The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 261: Will cruelty ultimately win? (11)

The fourth world’s Jeber has gone mad with hatred.

Humanity has vanished from him, and in its place, cruelty and harshness have filled the void.

Unlike the fourth world, which spends convenient harvest production times under Jeber’s rule, the third world is quite busy.

There are classes until the evening today.

Ah, by the way, the boy named Rabo Pasillier did not come to class until it was over.

Neither Aurora, Kanna, Polaris, nor Victoria took any special action related to him.

Therefore, at least they are not involved.

I don’t think they handled it separately. If he had died in that manner, warmth would have entered me.

I suppose he just ran away home.

Since he couldn’t justify his actions to the end in that place, it’s very likely that he ran away.

“Class is over!”

Victoria, who was sitting next to me, stretches.

The teacher leaves the front, and we wait until the student sitting in the back leaves.

This is a class-based society. Oh, of course, sometimes higher-ranked students stay longer to chat, but in such cases, the next student gets up discreetly.

Implicit rules are not rigid like programmed laws.

They’re not formally stated rules.

It’s just that those who want to leave leave, and those who don’t, don’t.

But there’s a reason these implicit rules come into existence.

The door is narrow.

When you go out there, you might bump into students from other ranks.

So, it’s convenient for the higher-ranked to leave first, and then everyone follows in order. And thus, a rule is formed.

Then the rule starts to control reality. It becomes a tool of oppression because it’s convenient, because it’s safe.

That’s why customs are born in society.

“I just want to get back to the dorm and rest...”

As she recalls why she’s waiting and then dismisses it, Victoria mumbles, burying her face on the desk while slacking off.

“Is it hard?”

Last year, she went to the mechanical knight school for separate lessons.

But I didn’t expect her to be tired of something like this.

“Yeah. It’s not really the kind of study I want to do.”

Victoria answers in a very low voice. Ah, that’s right.

Victoria originally wanted to work with wind-up machines. So, last year, after finishing at the Royal Academy, she went to the wind-up knight school for separate lessons.

However, during the rebellion incident, most of the students and teachers at the wind-up knight school were killed by the rioters.

Although the country caught and punished the ones who killed them, Victoria knows that was only a small part of it.

And she knows they were easy scapegoats.

“Are you giving up?”

“I don’t know what else I’m supposed to dream of here.”

Victoria mumbles as if she has lost her way.

Her passion for wind-up machines seems to have died out. Now, there are no books about it in her room.

Every night, the sight of her studying that subject vanished after she returned home in the winter.

Instead, she followed her grandfather to work in the fields. At first, she followed her grandmother, but with a wave of her hand, Victoria could control the water, right?

At some point, she started being dragged around as a substitute for heavy machinery.

That’s why in that area, they treated her almost like a goddess, which was very amusing.

No, if she can control water, is she not treated as a goddess in rural society?

It’s not just moving moisture back and forth, she could pour water and physically plow the fields.

People’s memories of farmers and those in various professions shone brightly when associated with her. If you can move water like that, what could you not do?

In other words, it seems that she has given up on wind-up machines.

She’s lost her dream.

Well, she was in a situation where that made sense. That’s why she says this here.

“I’ll force it.”

“Did you forget the reason we fell out?”

Victoria reaches out her finger and pokes my side.

It’s not just because she forced me, but because of a complex reason. I’ve heard her complain about how painful it was to be with me from her parents.

But I don’t care.

“Still, because it’s Victoria, I’m talking like this. Have you seen me say this to anyone else?”

The reason I don’t talk to others is that I believe they will climb up and then fall on their own.

And even without me saying anything, it’s natural for them to rise with the power they have.

When physical functions improve and the brain becomes sharper, people don’t just sit there and wither away.

Since they see the future, they move, and energy overflows in their bodies.

Also, food costs rise, so they get busy.

But Victoria’s situation is different.

“I’ve never seen it. But Bel. You only talk when someone speaks to you, right? So isn’t it obvious I wouldn’t see it?”

Sharp.

So, I also talked with people at the dorm often. When they spoke to me, the conversation flowed easily, and they mistook me for being thirsty for conversation.

They just thought I was a shy kid who couldn’t start a conversation.

After living there for half a year, I guess I got attached, because they even came to visit my house.

So, yes, it’s true that I only speak when someone else speaks, and it’s also true that Victoria didn’t see it.

“That’s true.”

“See?”

Victoria buries her face in the desk again.

“Honestly, I don’t know what else I want to do anymore.”

She mumbles like a person who’s lost their way.

But I know she hasn’t really lost her way.

The reason Victoria’s dream stopped wasn’t because she lacked talent. Nor was it because someone blocked her from moving forward on that path.

It was just that a shocking event lay nearby.

“Is that so?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You know everything, don’t you?”

“I don’t know everything.”

I share the event Victoria went through, through her eyes, but I don’t know what thoughts she had or how she felt about it.

That’s my limit.

So, using the theories I know, I guess at the person’s thoughts and feelings.

I realized not long ago that just knowing emotions isn’t the same as truly understanding them.

For example, someone might say they felt disgusted when sauce was poured on their sweet and sour pork.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

They might have felt disgusted because they hated pouring it, or they could find it disgusting that the person is doing something to their food.

All I know is that they felt disgusted.

No, is it a blessing that I can at least understand emotions?

“Liar.”

“I don’t lie.”

“Right. You’re a liar who doesn’t lie, Bel.”

Let’s stay silent about that.

When I close my mouth, Victoria giggles and pokes my cheek.

“How much are you hiding... I saw that shadow and ran away. The reality. Will you show it to me?”

She’s asking playfully, but she’s asking seriously. I can faintly feel her fingers trembling.

She’s still a child.

“No. Since you ran away after seeing the shadow, I’ll hide it so you won’t see it anymore.”

Victoria stops for a moment.

Hmm?

Ah, yes. This means there’s a secret so terrifying that people shouldn’t know it. But it’s actually true.

Even the ancient sovereigns said it was dreadful, so taking warmth is never a good thing. It’s exploitation at its most evil.

And I’ve seen that example.

A creature who has warmth taken from it while still alive turns into a monster that craves warmth.

Ironically, they can die, but they still crave warmth.

It’s clearly bad. But, I will let myself believe it’s not bad.

Just like how carnivores eat smaller animals, it’s not a sin, right? I just need warmth to live.

Staring intently at the still Victoria, she carefully moves the hand that was poking me to her chest.

Then, looking at me in embarrassment, she opens her mouth.

“Then, hide it properly until the end.”

“I’ll try.”

Hearing my answer, Victoria waves her hand, as if to end the conversation, and stands up.

“Let’s go back now.”

A few people still remain in the classroom, but they’re not waiting. They’re still there because their small talk hasn’t ended.

I also get up from my seat.

Then, together with Victoria, I leave the classroom. We go to the central stairs, go down to the first floor, and leave through the main entrance.

After leaving the building’s main door, we walk along the path that leads to the royal academy’s main gate.

Not long after we started walking, Victoria suddenly speaks.

“Oh, right. Bel. Where do you live? Last time, I saw you heading in that direction, not the dorm.”

It’s a natural question, but also an unexpected one.

“You’ve never seen where I’m going, have you, Victoria?”

Before we go beyond the main gate, we separate. Victoria lives in the dorm that is located down the path to the right, as she’s facing the gate. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Victoria raises a finger at my question. Then, a small water droplet appears.

“I control water, right? So I can sense the water nearby. It’s not much, just this area, but I can sense when you go left, not straight ahead toward the big building.”

Hmm.

She can even sense that?

I can’t sense anything, including magical power.

I raise my head, thinking I learned something new. It’s already getting dark since it’s close to winter.

“I moved houses. Want to see?”

As I ask, we reach a fork in the road.

Both of us stop walking there. Victoria blinks at my question, then shakes her head.

“Next time. I’m tired today. I want to rest. I’ve got loads of homework, too.”

I nod. We have plenty of time anyway.

We wave goodbye there. Victoria heads to the dorm, and I walk straight to the left after leaving the main gate.