The Dangers of Resonance
I emerged from the slick yet strangely cozy interior of Undine's belly and lay sprawled on the isolation room floor, feeling a peculiar ticklish sensation as the viscous fluid clinging to my body wriggled its way back to its original place.
That was delicious. Hehe…
I had no idea what exactly she had found so tasty, but the pain in my chest and wrist had vanished as if washed away. There hadn't been any visible wounds to begin with, so her method of healing clearly went beyond anything I could have imagined. She apparently judged even the clothes and accessories on my body as contaminants.
Ah, right. Clothes… I should get dressed first.
By the time I had gathered my neatly folded clothes from the floor and put them on, the Team Leader had returned as well. I glanced once toward her waiting at the door, then turned back to Undine and offered my thanks.
"I owe you again, Undine."
When I bowed my head in greeting, she responded by leaning her massive body forward, bringing her face close to mine and offering a gentle, warm-eyed smile. Of course, with her enormous frame nearly touching the ceiling, the motion made her body sway dangerously close, filling me with a sense of crisis—as though she might spill over me at any moment. Yet that single gesture was enough to confirm just how friendly her personality truly was.
"You recovered quite quickly."
I had plenty I wanted to say to the Team Leader, but she spoke first the moment we stepped into the corridor.
"Undine feels wonderful, doesn't she? So slippery… and she squeezes you so snugly from the inside."
"?!"
That was the kind of remark that could easily be misunderstood if anyone overheard. Then again, she was probably saying it on purpose.
"Haah…"
"The pain in your wrist and chest should be gone by now, right?"
"…Yes."
When I didn't rise to her provocation, the Team Leader swiftly moved on to the main topic. I nodded weakly. Then a sudden question occurred to me.
"…Team Leader, did you not need any healing from Undine yourself?"
After all, the pain I had felt was the same pain she had experienced. I had only shared the sensation; she had actually broken her own wrist.
…It was something I couldn't even begin to imagine doing.
"I was right beside you until you woke up, you know?"
"Huh…? What?!"
Her answer was far more unexpected than I had anticipated. Right beside me? …Inside Undine? With me?
To receive Undine's healing, one had to be completely naked. The Team Leader herself had told me that. Which meant… she had removed even the mask she always wore and lain completely bare right next to me?
Surprise, embarrassment, and shame all surged through me at once. Yet mixed in with those feelings was a subtle trace of regret—that I hadn't been able to see her face.
Ah, no. It wasn't that I regretted missing the chance to see her naked body. It was that I hadn't been able to glimpse the face hidden beneath that mask, the one I had always wanted to see.
After everything that had happened with Harpy—including that video—I wasn't particularly embarrassed about being seen naked again. But the fact that she had stayed so defenselessly beside me, not knowing when I might wake up…
Would it really have been a problem to just show me her face? If I asked her to reveal it now, wouldn't she agree?
I had never even considered asking her outright to show me her bare face. After all, the whole point of a mask was to hide one's features.
"Um, Team Leader."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Ah… never mind."
I stopped myself. I had just realized a painfully simple truth. Even if the Team Leader had no particular aversion to showing her face, the moment I asked, she would undoubtedly use it as an opportunity to tease me.
So you were that curious about what's under the mask? You wanted to see my face that badly?
She would probably counter with exactly that sort of question and then deliberately refuse to show me. Waiting for her to let her guard down naturally seemed far more promising.
"So… I'd like to hear what results came out of this experiment as well."
"Of course. But first, I have a question for you."
"A question…?"
The Team Leader placed both hands on my shoulders and leaned in until her mask was right in front of my face. By now I should have been used to that bizarre appearance, yet it still felt impossible to accept.
"Yes. At the moment you connected with me, what kind of will did you possess, Woong-ssi?"
"…What kind of will?"
"Anything at all—something you wanted to do, a desire, even a simple intention. Please tell me."
Well… I wasn't sure. Had I really wanted anything in that moment?
"…"
Wait. If it was about intention… I had slapped her cheek without hesitation and then asked if it hurt. What kind of person thinks like that? In the midst of that bewilderment, when she told me to use my ability, I had probably thought—out of sheer frustration—that I wished she could feel what I was feeling too.
"If you don't remember, shall we try again?"
"W-wait. I think I know. I think I remember!"
In the end, being dragged back to Laboratory 44 was unavoidable. This time, however, something was different. Beside the two chairs placed in the center of the room stood a table, and on it rested a long plate filled with bite-sized mini cakes and other desserts.
"…Couldn't we have just done it like this from the start?"
She explained that the desserts had been prepared to help align our emotional connection points. It seemed she had taken today's morning incident into account. Then why had I been slapped earlier…?
"Is that so? I simply prefer more straightforward methods. Taste may be subjective, but pain is not, wouldn't you agree?"
"…"
It was frustrating, but after learning firsthand what kind of pain she had felt when I shot her, I decided not to voice my complaints.
"The first thing we learned is that even if the connected person's body is damaged, you, Woong-ssi, do not suffer the physical effects. You feel the pain at full intensity, but as long as it doesn't result in shock-induced death, there shouldn't be any way for someone to maliciously harm you through this ability."
"…"
As she summarized and explained the findings, I began to understand why she had put me through that pain. My resentment gradually faded. After all, it had been the most reliable way to confirm the risks of my ability.
"The second finding is that the pain you felt was simultaneously transmitted to me as well. This seems rather dangerous… because it appears the effect can be amplified without limit."
"Amplified…?"
"Of course, the connection broke when your consciousness cut off, but if we achieve proper resonance, it seems we could infinitely amplify any emotion or sensation—as long as your mind can endure it."
In that case, it would also explain why, during that time with Harpy when they were trying for a child, the phenomenon occurred and we both climaxed like beasts before passing out…
"…"
They say ignorance is bliss, but since I couldn't stay ignorant, pretending not to know was the next best thing. Still, resonance… amplification? The idea that our shared sensations didn't merely overlap but stacked and grew larger sent a chill down my spine. Depending on what those sensations or emotions were, both the other person and I could end up in serious trouble.
"Don't worry too much. This experiment and training are precisely for preparing for and avoiding those risks."
"…I see."
"I believe the key is the desire for the other person to understand your feelings. Sharing a similar emotional state with the target appears to be a condition for strengthening the ability, much like how the Field Team Leader makes eye contact during hypnosis."
Even when I had been with Harpy, I hadn't realized I was using the ability—my mind had been too clouded by the excitement of my first time. Yet the Team Leader's guess didn't seem wrong. At that moment, I had genuinely wanted Harpy to understand how much I liked her and how good it felt. The same had been true this morning. While she had been eating the food I made, the ability had remained quiet. Only after I began eating myself and felt relieved that I had succeeded without mistakes did I wish she could taste it as deliciously as I did.
"Depending on how it's used, this could become a great help in future counseling sessions."
"…I see. That's a relief."
When she had mentioned possibly stopping the counseling, I had wondered if I might become unnecessary. Whether continuing the sessions was truly a good thing for me… I still wasn't sure. But regardless—
"And… in that sense, I've arranged for someone to assist with your training for the time being. Tsk."
Tsk? She had clearly clicked her tongue just now.
"I never expected to receive a formal request from you."
"…!"
There had been no sign of the laboratory door opening, and I hadn't noticed anyone approaching. Yet the moment I heard that sarcastic voice from right behind me, I reflexively made a ridiculous face right in front of the Team Leader. She, however, didn't seem to have the luxury of commenting on my expression.
That seductive voice. Yet there was something deeply displeased and unruly in her tone… There was only one person who fit. Moreover, the sweet yet dangerous fragrance that gently pushed aside the scent of the desserts on the table and seeped into my mind could only belong to the Field Team Leader.
"As always…"
When I turned my head, I saw the striking black hair and the vivid red lips that seemed to flaunt her confidence in her appearance. As expected, it was her. Of course, the Field Team Leader paid no attention to whether I was caught between them or not and continued her verbal sparring with the Management Team Leader.
"You call on team-leader-level personnel far too often. Well, someone like you who lounges around every day wouldn't know how busy the field really is."
"Haha… That's exactly why I made a formal request. I had no intention of summoning the busy Field Team Leader all the way here, but when it comes to dealing with mental attacks in our facility, you are the specialist."
The Management Team Leader tried to counter, but the gap in their positions seemed impossible to bridge.
"So in the end, you needed my help because you're so incompetent?"
"…That's right."
"Kuhuhu…"
Watching the Field Team Leader laugh in satisfaction after getting the answer she wanted, I couldn't help feeling as though I had done something wrong. From now on… I had a feeling the Team Leader's teasing was going to get much worse.
The Management Team Leader handed over the detailed training instructions to the Field Team Leader and moved to the observation room right next to the laboratory. She had planned to handle it herself—she had plenty of experience dealing with ability users—but the moment she felt the connection through his ability, she had immediately tried to block it, only for it to fail completely. She had ended up flustered by a phenomenon she had never encountered before.
"This is… quite humiliating."
Setting aside the question of why her unique ability—which had never once lost in terms of ability compatibility—had failed to work, the fact remained that he still couldn't voluntarily stop his ability's manifestation. Leaving it to a specialist was the most appropriate decision. Even if that specialist happened to be that vixen…
"Fufufu…"
The Management Team Leader's inscrutable, ominous laughter echoed through the observation room and lingered for a long time.