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“The leg that was cut off has healed completely…”

While Morris and his parents were examining his body, I stepped outside with Beatrice.

From the awkward atmosphere between Beatrice and Morris, it seemed they weren’t on the best of terms.

“Do you want to make a contract too, Beatrice?”

I pointed at Beatrice’s body. Although it was hidden under baggy clothes, judging by the state of the scars, they were not ordinary wounds.

In fact, there were even scars on her face.

To trade something truly important for a scar that can’t be erased is quite a decision.

“Am I going to end up like that too?”

Just like that.

“As long as you’re not dying, your skin won’t turn blue.”

“Dying, huh?”

Beatrice echoed my words.

And slowly, she sank into fear. It seems she realized the meaning of what I said.

“Are you saying Morris was on the brink of death?”

“At least that’s what I know. Everyone I’ve seen who made a contract while facing imminent death had their skin turn blue.”

Minor injuries like missing arms or legs are fine.

But people with fatal diseases or curses, or those who can’t stave off death by merely stopping the bleeding—

These people had their skin turn blue.

It was like a brand for those who defied death.

As for me, as long as I get resurrected, it’s all good.

I even think it might be possible to revive someone who has just died. Because, after all, a flicker of light remains in the body of the deceased for a brief moment.

If you memorize the contract document, you can make a contract.

However, reviving someone on the brink of death and reviving a dead person is an entirely different matter.

So when I see the dead, I simply suck away their warmth.

Ah, it’s not that I want to revive dead people out of reverence or anything. It’s just a bit unsettling.

Honestly, if someone were to recommend it, I’d hate it so much that I might kill them without hesitation.

For warmth, I could don the mask of a god.

But reviving the dead is much more dangerous than healing the injured. More people will want to research me. There are already some, but technologies to regrow lost limbs or heal dangerous diseases exist even in this age.

Techniques that are completely different from what is commonly believed require different approaches.

And secondly.

I need to explain that you have to revive someone while there’s still warmth, or precisely, while there’s still light. But I think that’s still hard for people of this age to accept.

In the world of Kunlun or Daegon, they could do so without hesitation.

Why, you may ask?

Because they have the technology to bring someone back. In fact, in Daegon, it’s even possible to revive creatures that have been dead for a long time.

However, in these cases, there are two things.

One. The body is revived, but the soul is new. According to the memories from Daegon, strictly speaking, it’s not entirely new; there are complex rules. But it acts as if it’s new and isn’t strong enough to support that body, so it dies soon after. In other words, it’s not a proper resurrection; it’s more of a temporary revival.

Two. Both the body and soul are revived. However, if that soul has reincarnated, then the current life must be terminated.

To put it simply, they use the current life as an offering to revive the past life. Of course, even then, the soul entering the revived body will have defects and will easily die if not properly adjusted.

So in terms of technology, it’s not yet.

Due to personal aversion, I don’t intend to revive the dead. I simply take their warmth away.

Returning to the story, I looked at Beatrice, who was contemplating making a contract with me.

For a woman, appearance is a hugely important factor.

Considering how much younger Morris looks now with the harvesting machine, it might be hard for her to endure the long haul. And perhaps they could even break up over something like infidelity.

It’s something that often happens in human affairs.

Leaving a partner with a lot of scars to pursue a prettier one.

I don’t know how she would actually feel about it!

So I said this.

“Take your time to think. It’s not like your life is hanging in the balance like Morris’s, right? Making a contract is easy.”

At my words, Beatrice looked down at me with a somewhat uneasy expression.

Meanwhile, Morris was introducing his daughters to his parents. When Victoria awkwardly greeted them, only then did the two of them greet each other.

“No, making a contract isn’t that easy.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

Beatrice looked puzzled.

So, I pointed at the room.

“Victoria seemed to think that where I belonged was over there, so she left me a greeting to be well before returning. Although she rushed back, I also need to go back to the capital.”

Yes. Just like I had left, I would go back up now.

Since I said I wouldn’t be coming back, I followed.

Since, in most cases, the game is to listen to what someone says, if Victoria wants to part ways, then she should do just that.

“Did she say that?”

“Did you not receive any letters from her?”

In response to my question, Beatrice subtly shook her head, her long blonde hair swaying side to side. No, it wasn’t that the lengths were different; she was hiding the absence of hair with her hairstyle.

Digging into Morris’s memories, I found out that during the escape, she had been captured by a nasty person who had pulled out her hair.

So, she has holes in her head. It means some spots have no hair because they were plucked too harshly.

She’s hiding that with her hairstyle.

“Is that so.”

“But, Bell, did you know that Morris was in this situation?”

At that moment, Beatrice pointed out an important part. After all, I had come down despite things having gotten worse, right?

So she was asking if it was because of Morris.

“It’s strange to not know when a letter was sent like that, isn’t it?”

At my question, Beatrice fell silent.

Indeed. I know.

Back when I was still attending the Mechanical Knight School. During this spring and summer, the letters were much more emotional. Words like “I miss you” and complaints about how hard it was to see Morris were written.

The mother and daughter had a good relationship. Additionally, short letters from Morris were often included, but there were none of those at all.

“You knew all along, didn’t you?”

Victoria seems to lament sending such a terrible letter that was so chaotic it shocked her.

But that’s not important.

I went up to Beatrice and swiftly lifted the hem of her long skirt. Just like a naughty neighborhood kid would.

No, in a world of faded memories, wouldn’t anyone be captured regardless of age?

In any case.

“That’s harsh.”

“Even though we’re the same girl, if you’re going to do something like this, just tell me.”

I saw a long tear scar that had healed. It was only connected chaotically with magic, and it has since healed again.

It’s a pretty serious wound, but well, I guess being alive is good enough. I let go of her skirt.

Now, the urgent matter is coming to an end here.

Should I return to the capital like this?

No.

There’s one thing I need to do. Since she left me behind and went off on her own, I should do whatever I want.

“Beatrice.”

“Why?”

“From now on, don’t faint while listening to what I’m about to say in there.”

At my words, Beatrice stiffened her expression.

After staring at me for a while, she shifted her gaze to the door.

“Did a lot happen to Victoria? Enough to make a rift between you two?”

“There have been so many things that our relationship is almost nothing compared to that.”

Of course, I don’t intend to mention the part where a large-scale massacre occurred, but shouldn’t she at least know what Victoria went through?

I grabbed Beatrice’s arm.

And I dragged her into the room.

“Hello.”

Speaking in a non-human tone as I entered. Of course, I released Beatrice’s hand slightly when we entered.

However, since the people inside saw Beatrice’s face, it would be hard for them to retreat. Hehe. This body is still small, after all.

“Bell…”

Victoria looked at me with a very awkward expression. I immediately raised my hand to point at Victoria.

“The name Victoria gave me is Bell. Humanity. What are both of your names?”

“You are…who on earth are you?”

Morris’s father, Gain, stammered his question.

“I’m an ancient monster. You are Morris Bet and Beatrice Bet. And the both of you have a daughter named Victoria Bet.”

I pointed at each person deliberately while stating their names and relationships. Will they understand what I want with this?

“I’m Gain Bet, and this is my wife, Rebecca Bet. First—”

Gain stepped forward toward me, and he bowed before me.

“Thank you for saving my son.”

Strictly speaking, it’s more accurate to say I threw him into the worst conclusion instead of saving him.

So, I clearly rejected that notion.

“No, I merely gave myself up. I’ll be leaving soon, so I hope you forget about this. More importantly, there’s something I need to convey to you here.”

While concealing any bad news, I looked at Victoria. Victoria couldn’t meet my gaze, looking uncomfortable.

I guess she thinks I ran away.

But you can’t escape like that.

Anyway.

I approached Victoria and covered her mouth.

“Ugh!”

“It’s time to tell you everything that happened to Victoria since this summer vacation without missing a single detail. If you two are good adults, shouldn’t you bear the child’s misfortune?”

And when I provoked them slightly, the people inside looked at me with serious eyes.

Sure, not all adults can be bad.

While looking at them, I slowly began to narrate everything that happened since I met Victoria this summer.

From when she met Daegon’s scouting team to the fight against the witch Maleficent, to her journey to Bern City due to a returned letter.

At this point, Morris and Beatrice turned pale.

Then nearly killing everyone in Bern City out of rage. And the fact that she could have truly done so.

Next, when I returned to the Academy, the capital was thrown into chaos due to politics. As a result, citizens living in the capital rampaged, killing teachers and students of the Mechanical Knight School.

And that I had pieced together the corpses right at the scene.

At that, Victoria ripped my arm away from her mouth and replaced it with water around her.

“Bell.”

And with a sharp voice, she interrupted me.