Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 82: Eunha (2)

Mental issues were truly awkward to discuss with someone. It was the same on Earth. From the Middle Ages, which blamed psychological problems on demons, to the modern age, where psychological physiology had advanced, it remained a sensitive topic.

In this world, where mental illness had become a crude joke, there weren’t many people to consult about mental health issues.

Naturally, he thought there was no one to talk to about such problems.

“Dojin, I heard you’ve been looking a bit down lately… Is something worrying you?”

“…Pion.”

“Whatever it is, please talk to me! I have a first-class, guild-certified psychological counseling license.”

“What did you just say?”

There was someone like that.

“O-oh? D-Dojin?”

Pion, whose hand was held, blushed and muttered that they weren’t at that stage yet. Dojin, ignoring her words, asked again.

“Psychological counseling?”

“Ah… don’t you know? It’s a program prepared for adventurers…”

“Explain it to me in detail.”

“Oh, yes.”

Pion explained that in the past, many retired adventurers couldn’t forget their battles with monsters and caused disturbances on the streets.

From the Adventurers’ Guild’s perspective, it was crucial to prevent retired adventurers from causing trouble and tarnishing the reputation of adventurers.

Thus, the guild sought to explain the reasons adventurers caused disturbances and researched ways to prevent it.

‘Isn’t this just like psychology…?’

Dojin was under a misconception. He thought that the residents of this fantasy world, primitive in their understanding of the mind even by the 20th-century standards of Earth, wouldn’t know about it except through magic.

Magic was the problem.

In this other world, there was magic. Magic is the act of harmonizing the world with one’s will and mind.

Naturally, when it came to the mind, there was a much more advanced understanding compared to modern Earth, where reactions were merely checked by firing electricity.

There were also countless ways to mend a broken mind.

“So, what’s the problem? Talking to the person in question would be the fastest way, but…”

“My comrade wants to die.”

“Oh my, that’s serious. What’s the reason? Injury? Slump?”

“I don’t know the reason.”

With insufficient information and clues, Pion did not hastily offer an answer. She smiled and spoke.

“Dojin.”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me?”

Yes, that was a very calculating smile.

“Ugh! To be able to go out during work hours… Dojin, you’re the best!”

“…How is this a date?”

“Oh my, are you disappointed it’s not a real date?”

Pion lightly smiled and headed towards the shopping district. She was officially on a business trip. The pretext was psychological treatment for a promising adventurer.

Losing a high-ranking adventurer was a significant loss for the guild, so her business trip was quickly approved. The duration of the trip? Until the treatment was complete.

So, if she and Dojin were on the same page, it essentially meant she could enjoy an indefinite paid vacation with double the salary.

“Was it Eunha? What does she like?”

“What does Eunha like? I don’t know.”

“You’re comrades, and you don’t know that? Hmm, since she’s a woman, maybe she likes sweet things.”

Pion said that and ordered all the desserts from an expensive dessert shop. When Dojin checked the price and asked Pion, she waved her hand as if it was no problem.

“Oh, it’s okay! All of this will be covered by expenses!”

“…I don’t think they’ll allow it.”

“What are you talking about?! If they don’t, I’ll have to live on just flour starting tomorrow. They’ll definitely cover it. I’m sure.”

She was incredibly optimistic. And energetic. Well, if you could wander around outside during working hours, even someone like Dojin would become lively.

And above all… it was better to have someone overly energetic come to treat Eunha than someone equally gloomy.

“Ugh… it’s heavy…”

“I’ll help you.”

“Oh, no…! This is part of my job… so I can’t accept help─ kyaah?!”

As Pion stubbornly insisted and almost tripped, Dojin caught her and with his other hand, caught all the falling cakes and pastries.

Seeing the cake boxes stacked up and balanced in one hand, Pion started clapping as if she had seen an excellent circus performance.

“Wow… that’s amazing. As expected of a top-tier adventurer.”

“I don’t think it has much to do with that.”

“No! This proves that you need to have this level of athletic ability to become a top-tier adventurer.”

Realizing she couldn’t carry all the load herself, Pion didn’t insist and lifted half of the cake boxes. Even so, it was quite precarious, but she wasn’t so unbalanced as to fall.

After walking for quite a while with the cakes, the two finally arrived at the mansion. Pion, wearing a guild uniform that covered her entire body, was panting and sweating profusely in the summer heat.

“…Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine! It’s just work!”

“If you say so…”

Although looking quite concerned, Dojin opened the door and went inside. Once inside the house, which was kept at a comfortable temperature thanks to magic, Pion finally sighed in relief, panting as she cooled down her sweat.

“Nice house! I wonder how many decades of my salary it would take to buy a place like this….”

Upon entering the mansion, Pion first made such an evaluation. She then subtly glanced at Dojin, her eyes filled with desire.

He realized why she had put so much effort into selecting this house for him. After all, even on Earth, men with money were quite popular.

“Shall we go?”

“Ah, yes…”

Ignoring her gaze, he headed towards Eunha’s room. He had previously arranged for Aram to be moved to another room. Upon arriving at the room, he knocked and opened the door without waiting for permission.

“Wait…!”

Pion, who was behind him, tried to stop him in shock, but the door was already open. Inside, Eunha, who had been absentmindedly counting the stains on the ceiling, turned to look at Dojin with a blank expression.

Immediately, her face lit up with energy.

“Dojin? What’s going on…?”

“Ah, Eunha. Can we talk for a bit?”

“Sure.”

Eunha stopped counting the stains and promptly got up to follow Dojin. Pion, making sure Eunha wouldn’t hear, had asked Dojin to lead her to the dining hall. As they walked, Dojin made small talk with her along the way.

This was also something Pion had requested in advance.

“What were you doing?”

“…Nothing, really.”

“Is that so?”

Upon arriving at the dining hall, the maids had arranged the cake Pion brought in a way that made it easy to eat. The chocolate in the teacups had melted perfectly for consumption, and the sweet aroma filled the hall thoroughly.

“Please, have a seat.”

When Eunha sat down, Pion took a seat opposite her. The two, facing each other across the table, exchanged glances for a moment, and Pion deduced a rough idea of what kind of person she was based on the information so far.

“Hello? It’s been a while, Eunha.”

“…Do you know me?”

“Yep! I’m Pion from the Adventurers’ Guild! I remember seeing you a few times… Don’t you remember…?”

“…I remember.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Eunha seemed somewhat uneasy, glancing at Dojin, but he was silently listening to their conversation.

“It’s nothing special. I just wanted to thank the adventurers I work with, so I brought some desserts.”

“…Okay.”

“Oh, do you not like sweet things?”

“No, I like them.”

“Hmm, right? It seems like no woman dislikes sweets. I feel the same… So, Eunha, is there anything bothering you?”

“Bothering…?”

Once again, Eunha glanced at Dojin. However, she didn’t seem uncomfortable with him. Ah, Pion had almost perfectly understood Eunha by now.

And how to treat her… It was easier than expected, yet simultaneously a challenging task.

“Oh, if there’s nothing, you don’t have to mention it.”

After that, Pion only exchanged extremely businesslike conversations with Eunha. Dojin wondered how these kinds of conversations could possibly help understand and treat someone’s psychology.

A little later, Pion finished the conversation and sent Eunha back. Left alone with Pion in the dining hall, Dojin listened to what she had to say.

“…Um, Dojin?”

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t be surprised… Eunha doesn’t need treatment.”

“What? What do you mean…?”

“To be precise, it’s impossible… Ah, how should I explain this…?”

After pondering for a while, Pion finally organized her thoughts and explained clearly.

“Eunha is, right now, your dog, Dojin.”

“…Dog?”

“Yes. The kind that barks when told to and bites when commanded.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“You might have had some inkling yourself. If it’s that severe… she would’ve complied with even the most unreasonable requests or tasks without resistance.”

At those words, Dojin recalled certain incidents that made sense now. Back then, he had just thought it was due to her lack of self-esteem.

“…Then what should I do?”

“Do nothing.”

“…Excuse me?”

Pion explained Eunha’s condition with a bitter smile.

“She seems to have not received much love since she was young, showing dependency, a lack of affection, and a slight masochistic tendency. If she feels she’s become useless, she might die.”

So, do nothing, or rather, the opposite—‘use’ her.

“Anything is fine. You can have her cook, have her hunt… Um, it’s a bit crude to say, but you could even have her attend to you at night.”

“So… you’re saying Eunha will never fully regain her senses, right?”

“Her current state isn’t abnormal. She’s just slightly dependent on others.”

Pion looked at Dojin. It was a relief that the young man before her wasn’t the type to order indiscriminate slaughter of his comrades or find pleasure in treating women’s bodies like toys.

For the guild’s sake and Eunha’s sake.

“Just remember, if she becomes useless, she’ll die. She’ll take her own life.”

Pion left, holding a document signed by Dojin.

She said it was a document certifying that there was nothing wrong with her.

As he signed the document, Dojin thought a lot.

‘Normal, huh…’

Certainly, it might have been an overreaction because he could read thoughts. Everyone has thoughts of wanting to die.

When Dojin was young, he prayed for death every day, and Aram, who fell into depression after ending up in another world, was similar.

In modern times, people want to die over a funny video, poor grades, bad food, bad weather, or just feeling crappy.

They want to die for very simple reasons.

Eunha is just a doll that breaks easily.

You can’t simply label that as abnormal.

‘Annoying.’

Annoyance surged inside him. Was it annoyance at himself for labeling his comrade as abnormal? Or annoyance at Eunha for wanting to die for such trivial reasons?

“Haha, no.”

Dojin stood up. Then he headed to Eunha’s room. Eunha, who was once again absentmindedly counting the stains on the ceiling, tilted her head as she saw Dojin approach.

“Dojin– ah?”

He looked at her face. Why did he feel annoyed? It was simple. Because he instinctively realized the reason why she wanted to die.

“Sorry.”

“Wh-why all of a sudden? What’s going on…? Is something wrong?”

He must take responsibility for it.

‘I was told to use her…’

Why did Eunha fall into self-loathing with a look of death on her face? Because of him. He had told her she was an amazing person, and unable to see herself that way or become that way, she had fallen into endless self-hatred.

How to solve this? It was very simple. He just had to ask for what she could give. Ask for what only she could give.

“From now on, I’m going to hold you.”

“???”

He saw Eunha’s bewildered expression. However, Dojin, who had already made up his mind, acted without hesitation.

“Take it off.”

No, he undressed her.