Extreme deception.
I brought back the Seo Ah from the past and manipulated her at will.
What would have happened if someone other than Shihu had done this?
She couldn’t take the pill.
That’s how it used to be.
It was strange to inject her with the syringe, something Seo Ah used to fear.
Back then, she was terrified even of the syringe needle.
She had said we should take the medicine later and went for a walk.
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It’s a deception.
The walking path feels strange even to Shihu.
It seems like a place falling apart, but the area is completely different from the old house.
And if we were to be specific, this place is closer to the countryside.
"Everything feels unfamiliar. Something is off."
Seo Ah’s impression.
We finished our walk.
Actually, it’s not just Seo Ah who feels strange, it’s Shihu too.
"There’s a bandage... What’s this?"
After a short walk, we returned home.
I had placed the bandages around Seo Ah’s scars to prevent her from noticing them right away.
And again, the deception continues.
"It’s nothing."
Seo Ah accepts this, just as she always does.
Because of the medicine.
Just like how a duck thinks the first thing it sees is its mother after hatching.
Seo Ah is similar.
She believes and accepts everything Shihu says.
"Can I take it off?"
"No, not yet. I’ve called someone to treat it... keep it on until then."
"Okay, but why am I hurt?"
She’s in pain.
It’s hard to say exactly where or how it hurts.
"It will be fine soon."
"I don’t remember being hurt."
The memory was erased by Shihu.
To make things convenient.
"Looks like you’re troubled about something. Right?"
It would be a lie to say there’s nothing.
Shihu stays silent.
"Tell me. I’ll fix it for you."
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard these words.
Honestly, if we’re talking about age, Shihu is probably the older one.
I don’t know his exact age, but it would be strange for Seo Ah to call herself the older sister.
"Why? Huh? Just tell me. I always tell you when I have worries."
We need to talk to each other.
Seo Ah knew this very well.
For a friend to remain a friend.
For a family to stay like a family, they need to talk.
Not just one-sided deception.
Perhaps that’s where the problem started from the very beginning.
Everything went wrong the moment Shihu hid the truth from Seo Ah.
With the thought that she could handle it alone.
With the idea that she couldn’t be put in danger.
It was out of goodwill.
But twisted goodwill is nothing but malice.
"Shihu, why? Huh? Why? Is it because of me? Did I do something wrong? You said there was nothing strange just a moment ago."
Seo Ah urges him to speak quickly.
But the truth can’t be told.
Now, I can’t even tell what the truth is.
There’s no benefit in knowing the truth.
Knowing it won’t solve anything.
"I’ll tell you later."
That’s the best I could come up with.
After everything’s done, I’ll tell you.
"When it’s all over, we’ll talk about it."
"...Looks like you’re going through something difficult."
Seo Ah nods as if she understands this much.
"Yeah..."
Shihu answers indifferently.
It’s tough.
It feels like my judgment is about halfway collapsed.
I just want to be with Seo Ah.
The ones who ruined Seo Ah were others.
For reasons I can’t understand.
But now, it’s Shihu’s turn.
To ruin things himself.
"Don’t worry. Over time, everything will be solved. I’m here with you."
He encourages me.
With a smile.
"Yeah."
"I like that about you. How you try hard. How you never give up."
It’s the first time I’ve heard such praise from Seo Ah in a long while.
I should feel happy, but I don’t.
Something feels cold in my chest.
"Thanks to you, I always rely on you."
It’s not unusual for Seo Ah to say things like this.
She would often thank Shihu when they were young.
But it’s been a long time since she last said it.
"So, if you have something on your mind, tell me. It’s better for us to rely on each other."
In an equal relationship, that’s possible.
But now, Shihu holds all the power.
Seo Ah just doesn’t realize it.
Shihu can’t bring himself to say anything.
If he says there’s no problem, Seo Ah will believe him.
From Seo Ah’s perspective, this is [N O V E L I G H T] a series of absurd events.
But she accepts everything just by hearing Shihu’s words.
Thinking about it is scary.
Shihu has controlled Seo Ah to the point of altering her sense of reason.
Every word has to be chosen carefully.
There’s nothing that can be revealed to Seo Ah here.
"...It’s okay."
"Yeah. If you say so, then it must be."
Seo Ah stops asking, looking relieved.
It’s clear that Shihu is twisting Seo Ah’s way of thinking.
But it’s necessary.
To keep Seo Ah from being shocked.
Suddenly, a thought crosses my mind.
Isn’t this just brainwashing?
Manipulating my childhood friend for my benefit.
Erasing all the bad memories, and making Seo Ah a happy version of herself.
If Seo Ah is happy, Shihu will be happy too, that’s the calculation.
What if one day Seo Ah finds out?
It’s already precarious enough.
That’s why I have to finish it quickly.
I need to treat Seo Ah.
"...Someone will be here soon to treat you."
For now, I have to use the Saintess.
***
Generally, the Saintess can heal anything.
Shihu forcibly dragged her here, and while she’s not happy about it, the Saintess still agreed to help Seo Ah.
"It's not at the level of drug addiction..."
This was the conclusion after examining Seo Ah.
Seo Ah is peacefully sleeping.
"You can get rid of the scars, right?"
"Wow..."
She checked with her skill.
The more she examined Seo Ah, the darker the Saintess's expression became.
The Saintess is responsible too.
It was the Saintess who handed Seo Ah over to the laboratory.
"Why?"
"The drug you gave her... it was for resetting her memories."
"Yeah."
"I don’t usually say this, but... is this really something you should do to a close friend?"
The Saintess also has doubts.
Ethically, this doesn’t seem right.
"Shouldn’t you be the one to say that? You tried to alter memories too."
The Saintess tried to destroy memories before.
"I’m sorry, but what you did isn’t all that different..."
The person who tried to alter memories, the person who successfully carried it out, was Shihu.
Even more seriously than the Saintess.
"Just heal her already."
"Mm."
The Saintess erases the scars.
"[Partial treatment]"
She erases and erases.
"I was wondering why erasing scars was so urgent..."
The Saintess feels a pang of pity every time she looks at Seo Ah.
What she did to the Saintess in the laboratory was nothing compared to this.
Maybe because the Saintess was a higher-ranking person, she didn’t do things like marking on her body.
But Seo Ah’s treatment was different.
"Well, the visible scars are all gone now."
The scars are gone cleanly.
"But the visible ones are just that. There’s too much mixed in, so it can’t be fully treated."
This isn’t the right way to handle a human.
There was a time when she tried to treat a monster.
It feels similar to that time.
"Can you restore her eyes to the way they were?"
"If I force it, I can. But it’s no longer in the realm of treatment... the symptoms of her turning into a dragon, right? You said the horns are starting to appear. You’re controlling her magic to hold it back, right?"
"For now."
"One thing... can I try something?"
The Saintess has something she wants to do.
To help Seo Ah, and also to satisfy her curiosity.
"What do you want to do?"
"I suppose you could call it inner penetration. Like what I did to you..."
"No."
It couldn’t be.
She remembers the attempt to destroy memories.
Shihu refuses immediately.
"I understand you don’t trust me, but you can come in too. You’ll be able to see Seo Ah’s state most directly, won’t you?"
This is the most certain thing.
"...Go ahead."
"Alright, then. [Treatment starting!]"
Bang.
With the sound of space bursting, the surrounding environment changes.
"Usually, in here, the patient’s memories or inner world are reflected, and what moves is usually the patient’s own consciousness, or their unconscious mind."
Sometimes, like in Shihu’s case, characters in the memory can move by themselves.
Shihu saw Seo Ah’s image move in the memory.
In the case of family or close friends, they sometimes appear in an active form in others' memories.
"It’s dark."
Just as expected.
The inner world is just dark.
This is especially true for patients of this kind.
And since Seo Ah is sleeping, it might be why.
It might be better to look at Seo Ah’s memories first.
"Wait, someone’s there."
Shihu keeps watch ahead.
It’s Seo Ah’s world, but it’s not Seo Ah.
"Who... oh, that’s..."
The outline soon becomes clear.
It’s Shihu.
But it’s the Shihu drawn in Seo Ah’s consciousness.
"It’s... me?"
Since Seo Ah had Shihu in her world, it’s not strange for Shihu to appear in Seo Ah’s world as well.
The fake Shihu speaks.
"Ah, hello. Shihu. Have you seen the ending?"
It says something incomprehensible.
The fake Shihu is smiling.
"What?"
"Not yet? It should be wrapping up by now. The doctor’s probably dead, the big companies are all broken, and the government’s malfunctioning... the attempts to take the power from the Awakened must’ve been well stopped, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
This is the Shihu that appeared in Seo Ah’s world.
So is this the version of Shihu that Seo Ah sees?
"...This is strange. A different entity can’t appear before the patient. This shouldn’t happen."
The Saintess murmurs.
The fake Shihu glances at the Saintess and laughs, as if finding it amusing.
"What is this? The Saintess? Is this how you looked?"
"Do you... know me?"
The Saintess is confused.
Every personality that appears in Seo Ah’s world should be bound by Seo Ah’s own limits.
She shouldn’t know the Saintess.
It’s possible the doctor told her.
"Anyway, Shihu, it seems like none of the things I said were successful. Nothing’s really efficient, huh? If you want to correct your mistakes, you should just kill Seo Ah."
Could the existence of this fake Shihu be caused by the drug?
It’s clear that this fake Shihu is an incomprehensible entity.
"Go straight toward your goal. Living like a parasite with Seo Ah, barely hanging on, isn’t the same."
Is this really how Seo Ah perceives Shihu?
It’s strange.
It’s all twisted.
"No."
"What do you mean, no? You can’t have that attitude. Seo Ah is hoping that you’ll be the hero who saves the world."
"..."
"It’s always been like that. She never gave up on you. She even considered suicide for you, so what are you doing? Wake up. You need to make a happy ending."