Risk Level 7: Dorothy (1)
Scarlet complained of a sore back, washed up, didn't even bother dressing properly, and dove straight under the covers. I decided to leave her be for now. I somehow made it to the afternoon counseling session on time, but Dorothy's gaze was really bothering me.
"...."
She must have heard everything. From night until late dawn, and even this morning after waking up until I came here—it was intense enough that it would have been stranger if she hadn't heard. Yet the emotion flickering in Dorothy's dark purple eyes was more like longing, or envy...? It was far better than outright disapproval, but something about it felt off.
"About a week left, I suppose..."
"...?"
"No, just talking to myself."
The thick, metal-like improved dog collar still hung around Dorothy's neck. If she clearly remembered any of Gabriel's orders, I could try guiding her into breaking them herself the way Scarlet had, but I still wanted to talk to her properly first. Of course, it was awkward for me to speak to her first in this situation.
The hot spring staff were bound to have heard the noise, so why hadn't I considered that Dorothy in the next room would hear it too? I was inwardly frustrated, but thankfully Dorothy spoke first.
"Counselor... did you punish Scarlet?"
".. Huh?"
It was an unexpected question, especially coming from her. Punish her... Well, if we took it in a different sense, maybe it made sense. The sounds of flesh slapping together and Scarlet's cries and moans must have made it sound that way. The physical relationship I had glimpsed between Dorothy and Scarlet through my ability had only been one-sided service and one-sided teasing—nothing mutual like that. So it was possible she had misunderstood and thought I was punishing Scarlet.
"... Yeah... I guess."
When I returned to the room earlier, I had told her Scarlet wasn't feeling well and was resting. If Dorothy had sorted the hierarchy in her mind as herself < Scarlet < Counselor, then that look in her eyes made sense. Letting her keep the misunderstanding might not be so bad...
"Won't you punish me too?"
"Cough, cough...!"
"Counselor...?"
I was caught off guard by the sudden question. Really surprised.
"Why would I have any reason to punish you..."
I answered quickly, thinking it was a joke, but Dorothy wasn't joking.
"But I locked up so many people and put them in danger. Including you, Counselor."
"Ah..."
She was still thinking about the first time I went out into the field... She really hadn't let that go. Clearly, saying it was just because she followed Scarlet's orders wouldn't help ease her mind much.
"I can't say you had no fault in that incident, but Scarlet has already been punished for it, including that part."
"So... until lunch... like that..."
"Ah... yeah."
It was especially hard to talk to her about this because she looked so young. Her body had the curves of an adult woman, but she was thin, and even shorter than Yerin, who fit neatly in my arms. She probably didn't even reach 160 cm. Maybe it was because she couldn't eat or exercise properly during her growth period, but the weight I'd managed to put on her by feeding her well was only this much. Her face was tiny too... and with the recent fullness in her cheeks, her timidly pursed lips and constantly wary, frightened eyes especially triggered my protective instincts.
... No, this won't do.
"More importantly, have you thought about it? I don't want you following those orders from the other side that put everyone, including yourself, in danger anymore."
"..."
"If you have nowhere to go, then I..."
"I'm sorry, after all."
My first choice was persuasion. Unlike Scarlet, Dorothy had been very receptive to conversation. But she gave me a straight refusal, saying she was sorry.
And the reason was always the same.
"I'm... a sinner."
"No, you're not! You're..."
"..."
The biggest reason was that she saw herself as a prisoner who deserved to be locked up and controlled. As long as she believed she had a great sin she had to atone for, I couldn't expect her sincerity to let her come over to our side.
"Hmm, sorry. Did I startle you?"
"It's... okay."
So instead of outright denying it, I needed to find a reason she could accept herself. Right now, her suffocating sincerity—waiting all day for a hostage she had kidnapped who said they were going to the bathroom and never came back—was my greatest enemy. Could I find a reason she would accept within a week?
Scarlet had definitely mentioned brainwashing. Stripping someone naked, exposing their private parts, bringing them down to the lowest point, and then overlaying a new personality. Taking away clothes—which were a means of showing status—and even underwear to trample on their dignity made their sense of self fade in extreme situations, making them suitable for brainwashing. It made them firmly believe that receiving such treatment was natural and that obeying orders above all else was only right because they were sinners.
In Scarlet's case, her unique insincerity had let her escape the brainwashing early, following orders only for herself, and since I could provide a substitute, I was able to win her heart.
"..."
On the other hand, Dorothy was so sincere that she wanted to pay for her sins sincerely. The one saving grace was that, thanks to her ignorance, I could still teach her new things about matters she hadn't been ordered on yet. It was probably because, as Scarlet said, she had been controlled more strictly than other prisoners as a test subject, and this was her first time out.
For example, eating delicious food didn't require going through something painful, she could sleep when she wanted and wake when she wanted, she didn't need permission to wash her body, and if she was hungry she could just tell me instead of enduring it... Things like that.
Because she had only been under natural control due to an environment where basic needs weren't properly provided rather than through direct orders, I could barely trick her sincerity. But when it came to clear orders—like having to obey Scarlet's commands without fail—Dorothy, who had come here with that order...
Wait a second.
"Ah..."
She had to obey Scarlet's orders without fail... Couldn't I use that? After all, yesterday she had completely shed her prisoner status.
Once the thought reached that point, I could fill my empty evening schedule with overtime.
"Haa... I lost again."
That evening, like that...
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Why are you apologizing? Should I have really practiced yesterday..."
I barely managed to persuade Scarlet, who was still clinging to the blanket saying her legs were weak and rambling about freedom, to bring her to my room where Dorothy was. Of course, since it was her, it wasn't persuasion by words but by tongue.
Today too, Scarlet picked up the Joker card like a ghost and, after losing, glared at the clown drawn on it as if remembering someone she really didn't like, then sighed deeply and put the cards away. I had already put everything down and stepped back to prepare the snacks—well, they had become late-night snacks by now—when Scarlet slid up beside me and hugged my arm tightly.
"Scarlet?!"
She was wearing clothes, but the yukata fabric was so thin and she wasn't wearing underwear, so the soft, warm sensation of her chest pressed deeply against my arm came through almost directly. But I barely managed to steady my mind. I figured there had to be a reason for this behavior unless she was suddenly in heat.
"Hey, Counselor... does it really have to be today?"
And sure enough, there it was. Even though she had thrust her chest forward and the yukata had slipped open enough to show the kiss marks I had worked so hard to leave while pulling her out from under the covers, I closed it again and firmly turned my head forward.
"It's not a problem that can be put off by delaying it. And you promised, right? If you keep your promise, then I can try to keep mine too."
When I didn't easily fall for the temptation of her chest, I thought I heard a small tongue-click from beside me, but anyway, Scarlet was insincere about most things but more sincere than anyone when it came to matters concerning herself. So I believed she would keep her promise.
"Then, could I ask for just one drink? No, just one bottle?"
"I want to say no, but... if it helps, then on the condition that you drink in moderation."
A sigh almost escaped at the thought that she needed alcohol to apologize, but I had actually brought a bottle. Not because I was going to drink it, but since this wasn't a formal counseling time anyway...
"... But if I keep the promise, you'll do it today too?"
"...?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
Well, with her saying "today too," I understood right away, but...
"We did it yesterday... No, you said your back hurts."
"Yeah, it's definitely uncomfortable to get into position in the bath. And it's also because you keep ramming into me so hard."
"Ugh..."
"Still, I want to. Instead of from behind, want to try a different position today?"
... I had told her I liked lewd women too, but I didn't expect her to ask so boldly so soon. What if Dorothy heard?
"If you sincerely apologize, then my view of you will change a lot too."
"Is that so..."
At this point, I needed to help her set aside her useless pride, at least during the apology. So that this apology could also be for her own sake.
We sat around the table together. Scarlet drank, while Dorothy and I had drinks and snacks, enjoying a few more games. Once the atmosphere had loosened up a bit with delicious food and the new board games I had prepared today, I slowly wrapped up the games and put everything away except for the roulette wheel I had just used, placing it in the center of the table.
"Um... Counselor, this..."
"Ah, thanks. But I still have a use for it."
Thinking I had forgotten it, she kindly picked it up with both hands and handed it to me. I accepted it and placed the roulette back in the center of the table, reminding myself once more of the task I had to accomplish tonight.
"I wonder if everyone knows what a truth game is."