The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 193: Beauty and the Beast (3)

The village I’m in right now is a port city called Nantes.

Once, before Vern City grew, this was the gateway to Vern City, but with the advancement of technology, the river’s estuary was managed, and the port in the heart of Vern City began to decline, marking its history.

In the past, there was no port where large cargo could be unloaded as ships traveled up the river, so large-scale freight was offloaded here.

Some of the people that Victoria slaughtered had lived here for a long time, so even if their memories were fragmented, putting the pieces together would give a clear picture.

For reference, the people of the village weren't necessarily enemies. They were just citizens living here, but many died either from being swept away by the sea or by succumbing to the slow-growing terror, ending their own lives.

If you ask whether Victoria was cruel and heartless, I’d say no.

In many ways, from what I observed, she was a girl who understood that killing someone properly was a bad thing.

But in the face of too much power, morality breaks easily.

It’s not inherent evil in human nature, but rather a selective indifference.

For example, if you have to cross the city ahead to reach your destination, a place you must reach no matter what, and time is pressing, would you consider the people below the 40,000-ton ground battleship?

If you don’t avoid it, it's natural death. So, you push ahead.

With such crudeness, 4,439 people became warmth.

Nantes, a port city, is a decayed little village. However, because everyone who was blocked from entering Vern City came here, more people died than the city’s population.

Though Victoria probably didn’t cruelly consider this, for most people, that’s how it turned out.

To put it simply, a missile that you can fire with the press of a button is something a normal person could do without feeling guilty.

Of course, if others saw, they might pretend to be sad, but in reality, very few people actually feel pain from it.

This isn't because people are evil, but because they can’t feel the death of others. When you kill someone with a knife, you can distinctly feel it, but a gun is easier, and compared to a gun, a bomb that wipes out a large group is even better.

People can understand one another, but understanding a multitude is impossible. In fact, instead of understanding a multitude, leaders guide them in a direction where they can.

Anyway.

This harvest season was a jackpot.

I hope even more people awaken psychic powers.

They won’t even understand what they’re doing, yet they’ll give me warmth in large quantities.

Thinking this, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) I walked across the dry river. Just hours ago, it was hard to believe it had been a wide river where massive freighters passed through—it was so dry now.

It seemed that all moisture had been sucked out, and the riverbed was now only dry sand.

Polaris, who was following me with a dark expression, didn’t seem to have gained psychic powers. I didn’t know for sure, but anyone who awakened such powers would have tried them immediately.

There were people like Tisah who hid it completely, but even they secretly experimented with their powers when they were alone. So, honestly, it’s hard for me not to know if someone has gained psychic powers once I start harvesting.

There's something else to figure out from here.

Honestly, abilities like regeneration are hard to know unless you’ve suffered a severe injury. But Tisah knew from the start that she had regeneration abilities.

She didn’t know how powerful they were.

From that, I speculate that the moment one becomes a harvest season, they learn about their powers, including on/off abilities.

However, no matter what, psychic powers are something I realize after I’ve gained memories.

So, it’s a bit unfortunate that I can’t be sure of what she knows.

Anyway.

As I crossed the river, moving along the well-maintained estuary, Vern City appeared to the east.

And above it. The sea was floating upside down in the sky.

If we call that the sea, this is the coastline. A thin layer of water in the sky can be seen, and as I walk toward Vern City, the water deepens.

The faintly flickering stars and moon slowly fade into darkness, and despite the sea being above, the dry air, as if being gnawed by an abandoned house, destroys the sense of reality.

It’s such an unrealistic sight, it feels like someone laid the sea texture in the sky, as you would in VR.

Once we entered the city, there was no light left in the sky. Instead, the light was below, faintly spilling between the buildings.

At that moment, Polaris hurried toward me and grabbed my hand. But strangely, she held it tightly. When I turned to look at her, Polaris gestured toward something.

Polaris had seen someone observing us from between the buildings. I knew because I was seeing it through her eyes, but she probably thought I didn’t know.

Actually, this is a dangerous place.

So, Polaris' caution was understandable.

This place is no longer a place where victims of protests who were oppressed and trapped in the city gathered.

It’s the den of would-be traitors who have decided to create their own world out of other desires. But what matters is who controls the core.

Purple hair and especially white skin.

Yes.

Harvest season.

The harvest season is stationed at the highest levels, and those without power or intelligence are becoming the lower ones.

If a special group were to form, the ones there would be prioritized, but...

There’s no need to tell them that. I’m fine with whatever outcome this group reaches.

"Vel. Be careful."

"I know you're scared, but walk confidently, Polaris. That way, we won’t be in immediate danger."

We look like harvest season in Vern City.

And no one here recognizes us. Fortunately, no one in Vern City’s harvest season is watching me right now.

Right now, all the harvest season members have gone to see Victoria.

So, I can move freely.

By the way, Victoria is currently talking to the harvest season members. She’s explaining, without mentioning that she killed Gaston Marquis, that Gaston Marquis made deals with three companies and messed things up here.

But that doesn’t mean much to them.

Because they’ve chosen to build a world where they’re not wrong, rather than trying to clear their own grievances.

So, Victoria is eagerly persuading them.

Pointing to the massive sea floating in the sky, she convinces them that they can become the greatest.

While walking and watching this, Polaris tugged at my sleeve.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm heading to the old house where Victoria’s family used to live."

It’s a place where the upper-class people of Vern City’s southern part live.

So, instead of walking through the central business district, which could be called Vern City’s heart, we walk around the outskirts.

There are no proper buildings here.

The sea floating in the sky gradually gets shallower, and as the moonlight faintly shines like starlight in the distance...

Suddenly, Polaris screamed.

"Eek!"

Hmm... I knew from the sensation.

I looked back at Polaris. Her clothes were on the ground. When I protected Victoria earlier, her back was completely burned. It was a miracle that her clothes didn’t tear when regenerating.

But that too had reached its limit, and her clothes completely collapsed, revealing her fair skin.

Polaris’ face turned bright red in the darkness.

"Should I go into the house and put on some clothes?"

"How far is it to where you’re going?"

"We’ll have to walk for quite a while."

"Guess we have no choice."

Polaris fumbled with her small hands to cover her body and walked toward a still standing house.

I followed her inside.

That’s when I saw her white back.

Even though she could move her hands, without eyes, it was impossible for me to see Polaris in this body. So, I saw her through the eyes of a harvest season member who had survived but was still dying.

I had thought she was almost like a corpse at that moment, but when I rummaged through Polaris’ memories, it seemed like the injuries weren’t that severe.

She was around my height, a small girl, but from the moment she tore a wind-up machine with her bare hands, I suspected something. Apparently, people from the Barrington family are naturally physically outstanding. They became nobles a long time ago because of it.

Polaris is the same.

I half-jokingly called her a "Polar Bear," but she really did resemble one.

Her hair might not have been the same, but she said her wounds would heal after six months of recovery.

But entering a dark night with a naked girl into a ruined house is quite a crazy sight for anyone else.

Anyone following would have a hard time arguing against it, calling it school violence.

As we entered, I felt something underfoot, like stepping on something squashed. Looking down, I saw the half-rotten bodies of a woman and a baby tangled together among stones and wood debris, pressed and stuck together. They seemed to have died when the house collapsed.

Ugh...

The light had long since disappeared, and there was no warmth left.

If Polaris saw this, it would be a mentally damaging structure.

At least the house owner isn’t inside, so that’s a relief.

I stepped on the bodies, crushing them, and pushed the wreckage aside, burying it completely. The rotten smell was there, but it was almost undetectable due to the heavy atmosphere in the village.

Meanwhile, Polaris had found some clothes inside and came out dressed.

She had looked like a cute girl a moment ago, but with her new outfit, she instantly looked like an older woman, which was amusing.

Though she was too small to be called an older woman, and her appearance was unrealistically cute...

The outfit itself was so practical.

No, I don’t know if this is suitable for an adventure, but despite the loose outfit, her chest made a statement, digging deep into some particular preferences.

In a country from a faded memory, I might have been happy to die from it, but I didn’t particularly care.

"You’ve changed a lot. You look more like a local now."

"Are you teasing me?"

"I’ll just say you look like an older woman."

I got hit.

"There are things you can say and things you can’t."

"I meant you blend in better. In Vern City, there are a lot of people who’ve seen me."

At my words, Polaris nodded.

"I know. About two months ago, there was a big incident. That’s when you and Victoria got into the Royal Academy."

"Yeah. That’s why I told you to walk confidently when you saw people from Vern City earlier."

"Ah, I get it. Anyway, my clothes were rags, so I must have looked like one of the locals."

I immediately understood. So, before Polaris could realize the source of the foul smell in this place, I quickly moved.

Polaris followed me.

"With it in such a mess, can we still find it?"

"I remember most places I’ve been."

Since I was drawing a map in my head, even with some minor errors, I could find it quickly.

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"Ugh, I hope Victoria is there when we arrive. But she probably won’t be."

"Huh?"

"Do you know?"

"The water above is getting shallower. Victoria’s probably in the thickest part of it."

"Then why did you just follow me?"

"Are you looking for someone Victoria wants to find? Her parents."

I nodded.

"Once we lift our heads, we’ll know where Victoria is, so let’s find the spots we can first to save time. After all, meeting her now will only make the time longer."

If you understand, that’s great.

With a lighter step, I wiped away the last pieces of debris stuck to my feet as we headed toward the house where Victoria’s family had lived, days ago.