The First Research Subject - Belladia Harrington (3)
“The situation is more serious than I anticipated.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“The young lady’s condition is worse than any future I observed. At best, you have two months left to treat her.”
The futures I had glimpsed in my childhood always contained discrepancies. Sometimes the protagonist of a major scenario would change; other times it was something as trivial as the owner of a bakery. Belladia Harrington’s state was worse than anything I had seen in those visions.
“So?”
The Iron Mace Count spoke in a voice thick with barely contained rage, his hand gripping the handle of the mace at his waist.
“What illness is my daughter suffering from?”
“The young lady is perfectly healthy.”
“Then has she been cursed by someone?”
“It is not a curse. It is her innate nature.”
“Then I suppose I must petition the gods of heaven to rewrite her disposition. Which deity should I offer tribute to, and how much, to have my daughter’s nature corrected?”
The Iron Mace Count was desperate. He refused to accept the reality before him. That was why he had kept summoning mages, even when they produced no results.
“Even if you offered your entire county to the temple, it would not be enough.”
“…”
The mages who had come before me must have realized there was no way to cure her madness. Yet they had fabricated hope and fed it to him anyway. Because the Count needed hope, even if it was false.
“The slaughter instinct is a nature engraved upon the young lady’s very soul. Altering a soul is a task even the gods find difficult. It is not the sort of blessing a mere mortal can obtain by offering sacrifices.”
Despair settled over the Count’s deeply wrinkled face. I summoned a tobacco pipe from my subspace. It was a trophy I had taken after subduing my former master who had tried to kill me. For a modern man, this was the greatest act of deviance I could allow myself.
“…Didn’t you say you could fix her?”
“I can treat her. However, the complete cure you desire is impossible.”
The Iron Mace Count wanted his daughter’s Slaughter Instinct to disappear. He believed that was the only way she could live a happy life.
“…Then is there another form of treatment?”
“The young lady will have to live with instincts different from other people. But she can learn how to conceal those instincts. It is what we call the socialization process.”
Vampires are monsters starved for blood. Yet if they can behave like humans, they can blend into society and live among people. Belladia Harrington could do the same.
“…Are you saying my daughter will commit such acts for the rest of her life?”
“…”
The Iron Mace Count gazed at the prisoners’ corpses and began to sob. Skulls had been split open. Hearts had been torn out. The male prisoners, in particular, had met especially sadistic ends.
“Am I to believe I gave birth to such a monster?!”
“…”
“I know I am a sinner! I have killed hundreds with my own hands, and the number of people who suffered because of the wars I started must reach the hundreds of thousands….”
The Iron Mace Lord had committed every evil a normal person could imagine. Just like most nobles.
“But… but this is different!”
She had enjoyed it.
Killing people.
She had done it purely because it was fun.
“I have lived my entire life on the battlefield, yet I only ever showed my daughter a gentle world! So why did she grow up more vicious than any war orphan?! Does that make any sense at all?!”
At the Count’s anguished cry, I exhaled a long stream of smoke from the pipe. In truth, I had harbored a similar question since my own childhood. Even after reincarnating into this new world, why had my modern soul remained intact? Those memories were nothing but painful obstacles that hindered my adaptation to this new world.
“First, please accept my sincere condolences for the pain you are experiencing, Count. However, I suspect you want solutions from me rather than comfort.”
Huuu.
Thick tobacco smoke filled the prison.
“Since you have revealed your inner thoughts, I will give you a direct answer. In truth, I have suffered from a similar problem to the young lady.”
The lord’s pupils trembled. The man he saw before him was an intellectual, cold-blooded mage. Had someone like him truly suffered from cruel instincts?
“However, the direction of the problem was the complete opposite.”
“…Continue.”
“I possess a nature that instinctively avoids killing.”
It was a serious flaw.
At least in this world.
“Moreover, I also avoid causing pain to others. In the Heartland dialect, one would say I was born with an unmanly disposition.”
The modern education system brainwashes people into castrating their wild instincts. Even now, I struggle immensely to surrender myself to primal impulses. My very soul has been engraved with the belief that such behavior is wrong.
“But now, killing is not difficult for me. If absolutely necessary, I can massacre people I have never even met. I have learned how to act against my own nature.”
Even a person with a modern soul had adapted to this medieval land. Therefore, it should be possible for someone with a monster’s soul to adapt as well.
“Since I have done it myself, I can teach the young lady how to do the same. Please entrust her to me, my lord.”
I was extraordinary from the moment I was born. The instant I came into this world, I became aware of the memories of a gamer who had lived in another dimension. Thanks to that, I could see the future.
Another peculiarity was my Insight Eye, which could pierce the essence of things. The true nature of objects could be expressed in many forms, but my preferred method was to have the letters from my previous life float before my eyes.
I named this the Status Window Notation.
Select.
Path of the Enchanter.
Path of the Enchanter
The mind of an intelligent being is always a fascinating research subject. Discover and study new specimens. You shall obtain the power to dominate minds!
1. Concerning Human Nature
1-1. Specimen 1. Wanderer Tellorian [In Progress]
1-2. Specimen 2. Helen and Adler [Completed]
1-3. Specimen 3. Witch Salasien [Completed]
1-4. Specimen 4. Belladia Harrington [New]
• Gain experience upon research progress.
• Acquire unique spells upon research completion.
• Special rewards are granted each time a specimen score is obtained. The next reward is Mind Manipulation.
Belladia Harrington was a human born with the soul of a monster. If I could uncover the secrets of her nature, I would obtain a new form of magic.
“Yah! Yah!”
“Kya! Kya! Kyaaak!”
“The screams are too quiet. Not here…”
“Kiiiieeeeeeek!”
“There we go. Found it!”
A beautiful teenage girl who looked like a doll giggled as she dismantled a living rabbit. It was exactly like a mischievous boy playing with Lego blocks.
“Kiiik!”
“Oh. It broke too early.”
“…”
“Nanny. Bring me a new one.”
“Here it is…”
The first week had been observation week. The specimen revealed her nature by treating living animals like toys. It was unpleasant to watch, but I was a mage. I had been trained to exclude the observer’s subjectivity and pursue pure objectivity.
“Did you enjoy yourself this week?”
“Yes! Teacher!”
The specimen answered with a bright smile. I didn’t need to understand what she found enjoyable. All I had to do was observe and interpret.
“You must lead a happy life.”
“I do!”
Belladia licked the blood from the corners of her mouth and studied me carefully. She was constantly trying to reestablish our hierarchy. So I released a powerful surge of mana to remind her of the overwhelming difference in strength.
“…”
The specimen responded with an uncomfortable smile. I could sense her intention to cloud my judgment as she subtly began undoing the buttons of her blouse. But when I showed no interest whatsoever in her body, she fastened her collar again with a disappointed expression. It was the face of a hunter who had watched prey walk past the bait she had set.
[1/5]
Experience +10
20/100 until Level 11
“Sit down, Belladia.”
“…Yes.”
After washing and changing her clothes, the specimen sat down demurely. It was the first lesson of the second week.
“Belladia. Do you want to live a long life?”
“Of course.”
“If you continue living like this, you will definitely die young.”
“…I won’t defy you, Teacher.”
“Even if I don’t kill you, you will still die young. If you want to live long, you must become intelligent.”
I had no intention of forcing the specimen to live an ordinary life. Just as I could not lose myself in the pleasure of plunder, she would never be able to enjoy the peace of daily life.
“You said you weren’t going to fix me.”
“There is no need to change your instincts or hide them completely. Instead, you must learn in which situations it is acceptable to reveal them. For your own sake.”
The specimen was a clever student. She understood the lesson in a single explanation, so there was no need to repeat myself.
“…You’re not going to tell me I did something wrong?”
“You are simply living according to the nature you were born with. What would change by assigning right and wrong to such behavior? I dislike meaningless actions.”
Belladia was clearly an evil person. Moreover, she was an extreme evil who could not be taught goodness by nature. Such extreme malevolent tendencies were extremely rare among humans.
“Most humans are born with a grey soul. That is why they commit evil after experiencing evil, and do good after learning good. They become aggressive when they learn martial arts, and rational when they study academics.”
That was the characteristic of the human race known as adaptability. They could not become absolute good or absolute evil. They could not achieve perfect order or complete chaos. However, their ability to rapidly transform according to the situation was exceptional.
“But you were born with a crimson soul. Therefore, your aggression, slaughter urge, and sexual desire are always in a state of maximum amplification. You cannot help but be different from others.”
Even ordinary humans occasionally revealed crimson desires, but only under specific circumstances. In contrast, the specimen could be described as someone constantly tormented by crimson desires.
“However, even among humans there have been those whose entire souls were dyed crimson. Warmongers, mass murderers, lust demons. That is the path you must walk.”
Soul Lore acquired!
Lore Points +2
Experience +20
40/100 until next level
Lore Points: 2
Teaching others inevitably led to reviewing one’s own knowledge. There were many realizations that came from converting setting into knowledge.
“…Aren’t they all lunatics or villains?”
“But they were also outstanding rulers.”
“…”
“It is only possible because you were born as the heir to the Count’s household. Even if a ruler possesses a crimson soul, if they protect their own pack, they are praised as a wise monarch.”
I told her stories of the most legendary monarchs on the continent. Zaherion the Conqueror, who waged war on each of his children’s birthdays. Emperor Karl, who slaughtered other races to usher in the age of humanity. King Halfdan the Warrior, who could not sleep without a married woman by his side.
“But they were all men.”
“Gender does not matter. Queen Verusiel turned every ugly vassal into cat food, yet because she filled her people’s bellies, she became known as a wise ruler of her generation. In other words, while you cannot live as a good person, you can live as an excellent monarch.”
Historical Lore acquired!
Lore Points +2
Experience +20
60/100 until Level 11
Lore Points: 4
“For that, you must learn to distinguish between the pack you must protect and the enemies you may devour. You will also need to practice restraining your hunger when necessary.”
During the second week, I taught her the necessity of suppressing her slaughter instinct. I continued to supply live animals to maintain her concentration in class.
“Starting this week, I will limit your food intake.”
“…”
“Let’s see if you can endure it.”
“…I’ll try.”
From the third week onward, I reduced the number of live animals provided. The specimen began displaying violent behavior and her attitude toward lessons became rebellious.
“But you did not cross the final line.”
“…It was hard.”
“Congratulations. Today you may feast to your heart’s content.”
“…Thank you, Teacher.”
[2/5 until research completion]
Experience +20
80/100 until Level 11
From the fourth week, we began practicing enduring hunger in front of people. Securing teaching materials was not an issue. Bandits were scattered all over the wasteland.
“Die! Die! Die!”
“Please, don’t— AAAAAAAGH!”
“…Another failure today.”
Experiment week six. The specimen could now successfully suppress her slaughter instinct even when small, frail animals were placed before her. However, she still struggled when it came to people. To overcome this hurdle, deeper research was required.
“What is the difference between people and animals?”
“People are much more appetizing.”
“Appetizing?”
“The screams people make while feeling pain are far more vivid. Especially the way a handsome face twists in agony. The feeling is like…”
[3/5 until research completion]
Experience +20!
Level Up!
0/100 until Level 12
It was time for an interim evaluation.
Studying a specimen like this was driving me insane.
Yes.
Let’s raise my level first.