Galaxy (2)

Mental issues are truly awkward to talk about with someone. It was the same on Earth. Not to mention the medieval era where psychological problems were blamed on demons, even in modern times with advanced neuropsychology.

In this Otherworld where mental illness had literally become a cheap joke, there weren't many people you could consult about mental health problems.

Naturally, I thought there was no one to talk to about issues related to that.

"Dojin-nim, lately there's been a shadow on your face... Do you have any worries?"

"......Pion."

"Please consult me about anything! I have a guild-certified 1st Grade Psychological Counselor License, you know."

"─What did you just say?"

There was. Someone like that.

"Uh, uh? D-Do, Dojin-nim?"

Pion, whose hand had been grabbed, blushed and muttered that they weren't at that stage yet. Dojin didn't pay any attention to what she was saying and asked back.

"Psychological counseling?"

"Ah...... Did you perhaps not know? It's a program prepared for adventurers......"

"Explain in detail."

"Ah, yes."

According to Pion's explanation, in the old days, there were many adventurers who, even after retiring, couldn't forget their battles with monsters and caused disturbances on the streets.

From the Adventurer Guild's perspective, retired adventurers causing chaos and damaging the adventurers' reputation was something that absolutely had to be prevented.

Thus, the guild had researched the reasons why adventurers went berserk and ways to stop it.

'This is exactly like psychology......?'

Dojin was under one misunderstanding. He thought that the fantasy inhabitants, who were utterly primitive about the nature of the mind—discovered only in the 20th century on modern Earth, excluding magic—couldn't possibly know about it.

That magic was the problem.

This Otherworld had magic. Magic is the act of tuning the world with one's will and mind.

Naturally, when it came to the mind, there were far superior insights compared to modern Earth, which merely zapped electricity and observed reactions.

There were also a ton of ways to fix a broken mind.

"So, what's the problem? Talking to you directly would be the fastest, but......"

"......My companion is trying to die."

"Oh my, that's serious. What's the reason? Injury? Slump?"

"I don't know the reason."

With insufficient information and clues, Pion didn't recklessly offer an answer. She smiled and opened her mouth.

"Dojin-nim."

"Why?"

"Wouldn't you like to go on a date with me?"

Yes, it was a very calculating smile.

"Kuuh! I can go out during work hours...... Dojin-nim is the best!"

"......How is this a date by any stretch?"

"Oh? Are you disappointed because it's not a real date?"

Hehe, Pion lightly smiled and headed toward the shopping district. Right now, she was nominally on a business trip. The pretext was psychological treatment for a promising adventurer.

Losing a high-rank adventurer was a huge loss for the guild too, so her business trip was quickly approved. The duration? Until the treatment was complete.

In other words, as long as she kept her lips locked with Dojin's, she could enjoy an infinite paid vacation with essentially double pay.

"It was Eunha-nim, right? What does she like?"

"What Eunha likes? ......I don't know."

"You're companions, and you don't know that? Hmm, since she's a girl, maybe she likes sweets."

Pion said that and ordered every single dessert in the ridiculously expensive dessert shop. When Dojin, checking the prices, looked a bit daunted and asked Pion about it, she waved it off like it was no big deal.

"Hey, it's fine! This all gets expensed!"

"......I doubt they'll approve it."

"What are you talking about! If they don't, I'll have to live off flour starting tomorrow. They'll approve it all. Definitely."

She was incredibly optimistic. And energetic. Well, if you could wander around outside during work hours, even Dojin would perk up.

And above all...... for treating Eunha, it was better to have someone excessively energetic rather than someone equally depressed.

"Ugh...... It's heavy......"

"I'll help."

"Ah, no...! This is part of my job... so I can't accept help─ Kyaa!?"

Pion, who had been stubborn and then nearly tripped, was caught, and with the other hand, Dojin caught all the falling cakes and pastries.

Seeing the cake boxes balanced and stacked with one hand, Pion started clapping as if she'd witnessed a magnificent circus performance.

"Waaah... Amazing. As expected of a high-rank adventurer."

"I don't think it has anything to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do with that."

"No! This proves that you need this level of athleticism to become a high-rank adventurer."

Having confirmed she couldn't carry everything herself, Pion stopped being stubborn and picked up half the cake boxes. Even that was quite wobbly, but not enough to topple over.

After walking a long way with the cakes like that, the two finally arrived at the mansion. Pion, dressed in her guild uniform that covered her whole body, was sweating profusely in the midsummer heat and panting heavily.

"......You okay?"

"I-I'm fine! It's work!"

"If you say so......"

Her face looked worrisome, but Dojin opened the door and went inside. Entering the mansion, which maintained a comfortable temperature thanks to magic, Pion finally caught her breath and cooled off her sweat with heavy panting.

"Nice house! With my salary, it'd take decades to afford a place like this......"

Upon entering the mansion, that was Pion's first comment. And while she was at it, she subtly glanced at Dojin, her eyes filled with greed for material things.

Dojin realized why she had tried so hard when selecting this mansion for him. Well, even on Earth, rich guys were popular.

"Let's go."

"Ah, yes...."

Ignoring her gaze, he headed to Eunha's room. He'd gotten ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠permission in advance, so Aram had been moved to another room. Knock knock, arriving at the door, Dojin knocked and then opened it without waiting for permission.

"Wai......!"

Pion behind him freaked out and tried to stop him, but the door was already open. Eunha, who had been blankly counting the stains on the ceiling, turned to Dojin with a dazed expression.

And instantly, her face lit up with energy.

"Dojin? What's up......"

"Ah, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eunha. Wanna talk for a bit?"

"Yeah."

Eunha stopped counting the stains, got up right away, and followed Dojin out. Pion asked her to move to the dining room where Eunha couldn't hear, and as Dojin led Eunha there, they chatted about this and that.

This was also something Pion had requested in advance.

"What were you doing?"

"......Just, nothing."

"Yeah?"

Upon arriving at the dining room, the maids had already neatly arranged the cakes Pion bought for easy eating. The teacups had chocolate melted to the perfect consistency, and the sweet aroma filled the dining room so thickly it was overwhelming.

"Here, sit."

As Eunha sat down, Pion took the seat across from her. Facing each other across the table, the two exchanged glances for a moment, and Pion had already roughly figured out what kind of person she was from the information up to this point.

"Hello? Long time no see! Eunha-nim."

"......D-Do you know me?"

"Yes! I'm Pion, an Adventurer Guild employee! I think we've met a few times... Don't you remember......?"

"......I remember."

"Haha, thank you."

Eunha kept glancing nervously at Dojin, as if anxious about something, but Dojin silently listened to their conversation without a word.

"It's nothing major. I just... wanted to show my appreciation to the adventurers under my care, so I brought desserts."

"......Okay."

"Ah, do you perhaps dislike sweets?"

"No, I like them."

"Hmm, right? Seems like no woman hates sweets. Me neither. ...So, Eunha-nim, is there anything bothering you?"

"Bothering......?"

Once again, Eunha glanced at Dojin. But she didn't seem uncomfortable with him. Aha, Pion now had an almost perfect grasp on this person named Eunha.

And how to treat her...... It was easier than expected, but at the same time, a difficult opponent.

"Ah, if there's nothing, you don't have to say anything."

After that, Pion only talked about extremely businesslike topics with Eunha. To Dojin, it was questionable how these conversations could possibly assess and treat someone's psyche.

A little later, after finishing the talk, Pion sent Eunha back. Left alone in the dining room with Dojin, he listened to what Pion had to say.

"......Um, Dojin-nim?"

"Yes."

"P-Please don't be shocked... Eunha-nim doesn't need treatment."

"......What? What do you..."

"More precisely, it can't be done... Ah, how should I explain this......"

Pion pondered deeply for a while, then explained clearly once her thoughts were organized.

"Eunha-nim is currently Dojin-nim's dog."

"......Dog?"

"Yes. The kind that barks when told to bark and bites when told to bite."

"No, what do you..."

"You must have had some idea yourself. If it's that serious... she'd comply without any resistance even to ridiculous requests or tasks."

At those words, Dojin recalled incidents that vaguely fit. Things he'd chalked up to her having no self-esteem.

"......Then what do I do?"

"Nothing."

"......Pardon?"

Pion gave a bitter smile as she explained Eunha's condition.

"She probably didn't receive much love from childhood, so she has affection deprivation, dependency, and even a bit of masochistic tendencies. If she feels useless, she might kill herself."

So, don't do anything—no, on the contrary, 'use' her.

"Anything's fine. Have her cook, have her hunt...... Um, this sounds a bit off, but you could even have her do night duties."

"So...... Eunha will never return to her right mind in her lifetime, is that it?"

"Her current state isn't abnormal. She just depends on others a tiny bit."

Pion looked at Dojin. It was fortunate that the young man before her wasn't the type to indiscriminately order massacres of his companions or derive pleasure from treating a woman's body like a toy.

For the guild's sake, and for Eunha's.

"But keep this in mind: she dies if she becomes useless. She'll kill herself."

Pion left. Holding a single document signed by Dojin.

She said it was a certification that there were no issues.

While signing that document, Dojin thought a lot.

'Normal, huh......'

Certainly, since he could read minds, he might have overreacted. Everyone has thoughts of wanting to die.

Dojin himself had suicidal ideation every day as a kid, and Aram, who fell into depression after arriving in the Otherworld, was similar.

In modern times, people want to die over getting caught in a funny video, bad grades, bad food, bad weather, bad mood.

They try to die over the simplest reasons.

Eunha was just a doll that broke easily.

You can't label that as abnormal.

'Annoying.'

Irritation welled up inside. Who was it directed at? Himself, for concluding his companion was abnormal? Or Eunha, for trying to die over something so trivial?

"Haha, no."

Dojin stood up. Then headed to Eunha's room. Eunha, who had been blankly counting the ceiling stains again, tilted her head at the visiting Dojin.

"Dojin......?"

He looked at her face. The reason he felt irritated was simple. He'd instinctively realized it. The reason she was trying to die.

"Sorry."

"W-Why all of a sudden? What's wrong...?"

He had to take responsibility.

'Use her, she said......'

What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made Eunha wallow in self-loathing with a death wish? It was him. He'd called her an amazing person, and she, who neither saw herself that way nor could become that, had fallen into endless self-hatred.

How to resolve it? Very simple. Demand what she could provide. Demand what only she could provide.

"From now on, I'm going to hold you."

"─???"

He could see Eunha's confused expression. But Dojin's actions, having made up his mind, were merciless.

"Take it off."

No, he takes it off.