The Stigma's Command
"This... I'm already completely healed..."
"It's better to leave it as is. Here, let me re-tape it for you."
The Team Leader's hands felt ticklish as she carefully reattached the loosened tape over the gauze on my cheek and adjusted the cast on my broken arm. Even though it was time to enter the counseling room, I found myself unable to move, standing still in the hallway.
That stillness made me notice something different about the air inside the isolation room today.
"...The other staff members aren't here today."
"Yes. I can handle most situations on my own anyway. Everyone else is busy as well."
"I... suppose so."
I wondered if my reckless actions yesterday had angered them. The Team Leader gently tapped the gauze, but there was no pain beneath it—the skin was perfectly clean.
Yesterday, I had acted on impulse when blood rushed to my head, and I was suppressed and locked in the recovery room until the end of my shift. The one silver lining was that thanks to Mini Undine, my battered body had returned to normal without a single scar in no time. Still, there was no denying that my actions yesterday had gone against the direction the Team Leader had tried to give me.
"Yesterday... I'm sorry about that."
"Is there anything for you to apologize for, Ung?"
That was exactly why I had apologized, yet the Team Leader looked completely unfazed.
"What? But—"
"If anything, I should praise you. It probably means you've finally made up your mind."
"..."
Her words sounded somewhat abrupt, but something in her tone made me nod obediently.
"Right now, I'm more concerned about how deeply Mini Undine has seeped into your body."
"Ah, that..."
"If you feel any discomfort or sense of incongruity, tell me immediately."
When I perceived the iron bars and restraints binding her hands and feet as obstacles, the viscous liquid that rose from my palm instantly melted them away. Following the recent changes in my body, this was undoubtedly Undine's trait as well, so I worried whether I myself might melt away. However, since I couldn't hear Mini Undine's voice, I thought it would be best to meet Undine herself and hear the story directly.
"...Understood."
"Good. Then let's go."
Feeling the Team Leader's hand pushing against my back, I finally stepped into the counseling room.
No. 13 sat quietly on the edge of the bed, clutching the priest's robe I had draped over her shoulder yesterday. For a moment my eyes were drawn to her long, slender legs stretched out, but I quickly regained my composure before my gaze could wander further.
"..."
Just yesterday, this place had been recreated as the unpleasant underground prison of the Inquisition. Now, after the Founder's touch, it had returned to its former clean and tidy atmosphere. The Team Leader must have decided I could no longer continue counseling in the same way.
I let out a long sigh of relief inwardly. The room was mostly the same as before, except the one-way mirror that had occupied one wall was gone... and why had the bed changed from a single to a double?
"...I'm here."
"..."
Despite the small things bothering me, I gathered my courage and spoke to her. Using honorifics after so long felt strangely awkward. Hearing my voice, her dazed head slowly turned toward me.
I had hoped that being freed from that cramped prison might bring some change to her, but her utterly shattered heart wouldn't recover so easily. The brazen, confident, and arrogant demeanor she had shown in this very place just a week ago was nowhere to be found. Even though the room had changed and the restraints on her hands and feet no longer bound her, she still sat motionless on the bed with the eyes of a prisoner trapped behind bars.
"First... would you mind changing into these clothes?"
As proof, the white short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts had been placed neatly on the table before I arrived, yet she hadn't touched them. Even though I had draped the priest's robe over her shoulders, the front remained wide open, so my gaze still had to confront her sensual body after nearly a week of starvation. I wanted her to change first, but—
Swish...
"..."
"..?!"
When I approached to hand her the clothes, her hand rose and gently caressed the gauze on my cheek. The texture felt unfamiliar, perhaps because of the burn scar, but I could unmistakably sense her emotions in the gesture. For the first time, her body touching mine wasn't an attempt to attack me.
"I... what is this?"
"..."
She still gave no answer, and I couldn't hear her inner voice either, but a sense of direction had returned to her dull red eyes that had once held no life. Her gaze remained pitifully lifeless, yet she was now deliberately taking someone into her field of vision. Seeing that, I found myself pulling her into a tight embrace before I even realized it. I only felt sorry that I couldn't wrap both arms around her because of the cast.
"...I'm sorry. Truly, from the bottom of my heart... I did something unforgivable to you."
"...Ah."
Whether it was simply a sigh from being squeezed in my embrace or something else, I continued my impulsive apology while hoping for any kind of reaction.
"When I first read your file, I was confused. No matter how much your environment forced that atmosphere on you... I still said it wasn't something that could be forgiven."
As the Team Leader had said, I hadn't been able to make up my mind until now—whether it was right for me to try to save her. But when I saw her falling apart, and when I saw her submissive, almost servile appearance that seemed like a completely different person, I couldn't help but think: If I were in the exact same situation, could I have protected my own heart?
It wasn't only her who was affected when that situation was recreated, even if not in reality. Once I saw the truth with my own eyes, I realized that anyone in her position would have done anything. Once I thought that, I could no longer blame her.
"Now... I can no longer blame you. I'm truly sorry. Even apologizing like this, so late and only with words... I'm really sorry."
"..."
Now that I could no longer blame her even in my heart, I could no longer give my actions any vague justification or rationalize them. That was why I had acted that way yesterday, and why I now felt this remorse toward her.
Swish... swish...
Because I had suddenly embraced her, her arm that had been caressing my cheek ended up awkwardly caught between us, but it began to move again. Even though the position looked uncomfortable, she continued stroking my face as if it didn't matter.
"...."
"..."
"Does it... hurt a lot?"
"..!"
And finally, I heard her voice. A slightly cracked, pitifully trembling voice. Her original way of speaking would probably be more comfortable for her, but... that would be difficult. After all, it was because of what I had done.
"Ah, no. It doesn't hurt anymore."
"..."
"..?"
I answered quickly, grateful just to hear her voice, but no further conversation followed, leaving her intention unclear. I didn't even know if she found it unpleasant that I was still holding her... Right, I should change her clothes first, so I needed to pull away for a moment. I couldn't leave her like this—
Squeeze...
"..Ah?"
But that thought remained just a thought. Her other arm wrapped tightly around my waist and refused to let go. ...And she was incredibly strong.
"Hey... now... ugh."
Her arm squeezed my waist so hard it hurt, forcing me to drop the clothes I had been holding onto the bed. In an instant the situation reversed—I was now the one being forcibly embraced. She was sitting on the edge of the bed while I leaned down to hold her, so when she pulled me, my body inevitably tilted forward.
"..Hah?"
Finally losing my footing, I fell against her, first feeling the pleasant sensation of her large, soft breasts pressing against my chest, followed by the vivid sensation of her sensual naked body. The strength drained from my body all at once.
Thud.
"..."
"..."
This time we fell onto the bed with me on top of her, and neither of us said a word. Even through the in-ear device, I couldn't hear the Team Leader's voice. Surely even this situation... was acceptable?
I wanted to get up, but her arms held my waist so tightly it hurt, making it impossible. Feeling the unmistakable female body beneath me, I desperately tried not to let strange thoughts arise. Why did they have to prepare a double bed of all things... No, was it on purpose?
"..."
Yet for some reason, the words "let me go" never left my mouth. Was this... selfish desire? That... shouldn't be...
"Could I... ask you for one favor?"
"Yes? Yes, of course."
"..."
Perhaps because the question came after such a long silence, I answered without thinking and agreed without conditions, but I didn't think she would make any difficult request in her current state.
"Then... will you... hold me?"
"What, that... Of course I can..."
Even though I had already embraced her once in the heat of emotion, and even now we were holding each other quite closely, I felt my face grow warm as I carefully wrapped my uncased arm around her shoulder. However—
"..."
The way she looked up at me suggested that wasn't what she meant. Her eyes seemed to demand something more.
"Is this... not it?"
At my bewildered reply, her hand that had been gently stroking my face slowly slid down my neck. And when that hand finally popped open the top button of my shirt, I finally understood what she meant by "hold me."
"So that I can feel... that I'm receiving your favor... please leave... plenty of marks on this body. Could you...?"
"...That's, no, why...?"
I didn't understand how the conversation had taken this turn, and the fact that a bed had been prepared right at this moment made me certain the Team Leader was still hiding something from me.
"Really... is it not allowed?"
"..."
I felt like I couldn't breathe. Her red hair spread messily across the bed, her defenseless face looking up at me with weary eyes that had lost their sharp edge, ruby-like pupils that seemed ready to shatter at any moment. I already knew from seeing her body multiple times that it had the shape to fully satisfy a man, and now I could feel that sensation as well.
"Why..."
Why, after only a single day, had things come to this? Confused, I could only repeat the question like a parrot. If only I could hear her true feelings, I could decide whether to pull away or accept her request, but the voice in her heart right now was like thirst. She was anxious and suffering. She wanted favor, but her goal wasn't affection—it was reassurance.
Clank.
While I hesitated, I heard the sound of something heavy being released along with a cool metallic noise. The improved dog collar—the restraint that had been suppressing her ability—had come undone.
"...!"
A new question—"Why?"—intruded into my mind. She didn't seem to have noticed that her ability had been released yet, but knowing this sent a chill down my spine, wondering when flames might erupt.
"W-wait..."
The plea to wait slipped out unconsciously.
"Agh... ahh... ah... hah... hah..."
"?!"
Her reaction that followed gave me one hypothesis.
"Ugh... it hurts... ah... hah... hah..."
Like a dog suffering from heat, she stuck out her tongue and panted in pain. A cross-shaped scar on her bright red tongue glowed faintly as if holding an ember. The light only faded after she released her arms from around my waist while struggling in agony.
"That's... a stigma?"
Come to think of it, even though I had been facing her naked body this whole time, I hadn't found her stigma in any of the common locations the Team Leader had mentioned. I never imagined it would be engraved on her tongue... but more important than that was the fact that her restraint hadn't been released without reason.
I remembered clearly. She had said she received the command not to look at men, and right now she had clearly violated it. So the reaction should have come the moment she embraced me... No, could it be...
According to the Founder... had the authority to command the stigma already been transferred to me? If that were true, it would also explain her reaction to my earlier instruction.
"..."
The priest's robe that had been barely hanging on after her thrashing had completely come undone, fully exposing her naked body under the bright lights.
"Hah... hah..."
Looking down at her sprawled on the bed with the eyes of a wounded puppy, still sticking out her tongue and waiting for the pain to subside—
"—I suppose yesterday's beating was more effective than I thought—"
I finally heard the Team Leader's voice through the in-ear device.