The Outer God Needs Warmth

The event happened just the next day.

If there was a problem, it was that it had nothing to do with witches.

“You approached someone you shouldn’t have, without knowing your place.”

A girl stands in front of me.

The sharp eyes of a girl with her long hair tied up fluffily are right at my eye level. Just for reference, I’m really short.

In other words, the girl in front of me is as small as I am.

But strength is different from height.

The girl who approached me lightly lifted me by grabbing my clothes. My legs whoosh off the ground.

I often have the experience of my legs floating up.

But this…

I never thought I’d experience it. When I think about it, this body is a girl.

Even on the ship heading to Bern City, I didn’t expect such romance fantasy-like events from faded memories to happen…

I didn’t think I’d end up being the protagonist in such a situation.

In reality, it’s supposed to be a much darker and more sinister form, yet here it is happening so openly.

Meanwhile, Victoria, seeing me get lifted by my clothes, walked over angrily but was stopped by a classmate.

Worrying about me? She seems to have forgotten what I am.

I don’t know how much I can endure, but this body is remarkably sturdy.

However, regardless of the physical performance, there’s no need to worry about a fight in the first place.

In my eyes, I can see the girl’s pupils in front of me. The brightly shining golden eyes are scanning the surroundings, not me.

They have a look of determination, trying to find something, not the emotions of jealousy or malice.

Then her gaze met mine, and she looked at me as if seeing something strange.

“Do you not know what situation you’re in right now?”

“What situation?”

Thud.

My body was lowered. My clothes got disheveled, but she had the strength to choke me yet only held onto my clothes to lift me.

She has no intention of attacking me, so what should I do?

“You’re still dazed. We need to talk in a safe place.”

The girl, forcing a look of incredulity, dramatically shook her head and turned her gaze towards Victoria, as if she were going to impose a personal sanction.

Yet she had no such thoughts.

“You there. If you have complaints, come with me.”

She pointed a finger at Victoria. Seeing her call for my side, it seems she’s planning to explain the situation.

Then the girl grabbed my wrist and started pulling me along.

“Lady Barrington. It’s not good to intimidate a clueless commoner.”

The girl who had brought me to Shiodore last time blocked the entrance.

“I’ll handle this with words, so step aside. Lady Shekal. Do you think you can stop me under Shiodore’s name?”

Perhaps because there was an implication in her words that she would make her regret it if they fought, the girl with the surname Shekal stepped back.

She was a head taller, but whether the power of her status was strong or the girl from Barrington was just that formidable, fear was evident on the face of the Shekal girl.

After six months of studying together, I’d figured it out.

As Shekal stepped aside, she whispered softly to me.

“If things get dangerous, call for Lord Shiodore.”

Of course, Barrington heard this, but she merely showed an expression of surprise and didn’t say anything as she continued to draw me along.

I was led by Barrington towards the east wing. It’s directly opposite the western wing where Shiodore was located.

However, instead of going inside the building, we exited through a small door nestled at a 90-degree turn.

The moment we stepped outside, I felt the surrounding moisture drying up.

Hmm. Turning my head, Victoria’s expression looked dangerous. More precisely, it was akin to the expression someone has when they’re about to start slaughtering Sahaquins.

It’s a determined expression that says they’ll do what needs to be done.

After going outside, we entered a forest artificially created within the academy, with traces still left behind. Barrington released my wrist after we got to a spot out of sight.

Then, stepping a little further away…

Crash!

She broke a thick tree with her bare hands.

I was surprised about where such strength came from that little body, but most issues could be resolved with magic.

The problem was the soil beneath was crumbling.

“I didn’t call you to get angry.”

“Looks like you knew after all.”

Brushing off her palms, the girl from Barrington walked over nonchalantly.

“Huh? What? Were you trying to bother Bell for some trivial reason?”

At Victoria’s words, Barrington approached with no further reaction.

“Though it’s a trivial reason, the jealousy that arises from it isn’t trivial. A year ago, the daughter of my uncle working at our house got messed up and dropped out, only because she happened to talk to the prince once.”

Well, the prince wasn’t in the same grade, clearly.

And it seems Cinderella dreams exist in all worlds.

Victoria looked at Barrington and then at me. After a moment of realization, she waved her hand.

Then the ground slowly got wet, bubbling up with frothy water, and the ground turned to muddy water.

“You’re quite a dangerous person, huh?”

Barrington watched Victoria with keen interest.

“Dangerous? What a rude thing to say. Aren’t you a noble lady?”

“I am Polaris Balluin Barrington. You can call me Pola.”

Barrington chuckled at Victoria’s words. Victoria looked at Polaris, unsure if this was right.

“I’m Bell. The name was given to me by the one next to me, Victoria.”

“I’m Victoria Bert. People call me Tori if they’re close, so feel free to use it if you want.”

No one else called me that aside from family.

“Gave you a name?”

Polaris looked at me and Victoria in bewilderment. Victoria shot me a glance as if questioning why she said that, then opened her mouth but stopped.

“Bell, explain.”

And then she spoke to me again.

“It’s easier if you define it.”

“Let’s put it simply, I’m not human.”

“Does that mean you have no humanity?”

Polaris blinked, processing my words. Then she asked again.

“If I say it’s about species, would that be easier to understand?”

Looking at her expression, it seemed she was asking knowingly. So I told her it was how she thought.

“No, you mean a monster? Just like that?”

“Is it easy for people to recover?”

I asked a fact everyone knows.

The royal family actively promoted it. They even had a special broadcast regarding the psychic abilities I possessed, raising awareness during the harvesting period.

To sponsor that, the royal family had supported the Purple Twilight Association from the start.

Last night, several people who ran the Purple Twilight Association began fighting due to interrupted funding, ultimately searching for where the funding came from.

That’s when I learned too.

And the Purple Twilight Association is subtly cracking without that funding.

In other words, it’s because they were simply doing volunteer work.

Yeah. Who would easily do such work when their livelihood isn’t guaranteed?

Moreover, most people in the Purple Twilight Association were heavily injured, yet after contracting with me, they healed as if nothing had happened.

Even the princess was healed.

“Not recovered, huh. So that’s why you did such a broadcast. I thought it was quite unusual for the royal family to have such an odd broadcast to cover up a monster.”

I suspect that was done for Princess Aurora, but I didn’t say that out loud.

“So, you came out to mark it before I got bullied, huh.”

Polaris nodded earnestly to that statement. It’s like a bear scratching its territory.

“Were they a good person?”

“You can’t categorize people purely as good or bad.”

Because anyone can become a harvester. I have preferences, but warmth is more important than that.

Anyway.

“I’m not that good a person either.”

After saying that, Polaris went to sit on a chair in one corner of the garden. Then she raised her feet. Muddy water dripped down.

Seeing this, Victoria approached her.

Not noticing Victoria coming closer, Polaris slipped off her shoes and pulled her stockings down a bit before squeezing the water out.

“By the way, why does Shiodore’s dog side with you? When you hear it, that limping princess stirred up the biggest mess last year.”

“The limping princess?”

Victoria repeated back. The moment she spoke right in front of her, Polaris looked up in surprise.

Victoria, gently soothing Polaris, placed her hand on her shoulder and created droplets from the ground to wash her dirty feet clean.

Polaris blinked, watching it, and after confirming that her clothes and shoes were washed clean and thoroughly dried, she was impressed.

Then she raised her head and looked at Victoria and me, opening her mouth.

“Why do you ask? She’s quite famous in high society, oh wait. Sorry, you wouldn’t know about this. That person had a problem with her legs since birth. But she’s smart and has done a lot. A person with many good and bad stories.”

There are many light dresses worn by those in both nobility and commoner classes, yet it was odd to see her dressed in long clothes alone.

So she was hiding her legs. If one side is defective, only the muscles on the frequently used side will develop.

“I heard that she was the one who made that uncle’s daughter from our house into such a mess so she dropped out, so I thought she had a bad personality, but it seems she’s a protector…”

Then she turned her gaze towards me.

“Are you hoping for her legs to heal?”

“In dangerous situations, she said to first invoke the name Shiodore.”

Implying I hadn’t spoken that out loud yet.

“Exchanging favors, huh? That’s a good way to go about it. If you owe someone, it’s easy to drag them around.”

And Polaris immediately understood.

“Though I want to say just forget the favor,…”

Crossing her arms, Polaris fell deep into thought.

“The strongest power is probably Shiodore’s, so it might be better to use me as an excuse and fully rely on him. That treatment, is it okay to do as you please? I mean, will she even recover?”

I nodded.

“Yes. If she desires it, I’ll do it.”

Those supposedly afflicted with genetic diseases returned to normal from the first world.

“Is it really okay to do as you please?”

“No one has imposed restrictions on me so far.”

Last time, I imposed some when necessary, but the third world has none of that.

“Do well under Shiodore. By the way, even if it’s our grade whom you may not know, there are still many who believe if they perform well, they could become queen, so be as careful as possible.”

I nodded in agreement.

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