Eroge-Style Treatment (2)
Eroge-Style Treatment (2)
After arriving at the academy...
Yujin bowed deeply and formally.
The bow was directed toward Ryu Suyeon, who had driven Winterer and him back.
"Thank you for everything today. Thanks to you, Winterer finished the exercise without causing trouble."
"Hah? What is that Rice Cake saying? I merely enjoyed a change of pace for the first time in ages."
"Hehe. Winterer is right. I didn't actually do anything, so there's no need to thank me."
Suyeon waved dismissively at the wholesome young man.
Her official reasons for participating in the Gate exercise were...
Protecting the non-Awakeners and providing emergency treatment.
She had done neither.
Frankly, she felt as though she'd enjoyed a day off.
"Come on. Someone as valuable as you deserves thanks merely for showing up."
Yujin still did not straighten his back.
Ryu Suyeon was the Angel in White, the greatest healer alive, capable of saving even the most critically injured patient.
Her ability kept her busy every moment of every day.
It also earned her an astronomical amount of money, but that was beside the point.
Yujin understood the value of a day belonging to such a woman.
More importantly, he understood why she had come to a mere C-rank Gate.
He wasn't oblivious.
'She had followed because she worried about me. If a civilian was injured because of my mistake, I'd be in serious trouble.'
—Bow.
"There's the matter with Winterer and... the secrets you agreed to keep. Thank you for everything, Suyeon."
There was one additional reason for his gratitude.
Suyeon had learned that he loved Alice.
Yujin had no choice but to thank her with perfect formality.
The bow silently asked her to guard his secret.
He was grateful to her in many ways.
———But there was one fact he didn't know.
"Pfft. I haven't done anything yet, but perhaps I should accept your thanks in advance."
"What?"
"It's nothing. Both of you worked hard today, so go inside and rest. Good work."
As he remained bowed before her...
Something burned in Ryu Suyeon's eyes.
—Gleam.
'If Yujin's battlefield was the Gate, mine was the infirmary. My fight began now.'
That brilliantly burning emotion was a physician's noble sense of duty.
* * *
A short while later...
Suyeon slowly walked through the academy as though taking a stroll.
She revisited memories of dreaming about becoming a healer there and recalled her recent conversation.
[Awakener Ryu Suyeon, thank you for accepting my sudden request. Thanks to you....]
[It's fine. Give and take. I intend to collect my payment.]
[Oh? That immature child has grown considerably.]
[An Awakener should never act without compensation. That's what you've told me since my cadet days, Association President.]
'If an Awakener of my level volunteered, the existing medical system would collapse.'
It had been a conversation with the Association President—or rather, Suyeon's former mentor.
And then...
[Compensation, was it? Very well. From this moment, you are a visiting professor at Pentagon Academy. I'll delegate all authority over health services to you. Make yourself comfortable; I'll handle the administrative work.]
[Thank you.]
Her compensation for the excursion was a position as the academy's school nurse.
...It sounded insignificant, but it was an enormous reward.
Why had Suyeon been so busy until then?
She was effectively a living regional trauma center.
She always had to remain prepared for critically injured patients who might arrive without warning.
Even taking half a day off had been difficult.
The thought that someone she could have saved might die in her absence was unbearable.
But what if she was officially assigned to the special duty of serving as the academy's school nurse?
She would come under Seol Hayeon's protection.
No, Seol Hayeon would provide active support.
She would use that monstrous Sixth Sense.
Suyeon's burden would undoubtedly decrease considerably.
Whenever a patient appeared, the Chairwoman would use Sixth Sense to judge whether a nearby hospital could treat them and reject cases that did not require Suyeon.
Eliminating the reflexive order to send every borderline case to Ryu Suyeon would cut her workload in half.
[You wanted me to shirk my duties?]
[Yes. I feel sorry for Mia, but I have a reason to take the school-nurse position... I'll find her another good job. Please help me.]
[Of course I'd grant a request from you~.]
'I was sorry for taking the position she had kindly recommended.'
Suyeon had actually planned this for two weeks.
Yujin was entering the academy. Could she simply let him go, knowing that he harmed himself every day?
Of course not. As his doctor, she had to watch over him.
But outsiders were strictly prohibited from entering the academy.
How could she continue treating Yujin?
Then she remembered that her junior from medical school worked as the academy's school nurse.
She'd contact that woman and tell her not to work.
Then Suyeon would apply for the vacant position after her dismissal.
That was how the plan to replace the school nurse had been born.
It also answered Yujin's recurring question about why the infirmary was always empty.
[Association President, could you give me Alice Littenwood's contact information?]
Suyeon had also requested Alice's phone number.
Alice was the person Yujin loved passionately.
She was the woman whose cooperation was essential for his treatment.
[Hm? Cadets' personal information is confidential.]
[I can't provide details, but it's for Yujin.]
[...Tch. That sounds extremely suspicious. You're not planning anything strange, are you?]
[I said it's for Yujin. Should I stake my medical license and sign a written guarantee?]
[Tch... I honestly have doubts, but I'll trust you.]
Seol Hayeon sensed at that moment that the situation could become a disaster, but...
Suyeon obtained Alice's contact information.
Everything proceeded according to her plan.
[Alice Littenwood. Come to the infirmary at seven this evening without telling anyone. Do so if you care about Yujin.]
'The message seemed to have worked. The infirmary light was on.'
Everything proceeded according to plan until the instant she entered the infirmary.
* * *
Turning the clock back slightly, inside the infirmary...
Alice stared tensely at the door.
———Her gaze was filled with hostility.
[Without telling anyone... if you care about Yujin....]
'Anyone could recognize this situation!! It was blackmail and NTR!!'
Suyeon's text message was the reason for her reaction.
The message had intentionally been vague, but...
To Alice, a master of Eye, it could mean only one thing.
She'd seen this setup before: someone seized a loved one's weakness, summoned the heroine to a secluded place, and blackmailed her.
The "blackmail" tag followed by "netorare"—NTR!!
She could think of nothing else.
—Grit.
'Did they think I'd become a victim like those bitches? Comics were comics, and reality was reality! I'd turn the tables and teach them a lesson!'
...For someone insisting comics and reality were different, she trusted Eye clichés far too much.
Alice continued waiting.
It did not matter who the suspicious sender was or what weakness they'd found.
The instant they attempted anything, she would subdue them and hand them to the police.
Alice utterly despised NTR.
—Creak.
'......They were here!!'
After a long wait, the closed infirmary door creaked open.
Alice's eyes flashed.
Who would enter?
A blond, tanned delinquent? A muscular black man? A potbellied bald man?
Whoever it was, Alice would not lose.
'The moment they attempted anything, I'd....'
—Smile.
"Hello, Alice Littenwood."
"......!!!?"
'A woman?!'
Contrary to Alice's expectations, Ryu Suyeon entered.
She offered Alice an exceptionally gentle smile.
'I deliberately made the message vague, yet she came. Alice must have feelings for Yujin too.'
—Clench.
'Was Yujin the target of the NTR!? Was I about to receive a videotape!!?'
Whether Suyeon could have smiled after hearing Alice's thoughts was doubtful.
Suyeon calmly explained the situation to Alice.
She also introduced herself.
'...So it wasn't NTR after all! Of course—Ryu Suyeon was famous for her kindness!'
Alice relaxed.
A woman who loved Korea could not possibly be unfamiliar with the name Ryu Suyeon.
Convinced that this wasn't NTR, Alice began to sigh in relief...
"Alice, please cooperate with Yujin's treatment."
"...Is Yujin ill!? I'll help with anything!! Anything I can do!!"
It was still too early for her to relax.
Suyeon had merely introduced herself.
She still had much to explain regarding her actual purpose: treating Yujin.
"Could you hold Yujin tightly enough to bury his face between your breasts?"
"......?"
The problem was that her proposal was not merely strange. It was extremely strange.
Ryu Suyeon barely swallowed a sigh.
'How was I supposed to explain AAD—Adult Attachment Disorder...?'
Suyeon believed Yujin suffered from Adult Attachment Disorder.
It was the term she used for Reactive Attachment Disorder caused by childhood neglect when it persisted into adulthood.
Simply put, it was an illness suffered by someone who had grown up without love.
[Does it seem like a joke? Of course it does. Someone like you would never act that way toward someone like me....]
[Without Alice, I would have fled long ago. I would have disappeared under the weight of everyone's expectations....]
'That excessive affection. The self-harm and self-deprecation. The extremely low self-esteem... It was probably because he grew up an orphan.'
The symptoms of Adult Attachment Disorder included excessive dependence on others and low self-esteem.
They appeared to match everything Yujin had shown her.
It made sense when she considered his empty family records.
He had not received love from his parents in childhood.
Now he pathologically craved the love he had lacked.
'Yujin was a severe case. Alice would need to embrace him even if that caused him to become overly dependent on her.'
Suyeon's proposed treatment was simple.
Alice would fill the emptiness inside him.
She would give him now the affection he had never received in childhood.
There were risks, including excessive dependence on Alice, but...
Those concerns could be handled later.
'Then I'd ask Alice to recommend psychiatric care. She would persuade Yujin to receive treatment from a true specialist rather than an amateur like me.'
Everything Suyeon was doing was preparation to place him in the hands of a specialist.
Her true objective was to persuade Yujin to seek psychiatric counseling.
No matter how much she studied, she could not compare with a specialist who had completed psychiatric residency.
She intended to entrust Yujin's actual treatment to an expert.
'That was the plan, but I didn't know whether it'd work.'
It would not be easy.
If Yujin were the sort of person who listened merely because someone told him to, Suyeon would have persuaded him during their first two weeks together.
Furthermore...
'Because of patient confidentiality, I couldn't explain even his diagnosis, much less his family history....'
To explain everything to Alice...
Suyeon would have to reveal what was wrong with Yujin and that he had grown up an orphan.
That was something a physician could never do.
That was why she had agonized for so long.
"......"
"Ryu Suyeon, is that... truly helpful for his treatment?"
"Ah, yes. It will certainly help. The reason is...."
"I understand! I'll do anything for Yujin!!"
"......?"
Contrary to Suyeon's worries, Alice required no explanation.
Alice's eyes gleamed.
'Come to think of it, I had seen this on Eye! A listless boy immediately became energetic when someone asked, "Were you all right? Did you want to touch my breasts?"'
'I didn't know what was wrong with Yujin, but hugging him could not make it worse, could it?'
No, it would certainly help. Ryu Suyeon herself had declared it.
'Exactly. This was treatment, so from now on, no matter what I did to Yujin...!!'
—Lean forward.
"L-Leave it to me!!"
Alice immediately agreed without hearing the explanation.
Ryu Suyeon nodded in bewilderment.
'I already thought her clothing was unusually revealing, but she agreed without asking why. Was this what Westerners were like...?'
"I-Is there anything else I can do?"
"What? Ah, yes. Praise him frequently, stroke his head, and make plenty of physical contact. Treat him as though he were a baby."
"Yes!!"
'Like a baby? The infantilism tag... I didn't read it often, but I'd study all night if necessary! On Eye!!'
Suyeon might have reconsidered if she had known Alice's thoughts.
Unfortunately, she did not.
* * *
The day after the practical exercise with Winterer...
—Hug. Stroke, stroke.
"Yujin, you did so well~."
"Daddy. You did so well. Hug."
"......"
Two soft slimes engulfed me.
"I-If Rice Cake wants it, then fine. Grr... Here! I'll grant you the special honor of embracing me!!"
"Oh? Does my disciple hunger for milk? Come here. I shall personally...."
"Why are you two doing this too?"
Two washboards joined them.