The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 138: Academy, you’re out of your mind (8)

I left the five people looking at me with a touched expression and climbed the stairs.

Right away, I felt something change. It had, in fact, changed.

But soon, I'd realize that nothing within me had truly changed. Even if my strength grew and my mind sharpened, the person I was up until that point was still the same, wasn’t it?

It’s like starting an exercise to lose weight, but giving up after three days, eating even more than I did before.

I even thought about putting a limit of three here. In the second world, I made the harvest period too short.

In the first world, many tried to extend the harvest period, so I was going to impose restrictions. In the second world, I stuck with the three-month limit due to the collapse of the first world.

In the third world, I didn't start off belonging to any group.

Because I didn't have the ability to run away, or maybe I needed it, I required certain rules to survive while parasitizing that group.

Even if it wasn’t true, I could act as if it was.

But here, it’s all about freedom. So, I decided to do whatever I wanted.

Of course, if the situation suddenly turns strange and I'm kidnapped to produce only harvests, that wouldn't be bad either.

Since it’s such a ruthless group, it wouldn’t spread as quickly as it did in the first world.

If the rulers are full of desires, they would use it only for themselves.

In other words, it’s fine.

After reaching the upper floor, I go to find Victoria.

Victoria is rushing back to her room now because she realized I had disappeared. She returns to check the room and sees that I'm not there, then comes back out.

So, I go in the opposite direction to meet her.

"Hey! Found you!"

As soon as she saw me, Victoria rushed toward me.

I can understand why. If she were an ordinary girl, she'd probably be in a terrible situation in the corner of the third-class cabin by now. But if she knew that my true form was monstrous, she wouldn’t need to worry so much.

"Yes, Bell is here."

"Where are you going, just tell me!"

"I didn’t have time to tell you. You were distracted by the mechanical device, weren't you?"

I subtly shifted the topic and twisted the conversation so that it seemed like Victoria had made a mistake.

"Still, oh well. Never mind. As long as you're fine. Let's go to the room."

"Alright."

It seemed like she felt embarrassed for getting so absorbed by the device, so there were no further questions.

Afterward, I kept on guard, expecting something might happen, but the night passed without incident. Then, it was morning.

The city can be seen on both sides of the river.

Of course, I knew this because I had been up early when the ship’s horn sounded, and we stopped at a harbor.

From the harbor, the ship entered the river, and through the window, I could gradually see some rural houses in the vast plains, then the city grew larger.

Before long, it was nearing noon.

The ship docked at a harbor in the middle of a huge city’s river.

Victoria and I disembarked. Fortunately, they didn't check our tickets when we got off, so we had no trouble.

Once outside the harbor, iron structures and brick houses harmonized, and tall buildings that could be called skyscrapers rose into the sky.

And on the surfaces and interiors of those buildings, huge mechanical devices were embedded here and there, working. It looked like a city made with the theme of a winding clock inside.

There were also floating contraptions in the sky, similar to airships, and wyvern-like creatures with saddles, flying with people aboard.

"Not really surprised?"

"I am surprised."

"Hehe, right? This is Bern City. It’s the most cutting-edge city built with the country’s best technology."

Victoria said to me with a voice full of pride.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

The energy efficiency of the magic power, which is strangely effective, means it’s fortunate that it's not steam-powered.

It’s too much like clockwork to be called arcane punk, and it’s too devoid of steam to be called steampunk.

Gaslamp fantasy? It’s closer to that feel.

"Taxi!"

As soon as we reached the street, Victoria waved her hand and called for a taxi. Shortly after, a strange three-wheeled vehicle stopped in front of us.

"Do you need service? Try our Cogni Transport Company! Set the number of passengers and the destination, then complete the payment, and you can board."

It was a vehicle shaped like an inverted triangle, with an engine-like mechanism at the back, and a brass humanoid figure above the engine.

It’s an AI, right?

Victoria, not even surprised by the machine, explained the number of people and the address, then handed over some money.

The brass machine completed the payment and placed Victoria’s luggage on the vehicle’s roof before opening the door.

Once we got inside, the humanoid figure behind us moved its arm to close the door, and we set off.

It truly felt like entering another world.

Everything appeared much clearer than I remembered from Victoria's memories.

If I were a person who liked to travel, would I enjoy this?

I don’t know.

In any case, the taxi drove for a while before stopping in a place where the skyscrapers were far off in the distance.

It wasn’t the kind of mansion that would be considered extravagant, but it was certainly a good enough house to live in.

"Our Cogni Transport Company will always be with you. Please use us often!"

The brass figurine attached to the taxi played a short recorded message before leaving without looking back.

"Here we are!"

Victoria grabbed her bag and opened the door, rushing inside.

However, there was no sound coming back.

Victoria went inside without paying any mind, and I followed her in.

There’s a place to shake off shoes, but Victoria just walked in with them on.

Of course, that’s not really normal. Technically, you could do that at home, but it’s best to change into indoor shoes at the entrance.

Since it’s our first meeting, I’ll stick to the etiquette Victoria remembers.

The shoes were a bit big for a guest, though.

I walked in with the oversized shoes clacking behind me.

"Who the hell is this?"

As I entered down the hallway, a very sharp voice rang out.

"Mom. Did you pull another all-nighter? Are you still out of your mind? Put the gun away."

Victoria’s eyes locked on the woman who was pointing a gun at her, a dark woman standing beneath her with black eyes.

Victoria looked as though she was used to this, so it didn’t seem like a big deal.

"I never had a daughter like you. What the hell is with that hair? I told you not to step foot in the house if you did something like that!"

"I didn’t dye it!"

"You poured purple dye all over it! I can see your roots, and it’s not strange if you did it on the way here! What’s with the rebellion phase?"

No, that...

If a mom were to react like that, it’d be a sign of concern that the kid might have gone astray.

Before the situation escalated, I went inside.

"Hello."

"Oh, a guest?"

Her expression softened for a moment but quickly turned sharp again when she looked at my hair color. But that didn’t last long. As she scanned me from top to bottom, the wariness gradually faded.

I must look young to her.

"Tori, who is this?"

Tori is Victoria’s nickname. Victoria sighed in relief, then walked over to me and stood beside me.

"Mom, this is Bell. Bell, this is my mom."

Victoria’s mom approached me, quickly raised her hand, and flicked Victoria on the head before standing in front of me.

"I’m Beatrice Bet."

"Bell."

She extended her hand, and I shook it. Beatrice had a very surprised expression when she felt my hand.

"Such a young lady. Tori, where did you find this child?"

Ah, so she judged me by the touch of my hand.

To be fair, it hasn't been long since I was created, but if she doesn’t know that, it’s not weird for her to think so.

Victoria suddenly seemed frozen as if she were facing a tough question.

"Well, um, Mom, there’s actually a long story. You’d probably faint if you heard it. Could I just tidy up my things first?"

Then, she gestured upstairs, where her room was. Beatrice stared at Victoria for a moment, then nodded.

"Wait a moment!"

Victoria hurried upstairs with her suitcase, and Beatrice looked up at the ceiling with a disappointed expression.

"Is there any hope for her? Even if she goes to school, will she change... Come here, sit down."

As if she was reminded of something, Beatrice pointed to a large table that looked like a multipurpose desk.

There were papers scattered all over it, and a few pens of the same kind were lying around. Some were so worn out, it seemed like they'd been used here for a long time.

"Look at me."

Beatrice rushed over and started clearing the papers on the desk. Glancing at the contents, there were many papers with large amounts of money written on them.

Victoria’s memory said that both of her parents were merchants, so this kind of content wasn’t unusual.

"So, really, where are you from? How old are you? What’s your last name?"

After cleaning up some papers in one corner, Beatrice sat down in front of me.

"I don’t have a last name. My age is a bit ambiguous. And I’ll tell you more details after hearing it from Victoria."

Beatrice’s eyes narrowed gradually.

She realized I wasn’t an ordinary child. I wasn’t hiding it. There’s no way I could pretend to be a normal child.

And it also depends on how far Victoria decides to tell her.

"You’re not a normal child. I see. So, do you drink tea?"

"Water is enough."

"I’m not that stingy."

Beatrice said that and went to the kitchen to start boiling water.

The fragrant smell spread, and when Beatrice returned with some preparations, Victoria also came downstairs, changed into very casual clothes.

Her attire was more for home, made with very little fabric, so Beatrice scolded her.

But it was short-lived.

Once Victoria sat next to me and started telling the story about what happened, the atmosphere quickly changed.