The Improved Dog Collar
Only after Yerin had left did I finally feel like I’d returned to this now-familiar abnormal routine, allowing me to drift off to sleep in peace. Of course, I still had to pry my eyes open while half-asleep because the Team Leader came by first thing in the morning.
“Ah, did you happen to know? The Field Team Leader carried you all the way here on her back.”
“The Field Team Leader… That’s a little embarrassing.”
Come to think of it, I think the Team Leader has carried me before too. I’d only ever been carried on my parents’ backs when I was little, so I’ve been experiencing all sorts of rare things now that I’m grown up.
“Also, regarding the student you mentioned. I looked into it separately, and there was indeed a kidnapping report filed at the local police station near that construction site.”
“…There was?”
I felt my chest tighten, worried something else bad had happened, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Apparently, the student asked the kidnapper—who had terrifying horns on his head—if they could go to the bathroom, then just ran away. The police thought the student was either joking or trying to make some kind of video content.”
“Ah…”
“And the next day, they went to school like normal.”
Kids these days are scary. So they just went to school the next day like nothing happened.
“We’ll probably need to do some memory-related cleanup soon, but it doesn’t seem urgent for now.”
“Either way… I’m glad.”
The kidnapper was so sloppy compared to the ability they possessed. I could understand why the police didn’t take the student’s statement at face value.
“Well then, shall we talk about the counseling? I just received this restraint device from Founder.”
What the Team Leader casually held up was unmistakably the ‘Dog Collar Mk.2!!’.
“It looks similar to the one that was on the space-type ability user we captured this time… They said to use it on the Fire Chicken? Could you explain it?”
It seemed they’d only been handed the item without any further explanation. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the mental image of the Team Leader standing there blankly after Founder tossed the collar and vanished with a grin.
“Actually…”
So I explained everything—from my request to Founder at the construction site where I’d been kidnapped, to the details about this restraint device, and what I planned to do going forward. I told her almost everything, from one to nine. Then I hesitated, leaving one last thing unsaid.
“Hmm…”
“Is something wrong?”
I didn’t want to say it if I could avoid it, but this was something I had to tell her while we were alone like this.
“Actually… ever since I woke up last time, I haven’t heard any voices in my head at all.”
The reason I hesitated so much was the fear that if my ability had suddenly disappeared, I wouldn’t be able to continue working as a counselor here. On top of that, the Team Leader had placed more expectations on my ability than anyone else.
“Ahh.”
Fortunately, the Team Leader didn’t seem to think it was a big deal.
“…That makes sense. You pushed the pain transmission right up to the dangerous limit back then. Usually, after overusing it like that, the ability gets cut off for anywhere from a day to a week.”
“So that means… whew… it’ll come back. Thank goodness.”
It was an ability I’d once found nothing but inconvenient—being unable to go to crowded places, hearing people’s inner thoughts I didn’t want to know. But now, I was genuinely grateful for it.
“Guess you can’t give up your hobby of secretly peeking into other people’s minds.”
“It’s not like that…! No, I’ll just let that slide.”
…I almost reacted perfectly to the Team Leader’s joke again. Since I didn’t take the bait, she didn’t press further either. Maybe it was just a lighthearted joke meant to cheer me up.
Instead, she gave me information I was hearing for the first time.
“In cases like this, the ability sometimes undergoes changes.”
“…Changes? To the ability?”
“I’m only saying such cases exist. ‘Enhancement’ might be a more accurate term than ‘change,’ but it’s not like the core structure shifts. We can just check it slowly over time.”
Ability enhancement. That combination of words was enough to make my heart race. She said the core structure wouldn’t change, so it wasn’t like I’d suddenly start shooting fireballs from my hands. Still, even if it was just a possibility… I was free to hope.
“Come to think of it, I don’t see Mini Undine anywhere.”
Pat pat. As I gently stroked the soft bundle of fur still sleeping under my left hand, I realized Nero was here, but Mini Undine had disappeared somewhere without me noticing. I wondered if she’d been sent back to her main body…
“Of course you wouldn’t see her. She’s already returned inside your body.”
“…Huh?”
Startled by those words, I sat up and began frantically patting my chest and stomach with both hands. Mini Undine? Inside my body? She came back… No, where exactly did she go in?
“I talked with the President. Since you’re more likely to be exposed to danger than before, we figured a little insurance wouldn’t hurt. So we decided not to touch Mini Undine for now.”
“Insurance… Undine?”
“Yes. As long as it’s not instant death, Mini Undine will save your life like this time. Think of it as a kind of symbiotic relationship.”
“Ah…”
Somehow, knowing there was something else inside my body left me feeling uneasy… But it was true that Mini Undine had saved my life this time, so I had no choice but to accept it. There was no discomfort or sense of foreign presence at all—it was as if I’d never heard about it. And according to the Team Leader, it was necessary for my safety.
Besides, from now on, I had to conduct counseling sessions with the two prisoners who had planned this incident and tried to kill us.
“…The two ability users we captured this time… Are they being held in the facility?”
“Of course. They caused quite the incident, after all. Even without that, there are no exceptions when it comes to dealing with prisoners marked with Stigma.”
“…”
“However,”
Now, perhaps a special exception could be made.
“…If your counseling yields meaningful results, there’s no need to take their lives.”
In other words, if I failed to produce meaningful results, the two prisoners would receive their predetermined punishment. But if it succeeded, then perhaps even prisoners marked with Stigma could have their lives spared from now on.
“Personally, I have high expectations for the outcome of this counseling session.”
“…Team Leader.”
“I won’t spare any support either, so just like you’ve done so well until now, trust your own judgment. I’m leaving it entirely to you.”
Not all of them could be called truly innocent, but there were those who became prisoners and received the indelible, cruel curse called Stigma simply for possessing abilities—for being anomalies. The Team Leader had been forced to take their innocent lives because there was no way to save them. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how that must have felt for her.
But I didn’t want to disappoint her when she was placing so much trust in me.
“…I’ll do my best.”
“Of course. That’s what your salary is for.”
“Hahaha…”
And someday, I wanted to take off that mask myself. I didn’t know if I’d be the one to tell her it was okay not to wear it anymore… But I hoped that future would come, no matter who said it. If we could correct all the wrongs and make the Team Leader pay the price she herself desired, then she would finally be able to remove that symbol of sorrowful hatred.
Having made that decision, there was no way I could keep lying in bed like a patient when I’d already gotten a good night’s sleep and my body felt fine. After going through that much and accomplishing something, I figured no one would complain if I stayed in bed for another day. But the thought of getting paid just for lying around made me feel like I’d pick up a bad habit. And with a one-month time limit already set, the timer wasn’t going to kindly stop just because I was tired.
“Nngh…”
But regardless of my motivation, my body had been lying down for too long. Just trying to stand made my joints creak and sent me stumbling pathetically.
“Pfft… Here.”
The Team Leader let out a short laugh at the sight and held out her hand. Feeling a bit embarrassed that it didn’t suit her at all, I still took her white-gloved hand firmly and pulled myself up.
“Well then, shall we go meet your fourth counseling subject together?”