Chapter 290

Ｒｅαｄ ｏ​η ​ΚαţＲҽａԁɩ​ｎǵĊａϝｅ

“Ehehe, it’s warm…”

In the end, I hugged her.

Under the scorching sun of midsummer, the hottest time of the year.

Even though it was still early, the humid air was heated up.

Even just standing still, the discomfort index would soar, but Seri complained of the cold.

As if it were a snowy winter day, she shivered and demanded a hug.

Of course, she couldn’t have really been cold.

It was a performance that almost no one would fall for.

From the start, Supernaturals are resistant to external stimuli.

They could withstand most heat waves and cold snaps without much trouble.

But I pretended to be fooled and hugged Seri.

What else could I do when she was even tearing up and saying she was cold?

Even if it was an obvious lie, I couldn’t ignore a crying child.

“Mama, good smell. Warm. Cozy.”

…I thought she was just being playful and acting like a child.

But the more I looked at her, the more I wondered if she was genuinely calling me Mama.

Honestly, I was a little taken aback. No, in fact, I was very taken aback.

Seri is a devilish character.

Should I call her pure evil?

A mischievous child born from a twisted upbringing.

A pure girl who committed evil deeds without malice.

And now, that Seri was regressing into a child and calling for Mama.

Even when the brainwashing was undone, she wasn’t quite this far gone.

I coaxed and soothed her when she said she would commit suicide for atonement, and this is what happened.

Wait, did I do something wrong? But I couldn’t just let her kill herself, could I? I didn’t do anything wrong! The fault lies with Astaroth, who brainwashed Seri!

‘Could it be seen as an imprinting effect…?’

Seri’s change was dramatic.

Her character had completely changed.

She went from a mischievous little devil to a baby.

It was a sudden change, but…

Looking at it in detail, there was plenty of room for understanding.

Her life was a series of hypnotisms.

Starting with hypnosis and ending with hypnosis.

Parents, friends, acquaintances… all of them were the result of hypnosis.

Relationships formed by hypnosis.

A mere facade of false connections.

Seri herself was subconsciously aware of it.

That’s why she didn’t hypnotize Class D.

She wanted to make real friends, not fake ones.

The problem was that the subconscious isn’t subconscious for no reason.

Seri’s consciousness ignored reality, avoided it, and repeated self-justification.

‘Hypnosis isn’t bad. I’ve been doing the right thing. I was just trying to help everyone. As long as they’re happy, isn’t that enough? Anyway, everyone’s smiling, so it’s okay, right?’

Of course, it’s not okay.

A lie is a lie, and deception is deception.

A mere facade of excuses shattered in the face of reality.

Putting oneself in another’s shoes.

Seri received exactly what she had done in return.

And the extreme prescription forced her to face the truth she had been ignoring.

Her life was a puppet show.

A puppet dangling from strings.

The puppets danced whenever she wiggled her fingers.

Is there any value in the smiles painted on the puppets’ faces?

‘If she became disgusted with artificially created, false relationships and, as a reaction, yearned for genuine relationships…’

Seri’s dramatic change could also be explained.

Her incomprehensible behavior fell into the realm of understanding.

From her perspective, the kindness I had shown was selfless warmth.

Not because she was hypnotized or brainwashed, but genuine kindness from the heart.

She was captivated by that warmth and blindly yearned to feel it again.

Whether it’s Mama or maternal love… it’s probably a metaphorical expression of that warmth.

‘That’s quite plausible.’

It was my personal conjecture, but it was a hypothesis built on ‘the novel’ and ‘Lucille’s memories.’ I’m confident that it’s quite likely. At least it’s not a completely wrong guess. Even if there are errors, it’s probably close to the truth.

…Well, whatever the cause, who cares?

Let’s not think too complicatedly.

Whatever the reason, whatever the circumstances.

The conclusion is that Seri, freed from brainwashing, is suffering from mental aftereffects, right?

Then we should help her. We should hug her.

Yes, that’s right. Right now, I’m Mama Lucia. The Mama of everyone who takes care of children.

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

“Hehe.”

I gently stroked her wine-red hair.

It was a touch honed by routinely stroking Alice.

Seri purred like a cat and snuggled even closer to me.

“Meow, meow, grrr.”

She’s not just like a cat, she’s a real cat.

I wonder if it matters since she’s cute.

I was only going to hug her for a moment to soothe her, but when I came to my senses, I had been hugging Seri for quite a while. I couldn’t keep doing this forever, so I tickled Seri’s chin and gave a wry smile.

“Alright, that’s enough.”

“Mama, just a little more…”

“Tsk, Mommy’s busy.”

“Eung…”

Yoo-seong had taken the time to see me.

He had spared time for his disciples despite being busy.

If I kept indulging Seri, I might be late for the appointment.

“Don’t be too sad. I’ll hug you again next time.”

“Eung! You promised?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“Pinky swear!”

“Okay, if I break the promise, I’ll cut off my pinky and give it to you.”

“Uh… not that far… hehe, that’s a declaration that you’ll never break it, right?”

When I made a promise to meet again next time, Seri smiled happily and nodded enthusiastically. Her red hair shook wildly every time. When I see her like this, she’s not like a cat, she’s like a dog. 

Ah, I guess that could be misunderstood. I don’t mean it as an insult, but literally. She’s like a puppy. Her face is cat-like, though.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Do you have something to say?”

As I was about to resume the steps I had stopped to hug Seri, I noticed Regina hesitating. She looked back and forth between me and Seri and shrugged her shoulders. She looked like she had a worry. If I was mistaken, it was fine, but if she really had something to worry about, I asked her to help. Regina was startled and took a step back.

“Ah, no, well, that’s…”

“It’s okay. You can speak comfortably. What’s wrong?”

“Th-th-that is…”

Regina awkwardly avoided my gaze. It was obvious that she had a worry, but she couldn’t say it easily and was just getting impatient. As I smiled and stared at her intently, Regina opened her mouth in a barely audible voice.

“I-I also…”

“Eh?”

“I also… wanted you to hug me, I thought…”

As if unable to bear the embarrassment of saying it herself, Regina’s complexion was dyed like a lotus flower. All the blood in her body seemed to gather on her face. The lotus soon turned into a rose. Covering her bright red face with both hands, Regina said in a tearful tone.

“Ah, ah, ah, no…! Ung, I misspoke. Don’t mind me. Th-th-th, I-I’m going now…”

I hurriedly grabbed Regina, who was trying to run away. Even if she ran away now, she would probably be hovering around me again soon. It would be much better to just keep her by my side. If Seri had regressed into a child, Regina was closer to having separation anxiety disorder. 

Like a child who becomes anxious when separated from their attachment figure, Regina seemed to become very anxious when I wasn’t around.

In some ways, she was more severe than Seri.

“N-no, I’m kidding. I, you don’t have to hug me, necessarily…”

“Yip.”

“Eek?!”

I hugged Seri, so why couldn’t I hug Regina?

Even as I was doing this, the appointment time was getting closer and closer… Eh, whatever.

I came out early, so there was still time before the appointment, and it would be discrimination if I only hugged one person.

“Th… th-that…”

I buried my face in Regina’s neck and stroked her head wildly.

Thanks to that, her neat hairstyle was slightly disheveled, but I didn’t stop my hands.

I felt a different atmosphere from Seri. Seri had a similar body type to Alice, so it felt familiar. She was taller than Alice, but the curves of her body were about the same.

But Regina was clearly different. I didn’t know it well, but Regina had a body type that looked thin when she was wearing clothes. I was surprised because the resistance of pushing out her chest was quite strong. At this point, she’s equal to or more than me… 

Ah, she smells good. Is it still the scent of perfume lingering on her body? When I smell it, my mind becomes hazy and I feel strangely excited…

“L-Lucia…”

Regina shook her head violently.

As if she couldn’t bear to push me away, she only fidgeted with her fingers and shouted urgently.

“D-drug… I-I’m a drug human… Wh-when I’m flustered, my ability activates…”

“Ah.”

I wondered why I felt so good.

It was a drug.

I activated Super Regeneration to detoxify the inhaled drug and released Regina.

Freed from the arms that had been binding her, Regina took a few steps back and collapsed.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I asked awkwardly.

Was it possible that she really didn’t like it?

“U-ung, I’m okay. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I was just, a little, flustered…”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like she didn’t like it.

She was just flustered by the sudden hug.

“Haa, hoo…”

Regina took a few deep breaths and got up.

Then she timidly spread her arms.

“You can continue… I-I don’t mind…”

Regina, whose dark circles had faded, looked very young.

Was it because her original appearance was more prominent because she didn’t wear fancy accessories and her makeup was faint?

Regina’s character had also changed as much as Seri’s. The indifferent troublemaker of all things in the world was nowhere to be found, and only a hesitant girl who found the world difficult was here.

Her behavior reminded me of Alice in the past, so I smiled bitterly and said.

“Okay, good. Then I’ll hug you a lot…”

My statement could not continue to the end.

Because the hot heat burned my skin.

Much hotter than the sun, literally burning flesh.

I unconsciously turned my head to the source of the heat.

Even though the wind didn’t blow, her blue hair fluttered eerily.

Her red eyes flashed with a frightening red light.

“Frey…? No, Alice…?”

Having spent time together, I can now distinguish personalities just by looking at them. Whether it’s Alice or Frey. I could instinctively realize which personality had the lead of the body.

But now I don’t know. It’s too confusing. Which one is it? She looked like Alice, and she looked like Frey. She was too ferocious for Alice, and too docile for Frey.

No, it’s not too late to think about it later.

I didn’t know why, but she seemed angry, so I had to calm her down first.

But before I could open my mouth, she made the first move.

She kicked off the floor and jumped into my arms.

“Uwaaa! I don’t like it! I won’t give it to you! It’s ours! You bitches!”

Ah, now I know which personality it is.

I wondered why I was confused.

Alice and Frey.

It was both.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Alice and Frey don’t want to lose their Mama.

‘She’s not everyone’s Mama, she’s our Mama!’

That’s what they feel.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
A healthy mother with 4 healthy children.

Now let’s insert the NTR tag—