Stigma Effect

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

Yuriel folded her eyes and smiled at the man who was examining her. He entered the infirmary, looking at Yuriel with an expressionless face.

“Hello, 3rd Commander. Nice to meet you. I’m….”

“I know who you are, so you don’t need to explain unnecessarily.”

The man coolly cut off her words. Yuriel kept a calm smile even after receiving harsh treatment after a long time.

The subordinates of nobles were accustomed to it. It was rather unusual for Helio and the other knights to be polite.

Such an arrogant tone of voice was familiar to Yuriel.

"Yes."

Yuriel immediately shut her mouth, and Shudmuel's face softened a little. Looking down at Yuriel with her head bowed, he took the journal containing information about Baraha that the medical officer had been writing and said.

“Are you acquainted with Commander Baraha?”

"Yes."

"How."

It was a one-sided question. Yuriel thought about what the relationship between Baraha and Shudmuel would be like and opened her mouth.

“I don't think there is any reason to tell Commander Shudmuel about my relationship with Commander Baraha. It would be better to hear directly from Commander Baraha.”

The man she saw for the first time today and Baraha.

It's okay to tell Baraha what she’d heard from Shudmuel, but it's not the other way around.

Even Helio, who was friendly with Baraha, was unaware of the fact that Baraha often visited the Mogris Estate. She herself cannot say what Baraha has no intention of disclosing.

If Schudmuel finds out that Yuriel, who is from Mogris, is close with Baraha, he will know that Baraha often visits Mogris, but that wasn't Yuriel's concern.

“It’s a command. Say it."

“My direct supervisor is Lord Raphlet.”

Yuriel answered without raising her head. The medical officer, who was sandwiched between Yuriel and Shudmuel, seemed to be restless. The shadow of the medical officer was caught in Yuriel’s eyes, who was bowing her head.

A cold silence followed for a long time.

Shudmuel was the first to speak. He said in a relaxed voice.

“… A heavy mouth is better than my subordinates. Raise your head.”

"Yes. Commander Shudmuel.”

“You write an apology about today’s work. Today’s mistake will be forgotten.”

"Thank you. Commander!”

The medical officer sighed and said. He must have felt relieved from how he was stroking his chest. Yuriel also let out a short sigh.

Shudmuel, who watched Yuriel sighing as she looked at the medical officer, said.

“You follow me.”

"Yes?"

“Should I say it twice?”

Yuriel quickly shook her head.

Because there were definitely people like this, itt would be better to not ask one more time if she was going to get scolded.

Shudmuel turned around without giving Yuriel time to say goodbye to the medical officer. Yuriel barely shook her head at the medical officer and hurriedly followed Shudmuel out of the infirmary.

Shudmuel went to the commander’s office, which was present in each building. All four of Albraka's buildings had the same structure, so even a first-time visitor could easily identify the location.

However, even with the same structure, the atmosphere of the office was distinctly different for each Commander. Raphlet's office was a simple space with minimal furniture, Helio had a more relaxed atmosphere, and Baraha's was a mess.

Shudmuel's office had a morbidly clean atmosphere. She was reluctant to even venture into it.

As soon as she stepped into his morbidly clean office, Shudmuel seemed to stare at her with cold eyes.

“What are you doing not coming in?”

Yuriel checked her shoes for dirt, and dust on her clothes. In the meantime, Shudmuel, who had already entered the office, sat on a chair, and spoke to her.

Yuriel shook off her clothes and went into the office. When the door was closed, it felt like a space cut off from the outside. Shudmuel, who sat down, pointed to the chair in front of the desk and said.

"Sit down."

Yuriel approached him awkwardly. She remembered that when she was in Mogris, she was called and scolded by the chief maid. Whenever Yuriel did something wrong, the chief maid would call Yuriel to the room like this.

Sensing a similar atmosphere, Yuriel reluctantly approached him and sat on the chair.

While Yuriel sat down, Shudmuel took a candle from the drawer, lit a match, and lit the candle. The strange scent pierced the tip of her nose. It was incense.

It was strange to see a man who did not seem to be the type to use incense candles placing one on the desk. Yuriel watched him light the candle. Shudmuel shook the match to extinguish it. Shortly thereafter, he took in his hand the medical journal with Baraha's information.

He asked her to follow him, but she couldn't figure out why Shudmuel, the head of the medical unit, was chasing her alone.

Shudmuel had brought the journal that the medical officer had been writing in, and was slowly flipping through the book, looking at the contents.

Yuriel looked at him calmly as he checked the journal. Candles that could be seen by the side were flickering occasionally. For some reason, she suddenly felt a bit tired.

Yuriel shook her head to wake herself and looked at Shudmuel's face.

It reminded her of the chief maid, so she felt familiar.

Having reviewed the entire journal, Shudmuel took off his glasses and set them down on his desk, looking at Yuriel. Gray eyes that looked like melted silver coins looked at Yuriel.

When he took off his glasses and looked at her, his eyes looked more like metal. He looked into Yuriel's eyes for a moment and then turned his head.

“Write it.”

He said, holding out Baraha's journal.

“This is a medical report. Isn't that a document I shouldn't read?"

Yuriel, who was holding the pen with a frozen face, tilted her head and asked.

Shudmuel tapped his armrest with a long finger and shook his head.

"Write."

All of Albraka's leaders, except for Raphlet, had something strange about them. When she first met Helio, he had banged his head against the wall, and aimed a gun at her. She met Baraha when she found him wandering blankly in the forest of Mogris, and this Shudmuel, whom she met today.

Why is everyone so unique?

While holding the pen, Yuriel pondered for a moment whether a unique personality might also be included in the conditions for selecting Albraka's commanders.

A rather quick and sensitive sound followed while the contents from Baraha's journal were transcribed onto another piece of paper. It was the sound of Shudmuel tapping his armrest with his finger.

Yuriel frowned slightly at the strange, annoying sound.

It was so annoying that she wanted him to stop.

After holding the pen and looking at Shudmuel's fingers for a moment, Yuriel shook her head from side to side and started writing.

It was an abbreviation and a technical term. Yuriel frowned as she transcribed the incomprehensible characters.

The sound of Shudmuel's fingers piercing her ears began to fade away little by little. She couldn't hear well because she was so focused on writing.

Shudmuel spoke in a monotonous tone to Yuriel, who was writing with a frown.

“I heard that you have a close relationship with Commander Raphlet. How did it come to be?”

“I came up from the Mogris Estate. Lord Raphlet is originally from Mogris.”

Yuriel replied blankly.

“Lord Raphlet saved me and gave me a job.”

“Saved you?”

“Yes, I almost got attacked by a monster….”

“… Please explain more.”

Shudmuel said, leaning over to the desk. The finger that had been tapping the armrest of the chair was now moving on the paper on which Yuriel was writing.

The sound, which had been interrupted for a while, continued again.

“You said that Commander Raphlet saved you from being attacked by a monster? What was Commander Raphlet like at that time? Was he seriously injured?"

"Yes, a big cut on his back... .”

Yuriel, who was explaining blankly, blinked. It was the moment when she had finished writing all the information on the previous page and stopped writing.

“I wrote it all down.”

As she was about to turn the paper, she felt strange.

Why was she even talking like this?

Yuriel lowered the pen and fumbled her lips. Shudmuel leaned back, watching Yuriel feel strange and fumbling her lips.

He slowly checked what Yuriel had written and opened his mouth.

“Can I leave you with this job while Commander Raphlet is away?”

"Yes? What's going on?”

“It’s about keeping a journal. All you have to do is come to my office at the appointed time and write for me.”

“But I am not a member of the medical unit....”

Yuriel replied blankly. She remembered that the medical office had to write an apology because the medical officer gave her some information earlier.

When Yuriel hesitated, Shudmuel leaned towards Yuriel and said in a monotonous tone with no sense of high or lowness.

“Come to my office while Commander Raphlet is away, Yuriel.”

"Ah…. Yes. Okay."

"Good. Then go.”

When Yuriel nodded, Shudmuel extinguished the incense candle that had been lit the whole time.

Yuriel, who was about to leave the room as Shudmuel had commanded, unintentionally looked at his bookshelf.

Most of the books on the shelves were about hypnosis.

I don't know if I'm angrier at how vulnerable & clueless Yuriel is or that Shudmuel is using her *sigh*