Southern Bern City. A neighborhood with long rows of detached houses.
Victoria's house is here.
The last time I saw it, it was a neighborhood full of vibrant colors, but now it's gloomy.
There are traces of fire that swept through here and there, and houses with doors and windows boarded up with planks catch the eye in various places.
Houses without such protection look even more desolate with their entrance doors broken open.
We arrived at our destination after passing through these dark and gloomy houses.
"Is this it?"
"Yes."
The entrance door is split in half and fallen inwards, and nearby windows are also shattered. It's hard to see inside the rooms because it's nighttime, but it doesn't look like anyone is living here.
But just in case, we went inside.
"It's a mess."
The interior is visible in the flickering moonlight, but it's in disarray as if violent people had rummaged through it.
The kitchen is in particularly bad shape.
Several memories flash that when the logistics of a fairly large city are blocked, food disappears in an instant. So when besieging a city, if it's blockaded, it collapses from the inside before long, according to military tactics, or the average amount of food coming and going in a city. Light enters these various memories.
In other words, it was looted.
Is this an apocalyptic city?
If so, they'll only consume what's available, so even survivors will have to fight each other eventually.
In such a serious situation, the defeated side might still be around.
So I looked around various parts of the house.
Fortunately.
"There are no dead people."
"Ah, is that why you specifically looked inside?"
"Yes."
While I was going around the corners of the rooms in the house, Polaris was doing something, and it seems she tidied up the living room. The place where we once sat together to watch TV is cleaned up enough to sit.
The TV is full of dust, but judging by how clean it is, it seems the house was raided for food ingredients. According to my memory, it's a fairly expensive item.
In other words, it means it will be difficult to find food from this house and nearby houses.
I look at Polaris sitting on the sofa, catching her breath.
From her perspective, it's not particularly cold or difficult, so it's probably due to mental fatigue.
I approached Polaris and held her hand.
"Why?"
"Come with me."
And I held on and dragged her to the room where I lived. It was originally a guest room, so there's not much luggage, and bedding is stored inside.
In other words, it means it's an environment where you can sleep.
I pushed her onto the bed and brought a blanket.
"No, you're telling me to sleep in this situation?"
"Yes, Polaris. You need to sleep, even if I don't."
It's fortunate that the night isn't that chilly, perhaps because it's still early autumn.
"I'm still fine."
"But you're tired, aren't you? Not your body, but your mind."
When I pointed to that big problem and explained the truth, Polaris tried to say something but couldn't open her mouth in the end.
What was supposed to be a simple task of finding and bringing back someone we know has turned into having to pass through a place where terrible events are happening.
It's like having an accident.
It's a harsh experience for a young girl.
It feels like warmth will come in soon, and I have some leeway as I've alleviated the cold a bit after a long time.
Thinking that the struggling Polaris might be troublesome, I just hugged her and lay down. And I closed my eyes.
Polaris sighed softly and closed her eyes too. And not long after closing them, she fell into a deep sleep.
See? I told you she was tired.
If she applied force, she could easily push off someone like me, but seeing that she relaxed, it's obvious.
I put my body to sleep too and focus a bit more on Victoria's perspective.
Right now, in the center of Bern City, the Purple Twilight Association. Two factions among them told Victoria to come under them, and now they're fighting each other over it.
By the way, both factions are thinking of swallowing up the Purple Twilight Association and becoming independent. One side is thinking of establishing a country outright, and the other side seems to be thinking of proceeding as a religion.
Those surrounding Victoria in the center of Bern City now no longer want to find out the truth.
They realized how strong they were while fighting Marquis Gaston's army in Bern City.
Because they have power, they're trying to change the world with that power.
That's what they think themselves.
I would have thought the same if I hadn't noticed a man who frequently appears in the harvesters' views fanning their desires.
An ordinary appearance with no particularly notable flaws. But he cleverly moves around here and there, shouting near powerful people that they can do more with this power.
Sometimes he mingles with radicals, sometimes he infiltrates groups with no intention of fighting at all.
And he immediately incites people.
He's not using any particularly special method.
During the day, because sporadic bombings occur, most people hide between buildings. But when night falls, they come out to light fires and do things to survive.
The work involves making beds, reinforcing fortifications, or finding food.
And when that work is done, there's a lot of time spent gathered together, and he mingles in those places, talks about how today's work was difficult, forms internal intimacy, and then criticizes the current situation, and that's it.
That's enough to set them on fire.
Just like in any world where people get fired up when badmouthing politicians at a drinking party, people are incited in really simple ways.
And especially in situations where body and mind are tired, it's easy to blame others.
This is the result of such things piling up and becoming excessively bloated.
It would be enough to escape Bern City in all directions, spread throughout the country, and just talk about what happened in Bern City, but they're choosing to isolate themselves and choosing the path of fighting.
Hmm.
Certainly, the corporate side is several moves ahead.
What would happen if a figure who shattered the command of the nobles and their army, cooked up by the corporations, appeared in such a place?
It's a dangerous person.
Between the views of the harvesters, he goes around whispering just loud enough for nearby people to hear, saying isn't Victoria suspicious, isn't she a royal puppet.
And that suspicion spreads to the surroundings with surprising ease.
Even if he only tells one or two people, those who hear immediately run to their acquaintances and whisper that it might be dangerous.
Of course, given the situation, it's not strange to tell people you know to be careful.
But what if this is done intentionally and simultaneously?
It becomes impossible to know where it spread from, and it's completely disguised as the opinion of the people.
Even if it wouldn't work in normal times, when exposed to extreme situations for dozens of days, reason is gradually eroded.
If they had lived like this from the beginning, it might be different, but most of the people here were originally ordinary citizens living in Bern City.
In other words, city people who lived in the most sophisticated city by this world's standards.
In this situation, what would happen if Victoria says she won't join either of the two forces with the strongest opinions?
She becomes the enemy of the two loudest groups.
Not just one, but two.
Moreover, Victoria is the person with the furthest emotional distance. Even though she appeared frequently on the news and helped people at the forefront when a big incident occurred in Bern City.
Rather, because of that, the question of why it's her and not me who gets to go to the capital and live well digs in.
One's own actions are great, and others' actions are trivial.
There are many people who think like this. So even if objectively they're the same or even if that person did worse, it looks different to themselves.
Self-objectification is a very difficult skill. Most people don't know how to use it, have only heard of it, or mistakenly think they're using it.
And what about jealousy? It hurts when others do well, and the desire to pull them down is so natural that there's no need to explain it.
Towards these people who are hostile to Victoria, Victoria says she's not interested in them and is just looking for her family.
But the people who hear this think it's an excuse. Because she didn't become one of us.
In other words, all words from the enemy are bad.
First, they shout that it's a lie, deny it, and try to break it. I'm right and you're wrong.
Where have we seen this a lot?
When a loud person starts cursing, others follow one by one and curse at Victoria.
Do you know what the scariest part is?
Victoria's heart doesn't waver at all in a situation where even adults would be crushed. If she were tense, her breathing would quicken and she'd sweat, but there's none of that.
At that moment.
Someone attacked. At least it's not a harvester's supernatural ability. It's a stone thrown by someone. Unfortunately, even if I rewind the memories, I can't tell who threw it from the harvesters' views.
Swoosh
A water column fell vertically from the sky.
Not just the stone, but everything around it was completely sucked into the water column. Dozens of people at the place where the stone came from were literally crushed in the water.
Victoria. Now she doesn't feel anything even when killing people?
Hehe.
The water, even darker because it's night, ripples gloomily.
"I can't control my power right now, anyone else want to interfere?"
Victoria asked, standing still by the roadside.
Everyone shut their mouths.
They've just seen firsthand what happens if they resist now.
Those who gained power in Bern City have acquired the technology to stop devices running on magic power in this world of magic civilization, and can use supernatural abilities unrelated to magic power.
That's why they're strong.
Even warriors with pre-technological era skills use magic power to enhance their bodies. What would happen if you put contaminated magic power into that?
At first, they use the magic power preserved inside, but when that runs out, they bring in magic power from outside. But what would happen if you put cooking oil in a car that should use gasoline?
It's even more fatal for warrior types.
From their own perception, at first they can swing their swords so they charge in confidently, but they broke down immediately.
So they died even more miserably.
The harvesters in Bern City are confident in their abilities. Until now, enemies became idiots as soon as they entered Bern City, so they've only killed people who were originally stronger but are now weaker.
But now, an overwhelmingly superior version has appeared as an enemy.
Most are terrified looking at Victoria.
Hmm.
What a shame.
If she showed a bit more violence, it seems more warmth would come in... At this rate, Victoria will persuade the people around her and achieve what she wants.
That man who's been appearing sporadically in the harvesters' views since earlier.
I wonder if he won't do something...