Chapter 36
“A-ah, a-ah, did you sleep well…?”
The morning of my third day hospitalized at the academy church.
It was quite early, before breakfast, when Kim Isabel opened the door and entered my hospital room.
“Yeah. Did you sleep well, Isabel?”
“Y-yesterday…. I-I-I’m sorry….”
“It’s all right. You could easily have been confused right after the buff wore off. I understand. I was the one who suggested trying it, after all.”
“Th-that may be true, but…. Y-yesterday….”
“Hm?”
“I-I failed to give you your evening treatment….”
So she did remember after all. I had wondered whether she might simply forget it entirely.
“T-today, I’ll treat you even before breakfast…. Th-that way, it’ll be four times….”
“I don’t mind. Since Isabel is the expert when it comes to handling holy power, I don’t intend to complain no matter what you decide.”
“……Y-yes.”
…Since I couldn’t read her expression, it was difficult to tell what emotional state she was in right now.
I wondered whether she might secretly blush because I accepted the changed treatment process without suspicion, or whether she was remembering how she had suddenly fled yesterday because she was frightened of me and comparing that past self with who she was now.
Both would ultimately become factors that made her develop feelings for me, so I didn’t need to examine them too closely.
“Could you treat me first? And if you’re all right with it, how about trying the treatment for Isabel’s androphobia that we did yesterday evening?”
“Y-yes…. Th-then I’ll treat you, so p-please stay still….”
“Okay. I’ll keep my eyes closed and stay still as usual, so call me when you’re finished.”
To keep Kim Isabel, who suffered from androphobia, from feeling pressured even by my gaze, I quietly closed my eyes and waited for her holy power to enter my body.
-Step, step.
“……Gasp.”
-Step, step.
“……Hoo.”
Even so, it seemed as though her footsteps were a little faster today than yesterday.
Lowering her guard once with ‘Heart of a Succubus’ had clearly worked in my favor. Even though the suggestion had worn off, her androphobia seemed slightly alleviated when it came to me, at least.
-Swoosh.
“H-hup….”
Kim Isabel placed both hands on my chest and let out another tense breath.
She had come alone, without the other priests, to treat me and had begun the treatment.
Even this alone told me that Kim Isabel’s trust in me had grown considerably. Letting her go without doing anything when she had been under suggestion yesterday had probably been the right approach.
I realized that my method of winning her over was correct and smiled inwardly.
“I-it’s d-done…. H-huu….”
“Thank you, Isabel.”
“Y-yes….”
“Then shall we continue yesterday’s treatment for your androphobia now? Is that all right?”
“Y-yes…. P-please….”
Her response seemed to contain a strange sense of anticipation, rather than being a voice trembling solely from fear.
It was more than enough to suggest that Kim Isabel wanted my ‘treatment.’
“Today, let’s use it for exactly one minute, then remove it. Is that all right?”
“Y-yes….”
“I’ll turn my head away and close my eyes like yesterday, so when you’re ready, just bring your head to my hand.”
“Y-yes….”
Even so, bringing the crown of her head to a man’s hand still seemed burdensome to her, and Kim Isabel hesitated for quite a long time.
I waited quietly and patiently for about a minute. Then, at some point, I felt the crown of her head, wrapped in soft cloth, touch my hand.
“H-h, h-huu….”
「Suggestion : Heart of a Succubus ※ Target : Isabel Maria Kim」
“Ngh, h-huu….”
Kim Isabel let out a tense breath, then relaxed completely the moment the buff… no, the suggestion took effect.
The amount of mana consumed was also slightly less than what I had used yesterday evening. That also meant her resistance to accepting my suggestion had decreased accordingly.
At this rate of consumption, I might be able to use it three or four more times today. She still had three visits left to treat me, so I would have plenty of mana to spare even after using it that many times.
“Did the buff work?”
“Yes, it did. Mr. Lee Seonho’s buff really is remarkably effective. I can feel my mind calming down as soon as I receive it.”
“I see. That’s good to hear. What about me?”
“I think you’re a trustworthy man, Mr. Lee Seonho. I felt it during the practical exam too, but you never hesitate to put yourself at a disadvantage or in danger if it’s for someone else’s sake.”
“…I meant whether you feel afraid of men.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“N-no, it’s not anything you need to apologize for. In any case, I appreciate the compliment.”
In truth, I had deliberately asked the question ambiguously. If I was lucky, I thought I might be able to get a glimpse of what Kim Isabel really felt.
And judging by what she had just said, it seemed that the impression of me as a fairly trustworthy man had already taken root in her mind.
With another woman, I would have started trying for physical contact around this point, but I absolutely couldn’t rush things with Kim Isabel.
I had plenty of time while I was hospitalized, anyway. If I stayed here through tomorrow and was discharged around the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, I would still have about seven or eight opportunities to use the suggestion on her.
The ideal outcome would be… for her to want to meet me of her own accord so she could receive my ‘suggestion.’
Just as with the shut-in Cha Eun-joo, my goal was to create an excuse to draw Kim Isabel, who rarely left the church, outside. Making this much progress at the church was more than enough.
“Right now, I don’t feel afraid or frightened when it comes to men. Just like last time, I also feel at ease with you, Mr. Lee Seonho, and feel that you’re someone I need.”
“If you gradually come to understand, on an intellectual level, that men aren’t frightening, you’ll slowly grow accustomed to them even after the buff wears off.”
“…Thank you for always being considerate, Mr. Lee Seonho. For understanding my androphobia and helping me treat the symptoms like this.”
“I’m doing it because I want to. Besides, while we’re treating it this way, I can talk comfortably with Isabel, so it’s not really a loss for me either.”
“……Y-yes.”
I casually hinted that talking with her was enjoyable for me too, but after a brief silence, she answered cautiously.
If only I could read her expression, I would be able to tell whether she was embarrassed or uncomfortable. That veil was certainly irritating.
Of course, if I carelessly asked her to take it off, the wariness I had worked so hard to lower would grow stronger again. It was best to avoid mentioning it as much as possible. Part of the reason Kim Isabel felt affection for me was that I was helping ‘someone whose face I didn’t even know.’
‘In fact, whether I knew her face or not, a figure like that would inevitably make a man feel attracted.’
Even though her body was tightly covered by her priest’s robes, the curves that couldn’t help but show kept drawing my eyes.
But if I stared at her with too lecherous a gaze, her wariness would grow, so all I did was observe her in brief, sweeping glances.
“A minute has passed, so let’s finish soon. You know how to remove it, right?”
“…Mr. Lee Seonho.”
“If you have something you want to say, how about saying it after the buff is removed? What you say in your current state might not be your genuine feelings, Isabel.”
“…Y-yes, that could be true.”
I also didn’t forget to build her trust little by little. I wanted to keep reinforcing the impression that I was someone who could control her ‘out-of-control self.’
Of course, once the suggestion was removed, there was a chance she would forget what she had wanted to say and flee like yesterday. But even considering that risk, building Kim Isabel’s trust was more important.
-Swoosh.
「Suggestion Removed」
“It’s over, Isabel.”
“H-h, h-hup…. H-huu….”
The moment the suggestion ended, Kim Isabel hurriedly pulled away from me again, her voice trembling as though she were about to cry.
I would have no choice but to keep seeing her like this for a while. Since she had been able to talk with a man so naturally while under the suggestion, the confusion when it wore off was bound to be intense.
At least she was doing much better than yesterday, when she had hurriedly fled after nearly falling. I would have to take comfort in that.
“Hoo, h-h, h-huu….”
“Are you all right?”
“……Y-yes…. C-compared to yesterday…. I-I think I can endure it a little better….”
Perhaps thanks to the two ‘treatments’ yesterday and today, Kim Isabel didn’t immediately flee when the suggestion wore off.
Seeing her gradually become accustomed to me, it seemed that the preliminary stages of her training were proceeding smoothly.
“H-ha, h-haah, haah….”
“Don’t push yourself. Go inside and rest. Your treatment is over anyway.”
“Th-th-th-there….”
“Hm?”
“Ten… a-ah, no, five minutes….”
“You want to extend it to five minutes during the next treatment?”
“……”
-Nod, nod.
“All right, then let’s do that.”
“Y-yes…. Th-thank you….”
-Rattle.
Judging by her reaction, that must have been what she had intended to say before the suggestion was removed.
It was a little disappointing that fear had cut the time in half the moment she returned to normal, but seeing her clearly express her wishes to me right after the suggestion wore off was enough.
Let’s just consider those five minutes she lost the price I paid to earn her trust.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
I ate the breakfast Kim Isabel brought me, and some time after the meal, she returned to my hospital room alone.
I immediately brought up what I had said earlier to Kim Isabel, who had come both to treat me and to receive treatment herself.
“It’s t-time for your treatment, M-Mr. Lee Seonho….”
“Right. You’re going to receive the treatment for your androphobia too this time, aren’t you?”
“Y-yes…. P-please….”
Through that conversation, I had succeeded in making it a natural routine for her to receive treatment herself whenever she entered my hospital room.
From next time onward, it would be harder for her to back out when I tried to give her the suggestion. In the first place, she was desperate, so there was no way she would refuse the ‘buff’ she received from me.
“How long should we make it? Five minutes, as I mentioned earlier?”
“……Y-yes.”
I could clearly feel her wariness fading, and at this point, it seemed all right to move on to the next stage.
It felt like such a waste to use a suggestion called ‘Heart of a Succubus’ solely to treat her androphobia.
It was time to use light physical contact to draw Kim Isabel closer to me as a man. It was a little much to keep cautiously reading her reactions like this forever.
“Isabel.”
“Y-yes…?!”
“Since we’ve extended the time to five minutes anyway, how about trying the treatment while you’re under the ‘buff’ this time?”
“W-while I’m under the b-b-buff…?”
For starters, perhaps I should make her—not myself—start seeing me as a man.