Chapter 11: Transference

I spent the weekend resting.

I’d thought quitting my life as a hunter would be relaxing, but that was a foolish assumption.

The workload this past week alone was several times more intense than my days as a hunter.

The problem was that my salary hadn’t multiplied to match.

[Luna] [PINNED]

[Current Status: Stress eating. Psychologically unstable. However, no immediate danger detected.]

[Main Stance: Dreading the end of the weekend.]

Of course, this wasn’t the kind of rest where I could just lie on the sofa and do nothing.

I was continuously monitoring the status of Luna, the Outsider from the Union Guild.

Her psychological state was unstable, and I had to be ready to act immediately if—just in case—a problem arose.

You might call it meddling, but I couldn’t help it.

It was an occupational hazard of sorts.

No, let me correct that. It was more like a sickness caused by my ability.

In any case, it seemed Luna was eating everything she could get her hands on.

I sincerely hoped she would eat and sleep well.

“Hoo…”

In the end, rest is just an extension of work—preparation to perform the next task well.

I had earned my license as a Hunter Mental Counselor and successfully completed my first session, but… I knew the truth.

Fundamentally, my knowledge and experience as a counselor were lacking.

I was relying heavily on my ability.

That’s why I had collected papers written by authorities in psychology and piled them up in my room like a mountain.

Some I had received directly from the Association, and others I had printed out after scouring academic journals online all night.

These were papers on Outsiders and hunters, written by this world’s leading psychologists.

Still… I’d read a fair amount.

I felt I had a solid grasp of the material and was diligently putting it into practice.

I reached for the untouched stack of papers at the very bottom.

Ssssk…

“Ah…!”

The moment I pulled out a single sheet, the precariously balanced pile lost its center of gravity.

The mountain of documents came crashing down.

“Ugh.”

I sighed and began to tidy up the mess.

But it was then that I noticed it.

Amidst the stark white pages, one document stood out—a paper so yellowed with age and handling that its edges were frayed and tattered.

‘What’s this?’

It must have been cleverly slipped into the stack of official papers provided by the Association.

[A Study on the Psychological Dangers of Outsiders and Awakened Clients]

The title alone was rather threatening.

I didn’t remember receiving anything like this from the Association.

But I wasn’t in a position to be picky. As if possessed, I picked up the old document and began to read.

[Before beginning, it must be noted that this document is an unofficial record, the result of the author’s personal interest….]

The paper primarily dealt with case studies of failed rapport-building between clients and counselors.

The pages, crammed with underlines and highlighter marks, contained the case of an Outsider from the Empire.

[Case 1-A: Analysis of the Worsening Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in an Outsider from the Empire]

[The client (presumed A-class, former Vice-Commander of an Imperial Knight Order) displayed extreme hostility from the initial consultation.]

The session’s contents were recorded in a verbatim transcript.

Under normal circumstances, counseling records can never be taken outside, no matter the situation.

But… how on earth?

[Excerpt from Session 1 Transcript]

[Counselor]: Mr. A, regarding the emotional issues you’re experiencing, if we could just talk about them…

[Client]: Shut your mouth! I am not one to be swayed by the sweet-talk of a worm like you!

And below that, an addendum was scrawled in what looked like red pen.

[Due to trauma from his time as a prisoner of war, the client perceives all of the counselor’s questions as an enemy interrogation. A conventional approach is meaningless, as it only reinforces his persecutory delusions.]

I turned the page.

The record of the second session was even more of a spectacle.

[Session 2]

[Counselor]: I’d like to express my sympathy for the loss you must be feeling…

[Client]: (Sound of a hand slamming hard on the table) Loss? You dare speak of loss? I may have been defeated, but I have never lost my pride as a knight!

[An empathetic approach is perceived as a direct attack on the client’s psyche. Rapport-building failed. Client’s hostility has amplified to a dangerous level.]

As if mocking all the counselor’s efforts, the client’s resistance grew increasingly violent. Finally, I reached the last page.

[Excerpt from Session 3 Transcript]

[Counselor]: Mr. A. This is a new world, and you must accept it. Defeat is not the end. If you can overcome this experience…

[Client]: …Defeat?! Kyle!!! You bastard!!!

(Sound of a chair scraping)

[Counselor]: I just want to help you…! Wait… calm down… Gyaaaaaaah!!

(A scream, followed by the sound of something breaking, after which the recording quality is poor)

[Recording terminated. The client completely mistook the counselor for an enemy officer who had tortured him. He fractured both of the counselor’s arms.]

[Case Follow-up: Client A is currently incarcerated in a Hunter Association prison.]

“……”

What… in the world was this?

I quickly flipped back to the first page of the paper. There was no name written on it.

Could this be real?

Swallowing dryly, I turned to the next page with a trembling hand.

As I flipped the paper, a warning of a different nature appeared.

This time, it wasn’t about the client’s violence, but another kind of danger a counselor might face.

‘Beware of transference?’

[…Due to the unstable flow of their mana, it is common for the Awakened and Outsiders to experience emotional amplification.]

This was a fact I already knew.

It was one of the many reasons my profession even existed.

The text continued.

[Especially when a deep rapport has been formed, the client may exhibit a ‘transference’ phenomenon, projecting all of their positive emotions or desires onto the counselor. If this develops into a romantic attachment, the counselor may be put in danger.]

The paper labeled this a special case unique to the Awakened and Outsiders who experience emotional amplification.

It was named Transference Erotomania.

The case study was quite shocking.

[Case 4-C: Counselor Abduction and Imprisonment Incident due to Transference Erotomania]

[The client (B-class, Awakened) had been exhibiting chronic affection-seeking behavior and possessiveness when she began to perceive her counselor (male, 12 years experience) as the object of a twisted affection.]

[Excerpt from Session 7 Transcript]

[Client]: You are… the only light in my life. You saved me. After you ■■ to me and ■■■■, I also ■■ and…

[Counselor]: Ms. B, please calm down. There is a high probability that this is not true love. It is likely a form of respect for your counselor…

[Client]: (Voice turns cold) That’s a lie. You said you understood me, too. So why… why…

[This was a textbook response to the client’s extreme declaration of affection, but the client interpreted the counselor’s rational explanation as a rejection. From this point on, the client began to exhibit extreme anxiety and paranoid ideation that the counselor ‘might leave her.’]

The next transcript left me utterly aghast.

[Session 9, Final Transcript]

[Counselor]: This is a measure being taken for your own good, Ms. B. I can no longer be in charge of your counseling.

[Client]: I see. It can’t be helped. Thank you for everything until now.

[Counselor]: I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. (Sound of a chair scraping)

(A dull thud, as if from being struck by a blunt object)

(The sound of a body collapsing)

[Client]: Let’s go, teacher. To our home.

[Client]: Don’t look for us. Got it?

[Recording forcibly terminated by the client.]

[The client successfully abducted the counselor after striking him on the back of the head and knocking him unconscious.]

[Case Follow-up: Unknown. Both client and counselor are still missing.]

Holy shit.

This was even more chilling than the last one.

I checked the final page of the paper to find the source.

There was no way this insane story could be real.

And there, stamped in red, was the seal of the Association.

[Evidence Lacking, Scheduled for Disposal]

The moment I saw it, I let out a long sigh.

The tension drained out of me, and I slumped back against my chair.

What a relief.

There was no way this could be real.

It was probably a ghost story, cleverly stitched together from a few well-known major incidents and embellished with extra details.

I could be sure of that for one simple reason.

There was an absolute, overarching rule that governed everything.

‘Under no circumstances are the contents of a counseling session to be disclosed to the public.’

It was impossible for an official Association paper to contain verbatim transcripts that so completely disregarded this ironclad rule.

I let out a hollow laugh and tossed the old bundle of papers onto a corner of my desk.

“Well, it was well-made, I’ll give it that.”

I had almost broken out in a cold sweat.

Even if… even if by some one-in-a-million chance those horrific records were all true…

I had an ability that other counselors didn’t.

‘Main Stance.’

If a client’s emotions were escalating to a dangerous level, I could report it to the Association in advance and handle it.

Perfectly, without ever tipping my hand.

Wait a minute.

A chilling thought crossed my mind.

What if I encountered a hunter or an Outsider like Jin Se-ah, on whom my ability didn’t work?

A headache started to bloom in my temples.

Ah, the ability.

What about the new ability I awakened recently?

An awakened ability is fundamentally a higher-tier version of a normal one. If so, maybe it wouldn’t be affected by the noise?

I thought of Jin Se-ah, who was probably enjoying the last moments of her peaceful weekend.

‘Sorry.’

The only person I knew who produced that distinct noise was Jin Se-ah.

This was potentially a matter of my own safety. Jin Se-ah would probably understand.

For confirmation’s sake, I decided to be rude just this once.

I closed my eyes, designated her in my mind, and activated the PIN.

[Jin ■■] [■I■NED?]

[Current ■tatus: ■■■ ■■■ ?…?…]

[Ma■n ■tan■e: ■■■ ■■■ ■■]

[???!?!!?!????]

Just as I thought. The system window was filled with indecipherable characters and broken symbols.

Some of the characters were even moving.

It was completely unreadable.

So even with an awakened ability, Jin Se-ah was a lost cause…?

Just as a wave of concern washed over me, it happened.

—Zzzt!

Like a radio frequency locking into place, the noise in Jin Se-ah’s status window vanished with a loud crackle.

The symbols reassembled into sentences in an instant.

[Jin Se-ah] [PINNED]

[Current Status: Resting! Psychologically completely at peace, extremely safe, and absolutely harmless!]

[Main Stance: Hates that the weekend is ending!]

“Oh.”

A short exclamation escaped my lips before I realized it.

It works on Jin Se-ah, too.

This awakened ability really is something else.

As soon as I confirmed it, I immediately released the PIN I had placed on her.

I had wanted to test it, but I had no intention of prying into her life.

After all, Jin Se-ah was not my client.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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