The Outer God Needs Warmth

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But it seems difficult to hear an answer.

The boy has stopped talking and is looking behind me. I don’t need to turn around to know who is approaching.

It’s the harvesting machine.

“Seems like no one in this country dares to be rude to my benefactor?”

Tiana Amphibia.

In this critical situation, a girl with blue skin appeared beside me, having transformed due to becoming a harvesting machine.

“Moreover, to touch a lady’s chest so casually, what a despicable human you are. Is this what your country typically behaves like?”

The boy’s face turned pale at Tiana’s disdain.

Oh?

I expected him to explode in anger, but instead, he shrank back timidly?

Clearly, he isn’t just running on a second brain.

Tiana’s country is one of the strongest nations around here, which is why I am staying at the accommodation I’ve been at.

It’s prime real estate right in front of the Royal Academy. The fact that I’m even in a mansion operated directly by the royal family indicates that I should be treated with respect.

When I first heard that, I thought it was fascinating that I was held in such high regard.

To what extent was Aurora cherished?

Anyway, Tiana, with her anger fully displayed, asked the boy,

“What’s your name?”

“I’m s-sorry!”

He quickly bowed his head. Then he turned to run away.

“Your name.”

But it seemed Tiana had no intention of letting him go that easily and asked again.

However, the frightened boy didn’t answer and just fled.

The issue is, running away doesn’t solve anything.

Just escaping won’t resolve the situation. In fact, it probably makes things worse.

Tiana eyed the fleeing boy with a furious expression before turning to me.

“It’s a pity that we have to have a conversation under such undesirable circumstances.”

She introduced herself again. Although her name ended with Tiana Amphibia, she took the time to introduce all the titles that came before it.

And I just assumed it was a habit and moved on.

The young harvesting machines tend to be like that.

Even when I’m not present, they emit warmth and are ready to give their children to me.

No…

Actually, I’m not sure about this point.

Is it that a harvesting machine’s offspring inevitably gains warmth, or is it that as a subclass of Tisah who did not become a harvesting machine, they were capable of obtaining warmth?

If I’m out of the picture, the possibility of them gaining warmth again is almost non-existent.

So…

No, wait. Something just flashed in my mind.

An example exists.

Choseol.

She was a descendant of Eunjai. And amidst the time when Eunjai died and his descendants began to move, I’ll check if I obtained warmth then.

Hmmm… Hmm…. Nope.

If there are absolutely no harvesting machines, does that mean that even if a contract exists, warmth cannot be obtained through that offspring?

What’s with all this complexity?

If we blindly increase the number of harvesting machines, the world won’t bear the weight and will collapse.

The offspring of a harvesting machine have already completed their contract with me. If left as is, they won’t generate warmth.

It’s frustrating. Why are there so many constraints?

Life is definitely not easy.

If a god were here, they would solve all of this in an instant. No, there wouldn’t even be this cold.

Anyway, I caught sight of Tiana looking worried about me.

“It must be hard living in such a country, so once it stabilizes, won’t you come with me?”

She’s sincerely worried about me, asking that.

Even if one escapes a life-threatening crisis, most people tend to be more greedy from that point onward.

Even beasts behave like that, don’t they?

Well, some animals do show gratitude, so these must be worse than beasts.

At least the girl in front of me isn’t like that.

A different country.

Is the country now set for harvesting machines enough? Since the opportunity has arisen, shall we explore other nations?

I have set up a few harvesting machine farms, but it’s just one country.

If I can spread it to other nations, it’d be preferable.

“Then won’t this country become one that doesn’t treat its benefactor properly?”

Before I could reply, another person interjected and cut off the conversation.

Turning to the side, I noticed Solindiges approaching.

When Tiana greeted Solindiges, he also returned the greeting. But the words that came out this time were subtly different from when he greeted me earlier.

Earlier, it contained terms like ‘land ruler,’ whereas now, it was more along the lines of ‘the blue flower of Moldavia.’

The words one presents differ depending on the counterpart. It may seem complex, but it’s just like having a water property against a fire property.

“No, I’ve heard you were also residing in the same place as I am, and this country has treated you as best as they could.”

Yeah. That’s true.

As Tiana said, as a healer, I was indeed given good treatment. In this world, losing limbs or sustaining serious internal injuries isn’t viewed as a major crisis.

If you go to a hospital, you can receive treatment without having to pay exorbitant fees. It’s not cheap, but neither is it overly expensive.

The ones who cannot receive treatment are either the poor who are completely banned from entering hospitals or those cursed to be untreatable.

Hence, many end up retiring after succumbing to curses inflicted by monsters while hunting them. Especially in Atlan Fortress City, there are many soldiers like that. Monsters are more adept at curses than humans.

Injuries that are not easily treatable are about 99% intertwined with curses or diseases that worsen despite magic being used.

Since I can do something about it at least once, I guess I am a talent I wouldn’t want to let slip away.

“If you feel there are shortcomings in our country, we will make amends. Princess Tiana, a significant figure is in trouble; how could we send them off like that?”

“If you truly care, it would be best to attach a guard to her. So she won’t fall victim to a scoundrel who casually touches a lady’s chest.”

Oh.

A guard. I’ve had one before. They were used as bait to lure out a witch named Maleficent.

Although the guard ended up transforming into the very witch they were supposed to lure.

At these words, Solindiges looked at me in surprise.

He really seemed genuinely shocked, which startled me in return.

Could it be that he came with a precise understanding of the situation? I’m unsure of what Solindiges, being not a harvesting machine, heard to seek me out.

Tiana just came out for a meal and, startled, approached to help me.

“Did such a thing really happen?”

“Yes.”

Honestly, it’s not such a big deal.

What happens to Bell’s body is honestly irrelevant to me. Whether she faces something that sounds like it’s out of a thin book or has an experience that could be written in a witch-hunting chronicle.

In comparison to this cold, it feels less real.

This endless cold is the only truth, and everything else is inconsequential.

In a similar vein, what emotions arise when you see a hardcore video game character enduring hardship on a monitor?

You might think this is simply a game, or you might criticize the event CG for its inadequacies.

This analogy might apply; in reality, it’s much colder and frozen.

“Who the hell….”

Yet Solindiges seems to share some similarities with me. In his expression while speaking, there’s neither disgust nor anger.

Curiously, there’s an element of fear. No, what part of my actions sparked fear?

“It’s not gentlemanly to pry into the embarrassing matters of someone. If that’s the case here, then a rescue is needed.”

Tiana stated that with clear contempt towards him, then ignored him and looked at me.

“It’s about time for class, so Bell and I will return to the classroom. I hope the news of a proper punishment reaches my ears soon, allowing me to rest easy.”

Then, Tiana slipped her arm through mine and took me away from that place.

Behind us, Solindiges made a noise.

“I will ensure such things do not happen, Princess Tiana.”

But Tiana didn’t respond to that statement.

A bit farther away, Tiana lowered her arm.

“This country really isn’t a friendly place to live. What on earth do they think of women….”

What on earth do they think of women?

Ah. Could it be that?

Is it a country where women lack rights to the extent that they can’t voice anything even when assaulted? I rifled through the memories of a harvesting machine for a moment.

No. There’s really nothing like that.

In this world, the differences between men and women aren’t vast. Sure, there’s care for those giving birth, but that’s all.

In fact, racial differences take precedence.

Like Polaris, a bear beastman, or Kanna, a tiger beastman; honestly, one could say they belong to different species, but here they are considered a matter of race.

In reality, when hybrids occur, they merge.

Of course, no creature emerges that combines the strengths of both species; it strictly follows the mother’s race.

Thus, in stringent clans, there seem to be rules that prohibit marrying someone of a different race.

In a faded world with no such laws, the idea of maintaining bloodlines is not peculiar, considering they would marry until they faced a jaw deformity.

And if we were to deliberately impose gender discrimination, it seems to be more severe in the Kingdom of Moldavia than in this country.

Could it be that I considered my situation difficult based on how things were mirrored around me?

Indeed. People easily think from their personal perspectives.

“Bell, are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Although I’m aware that saying it like this might make it sound insincere, I genuinely am fine.

Moreover, if we trace back the causes, it’s the rise of higher classes like Tiana that led to this situation, and further back leads to the rebellion company incident.

The problems are convoluted and interconnected. This intertwined scenario may explode like a nuclear event or create insufferable pollution that ruins the world.

“You really do seem fine. Did I help you for nothing?”

Tiana, who had been quietly observing my face, said that.

So I answered as follows.

“Thanks to this, I have the opportunity for conversation, so this isn’t a bad occurrence.”

Meeting with the upper echelons of another country and gaining the chance to cross into different realms with them isn’t something easy, is it?

Hehe.