The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 166: Don’t cry. Don’t cry (6)

The next day.

It’s midweek now. I feel bad for ruining Victoria’s plans to rest over the weekend.

Let’s blame Merryweather for the bad part.

Classroom.

Today, unlike usual, Victoria and I sat far apart, and Merryweather sat next to me.

She’s completely grinning, which is ridiculous.

Watching someone who has no idea is quite amusing. I always have to stay vigilant to make sure I’m not the one being laughed at.

It’s easy to be wary of someone smarter than you, but it’s hard to be wary of someone dumber.

By the way, last night.

Victoria came to the realization that something was off about Merryweather.

From the moment they first met, Merryweather seemed like someone who had been close to her, and it felt strange that no one paid her special attention.

Even now, Victoria muttered that she felt like they were really close.

But it was worrying that she had hit her head hard against the wall.

Of course, when you’re under a strange hypnotic effect, hitting your head to wake up is normal, but it still seems odd for a girl to do that...

Anyway, from the outside, my relationship with Victoria has turned sour.

After the morning classes, I had lunch and then went back to afternoon classes. And after classes ended, I went straight back to my dorm.

I repeated the same day for several days.

Since nothing was changing for me, Merryweather occasionally made faces, as if she sensed something wasn’t going well.

Should I consult her about the rift between me and Victoria to match Merryweather’s tune?

But sticking to my principles, I can’t have a conversation about something that doesn’t exist. I can tell only part of the truth or not answer at all, but I won’t lie.

So I decided to just do nothing. I’m curious to see how Merryweather will react to this. I’m waiting for the moment when she’ll break and speak to me.

That will be when I finally find out what Merryweather and the royal family want.

Meanwhile, something curious happened with Victoria.

Polaris Balluin Barrington, a girl with the title of Marquess’ Daughter, called Victoria aside. Surprisingly, Merryweather didn’t seem interested in Victoria herself, as she didn’t pay her much attention.

She had done enough research on harvesters in this country.

She had conducted experiments that completely ignored human rights, not those with guaranteed human rights. After that, there were no further biological experiments, so she thought she had learned enough.

Returning to the current story, after class, Polaris took Victoria and led her somewhere. From the school’s front gate, it was to the right, a long path extending east.

This time, Polaris took Victoria into the park inside the Royal Academy.

“This is the first time we’re having a conversation like this, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Polaris, are you going to break the tree again?”

At Victoria’s joke, Polaris chuckled.

‘I didn’t expect her to call me by a nickname after just talking once.’

Polaris thought this while looking at the bold image of the girl standing before her.

Victoria Bet.

She came from a completely common background, and although she lived in a modest house, both her history and wealth were below standard, so normally, she wouldn’t have been able to enroll in the Royal Academy. However, her parents weren’t musicians or artists, so she didn’t get in through some special admission.

In other words, she entered because of some achievement of her own, so to Polaris, who likes talented people, Victoria was someone she could be friendly with from the start.

And that achievement was impressive.

In a city where magic couldn’t be used due to a disaster, she helped many people.

Not only was she strong, but her character was also exceptional.

Polaris already had a strong liking for Victoria.

However, Polaris didn’t measure Victoria too highly. After all, just that alone wouldn’t have been enough to bring her to the Royal Academy.

The Royal Academy has high standards and strict criteria.

From Polaris’ perspective, Victoria barely met the criteria. That means there must be another reason.

‘In that case, the reason is probably right next to her.’

Polaris thought about the small girl who was always by Victoria’s side.

Bell.

Victoria also had porcelain-white skin, but with a glossy and faintly reddish glow, making her look like a beauty. But Bell had skin that was pale to the point of discomfort.

It wasn’t just her appearance—her actions were the same. She moved in a way that felt off, like something pretending to be human but wasn’t. And that unnerving movement combined with her unnatural skin made her terrifying, not just unpleasant.

So, when they announced the new transfer student, there were no incidents where the kids from the aristocracy, motivated by jealousy, did something bad. That’s because Bell, the transfer student, was too ominous for them to act.

And Victoria’s situation was entangled with serious stories about Bell. As Polaris speculated this, she spoke.

“I’m not going to break anything this time. Tory, since you don’t need to be so indirect, I’ll ask directly. Do you know anything strange about a woman named Merryweather Olcat?”

Polaris asked, thinking that if Victoria had been an aristocrat, the conversation would have taken longer due to the necessary formalities.

“Yeah. She suddenly appeared, and it felt strangely like we were close from the start. It was like she was talking like my mom, spilling things she wouldn’t usually say.”

Polaris, worried that Victoria might break down, carefully chose her words.

“Did Merryweather cause the rift between you and Bell?”

Victoria, unsure of how much to say, fell silent.

‘This person might be on Merryweather’s side... no, Polaris wouldn’t be like that. If she were, she wouldn’t have reached out to us before. If not, then maybe my eyes are just bad.’

Victoria hesitated and then began to explain everything that had happened last weekend, from beginning to end.

While listening, Polaris felt a surge of disgust and anger toward Merryweather’s words, but she suppressed it, focusing on listening to Victoria’s story from start to finish.

“That bitch.”

After hearing the story, Polaris summed it up with one word.

“Is it okay to talk like that?”

“Do nobles never curse? Pfft, they just slap dirty words on top of etiquette and deliver them in a refined way, but they’re still human.”

Polaris pondered with her hand on her chin, then looked up at the sky.

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‘I’m not sure I can explain this well. I know someone who can explain it in detail, but honestly, I don’t want to see their face... but maybe it’s best to go to an expert who knows this stuff. Still, I should at least sort it out first.’

Polaris walked up to Victoria.

“Tory, what do you want to do?”

“What do you mean, what do I want to do?”

“Do you want to reconcile with Bell, or do you want to expose that person, Merryweather?”

Purely out of goodwill.

Victoria, sensing that from Polaris’ words, smiled slightly.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because you’re a really good person, Polaris. And I don’t need to reconcile with Bell.”

“No, but listen, if we hear you out, Merryweather is the one who ruined things between you two.”

When Victoria firmly rejected this, Polaris, thinking Victoria was upset, started to speak again, trying to change her mind.

“I’ve never had a bad relationship with Bell.”

“Huh? But you’ve been sitting far apart for days and haven’t spoken at all. Everyone can see the rift. Or is it your pride getting in the way?”

Victoria recalled the day when the unease turned into suspicion—the day the child who tried to steal was injured by Merryweather, cutting their hand.

At first, it looked like Victoria was openly hostile, but it was always Bell who had been the target of hostility.

So, Victoria secretly asked Bell if she knew what had happened.

But Bell knew and said she didn’t need help.

If that was the case, Victoria believed she would come back on her own when it was all over.

“Did you know? Bell is really easy to figure out.”

“That’s just you.”

“No, really, it’s true. Polaris, if you get close to her, you’ll see it too. She acts a bit like a mom, which can be annoying.”

Polaris blinked in surprise at the unexpected comment.

Bell acts like a mom?

She looked like a doll with no individuality, so all Polaris ever saw was her being dragged around by Victoria. That’s why it always felt like Bell wasn’t human.

It was hard for Polaris to understand Victoria’s words.

Seeing her expression, Victoria continued, as if to show she understood everything.

“Bell might seem thoughtless, but she’s not a fool. Right now, she’s pushing me away because I’m not needed. But...”

“But?”

Victoria looked at Polaris and gave a bitter smile.

“It’s only been three months since we met, and after just one week of not meeting, I feel really lonely.”

Polaris changed her evaluation of Bell in her mind.

Anyone who thinks like this can’t be a bad person.

But if they were bad, and they were deceiving even Victoria, then they must have the wisdom of a demon.

‘I don’t want to let a good kid be pitied.’

Seeing Victoria blush from embarrassment, Polaris smiled.

“Then, do you want to hang out with me for a while? I bet you have no friends.”

Polaris casually invited her to hang out since she had no friends and would be bored alone.

‘Kyaaah!’

However, it hit Victoria’s chest directly. Having already been teased by her mom and Bell for having no friends, it was a critical blow.

But Victoria is a girl with a heart of steel.

Honestly, she’s more like the protagonist of a horror game, dragged into a sinister place and erasing the group from the world, so "heart of steel" might not fit, but "nuclear heat" might describe her better.

“Polaris, I’ll rely on you.”

“Why are you talking like that? Did I say something weird? Tory? You don’t have any friends, right? Why are you making that gritted-teeth face?”

Flustered, Polaris approached Victoria, but Victoria waved her hand, saying it was fine.

‘Well, Polaris is acting like she's kicking a dead body.’

Swallowing that mutter, Victoria forced a smile, feeling her heart’s blood trickling out.

Today,

Victoria made a new friend.