When daylight arrived, the unnamed child woke up.
It’s quite funny to see her waking up, panicked, on the blanket in the corner of the kitchen.
The good thing about my current condition is that I now see people as sources of warmth, rather than by their appearance.
It’s not about looks, but warmth that matters. If a pretty heater bought at a low price isn’t actually warm, it’s a waste to keep it, right?
Wait, is this strange?
The phrase "not human" from the faded man's memories keeps being emphasized.
I don’t think there’s a personality to speak of, but occasionally, in the middle of the night, a dark history of mine will suddenly pop up in my mind, like a blanket being kicked off, causing the memories to come flooding back.
Whether it’s the beginning stages of schizophrenia or something I’ve always had, I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s that important.
The problem is food.
Looking at the amount, if I ration it, it’ll last for three days.
Thinking about feeding the child, we’ll be out by tomorrow. Considering the Heavenly Demon’s malice, the food will probably run out, and it’ll take a few days before it’s replenished.
If I were alone, I might just wait indefinitely, but I have a feeling this child was sent to die.
They want to see how I act.
So, I’ll do nothing for this child.
Above all, treating borrowed things carefully is common sense, right? Reckless modification is not acceptable.
"Get up and wash your face."
I pointed to the jar in the corner of the kitchen. Originally, the water was dark and swarming with bugs, but I twisted reality to fill the jar with clean water.
If it's something not from this time, like the jar, it can be brought into this world without cracks.
Of course, if it’s a natural object, it doesn’t come with cracks, but I tried to pull water from an unlimited source and quickly stopped when the cracks appeared.
This world is weak, so there’s nothing I can do. I’m trying to change what can be changed while being careful not to break the glass.
The fact that the child didn’t wake up on the bare stone floor but on the blanket is also the result of my experiment. This blanket was originally a rotting one from inside the room.
It’s not an object that never existed, but just an altered item. If you twist an object that’s already broken, the sound of the glass cracking will be quieter.
Making something that never existed and changing something that already did seems to exert different pressure on the glass.
The downside, however, is that living creatures shouldn’t be twisted.
Compared to an object, the pressure on the glass is stronger, but like textures in a 3D game, when the body gets twisted, it changes into a grotesque shape, tearing apart and turning into pixels, eventually vanishing.
If this is used on a person, wouldn’t it become an attack skill?
No, if used on a person, the glass would probably break faster...
While pondering this, the child tried to scoop a little water from a nearby bowl and wash her face.
In a karst terrain, where the water is abundant, it doesn’t seem like there’s any shortage of it...
Today, I have a lot of free time. Actually, this is the first time I’ve had free time since entering someone else’s body.
When I was Rebecca Rolf, I was almost confined, so in a way, this is my first time exploring another world with my own legs. Although back then, I did wander around a confined space under the pretext of exercising, the fact that I was confined remained the same.
This time, I’m free, so if I’m curious about something, I should go find it.
I filled in my schedule for the future and made some food with a little more water than yesterday.
Oops.
It’s slightly burnt.
I’ll eat the parts that are burnt. Cooking is hard.
"Here, come eat."
The child had been staring at me carefully while I cooked, and when I served the food into a bowl, she looked up at me with a subtle expression.
What’s wrong?
I tilted my head, and she immediately lowered her head and began eating. I wonder if she’s thinking about whether this is even food.
I can’t help it. The memories of the person who cooked are numerous, but the ingredients are fundamentally different, so I don’t know how to handle them.
So I just guessed based on instinct, which resulted in it being too thick or burnt. Cooking is hard.
The faded memories are not as vivid now, and instead, the more recent memories come to mind, then slowly settle.
Joanna Smith.
She’s the one who used to cook for me, and that’s probably why her memory popped up and faded away. But she’s not here anymore.
She’s already dead, right?
And this child, too, will die someday.
I thought about this while feeding the child and tidying up the kitchen. The child seemed restless, so I asked her why. She gestured with her hands, but I couldn’t understand.
Looking at her expression, it was hard to read because her muscles had collapsed, and her face was swollen from edema.
I ignored it and kept cleaning.
In the meantime, the child, still cold in the morning, quietly sat by the fire.
Fire? It won’t go out. What kind of fire did I bring? Things like entropy or energy conservation came to mind, but I’m already a strange monster myself.
Arguing about it feels strange.
Seeing the child watch the fire without any problem, it seems like it’s not anything too strange, so it’s better to just accept it as a good thing.
I finished tidying up and went outside.
When I went out, I saw a gigantic building towering in the distance. The building was built on massive, pillar-like rock formations. The house only stands on the rocks, and passages run between them.
Looking at the building, when I lowered my head, I saw several doors leading out of the building, with one of them coming toward me.
Passing by a cliff on one side and a path intertwined with rocks and trees on the other, after some time, I arrived at the house I’m staying in.
They’ve thrown me quite far.
According to the memories of the four Harvesters, the places where regular people live are quite far from here. Looking at Jeonyang’s memories, it seems that this was once an area inhabited by people.
In other words, it’s now an uninhabited area.
But when I say it was once inhabited, it means there are buildings around here.
So, I decided to take a walk to check things out. After looking around, I figured I could spend the day well.
Crunch crunch.
Walking along a path overgrown with grass, I realized that my body also needs some exercise.
Rebecca Rolf used to strain her heart. I wonder if I could use martial arts with this body?
I’ll try it later this evening.
Tap tap tap.
After taking just a few steps, I heard the sound of someone running.
I turned around, and the child was waddling toward me. Wait, shouldn’t you stay in the room since your body is in such a condition?
No, this is probably a kind gesture, but why does the thought of "not human" come to mind again? Compassion? I’d like to receive that.
I grumbled inwardly, hoping she’d feel a little pity for how cold I am, and I looked at the child and asked.
"What’s wrong?"
The child grabbed my clothes without saying anything. It’s not that she didn’t want to speak; she simply couldn’t.
I walked with her along the path.
Her small steps slowed us down, so we couldn’t get very far. I’ll have to give up on the water’s edge for today. Seeing her walk, it seems like her joints are rotating strangely, so she’s probably very fatigued.
Her legs are swollen, so walking must be difficult for her, but what is she trying to do?
I walked around the area with the child, who still doesn’t have a name.
There are traces of buildings or paths, but it looks like someone with strong martial arts fought here, as there are no intact buildings.
If something went wrong, there are holes where a child might fall through or traces that look like they were slashed with a knife, as if a landscape painting was cut.
If such things happened in a village where people lived, it wouldn’t be strange for the village to be abandoned and for people to move elsewhere.
Among the ruins overgrown with grass, I found what looked like human bones, but unfortunately, there’s no warmth left.
There are cases where even corpses have faint light left in them, and in those cases, there was warmth.
But this one has been dead for far too long.
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Suddenly, the child grabbed my clothes tightly, probably having seen a skull.
"Who are you?"
Just then, someone spoke in a raspy voice like an old woman.
When I looked, a woman with a wide-brimmed hat wrapped in a translucent cloth was standing there.
She’s hiding who she is.
But I recognize her clothes. I saw her face this morning.
Gabja had spoken to her directly. When I recall her speaking in a clean voice, I realize this voice is fake.
Well, if the daughter of the former leader didn’t want anyone to know she’s back, it wouldn’t be strange for her to change her voice.
I raised my arm and pointed in the direction of the house.
"I’ve been living in that house over there since yesterday."
The woman looked at the direction my hand was pointing.
"Isn’t that house uninhabitable?"
Uninhabitable house?
This person knows what kind of state that house is in. It means she must have seen where I’m staying at least once.
I don’t know who she is, but she seems to have a bad relationship with the Heavenly Demon. First, she brought the child to me to show that the Heavenly Demon is a bad person.
"The Heavenly Demon sent this child here as a servant after sending her off."
Hmm.
I can’t read her expression, so I don’t know her reaction. But she’s coming toward me now.
Actually, she’s approaching the child, not me.
"That one is still like a bug. First, take this and sit with your back to me."
She took a small pill from her pocket. The child looked up at me, seemingly distressed. Hmm. Judging by the atmosphere, she seems to want to do something about the bugs in the child’s body.
Is that some sort of deworming pill?
I stepped back.
The child looks like she’s about to cry, but I pointed at her, signaling the woman to proceed.
"It’s very bitter, but don’t spit it out—swallow it."
The woman seemed to understand my meaning and handed the small pill to the child. The child took it and swallowed it.
Right after, the woman removed the child’s outer clothing and placed her hand on her back. Is she sending energy?
I’m not sure if she’s using a small amount of energy or if I just can’t feel it.
Even if I watch closely, it just looks like she’s resting her hand on the child’s back. But suddenly, the child’s expression twisted, and her veins bulged.
I was watching, thinking she might be dying, but the child’s red face suddenly returned to its original color, and she bent over.
"Kehek! Kehek!"
A grotesque-looking bug shot out of the child’s mouth with a lot of blood. But since it has no legs, it’s not the same kind of bug that I had in my head.
The woman held the child, who was trembling in pain, and kept her hand on the child’s back for a while longer.
Then, when the child finally collapsed, she exhaled deeply.
"We’ve passed the critical point. The swelling on her face and body will go down in about a month. Slowly nurture her."
She thinks I’m her guardian? But I shook my head.
"I can’t."
"Why?"
The woman’s voice raised slightly. Does this mean she’s angry? Is she a good person? But, isn’t she the daughter of the former leader?
She likely dislikes the Heavenly Demon.
So, I think I’ll let her clash with the Heavenly Demon.
"This child was sent by the Heavenly Demon. I have no power."
I said this to indicate that if the Heavenly Demon tries to do something with her, I wouldn’t be able to stop it.
"What do you think of this child?"
Ah, this is a predictable question. She’s asking if I can take care of the child, right? So I deliberately answered in a way that would be misunderstood.
"She’s warmth."
"Alright. Then, even if it’s just for a moment, take care of her."
She understood my words perfectly and misinterpreted them. She stroked the child’s head and hurriedly left.
In other words, something is about to happen.
Heh.
Thinking of the Heavenly Demon Church, which will soon be in turmoil, I carried the child on my back and returned to the house.