Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 143
>Chapter Title: Counseling Log (2)
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“That’s what you’re asking right now?”
At her incredulous retort, Physician Seo Jae-pil smiled gently.
“Hahaha. Sorry if that upset you. So, could you tell me about the side effects at your leisure?”
So-hong, who had been pouting, let out a faint sigh and answered.
“Binge eating disorder.”
“Oh.... That must have been tough.”
At Seo Jae-pil’s reaction, So-hong looked surprised.
“You really think so?”
Everyone who had heard about So-hong’s side effect so far had dismissed it as no big deal.
Wanting to eat food as a side effect? It seemed too mild compared to the side effects of other demonic arts.
But as expected, the Tranquil Heart Clinic physician was different. He was trying to understand her plight.
“Anything in excess is worse than moderation, right? Repeated overeating harms the body just the same, so binge eating disorder is a side effect that damages the body too.”
“That’s not all. For a martial artist, binge eating disorder is a fatal side effect.”
Perhaps because she had finally met someone who empathized, So-hong poured out all the pent-up frustration she had been holding.
“If you try to train right after overeating, you’ll end up puking immediately. Digestion doesn’t happen at all. Plus, repeated overeating leads to weight gain, and gaining weight interferes with your martial arts. The problem is, when your skills drop from the weight gain, you get so frustrated with yourself that it worsens the binge eating, and then the binge eating makes you gain even more weight.”
“Oh. It’s a vicious cycle.”
“This is actually the milder version. It only hits when there’s food available, right? When food is scarce, it’s pure agony. When others feel just a little hungry, I feel like I’m going insane.”
Her complaints continued after that.
Her dedication to work or ambition to rise high was just her innate nature.
The issue was that the stress from immersing herself in that work combined with the binge eating to torment her.
Whenever things didn’t go well at work, her stomach would start rumbling uncontrollably.
But if she gave in and ate whatever she wanted, she’d gain weight and have trouble executing her techniques.
And if she truly lost control to the binge eating, she could literally burst her stomach from overeating and die.
Her binge eating was a side effect of a demonic art, after all, so it didn’t know the meaning of moderation.
Every day was a war against her own flesh for So-hong.
After listening to her endless grievances for quite a while.
“Phew.”
Having vented refreshingly, So-hong gulped down the now-cold tea. Watching her, Seo Jae-pil asked calmly.
“So, your feelings toward Cadet Il-mok have nothing to do with the demonic art’s side effects, then.”
“Pfft!!”
At the sudden mention of Il-mok, So-hong spat out the tea she was drinking.
Even with tea splashed on his face, Seo Jae-pil let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew. At least I protected the log.”
Amid the flying tea, he had quickly leaped to shield the log.
“S-sorry.”
“It’s fine. Hahaha. I must have thrown the question too abruptly.”
Seo Jae-pil wiped his face with a cloth casually as he replied.
Watching him, So-hong hesitated for a moment.
“The rumors have already spread everywhere, so denying it won’t work. But I can’t reveal it’s a mission ordered by the Protectorate Lord.”
After agonizing, she had no choice but to lie.
“Yes. It’s unrelated to the side effects. It’s just my taste.”
Seo Jae-pil nodded and muttered as he scribbled in the barely saved log.
“Liking younger men is unrelated to the demonic art. Got it for now.”
“......”
So-hong’s face flushed redder than when she had revealed her binge eating disorder.
* * *
After that, Seo Jae-pil’s counseling continued.
“Nice to meet you, Cadet Joo Seo-yeon.”
“Nice to meet you, Physician Seo!”
Joo Seo-yeon entered the room with a bright, cheerful face, then immediately whipped her head around, scanning the infirmary.
At her somewhat scattered demeanor, Seo Jae-pil smiled and asked.
“I hear you want to become Cadet Il-mok’s maidservant?”
Only then did Joo Seo-yeon’s gaze, which had been roaming the infirmary, turn back to Seo Jae-pil.
“That’s right, Physician. I absolutely must become Young Master Il-mok’s maidservant.”
At her answer, Seo Jae-pil thought, just as he had heard.
“Instructor Eun-ryeo said you have feelings for the Young Master too.”
Recalling the information he had gotten from the instructors before, Seo Jae-pil asked.
“May I ask why?”
But the response was unexpected.
“It’s the only way I can be with Lady Jin Ha-yeon. Physician Seo.”
“Lady Jin Ha-yeon.... Ah, you mean the maidservant of Cadet Il-mok? From the Silver Guard Division.”
“That’s right! So even Physician Seo knows Lady Jin Ha-yeon!”
Her eyes sparkled unlike ever before as she replied.
Joo Seo-yeon went on endlessly praising Jin Ha-yeon, while Seo Jae-pil scribbled the counseling details on paper, his own eyes gleaming.
It wasn’t that he had been inspired by Joo Seo-yeon to become interested in Jin Ha-yeon.
“Admiration or love? It’s ambiguous either way—worth researching. In any case, Joo Seo-yeon’s feelings for the true Young Master might also be due to a demonic art side effect.”
It was simply his physician’s curiosity surging.
To satisfy his medical inquisitiveness, he asked.
“Hmm. Could you tell me about the demonic art Cadet Joo Seo-yeon practices and its side effects?”
But once again, the answer exceeded Seo Jae-pil’s expectations.
“It’s the Mad Spirit Wind Demon Spear, and the side effect is supposed to be getting scatterbrained....”
Was it because she had finished talking about Jin Ha-yeon? Joo Seo-yeon whipped her head around again right after answering, resuming her tour of the infirmary.
Even at her scatterbrained appearance, Seo Jae-pil didn’t point it out.
“Hmm. Not just a simple scatterbrained side effect. Her focus locks onto one thing, making her seem scattered about anything she’s not interested in?”
He simply shone with interest.
After finishing his first session with Joo Seo-yeon like that.
“Ohohoho.”
A female cadet who covered her left cheek with a fan visited the infirmary.
“Nice to meet you, Cadet Bang Mi-hwa.”
“Ohohoho. No need for formalities.”
She replied haughtily, snapped her fan shut, and added.
“To be honest, I only came because regulations require counseling. I don’t think I need it.”
“May I ask why?”
“I’m sufficient just by being me. Do I need counseling like this? Ah! I’m not criticizing you, Physician Seo. Even those smitten with me need your counseling to compose themselves. Ohohoho.”
“......”
Even without asking about the demonic art’s name or side effects, Seo Jae-pil had a hunch.
But counseling was counseling. And with such an excellent research subject here, Seo Jae-pil tried to keep the conversation going.
“So, what do you do when you rest from training?”
“Didn’t you hear about the side effects before learning the demonic art?”
But it was dubious whether it even qualified as conversation.
“Ohoho. I gaze in the mirror or practice plays to pass the time. They say beauty calms the heart, right? Seeing my beautiful face or my beautiful acting fills me with joy.”
“I did hear about the side effect. Loving yourself excessively, wasn’t it? But that’s not a side effect. How could anyone not love someone as beautiful as me? Hohoho. So Cadet Il-mok must be smitten with me too.”
A feast of deranged words. If Il-mok were here, he’d feel dizzy, fearing his demonic art might rampage. But Seo Jae-pil’s reaction was different.
“Hahaha! The Demonic Path Academy truly is fascinating!”
His research subjects were overflowing.
Of course, the headquarter mountain was full of crazies too, but the atmosphere differed.
The warriors there were mostly older, making it tricky to pry into their inner thoughts.
But the Demonic Path Academy cadets were young, so they mostly bared their raw emotions.
And even when they tried to hide, their inexperience made it easy to probe.
* * *
By the time all the fellow cadets had gone through counseling once. Il-mok visited the infirmary again.
“I heard you counseled Instructor So-hong too.”
“That’s right.”
“She seems to have noticed she’s under suspicion. During the counseling, was there anything suspicious?”
Il-mok asked with a troubled expression.
Lately, So-hong—who had been openly approaching him—had been holding back.
Of course, Seo Jae-pil didn’t reveal what he had learned.
“Nothing particularly suspicious so far.”
He felt no guilt lying.
“The one who ordered us not to disclose counseling contents was Eighth Young Master too, so he’ll understand.”
The one who had given him justification was this young genius before him.
It was just temporarily tolerated because people had once targeted Eighth Young Master.
On top of that.
“If I told him the truth, I couldn’t continue the research, could I? Hehehe.”
The movements and psychological shifts of the Demonic Path Academy instructors and cadets were all research material to him.
And with Eighth Young Master at the center, he had a duty to observe how things unfolded without his interference.
“...Something just feels off.”
Il-mok still seemed uneasy about So-hong, and Seo Jae-pil opened his mouth to change the subject.
“Hehehe. Actually, after counseling the cadets, instructors, and various people from the headquarter mountain, I discovered an interesting symptom, Young Master.”
“What is it?”
“Not everyone, but some showed it often. How to put it. They don’t even listen to others with half an ear? No, more like they only hear what they want to hear.”
Bang Mi-hwa had it worst, followed by quite a few like Dokgo Pae and Joo Seo-yeon.
Not knowing the reason, but noticing those with severe symptoms were especially close to Il-mok, Seo Jae-pil broached the topic.
“I’m thinking of researching this symptom, but I’m stuck without a neat term to express it.”
“Only hearing what they want to hear? Hmm.”
Il-mok pondered briefly.
‘Feels like something I heard back when I was Seo Ji-hoon.’
Soon, Il-mok recalled the term.
“How about calling it confirmation bias?”
“Oho. A symptom of biased confirmation reception.”
“Or, conversely, selectively accepting only biased information to confirm what they already believe.”
“Indeed, as expected of Young Master! Hehehe.”
Seo Jae-pil praised him lavishly, but only then did Il-mok feel that nagging unease.
It wasn’t suspicion toward Seo Jae-pil.
‘No, wait—why is everyone here a confirmation bias case?’
He easily found the answer to his own question.
‘...Of course, when cultish thinking mixes with demonic arts.’
Those with firm beliefs often showed confirmation bias. For believers in a cultish religion detached from logic, lacking it would be weirder.
Add in demonic arts that induced mental illness, and it was the perfect storm.
Even a sane person would develop confirmation bias after a few years here.
“Yeah... I gotta get out.”
“You mean the Demonic Path Academy?”
At Seo Jae-pil reacting to his mutter, Il-mok flinched for a moment.
Defection meant apostasy—his head could roll.
So Il-mok made up an excuse on the spot.
“After graduating the Demonic Path Academy, I’m thinking of going somewhere else ‘for the Divine Cult.’”
“Somewhere else... Ah! You mean heading to the Central Plains where the heretics live?”
“That’s right. We need to spread our Divine Cult’s will there too, no?”
It was an excuse whipped up to avoid apostasy charges, but upon reflection, it was a pretty good plan.
‘Young as I am, I’m the Heavenly Demon’s disciple, so I’d probably start as a Branch Leader if I go. Far from headquarter mountain, so lax oversight. Perfect for holing up in a quiet branch and relaxing?’
Plus, he had a solid pretext.
‘Say I’m going to the Central Plains to gather intel and avenge Uncle Tae-hyeon’s killer, the Flying Dragon Branch Leader. Done.’
Revenge was revenge, but first enjoy maximum peace. Then avenge whenever the time’s right.
‘Perfect! Once I graduate the Demonic Path Academy, peace is mine!’
As Il-mok grinned imagining his happy future.
Seo Jae-pil was envisioning his own.
‘Young Master graduates in a year and five months, so I can follow him then. Hehehe.’
Having researched the crazies—no, those tormented by demonic arts—he now wanted to compare them to normals who hadn’t learned demonic arts.