A week has passed since Merriwather became my escort.
Even with her arrival, my life hasn't changed at all. My daily routine of going back and forth between the Royal Academy and the lodging rolls on like clockwork every day.
Victoria is getting used to going back and forth to the Clockwork Knight School. Her break times are gradually increasing.
Merriwather also spent a few days asking other classmates about me, but after finding out that I don't form proper relationships, she stopped asking anyone else.
As someone from the intelligence department, she might be disappointed, but I'm not that sociable of a person.
That's how it is at the Royal Academy, and as for the harvesters in Brightshin.
They have now almost returned to the life of the poor.
Some people are trying to improve their lives, but most are not.
Just like many people who try to exercise because they've gained weight but end up quitting after three days, just because something has changed doesn't mean it will continue.
Without any meaning to their bodies returning to normal, they've become dirty and destitute again. In this world where capital and class are strict, it's difficult to rise up just because your body has improved a little.
They've returned to their daily lives.
The capital is peaceful.
In other words, areas outside the capital are not peaceful.
First of all, Kanna, who went to her hometown, hasn't been able to come back to the capital. This shows why the families in the north emphasize martial arts.
Monsters that can be called beasts are filling the ground.
The only fortunate thing seems to be that they're fighting each other.
But even that is only a small part when viewed as a whole. Various kinds of monsters are flocking to this country.
From my perspective, it's as if there's some kind of demon king giving orders for invasion.
But according to Kanna's memory, the monsters aren't particularly invading with malice. Rather, it's a simple natural phenomenon.
It's just a period when the breeding seasons of monsters that occur once every few years overlap. The following year, when the monsters have multiplied beyond what the land can support, they spread in all directions, and as a chain reaction, the ecosystem is shaken here and there, and the aftermath comes rushing in like a wave.
I know something similar.
Even in faded man's memories, there's a year when 13-year and 17-year cycle cicadas emerge together. An enormous number of cicadas emerge and cover an entire continent.
There it's cicadas, but here it's monsters with substantial size. And it's not just one species, but several different species overlapping.
The entire ecosystem falls into a real estate crisis, and it's a disaster that occurs as those pushed out of territorial fights are forced into more distant places.
So what is Kanna doing...
She's fighting hard with a large halberd in the middle of that battlefield. She's running around here and there with a weapon so heavy it's hard to believe she was someone who lived her whole life as a cripple.
She's gained so much physical strength that even she herself is surprised. Perhaps this person also has a superpower similar to Tis's.
Anyway, it's not a battle with the demon king's army or anything like that.
It's a fight against beasts rushing in in a panic. So if you create a certain flow, they'll naturally escape to other places.
Because there's no clear answer about when this flow will be created, the current situation in the north is that they're bringing in all available personnel to fight until then.
In other words, it means that warmth sporadically comes in every time Kanna swings her weapon until the monsters flee.
Hehe.
Living beings are peculiar. It's not that larger ones have more warmth, and there are small creatures only half the height of a human that have as much warmth as a person.
But for the most part, compared to humans, they have less warmth per unit of life.
Especially domesticated animals often have less warmth than even insects. I knew that since the first world.
Humans are the most efficient. Because I know humans well, I will continue to choose humans in the future.
Since coming here, I have some doubts about whether I really know them well, but I can still explain why they behaved in certain ways.
Is only the north busy based on the capital?
That's not the case.
Bern City, south of the capital.
It's in chaos here.
It's not in chaos because of monsters like in the north.
Rather, the opposite. It's a matter between people.
At first, they demanded an investigation into why such an incident occurred, but the mayor of Bern City didn't respond at all.
So when they gathered many people and went, they sent people who knew how to use violence to crush those asking questions.
However, they didn't know that among those people, there was a Harvester with superpowers.
Superpowers, unlike magic, don't allow one person to use various techniques, but in the field they can handle, they handle it like their own body.
They subdued the opponent and immediately confirmed their identity. Surprisingly, they were soldiers. They came to eliminate terrorists.
That Harvester judged that they couldn't face this alone, so they revealed this to the Purple Twilight Association and asked for help.
The Purple Twilight Association, accepting that there was no problem, rushed to the city hall and protested. People who had survived in Bern City joined the protest one by one.
Because of the goodwill they had shown until then, no one doubted the Purple Twilight Association.
Even when the mayor declared the Purple Twilight Association a terrorist group, no one believed those words.
There's a saying that to spread something widely, you should prohibit it.
Rather, the question that tried to stop the Purple Twilight Association by catching them spread even more widely.
What is the truth behind the tragedy that occurred in Bern City?
Why are they trying to forcibly bury it?
The south is in the middle of that incident.
But people living in the capital don't know about this scene. Newspapers and broadcasts are showing an unchanged daily life.
Bloodshed has already occurred.
The sad thing is that no one among the Harvesters has started killing yet.
But when a fight breaks out, Harvesters will demonstrate powerful abilities. They're strong and smart. Some even have superpowers.
The number of deaths will be enormous. And once you taste blood, it's hard to go back to how you were before, right?
Hehe.
Seeing this, I'm relieved that this world doesn't seem much different.
And this time, I don't have to worry about disappearing without anything happening like last time.
Because the person who first asked the question has already been killed.
The Purple Twilight Association is rightfully angry. They're resisting unreasonableness.
It's already flowing on the ground, so it's impossible not to see blood now.
What will happen now?
What about Victoria?
Will Morris and Beatrice be alright?
We have to watch calmly. If there's a slightly regrettable point, it's that Morris and Beatrice. Their paths hardly overlap with Harvesters, so it's hard to see what they're up to.
Since the neighborhood they live in is one where many Harvesters gather, I do see them occasionally.
Beatrice seems to be going to work at a company, and Morris still seems to be at home, that's all I know.
That will change too if Bern City becomes a battlefield.
I decided to remain silent. It's a secret that I can see through the eyes of Harvesters. Harvesters are windows that will show me the world until the moment they die, so I have no intention of telling anyone.
"Belle! Let's go out and play today!"
While I was thinking about that and looking at Victoria, she suddenly said that to me.
"Okay."
It's after the afternoon classes have ended. Anyway, I was planning to go back to the lodging, wash up, rest, and then sleep. Going out to play shouldn't cause any problems.
"Is it okay to decide that without the escort's permission?"
Merriwather, sitting next to me, asks that.
But doesn't saying that reveal that it's surveillance? First, I only know it as an escort, so I'll point that out.
"Isn't an escort just someone who protects?"
"Belle, your guard is tight~ The more I see you, the more resolute you are in drawing lines. Well. I got it. Since I'm an escort, I'll follow."
Victoria is nodding, looking satisfied.
Almost a month.
Victoria really studied hard. Considering what she was doing before, it was about time for her to start slacking off.
Rather, we should praise her for holding out until now.
"Then let's just put our things away and go right away! We can wait at the school gate, right?"
Victoria said that while pushing her textbooks, notebooks, and writing tools into her bag. I put my books on one side of the classroom.
"I don't have any luggage."
When I said that, Victoria looks at me with an ambiguous expression.
"I'm envious that Belle doesn't need to study."
"It's simple if it's just recalling what I've memorized."
Then Merriwather suddenly pushes her body in.
"Oh? Wasn't Belle not studying? I thought Belle was like that because there were a few other kids who go around without books?"
At Merriwather's words, Victoria looks at me. Then she puts her hand in her bag, takes out a textbook, and throws it to Merriwather.
As Merriwather catches it, Victoria says this:
"Malley. Open any page and ask about the first sentence."
With a puzzled expression, Merriwather opens the textbook and asks. So when I read the corresponding page, she's really surprised.
"She memorizes everything after seeing it once."
Strictly speaking, it's closer to taking a photo and saving it in a folder. Memorizing doesn't mean understanding.
It's convenient for subjects like history, but I don't like technology or math. They require something that can't be done by memorization alone.
"Only my memorization ability is excellent."
"So that's cheating..."
While looking at Victoria lamenting, Merriwather smiled softly and returned the textbook to Victoria.
"At least it means you made the effort to read the entire textbook, right? You should see that too. So, Tori. If we're going out to play, do you have a place in mind for today?"
Victoria, who received the textbook from Merriwather and put it back in her bag, stood up from her seat. Come to think of it, Merriwather doesn't have textbooks either. No one cares even if she's freely leaning in the classroom.
Maybe there's a function that makes people think any action is okay.
But it's not like she navigates everything with just that function. When I occasionally see her talking with other students, she has quite in-depth conversations.
Not in terms of the amount of knowledge, but in the sense of approaching people's hearts. Sometimes when I see her answering very maturely, there's a high possibility that she's older than she looks.
Since she looks the same age even when she's with students, it means she's either very good at disguise or extremely young-looking.
Thinking about these few aspects, it seems she really is someone related to the intelligence department.
"Until just before the summer vacation, I was attending the Clockwork Knight School in the capital. So I know some places to play."
Victoria gets up from her seat and walks out of the classroom. I followed her out.
For Victoria, it's really a rare day off.