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That afternoon.

Someone came looking for me.

Polaris Balun Barrington. She’s a girl even shorter than me, who’s already on the smaller side.

“Did you fight with Victoria?”

She shot a sharp question at me with cold eyes, without any preamble.

“No, we haven’t fought.”

Truly, we had not fought at all. I might have pressured Victoria a bit, but it wouldn’t really qualify as a fight.

After hearing my response, Polaris crossed her arms and stared at me intently. Then she sighed deeply.

“Well, I suppose you wouldn’t lie. So what’s the problem?”

This question was the same one I had asked Victoria during lunch earlier. She had skirted around it, admitting something had happened.

Seeing her like that, instead of pressing further, Polaris stepped back.

So, I still didn’t know why.

But I do know the reason.

Victoria hadn’t told Polaris, but she had confided in her parents. She expressed that it was really tough for me to point at a path I hadn’t explicitly indicated.

No, I’m serious.

I never told her to go save anyone, nor did I tell her to forgive our enemy.

On the contrary, if there was an enemy, I would actively pray for their destruction. Because that way, countless warmth flows into me, right?

Anyway, I hesitated over how much to divulge in response to her question.

The part I needed to know, the part I could think about. I was piecing together how best to answer.

There was plenty of time. While I can’t stop time or rewind it, I can let it pass quickly or slowly.

Perhaps this is possible when there are different harvesting machines in different worlds. Let’s suppose there is a world A and a world B.

When 1 second passes in world A, in world B, a week could slip by with a different speed.

However, it’s not all-powerful; in the world I observe, I can only see it at normal speed.

The time flow between worlds can be individually set, but what I experience is at 1x speed. So, I resort to tricks.

I take the thoughts from world A to world B and think over them, then bring them back to world A. Then, it feels like I thought for a week, even though in world A, it was just for 1 second.

While I could bounce thoughts back and forth, it doesn’t feel like slow motion; more like a sensation of flipping between videos, which is a bit…

If I were smarter, I could have handled this better, but what can I do? A not-so-smart person thinking for long won’t yield good results.

After much contemplation, I finally gave my answer.

“I think it’s because I felt like a monster.”

I can explain everything with that. The disconnect between Victoria and me starts and ends here.

“Ah… right. You’re not a person.”

Polaris, who had experienced this from the side, understood immediately.

“But didn’t Victoria know that better?”

Looking puzzled, Polaris gazed at the spot where Victoria had just left.

For reference, by the time Polaris approached me, Victoria had already left the classroom.

Today, under the pretext of a simple briefing, they gathered people to help students in the same class get acquainted and form groups.

In other words, politics is already at play. Victoria and I hadn’t experienced this in the second semester, but it had occurred in the first semester of first year.

Unlike the academy discussed in the story, this is not an equal place.

Thus, Victoria, who lacks the power to belong to any faction, is free as a bird. If she wanted to climb higher, she would have to stand in line here.

But Victoria has no intention of doing that.

So, Polaris asked if Victoria knew me well…

“I guess she didn’t really know.”

At my response, Polaris looked at me with a dissatisfied expression.

But she seemed to relent, shaking her head.

“Don’t be like that, just go check on her.”

“Are you really telling me to go up to her?”

“Why? Has Victoria become annoying to you?”

Hmm.

Although I don’t have entirely negative feelings, the ratio of negative emotions is definitely higher. Moreover, it seems she views me as some sort of stoic monster.

Denying that and approaching her wouldn’t gain me much from that image. To her, I’m a stoic who denies her goodwill and forces it onto others.

People who are only righteous are generally held in disdain.

Sure, you know right from wrong, but it’s suffocating, so don’t come near me.

Something like that.

There’s no need to look into my inner self. It means they don’t properly verify what kind of person I am.

Since they already think I’m like that.

“Victoria might run away, you know?”

At my question, Polaris snorted with a chuckle.

“Yeah. Got it. I’ll find a way to bring her back. See you after the weekend!”

“No, you don’t have to go that far.”

What would it achieve to bring her back? Wouldn’t it just intensify the hostility? But somehow, Polaris misunderstood what I said and left the classroom humming a tune.

A fleeting thought of having committed a crime crossed my mind…

It should be fine.

Since I had no reason to gather with anyone, I exited the classroom as is.

Upon leaving the building, there was a fountain right in front, with lots of cars parked nearby.

Some vehicles were heading toward a building not too far from the main gate.

Honestly, I pondered whether to take a car here, but if you’re going to be extravagant, it should be in such places.

After all, vehicles are also a symbol of power.

Of course, here and there, I could see things that deviated from their original designs, which seemed rather haphazard; it looked like existing power sources had been dismantled or modified.

I don’t know much about it, but they say existing power sources have a peculiar feeling when converting magical power into kinetic energy.

It must be like the sound of a vehicle engine in distant faded memories.

Once that feeling is present, people flock in to destroy it. Seems like, through excessive media use, the concept that machines using those power sources are inherently evil has taken hold.

People in this world are generally unaccustomed to a barrage of information.

It’s not much different from primitive times that dealt with a small amount of information. So when one piece of information comes in, it’s easy to take it for granted as truth.

The function of choosing which information to believe usually develops after a chaotic struggle.

It’s like using fatigue to write safety rules.

It’s not that people in this world are particularly dull.

It’s just that few realize the consequences of fooling around with information.

Even in a society flooded with data, many cling desperately to the first piece of information they receive, believing it to be the truth.

Even if it turns out to be a lie, correcting information once accepted is difficult.

Instead, they tightly grasp what they initially received with all their might. This is a biological trait.

Humans may resist deficiencies fiercely, but they utterly collapse under excess.

Life was originally far removed from abundance.

That applies to food as well as information.

When information is lacking, people try to find it through deduction, but when there’s an oversupply, they just tremble while clinging to the first data they obtained.

So when there are only a few media sources conveying information, if that media is distorted, they can’t help but be deceived.

In a super-information society utilizing something like the internet, there are other ways to exploit this trait, but at least in the Third World and Fourth World, it’s far from reaching that stage.

I lost my train of thought as I stared at the cars.

I walked out the main gate, turning left and pondering how to spend the empty time before the weekend, I headed home.

*

Just like the Third World, the Fourth World is doing just fine.

This place, unlike Bell, still lacks a name.

Jeber calls it the Purple God, but that’s not a name; it’s a title for a tool.

That was the result of needing to bend time a bit.

While a day has passed in the Third World, a week has gone by here.

A lot has happened in that time.

Jeber started an experiment to turn other races into harvesting machines.

From pets like cats and dogs to riding animals like horses and camels. Even livestock such as pigs and chickens have been made into harvesting machines.

Thanks to that, I’ve learned a lot.

First off, normal animals mostly didn’t respond to the contract document. But when starving or seriously injured, they definitely complied with the contract.

As for livestock, cooking and eating harvesting machines apparently ruins the taste.

They become excessively tough and solid to the point that they can’t be eaten.

Otherwise, most have their abilities somewhat enhanced, akin to humans.

The experiment that intrigued me the most followed.

Insects.

Yes. An experiment to turn bugs into harvesting machines was conducted. They do have light within them, too.

99.9% didn’t respond to the contract document. Even after tearing apart most of their bodies like I did with the animals, they still wouldn’t agree.

In other words, 0.1% did comply.

And all the contracted bugs exploded.

Yes.

In becoming harvesting machines, as soon as light was injected into them, they caused a huge explosion.

Somewhere, it felt familiar.

In the very distant past.

It’s similar to the phenomenon that occurred when I injected light into humans. Back then, I was pushed into the light from below the surface.

Then, the person caused a gigantic explosion.

Hmm.

What I squeezed out to share the bare minimum exploded. Is it outright impossible, or can it be done if I grow a bit more? I don’t know.

However, the light simply evaporated along with the explosion; while warmth flooded in, it was practically non-existent.

How little, you ask?

If I equate human light with humans, the electrons would be like a virus?

There’s a reason I primarily hunt humans.

But it’s true that I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge through various experiments in turning different targets into harvesting machines.

The Fourth World is truly wonderful.

I was exceptionally lucky to be summoned by a human like you. Jeber ibn Haideka.

I look forward to many more experiments to come.