Chapter 34
Treatment for Androphobia.
For Isabel Maria Kim, a candidate for Saintess of the International Orthodox Church, it was a task and duty that always followed her around like a label.
To become a symbolic priest of the Orthodox Church, she had to be capable of performing healing miracles for everyone.
The fact that she could heal no more than half of humanity—women alone—was enough to demote her from a potential Saintess to a mere Saintess candidate, and so she had traveled all the way from the Vatican to faraway Korea to cure her phobia.
After all, she thought that if she worked as a Hunter in the very place where she had developed her fear of men, she would naturally be able to cure that fear as well.
…Those terrifying memories caused by her adoptive father and adoptive mother when she was young.
‘Stay still. If you scream for no reason, I’ll strangle you to death.’
‘I’ve fed you and given you a place to sleep, so shouldn’t you repay me somehow, even if it means doing this? How long are you going to shamelessly keep pretending to be innocent?’
“……”
They were memories so frightening that they still occasionally appeared in her dreams.
Memories of fleeing barefoot from that hellish house to escape the hideous object thrust right up in front of her eyes.
Because of them, Isabel still carried trauma related to men, and those childhood memories had hindered her more times than she could count—dozens, even hundreds.
Not only with men who had nothing to do with her adoptive father, but even with the man who had risked his life to save her, she could barely bring herself to meet his eyes.
‘If things continue like this, I’ll inevitably end up holding other people back someday.’
Monsters did not distinguish between men and women.
Once she entered Cheonmu Academy and began joint training with other Hunters, there would naturally be many occasions when she had to treat the injured, and half of those patients would of course be male Hunter candidates.
Some situations would be so urgent that someone’s life was at stake, so she could not keep running away forever simply because she was afraid.
This time, a different fear had been stronger, allowing her to overcome her terror somehow, but if something similar happened again, would she really be able to overcome it?
‘I think it would be best to hear him out one more time….’
For now, Mr. Lee Seonho seemed different from other men.
He was someone who could overcome his fear in front of a huge monster and even had the courage to sacrifice himself to save someone else.
Unlike her, who had fled again and again from fear, he was someone who could truly be called a Hunter.
Since it was an offer from someone like that, there was probably no ill intent behind his words. There was a good chance he had brought it up because he genuinely wanted to help her with her androphobia.
‘Perhaps he really could cure my phobia.’
She was still afraid, but he was nevertheless different from other men.
Until now, he was the only man she had ever managed to treat after overcoming her fear.
If she gradually grew accustomed to Lee Seonho, who was at least somewhat familiar to her compared with other men, perhaps she could somehow suppress these memories from the past.
-Rattle.
With those thoughts in mind, Isabel cautiously opened the door and entered the hospital room where he was alone.
…Without the other priests who had always stayed by her side, all by herself.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
-Rattle.
“I-I-I-I’ll give you your evening treatment…. I-I-I’ll do it….”
“……”
Isabel slowly and cautiously closed the door as she entered.
The tension she could not possibly hide hung about her fidgeting figure.
Food delivery was one thing, but during treatment, when she had to make direct physical contact, Isabel always brought two other priests along. Without them, she could not overcome her fear while treating a man like me.
But now she had come alone, without any of them. Seeing the resolve in her movements, I could sense how determined she was to overcome her androphobia somehow through me.
…Even though her expression was still completely hidden behind her veil.
“Are you sure you’ll be all right coming in alone without the other priests?”
“T-the o-other priests happened to be busy…. I-I’ll treat you perfectly, so you d-don’t have to worry….”
Isabel mechanically blurted out an excuse I had not even asked for and took one step at a time toward me like a newborn foal.
Whether she could properly treat me in that state was beside the point. Just seeing how frightened she was of me while standing before me was heartbreaking.
The best approach would be to use suggestion to gradually familiarize her with men, just as I had done when treating Cha Eun-joo’s timid personality….
The most important question was whether Isabel would willingly accept a suggestion based solely on my verbal persuasion.
“Isabel.”
“Y-yes, yes, yes…! W-why did you call me…?”
“Have you thought about what I asked during dinner? The method of treating your androphobia by receiving my buff.”
“…I-I have thought about it, but…. T-that is….”
“Of course, I understand that receiving a buff from a man like me might be frightening. But I’m saying this because I think you’ll suffer even more than I will if things continue this way. I suppose it can’t be helped if I seem a little suspicious for making the same offer repeatedly….”
“N-no, no…. I-I don’t mean that I distrust you, Mr. Lee Seonho, or a-anything like that….”
“Good. Then I’m glad.”
“……”
Isabel quietly lowered her head without saying anything.
Even though I could not see her expression, I felt as though I could read her emotions to some extent. Perhaps she was feeling a little guilty toward me and wondering whether she should accept the buff.
If she received my buff, that alone would naturally dispel any suspicion that she distrusted me. Although I could not see her expression, I roughly knew Isabel’s personality, so I could easily imagine the face hidden beneath her veil.
“Ex-excuse me….”
“Yes, Isabel.”
“Th-the buff…. W-what exactly is its name…? A-and are there any side effects…? H-how long does it last, and c-can it be canceled midway, and also….”
“…You don’t have to ask in such a hurry. I’ll explain everything one thing at a time. If you want to write it down somewhere, that’s fine too.”
“Y-yes….”
As soon as she heard me, Isabel took a notepad and pen from her pocket and prepared to write.
She seemed to want to record everything carefully, read through it, and then make her decision, perhaps because of her cautious personality.
Well, generally speaking, that was the right decision. Cha Eun-joo, who had accepted a buff—or some kind of suggestion—without knowing whether it was a buff or brainwashing, was the unusual case.
‘I hope she doesn’t become too wary just from hearing the name Heart of a Succubus.’
That was the most fatal flaw of suggestion. The suggestion skill itself could be concealed, but the names of its specific effects could not, so if one used a strange suggestion, the other person would notice.
If I explained that part carefully, I could place a suggestion on Isabel once again.
…A suggestion that would treat her androphobia while simultaneously making her feel romantic attraction toward me.
“If you agree to let me use a buff on you, Isabel, the buff I’ll give you is called ‘Heart of a Succubus.’”
“…A succubus is the name of a d-demon that steals men’s life essence, isn’t it…?”
“I don’t mean that I’ll turn you into an actual succubus or have you enter a direct contract with one. The buffs I can use basically borrow concepts from their names, so most of their names are rather straightforward.
For reference, the buff Cha Eun-joo usually receives from me before every battle is called ‘Potion of Courage.’ Do you understand what that means?”
“Ah, ah…. I-I understand….”
Even though the name of the demon called a succubus had come up, Isabel quietly listened without running away or condemning me.
I could not tell what emotions she held since I could not see her expression… but the fact that she was not openly running away meant I still had plenty of opportunities to persuade her.
She must have been desperate to rid herself of her androphobia.
I did not particularly feel guilty about taking advantage of her weakness. After all, I had used the same approach when seducing Cha Eun-joo, so why start feeling guilty now?
“Succubi are generally considered demons who like men, right? The buff I use works by adopting that concept. It makes even a woman who normally has no interest in the opposite sex develop feelings for men.”
“D-doesn’t that sound a little dangerous…? N-no matter how much you call it a buff, manipulating someone’s emotions….”
“Naturally, I don’t use it carelessly on just anyone. In the first place, it’s a buff that can’t be used if the other person rejects it. And regulating emotions ultimately depends on how it’s used, so it can’t be said to have only disadvantages.
The reason I was able to carry you and Cha Eun-joo in turns during the practical exam was that I used the buff ‘Adrenaline Burst’ to temporarily keep myself from feeling the pain inflicted on my body.”
“Ah, ah…. S-so that’s why you were able to move even though the muscles throughout your body were torn….”
“If I hadn’t used the buff that day, both you and Cha Eun-joo would have been in danger. I probably would have been in danger too. Of course, if you’re still afraid of a buff that affects emotions, Isabel, then I don’t really have anything more to say….”
“N-no, no…. I-if you use it that way, then I-I think it’s a good ability, of course….”
I continued the conversation in a way that left her room to think for herself while gradually making her feel a sense of guilt.
I blurred the psychological barriers she had before receiving my suggestion one by one: her aversion to the mental buff I possessed, her fear that the emotions she held might change because of the buff, and her doubts about whether a mental buff was truly necessary.
“May I continue explaining the buff from earlier?”
“Y-yes….”
“An ordinary person who received the buff ‘Heart of a Succubus’ would develop feelings of affection toward men. But since you have androphobia, Isabel, I think it would affect you a little differently from ordinary people.”
“H-how would it affect me…?”
“Well, I think you already know the answer, Isabel.”
“Pardon?”
“You received it from me once during the practical exam, remember? The buff called ‘Heart of a Succubus.’”
“……”
“……Y-yes, yes?”
Judging by how flustered she looked, as though she had no idea what I was talking about, she really did not remember. Perhaps she had been under the buff at such a hectic time that she had never noticed it until the very end.
Even so, she should be able to guess roughly when she had received the buff. There had been a brief period when she was able to speak with me, a man, without fear.
“Th-th-th-then, was it from when you held me that time…?”
“Yes, from that moment. It probably wore off after I passed out, so you returned to normal.”
“……”
“I’m sorry for using the buff on you without even asking your consent. But if I hadn’t used it then, I wouldn’t have been able to carry you and escape. I’m sorry.”
“N-no…. I don’t really think that was wrong, though….”
“Then can you forgive me?”
“……”
-Nod.
“Thank you. Truly.”
Isabel quietly nodded instead of answering me.
After briefly thanking her, I explained the rest of the details about the buff. I told her that I could cancel it at any time if she wished, and that even if I did not cancel it, it would end if I fell asleep or lost consciousness.
Even then, Isabel seemed worried and asked every detailed question she could think of, so I told her everything I could and quietly waited for her answer.
Whether she would receive my buff and cure her androphobia, or give up because she was afraid of having her emotions manipulated.
‘…I’ve managed to persuade her about the buff itself, so from here on, I’ll have to leave half of it to luck.’
What did Isabel really think about the memory of being forcibly given a buff… no, a suggestion, during the practical exam?
“I-I’ll try….”,