or they are simply insane.

“Yes, if I find myself in danger, I will do that.”

Upon responding that way, Solindiges nodded as if satisfied, finished the drink he had in front of him, pushed the snacks toward me, and waited.

Out of courtesy, I finished my drink and nibbled on a few snacks before we wrapped things up.

Solindiges nodded in satisfaction as I set my cup down, called someone, and exited the room.

This is the royal castle, so people accompany me when I move.

Following that person, we exited the castle. Once outside, we hopped into a vehicle parked in front, and the ride began smoothly.

Soon, the castle walls and gate came into view through the window.

Past that, a wall with barbed wire appears. After passing through that three-layered security, we arrive at the Royal Academy.

Of course, it’s surrounded by a vast garden, so it takes a while before you see the building.

The royal castle and the Royal Academy are practically adjacent. Thus, it’s highly probable the prince commutes between them.

That’s because he visited Aurora yesterday.

So I inadvertently thought he didn’t attend the Royal Academy or even graduated, but that wasn’t the case.

As a side note, Aurora has an older sister who is Solindiges’s younger sister too, and she attends a school abroad, so she visited briefly when I woke up before leaving for abroad again.

Since she was the one who clung to Aurora’s pants when she got better, she isn’t exactly ostracized at the castle. After all, at that time, Solindiges nodded in understanding while watching that scene.

Their relationship isn’t bad either.

In other words, it doesn’t seem like there will be brutal royal family battles happening anytime soon…

It’s too rigid.

I guess I should just be hopeful about Aurora and her child.

By the time I finished organizing my thoughts, I arrived at the place where I was staying.

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