Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 53
>Chapter Title: Foundation (3)
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After finishing the consultation, I stood up and said.
“I’ll call in Miss Jin. If you consult with her and compare it to what I’ve told you, the accuracy should be much higher, don’t you think?”
“A fine idea.”
After bidding farewell to the Physician and stepping out, I instructed Jin Ha-yeon and sent her inside.
“Haa.”
It looked like I’d be coming and going from this place regularly from now on, so I let out a light sigh and began wandering around the Pure Heart Institute.
It was then that a familiar figure offered a greeting.
“I greet the Eighth Young Master.”
“How have you been? Officer Gwan.”
It was Gwan Mu-yeol, who had been transferred from the Protection Hall to this Pure Heart Institute.
“Not bad.”
He said as much, but Gwan Mu-yeol’s expression wasn’t particularly bright.
On top of half-failing at my protection detail, his dependence on poisonous mushrooms had been exposed, so being shipped off here must feel no different from a demotion to him.
His appearance somehow seemed so pitiful that I opened my mouth to console him.
“Don’t take it too badly, Officer Gwan.”
To start with, I hadn’t directly orchestrated it, but Gwan Mu-yeol had ended up as a sort of lab rat.
Moreover, since he was suffering from side effects similar to mine, the more success he achieved, the higher the odds of my own safety.
With a touch of guilt mixed in alongside the need to secure my safety, I needed to actively soothe him.
In a manner that would work on a cult fanatic.
“Perhaps serving the Divine Cult from here could be an even greater task than serving it as a warrior of the Protection Hall?”
“You mean I could provide even greater aid to the Divine Cult?”
“Think about it. If the research here succeeds, it’ll be possible to reduce or manage the side effects that plague our warriors. That would mean far more experts born within the Divine Cult—surely that’s a much greater help than just one Officer Gwan becoming an expert?”
“But that’s work for the physicians. I’m nothing more than a test subject, am I not?”
Wow.
Did this guy learn the Shadowless Fourteen Hands from Third Brother or something? He’s especially gloomy today.
This approach wasn’t getting through, so I decided to switch tactics. From consoling to scolding.
“I’m disappointed, Officer Gwan. Is that the mindset you’ve served the Church with all this time? How could a warrior of the Church entertain such complacent thoughts as, ‘I can’t earn any merit anyway, so it has nothing to do with me’? Is that truly in line with the doctrines of the Divine Cult that you’ve followed for decades?”
“!!!”
“Were those the thoughts you held even back in the Protection Hall, and while serving as my guard?”
“No, Young Master!”
Gwan Mu-yeol’s face drained of color as he cried out in a fluster.
“Then, back then, you gave your all only because you could earn merit? Not out of service to the Divine Cult, but simply a desire to rack up achievements and claim a higher seat?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Then why act differently now?”
“That’s…”
Gwan Mu-yeol seemed to belatedly realize the contradiction in his own words and actions, his face white as he trailed off, unable to continue.
He looked liable to fall into Demonic Deviation at this rate, so it was time to swap the whip for a carrot.
“In my eyes, Officer Gwan, you seem afraid right now.”
“Afraid? What do you mean? For the Divine Cult, I fear not even death, Young Master!”
“I’m not talking about death. I said you seem to fear failure.”
“!!!”
I sidled up to the startled Gwan Mu-yeol, patted his shoulder, and said.
“Everyone fails, Officer Gwan. I’ve failed plenty of times myself, and I’ll no doubt fail many more in the future.”
At my words, Gwan Mu-yeol gazed at me with an odd expression.
As I wondered why he was making that face, I caught sight of my own reflection in his eyes.
‘…Ah, right. I’m fifteen right now.’
It must have struck him as absurd for a kid to be going on about failure.
But if I faltered or backpedaled here, it’d only come off stranger. I had no choice but to press on.
“You’re suffering from side effects similar to mine, aren’t you? In a sense, that makes you my senior. There’s a saying that failure is the mother of success—so won’t your experiences serve as the foundation for me and all the future learners who take up demonic arts with similar side effects?”
“Failure is the mother of success…”
He seemed to be hearing the phrase for the first time, mumbling it to himself.
He looked dazed, so I kept pushing.
“That’s why you should take up your mission with a sense of duty and give it your all. Your efforts will light the way for the juniors’ futures, and those juniors will light the Divine Cult’s future.”
“…You’re saying the task I’ve been given is that important?”
“That’s right. And this isn’t just for the sake of the juniors.”
“???”
I drew close to Gwan Mu-yeol’s puzzled face and whispered softly in his ear.
“Haven’t your side effects been getting worse lately?”
“…Yes.”
Gwan Mu-yeol’s expression visibly darkened.
It was only natural. His side effects manifested as obsessive perfectionism, and he’d been racking up failures day after day lately.
He was probably one step away from losing his mind entirely.
“Think about it, Officer Gwan. This place is a hospital founded specifically to manage the side effects of demonic arts. So if you throw yourself into treatment here, don’t you think you might manage those side effects and make a full recovery?”
“!!!”
I hammered the nail home into Gwan Mu-yeol’s shocked face.
“For the juniors. And above all, for the sake of your own comeback—please give the treatment here everything you’ve got.”
“I will, Young Master.”
A bit of color returned to Gwan Mu-yeol’s previously utterly depressed face.
I gave his shoulder two solid pats, as if to say he was reliable, then turned my head.
“…….”
There stood Goo Yang-moon, mouth hanging wide open in a dumbstruck look.
No matter how I looked at it, he had a dog-like face. I could easily picture a dog with its tongue lolling out, panting away.
Gwan Mu-yeol, now somewhat reinvigorated, offered a fist salute by way of greeting and headed into the building.
Goo Yang-moon finally snapped out of it and spoke in an admiring tone.
“You truly seem to possess some mysterious power, Young Master.”
“Mysterious power? What are you talking about?”
“Well, everyone who speaks with you ends up with deeper faith and a calmer mind, don’t they? You seem to have a real talent for proselytizing or preaching.”
“…….”
Talent for cult preaching—is that a compliment or an insult?
“And I myself was deeply moved by your words, Young Master.”
I’d tailored that speech for Gwan Mu-yeol, so why was this guy moved?
As an inexplicable sense of foreboding crept up my skin, Goo Yang-moon added.
“That line about failure being the mother of success—I’ll etch it deep in my heart and never give up, Young Master.”
As expected, ominous hunches were never wrong.
I let out a sigh and said.
“Please, just give up already.”
“Yes? But just now, you…”
“Look, if I tell you not to, just don’t.”
“But…”
Goo Yang-moon looked so pitiful and desperate that I sighed again and slightly rephrased.
“It’s not the right time yet. There’s that saying about how a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years, and the idiom about making a comeback from rock bottom, right? Not giving up doesn’t mean you have to charge in right this instant.”
“Ah!!”
Goo Yang-moon’s eyes lit up as if struck by enlightenment, so I casually turned my head away to avoid those sparkling peepers.
‘Yeah, in about ten years, things will sort themselves out somehow.’
Whether he falls for some other woman, or Jin Ha-yeon marries some other guy. Something’s bound to happen.
As for whatever goes down ten years from now? None of my business.
* * *
Around the time Il-mok was granting Gwan Mu-yeol and Goo Yang-moon great enlightenment through his sermon.
Jin Ha-yeon, in the midst of her consultation with the Physician, suddenly shuddered.
The Physician asked in a puzzled tone.
“Is something bothering you?”
“It’s just a sudden chill. I suspect it might be the influence of the Bare Hand Demon Art.”
“Well, your realm has risen so sharply as of late that your body might not have adjusted yet. Just in case, come back if the chills persist. I’ll brew up some medicine for you.”
“How could I impose on Elder Physician when you’re so busy?”
The Physician burst into hearty laughter at Jin Ha-yeon’s response, which carried no emotion yet perfect etiquette.
“Hahaha. There aren’t many patients in the Pure Heart Institute just yet, so time is the one thing I have plenty of. Besides, you’re my patient now. The consultation isn’t over, so whenever the ‘Vice Director’ drops by, let’s have a chat.”
The Physician emphasized ‘Vice Director’ rather than calling Il-mok the ‘Eighth Young Master.’
Thanks to the booklet Il-mok had prepared earlier, and the conversation that followed, the Physician had come to acknowledge the still-young Il-mok as Vice Director.
And by consulting with Jin Ha-yeon after Il-mok, the Physician came to realize one crucial fact.
‘Counseling isn’t something that can be wrapped up in just one or two sessions.’
He hadn’t been able to hear Jin Ha-yeon’s full inner thoughts from today’s single conversation.
She had been somewhat more forthcoming than Il-mok, at least—speaking in detail about things like the jealousy she’d felt toward Goo Yang-moon back at the Demonic Path Academy, or the trigger for choosing the Bare Hand Demon Art.
But even that wasn’t quite enough. Forcing any more out of her only made her clam up, so the Physician had drawn a suitable line and stopped there.
However, he felt no discomfort or annoyance at the prospect of things dragging on.
‘I thought only illnesses of the body were complicated, but ailments of the mind are this intricate too.’
Strangely enough, the Physician’s motivation only grew.
From that day onward, he held frequent consultation sessions with both Il-mok and Jin Ha-yeon.
It was possible only because Il-mok, now serving as the Pure Heart Institute’s temporary Vice Director, visited every day.
On top of that, Il-mok kept the promise he’d made to the Physician.
“Ahem. I leave it in your hands.”
“Make yourself at home. For now, aren’t we in a patient-physician relationship?”
In the end, he’d successfully packed off the Heavenly Demon to the Pure Heart Institute as a mental patient.
“Th-that’s preposterous! The Heavenly Demon has already overcome all side effects, has he not? He’s n-not a patient—he’s merely here to share his experiences!”
Even the Divine Cult’s foremost physician couldn’t help but quail before the Heavenly Demon.
Beyond that, Il-mok sent the Heavenly Demon’s disciples to the Pure Heart Institute one after another.
The Great Young Master Wi Jin-hak, who had now reached Transcending Demon but had suffered anger management issues until recently. Seo Wan-pyeong, tormented by paranoia. And Jong-ri Chu, afflicted with schizophrenia.
It wasn’t long before their counseling sessions were underway.
“This should be sufficient.”
The consultations regarding the Heavenly Demon and the Great Young Master wrapped up after just a few sessions.
It was only natural. Those two had already escaped the side effects of their demonic arts.
Unlike discussing the ‘emotions’ others were grappling with right now, with the Heavenly Demon and Great Young Master, it was merely a matter of recounting past ‘memories.’
On top of that.
‘Not much here we can really use.’
As a seasoned physician, he instinctively sensed it. Their cases were largely useless.
‘The Heavenly Demon is too extraordinary to serve as any real help.’
He’d sensed it before, but this consultation made it crystal clear.
The current Heavenly Demon was little short of a superhuman sent from the heavens for the Divine Cult.
A man who had devoted his entire life solely to martial arts and the Divine Cult.
In his youth, he’d poured every moment into martial pursuits, overcoming every side effect of demonic arts through intellect worthy of the title genius and spirit of awe-inspiring fortitude.
After conquering even the side effects of the most horrific demonic art, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, he had served the Cult purely as its Heavenly Demon.
As a result, he had forgone marriage entirely and sired no heirs, only taking his first disciple after passing seventy.
He was the perfect exemplar for any Cultist.
But viewed as a patient, he was too perfect a case to apply to anyone else.
And in the case of Great Young Master Wi Jin-hak.
‘Setting aside that last conversation with the Vice Director, this is less a treatment case and more one suited for a borrow-knife-to-kill stratagem.’
In truth, the Physician had known this even before the consultation.
The method Wi Jin-hak had used to overcome his demonic art’s side effects before attaining Transcending Demon through conversation with Il-mok.
Every time his rage boiled over, he would head to the Central Plains and slaughter corrupt officials and Central Plains martial artists.
And that method was one where, if a thousand tried it, nine hundred ninety-nine would head straight to the afterlife.