The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 139: Academy, you’re out of your mind (9)

I listened to the events of that day from Victoria's perspective.

She explained the events in chronological order, from the moment she left the school dormitory until she returned to the harbor.

At first, Beatrice didn’t believe a word she said. But as Victoria calmly explained that the Sahagin’s behavior patterns were simple, she began to change her stance. It seemed like she understood that Victoria was sharing her own experiences.

Gradually, her expression contorted, and when she heard that Victoria had been stabbed in the thigh by a Sahagin, she abruptly stopped and checked Victoria’s physical condition.

"So, if you were kidnapped by the Sahagin, shouldn’t you have tried to escape? Why did your goal suddenly shift to eliminating the main culprit?"

"I told you, my side felt oddly uncomfortable, so when I touched it, I noticed scales. And the Sahagin documents? Thanks to the 'Other Species Language' class I took as part of my general education, I could vaguely understand it, and I hoped that if I messed up their work, things might get better."

So that’s how she became a butcher for the Sahagin.

When I said she had started becoming one, Beatrice was genuinely surprised.

At that moment, Victoria, wearing a thin, tank-top-like outfit with minimal fabric, showed Beatrice her side to calm her down quickly.

Did she intentionally wear such thin clothes?

No, I checked her memories, and since it was summer, she had just worn whatever she normally did.

Anyway.

Beatrice, looking like she had a headache, rubbed her eyes. When I first saw her, her eyes were already darkened from exhaustion, and she looked extremely haggard.

Then she pointed at me.

"So those monsters summoned a god, and that god was you, Bell?"

"Yes. But according to them, I wasn’t the god they were supposed to summon."

Both of their gazes turned toward me, and I nodded.

At least Daegon was considered a singular god in the world he came from.

"So you survived by contracting with Bell at the moment your life was in danger?"

"Yes. I stopped turning into a fish, and I gained abilities like this. I’m saying again, if I didn’t have these abilities, I would’ve died there, and that wouldn’t be surprising, would it?"

A dark brown liquid rose from Victoria’s teacup, floating in the air. It changed shapes with various symbols before plopping back into the cup.

Victoria then grabbed the ends of her tied-up hair and waved it in front of Beatrice.

"This hair isn’t dyed. It’s because of the contract. See? My skin became pale. Even scars I had from when I was a kid, like when I fell off my bike, disappeared!"

Victoria smiled and lifted her left leg, then lowered it carefully when she caught Beatrice’s sharp gaze.

Beatrice, looking straight into my eyes, spoke in a low voice.

"So this child is saying all this, and you contracted with her for what reason?"

It was clear she wasn’t going to accept any lies.

But what could I do? It was already too late.

The irreversible river had long since passed. So, I decided to speak plainly, telling only the facts.

"Because I was in front of them."

In reality, the only living creature was me.

Daegon’s security measures had swept everything away.

Victoria blinked at my words.

She must have thought it was strange that I said that was the reason I made the contract.

"So, you saved me for that reason?"

"The summoners failed and lost their lives. The only one left was you."

Everything I said was true.

Before they could even act, they were already dead.

"Tell me the details of the contract."

Then Beatrice asked, her words sharp.

It wasn’t a difficult matter, so I recited the terms of the contract.

After hearing the contract terms, Beatrice frowned.

"So this means you're taking everything of my daughter’s?"

"No, Mom. If I didn’t make the contract then, I’d have turned into a fish and been swimming in that jungle over there."

She doesn’t seem to realize that it was her own ability that stopped it. If I’d turned into a fish, I would’ve died there.

Thinking back to the body I had when it was shredded, I would’ve known she wasn’t safe.

"Taking my daughter’s soul... you look like a demon."

Yes.

She was glaring at me with hostility, her resolve clear, wanting to get her daughter back by any means.

But she couldn’t. The contract was already completed, and I could take warmth at any moment.

So, I needed to calm her down by stating only the facts.

"I’m not interested in souls. If someone dies, I just take their last warmth and that’s the end. This contract is just the first one I made, so I’ve been using it ever since."

That’s the truth.

If I had tried to alter the contract or made another clause like dominion over descendants or survival rights, it might’ve been problematic.

I understand why the old system remains stagnant and decays over time, unable to keep up with the era.

But there’s no reason to take the risk of changing it.

"Then, what if I make a contract too?"

Beatrice stared at me, her gaze full of suspicion, wariness, and killing intent.

If I had said yes, the gun in her hand would have surely fired.

It wouldn’t have killed me, but...

With Sooh’s last words and the five harvests I’d already made, it was best to take a step back here.

"Let’s put that off for now."

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

"Put it off?"

Her suspicion deepened. Instead of a straightforward yes or no, I chose to defer. This would make it a yes in the long run.

I decided to add an excuse.

"The contract is only for one life form. When the contract is made, all wounds heal, but if someone gets injured afterward and starts dying, I can only watch as I did before. So think of the contract as a spare life."

Does this sound like a benevolent statement?

But I’m successful as long as I can take warmth. Anything beyond that is just a bonus.

In a favorable situation, it’s best to maintain it.

The five people who attacked me were easily persuaded into a contract by a few words with a religious undertone, weren’t they?

Even if someone asks about the contract, they’ll remember me as a good person.

Even if they use their power for evil deeds, I can defend myself by saying they chose it.

Standing on the border of truth, I tell no lies, but I weave them when necessary.

After hearing my explanation, Beatrice stared at me with a complicated expression. After some thought, she asked me one question.

"Is there someone you’ve lost because you couldn’t help them?"

I remained silent.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t help them.

I just should have been more daring, moved forward, and withstood the immortal's attack to twist them.

"Alright. I understand. Bell, are you a god?"

I could answer that with certainty.

"No. I’m just a monster."

I answered with a feeling of "meow." That’s about it. I’m not a god who can do anything or obtain everything.

Far from perfect, I’m just a beast trembling in the cold, yearning for warmth.

"Alright. Then, next question. Why did you follow my daughter?"

"Victoria brought me along."

"What?"

Beatrice’s head snapped to Victoria. I could see her eyes spitting curses, but she held back since I was in front of her.

"But Mom. What they told me was, 'I don’t want to go home.'"

She said it. I really didn’t want to go back to the bottom.

"Mom! I’ll take care of it properly!"

Is this what "meow" feels like?

Beatrice’s expression contorted. Her emotions of wanting to hit me were clearly visible as the words kept spilling out.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"He’s not that bad."

Translating it as "not a bad beast," it probably doesn’t just sound like that to me. Beatrice now looked like an adult seeing a child who randomly brought home a stray animal and wanted to keep it.

"Anyway, our house is big! Even if it’s just for the holidays, okay?"

In reality, the house was quite large. It wasn’t in an upscale neighborhood, but it seemed to be a comfortable place to live.

"Alright. Just for the holidays. Sigh, what do I do with this? Okay, Tori. We have a guest room, so Bell can use that. I thought you brought a friend from school..."

Beatrice sighed deeply, got up from the table, walked over to Victoria, and hit her on the head.

"Mom! Thank you!"

But Victoria wasn’t at all hurt and hugged Beatrice.

Beatrice pushed her away as if it was gross and came toward me.

The conversation was over.

I got up from my seat.

"I’ve lived less than three digits worth of years as a human. My true form is a monster."

"Ah, right, that question."

Beatrice gave a wry smile, hesitated for a moment, then extended her hand again. I shook it.

"Then why aren’t you giving me your exact age?"

At that moment, Victoria cut in from the side. I let go of Beatrice’s hand and spoke.

"The cycles are different, so I don’t know which to base it on."

"Cycles?"

"Orbital cycles. Simply put, how many days are in a year."

"Here it’s 318 days."

"One place is 365, another is 415, and the last is 639."

I spoke of the time I remembered in faded recollections, and the days from the two worlds shining brightly. I think the second world might have been as far as Mars.

It’s not that important, though.

"Another world has a year that's different?"

"Yes. Every world is different. I’m not smart enough to calculate my exact age, so I can’t give you the details."

From Victoria’s memory, she doesn’t know much about space. But someone here must know more.

People have been looking up at the sky for a very long time.

But that knowledge isn’t widely spread. At least, not to the level Victoria knows.

"A monster?"

"What do you think a monster is? It’s because I’m a monster. Speaking of which, Beatrice Bet..."

I pushed Victoria aside and greeted her properly.

"I’ll be in your care for a while. I look forward to it."

Beatrice looked at Victoria after hearing my greeting and said.

"Better than my daughter."

"Mom!"

Victoria got mad and rushed at me, asking what was wrong.

It was just like when I lived with Sooh in Choseol’s body.

I thought that to myself, taking a step back and watching the two argue.