Stigma Effect

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“Every time you feel pain in the future, make a note of what’s going on around you.”

Shudmuel, who came into the room, spoke without explanation, and Yuriel only touched her head with a bewildered look on her face.

Shudmuel, who saw her tilting her head, tidying up her disheveled hair, added the reason for his made up excuse.

“You said you had a stomach pain. Your body is fine, so the cause is probably because of your mental state. Because there are cases where pain is often caused by psychological pressure…. I’m trying to figure out what kind of pressure you’re under, so write it down and bring it back.”

“Oh, so you’re saying there’s nothing wrong with my body?”

“For now.”

“Thank God…. I was worried because I thought there was something wrong with my body.”

It was a carefree expression for a person who was worried, but Shudmuel did not point it out.

Yuriel patted her chest and nodded her head.

＊＊＊

The slight fever was now natural. Yuriel decided to move, ignoring the slight fever that didn’t want to go away.

If she stayed in the room all the time, it would seem that the illness would not get better, and it was also because it was boring not having anyone to talk to except for Raphlet and Shudmuel.

She was good at putting up with pain, so Yuriel was able to move with a light gait as if she had no pain.

She went out after a long time.

She hadn’t been able to come out for a few days, but the atmosphere in Albraca was quite sharp compared to early spring. It was because this year’s subjugation would soon begin.

Even while Yuriel was ill, the seasons passed quickly, and now the spring flowers had set and the green leaves were starting to shake.

The training intensity of the knights increased ahead of the actual battle. Yuriel watched their training as she walked around the training ground, where the occasional harsh sound came and went.

She could see people crossing the training ground. Usually people would cross the training ground if they were in a hurry, but not now.

It looked like they would get hit by the swords of the knights in training if they took a wrong step.

In the winter, when physical training was mainly performed, training that was conducted in a loose atmosphere has now become dangerous enough to lead to injuries if one looks away a little.

The voices of the knights leading the training were loud and intense.

The knights who moved in accordance with their voices quickly created a camp to effectively subdue the monsters. The movement of the knights was agile.

It was noticeable that some of the knights’ movements were somewhat insufficient. They seemed to be able to return to their spots only after being called out immediately, going around the training ground, and shouting out what they had made a mistake in front of a senior knight.

The movement of the knights who had undergone subjugation several times aroused admiration from the viewers.

The process of hitting the monster model and extracting the monster’s core continued without stopping. She was amazed at the unobstructed movement like water.

Part of the core in the monster model was real.

It seemed to give the experience of destroying cores to knights who had no experience in subjugation.

The monster cores were torn apart, and the energy contained in the fragmented cores were scattered as it flowed into the ground. The fragments that were shredded without leaving any energy disappeared like smoke.

It seeped into the ground or got blown away by the wind.

Watching them seep into the ground of the training ground and disappear, Yuriel felt a vague sense of fear.

Yuriel, who was observing the scene while rubbing her stomach unknowingly, left in a hurry so as not to interfere with the training of the knights.

She felt pain in her stomach again.

Every time she heard the sound of the monster cores breaking, she felt a stabbing pain.

It was a strong pain that pierced her back. Cold sweat formed on her forehead as if she was stabbed in the stomach with an awl.

“Uhh….”

Yuriel, who had bent over in pain, moved toward a place where no sound could be heard.

As the monster cores were destroyed, she must have become more sensitive to the sharp pounding sound.

Yuriel, who was walking while holding onto the wall, took a deep breath only after moving away from the training ground.

The pain subsided as there was no sound. The unpleasant stinging sensation was still there, but it was not so much which allowed her to walk with her back straight.

Shudmuel told her to record the circumstances around her when she was in pain….

It was funny to sort things while on the road. Yuriel checked the time on her pocket watch and started walking again.

As soon as she arrived at Shudmuel’s office, she was thinking of adding the contents to the record sheet.

– Feeling pain near the training ground, immediately after hearing the sound of the monster cores breaking.

Hurts every time the monster cores breaks…..she could write this much, right?

Thinking about the sensation she had just felt, Yuriel walked slowly. As she was about to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead, an unfamiliar voice called out to her.

“Miss Yuriel.”

“Who…. Oh, you are an alchemist.”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you since the parlor. I heard that your condition has improved a lot, but your complexion is still bad?”

He was an alchemist who was in charge of drawing blood. He smiled as if he was happy and stuck to Yuriel’s side.

With his shoulders pressed close enough, he spoke in a quick, hard tone, as if interrogating. The smile on his face while looking at Yuriel, was quite awkward.

He said, looking at Yuriel with an unfavorable gaze.

“It’s not even hot weather, but the sweat on your forehead…. There must be somewhere uncomfortable. After the monster escaped, things seem to have gotten weirder, does Miss Yuriel have something to do with the monster?”

“… What do you want to say?”

Yuriel, who was trying to be polite, heard a tone close to criticism and unwittingly responded with a sharp tone.

She felt sick and tired of people who linked her to the monster.

Although it was done to stay by Raphlet’s side, Yuriel continued to join the monster subjugation after arriving at the Imperial Capital.

Even in the sudden terrorist incident, she worked hard to evacuate people to a safe place.

It was not about controlling monsters, it was about predicting their movements and helping to keep people safe.

She didn’t want to receive meaningless praise or thanks, but neither did she have any reason to be criticized or questioned.

She did a good job, so why should she be blamed?

Because of the content in the newspaper article, Yuriel was regarded as a witch who controls monsters, or an evil person who summons monsters to the Imperial Capital to harm people.

Yuriel was fed up with malicious rumors that have plagued her since last year.

The alchemist, who did not even give his full name, spoke as if pouring out to Yuriel who was fed up.

“There are rumors that Miss Yuriel controls monsters. I didn’t mean to believe it because it was so absurd, but this case was so interesting…. Can you really control monsters?”

“How can I control a monster? It wasn’t that I was controlling it, I was predicting the direction the monster would move. That seems a little bit distorted.”

“I don’t think it’s wrong to say that you are being protected by the monster.”

He said sarcastically. Yuriel, who was about to refute, felt as if the energy surrounding her body was being sucked down under her feet and shut her mouth.

No matter what she said to this man, her voice seemed to be sucked under his feet, as she felt it now.

The good feeling from the long awaited outing subsided. Her emotional ups and downs were so great that she was embarrassed of herself.

Yuriel thought as she groped her stomach.

Is it because of pregnancy that the ups and downs of emotions are so large?

When Yuriel didn’t answer, the alchemist sneaked up to her and said in a soft tone.

“You can help us get rid of that rumor.”

He revealed his purpose for secretly approaching Yuriel. He was hiding a syringe between the hem of his ruffled robe which was not suited for the weather. He was looking for an opportunity to draw her blood that had failed several times.

Yuriel had no intention of cooperating with the alchemist, but when she hesitated, he opened his mouth with greedy eyes.

“Cooperate with the experiment….”

“Miss Yuriel?”

Unclean breath flowed from the alchemist’s mouth as he grabbed her arm.

This was the first time that a person’s breath smelled so terrible. Yuriel wrinkled her brow, feeling like she wanted to cover her nose.

As Yuriel felt nauseous from the foul smell pouring out of the alchemist’s mouth reaching the tip of her nose, she heard a fresh voice different from the alchemist’s.

Helio grabbed Yuriel’s shoulders, who was covering her mouth due to a wave of nausea that had risen up her throat, looked at her complexion and patted her on the back in surprise.

“No, Miss Yuriel. Why is your face like this?”

Each time his hand touched her back, her body calmed down a little.

“… Could it be because of that? Would you like to go to the shade and rest?”

Helio asked with a worried expression. It wasn’t as unpleasant as when the alchemist approached her.

“It’s okay…. It’s fine, but if you have time, can you go to Sir Shudmuel’s office with me?”

Yuriel grabbed the hem of Helio’s clothes and asked. Helio replied in affirmation with a slightly perplexed expression as he touched his shoulder that had been implanted with a fragment of the monster’s core.

Knowing Helio’s habit of occasionally touching the implanted shoulder, Yuriel bowed her head roughly to the alchemist and walked close to Helio’s arm.

She felt comfortable when she was held in Raphlet’s arms, and now, when Helio’s hand touched her, her body calmed down.

Yuriel kept her mouth shut and thought.

… I think I know when and why things get better.

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