The dark night, with almost no light outside, passed, and morning arrived again.
I took Soo, who was dazed and half-conscious, out of the room and headed to the kitchen.
Soo’s body had returned to normal, but she didn’t know how to do anything. Looking through her memories, the only things she could do were clean with a rag or run errands.
To be honest, she was still in single digits age-wise, so not knowing what to do is perfectly normal. Of course, if I wanted to make her work, I could, and there are actually children who work in restaurants in this world depending on luck.
But I had no intention of making her work.
Because I don’t know how to cook. I know many recipes from various worlds, but the ingredients are slightly different.
For example, even though I know how to make kimchi, if there’s no napa cabbage or chili pepper in this world, I wouldn’t be able to cook it, right?
It’s similar to that.
At least I know how to prepare things, so it somewhat looks like food.
Today, without burning anything, it turned out as a proper dish. Honestly, if you ask me about the taste, it would be understandable if I got slapped for not seasoning it at all.
But it’s lucky that Soo ate it well.
As I sat in front of the stove eating breakfast, there was a noise from outside.
When I went out, there were eight people standing outside.
One of them was someone I recognized.
He had been standing in the spot where the head of the household had been when I was first summoned to this world. Since it wasn’t where Ho-bob stood, there’s a high chance this person is also a head of some faction.
Looking at his clothes, he doesn’t seem to be someone who can perform magic.
“Who are you?”
When I stepped out and asked, a man, whose face I knew, stepped forward. He introduced himself.
“I am the head of the Heavenly Palace, Kija Cheon.”
He was indeed the head. He used the character for "my" instead of "sky" to make it Heavenly Palace.
He is the head of the organization responsible for minor tasks in the Heavenly Demon Church’s main building far off in the distance. It means he is someone who would know if the maid or attendants move.
Of course, assuming the reports go up properly.
He looked me over and opened his mouth.
“I was worried that you were a monster that eats people, but this is just a girl, isn’t it?”
I noticed Soo clenching her fist behind me, but there’s really no need to get angry, is there? I silently motioned for Soo to stay still and responded to the man in front of me.
“I don’t eat people.”
I’m just a girl who needs warmth.
Anyway, from the information I received thanks to Gabja moving around, this person is someone trying to oppose the current Heavenly Demon.
Why is he here?
His eyes shifted to Soo, then back to me.
“I see. Do you know the human who was dyed purple? A third-rate warrior, just a Ho-bob, somehow managed to take the position of a faction leader. Can anyone do that?”
Heh heh.
Finally, someone who wants to become a Harvester has approached me. It took longer than I thought. I expected Eunchun and Byeongil to come right after becoming elders.
But at least he came eventually.
I answered him.
“Anyone can do it. But there’s a limit to three people per day.”
At my words, the man named Kija Cheon stared at me intently. As if trying to figure out what I was thinking, he stared at me for a long while before asking.
“Is that something the Heavenly Demon decided?”
Immediately asking about the number.
“No. It just turned out that way.”
If I were to read the contract, I could do it with thousands or tens of thousands at once, but I wouldn’t explain that. Because the number needs to be limited for control.
When the number is limited and constrained, it becomes more intense. Normally, money is spent on goods, but in this case, it’s people.
When the exit is limited, it’s easier to become obsessed.
“Three people, huh. So that’s why it’s three. Fine. Then, give power to these three.”
He selected three men from the seven standing behind him and brought them forward.
Some looked at me with tense expressions, while others stared blankly at the air with empty eyes.
They all expected me to give them power. They believe it’s natural to obey orders. They see me not as a monster, but as someone who just gives power.
I had already pretended to be strong in front of the Heavenly Demon. So, I debated for a moment whether to reject them, but...
It would probably be better to increase the Harvesters here.
I mentioned the contract.
“I will give myself to you. But when you’ve finished everything later, I’ll take everything you have. What do you think?”
The three men agreed, and they all became Harvesters with purple hair and pale skin. Kija Cheon walked around them, inspecting them carefully.
“It’s strange that I don’t feel any energy. One of them hasn’t even reached the level of a practice monk, yet their energy channels have already opened. But it’s not like they were newly born; it’s as if they’ve reached the best possible state they could be in.”
He muttered to himself.
He grabbed each one’s wrist, checking their pulses, or inserted his energy to check.
Yes, one is a Ho-bob, one is just a laborer, and one is a chunk of meat raised like livestock.
The last one is similar to Choseol.
But unlike Choseol, who was tied to fabric and spent most of his life floating in the air, there are significant differences in the details.
However, the way they were raised by erasing their personalities is the same as Choseol.
Their cerebral cortex has almost shrunk, so their brains don’t function. I didn’t know why they looked so dazed, but it’s because they can’t think.
I remember hearing stories that excessive stress can cause people to change like this. They’ve been raised in this state for a long time.
Nailed down to fix them, making them move by inducing convulsions with parasites, and feeding them nutrients through a tube in their neck.
If this world were a little like the cultivation world, I could vaguely guess. These would be the materials for some kind of medicinal pills.
It’s still a hypothesis, though.
It will become clear soon.
Light and warmth?
There’s almost none. Smaller than dust. Of course, I’d be happy with that!
Kija Cheon stood in front of me.
“This is wonderful. I’ll visit often, so if there’s anything you need, let me know. I’ll prepare anything.”
Kija Cheon said something like the Heavenly Demon.
It’s funny because it’s obvious he’s trying to seize power.
He brought his face very close to mine, and looking directly at me, he spoke.
“Just don’t tell the Heavenly Demon about this.”
It’s something done secretly without the Heavenly Demon knowing.
I see.
This person is also trying to oust the Heavenly Demon. Most of the faction leaders have turned against the Heavenly Demon, and he’s one of them.
I need to be careful with my response, considering that.
I spoke, deciding to explain that I’m not on the Heavenly Demon’s side.
“The contract was made by the Heavenly Demon first. I’ll honor the contract. But I won’t answer unless you ask.”
I only move above the contract.
I won’t do anything beyond that, so do as you wish.
With that meaning, I also implied that if you don’t ask the right question, I won’t answer. One sentence can carry multiple meanings.
If you don’t catch on, it’s your fault.
Heh heh.
“So, you’re passively supporting me? From the looks of it, you’ll live a long time.”
The man laughed softly, then placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Good. Then, what’s the standard for a day? Should it be exactly one day after tomorrow?”
He asked while messing with my shoulder.
It’s a bit awkward if I just say it’s exactly 24 hours, but it’s hard to explain why a day would be the standard. There’s no cooldown time like that.
But there are two standards that are plausible and don’t leave room for further questions.
Sunrise and sunset.
I’m thinking about which one to choose.
If he wants to make a picky decision...
“Sunrise.”
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He accepted the time of sunrise without any doubt.
“If you want to receive power in the future, you’ll have to come in the morning. Okay?”
But suddenly, his face turned pale, and he quickly removed his hand from my shoulder. He stared at his hand in surprise.
And he looked at me as though he had seen something terrifying.
Could it be that when he touched my shoulder, he was trying to sense my energy?
I felt nothing.
It doesn’t seem like this body lacks energy sensitivity.
“I’m sorry. I’ll take my leave now.”
He made a vague gesture as though he was apologizing and quickly walked back with his men to the Heavenly Demon Church building.
What could he have seen inside me?
Leaving only a question without an answer, he cowardly left.
Ugh.
I went back to the kitchen. As soon as I entered, Soo ran to me and hugged me.
I don’t know why she’s so attached. I didn’t think people could form attachments this easily.
I spent time with Soo.
Of course, it wasn’t just playing around.
I followed Eunjae’s remembered techniques.
Since there were no swords, I picked up a branch and practiced with it.
There’s a difference between men and women, so my movements were a bit off. It wasn’t just that; in certain parts, I couldn’t move my body using muscles alone because there wasn’t enough strength.
It’s not just a lack of muscle strength, but a different kind of power is needed to push the body.
Probably, the energy should flow here, but I don’t have that at all.
Lower dantian, middle dantian, upper dantian. These three sections don’t seem to have any space or structure. What exactly is what?
I still remember the sensation of energy being moved by someone else, but it doesn’t manifest in the body I’m in.
Even when I tried to imitate the state of their body when they released energy, nothing came out.
Looking at that, it doesn’t seem like there’s any special power stored inside.
Or, I might be using all that kind of power just to contain myself.
That’s a plausible hypothesis.
So, Rebecca Rolf could use a special power through her heart, but I couldn’t do it.
For the experiment, I spent the whole day following Eunjae’s movements and the movements of the first-world inspector.
And the realization was one thing.
It works. This.
I’ll do it with Soo.