Chapter 39: Hierarchy

Lee Seo-ryeong’s story was more shocking than I had expected.

Of course, I was somewhat aware that the ideology of male supremacy existed in Jungwon. I just hadn’t realized how severe it was.

All Outsiders who come here are educated on the differences between this world and their own. This is to prevent problems arising from ideological and cultural disparities. As a result, I had never heard of any Outsiders from Jungwon causing trouble.

Besides, my first contact with anyone from Jungwon had been with the Demonic Cult. Whether it was Geumgang, the protector of the Heavenly Demon Ja Hwa-yeon, or anyone else in their circle, I never sensed an atmosphere of looking down on their master for being a woman.

Thinking back on it now, that was likely only possible because the Demonic Cult prioritized the logic of power over any distinction between men and women.

Still, I had never anticipated that the gender discrimination I hadn’t sensed even in the Demonic Cult—the epitome of the unorthodox factions—would be so rampant in the so-called righteous factions, which were known to be more just and noble.

That was my greatest miscalculation.

However, through her long story, there was one thing I could be certain of.

Lee Seo-ryeong genuinely loved Seol Yu-wol.

That much was certain.

It was just that her love was twisted.

To her, Seol Yu-wol was a mirror reflecting her own past. Under the pretext of preventing Seol Yu-wol from experiencing the same pain she had, Lee Seo-ryeong was controlling her.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Thank you for sharing so much of what you’ve kept bottled up inside. Thanks to you, I have a much deeper understanding of your situation.”

At my words, a faint smile of relief bloomed on Lee Seo-ryeong’s sorrowful face. She seemed to believe that I had been moved by her story.

But I had to correct the most fundamental misunderstanding she was laboring under.

I leaned forward and looked her straight in the eyes.

“However, there is one thing you are overlooking, Alliance Leader.”

My cold voice made her smile freeze.

“This is no longer the hellish Jungwon you lived in.”

I gestured toward the brilliantly lit cityscape outside the window.

“This is the Republic of Korea. You can become anything you want here.”

“Here, women are not playthings. They can live perfectly well on their own without the protection of men. You must already know this, Alliance Leader.”

“Even so…!”

The moment Lee Seo-ryeong instinctively tried to retort, I deliberately changed how I addressed her.

“The fortress you built to protect your daughter, Seo-ryeong, might now be nothing more than a prison, blocking her from the free world she deserves.”

Her expression began to sink.

“And second, your daughter, Seol Yu-wol, has the right to live her own life.”

I paused for a moment, acknowledging her past.

“Taking in young Yu-wol from those ashes… was an act worthy of praise by any measure. I’m sure Yu-wol has lived her entire life thinking so as well.”

At those words, her eyes wavered faintly.

“However…”

Watching her trembling eyes, I drove the final nail in.

“Even so, that good deed does not give you the right to decide the course of another person’s life.”

My final words made the air in the counseling room grow heavy.

Lee Seo-ryeong’s gentle brow furrowed ever so slightly. She wasn’t angry. It was the face of someone realizing that the conviction that had supported them their entire life was about to come crashing down.

She whispered in an even sadder voice, almost pleading, as she grabbed my hand.

“No… Physician…”

Her warmth began to seep into the back of my hand.

“The men of Jungwon haven’t changed at all… They are merely acting in accordance with the laws of this world. Their deep-rooted beliefs have not changed one bit.”

“I see.”

She continued, as if grasping at the last rope.

“Therefore, for my daughter to be safe from those beasts…”

Right at that moment, I gently cut her off.

“In that case, Seo-ryeong.”

I very slowly, one by one, unfurled her slender fingers from the back of my hand. Then, before she could pull away, I grasped her hand firmly once more.

Her eyes widened in surprise at my unexpected action.

I looked into her wavering eyes and asked my final question.

“Wouldn’t keeping your precious daughter away from those with such dangerous ideas be the most effective way to protect her?”

“……”

“Then why are you so insistent on making your daughter the leader of those beasts?”

Lee Seo-ryeong couldn’t answer. She only struggled weakly to pull her hand from my grasp. But even that faint resistance soon slackened, her strength draining away.

“She can now live a happy and safe life even without the fence of being the Azure Sky Alliance Leader.”

She had probably been subconsciously aware of it herself. That in this world… she might have to change her method of protecting Seol Yu-wol.

When she first came to this world alone, the existence of Seol Yu-wol—her sole objective and direction in life—had vanished. But even amid that immense emptiness and worry, she had created a new reason to live.

What if, by some chance, my daughter comes here?

She bet everything on that single, thread-like possibility and built the great castle of the Azure Sky Alliance. And at the highest point of that castle, she once again became the Alliance Leader, solely for her daughter.

And then, finally, Seol Yu-wol appeared.

Her only goal, her reason for living, had appeared before her, safe and sound.

She had simply done the best she could. It was just that the perfect prison she had built for her daughter was tragically anachronistic.

“Hk…”

A tiny sound escaped her red lips.

Lee Seo-ryeong finally began to sob. As if seeking a place to lean on, the hand I held now desperately gripped mine back.

She couldn’t even cry out loud. She only let her ceaseless tears fall onto the black jade table.

I said nothing. I simply granted her hand what it wanted.

As I waited for her crying to subside, I clearly established my goal for the conversation ahead.

This strange mother-daughter relationship wasn’t a one-sided dependency. Paradoxically, just as Seol Yu-wol depended on her mother, Lee Seo-ryeong also depended terribly on Seol Yu-wol, the daughter she had to protect.

Therefore, severing Lee Seo-ryeong’s twisted dependency first would be the most desirable course of treatment.

The question, then, was how to do it…

There was nothing more I could do right now. Lee Seo-ryeong also needed time to sort out her own thoughts. Demanding too much change at once would only result in a stronger backlash.

It was then that a familiar window popped up before my eyes.

[Abnormal client approach detected!]

[The System will now present the user with two approaches! (ﾉ´∩｡• ᵕ •｡∩)ﾉ ]

Huh?

I frowned for a moment. It had been a long time since my ability had spoken to me by presenting choices like this. Back when I first fell into this world, awakened my ability, and was wandering around knowing nothing, the System used to help me in this way.

Alright, go ahead.

Feeling a pang of nostalgia, I listened to the System. In truth, its suggestions and solutions back then had always been excellent. Hoping it would bring a wise solution this time as well, I waited for its proposal.

[Here is the first!]

[Instill in the client, Lee Seo-ryeong, who is steeped to the bone in the male supremacy of Jungwon, a perfect hierarchical relationship with you!]

What?

[Teach her, with body and soul, that a woman’s true rest and joy lie not in reigning from a throne, but in being under a man’s protection.]

[That the true peace she has yearned for her entire life lies not in dominating, but in the ecstasy of willingly being dominated….]

Hey.

[ (〃⌒▽⌒〃)ゝ]

What are you so cheerful about? Are you insane?

[ ( っ◞‸◟ς) ]

I decided to see how far it would go, and it really went all the way. How is this in any way a form of treatment? It really seems like something is wrong with it these days. I think it needs a serious counseling session…

Well, I might as well hear it out.

What’s the second one?

I decided to still believe in its potential.

[Here is the second!]

It immediately started talking, all excited.

[You will personally create the peace she has so desperately desired.]

[To the client Seol Yu-wol, you will become the gentle father she has yearned for her entire life. And to the client Lee Seo-ryeong… you will become the kind and dependable husband she has never once had.]

[In the afternoon, you will comb your daughter’s hair, and late at night, in the warmth of the covers, you will receive the wife’s utmost service with her entire body for her weary husband, giving the two lost women the sweet repose of a family….]

Don’t talk to me for a while, I commanded firmly.

[(☍д⁰) ]

[However, please remember that this System always presents only the ultimate and absolutely optimal choices for the user!]

[I must emphasize that these choices were presented based on information from the client’s inner self···.]

The System faded away, leaving one last protest as if it had been wronged.

[ ꜀( ꜆´⌓`)꜆ ]

I stared at the empty air and let out a deep sigh in my mind.

What does it mean, ‘for my sake’? How on earth would instilling a perfect hierarchical relationship in Lee Seo-ryeong help me…? First of all, it’s not treatment, and that method makes no sense.

I stopped my chaotic thoughts and focused on the reality before me.

I pulled a tissue from the box and quietly handed it to the sobbing Lee Seo-ryeong.

“Seo-ryeong.”

Lee Seo-ryeong took it with a trembling hand. She bowed her head slightly.

I met her tear-filled eyes gently.

“Let’s stop here for today. You seem to need some time to think for yourself.”

“Yes…”

Clutching the damp tissue, Lee Seo-ryeong rose silently and staggered out of the office.

I stared at the spot she had left for a long time.

The mother’s conviction had crumbled like a sandcastle. And there was a daughter who had lived her entire life inside that sandcastle.

Now, how was I supposed to help this mother and daughter, collapsed on this pile of sand, get back on their feet?

I turned my head and looked out the window at the city.

A new challenge was beginning.

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

Please do consider subscribing to my Patreon or donate to my Ko-fi if you like this work or to get early access to chapters