The Outer God Needs Warmth

It’s raining from the sky. Pitter patter

Seeing that Bern City is not coming, I guess it only rains around here.

Today, I change into the clothes prepared for me at the accommodation, have breakfast, and head toward the Royal Academy.

I walk along the edge of a road wide enough for six cars to go at the same time.

Maybe because it’s raining, many cars are going inside. And the path from the dorm to the school is brilliantly colored.

Umbrellas are blooming like flowers. Fwoosh

I’m also using the umbrella they handed me when I went out. Thankfully, the wind isn’t too strong.

As I continue, I come across a roundabout with a large stone statue standing in the middle. Cars are parked along the edges, and students are getting off.

Many people have arrived by car due to the rain. No wonder there’s a long line of cars.

After passing that, there are stone pillars like those of a temple. After passing there, there’s a door engraved with the kingdom’s crest. I open that wooden door and go inside.

When I enter the building, a spacious central hall appears. Ahead, buildings stretch out on both sides, and there are stairs leading up in front. I head to the left on the first floor.

Then, a long hallway stretches out in front of me. My classroom is somewhere in the middle. Just as I step into the classroom…

Victoria comes out of the dorm.

She doesn’t need an umbrella. The raindrops fall sideways as if a transparent sphere is blocking them above.

Psychic ability.

I can’t help but feel a bit envious.

Not that I can’t do something similar, but if I used it and the world shattered, it’s a major disaster… With her using her abilities to float up, she’ll be here in no time.

Meanwhile, in the capital’s slums. Brightshin is bustling with people who have been awake and working since dawn.

However, a sad event occurred this morning as it started to rain.

Between the areas of Brightshin, there are small squares. They were created as buildings crumbled or as spots developed while constructing.

Just yesterday, those squares were filled with words. They were writings of the skills remembered by Daegon and the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.

People, already filling the place they lived with words, came out to write them down.

Interestingly, even people who seemed fine got enchanted and started participating in writing.

The sad thing is that with the rain, those words got washed away.

There’s no way there were sharpie pens in a slum, so they used fire to create ash to write.

That got erased by the rain. As the words disappeared, people seemed to wake up as if coming back to their senses. And they returned to their daily lives.

That writing being imprinted in their minds is a sign that something was there, so it would have been nice if it had continued like that.

The rain, how disappointing.

Yawns,

Waiting for class to start, Phrygia looks at me, bows in greeting, and heads to her seat. She seemed like a sharp person, but if I look into Kanna’s memories, she’s actually quite blunt.

Could it be that her avoidance in seeing people comes from her being sensitive and sharp, or is it because interacting with people is hard for her?

I thought I could understand everything once I knew the emotions, but I didn’t realize the interpretation could change based on perspective.

Maybe.

Could there be someone I’ve seen who has that kind of misunderstanding?

From now on, I need to look deeper.

“Bell! Good morning!”

Victoria just entered the classroom. She runs up to me and sits beside me.

“Isn’t a rainy day supposed to be a good day?”

It’s a common thought, so I asked. No matter how psychic abilities are, isn’t it hard to exercise because you get hungry?

“Because it’s raining, the world becomes so clear as if it’s within reach! Oh, wait. Bell, stand up for a second.”

Victoria says something amazing. Listening to her, it seems like she’s exerting control over the raindrops falling from the sky!

Thinking it was a power stronger than I imagined, I stood up as Victoria said. Instantly, the water droplets slightly wetting my shoes all flew up into the air.

Victoria, with a swish, threw them all out the window and stared outside. Her eyes seem to be preoccupied, as if holding a blurred image.

Suddenly, Victoria stands up and heads to the teacher’s podium. It’s not a problem since it’s not class time yet, but she’s acting a bit strange.

“Those who are damp, come forward! I’ll dry you!”

Victoria calls out loudly to the students. But no one dares to step forward. Could it be because of her position?

At that moment, a male student cautiously steps forward. His left ankle is drenched in something he stepped into.

“Can you dry it?”

“Of course.”

As Victoria swings her hand, not just his left ankle, but all moisture from his clothes rises and floats towards her. She sends that water flying out the window and smiles at him.

“How’s that?”

“Perfect.”

The male student moves his legs a few times in response, smiles back, and returns to his seat. Then one by one, other students stand up and line up in front of her, and Victoria dries them off one by one.

She could remove all moisture from the classroom, but she’s intentionally doing it like this.

She’s giving favors while making her mark.

Using her ability smartly. If she did it for the whole group, it would blend in, but doing it one by one keeps it personal.

Even if they don’t want it, they become aware of having received a favor.

By the time most students had become dry and returned to their seats, the teacher, who had stepped in, awkwardly smiled and stood in front of her. Victoria greeted him energetically and thoroughly dried him off.

Then the teacher thanked Victoria, and urged the students to applaud. The students clapped without complaint, and Victoria smiled and returned to sit beside me.

“The power Bell gave me. It’s nice to use it comfortably.”

“I’m glad you’re using it well.”

Of course, it’s not a psychic ability I chose and gave her.

The harsher the situation, the easier it was to gain psychic abilities, and the situation Victoria faced was harsh enough that she couldn’t escape without them.

Meanwhile, there are 49 psychics who emerged from Brightshin.

That’s fewer than during Bern City. One could speculate that Brightshin doesn’t require psychic abilities since it’s deteriorating in everyday life without facing special difficulties.

I guess it was an urgent situation in Bern City, whereas Brightshin is not special.

So classes started, and after the classes ended,

We had lunch, and the afternoon classes began again.

Originally, school life is quite static, you know?

After classes, Victoria parts ways to study clockwork engineering.

She has to live here for the next four years, but she’s living pretty busily.

I wonder if she needs some time to relax.

Yes, it wouldn’t be good for me to meddle too much. There are people who live passionately like that.

When school got out, the rain stopped. I grab an umbrella and head back to where I live. From the central hall, I see students going back like me, and others heading in different directions.

A building with a ㄷ shape bends to the left and right. There are no classrooms here. It’s more of a clubroom or an after-school study area. It’s also a space for strengthening faction bonds.

It’s a place where they gather to study together, chat, or receive orders and reports.

So, they stay here until dinner and then head back.

Kanna is doing just that.

Of course, not everyone is like that. Polaris, who is in a higher position, is said to be in a more relaxed place.

Kanna thinks that’s due to a lack of leadership.

Ah, speaking of Kanna, I just remembered.

Kanna isn’t at the Royal Academy today. She had to go back to her family very suddenly yesterday.

So now she’s meeting her family at home.

I thought she might act a bit more ruthless after feeling better, but instead, they are just crying together, expressing relief for her recovery, and talking about hair color changes or how pale her skin is.

In short, they are having very family-like conversations.

And now,

Kanna has gathered all family members to say something.

Oh.

Kanna is saying she’s going to leave the family.

Where has the family of fighters gone?

Or has she fully realized her strength and is ready to grasp everything she can…

Huh?

That reasoning doesn’t make sense. The peace she obtained through her struggles will be destroyed, so she’s saying she’ll leave to maintain this peace going forward.

Honor is to protect the family, not to trample on them to obtain it.

She comments that a family built on bloodshed will drown in that blood, addressing her father, the head of the family, and all gathered.

When the head wonders if she’s abandoning the family, Kanna just smiles. She says that the person inside is more important than such a shell.

Where did all those feelings of inferiority go?

She envied the family members each doing their own jobs, right?

To survive, she grew close to her family, weaving bonds to create a space for herself.

Isn’t the normal progression of human desires that once power is gained, it should become more ruthless?

Why is she, like someone enlightened, letting it all go?

Ah!

Maybe it’s because she’s too young. If this decision is childish, one day she’ll realize how much of a powerful weapon that name built from greed is.

When she realizes that it’s her that has let go of it, things will change. It’s just she hasn’t yet faced reality.

As long as there’s a class system, there’s a limit to where one can rise with mere abilities. I look forward to the time when she hits that wall.

Sometimes one person can seem a little odd!

I think Kanna was that one odd person out of ten. It’s disappointing that such a high-ranking person turned out to be that.

But there’s no need to worry.

The harvesting period will move as I desire.

The world is flowing smoothly according to my plans.

There are always those who forget they were working for a charity just to avoid discomfort and only seek their own benefit. In Bern City, during the harvesting season, there are those bad ones among them.

Those individuals start to gather and take action.

Did the clouds move that way? Now the rain has begun to fall in Bern City as they lead people into the office.

Yes.

That’s it.

Go and fight, and give warmth.

I love that the person who initially instigated is hiding behind. If something happens, they can cover and rebuild their forces, right?

Even just looking at their strength, it has doubled. If they strike hard with that, it’s easy to kill people. Each one’s holding construction pipes or tools.

It would be strange if someone didn’t die.

Crash.

As people burst in through the door to the office, they kneel and pray to the picture of me made from newspaper clippings they pasted together.

Clatter.

No. So,

Why are you dropping the weapons you were holding and praying together?

Why are you collapsing, shedding tears like someone repenting? Why does the harvesting season touch and comfort them, knowing everything?

Is that what I wished for? No, all I’m thinking is about how to enjoy the warmth from seeing you crushed by your own desires as you live like that.

I shout at who’s leading the instigation.

Yes. That’s it. They won’t easily give up their desires! Many follow the loudest voice blindly, so they’ll probably put up a fight.

No.

Why is it that when you feel uncertain about the future, that’s your choice to collapse?

Especially when it’s among the five I had made into harvesters, the one with the worst past. Why is he comforting people at the front? Isn’t salvation not far away?

What are you saying now…

It’s strange.

Where did the humans I know go? The plans I made?

What’s with this smooth flow of the world I planned?

Nothing is going smoothly at all.

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