The Outer God Needs Warmth

I woke up.

Strictly speaking, it means the body I’m in woke up.

My consciousness has been trailing Joanna all along. She’s doing exactly what a person who just gained power from a book does.

Realizing her power, she comes to the understanding of all that can be done with it. And as she begins to see what she could become, a bit of greed starts to bubble up.

It’s like watching a reincarnator.

Could I be feeling the same?

I’ve got power now, right? Pretending to follow the rules while actually worshipping power without considering the narrative? A munchkin.

I like munchkins.

Because they do whatever they want.

The person rolling the game board and the players might despise it, but can anything else give you dopamine like pure strength?

On top of that, after receiving power from the entity that grants it, surpassing that being feels so damn good.

But I don’t mind.

As long as I can keep getting warmth, I don’t care if the person who got power from me becomes a mass murderer or a hero.

What I want is a factory simulation, not an RPG.

So let’s set a goal. First, I need more harvesting periods. After being pushed into the faint light, bright and warm light was given to me.

Couldn’t that mean I harvested warmth using resources?

I sat up from the altar I’d been sleeping on. Then I took off the fluffy hat I was wearing on my head.

sfx: whoosh

It melted away like dark purple smoke and vanished. The hat.

I’m not sure whether it’s my power or if I am power itself, but I need to figure out how this moves.

Main goal: Increase harvesting periods

Secondary goal: Confirm my power

In a place where no one is around, the first thing I can do is confirm my power. I’m trying to change my clothes. There are a few outfits in Rebecca Rolfe’s mind that I wear when going to important places.

Just a little.

If I push myself into Rebecca Rolfe again, cracks form on my skin, and dark purple mist starts to seep out. It’s not actually breaking; it’s just how it’s expressed.

Anyway, I can control it to come out just a bit slower than before. The dark purple mist slowly envelops my body, transforming my pajamas back into dark purple mist. Once naked, I put on an outfit featuring a thick, sturdy brown jacket.

It’s definitely not seasonal clothing.

The girl known as Rebecca Rolfe was likely wearing short sleeves when her family was murdered and she got kidnapped.

It hasn’t been long, so it’s summer.

I want to express that I’m not very intelligent, but wearing off-season clothes makes me look like a fool with various styles.

Something more… how do I say it?

A white dress? Wouldn’t that work?

Oh. It did.

The back is deeply cut, but the skirt is somewhat long and it’s a dress that accentuates the body nicely. Huh? Did this dress exist?

Hmm. I don’t think it did, but since it’s here, I’ll take it.

Overall, it’s pretty, so it’s fine. More than feeling like I’m wearing it, it feels like I’m decorating an object I’m controlling, so pretty is good.

You pick female characters in games, right?

Sure, it feels like the body is strangely constraining, but I don’t feel like I’m in women’s clothing at all. I might’ve been a guy originally, but all those sensations have faded into nothing.

If anything, it’s cold.

Still.

The chill creeps deep into my spine, making it very, very cold, and it only seems to get colder endlessly.

If this were a real body, there would be a point where it gets too cold and starts to feel hot. Or else, there’d come a moment where I feel not just cold but pain.

But none of that is happening.

Maybe it’s not really getting endlessly cold.

But that’s how I feel.

And that’s what matters.

The fact that I feel that way. So I crave more warmth.

It doesn’t matter that my outfit is feminine, that I have a female body, or that I can see Joanna Smith and Rebecca Rolfe’s bodies at the same time.

So the dark purple mist seeping from my body transforming into all sorts of things is satisfying enough.

At least I don’t have to worry about what to wear.

The secondary goal is complete.

Now it’s time to return to the primary goal of increasing harvesting periods.

But it’s been a while since I woke up, and Hieronymus hasn’t shown up yet?

Shall we summarize Joanna Smith in the meantime?

The first harvesting period upgraded one rank overnight. In terms of patterns, I was among the second circle of those I saw on the first day.

The room changed, the items changed, and I completely checked my transformed self through a clean mirror. Without sleeping, I kneeled and put my hands together, saying nothing and praying.

And just now, Hieronymus walked in.

He gave me the task of taking care of me. Then he led Joanna to some room. He introduced it as the place for taking care of me.

An empty room. But right where Joanna’s gaze landed, something strange was hanging. It looks disguised like a decoration in the room, but Joanna felt uneasy seeing it. But she didn’t point it out verbally.

With her eyes downcast, she hides her anger and suspicion. I’m not sure if Hieronymus noticed that, but that situation ended without incident. After that, Joanna comes over to me.

In the meantime, I’d been sitting quietly on the altar, waiting.

Hieronymus opened the door to the room I was in after passing through a long corridor. At the same time, a big man with a tattooed face entered from my direction.

“Hello.”

So, I greeted him first.

“Hello. I wonder how you spent the night. We are here to escort you to the prepared room now.”

You were actually watching, weren’t you? But there’s no need to mention it. I stepped down from the altar and approached him.

“I need food. The body of a living creature is strange.”

It’s a bid to hint that I’m not human while also stating the need to follow the rules of living beings. The moment I eat, the unknown will fall to the state of an animal that still requires food.

Can’t you catch the faint image that you might be able to kill me? Very faintly, there was a murderous look that flickered in the expression.

Heh heh.

Unfortunate are those who see the expressions of those who want to kill them.

I have countless memories of instinctively reacting to that expression. Too many to even count. So I can see it.

I licked for warmth a lot.

“Then I will have the caretaker prepare your meal. Let’s go, Rebecca Rolfe.”

Shouldn’t I extend my hand there? But knowing how the person connected to me changes, they probably don’t want to touch me.

I followed Hieronymus out of the special prayer room.

Yes. According to Joanna Smith, this is a place where high-ranking individuals pray. It’s likely a place to train Hieronymus’s elite.

This cult might be where I need to reach my ultimate tech. Though Hieronymus could kick me out beforehand!

But he’s not an enemy yet.

Yet.

In this class society, there can only be one leader, so if I want to set up a warmth-absorbing factory by increasing harvesting periods, I must first either recruit the one who’s already claimed the position or eliminate them, right?

Good thing he’s part of a cult, so I wouldn’t feel guilty no matter how he dies.

A regular person might have felt a twinge of guilt.

But this place is filled with evil people. Sure, everyone has a sad past, but this is just a place they couldn’t escape no matter how hard they tried.

Yes.

Even if it’s cold, it doesn’t matter if you’re a good and nice person, even if it’s a truly pure religion that saves everyone, please work for my sake.

Thinking this, as I stepped outside with Hieronymus, Joanna, who was waiting at the entrance, hurriedly bowed her head upon seeing me.

And without saying much, she naturally fell in behind me. The three of us headed toward the room prepared by Hieronymus.

Along the way, there were only five people.

And all of them were high-ranking officials from the first circle. Three men, one woman, and one dog-headed fellow.

Dog-headed!

Speaking of which, there are beastfolk-like races in this world. They don’t really fit in the upper or lower sections of society; it’s more like the difference between whites and blacks in the world I know. Of course, there is discrimination.

But it can’t be absent.

As living beings, not having ways to differentiate oneself from others is impossible.

More simply, can they be eaten, or can they eat? That’s the fundamental programming to differentiate.

I do have a desire to push myself in later and ruffle their fur. There’d surely be plenty of warmth there.

Thinking that, I stepped into what was called my room. Before my eyes, something ominous was attached to the ceiling, emanating a strong aura.

So, Hieronymus is a potential enemy.

Had I let my guard down a bit more, I might not be so wary.

But because he is such a person, he must have expanded this cult until he could summon me.

I quietly entered and sat on the luxurious sofa inside. Then I looked at Hieronymus and said.

“Please prepare my meal. Also, I need warmth.”

“Warmth? Should I bring clothes?”

As I said this, Joanna walked toward the drawers inside but couldn’t get there because Hieronymus stopped her.

“You should prepare the meal. And the warmth this individual is referring to is not such warmth. You’ll see for yourself in a moment.”

Joanna nodded and then went outside. Judging by her direction, she seems to be heading for the kitchen. Before the swelling of her skin, Joanna also worked in the dining area.

Turning the perspective back, I looked at Hieronymus in front of me.

Now, it’s time to talk about what to do next with Hieronymus.

“Hieronymus. Can I use my power?”

In response to this question, Hieronymus replied.

“Yes. If possible, could you create a lot?”

Oh ho.

I want to yell “All of it!” fast here, but I’ll take my time a little longer. I need time to lick each one while getting to know this world.

“I think I can manage five or six a day, like Joanna. But if luck runs out, it might explode.”

Hieronymus pondered, and after calculating, he nodded.

“When I ask in the future, you can do that.”

“Yes. I will do it, Hieronymus.”

The harvesting production plan has been established.

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