---

That day.

Kanna received a report. It was from Freesia, concerning Mogrei.

That’s when I understood why Freesia reacted that way.

In the northern lands where the Shiodore clan resides, the Raksha clan has emerged as a new power.

They aren’t completely new, though. They were nobles from the northwest, expanding their territory and naturally reaching out to the north.

To be precise, due to monsters rampaging in the west, the population in the outskirts flocked to the Raksha clan, crying for help. The report stated that the Raksha clan seized that opportunity to develop the city.

With the growth of a clan, struggles for dominance inevitably arise.

Although there hasn’t yet been an all-out war, tensions between the existing rulers and the rising powers are steadily escalating.

And the clan above all of that is the Raksha clan.

Most of the renowned clans are minor nobility, like barons or counts, but they’ve fought against monsters in the borderlands for a long time.

Central power is hardly consumed.

Despite the Duke of the Border’s military might and role, there’s a reason he’s always on the defensive.

The issue is that both the Raksha and Shiodore clans are situated similarly to the Duke of the Border. Either one will swallow the other, or they’ll fight until death.

Coexistence?

That doesn’t exist.

When people fight to protect what they have in their hands, they can do anything.

Anything.

That’s why many individuals who started with noble intentions grow twisted with age, because family ideals take precedence.

Because they love.

They’ll do anything to protect it. Many drift off when emotions get involved. There are a lot of legends ruined by love.

If you turn the young into harvesting machines, they might pursue the right path initially but change eventually.

Tisah didn’t do that, though.

Anyway, the matters regarding the two clans may not be that significant right now.

It means the western front has been pushed back. From the perspective of the newly traveling harvesting machines from Brightshin, a city in the northwest has vanished.

Overwhelmed by monsters.

It was a previously unseen monster that came and neutralized existing defenses. For instance, they’d prepared for one giant monster to appear, but instead, a swarm of smaller monsters came, or the opposite occurred.

So I kept examining the memories of the harvesting machines.

Time is infinite, and the perspectives we can process are countless.

And I found a flow that could be presumed as the reason.

The capital, the western edge.

There was Maleficent. A witch who tightly held the area. In other words, she was stabilizing the western region.

However, with her death, that oppression was lifted. All living creatures fought for the newly emerged territory. In short, the environment had changed.

This isn’t just a mechanical environment but one with living beings, so immediate changes didn’t happen.

Did it really vanish? They probably tested the waters, moving one by one. So now, almost half a year later, the effects have surfaced.

Additionally, there’s another reason.

The impact of the rejection of mechanical devices in society also plays a part.

Even in places where battles are still ongoing, many still use mechanical devices. But the problem lies with the regions that don’t.

It wasn’t in the direct line of conflict with the outside but those regions inside that were the issue.

The cities that supported them from behind have fallen. What good is a wall if it stays intact?

A sudden change in the monster environment. Coupled with the rejection of mechanical devices, that’s what caused the issues.

Many people died in the west.

Unfortunately, it was outside my influence, so I didn’t gain any warmth.

If I had caught on a bit earlier, I would have gone to the west knowing people were dying there.

Then, I could have harvested a lot.

What was I doing during that time?

Hmm…

It was during the school break.

Yes.

There was nothing I could do.

Anyway, the impact was significant. People aren’t fools; they could prevent the monster territories from expanding. But a lot of land has transitioned into monster habitats.

That reduced the areas where humans live, which leads to a decline in productivity.

So that explains why the waters aren’t being controlled.

Whether they sneakily used existing power devices to operate machines or created new energy devices using human lives. No, this side is more of a combustion device since it burns life force.

By swapping power devices for combustion devices, they are operating machines again.

Initially, those who strictly dismantled the devices began to rationalize their actions after the damage they caused hurt their wallets, attaching various justifications.

After diligently moving for someone else’s justice, they found themselves staring at the remnants of ash.

Of course, if the head of the Gun and Rufu Company suddenly went missing, or if the power that absorbed it prevented sabotage, that would be preemptive action, but for now, it’s all just damage.

And surprisingly, it ended well.

Previously, a certain country was turned upside down by a revolution, causing a prince to cease being a prince, and that influence spread to the surrounding areas. The concept that a king could be dethroned spread widely.

Ironically, the more a country accepted mechanical devices, the more it was shaken by that influence.

The concept that kings could be replaced seems to be frightening for some.

There were attempts to create new political systems capable of replacing the king.

Then, a neighboring country started a war because it posed a threat to the royal authority, moving to crush it.

For reference, the justification was that they were suppressing the rioters and saving the royal family.

Yes. Indeed. They initiated it during a chaotic time caused by the rejection of mechanical devices. The situation deteriorated almost instantly.

People started risking their lives to escape from both sides.

Some took trains, secretly smuggling themselves in, while others crossed right through the monster habitats.

To the harvesting machines’ eyes in the city on the border, foreigners are frequently seen.

Even in areas surrounded by monster territories, it’s tough to cross over, even for the military.

And they don’t reject refugees in those regions.

People are in short supply there.

The international situation is a mess right now.

No, really.

I initially wanted to investigate the relationship between Kanna and Mogrei but ended up skimming through memories, resulting in this outcome.

Isn’t it a bit too trivial to be fighting sides in a little school now?

No way.

No, I mean, war is fine. And watching each other die, with society turning harsh and cheap lives vanishing like crazy, is also fine.

But that’s only when my harvesting machines are positioned on top and bring me warmth!

What’s flowing there right now is warmth dispersed outside my hands!

Ugh.

I really need to advocate for peace.

First, we need to end the fighting. Trying to push for peace now would only get me lynched by both groups, so I’ll choose the side that’s more approachable, whether they are the victors or the defeated, and turn them into harvesting machines.

And then tell them their world is in danger.

No, do I really need to say that here?

Let’s make them harvesting machines first, confirm their memories, and then approach them. If they don’t know their own situation, they can be appealed to when the time comes.

But I shouldn’t become too religious about it, like in the First World.

As long as I find it hard to intervene directly, saving others through religion is useless to me. If a religion results in killing others for the sake of saving a third party, then, hmm, I can’t say I dislike that.

Let’s consider religion as an option too.

For now, I have no choice but to wait for the duel to conclude.

Two factions fighting to identify the right and wrong clearly and to gather the bad ones for punishment versus those who just want to stay separated.

Neither option is particularly appealing.

On a night when the full moon shone brightly, I was in the kitchen preparing tomorrow’s meat, organizing my thoughts.

Once I finished and came out to the living room, I saw a bag lying under the moonlight.

Rabo was hanging off it, smiling as if he were having the time of his life.

Emotions can only feel joy, but joy is still joy.

***

Fourth World.

Here too, even if demons choose a dull death, not much has changed.

Well, there is one change.

You know the girl who acquired demon knowledge? She fled the mansion immediately without looking back.

Zeber decided to send the girl upstairs and clean this place up, right?

The girl who ascended from the laboratory to the mansion pushed away the artificial humans around her and broke through the window.

And at the level of those artificial humans, stopping her was impossible.

The demon, having regained all its powers after becoming a harvesting machine, transferred all that power to the girl.

Indeed, it was the last remaining chance.

Now that she’s become a harvesting machine, the girl was fated to undergo modification surgery and be raised. The previous offspring of god and demon faced a similar fate.

I wasn’t there, so it wasn’t yet a harvesting machine, but a bomb was embedded in her body, and her soul twisted.

She wasn’t just loyal to Zeber because he was her father.

Her soul twisted so much that she had to give Zeber unconditional love.

When the special forces of Rampinion stormed the mansion, they all perished!

So she became a free woman.

Zeber?

He was rampaging, disposing of the artificial humans above. And he played with the two offspring of demons he recently created.

It meant he slept while venting his anger.

Crazy, but what can you do? The only person here right now is Zeber.

As for the girl?

I have no idea what she might do. Unfortunately, she acquired the demon’s memories after becoming a harvesting machine. If she had done so before becoming one, she might have recalled what the demon girl was thinking, but now there’s nothing but her current memories.

I can only watch through her eyes.

She’s desperately fleeing from the city.

What will happen to her, inheritor of demonic power?

It’s suddenly turning into an exciting side story. I hope she commits something cruel like a child should. Since she’s a harvesting machine, she’ll be able to bring a lot of warmth!

Hehehe.