I spent a night in the royal castle.
I can’t return to my accommodation, but the guest room I’m staying in is incredibly lavish.
The scary part is that compared to my accommodation, it’s a lot more convenient if you give partial points for ease of use.
Seriously, how thrilled was I when they made Aurora into a harvesting period?
From the scattered words I’ve heard, it’s said that when Aurora was born, she was cursed and tried everything but failed. She was dying, trying to reverse it but had no luck.
Even when the witch appeared, the magic she prepared to kill ended in failure.
After all, Maleficent is one of the strongest witches in this world, so just trying your best wasn’t enough.
Maleficent wiped out several countries all by herself.
In the midst of that, she saved Aurora, so it seems she wants to grant her any wishes.
I just can’t understand it.
Anyway.
“Is that a guest?”
“Ah, you caught me?”
If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t know, but I’m one of the few harvesting periods in the royal castle.
“Hello.”
“Yeah, hi. You came to help us again, huh?”
Aurora Dormiens.
There are various titles attached to her name, but you can just call her by her name.
When I was summoned by the king, I had just come up from the basement where I had hidden with the prince.
Currently, the Highpion King and Solindiges prince are heading out to handle the incidents happening in the capital in real time.
Aurora came to see me now that she has her freedom.
She has heard various stories from different people, so she somewhat knows the overall situation. This means she’s not completely clueless.
Should I just take her help here as a simple favor?
Or should I deny it and play the good guy?
Let’s go for the positive route.
Being overly nice can actually seem suspicious. Especially since the intent is deeply rooted in malice, anything fake is of no use.
“Yes. Maleficent can no longer do any bad deeds by her own will.”
Even if she does bad deeds, it’s not by her will, right?
“Is that so? Since you saved me, I thought I’d drop by. You know my name, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
Aurora wears light, simple clothes with minimal patterns, but according to Kanna’s memories, it’s made from incredibly precious materials.
Anyone who sees would immediately recognize her as a princess.
Aurora knows that.
Aurora fell into a deep sleep half a year ago, and until then, she was learning what a princess should learn.
Furthermore, she understands well what people think.
She was a girl who was practically fated to die this year, so many people felt pity for her. This sentiment came from not just her family but from people working in the royal castle too.
Being sensitive, she grew up feeling those gazes.
Thus, she sought a reason for it, and even went so far as to find it.
But when the fateful day came, she acted as if she didn’t know and fell asleep, fully prepared for death.
She says she was scared of dying.
But she wasn’t foolish enough not to realize that the environment surrounding her was moving based on the premise of her death.
“Should I call you Bell then?”
“Call me whatever you like.”
There’s a faint hint of resentment in her expression. Will she express that resentment towards me? Or will she let it go? I know quite a bit about harvesting periods.
Especially being a harvesting period made recently.
“Bell.”
Aurora approached me and bowed her head.
“Thank you for helping us.”
She expresses her gratitude like that.
Of course.
She’s someone who knows the other party feels pity and doesn’t use it as an excuse to act however she wants.
She knows she’s weak and unfortunate.
Instead of treating others terribly because of that, she has chosen to treat others better during her lifetime.
She’s not an ordinary person.
Some are extremely evil, some are extremely good, and most people waver between both. She was a bit more good than an ordinary person.
She’s clever.
When thinking about how to fill her life, she was enough to ponder whether to live with love for others.
I thought the pillar would collapse, and a moment would come where anything goes, so I figured she would do whatever she wanted.
But nope.
“Alright, Aurora. If you truly feel grateful, please grant my wish.”
So it twists.
“A wish? What’s that?”
Aurora asks me. I don’t plan to do anything strange.
“For the rest of your life, do what you want.”
You’ve become a harvesting period, and you’re no longer bound by death. You don’t even have to show only the good sides. Now that you have a future where you can do anything, I encourage her to do what she wants.
So having many children would be even better.
This is an investment.
After going through puberty later, it’s fine to let your desires grow huge and go wherever your cravings lead. Living in the royal family, going through power struggles, and killing each other isn’t a bad life either.
I suspect that Aurora will remain a good person until the end, but that choice isn’t bad.
Because I’ve already tasted the fruits when such good people spread widely.
The first world.
Descendants of Tisah.
They were quite tasty. If their numbers are sufficient, they can rise without forming a separate body.
“That’s a strange thing to say.”
“A strange thing?”
“How can telling me to do what I want be what you desire?”
Hmm. Most people would interpret a seemingly reasonable story on their own, but this one actually asks. I like her in the sense that she doesn’t assume she understands something she doesn’t.
But I don’t like that she aims it at me.
Shall I make excuses?
No. The more excuses I make here, the stranger it gets. I’ll use complicated expressions to steer her off.
“That’s just human nature.”
It’s akin to answering, “What temperature is nice?” with “Just the right temperature,” but I’m showing an incredibly powerless display.
Even if I give a somewhat silly answer, there probably won’t be much to criticize.
“What do you mean by that it’s human nature? Doing what they want makes them human, so is Bell saying that’s what you want? Isn’t that wanting nothing?”
She’s poking in deeper.
How terrifying.
“How does that become wanting nothing? Humans have desires, so they call upon me. I grant them and give them myself. I want those who hold me to do what they want.”
I heedlessly grant wishes.
Good or evil, I indiscriminately lend my strength, but most people believe they’ll take a wrong turn.
Criminals don’t commit crimes because they dislike good actions; it’s because they believe they won’t be punished for obtaining benefits through bad deeds.
They only see two options: something easier or something harder.
Except for special exceptions, most people are like that. So to heighten public safety, it’s more important to catch offenders than to punish them cruelly.
People won’t act if the probability of getting caught is high.
How harsh the punishment is comes after that.
That’s the security necessary to maintain society. Security isn’t for upholding justice. High-ranking officials or their children can commit crimes without being punished not because they are receiving money from them.
But because releasing them has no correlation with maintaining security.
That’s because security is a tool to prevent your livestock from killing each other and losing market value.
And formidable power allows one to stand above the law in most worlds. It lets someone cross the line that separates livestock from humans.
Someone who simply became a human from livestock lacks the know-how to govern livestock.
So they do whatever they want.
Then warmth flows into me. The failures of those who are only strong because of their immaturity must flow warm into me.
I believe in that.
It’s not about good or evil; it’s that humans are imperfect. Therefore, I believe they will inevitably fail.
“Bell is a god who grants wishes, huh?”
“I’m a monster.”
“Then that makes you a devil.”
The dichotomy of good and evil. Not a bad approach. Digital is simple and neat.
“But you’ve come back to life?”
“Yeah. I thought I’d die, but my body is completely healed, and the witch who was tormenting our people has disappeared. If I got that just by selling my soul, it’s a bargain.”
She says that while giving me a sharp look. If I answer wrongly here, I’m in trouble. Aurora has a kind character, but that doesn’t mean she’s soft.
She has the intelligence to distinguish between conventional good and evil, and she possesses the strength of heart to maintain goodness even while knowing the dismal future.
So, one thing, I must properly deny.
“I don’t need a soul. I’m a monster, but… what I need is only one thing.”
“Something you need?”
I nodded as I looked at Aurora.
“Warmth. I don’t want to sink alone into darkness, staring up at the night sky anymore.”
I expressed this only with my true feelings.
That warmth isn’t the kind you’re familiar with.
“I see.”
Aurora seemed to want to say something but swallowed it. Then she apologized for bothering me so late at night and left this place.
She returns to her room through a secret passage.
Aurora.
It could be dangerous if she becomes an enemy.
Since I have time, it might be better to restrain myself a little until she grows old and dies.
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