Chapter 152

That day, after the afternoon classes ended, I parted ways with Victoria.

Victoria was brimming with enthusiasm, determined not to give up on her dreams and ready to try anything.

After we split up, she immediately headed to the faculty office to consult with a teacher. Then, based on that teacher’s recommendation, she went to another teacher who taught Clockwork Knights, someone she had never met before.

This teacher also listened to what Victoria wanted and promised to let her do what she desired.

Both teachers truly supported students striving for their dreams, genuinely and without pretense.

It’s kind of touching, isn’t it?

Too perfect, right? Isn’t the Royal Academy supposed to be full of teachers who discriminate or only work when it directly concerns them?

But these teachers actually listen carefully to students’ concerns and offer proper consultations.

Is it because the granary is overflowing with goodwill, or did Victoria earn such kindness through her actions? Either way, there are no bad people around.

Everything is proceeding shockingly smoothly.

It’s an odd world.

People shouldn’t be this nice.

From what I know, for society to progress, you need heaps of corpses ground into dust.

There have always been sacrifices, and I believe they will never disappear.

And those sacrifices will provide warmth to me.

As time goes on and eras advance, the number of sacrifices will only increase.

I hope this world doesn’t break my established formula.

Of course, I don’t mean people should become more evil. There will always be good people alongside the bad ones.

Even if the ratio stays the same, the total quantity matters, right? More people means more potential warmth for me.

If the world hadn’t shattered from overloading on me, everyone would’ve turned into harvesters providing warmth without being discarded.

The first world was almost a success.

But who could predict that too many harvesters would break the world?

So in the second world, I exercised restraint.

I limited the number of harvesters to under a hundred, but eventually got kicked out of that world. While it wasn’t a complete loss, personally, it was still a failure.

Thus, in the third world, I’ll be a bit more proactive.

Most importantly, religion has largely disappeared here. People now trust reason and technology over gods, envisioning a better future through their use.

In other words, there’s little chance of interference or influence from entities like the Seongsin Church of the first world or Kunlun from the second.

Perfect.

For now, though, I won’t scatter harvesters everywhere. Not yet.

I’ll only give them to those who seek them.

Instead, I’ll use other methods.

Right now, I have nearly ten thousand harvesters. That means I have plenty of recipients to send my memories to.

The memories from the first world aren’t particularly useful. Sure, I gained control of an entire world, but its tech didn’t match the quality of what I obtained from the second world—Daegon and the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.

Daegon’s civilization revolved around hero units requiring immense mental and physical prowess to wield their powerful techniques. In simpler terms, only superhumans could use them.

Still, they’re not entirely useless. Daegon holds memories from every stage of his civilization’s gradual development—from his days as a simple Fishman to becoming a god ruling an entire world and invading others.

The early parts of those memories can be quite valuable, especially in worlds where technology has developed unevenly.

The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s memories are similar but involve more collaboration among immortals. Meaning, even the Sovereign doesn’t possess all the information.

While I don’t fully understand the early technologies myself, someone will eventually figure them out if I distribute them widely enough.

After pondering which side to favor, I decided to divide the memories evenly—half from Daegon and half from the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.

On a whim, I’ll also include the One Stroke Cheonma Martial Art for everyone. It might not turn users into Cheonma warriors, but it’ll still help.

There’s one minor issue: strong-willed individuals might reject the memories entirely. But how many people truly have that level of self-esteem?

Hehe.

It’ll take decades, maybe more, but I’m confident it’ll bloom gloriously.

I know this because there was once a world where the pursuit of pure rationality led to something akin to a Holocaust rather than mere massacres.

Massacres involve killing people, but a Holocaust is about clearing away objects. It happened systematically and rationally.

The law deemed it correct, and people believed it was a moral duty.

Deleting an entire race was considered charity.

Therefore, laws aren’t necessarily meant to be followed, and doing “good” doesn’t always equate to being right.

They fulfilled their obligations and triggered events that changed the era.

In a world where morality standards have broken free from the crutch of an absolute divine entity, how quickly will something similar occur?

This is my investment plan.

To overwhelm humanity’s culture with harsh technology before they can catch up.

Back at my accommodation, I carefully dissected the memories and sent the necessary parts to the harvesters living in this world.

Of course, I’m constantly sending the technique to summon me to harvesters in other worlds.

However, any summoning technique requires economies of scale… so I’m trying without much expectation.

*

Hmm.

It’d be nice if time flowed smoothly from here.

“How’s it going? Are you settling in well at the Royal Academy?”

Sorindiges openly came to the Royal Academy and took me to a guest room in the royal palace.

Yes, he’s the prince of this country. He seized the moment between my classes to take me there.

If you analyze the murmurs, Sorindiges also attends the academy, so technically, he just picked me up on his way home.

I didn’t care.

Since I assumed the next harvester would be the King of Haipion, I ignored Sorindiges.

Sorindiges had never visited me at the palace either. I figured our paths wouldn’t cross again anytime soon, so why bother? What business does he have now?

I simply nodded in response to his question.

“Yeah.”

Then he gave a wry smile.

“You don’t seem to be adapting well here or at the palace. If your living situation feels burdensome, please let me know. I’ll never forget the grace of awakening you.”

Huh?

Gratitude and concern were evident in his expression. Was his absence from the palace a sign of consideration?

Now that I think about it, on the first night, no one reprimanded me for returning late to my accommodation. It was far too lenient to be considered captivity.

Hmm…

Let me recall my behavior both at the palace and here.

Just sitting silently without doing anything.

Yeah.

At first glance, it could be interpreted as being overly tense or stressed.

This body doesn’t belong to anyone, isn’t even human, and doesn’t require exercise…

The Dormiens royal family seems surprisingly uninterested in exploiting or collecting information about me. Aren’t royal families supposed to be dens of intrigue?

Even if Aurora is treated like gold due to ignorance, the familial harmony is baffling.

“I’m fine.”

Honestly, I don’t currently desire anything. However, I’ll keep this opportunity for assistance in reserve for the future.

“To be honest, if I ever really need something, I’ll ask.”

Though it sounds rehearsed, if I stick to telling the truth moving forward, this statement will remain purely factual.

Meaning, I’ll only request help when I genuinely need it.

You don’t have to honor my request then. Having the opportunity to ask is sufficient compared to not being able to approach you at all.

Sorindiges nodded.

“Alright. Speak freely. Especially if anything unusual happens, report it to a teacher or knight immediately.”

A fleeting sense of killing intent and guilt crossed his face. This sentence hints at upcoming trouble.

Unusual events will occur, and I’ll be used as bait against someone who harbors murderous intent.

Remembering how Aurora became a harvester, a faint resistance surfaced back then.

Someone made Aurora that way, and the Dormiens royal family likely failed to capture them.

There’s a high possibility that person will target me next.

The perspective shifts slightly. Leaving me unfettered isn’t out of kindness—it’s to make me an easy target for attackers.

The culprit behind turning Aurora into a harvester.

The witch who cursed the Dormiens royal family.

No one knows where they are, but if they learn the curse has been broken, they might come to deal with it.

The royal family plans to use me as bait to catch them.

Phew.

Thank goodness.

I thought this world was filled only with overly kind people, worrying if they were merely human shells concealing something else.

Apparently, humans are still the same everywhere.

Even kings can ruthlessly use unrelated individuals as experimental subjects.

Not just kings—I see it in princes too. No, everyone does it. Their own interests and those close to them come first. Everyone else comes later.

If someone treats everyone equally, they either lack interest in the world or are insane.

“Yes. If I’m in danger, I’ll do that.”

With that answer, Sorindiges seemed satisfied, finishing the drink he set out when he summoned me. He slid the pastries closer to my side and waited.

Out of politeness, I finished my drink, grabbed a few pastries, and called it a day.

When I put down my hands, Sorindiges nodded approvingly and summoned someone to escort me out.

This is the royal castle, so attendants accompany me when I move.

Following the attendant, I exit the castle. Once outside, I board the waiting car, which starts off smoothly.

Soon, the castle walls and gates appear through the window.

Beyond them lies a triple-layered barbed wire fence. After passing through, the Royal Academy comes into view.

Though expansive gardens separate the buildings, the Royal Academy is essentially adjacent to the royal castle. The prince probably commutes to school from the castle.

Yesterday, I mistakenly assumed he had already graduated or stopped attending since he visited Aurora.

By the way, Aurora has an older sister who is also Sorindiges’ younger sister. She attends a foreign school and briefly returned after Aurora woke up before leaving again.

She clung to Aurora’s pants, refusing to let go, but clearly wasn’t being ostracized by the royal family. Sorindiges had nodded understandingly while watching the scene.

Their relationship seems fine.

So, intense power struggles within the royal family seem unlikely for now…

It’s too solid.

I’ll just have to look forward to Aurora and her future children.

By the time I finished organizing my thoughts,

I had arrived at my residence.

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