The Transmigrator (4)
The scream tore out of me before I could stop it. “Aaaaaaaaagh!!!”
A searing agony ripped through my skull like a wild animal clawing at my brain. It felt as if every single nerve in my body was being shredded by a razor. The pain devoured what little sanity I had left, erasing every coherent thought until nothing remained.
‘Is this… how I die again?’
I had already died once. I had been given a second chance, a chance to dream of a tomorrow. And now I was going to lose it all so pointlessly? No. I refused. This time, I wanted to live a happy life.
I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw creaked. The overwhelming pain spread through every limb, tormenting my fragile little body. But I wasn’t like an ordinary girl. My body might have been young, but my soul was anything but.
While my physical form kept screaming helplessly, the researcher watching me simply sighed, probably thinking I was just throwing a tantrum. In that moment, I scraped together the last shred of my willpower.
What I recalled was the contract I had made with this research institute.
In this world—Psycho Bridge—a contract carried two distinct meanings.
The first was the ordinary kind. A legal agreement between people, enforceable by law, just like in my original world. Break it, and you face legal consequences.
The second was an absolute contract formed through magical power.
Long ago, the Holy Maiden of the Holy Kingdom had created the Ten Commandments. One of those absolute rules, designed to rein in rampaging espers and integrate them into society, was the seventh clause: the Absolute Contract.
Its effect was simple. When both parties signed a contract document engraved with a phrase from the Ten Commandments, the absolute contract activated. If either side broke the terms, the Commandment tattoo etched over their heart would explode, killing them instantly.
Of course, it didn’t trigger immediate death the moment a violation occurred. If Party A was caught breaking the contract, Party B could send a formal notice that restricted Party A’s actions in relation to that specific breach.
And the pain I was experiencing right now was clearly life-threatening. It could easily lead to death by shock. This was a blatant violation of the clause that read: “Under no circumstances shall the subject suffer permanent bodily damage or death due to experimentation.”
So, even as my mind bleached white from the agony, I forced out a single, gasping sentence.
“This… is a contract violation…”
The moment those words left my lips, I felt a strange surge of mana stir near my heart. I stopped resisting the oncoming pain and let my consciousness slip away.
Absolute Contract has detected a violation.
A formal notice has been automatically dispatched to the other party.
*
“Damn it all! You sent us a drug with side effects like this? Have you lost your mind?!”
Wilhelm, director of the National Esper Research Institute, rarely raised his voice. Yet here he was, shouting into the phone at the person on the other end. His secretary watched with a calm expression, feeling that this outburst was entirely justified.
‘They told us the side effects would only cause mild pain… but the agony far exceeded any reasonable threshold…’
As a result, the girl who had signed the Ten Commandments contract with the director had felt her life was in danger and sent him an official notice.
“Stop apologizing! I will not let this matter slide. Consider yourself warned.”
Ignoring the desperate pleas coming from the receiver, Wilhelm slammed the phone down. He took a deep breath, trying to cool his flushed forehead.
“Hoo… Secretary, prepare my clothes. It seems I must speak with the girl about that notice.”
“Understood.”
The secretary bowed politely, then left the director’s office to fetch his clothes, leaving Wilhelm sighing heavily behind her. Once a notice had been sent, the situation could no longer be resolved easily—no matter that the other party was just a child.
She glanced back at the director’s office with sympathetic eyes.
A short while later, Wilhelm, now dressed in the clothes the secretary had brought, called the researcher who was looking after the girl.
“How is the girl’s condition?”
“She fainted from shock. There are no visible physical injuries, but there is a high probability of post-traumatic stress disorder developing.”
“PTSD, huh…”
Wilhelm stroked his rough beard and let out another sigh.
“I see… When do you think she’ll wake up?”
“Judging by her brainwave activity, she should regain consciousness within thirty minutes.”
“Then we’d better hurry.”
Wilhelm quickened his steps toward the infirmary where the girl was resting.
‘It would probably be better for her to see me and the secretary when she wakes up, rather than those gloomy researchers.’
It was a small act of consideration on his part.
*
“Ugh… This ceiling looks unfamiliar. Where am I now?”
As my hazy mind slowly began to function properly again, the first thought that surfaced was, ‘Did I die again?’
A month ago, when the thirty-something office worker I used to be had died and opened his eyes, he had found himself inside a strange glass tube. So this time, had I died from shock and woken up in yet another new world…?
Of course, that was ridiculous nonsense.
“Are you awake now?”
“Ugh… Director? I’m not dead, am I…”
I clutched my throbbing head and turned it slightly. Several IV drips attached to my left arm came into view. I wasn’t sure whether my shout about the contract violation had worked or if I had simply passed out, but it seemed I was now in the facility’s infirmary.
When I rolled my eyes a little further, I saw people. A man in a dark suit and a muscular old man wearing a gray pinstripe suit. For a second I thought they might be researchers, but judging by their appearances and clothing, the odds of them being either researchers or doctors treating me were practically zero.
After all, faces don’t lie.
That left only one possibility.
“Are you the director?”
When I asked the muscular old man, he gave a gentle smile and nodded.
“That’s right, Miss Plea. I am Wilhelm, director of this research institute. The muscular fellow behind me is my secretary. I believe the two of you have met before?”
I nodded at his words. Although this was my first time meeting the man who introduced himself as Wilhelm, I remembered the secretary. The previous Plea had met him before.
“You’re the uncle who was there when I signed the contract, right?”
“Correct.”
As expected from a muscular, expressionless giant, his answer was short and to the point. Like I said, faces really don’t lie.
“…”
“…”
Had the director expected me and the secretary to chat casually? Maybe he thought a child’s natural friendliness would help me find common ground with the secretary I had met once before. Unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly the outgoing type.
“Ahem… The atmosphere has grown rather awkward. How does your body feel?”
Sensing the chilly air in the room, the director stepped in and quickly brought up the main topic. But that wasn’t exactly a good idea either.
Because the moment that excruciating memory resurfaced, I grabbed both my arms and began to tremble violently.
It’s okay. It’s okay. My mind tried to calm my body, but it was as if PTSD had already set in. I shook uncontrollably, breathing in short, ragged gasps.
“So the possibility of post-traumatic stress disorder was real… It seems it has already begun. I’ll leave it to you, Secretary.”
“Understood.”
At the director’s command, the secretary approached me without a word and held out both hands.
“I will begin stabilization.”
A soft green light flowed from his palms and seeped into my body. It gently soothed my brain, which had been running wild with traumatic memories.
“Breathe in slowly, then exhale.”
Following his instructions, I took a deep breath and let it out with a long sigh. After repeating the process several times, my trembling body finally returned to normal. I looked at the secretary with a mixture of admiration and awe.
“What do you think? My secretary is quite useful, isn’t he?”
When I nodded, the director began to explain more about him.
“His ability is called Stabilization. As you just experienced, he is a rare healing-type esper who can stabilize both the mind and body. With just one use of his power, even someone my age could pull all-nighters for an entire week. There’s really no need to say more, is there?”
The director chuckled heartily, treating the secretary as the butt of his joke. Apparently deciding the mood had lightened enough, he moved straight to the main issue.
“Ahem… So, about this incident. Shall we resolve it amicably? I have already contacted the place that manufactured that cursed drug and given them a stern warning. Naturally, that drug will never be administered again. As compensation—though I suppose it’s not much—I will change all your meals to special courses starting tomorrow. How does that sound?”
“Special meals… every day?”
“Of course. Delicious food every single day.”
As the director laughed warmly, I felt saliva pooling in my mouth. Special meals every day. Even though I could only eat two meals a day, the idea of eating high-quality food daily was a luxury I had never enjoyed in my previous life.
I swallowed hard. The director saw my reaction and let out a sigh of relief, thinking I had accepted the offer… but I had to remind him that while this body was that of a child, my soul was fully adult. And any proper adult knows how to endure immediate pleasure for the sake of the future.
“No. I’d like to ask for something else instead.”
At that, the director’s face darkened considerably.