Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Safeguard
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Yi Seo-ryeong and the rabbit sisters had gone back.
Visiting hours were over.
In truth, there hadn't been much time for visits in the first place.
I was scheduled to be discharged that very evening anyway.
I walked down the corridor with a staff member dispatched from the Association to handle the discharge paperwork.
"We're sorry. It was our oversight."
He had been bowing his head nonstop since we left the hospital room.
He said they'd been too lax in handling my safety.
Usually, security was airtight whenever I went to meet an Otherworlder.
But house calls to guilds were different—other guild members were always on standby right outside the door, so they hadn't anticipated any major issues.
"It's fine. It was unavoidable."
It had been a perfect planned crime: turning guild members into puppets, sending the hunters away, and bringing in outsiders.
No matter how thoroughly the Association had prepared, the outcome wouldn't have changed much.
Besides, I was the first Hunter Mental Counselor of my kind.
There probably wasn't a manual for the absurd scenario of a counselor getting kidnapped by a hunter.
Sure, there were similar cases on record... but they were far from common.
The staff member's expression grew even graver.
"From now on, we'll pay even closer attention to your safety during house calls."
I nodded.
But it wasn't just the Association that needed to prepare.
I felt the need to be more cautious myself from here on out.
The higher one's proficiency in handling mana, the more emotions amplify—and sometimes even erode the mind.
Most of my future clients would be blatantly suffering from that very phenomenon.
The more they depended on me...
...the less complacent I could afford to be that something like today would never happen again.
Of course, Baek Si-eun's case was different... She wasn't even a client, and I had to consider her homeworld's customs...
But I'd heard her story a few times and even counseled her, so it felt similar enough.
Come to think of it...
"What happened to Baek Si-eun, by the way?"
I'd asked Jin Sea,
'She'll be in for it hot.'
But that was all she'd say—she wouldn't tell me more.
To satisfy my curiosity, I turned to the Association staffer beside me.
"She'll be imprisoned."
His answer was firm.
Imprisoned meant she was at least alive.
"We've also arrested all the accomplices."
He went on to explain.
A large group of Otherworlder hunters from Hestia had been rounded up.
Among them was Ria, the guild master of the new guild Leaf.
The problem was their conditions at the time of capture—they were anything but normal.
Ria the hunter had full-body bruises and multiple fractures, like she'd fallen from the sky.
The other two showed severe mental corruption.
And the most important one, Baek Si-eun...
"She took Jin Sea's attack head-on."
No life-threatening injuries.
Jin Sea had clearly held back.
But both her mana wings had been completely burned off.
They would receive treatment while facing trial under the law.
I had no idea how the judgment would go, but life sentences at minimum were likely.
I didn't want to hear any more.
The Association staffer and I parted ways.
He offered to escort me personally, but I politely declined.
I needed time alone to sort my thoughts while walking.
Before I knew it, I was crossing a Han River bridge with the wind whipping through.
Jin Sea was probably being questioned at the Association right now.
She'd played the biggest role in rescuing me and would receive an official commendation for it.
But she'd have to sit through several more interviews for the procedural investigation.
Of course, no blame—just unavoidable protocol.
Apparently, not only Jin Sea but also Jahwa-yeon had helped in my rescue.
I'd need to thank her soon.
I stopped and leaned against the railing.
"Ah..."
My legs nearly gave out for a moment.
Until now, I'd been pretending to be okay...
But it definitely hadn't been a pleasant experience.
Years of dealing with hunters had toughened me against most threats.
If this had just been a regular kidnapping, I wouldn't be this shaken.
But the intent behind it was different.
They drugged me and locked me up to make me theirs.
If their response had been even a little slower or off...
Or if my mental fortitude had faltered just a bit...
Everything would have turned out completely different.
I might even be defending the kidnapping right now.
"Buddy."
With that in mind, I called out to the empty air—as if addressing someone there.
Another being that had saved me in this incident.
Even as I was losing consciousness, it had guided me on suppressing the drug's effects.
You must take deep breaths! The moment your breathing slows or breaks...
You must not waver! Maintain your focus...
How to breathe, what mindset to hold.
(✿˵•́ᴗ•̀˵)
The system responded not with words, but a shy emoticon.
"Thanks."
I let out a chuckle.
Then, something from earlier in the hospital room came to mind.
"Oh right, what was that update you mentioned earlier?"
It had vanished briefly, claiming a function update, then returned with cryptic messages.
( •̀ ω •́ )✧
I shall explain!
"Yeah, go ahead."
The status window began explaining with a confident expression.
The previous system was operating under the User Trust Protocol!
This protocol naively assumed the user could detect and avoid all dangers independently.
Ah, I see.
Which meant it had been wrong, ultimately.
I hadn't detected it. I hadn't avoided it.
Thus, this system felt great responsibility for the incident and has urgently implemented a new protocol: 'Safeguard'!
"So, what is that?"
Now, this system will detect potential threats in advance, undergo proper screening, and strongly recommend the most optimal action guidelines to the user!
Optimal action guidelines...
Probably the most suitable course for my safety, given the context.
But strongly recommend?
"Isn't that just nagging?"
Σ(°°)
No! This is the most efficient way to ensure the user's safety...
It protested indignantly.
"Got it."
I nodded with a chuckle.
It must have its reasons.
"......"
Wait a second...
Something caught my attention.
"Lately, the options you suggest... aren't always that great?"
?!
"What I'm saying is, some are good... but others are way out there. Like squeezing ears hard or becoming her husband..."
Sometimes I wondered if it was glitching.
I wanted to address those options while I was at it.
"So, no more pranks like that from now on?"
The satisfaction hadn't even shown properly, and the other options were always perfectly normal, so I'd assumed it was just playing tricks.
( ˶°°) !!
This system never plays pranks during consultations with sacred clients!
But its response was completely unexpected.
"What do you mean? The satisfaction doesn't even show up properly."
Not displaying clear satisfaction for those options is because their outcomes exceed the system's calculation range.
Thus, only the order of magnitude is estimated and displayed—they are genuine options, not pranks.
This was shocking.
"What's the point of options like that?"
I couldn't comprehend, so I asked again.
\_(▭-▭)✨
It adjusted its glasses with an emoticon and continued in a serious tone.
I shall reveal this system's absolute algorithm.
Principle 1: Prioritize the user's safety and goal achievement above all.
Principle 2: Prioritize resolving the client's deep desires and their safety.
Principle 3: If Principle 1 (user's intent) and Principle 2 (client's desire) collide head-on, the system calculates the 'total happiness' of all involved parties and presents the option yielding the highest value.
However, Principle 3 must never harm the user.
I stared at those words.
For example, the options you mentioned likely violate your ethics short-term but yield overwhelmingly higher 'total happiness' for all involved long-term.
(๑'• ֊ •'๑)੭
This system is obligated to present options yielding maximum efficiency for the user, regardless of your ethics. Choosing or ignoring them is entirely your freedom.
I will fully support you regardless of your choices.
I let out a hollow laugh into the air at that explanation.
"No... wait a minute..."
Standing in the middle of the bridge, I was stunned and couldn't move.
"So... those are never negative options?"
Of course!
(*,,ÒÓ,,)و
"I just can't believe it."
If desired, I can show fragments of the parallel world algorithm results predicted by the system!
"No thanks. I'm good."
I had no idea what it planned to show, but...
I passed.
"Alright, I get it. Thanks for explaining."
Confirming they weren't pranks was enough.
Those options were real, after all.
I'd probably never pick them, but...
Wait...
"...But what if a situation arises where you 'strongly recommend' that kind of option?"
[......]
Hey, where'd you go?
¯\_( ◉ 3 ◉ )_/¯
To be precise, I'm not sure!
"You wanna die?"
That was its final response.
Meanwhile, in the deepest special isolation ward of the Association hospital.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Baek Si-eun lay on a cold bed, her limbs bound by thick mana-suppressing restraints, letting out low groans.
Pain like her bones were melting.
It was the wound from taking Jin Sea's merciless lightning head-on.
But the physical agony was nothing compared to the humiliation driving her mad.
I'll kill them all.
That crazy bitch Jin Sea who did this to me. And that bastard Yoo Seon-woo who dared refuse to be my beta.
All of them.
'If only... if only my body recovers...'
Once her body healed, none of it would matter.
She was an A-rank supporter, after all.
One of the rarest in the country.
The Association, the nation—they wouldn't discard her lightly.
A light punishment at most.
"Just... you wait..."
Yes, just a little longer.
Play dead for a while, and she'd fade from memory.
Then, when security loosened...
That's when.
"Then I'll melt your brain for sure..."
This humiliation was temporary.
"No."
But then.
A woman's voice echoed.
Seductive and refined.
Yet this was a sealed room—no one could enter.
Baek Si-eun felt sudden bewilderment.
The silhouette of an unfamiliar woman appeared soundlessly from the darkness of the cold hospital room.
"Wh... who...?"
"No need to know. You'll forget it all anyway."
"Pardon...?"
Baek Si-eun unwittingly used polite speech.
Her body trembled with instinctive fear.
The woman approached slowly.
Then, her face emerged from the shadows.
Baek Si-eun's eyes widened slowly.
Their gazes met.
- Grind...
"Vile wretch. How utterly unworthy."
Baek Si-eun's teeth ground together.
"To dare... toward that one..."
"Guhk... guhk..."
A groan burst from Baek Si-eun's mouth.
Something massive violently probed her mind.
A-rank Mental Barrier 'Butterfly Therapy' resists S-rank Mental Destruction attack!
Resis... tance fa... il...
The system message cut off before finishing—her defenses shattered to pieces.
Baek Si-eun's eyes rolled back.
The unfamiliar woman turned away indifferently, as if it was over.
Through the hospital room window, vibrant green silk robes gleamed in the light.