episode_0138

I walked up the stairs, leaving the five people looking at me with impressed expressions.

You’ll feel like something has changed right away. And it has.

But soon you will realize that you have not changed. Even if you become stronger and smarter, you are still the same person you were before, right?

It’s like starting to exercise to lose weight, then giving up after three days and eating more than you worked out.

Here too, we considered imposing a limit of 3 people.

In the second world, we made too few harvesters.

The first world was limited because there were too many people trying to increase the harvest, and the second world stuck to three because the first world collapsed.

The third world did not start out as belonging to a group.

Because they don’t have the ability to run away, or because they need the ability, they need certain rules to parasitize on that group.

Even if it wasn’t true, I could pretend it was.

But here, I’m free, so I decided to do it freely.

Of course, things might suddenly go weird and you’ll end up kidnapped somewhere and only producing harvesters, but that’s not so bad.

Given how vicious the group is, it probably wouldn’t spread as strangely quickly as the first world.

If you are a ruler full of desires, you will only use yourself.

In other words, there is no problem.

First, go upstairs and go find Victoria.

Victoria is now rushing back to her room because she realized I was gone. She goes back to her room, makes sure I’m not there, and then turns around and comes out.

So we went in opposite directions and met.

“Hey! I found it! ”

As soon as Victoria sees me, she runs towards me in a hurry.

That makes sense.

If I were a normal kid, I would be suffering in the corner of a third-class cabin right now. But if you knew that I was a monster, you wouldn’t have to worry so much.

“Yes, the bell is here.”

“Tell me where you’re going!”

“There was no time to speak. Victoria was so absorbed in looking at the machine.”

He changed the subject slightly and made it seem like Victoria was at fault.

“Still, oh no. No. As long as you’re safe, that’s fine. Let’s go to the room.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t really ask me anything, probably because he was embarrassed that he had been so absorbed in the machine.

I was on guard for what might happen next, but the night passed without incident. And when morning came.

You can see the city on both sides of the river.

Of course, I know because I’ve been up and looking out the window ever since the ship stopped at a port at dawn, the horn blowing.

From that port, the ship entered the river, and beyond the window, a wide plain appeared, with houses appearing here and there. Then, it gradually turned into a large city.

And soon, it was close to noon.

The ship stood in a port on a river that ran through the middle of a huge city.

I got off the ship with Victoria. Luckily, they didn’t check our tickets when we got off, so we were able to get off without any problems.

As you leave the port, you see a harmonious mix of steel structures and brick houses, and a building so tall that it could be called a skyscraper.

And the surface and interior of such a building. You can see huge mechanical devices here and there, turning. It’s like a city themed on the inside of a wind-up clock.

You can also see high-flying balloon-like vehicles in the sky, as well as flying creatures like wyverns with saddles and people on them.

“You’re not that surprised?”

“I’m surprised.”

“Hehehe, right? This is Bern City. It’s the city built with the most cutting-edge technology in the country.”

Victoria spoke to me with pride in her voice.

It’s fortunate that it’s not steam, because horsepower is a strangely energy-efficient power source.

It’s too wind-up to be called arcanepunk, but it’s not enough steam to be called steampunk.

Gaslamp fantasy? It’s more like that.

“Taxi!”

And as soon as we got out on the road, Victoria waved and called a taxi. Soon after, a strangely designed three-wheeled vehicle pulled up in front of us.

“Need service? Try our Cogni transportation company! Set the number of people and destination, complete the payment, and you can board.”

It has an inverted triangle structure, and at the back there is what appears to be an engine, and above the engine there is a brass doll that looks like a person.

It’s artificial intelligence.

Victoria, who didn’t find the sight of the machine strange at all, explained what appeared to be the number of people and their addresses, then handed over the money.

After the brass machine completed its calculations, it placed Victoria’s luggage onto the roof of the vehicle and opened the door.

As Victoria and I got on, the doll’s arm behind us moved, closing the door and taking off forward.

I definitely feel like I’ve entered another world.

It seems much clearer now than when I first knew it from Victoria’s memories.

If I were someone who liked to travel, would I like something like this?

I don’t know about that.

Anyway, the taxi drove for a while and stopped at a place where I could see skyscrapers in the distance.

It’s not a house nice enough to be called a mansion, but it’s nice enough for people to live in.

“Cogni Transport Company is always with you. We hope you will continue to use our services often!”

The doll attached to the taxi played a short recorded voice and then drove off without looking back.

“It’s out!”

Victoria walked inside, swinging open the door and carrying her bag.

But the sound doesn’t come back.

Victoria went inside without a care in the world. I followed her in.

There is a place to put on shoes, but Victoria just goes in with her shoes on.

Of course, that’s not normal. Strictly speaking, it’s okay, but that’s only in your own home, and if possible, you should change into indoor shoes at the entrance.

Since this is our first meeting, I should be polite as Victoria remembers.

The shoes are a bit big, probably because they are for guests.

I put on my dangling shoes and went inside.

“What year is it?”

As I walk down the hallway, I hear a very shrill voice.

“Mom. You pulled an all-nighter again? Are you still out of your mind? Let’s put the gun away.”

If you look through Victoria’s eyes, there is a woman with dark circles under her eyes pointing a gun at Victoria in front.

Victoria has this look on her face like, “What the heck?” so it’s not that big of a deal.

“I’ve never had a daughter like you. Where the hell do you come in with your hair dyed like that! I told you not to come in my house if I did something like that!”

“When did I dye my hair?”

“You poured a whole bunch of purple dye on me! It even got to the roots, so it wouldn’t have been strange if you did it on the way here! What are you, rebelling?”

No, that’s it.

Certainly, if it were a mother’s heart, it would be an incident where she would suddenly feel like her child had gone astray.

First of all, I went inside before the situation got any worse.

“Hello.”

“Oh, guest?”

For a moment, his expression brightens, then turns sharp again when he sees the color of my hair. But that is only for a moment. Every time he looks me up and down, his wariness gradually disappears.

I guess it’s because I was young.

“Tori, who is this?”

Tori is Victoria’s nickname. Victoria sighed in relief, looked at me, and came over to me.

“Mom. This is Belle. Belle. This is my mom.”

Victoria’s mother came up to me, moved her hand very quickly, slapped Victoria on the head, and stood in front of me.

“My name is Beatrice Bett.”

“It’s a bell.”

When he reached out his hand, I took his hand in return. When I took his hand, he looked very surprised.

“You’re a young lady, Tori. Where on earth did you get a child like this?”

Aha. So you judged me by touching my hand.

Strictly speaking, it is true that it was made not long ago, but if you do not know the circumstances, it is not strange to be mistaken that way.

Victoria suddenly froze, as if faced with a difficult question.

“No, that’s it. Mom. There’s a really long story. I think it’ll be embarrassing for Mom to know, so can I pack my bags and come over?”

And then he pointed upwards with his finger, as if he had decided to hold off. Up above was Victoria’s room. Beatrice stared at Victoria and nodded.

“Wait a minute!”

In a jiffy.

Victoria hurriedly grabbed her suitcase and went upstairs. Wouldn’t it be rude to move around freely in front of a guest in front of your own parents?

Beatrice in front also thinks so, looking up at the ceiling where Victoria’s room is with a pitiful expression.

“Oh my. I wonder if things will get better for him if he goes to school… … . Come over here and sit down.”

As if she had remembered me, Beatrice pointed to one side. There was a large table that looked like a multi-purpose table.

There’s a bunch of paper strewn about, and a few pens of the same type rolling around. Some of them look badly worn, so I guess they’ve been used here for a long time.

“Look at my mind.”

Beatrice also hurriedly came over and cleared away the pile of papers on the table. Looking at the contents, there were many pieces of paper with large amounts of money written on them.

According to Victoria’s memories, both of her parents were merchants, so it’s not surprising that something like this exists.

“So, where exactly are you from? How old are you? What’s your last name?”

Beatrice sat down in front of me, having organized her documents in a corner of the floor.

“There is no last name. The age is ambiguous. And I will tell you the detailed story after hearing it from Victoria.”

Beatrice’s eyes gradually become narrower.

Because I realized that I wasn’t a normal kid. I don’t hide it either. There’s no way I could pretend to be a kid in the first place.

And it depends on how far Victoria speaks.

“You’re not an ordinary kid. Right. Then do you drink tea?”

“Water is enough.”

“It’s not that vulgar.”

After saying that, Beatrice went into the kitchen and started making tea.

A fragrant smell was coming in, and Beatrice returned to the table after preparing various things.

Victoria also came down dressed in very comfortable clothes.

The level of comfort was so minimal that I was scolded by Beatrice for wearing clothes that were only worn at home.

That too for a moment.

After Victoria sat down next to me and told me about her experience, the mood quickly disappeared.