episode_0145

The incident is over, but things are getting bigger.

By the time the incident was over, Victoria was completely sprawled on the floor, slurping sweets into her mouth from the mud-covered floor.

As the day wore on and things calmed down, the Betts family took Victoria back to her home.

And from that evening onwards, newspaper reporters and broadcasters came to the Bet House.

Even though Morris refused to be interviewed up front, there’s no way anyone would go back knowing that.

When you turn on the news or open a newspaper, you will see something about me along with the disaster that happened in Bern City and the words “Miracle of Bern City”.

And there wasn’t as much talk about Victoria as I expected.

Because out of 9,000 harvesters, 200 of them. 181 to be exact, showed supernatural powers. Of course, only 129 of them showed supernatural powers in front of people.

I hid the rest.

Anyway, most people with superpowers have gained similar abilities. There are roughly three types.

One is the ability to move. It’s not teleportation, but you gain the ability to move quickly, or to take a large number of people down from a high place.

One is the ability to manipulate wind, water, and fire. It seems like an ability that came about to somehow deal with the accident itself.

And the last one is survival skills.

The ability to create a protective shield, harden the body, or instantly regenerate from injuries.

A total of 9,190.

At first glance, it looks like a lot.

But the last moment of the first world. Considering that there were about 100 million harvesters, that’s not that many.

Back then, if someone just recited the contract, it would be signed right away.

I never thought about controlling the number. At the time, I didn’t know that too many would cause a collapse.

Once it started spreading, it really grew exponentially.

There’s no danger if you limit it. That said, with numbers like this, there’s still a long way to go until the deadline.

This time I want to create a sustainable automatic warm-harvesting system.

anyway.

Tens of thousands of people in Bern City watched me grant my powers.

The press asked about it, and they put more effort into covering the miracle that emerged from this incident than into why it happened.

in result.

The area around Betga is full of reporters.

Of course, no one broke into the house because there were security guards surrounding the area, but it was quite a headache to see people holding cameras and continuously filming.

But Maurice and Beatrice don’t have the presence of mind to protest about that.

Right now, a special envoy from the royal family has arrived at this house.

“Are you the one who calls yourself an apostle of God?”

A man wearing an old-fashioned suit, a man who is the mayor of Bern City, and several people wearing thick exoskeletons.

The only good thing is that the people here are not very religious.

If you look through the memories you gained in the third world, there is a reason.

Until about a hundred years ago, there were groups armed with obsessive beliefs who served as breakwaters protecting human settlements from the dangerous wilds.

As a result, his authority grew too large, and the kingdom improved its constitution based on magical engineering technology to counter it.

Then, as a huge scandal broke out involving several countries and their main religions, faith declined in an instant, and almost all countries took advantage of the gap to push forward the idea of violence and pure reason through powerful mechanical devices based on magical engineering technology.

It worked, and the religion lost its power and declined.

So now there are many people who believe in technology itself. It is similar to the period called Belle Époque in my fading memory. It was a time when there was full of hope that science and technology would brighten the future.

If an apostle of God suddenly appeared in such a world, of course people would be interested.

Because it is dangerous in many ways.

So I went up to him and said,

“I am not an apostle of God. I have no connection with God.”

I was thinking of calling it a living thing, but since my true identity is ambiguous enough to be called a living thing, I hesitated to say so.

Then the eyes of the man who introduced himself as coming from the royal family became sharp. To him, it seemed like a small girl was speaking, but he could see the child with the eyes of a creature that was meant to be killed.

“Then does that mean devil?”

“Isn’t that what God says to a god outside his own religion?”

Let’s check it once, look at me with the eyes of an unknown person. I don’t know how advanced theology is here.

At least people in this city don’t believe much in God.

Only people who know that something like that exists, or in rural areas, people who know that there are people who go to church.

“If we really have to be specific, it would be an endangered species. There would probably be one if there were many of them.”

While I’m up there, if something happens down there, I think I can see that I have a kin.

When I said this, a look of understanding appeared on the man’s face in front of me. And he looked very relieved.

That’s fortunate.

It doesn’t look like a ghostly occult creature, but rather a creature that can be killed. And its species itself is on the verge of extinction.

A weak and sad creature facing destruction.

Look at that face as it looks at such a creature.

“Then what about the person you blessed? Can you explain the blessing that healed any wound and gave them special powers like the girl there right now?”

The way you speak has changed.

Rather than dealing with something unidentifiable, it’s closer to the tone of speaking when dealing with someone somewhat dangerous. The address has changed from the honorific title “you” to the derogatory title “nega”.

It’s easy.

“I don’t know either. But I have a guess. Is that okay?”

“Okay. Tell me.”

Every time I ask for his opinion, I see him relax and his shoulders tense up. I guess he now sees me as someone below him.

“I guess it’s about bringing out the best possibilities. Isn’t it because people are originally so strong, smart, and have special superpowers? However, because of that, it’s impossible to bring them out again from someone who has already been brought out.”

You must add it at the end.

Let me explain in advance why there is no second one. You did it the first time, so why not the second time?

Many people think that if a favor continues, it is a right. So, draw a clear line so that you do not get resentment from others.

Since I explained it in advance, I’m pushing you to take responsibility for any mistakes that happen in the future.

Actually, I’m the bad guy?

It’s a fraudulent contract, so everything about it is bad.

Pretend not to know about it, push it to a corner. And since you said you didn’t know exactly, you set up an escape route so that if any facts are revealed after research, you can pretend not to know.

“That’s what a human’s ability is?”

The startled man asks me urgently.

“Yes, that’s right. I just push myself. I don’t even know why it happens. Aren’t people supposed to be strong?”

Gently push the person up.

The man stared at me and asked me this question.

“Why did you change them?”

This is a question of what intention made people into harvesters. So I decided to just tell the truth.

“People wanted it. If they didn’t want it, I wouldn’t have moved.”

This question is actually shifting the blame from me to Victoria.

It makes you think that you are some kind of machine that opens up possibilities that you have no intention of opening up.

In reality, they are behaving that way.

People act as if they believe that if they are given power, they will naturally be destroyed, without having to push them down a dirty path separately. There is a saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely, right?

“Do you want power?”

He uttered the famous sentence that clearly stated that you were the one who made the choice.

The man stared at me for a long time and then answered:

“I’ll answer that question later.”

It’s not a bad idea to hold back. If you’re from the royal family, this argument will be even more detailed than mine.

And he left me and talked to Beatrice and Maurice and Victoria.

Talking is like having a conversation, strictly speaking it’s closer to questioning or interrogation.

After hearing that Beatrice and Maurice didn’t know much about him, the man approached Victoria.

And he asked me where I met him.

Then Victoria glanced at me with a restless expression. She was asking if it was okay to say this, so I said,

“You can tell me everything.”

I’ll tell you the story of what happened after I was captured by the Sahagin tribe and escaped from there. And the end of the story.

When people around me heard that Sahagin was trying to summon a god, their eyes turned to me, but I shook my head once and pointed to Victoria.

The story of a giant monster that awoke when they called for a god, but it wasn’t the god they were hoping for. And the story of an adventure where he almost became a monster, but was completely healed when the harvest season came, and barely managed to survive with the superpowers he acquired at that time.

And he even told me that he brought me home even though I didn’t want to go back.

“How have you been here?”

In response to the man’s questions, Victoria explains her daily life here one by one.

Beatrice, who had been living with Victoria for a week, also agreed with Victoria’s words and added to the story.

It was really funny to see Maurice, who was listening to those words, gradually change his gaze to saying, “I’m sorry about our daughter.”

“Do they force you to do something called a blessing outside?”

“No. Rather, I told you not to think too hastily because there is no second chance. If you get hurt in that state, you won’t be able to get better.”

Beatrice’s words made the man’s gaze drop. It’s still there, but it’s nothing compared to what he was doing before.

Hehehe.

This is it.

That’s why I always act like a bystander. No matter how much I want to steal the warmth, I don’t want to rush in like a wild beast and be hunted like one.

Consistency between words and actions.

It’s important. This is when the act of not lying shines the most.

After that, he talked a little more about my private life and warned me not to tell anyone what had just happened.

And he left Victoria’s house with the person he came with. I thought I could just stay home and wait for the fever to go down… … .

The next morning.

A piece of paper came flying in that said “invitation” and read “order.”

There were various words written in flowing sentences there, but if I remove all the modifiers and summarize only the main points, it would be like this.

Invitation to the royal palace.

Press conference scheduled.

Award of commendation and prize money for actions during the Bern City disaster.

Admission to the Royal Academy.

Target. Belle & Victoria.

“No, Mom. Then what about me, Clockwork Knight School?”

“They said they would support you fully, so think of it as going to a better place… … .”

Victoria clutched her head, and Beatrice had a look on her face that said she knew this would happen.

By the way, the invitation to the royal family is different for Victoria and me. For Victoria, it is literally an invitation, but for me, my actual address has changed from Betga to the royal family.

They take me here under the pretext of protecting innocent people who have nowhere to go.

This is good because it’s exactly as I expected. I actually wanted to do it, so I’m so happy that it turned out this way. Now, how much warmth would it be if you made a high-ranking official into a harvester? This.

But there is one thing that catches the eye.

“Academy, you’re not in your right mind.”

Royal Academy transfer? Going to school? Then Victoria came up to me and asked me with a playful expression full of escapism.

“Why, don’t you want to go to the academy?”

“I’m a bit dumb compared to the average person… … .”

This is the problem. So even if you remember, you can’t apply it. Yeah.

“No, you’re a monster, but you’re stupid?”

“It’s okay to be dumb as long as you don’t die.”

Victoria, who had asked teasingly, nodded with a nervous expression.

“I’ve heard that if you’re not smart, your body will suffer, but the opposite is also true… … .”