Chapter 22: Half-Moon

Luna’s steps were lighter and more cheerful than ever as she headed to the counseling room.

Yet, despite her excitement, her footfalls made not the slightest sound.

It was a gait unique to rabbit beast-humans.

Since when? Luna wondered.

Just a few days ago, the very idea of counseling filled her with fear and shame.

But now, strangely, she found herself looking forward to it.

It had been so long… since she’d felt her heart at ease.

Finally arriving at the door to the counseling room, Luna paused.

She straightened her clothes, lightly moistened her dry lips with her tongue, and swallowed against a surge of nervousness.

The very moment she cautiously raised her hand to knock…

A gentle voice drifted from beyond the door.

“You can come in, Luna.”

As expected, he’d noticed.

The corners of Luna’s lips lifted slightly of their own accord.

Knock, knock.

With a pleasant sense of tension, Luna knocked lightly and stepped inside.

However.

“…!”

The moment she entered, Luna froze.

It was because of a scent that stung her nose… one that was utterly foreign, yet at the same time, a familiar fragrance that shook her to her core.

The counselor’s expression was serene. He seemed completely unaware.

But Luna, a rabbit beast-human with an extremely sensitive sense of smell, could perceive it.

The thick… blatant… scent of another female lingering in the room.

The potent pheromones a female in her Instinct Manifestation Period would release to entice a male and warn off all others.

“……”

An arrogant and possessive pheromone, as if declaring, This man is mine.

It mingled with the counselor’s own scent, throwing Luna’s mind into disarray.

She was flustered by the powerful territorial marking.

Wh-what should I do…

She struggled to figure out how to react to a situation she had never experienced before.

As far as she knew, there was only one person capable of leaving behind such a bold and confident pheromonal trace.

Elice…

Her twin sister.

She was first.

First…? In any case, she had declared this man as hers.

Of course, it was a truth Luna could never know, but Elice had never intended to leave such a trace. Her recent contact with Yoo Seon-woo had been a powerful, first-time stimulus for her as well.

The pheromones she had released unknowingly now dominated the space.

Fidget.

Unable to move forward or back, Luna could only fidget with her fingers.

Elice marked the counselor first.

She’s always so mature, so quick. She always gets what she wants first…

So as her older sister, this time too… I should yield…

But a tiny voice, one she had never felt before, rose from the depths of her heart and stopped her.

No.

Luna’s red eyes sharpened.

Not this time… I refuse.

She could yield on everything else. But not this.

Luna’s thoughts became very, very complicated.

Huh…? What was I just thinking…?

No, no. Keep it simple.

There was no need to overthink it.

I… I’m just here for my counseling session.

I’m not trying to take something that belongs to Elice.

With that rationalization, Luna stepped into the counseling room.

Whoosh.

Unconsciously, she reached out and waved her hand at the potent scent hanging in the air, as if shooing away a pesky insect.

*

I sat in my chair, watching as Luna, who had been paused at the doorway for a long while, finally stepped inside.

But the moment she entered, her face briefly creased into a frown.

What’s wrong?

Just a moment ago, Luna had been smiling faintly.

Worried, I carefully checked her status.

[Luna]

[Main Stance]

[She is feeling discomfort from the scent in the room.]

[Suitable Response] [Satisfaction Rate: 100%]

[Stand up for a moment, open the window, and air out the room.]

Whoa.

Don’t tell me I smell?

One of the most important elements a counselor must provide for a client is a pleasant and stable environment. That’s why I usually did my best to maintain the room’s fragrance, having equipped it with a high-end diffuser and an air purifier.

But since this was a space provided by the Union Guild, it seemed there was a problem.

Luna was, at her core, a rabbit beast-human.

Apparently, there was a smell that grated on her nerves, one that an ordinary human like me couldn’t detect.

I quickly stood up and opened the window. Then I activated the air purification mode on the system air conditioner.

Sitting back down, I checked Luna’s status again.

[Luna]

[Main Stance]

[‘Good… it’s disappearing.’ She is feeling a sense of relief and satisfaction as the unpleasant scent that filled the room gradually dissipates with the outside air coming through the window.]

Thank goodness.

I let out a sigh of relief as I checked the system window.

I didn’t know if it was my scent or one left by another client, but all that mattered was that the source of her discomfort was gone.

I made a mental note to be more careful about ventilation from now on.

Luna sank deep into her chair, her expression much more relaxed.

Now, it was time to begin the real session.

I asked her gently, “Did you have a good day yesterday?”

“Yes…”

Her voice was small, but it was incomparably more stable than before.

“Thanks to you, Counselor.”

“Not at all,” I said with a soft smile.

For a short while, we continued with some light, peaceful small talk.

However, the goal I had set for today was not simple icebreaking. It was to have her reveal the true self she had hidden since arriving in this world. To make her accept her ears—the symbol of her beast-human identity—not with shame, but with pride.

Just as I was contemplating my next move, the system window popped up before my eyes, as if it had read my mind.

[Luna]

[Main Stance]

[She is in a state of calm and feels good about her conversation with the counselor.]

[Suitable Response] [Satisfaction Rate: 85%]

[So, are you going to show me your ears now? They were pretty when I saw them. (In a low, coercive tone)]

[Suitable Response] [Satisfaction Rate: 60%]

[Forcibly disable her Perception Degradation magic (B), Camouflage, and perform the greeting Elice taught you.]

“……”

This time, there really was no middle ground.

But on second thought, option one might not be a bad choice. Of course, I’d have to modify it in my own way.

But the option below…

The ‘forcible deactivation’ followed by a greeting… lacked persuasiveness. It was like offering the poison and the antidote in the same breath.

I chose option one.

A variation in my own style…

[It is recommended not to add variations!]

[ ヽ`､ヽ`(。・︿ ・。)ヽ`､ヽ ]

Whatever, you brat.

I casually ignored the warning and, meeting Luna’s red eyes, spoke very carefully.

“Luna.”

“Yes, Counselor…”

“You’re doing very well, Luna. Just opening up about your story… and facing me like this, it takes tremendous courage.”

“Ah…”

I started by building a foundation of support, praising her efforts.

At my sincere praise, a faint blush colored Luna’s cheeks.

“But, and I know this is a sensitive topic… is it difficult for you to maintain that transformation magic all the time?”

In a concerned voice, I asked not about her secret, but about the effort she put into keeping it. Even for B-grade magic, maintaining it constantly couldn’t have been easy.

“I believe that someday, you’ll have to lift the veils that cover you. Only then will you be able to feel at ease.”

At my words, her eyes wavered with anxiety.

“Ah… well… it is difficult, but for now… still…”

The moment I sensed her resistance, I immediately retreated with a gentle smile.

“Yes, of course. You can get used to it slowly, very slowly. There’s no need to push yourself right away.”

At my words, Luna seemed slightly relieved that she wasn’t being pressured. She gave a tiny nod.

And so, I had a compromise ready.

“In that case… how about this?”

Seizing the opening, I made my final proposal.

I leaned forward slightly and lowered my voice a tone, as if sharing a very important secret.

“If you’re okay with it, for the time being, just within this counseling room. And only to me, your counselor.”

I met her eyes and said, “How would you feel about… showing me your true self?”

Then I added, “You can think of it as a short adjustment period. And to be honest… I thought your true form, which I saw last time, was also very beautiful.”

With those last words, I cleared my throat and awkwardly averted my gaze.

In response to my proposal, Luna simply stared at me blankly. She looked into my eyes as if trying to confirm whether I was being sincere.

I didn’t turn away, meeting her gaze.

For a very long time, Luna said nothing.

She closed her eyes for a moment. Her long, pretty eyelashes trembled.

And when she opened her eyes again, a hint of resolve had settled within their red depths.

Paaang!

With a clear, bright sound, the space around Luna’s head shimmered faintly like a heat haze.

It was the moment her veil was finally lifted.

“Counselor…”

Amidst the particles of light scattering into the air, atop her pure-white hair… a pair of long, elegant, pure-white rabbit ears with downy tips revealed themselves.

Lacking the courage to face my reaction, she kept her eyes squeezed shut, biting her lip firmly. Her whole body was trembling faintly, like a small bird.

Seeing her courageous act, I said the words she most wanted to hear.

“What a shame.”

At my words, Luna’s tightly shut eyelids trembled slightly and opened.

“That for now, I’m the only one who gets to see you like this.”

Impious. Beastly. Filthy.

Instead of the words that had tormented Luna her whole life, I gave her the one she had longed to hear.

At those words, Luna’s trembling stopped as if by magic.

Her cheeks flushed red.

And in a voice that was barely a whisper, she spoke.

“This is… the first time…”

Luna paused for a moment before adding, “Showing this side of myself… to someone else since coming to this world…”

“I see,” I replied softly.

First impressions and first experiences are always the most important. And as her counselor, I had a duty to make that beginning a good experience—a complete success.

I spoke to her with all my sincerity.

“I’m honored to be the first.”

And then, I carefully rose from my seat.

Could this be the perfect time to use the greeting Elice taught me?

[NOW IS THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

The system responded to my thought with frantic cheers.

I recalled the method for the pleasant beast-human greeting Elice had shown me.

The outside of the right ear, gently.

Stroke.

I approached her and very carefully, gently stroked the outside of her right ear with my palm.

The softest texture in the world met my fingertips.

“Ah…”

However, the very instant my hand touched her, a short, hot breath escaped Luna’s lips.

Her body trembled and stiffened on the spot, as if she’d been electrocuted.

It was a similar reaction to Elice’s.

And then she slowly, very slowly, lifted her head.

Luna’s face was more flushed than I had ever seen it.

My reflection was captured in her red eyes as her pupils slowly, clearly, dilated. I even had the feeling that their red color had become much more vivid and deep than before.

At the same time, Luna was smiling.

And it, too, was the deepest smile I had ever seen from her.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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