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As I watched the wizard work through the eyes of the harvesting machine, I realized something.

There’s a clone that the wizard refers to as his assistant.

At first, I thought he just called all his clones that, but it turns out the wizard can distinguish between them.

Of course, that clone is not a harvesting machine.

Right.

It’s nice to have someone important around.

If that’s not the harvesting machine, then an opportunity will come someday.

Imagining the moment I’ll swallow the wizard, I gaze around this world.

First of all, this world is similar to the 20th century by faded world standards, except for the fact that there’s hardly any communication using radio waves.

There are vehicles like cars, trucks, and motorcycles that run on oil.

Of course, there are trains too. But they’re not steam engines or magic-powered trains. By their shape, I suspect they’re probably diesel locomotives.

Among the harvesting machines I’ve gotten, there isn’t anyone with such detailed knowledge.

At best, it’s just a mechanic who fixes cars. It’s not that there’s absolutely no electrical equipment since there’s no radio communication; they just don’t have magic-powered devices.

There are magical devices needed inside the engines, and that’s a black box that an ordinary person wouldn’t know anything about.

It’s not that no one has secretly examined it, but the person who did died shortly after taking a look.

So, it’s understandable that technological progress has been stalled for over 300 years.

And another thing.

There hasn’t been a world war here. Despite being a relatively developed world, there seem to be many unknown areas that can’t be explored.

In a world infused with magic, there are many powerful life forms.

Humans are not the masters of all things, and so they must have reached some kind of compromise somewhere.

If you ask why, it’s easy to understand if you consider that there are beings in the strongest nation from faded memories that don’t die even under a full-scale assault.

Nuclear bombs aren’t even strong weapons.

How much pain would it cause if you shot a nuclear bomb at a monster that’s basically a volcanic eruption?

Can someone really conquer a monster that alone can turn summer into winter?

From the First World to the Fourth World, monsters of that kind can be found anywhere. In that sense, the world of faded memories was a quite lukewarm place.

Maybe that’s why, to me, it feels like a mosaic of a world.

The magic itself is the most bizarre part.

Anyway.

The technological level is much higher than what I first saw through the harvesting machine.

Because the tool that lights up the mansion is a light bulb.

I thought they used magic stones like in the Third World, but it turned out there were proper wires connected and something resembling a transformer.

The harvesting machine captured from the slums had no knowledge of electricity, while the one that had been exposed to some civilization knew about it to some extent.

I pondered briefly why there’s such a huge knowledge gap.

And then I figured it out quickly. There’s no compulsory education here.

There’s absolutely no education provided by the state. So those who don’t know, simply don’t know until the end. It’s not quite right to call it a policy of ignorance; after all, humans who lack even basic knowledge aren’t convenient for use.

If you ask someone to bring electricity and they foolishly grab an electrified wire and die, that’s just a hindrance.

It’s surprising to realize that what I thought was common knowledge, like a child in kindergarten, was actually knowledge taught by society.

Then, how much knowledge does this wizard have?

I look forward to the day when I find out.

Meanwhile, I’m just throwing out the bait of the harvesting machine and waiting, delighted that there’s a foreign specimen among those captured here.

*

On the other hand, the Third World flowed quite ordinarily.

The day after I returned to the accommodation, I was immediately summoned by Highpion.

I thought he would scold me for moving on my own, but he only asked me why I went there.

So I told him everything that had happened, explaining that Victoria had left on her own, and I followed her.

The king of this nation, Highpion, smiled wryly and said it was too harsh.

Since that was true, I nodded.

Then he asked what happened to Victoria, and I answered that on the last day, we parted without seeing each other’s faces.

The expression on the king’s face was quite amusing.

Hearing the story of the children fighting, he brought over one child and asked what happened, but the child sat there sulking, claiming they hadn’t done anything wrong.

And he seemed to find it all very fascinating.

Is it that amazing?

Don’t all fathers know this when they have a child?

No, right.

That’s true.

Highpion is a king, not a dad.

It’s hard for him to experience what a typical father experiences.

He left me with an awkward reply to meet again someday and have a proper conversation. I probably shouldn’t have provided a definitive answer that I was contemplating whether that was right.

Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.

It’s important for Victoria to have some time to rest.

Or perhaps she might seize the chance to escape completely from me.

That’s her choice.

Since in the end, I’ll be taking the warmth, she can do as she pleases until then.

That’s what I wish for the harvesting machine.

Doing what you want.

Since Highpion sent me back without a word, I returned to the accommodation and spent my time leisurely.

One thing I discovered from this is that I’m quite free.

Based on how the foreigner from another country tried to promote my harvesting machine creation abilities, it seems they plan to use me, but it doesn’t feel like they intend to treat me too rigidly like a tool.

If we’re talking preferences, I guess the Fourth is the one.

If treated purely as a tool, they wouldn’t explore me as an individual. They would contemplate how to use the harvesting machines I crafted.

The focus shifts from me to the harvesting machines.

Moreover, the harvesting machines have an element of randomness, right?

Humans struggle to maintain their composure when it comes to gambling. Those caught up in gambling even trade family bonds for chips and plunge into it.

Saying you want to go back to the past isn’t about regretting a broken life. It’s wanting to return because you can gamble again.

After all, money for gambling existed in the past, right?

You’ll find folks like this always lurking around gambling dens. That’s how lucrative these places are, gaining massive profits, and they also turn people into those whom society can afford to abandon.

Humans ruined by gambling can be really easy to use.

Just giving them a small amount of money can lead them easily into crime, and even if they go missing, nobody will search for them.

They can be used as disposable pawns, sent to mines to work, or if useful organs are found, they can be repurposed.

Of course, in a proper state, casinos only serve to reduce the productive population, but in a twisted society, they can bring profit.

It’s the charm of gambling.

Harvesting machines have a slight bias but gain psychic abilities in a seemingly random manner.

There might be similar psychic abilities, but it’s rare to find someone who obtained exactly the same one.

The harvesting machines have a charm that draws people in as you watch them.

Honestly, if there hadn’t been harvesting machines, I’d have been finished.

Being able to create harvesting machines has slightly dulled the future of eternal suffering from the cold below the surface.

And there’s no boredom.

I’m always entertained watching several channels of harvesting machines at once.

I do feel there’s some intention behind having this ability.

But I don’t even know if there are gods, so I’ll just keep my eyes closed.

If I discover them, I can stab them anytime and drag them below the surface.

Anyway.

Surprisingly, I’m treated as a guest in this country.

I guess I can go to a place where my ability to create harvesting machines shines, like Atlan Fortress City, and live a long life wearing the mask of an old sage while occasionally making harvesting machines.

Moreover, people often find themselves in dangerous situations throughout their lives.

It could be Byeongil or an accident.

When that time comes, people will come to me, asking to create harvesting machines for them.

And as for the girls, if it means they’ll look beautiful and age slowly, they’d have an even harder time resisting it.

I mean, any living being would want to escape aging. I can grant that wish once.

On top of that.

The future of this world is currently very unclear.

The turmoil that once engulfed this nation is now occurring in other countries as well.

More foreigners are escaping here to avoid the chaos in their homelands. And it’s not just one or two nations; I’ve discovered fatal flaws in the technology sustaining the civilization of the world.

And I realized that these flaws weren’t mistakes or lack of technical expertise, but were artificially created with some intention.

The downfall of large corporations is inevitable.

It’s not a nation if it doesn’t happen that way.

However, I still don’t know what those three companies really wanted.

While many harvesting machines come from businesses, they were all just diligent workers doing their jobs.

Honestly.

Even if an extreme twist occurs and suddenly one of those big corporations rises to swallow all nations and create a corporate state, I wouldn’t mind.

At least, it’s true that something is bound to happen.

It’s also true that countless people will die in the process.

As more and more humans become unfortunate, it’s inevitable that someone would wish to extend a hand to them.

Harvesting machines are stronger in various aspects compared to ordinary humans. They could even be called Human 2.0. Therefore, they will surely rise.

In this case, the biggest problem is that those feeling threatened might label harvesting machines as enemies and ostracize them.

But in the Third World, Highpion has done a fine job promoting us.

It’s all a done deal.

Hehe.

So I plan to live like an ordinary human, occasionally creating harvesting machines without causing much havoc.

I hope the Fourth World goes well too.