Chapter 10: Paradise princess.

Chapter 9 – Princess of Paradise.

“Eun-wol, a girl estimated to be around 10 years old.

There’s no match for her DNA, fingerprints, blood, or facial features.

We’ve sought cooperation from associations in other countries, but the results are the same.”

“Hmm… what about the chains?”

“When the child lost consciousness, we tried to destroy the chains, but they didn’t even scratch, let alone break.

Scans show they’re made of an unknown material; neither magic nor artifacts affect them.”

“…”

“It’s as if they’re malicious objects, determined never to let go of the child.”

Upon Ryu Se-jin’s report, Choi Tae-seok considered stepping in to break them himself, but decided against it due to the risk of harming Eun-wol.

Just then, the door opened, and a tired-looking Ha-yeon entered and sat opposite him.

“How is the child you saw?”

“She’s not well.

It’s fortunate her body is fine, but mentally, it’s more severe than I thought.

She seems to take everything for granted, like a doll, and simply obeys commands.”

“…Is it brainwashing?”

“I don’t detect the magic of brainwashing spells, but the possibility can’t be ruled out.”

“Perhaps there’s a possibility of physical brainwashing.”

Ryu Se-jin, who had been listening quietly beside them, adjusted his glasses and continued speaking.

“Given the child’s regenerative abilities, she would return without dying, no matter the torture.

In other words, they could torture her as much as they wanted.

She actually feels insensitive to pain.”

“…”

으득-

Although it was merely a possibility, Choi Ha-yeon had to clench her teeth and suppress her anger.

Having seen the child’s eyes herself, she realized for the first time today that one could see dead eyes in a living person.

And even more so if the owner of those eyes was a child…

“To speak coldly, we still don’t know what kind of being Eun-wol is.

Normally, we’d have to quarantine and monitor her, but…”

Ryu Se-jin, who was watching Eun-wol talking with Ha-yeon on the screen, clicked his tongue in displeasure as he spoke.

“Even I don’t want to do such things to a child.”

“…”

Choi Tae-seok, who had been listening silently, wanted to help Eun-wol, but his position as Association President required him to set aside personal feelings.

Therefore, he made a choice.

“Choi Ha-yeon.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“You will monitor that child.

Observe all her actions and words, and I will entrust you with deciding her disposition.”

“…”

Ha-yeon’s expression darkened at the word “disposition,” but she soon realized Choi Tae-seok’s intention.

It meant entrusting her entirely with taking care of the child whose identity was unknown, under the guise of monitoring her.

“I understand, Grandfather… no, President.”

“Good, then where is the child now?”

“I just dropped her off at the psychological counseling room.

She’s on the screen there.”

“Is the counselor trustworthy?”

“Lee Su-hyeon, she’s my colleague, and I think she’s the most trustworthy among counselors, at least.”

Nodding at Ha-yeon’s words, everyone focused on the screen where the counseling session was about to begin.

Inside the hospital’s psychological counseling room, Eun-wol sat quietly on a chair.

She was staring blankly at something, unmoving, truly like a doll.

What she was looking at was the teddy bear Choi Ha-yeon had left behind before she departed.

A normal child would show interest in the doll and touch it, but Eun-wol was staring blankly, as if she had never seen a doll before.

It was as if she didn’t know how to play with a doll… or rather, what kind of object it even was.

“…How long has she been alone?”

“It’s been 30 minutes.

Normally, we give at least an hour for patients to organize their thoughts before counseling.”

Since the appearance of gates, many hunters had developed mental illnesses, and providing an hour of personal time was standard, but the child on screen was far from normal.

“Even if she weren’t a hunter, she’s not exhibiting any basic unconscious human behaviors.

No scratching her head, no rubbing her nose, no tapping the desk, no shaking her leg… no habits or actions at all.”

“What does that imply?”

“Normally, these are considered psychopathic behaviors, but in her case…”

Ryu Se-jin hesitated for a moment, as his statement would add to the possibility he had just mentioned, but then he continued.

“It’s the behavior of a brainwashing victim who has been continuously tortured and limited herself to the extreme.”

“What on earth happened to that small child…”

Ha-yeon spoke with tears welling up in her eyes, but Choi Tae-seok remained silent.

No, mana was subtly leaking from him, showing that even he, the Association President, was struggling to suppress his emotions.

“Call the counselor.”

“Understood.”

Although it wasn’t time yet, Ryu Se-jin didn’t make any remarks and immediately sent in the counselor.

Soon after, a plainly dressed woman entered the room and sat opposite Eun-wol, who was quietly seated.

“Hello, Eun-wol.

My name is Lee Su-hyeon.”

“Hello.”

“Today, I’d like to talk with you, but if you’re tired or don’t want to answer, please feel free to say so at any time.”

“Understood.”

“Do you have any favorite foods?”

“I haven’t tried them, so I don’t know.”

“Do you like cute animals?”

“I haven’t seen them in person, so I don’t know.”

“The weather was lovely today.

Did you perhaps want to go for a walk?”

It was a counseling session starting with very light questions, but Eun-wol’s answers were mostly “I don’t know.”

If she were lying, it would indicate that her heart was closed due to many wounds, but her words were all true, which instead flustered the counselor, Lee Su-hyeon.

But a pro is a pro.

Calmly, she eased the atmosphere by sharing her own stories, like how delicious her breakfast was or how cute the cat she saw today was.

As time passed, she gradually approached Eun-wol with more familiarity, speaking more comfortably.

“By the way, this doll is really cute, won’t you give it a hug?”

“I’m fine.”

“But it’s so soft and warm?”

Lee Su-hyeon took the teddy bear, moved its hand, and showed it to Eun-wol, but she showed no reaction and spoke.

“Is that an order?”

“…No, it’s not.”

Lee Su-hyeon awkwardly put the doll down and moved on to another topic.

After talking about everyday things for a while longer, Lee Su-hyeon carefully moved on.

“By the way, I heard about what happened at the Crow Guild.

Was there anything difficult for you there?”

“No, there was nothing particularly difficult.”

“…Is that so.”

Having already heard what happened at the Crow Guild, she was flustered by Eun-wol’s completely unexpected answer.

However, she continued the conversation without showing any disturbance.

“Then, what did you think when you got hurt?”

“I merely did what was natural.”

“Natural…?”

Lee Su-hyeon had counseled countless hunters and young children, but she realized from this very short conversation that Eun-wol’s counseling would be difficult.

A child whose heart was so deeply wounded that she was broken.

She wondered if it was even possible to return such a child to a normal state, but she had to abandon such thoughts now that the session had begun.

“I heard you can take away other people’s injuries, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And your injuries heal quickly?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Isn’t it difficult?”

“…?”

At the reaction indicating difficulty even in understanding the meaning of a simple question like “Isn’t it difficult?”, Lee Su-hyeon’s hand, which was writing down the counseling notes, trembled.

However, Lee Su-hyeon steeled herself as if determined not to give up and moved on to the next stage.

Having confirmed the child’s condition, the next step was to find the cause that created her.

In other words, it was about gathering information about the child.

“Ahem, Eun-wol, is there anything you want to do once you leave the hospital?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then, is there no one you want to see?

For example, your mom or dad…”

“No, there’s no one I want to see.”

“…”

Lee Su-hyeon noticed a small clue in that last answer.

If she had no parents, she would have said so, but saying she didn’t want to see anyone implied that parents existed but she didn’t want to see them.

In other words, domestic abuse could be suspected.

Therefore, she decided to delve a little deeper into that aspect.

“Can you tell me where you came from, Eun-wol?”

“…”

To that question, Eun-wol, for the first time, didn’t answer immediately before opening her mouth.

“I came from Paradise.”

“…Paradise?”

Lee Su-hyeon briefly considered asking directly about Paradise, but it could also be a delusion or a dream of a traumatized child.

Of course, it could be a real place, but since it was the first day, she decided not to delve deeply and moved on to the next question.

“Paradise, what a wonderful place to come from.

I’d really like to visit a place called Paradise too.”

“…I see.”

“People live there too, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Could you tell me what the people there called you, Eun-wol?”

Lee Su-hyeon asked lightly to gauge Eun-wol’s surrounding figures, but the answer she received was anything but light.

“Meat shield.”

“I see, meat shie… what?”

For a moment, Lee Su-hyeon wondered if she had misheard, but Eun-wol continued speaking calmly and quietly.

“Sacrificer, Cursed Child, s*ave of Chains, Source of War, Holy Grail…”

“And finally…”

“Princess of Paradise.”