Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Not a Self-Deprecating Broadcast
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Psychological Counselor, Shin Ara.
She bolted out of the counseling center the moment she got Victoria's call, without a second thought.
Victoria had been suffering from depression for years due to a vicious stalker.
The fact that she had reached out first like this meant something bad had happened, plain and simple.
Still, as one psychological counselor, she harbored a glimmer of hope deep down.
She had worried that the sudden silence meant Victoria had made an extreme choice, but here she was, asking for help to improve her life.
For depression patients, interest from those around them was more important than anything.
She wanted to do anything for Victoria, her very first client.
‘I hope it’s not anything too serious...’
Fortunately, Victoria’s place wasn’t far from the counseling center.
It was practically next door, so even running through the rain without an umbrella, she hadn’t gotten too wet.
With equal parts anticipation and worry, she pressed the doorbell to Victoria’s studio apartment.
Ding-dong.
The chime rang out once, and the front door slowly creaked open.
“C-Counselor...?”
A frail voice came with the sound, and flyers wedged in the door crack fluttered down.
It was proof she hadn’t gone out in ages, darkening Shin Ara’s expression as she glanced at them.
But showing a negative reaction in front of a client was a no-no.
Quickly remembering her role, she forced a bright smile and greeted her.
“Yes! It feels like forever! Do you know how worried I’ve been?”
Victoria looked unchanged from before, as Shin Ara observed while greeting her.
Her porcelain doll-like cuteness was intact, and so was her fragile build that seemed like it’d topple with a nudge.
Her poor eating was obvious, and the dark circles suggested insomnia too.
Shin Ara could tell at a glance that Victoria’s depression had worsened.
“May I come in first? I brought cupcakes. Let’s eat together.”
“O-Okay... Come in...”
With that passive permission, she stepped inside.
Victoria’s studio, which she was visiting for the first time, was more barren and chilly than expected.
She’d heard Victoria aspired to be an actress, but it didn’t look like a woman’s room at all.
If anything, the latest VR gear in the corner made it seem like a pro gamer’s practice room.
People’s tastes varied, though, so best not to comment.
Thinking positively like that, Shin Ara naturally pulled out the snacks she’d brought.
“This is cupcakes. And this is matcha latte. It was too much for me alone, and perfect timing since you called, Victoria. I couldn’t throw away these gifts, so could you help me eat them?”
“M-Me... eat them?”
“Of course! I’d be happy if you joined me.”
“Then... thank you. I’ll have some...”
Shin Ara set up the tea spread like it was her own home.
Victoria, who’d been hesitant, sat down in a daze and started munching on a cupcake.
She’d clearly starved for a while, obediently eating whatever was offered.
She occasionally glanced around warily, as if anxious about something, but her puffed cheeks were so cute that Shin Ara relaxed a bit.
“Shall we do our session while eating?”
Sharing the sweet treats brought them closer.
Sensing the mood, Shin Ara subtly broached the main topic to achieve her goal.
Truth be told, she was confident in depression treatment.
At the counseling center, she’d been stuck with couples counseling for some reason, leaving her—a 25-year-old single woman—depressed all the time.
Moreover, wasn’t Victoria her first client?
Having known her for so long, she knew Victoria’s pains inside out.
“Th-Then... should I start talking now?”
“Yes! Tell me freely, no pressure!”
And so began the psychological counseling session with Victoria Chernakoshka.
Shin Ara focused intently on the frail voice, determined not to miss a single clue.
But as the session went on, the story veered into weird territory.
Her confidence shattered in less than ten minutes, even giving it the benefit of the doubt.
“Um... so, you got isekai’d into a war game and returned after four years?”
“Yes... that’s right.”
“W-What? How’s the stalker issue?”
“That worries me too... I don’t want us running into each other and getting hurt...”
Something’s off.
Her depression hadn’t just worsened—it had evolved.
Due to being isekai’d into a game and fighting a long war, she’d developed partial memory loss and severe PTSD.
If the listener weren’t a counselor, they’d dismiss it as nonsense.
‘What the hell happened?’
But Victoria’s trembling didn’t seem like a lie.
No, as a counselor, dismissing a client’s issues as nonsense violated principles from the start.
Shin Ara gazed steadily at Victoria sitting before her.
Her cowed look, like a rain-soaked kitten, instinctively stirred maternal instincts.
She felt like she could empathize deeply even in couples counseling right now.
Overwhelmed by pity from the depths of her heart, Shin Ara had no choice but to believe her.
“Thank you for reaching out despite how hard it must’ve been. How about we try a different approach from usual? Your case seems special.”
“Y-You believe me? It sounds ridiculous.”
“I was surprised, but no need to doubt. Why would you lie to me, Victoria?”
“Y-Yeah... you’re right...”
Her expression brightened at being believed.
Shin Ara sighed in relief and started devising a plan.
PTSD was a mental illness, of course, and she knew how to handle it.
She’d just never met a war-induced case, so she was a bit flustered.
Especially since it involved a game-related mental illness, she had to tread carefully.
VR games had succeeded commercially only because psychiatry had debunked the risks.
Linking games and mental illness now could get her stoned.
Gamers worldwide had buried claims that ‘VR games increase violence’ long ago, fearing it’d halt VR development.
‘Can I handle this quietly on my own?’
Even touching gamers’ sore spot, she couldn’t abandon Victoria.
Ignoring this small, cute girl? Better to change careers.
She’d cure Victoria’s mental illness with her own hands.
Shin Ara ignited her resolve as a counselor, embracing her fate.
“You seem to have post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD as it’s commonly called. Heard of it?”
“Huh? Yeah... I have.”
“It might burden you, but honestly: to treat PTSD, you must face and overcome your trauma. Even that’s hard to fully cure; it just improves symptoms.”
“Face my trauma?”
“It hurts, but it’s true. Any war experiences that stick out? I know it’s tough, but please share.”
Steel-ing herself, Shin Ara began the care right away.
Her top university grades meant she stuck to standard methods.
But Victoria’s state looked precarious after hearing her words.
Her depressed eyes turned vacant, the atmosphere turning ominously tense.
She was probably recalling buried horrors.
It felt like facing someone who’d been through hell, tensing even Shin Ara, who’d seen all kinds of mental illnesses.
“War memories... too many to pick from...”
“N-No pressure. Take your time.”
Finally, Victoria’s sealed lips parted.
And Shin Ara couldn’t hold back her shock at what followed.
“Know Panzerfaust? Like an RPG, an anti-tank weapon. One day, a squadmate scavenged one. He fiddled alone to figure it out, and curious comrades didn’t stop him.”
“Comrades... yes. Go on.”
“It fired in an instant. No time to stop it—the warhead flew far. Lucky he faced away, or our tank would’ve been wrecked.”
“So no one got hurt? What a relief.”
“No. Too many comrades hurt. Anti-tank weapons have fierce backblast. The ones behind him shredded to bits.”
“......”
“Blood and flesh rained down like rain. Those whiners about the cold... that blood was weirdly hot.”
Victoria shuddered, recalling the sensation.
Shin Ara was speechless at the horror beyond expectations.
But Victoria’s recollection didn’t end there.
Huddling smaller, face buried in her knees, she continued.
“Cold reminds me... One day was freezing; we scrounged for covers. Cold scared us more than Germans.”
“......I see.”
“Found discarded uniforms by the road. Muddy, but washable for bedding. Reached out quick.”
“Conditions must’ve been awful...”
“Yeah. But pulling from mud, it was too heavy. Looked closer: arm-like thing attached. Lifting top dragged pants too.”
“......”
“Turned out it was a corpse. Tank tracks flattened countless times. Still remember that face. Leather left, but agonized death... that face leather caught on my arm...... Urk.”
“V-Victoria?!”
Mid-sentence, Victoria bolted up and dashed to the bathroom.
She vomited painfully, emptying her stomach.
Shocked, Shin Ara followed but could do little.
She just erased her last doubts, choosing to believe Victoria.
“S-Sorry... stomach turned suddenly...”
“No need to apologize... You did nothing wrong...”
“Should I... keep going?”
“No... that’s enough. Sorry for making you relive bad memories.”
Victoria’s wounds were worse than imagined.
Without urgent help, her health could deteriorate too.
Shin Ara patted her small, frail back and glanced out from the bathroom.
In the corner of the studio gleamed the latest VR gear, oblivious.
PTSD treatment starts with facing trauma.
No time to be picky about methods.