The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 226: Song of the Betrayed (6)

Victoria has remained very quiet since she suddenly burst into tears that day.

Her usual energy is gone, and she hasn't opened any books related to clockwork machines.

Since taking her final exams and receiving her grades, she's been holed up in her room for most of her free time, like someone suffering from depression.

Polaris finds the situation very awkward.

She understands that her school friends and teachers died, but she had expected Victoria not to fall into such a slump from it.

Polaris thought Victoria would easily get over it.

Well, I thought so too, but Victoria is an ordinary person. She might be a little stronger mentally than others, but still ordinary.

After all, the path to her dream has been completely destroyed, hasn't it?

Of course, Polaris tried to comfort Victoria, but with the final exams overlapping, Victoria spent a lot of time alone.

She might even be sick.

In the meantime, the capital changed slightly.

In the plaza, dozens of riot instigators are hanging, drying in the winter wind. Fortunately, it's a cold winter, so the bodies haven't rotted, but it's still an unpleasant sight.

Yes. That's right.

The kingdom handled it properly.

When citizens start a riot, the most dangerous time is the early stage.

At that time, it’s the hardest to control, and if the damage expands too much, beyond the range that can be controlled, it’s over.

After that, preventing further chaos becomes impossible.

But thanks to Victoria buying some time, the kingdom handled it well.

They gathered people in the plaza and purposely selected a few to hold a meaningless trial. The people involved in the riot were guilty.

However, the riot itself wasn’t something planned. It was an accidental event.

There’s no real culprit.

But the country created a fake trial to make someone the scapegoat. They created a villain and blamed them.

Here’s the meaning behind that.

They committed treason, trying to overthrow the nation, and they are the bad ones. Those who were tricked into participating won’t be punished, but treason is a bad thing, and those who commit such acts will be shown what happens.

They hung people on poles and stoned them to death.

Then, they also hung up those who claimed they had no crime or who simply looted for food because they were hungry, calling them spies.

Then, the people telling the truth disappeared.

And, in a place where the bodies are clearly ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) visible, they distributed food and fuel.

According to the leader’s memory inside me, it’s an effective method of controlling the masses. It shows what happens to those who oppose you, and those who follow you can receive the supplies they need.

Carrot and stick.

A method of taming everyone knows.

And the media repeatedly ran articles saying that those murderers had raided the Clockwork Knight Academy and massacred children.

Within just a week, they became traitors who hated the country and had turned it into chaos, and the worst murderers who killed children at the school to rebel.

But I know two of the dozens of people hanging there. They were neighbors of the Harvesters.

But those two were just ordinary people who were exhausted by reality, struggling to survive.

From that, it’s clear that there are no true traitors. They just had someone else take the blame for the crimes they committed. They were used, and they now have someone to blame for their sins.

In fact, the people with a guilty conscience are the ones who most actively sell out others. Otherwise, they would be too anxious to breathe.

The author is the bad one. I’m not bad.

Even a child can do it.

And the country was smart enough to use that psychology.

They immediately made a scapegoat, executed them, and then announced that the investigation had revealed the three companies behind the treason.

They claimed that the existing companies were excluded and that they raided the Clockwork Knight Academy because they feared the market would collapse if new clockwork technology was created.

If I hadn’t made the person who raided the academy into a Harvester, I would have been deceived.

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That was just how convincing the logic was.

And then, when the country spread this through the media, even the small outlets inflated the story.

Even the Harvester who raided the Clockwork Knight Academy and killed students believes they were tricked. The nonexistent facts were fabricated and began to change into what seemed like the truth.

It seems that ruling and managing a country isn’t without reason.

At the same time, the news reports that the country is aware of the hardship this winter, and they are releasing food that had been stored, telling people to go and collect it.

They create enemies, pacify the public, and in that way, the country is steadily overcoming the disaster.

During that process, they are managing the Harvesters, who are prone to act out, quite well.

If it were a human, it would be quite chilling.

I remember the Harvesters who were dragged into human experiments.

Since the Harvesters exploded, such incidents have not happened again, but I still remember. Yes.

This country is not a paradise.

And according to some Harvesters working in the military, the army is better at killing people than monsters.

What does that mean?

It means they are ready for war.

In fact, during the current king's reign, there was a war between nations.

Some of the Harvesters from the Brightshin slums also left the military after sustaining injuries and were killed by poverty, all while living in it.

It’s the way it is in every country.

During war, soldiers are proud, but once they’re injured and alive, they become nothing more than troublesome trash. They are seen as parasites who need to be supported with national funds to survive.

Not so?

That’s true for only a very small portion. And citizens only see that portion. They use that portion to propagate how they treat the honor of soldiers.

For potential consumption in wartime.

In the faded memories, how many of the veterans who were well off? Most of them, after being destroyed by injuries from the war, ended up collecting scraps and dying in a cold room, realizing death months later when spring arrived and the rotten smell became apparent.

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The plaque that thanks them for saving the country can just be given to those who are doing well.

It’s cheaper to bring in surviving soldiers who are well off and hand them awards or medals, rather than take care of all the soldiers.

Capital is a zero-sum game.

There’s simply not enough to distribute it all while determining what is right and wrong.

So, honor is the illusionary capital. If real capital were used there, it would be a loss, right?

Money is cold.

The people who use it are ruthless. Otherwise, you can’t make money in this world. Money isn’t inherently bad, but greed inevitably carries ruthlessness.

But worse than that is belief.

Why?

Because, like me, it serves as a refuge for weak humans. There’s that saying that religion is the opium of the people, but that’s nonsense.

Opium at least gives pleasure.

Religion only gives the hope that there will be pleasure.

False hope.

Even if you have hope, the reality is that it’s nothing but a pit of despair. Compared to a drug that gives pleasure, religion makes you die by struggling with false hope. Which is more cruel?

Of course, in the first world, there were religions that gave divine power. But even that was a place tainted by human wisdom. Even if there is a god, it’s the same.

My thoughts wandered, but the point is this.

There’s an army for dealing with people.

This won’t just happen in this country.

There’s no guarantee that other countries won’t resort to war to escape such a huge disaster.

I can sit in the comfortable chair the king prepared for me and spend my time, but that’s not the case for places where people live. As time goes on, they become more unhappy, dying or exploding.

Do you think the situation is stabilizing now?

No.

There’s no such thing as a soft landing.

I know that.

The day after the disaster at the Clockwork Knight Academy, the royal family held a memorial for the academy and talked about creating technology that wouldn’t lose to the evil companies.

But the human heart doesn’t move that simply.

Once it twists, the bent part remains.

In addition...

Even though the royal family has been distributing food every day, now not only the foodstuffs but all prices are rising.

The transporters leaving now have to form huge guilds, and without moving with mercenary bands who deal with people, it’s impossible to move.

Look. The situation is getting worse.

If this were the medieval times, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Nations are not even independent at the village level. So, whatever happens, the influence usually ends within the village.

But here, we have railroads.

Going to another country isn’t that hard. In fact, Princess Lunashi, Aurora’s sister, is studying at a school in another country.

When I remember my glowing memories, I think of a sentence: if the diplomatic relations aren’t good, they wouldn’t do such things. If they’re a vassal, there’s nothing they can do, but in that case, the prince would be taken.

Since she’s a princess, it’s highly likely the king sent her.

But how far will that relationship go?

An era of great connections between countries. When one country shakes, many can support it.

Of course, they’ll lose a lot of interests, but the collapse can be avoided.

But if they go beyond that limit?

A chain of recessions comes. You can’t close the doors and hide when it’s a different country. Once the connection exceeds a certain threshold, when the doors close, the situation worsens.

The signs are already there.

The number of refugees coming into this country is increasing. And because of those immigrants, the already bad atmosphere is turning more unpleasant.

I wonder how this world will shake and change its appearance.

The second world was too short, but the first world was quite interesting. The more the range visible from the Harvester’s perspective expanded, the more warmth came in.

Whether the country thrives or collapses, I don’t really care.

I can just watch how the world flows and pass my time.

If I can gather warmth here and there, I’ll move, but for now, it’s the time to watch the seeds I planted in the field sprout.

In short, enjoy the present.