episode_0193

The town I am in now is a port city called Nantes.

At one time, before Bern City grew, this was the gateway to Bern City, but as technology developed and the river estuary could be cleaned up, the port in the middle of Bern City began to decline.

In the past, there was no port where ships could unload their cargo even if they went down the river, so large cargoes were unloaded here.

Among those killed by Victoria, there were some who lived here for a long time, so even if the memories are fragments, if you piece them together, you can see the whole picture.

By the way, the villagers weren’t really enemies. They were just citizens who lived in this village, but they either got swept away by the sea and died, or they couldn’t overcome the fear that was slowly creeping up on them and took their own lives.

If you ask whether Victoria was a cruel and cold-hearted person, no.

From what I’ve seen, she’s a girl who knows that killing people is a bad thing.

But morality is easily destroyed in the face of too much power.

Rather than saying that this is inherent evil in humans, it is more a case of selective indifference.

For example, I need to cross the city in front of me to get to my destination, and I have to get there no matter what. I’m pressed for time and there’s no other way.

When you’re on a battleship weighing over 40,000 tons, do you really need to consider the people underneath?

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

With such crudeness, 4,439 people were warmed.

The port city of Nantes was a small, declining town. However, because all the people who were blocked from entering Bern City flocked here, more people died than the population of the port city.

Victoria may not be considering this so coldly, but most people do.

To put it more simply, a normal person can press a button to launch a missile without any guilt.

Of course, if others see it, they may pretend to be sad, but in reality, only a very small number of people are hurt.

It’s not because people are evil, but because they can’t feel the death of others. It’s easier to use a gun than a weapon like a knife that can clearly feel when you kill someone, and I like bombs that can blow up an unspecified number of people better than guns.

People can understand each other individually, but it is impossible to understand the majority. In reality, instead of understanding the majority, a leader is someone who guides others in a direction where they can understand the majority.

anyway.

This harvest season was a jackpot.

I hope that more people will awaken their superpowers in the future.

Because you don’t even really understand what you’re doing, and you’re going to give me a lot of warmth.

With that in mind, I walked across a river that was so dry it was hard to believe that just a few hours ago it had been wide enough for huge cargo ships to pass through.

It seems like all the moisture has been sucked out, and even though it is a riverbed, all you can step on is dry sand.

Polaris, who follows behind with a dark expression, doesn’t seem to have gained any special powers. I don’t know, but anyone who has gained a power would try it out right away.

There were some who hid it completely, like Tisha, but even she eventually experimented with her powers secretly when she was left alone. So, really, there’s no way I wouldn’t know if the Harvester had gained powers.

There’s one more thing we can find out there.

To be honest, it’s hard to know about things like regenerative abilities unless you’ve been seriously injured. But Tish knew from the beginning that he had regenerative abilities.

I didn’t know how great that ability was.

Looking at that, I guess you find out about On/Off when you gain superpowers during the harvest season.

But anyway, superpowers are something that I acquire after I gain my memories.

So it’s a little bit unfortunate that we don’t know how much you know.

anyway.

Cross the river on foot and follow the well-maintained estuary up to the east, where you can see the city of Bern.

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

If that’s the sea, then this is the coast. You can see a shallow layer of water in the sky, and the water gets deeper as you walk towards Bern City.

The faintly swaying stars and moon gradually dim and disappear completely into the darkness, and despite the sea above, the parched air feels like your lungs are being ripped off, ruining the sense of reality.

A sight so unrealistic that you’d think someone had put an ocean texture on the sky in VR.

As we enter the city, there is no longer any light in the sky. Rather, there is light below, streaming in faintly between the buildings.

At that moment, Polaris quickly approached me and grabbed my hand. But strangely, she grabbed my hand tightly, so I turned my head to look at Polaris, and she winked at me.

Polaris saw someone observing here between the buildings. I know because I saw it through Polaris’ eyes, but Polaris thought I didn’t know.

Actually, this is a dangerous place.

So Polaris’ boundaries are also desirable.

No longer is this a place where victims of protests, repression and confinement gather.

It’s a den of would-be rebels who are determined to build their own world with other desires. But it’s important who holds the central role.

Purple hair and unusually white skin.

yes.

It’s harvest time.

The harvesters are lined up at the top, including the very top, and those without strength or intelligence are becoming the lower ones.

If you create a special group, that group should be given the most preferential treatment.

You don’t have to tell me that. I don’t care what happens to this group.

“Bell. Be careful.”

“I know you’re scared, but walk confidently, Polaris. Then you won’t be in immediate danger.”

Because we look like the harvesters of Bern City.

And no one recognizes me. And fortunately, no one among the harvesters in Bern City is looking at me.

Now, all the harvesters who were in one place have gone to see Victoria.

So I can move around comfortably.

By the way, Victoria is currently talking to the harvester. She leaves out the story that she killed Marquis Gaston, and explains that Marquis Gaston made a deal with three companies and left the place in shambles.

But that doesn’t mean much to them.

Because, rather than trying to clear their name, they chose to create a world where they would not feel wronged.

So I strongly urge Victoria to do so.

Pointing to the vast ocean floating in the sky, he convinces him that he can become the greatest person.

As I was walking along looking at it, Polaris grabbed my collar.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the old house where Victoria’s family lives now.”

It is a place where the upper class people in the southern part of Bern City live together.

So, instead of going to the city center where there are tall buildings, which is what you would call the real Bern city, I go around the outskirts and walk.

Here and there, there are no proper buildings.

The sea floating upside down in the sky gradually becomes shallower, and in the distance, the moonlight shines faintly like starlight.

Suddenly Polaris screamed.

“Kkiyak!”

Yeah… … . I know because of the feel.

I looked back at Polaris. The clothes I was wearing were lying on the ground. When I protected Victoria earlier, my back was completely burned. It was actually a miracle that my clothes didn’t burst when I regenerated.

But that was the limit, as the clothes completely fell apart, revealing her pure white body.

Polaris’ face is so red you can see it in the dark.

“Shall I go into the house and get dressed?”

“Hey, how long does it take to get to where the bell is?”

“It’s a long walk.”

“I can’t help it.”

Polaris walked towards the house where some people were still alive, hesitantly covering his body with his small hands.

I’ll follow her in too.

Then a pure white light came into view.

Even if I could move my hands, I couldn’t see Polaris with this body because I didn’t have eyes. So I saw it through the eyes of the harvester who survived but was dying.

At the time, I thought it was no different from a corpse, but after looking through Polaris’ memories, I realized that the wound wasn’t that bad.

He’s about the same height as me, so he’s a small kid, but I’ve always wondered if he could tear apart a wind-up machine with his bare hands, but the Bearington family has always been known to be very physically gifted. A long time ago. They say that’s how the first generation became nobles.

The same goes for Polaris.

I half-jokingly called it a polar bear, but it really did look like a bear.

Polaris’s self-assessment was that even if it was not about the hair, it would get better after a half year of treatment.

But, to others, it would be an incredibly insane sight to see a naked girl entering an abandoned house in the dark of the night.

Since the person following her is also a girl, I have nothing to say if you say it’s school violence.

As I entered, I felt something pressing against my foot, so I looked down. There, stuck between the rocks and wooden debris, were the half-rotten bodies of a woman and a baby. They appeared to have died when the house collapsed.

Yeah.

The light has long since disappeared, and there is no warmth left.

Then, if Polaris sees it, it is a structure that will cause a mental shock.

At least the owner of the house won’t be inside, so I guess that’s good.

I stepped on the corpse, crushing it completely, and kicked the remains under my feet to completely bury it. There was a putrid smell, but the heavy atmosphere of this town masked the smell, making it almost imperceptible.

Meanwhile, Polaris found some clothes inside and came out wearing them.

It’s funny how she was a cute girl just a moment ago, but now she looks like an old woman because of her outfit.

She’s too small to be called an ajumma, but her appearance is unrealistically cute.

Should I say that the clothing itself is too focused on convenience… … .

No, it might be a good place to venture into such places, but the fact that the chest asserts itself despite the baggy clothes deeply pierces a certain taste.

If it were me in my faded memories, I might die of joy, but not me.

“You’ve become much more like the people here.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I’ll say you’re like an aunt.”

I got hit once.

“There are things you can say and things you can’t say.”

“I meant less noticeable. Bern City has many people who gave to me.”

Polaris nodded at my words.

“I know. There was a big incident here about two months ago. That incident led to you and Victoria being admitted to the Royal Academy.”

“Yes. That’s why I told the Bern City people to walk confidently when they saw me earlier.”

“Ah. Yeah. I get it. My clothes were rags anyway, so you must have seen me as this guy.”

I understood right away. So I bluntly moved away before Polaris realized the source of the musty smell that was lingering throughout the place.

Polaris follows me too.

“It’s so broken, can you find it properly?”

“Once I go to a place, I remember it all.”

Since I’m going with a map in my head, even if there’s a slight error, I can find it right away.

“Ugh, I wish Victoria was there when I go. But, Victoria won’t be there.”

huh?

“Do you know?”

“The water above is getting shallower. Victoria will be there, where it is the thickest.”

“But you just followed me?”

“Victoria is going to find the person she’s looking for? Her parents.”

I nodded.

“If you just raise your head, you can see where Victoria is, so let’s find what we can first so that we don’t waste too much time. Even if we meet now, it’ll just waste time.”

If you understand, that’s great.

With a much lighter step, I gently wipe the last bits off the soles of my feet and head towards the house where Victoria and I lived a few dozen days ago.