Victoria, with a face full of anxiety, arrived at the dormitory she was preparing.
The place she originally lived in wasn’t far from the entrance, but now it had been moved to a very secluded spot.
There, students from commoner backgrounds, like Victoria, lived.
No matter how powerful their parents were, or how good their abilities, the wall dividing nobles and commoners is high.
When nobles entered and gathered in certain numbers, they ford territories, pushing others out naturally.
I walked down the hallway.
There were always people claiming their territory when Victoria passed by, but not now.
It was likely because everyone was busy with Solindigus.
I bypassed them and walked further in. Near the stairs leading up, a noisy place filled with voices. There, Victoria and the other displaced students had settled.
I stood in front of Victoria’s door.
Victoria was packing her bag to head to the clockwork knight school. Her room was still ssy. She cleaned, but it wasn’t really clean.
Beatrice would probably get angry if she saw it.
Though, I can’t even be sure if she’s living properly herself.
Soon, Victoria opened the door.
"Ah? Bel?"
"You’re leaving, right?"
"Yeah. I need to go to the clockwork knight school for class today. But what about you, Bel? Still not back ho?"
I shrugged my shoulders.
I still didn’t know. At least by the ti I left the classroom and ca to the dormitory, a steel barricade had been set up at the main entrance.
"I don’t know when it’ll end."
"Then, do you want to rest in my room?"
She said that and pointed to her room. I pointed to her room and responded.
"It’s a pigsty."
"Hey! I’m trying to keep it neat!"
Victoria retorted angrily, but she wasn’t truly upset. While she was saying that, a wet object rose from behind her and quickly found its way back to its original spot.
This...
It seems like sothing visible even without being in direct line of sight. Unfortunately, I can’t see that sense.
I have no idea what the harvesters are or what these supernatural abilities are. I can only vaguely guess that it’s not related to bodily functions, but sothing beyond what I can sense.
If it were a sense in the body, I would know not only by seeing or hearing, but also the tactile feeling from my insides.
Anyway, I said to Victoria.
"Let’s go out together."
"Huh? But, it’ll be boring if we go."
Normally, I would have just stood outside the school gate, waiting aimlessly if I followed her.
"Let’s go together."
I said this so she wouldn’t ask for reasons. Victoria hesitated, looking at for a while before nodding, as if she’d gathered her thoughts.
Once Victoria was completely outside, she closed the door.
And even though she didn’t /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ have the key, I heard the click sound. Right after that, white steam poured out from the keyhole.
Yeah, she doesn’t need a key.
She really uses her abilities like her hands.
Victoria and I left the dormitory together.
Victoria, who had a puzzled expression while looking at the empty hallway, asked in a low voice when she noticed the silence.
"What’s going on?"
"Is it easy to go outside?"
"As long as no one tries to hurt , it should be fine."
"I don’t an that. You’ll understand once we get to the front gate."
We exited the dormitory and walked along the white wall on the right.
Before reaching the main gate, we could already hear voices shouting for food or work.
"They’re still doing it."
"It’s sothing that needs to be done."
It’s because living would be hard otherwise. The protests are screams for survival.
As Victoria and I approached the main gate, the voices grew louder.
Turning right, when we finally saw the main gate, the steel frawork of the door, along with soldiers and barricades, beca visible. Far away, people holding pickets and tools stood, shouting.
"The door is closed."
"This is the only way out. Co on, let’s go, Victoria."
I led her forward.
As soon as we approached the main gate, a soldier ca forward.
"Are you a student? I’m sorry, but please don’t go out."
The soldier politely asked us to turn back.
But I replied,
"My na is Bel. I’m going out."
When the soldier heard my na, he made a puzzled expression. Did he not hear anything about ? At least, he wasn’t going to stop from moving, but the soldier muttered he didn’t recognize the na.
"Please wait a mont."
The soldier ran to another place in a hurry. Yeah, he was going to ask a higher authority.
A student holds a much higher rank than a soldier.
And before leaving, he took a quick glance at my hair and skin. It looks like there’s good news ahead.
"Will it be okay?"
Victoria looked at with a distrustful expression. But even if she asked, I could only respond that I would be fine.
"If it doesn’t work, just say the protests blocked the entrance, and we couldn’t get out. The teacher who’s instructing you, Victoria, will understand."
I already knew what was happening at the clockwork knight school, so I asked.
Victoria frowned at my words. She didn’t want to say it like that. Although she didn’t seem like it, Victoria is diligent.
If there hadn’t been anything special happening until now, Victoria would have always attended the separate afternoon classes.
She dread of becoming a clockwork knight. So, for soone like her, it makes sense that the teacher would give her extra lessons, almost like being expelled.
Besides, Victoria had no choice but to attend the Royal Academy.
If she hated it, she could be expelled and return to the clockwork knight school, but the Royal Academy is also a place of protective surveillance.
They took in talented people at the Royal Academy.
What would happen if that person couldn’t handle the Royal Academy and left?
Yeah.
They’d be ostracized.
Talented people are dangerous. If they harbor malicious intent, they can use it for bad purposes. The examples from the three major corporations proved that.
If you refuse to integrate into mainstream society, for safety’s sake, they’ll exclude you.
Of course, no one directly explained this to us.
But at least, Beatrice knew about it, and that’s why she tried to convince Victoria early on. I realized this when I made Kanna into a harvester, through her mories.
However, Victoria’s patience was slowly running out.
There had been too much. And it was too much for a single girl to handle. No one told her though.
Victoria had already killed many innocent people.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Her power was so imnse, like shockwaves from a supersonic jet breaking the ground when flying too close to it.
Without even realizing it, she drowned innocent people, killing them.
Or maybe she knew, but no one spoke about it, and she didn’t show any signs either. But watching her handle water, I wonder if she might have.
As for , I was happy because warmth ca in!
But if this keeps going, I might get more warmth again.
However, we’ve been seeing each other for a long ti, right? And...
And there’s the promise with Soo... yeah.
So, at least I can be here for her. I am an extension of who I was when I was human.
I know how to act human. I know how to do it, and I know how to feel that way.
But despite all that, I hate the cold more than anything. That’s why I take warmth away.
No matter how much my heart screams, the cold hurts more. To ease that most painful thing, I would do anything.
Even if it’s a child like family, I would throw them into hell and make them produce warmth. It’s less painful that way.
If anyone says I’m not human, I want to put them in the sa position as .
Keheh.
They’ll probably scream like , break down, and crave warmth.
The problem is, no one in this world, nothing, can go through what I’m going through.
They’re lucky because they can just die.
They can choose to vanish forever without feeling that pain.
I stay still, letting reality take its course, trying not to stop it, while also easing the pain of Victoria’s screams.
Not long after, the soldier who stopped us earlier, along with soone who seed to be the commander, ca up to .
"Are you the one called Bel?"
"Yes. Will you let go out?"
At my question, the commander stared at . He then slightly opened the main gate with his hand. A soldier behind him said sothing, but the commander silenced him by calling out his rank.
I stepped through the open gate, calling out to Victoria, who was standing behind, stunned.
"Co on, let’s go."
"Wow, this is really happening."
As soon as we stepped out, the door was imdiately closed.
Beyond the barricades, through the protestors, I saw my dormitory, reinforced with steel plates over the entrance and windows. It looked like the one used when the thorn bushes grew last ti.
This is probably its intended purpose.
I walked towards the protestors. As I passed the barricades, the commander yelled at from behind.
"It’s dangerous if you go that way!"
"It’s not dangerous."
As soon as I ca out, the protestors slowly started to quiet down. They stared at with strange expressions.
I ignored their gaze and walked straight ahead.
Anyway, they aren’t enemies. Victoria hesitated for a mont but soon ran to catch up with . A few soldiers, looking unsure whether they should protect , glanced at the commander.
I stopped them with a gesture and walked forward, toward the protestors. A large, rough-looking beastman stood out.
He was very noticeable. So, I aid for him.
"Are you a noble?"
"No. I’m Bel."
He extended a wooden stick toward , which seed to have sothing attached to it originally, but now broken like a spear. I saw droplets of water suspended in the air.
No, I don’t need Victoria’s help. Though she could harvest warmth, I was planning to do sothing else here.
"I’m speaking purely out of goodwill. Humanity. Go ho today."
I lifted my decaying, squashed humanity while watching the lump of warmth.
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