The Outer God Needs Warmth – Chapter 188

I thought we were going straight to the nearest coast, but Polaris went straight towards the sea and suddenly turned left.

I draw a map of the kingdom in my head. Based on our current position, the sea is to the west. If we turn left from there, it’s south.

Bern City is slightly southeast from here, so judging by direction alone, we’re probably not heading towards Bern City.

Although I was curious why we’re going in this direction, I follow Polaris without asking. It’s also meaningless for me to go to Bern City alone anyway.

Thwack!

Just now, a beast that looks like a mix between a reptile and a tiger that was rushing this way had its head blown off after being hit by a rock.

Only after seeing Polaris suddenly grab a rock from the ground and throw it like a baseball did I realize that a beast was rushing towards us.

Hmm.

Well, unlike many works, I know there are hardly any beasts that hunt while making noises, but it’s really quiet.

I didn’t even know it was there until Polaris threw the rock.

“Belle.”

As I was thinking about what would happen if I keep following Polaris like this, Polaris called my name while hesitating strangely.

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you scared of the current situation?”

Hmm.

I look at the girl about my height. Anyone can see she’s a young child. No matter how strong she is, she still has a few years left before becoming an adult.

Such a girl suddenly saw people being murdered, and even learned that some group is moving to kill her.

Actually, it wouldn’t be strange if she was terrified, crying, and unable to do anything.

It seems Polaris needs someone to empathize with and share her feelings with as someone facing the same situation. But she chose the wrong person.

“No. I’m not scared.”

Hoping she wouldn’t panic until we reach a safe place if possible, I chose words that push a bit more.

Because I thought someone with a strong personality like Polaris would swallow her own fear.

“I see. Follow me well.”

Huh?

This is strange. Why does she look relieved? She’s looking ahead and walking again, so I can’t see her expression anymore.

We’re the same height and age, but the treatment feels strangely like dealing with a young child. Is she perhaps seeing me as a young child?

It’s good if she has such a misunderstanding.

It’s very convenient that she thinks and moves on her own for my sake.

If she lets her guard down like that, it becomes easier when I make different choices later.

I walked following Polaris who was beating down occasional wild beasts. At some point, the trees disappeared and a wide prairie appeared.

We passed through the forest.

And far beyond the prairie, the devastated Bern City can be seen.

It seems Polaris intends to go in that direction. After walking for a while, a long line crossing the prairie appeared.

It’s a newly made wheel track.

It looks like tracks made by the vehicle that attacked the airship earlier. Looking at this, it seems the vehicle passed through here.

Polaris stands in front of those tracks, looking back and forth between Bern City and the direction the car headed.

And instead of heading towards Bern City, she started walking along the wheel tracks.

“Aren’t we going to Bern City?”

I have no choice but to ask this. There’s a city ahead, but we’re going somewhere else.

“We can’t go there. Such a place is a problem whether there are people or not. As far as I know, there’s a small village near here. We’re heading there. If we’re lucky, we might be able to take a ship back to the capital from there.”

Hmm. That’s right.

For Polaris, finding Victoria is no longer a problem to solve. It’s important to get out of this place alive.

Thinking of Victoria who’s on the ship now, following where Polaris goes has a higher chance of meeting her.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

When I said let’s go, she looked at me once with a subtle expression and started walking along the wheel tracks.

But if we follow these tracks like this, won’t we meet those who rode the airship?

Isn’t it rather dangerous?

I had a small doubt, but I follow Polaris. There’s no need to ask that far. I can handle human threats anyway.

If we end up fighting, and Polaris gets seriously injured, I might be able to make her into a harvester.

Hehe.

I walk along the path following her, thinking about a pleasant future.

* * *

After walking for a long time, we arrived at a place where we could see a village located where a river meets the sea.

The village itself is quite small. This was the port we stopped at just before reaching Bern City when we took the ship towards Bern City last time.

“Stop for a moment.”

“What’s wrong?”

We’re about to reach the village after walking just a bit more, but Polaris stopped us.

Wondering what’s going on, I look at Polaris, and she’s pointing to one side of the village. There’s a huge vehicle with a total of 8 wheels, 4 on each side.

On top, a long gun barrel rises, shimmering with heat haze. We heard the sound of this weapon being used quite a few times even before the village came into view.

This means it’s not a vehicle that was standing there originally. In other words, it’s the vehicle used to attack the airship. The people who were chasing us must be riding it.

I asked Polaris:

“They’re enemies, right? What are we going to do?”

It means there are an unknown number of enemies hiding within that village. Of course, there’s a possibility that only this car came, but there’s also a possibility that this space is being used like an advance base.

But Polaris doesn’t answer. As I approach slightly closer, she’s in deep thought with a serious expression.

“If we go in, no. If it were just me it’d be fine, but what if Belle gets in danger? Rather staying here is. No. Then there’d be no room for excuse if someone discovers us.”

As I approach right next to Polaris, I can hear her muttering.

The benefits and drawbacks of going inside.

The benefits and drawbacks of staying outside.

After seriously considering these on both sides of the scale, Polaris finally chose.

“Let’s go in. We need to find out who attacked the royal airship anyway.”

Judging by the fierce expression that briefly appeared and disappeared, she might be thinking of revenge.

Since it’s interesting to me no matter how the situation turns out, I nodded to do as she says.

And we enter the village.

It’s a city filled with the unique fishy smell of a port city. Surprisingly, there are many people passing by. There are astonishingly many people who aren’t from port cities.

And soon, I understood the reason.

Most of the people here originally had business in Bern City. Because there were people protesting with pickets, asking to be let into Bern City.

In front of that, there’s a space occupied by people who look like soldiers. They’ve put up barbed wire around one building and hung a banner saying entry is prohibited until the riot in Bern City is suppressed.

There are people shouting that they need to go to a company in Bern City because they have an important deal, and there are people shouting that they need to bring their family living there.

It’s a chaotic space like a marketplace.

But because of that, it seems difficult to recognize us as survivors who escaped from the airship.

If two noble girls who don’t fit in entered an empty port with nothing, they would stand out, but in a place where nobles, rich people, and ordinary people are all mixed together protesting to be let into Bern City, we blend in.

Considering this is the last port, everyone going to Bern City would come here.

While checking the surroundings like that, Polaris stood behind the shouting people with a very tense expression. And she whispers to me in a small voice:

“We’ll stand here for a while. We need to give the impression that we came from outside, not from the airship. In the afternoon, there will be people giving up and going home, so let’s mix with them and return to the capital.”

Not bad.

Even if we entered the airship, it’s difficult to find out who was inside. Moreover, because it’s a direct royal airship, to find out who was inside, you’d have to contact the royal family, not something like an airline.

It would be difficult to find airship passengers who might have escaped by other means.

And on the way, we heard the sound that was made when the airship was shot from afar, so there’s a possibility the airship was destroyed.

As I nod, Polaris slowly releases the tension in her body.

And at the end of her relaxed arms. Her fingers are faintly trembling.

Yes. She must be scared. She almost got murdered suddenly. And that’s still ongoing, and there’s no one she can rely on.

No matter how talented a girl is, there wouldn’t be many people who’d be fine in this situation.

Even I know that Victoria is in a very unusual situation.

If Victoria is a person determined to finish what she needs to do no matter what happens, Polaris is a person who forces herself to pretend to be okay and move forward because I’m here, even though it’s a difficult situation.

If I were a person full of consideration, I would have held Polaris’s hand here, but I don’t do that.

Instead, I waited for time to pass.

The number of protesters gradually increases, and proportionally, the number of soldiers at what seems to be the local headquarters also increases.

I was watching Polaris standing with a tired expression, then shifted my viewpoint to another direction.

Victoria will arrive soon.

Because this village is now visible to Victoria who’s on the ship.

Hooonk!

The ship’s horn sounds.

At the same time, a smile blooms on Polaris’s expression like a flower. It’s an expression full of hope that she can return now.

But how long will that last?

Victoria will definitely try to enter Bern City.

What will happen when the two meet?

Victoria trying to go to Bern City and Polaris trying to return to the capital.

Whether to side with one of them, or part ways.

We’ll know when they meet.

I stuck close to Polaris who’s muttering that we can return soon, ignoring the protest scene with a hint of unrest.