Chapter 10

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: penny

Chapter: 10

Chapter Title: PIN

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning.

The rain that had been pounding against the window all night had stopped as if by magic.

Brilliant sunlight, unseen for so long, poured into the counseling room through gaps in the clouds.

I sipped a cup of warm coffee as I reviewed the events of the previous night.

"My first session..."

It had been a success, without a doubt.

That was my conclusion.

In the first place, Jahwa-yeon wasn't mentally ill.

She was simply isolated amid fanatical subordinates and those blinded by lust for power.

A classic case of one's environment constricting the individual.

So what I'd done wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anything extraordinary.

I'd simply clarified her situation and given her the conviction to back up the decision she'd already made in her heart.

I had no doubt she would become an excellent ruler going forward.

Even if the process was a bit extreme, she would at least guide the cult down the right path.

That was what I chose to believe.

"...Huh?"

Ability.

This refers to the unique skills hunters acquire after awakening.

I'd thought I didn't have one.

But apparently, I did.

It was the ability to pin a target I'd examined with my counseling powers and monitor them remotely.

I tested it out by pinning Jahwa-yeon.

She's sleeping soundly.

This... is way better than I expected.

Now I can check on and care for important patients from afar.

"Hold on."

Amid my joy, a faint unease crept in.

Being able to manage patients remotely was undoubtedly a huge advantage.

But... from another angle...

"Isn't this basically stalking?"

I gave a wry smile and scratched my head.

Well, I wouldn't peek unless it was important.

The downside was the single slot.

There was also a 12-hour cooldown to switch pins.

Still, awakening a new ability was great news.

I'd thought it was impossible for me.

I stood up, stretching with a satisfied yawn.

7 a.m.

The sun was blazing, but dark circles weighed under my eyes.

I hadn't made it home.

While talking with Jahwa-yeon, I blinked and it was dawn.

Thanks to her Heavenly Demon physique, she'd left looking full of energy.

And now she was in a deep sleep.

"She'll come back."

I had no idea why, though.

Wasn't everything resolved?

Good thing tomorrow was the weekend... Just endure today and the week was over.

Dragging my zombie-like body, I headed to the small kitchenette fridge attached to the counseling room.

Jahwa-yeon had devoured endless brownies I'd baked overnight.

I always stocked sweet snacks for patients...

I opened the fridge door.

"Hmm..."

An empty egg carton greeted me.

Not a single egg left—the key ingredient.

She really doesn't hold back.

I craned my neck to check the clock.

7:15 a.m.

The counseling center officially opened at 9 a.m.

The department store's grocery section across the street opened at 8.

If I hurried to wash up and head down, I could shop at opening and be back before 9 to prep.

No time to waste.

Saving hunters' minds was great, but no eggs for baking? Unacceptable.

"So, for you, a guild with heavy performance pressure might not be ideal... You'd be better off somewhere more relaxed, where you can receive proper treatment."

"I see..."

"Yes. Of course, some thrive on that competition for motivation... But for you, it could become immense stress. It's not that either is bad—just the wrong fit, like ill-suited clothes."

I neatly dotted the i on the last page of the report.

"Burnout syndrome from internal competition..."

The patient left with a far more relaxed expression than when they'd arrived, bowing deeply.

"Thank you... Counselor."

"You're welcome. Take care."

-Click

"Whoa..."

A hollow laugh escaped me.

As soon as the door closed, I sank deep into my chair, pressing my throbbing temples.

The waiting room was visible through the crack in the door.

They say bad luck comes all at once.

Today's Friday patients outnumbered the entire week from Monday to Thursday.

I was barely holding on with black coffee, eyes hollow, head spinning.

In my worst condition ever, the busiest day hit.

-Whirr

I brewed another coffee and quietly opened the door.

"Next patient, please come in."

With those words, my sense of time blurred.

A C-rank tankering over guild transfers.

A B-rank mage haunted by dungeon failure trauma.

Even a retired hunter suffering PTSD.

Dozens poured in and out of my tiny office.

I chugged coffee nonstop, peering into their minds, analyzing, prescribing.

I blankly watched the sunlight outside turn to sunset, then darkness.

How much time passed?

I finished the last report almost mechanically and pressed the intercom.

"Next patient, come in..."

"......"

No response.

Maybe...?

"...Next patient?"

Still nothing.

Finally over?

I staggered to my feet like a crawler and lurched to the door, opening it.

Empty.

The dark waiting room was silent.

I sighed in relief and moved to close the door—

"......"

Right by the counseling room door, in the blind spot when it opened: a chair in the corner.

An odd sense of wrongness there.

The space shimmered like heat haze.

Something... something's there.

I closed my eyes, then opened them.

A system window popped up.

C-rank? That's manageable.

My eyes are pretty sharp.

At least up close, few things escape my notice.

Unless it's S-rank.

The noise rippled, revealing her form.

A woman sat there silently, shadow-like.

Surreally white hair with a red streak at the roots.

Pale cheeks without a trace of color, vacant red eyes.

"...Otherworlder."

Obviously one.

These types stand out—like they'd leaped from a fairy tale.

Realizing her stealth was broken, she startled, patting herself down.

"Wha...? Huh?"

Her cloaking had failed.

She looked incredulous.

I asked softly.

"Are you... a patient?"

"Ah... No...! I was just...!"

She shrieked, bolted up, and fled the office.

Too fast for my eyes to track.

I watched her go, mind racing.

"What the...?"

Theoretically, that's the deepest seat. You'd have to arrive very early.

Unless she moved deliberately...

So she agonized there cloaked?

Enter or not?

I widened my eyes again.

Her status window appeared.

Chills ran down my spine as I read it.

"Damn it...!"

I kicked off and dashed down the hall.

But she was gone.

"Ha..."

Lost her.

"Luna... Luna."

Her face was familiar... I should've recognized her.

She's an Otherworlder.

An Otherworlder's estimated rank is naturally S.

No way I could catch an S-rank hunter at full sprint.

Then it hit me like lightning.

"Right. PIN."

I frantically summoned the system window.

No time to hesitate.

I immediately unpinned Jahwa-yeon.

And then.

"Luna."

"......"

I narrowed my eyes, reading the updated window.

So her pride was hurt because I spotted her cloaking?

Feels kinda bad...

It was only C-rank anyway.

And her specialty wasn't even magic, as far as I knew.

"Well, whatever."

She's mentally shaken, but the PIN says no major issues.

Anyway, Luna's with Union Guild.

And my first house call is to Union.

"See you next week."

Like it or not, we'll meet again.