“Thank you for your hard work today, counselor~”
“Thank you.”
Feeling the aftermath of the consultation, Yoo Seon-woo pressed his throbbing head and packed his things as he stepped outside. Behind him, a staff member from the temporary consultation room bowed politely while tidying up.
Thus, the Union Guild not only hired hunters but also employed civilian outsiders who lacked abilities but excelled in their own ways.
“♩~♬~”
Confirming that Seon-woo had left, the staff member hummed a tune and entered the consultation room with light steps to tidy up the teacups.
However, at that moment, just as she opened the door and stepped inside—
“Ugh…!”
A thick aroma surged through her nose, one that humans could never comprehend, overwhelming her senses.
The staff member immediately sank to the floor in instinctive fear, similar to how lower-ranked animals react before an overwhelming hierarchy of pheromones. Her tail, which had been fluttering moments ago, now completely tucked between her legs, while her legs began to tremble like aspen leaves.
“What… what is this…?”
She could only mumble to herself.
***
The times when I feel the most fulfilled as a counselor are indeed when I can witness my clients’ hearts, which had been tightly shut, slowly opening up to the world.
Though I’ve only become a counselor recently, during my time at the Haetae Guild, I often listened to my colleagues’ troubles as well. Their responses were generally positive.
Of course, I never expected to become a professional.
‘Professional…?’
I didn’t know I would one day become a certified hunter counselor.
Lost in such thoughts, I was brought back to reality by the voice of the cashier.
“Oh, it’s okay, I don’t need the receipt.”
I smiled gently as I accepted the items I had just paid for—a box of delectable strawberries bought from the department store food court right in front of the counseling center.
These were preparations for tomorrow’s final home visit of the Union Guild, which fell on a Friday. I thought it would be nice to reward Luna for her courage. A cake… a fresh cream strawberry cake would be just right.
I returned to the consultation room before 9 AM. From what I confirmed last evening, there were no official bookings for today. It seemed likely that consultations would be held only for walk-ins.
Given the randomness of the number of visitors, it’s usually impossible to predict how many would show up on the day itself.
The sweet and nutty smell of cookies I had freshly baked filled the consultation room from early morning. I gazed at the warm cookies sitting on the cooling rack.
I could leave them aside for now… Even if there were leftovers, it would be fine. There are ways to handle that.
I sat down, took a sip of the freshly brewed coffee, and prepared for today’s consultations.
A quiet consultation room. The sweet aroma of cookies mingled with the bitter scent of coffee.
It was now time to welcome the clients who would arrive.
– Ding.
As 9 AM struck, the small bell on the door rang cheerily. The first client of the day stepped inside.
“Welcome.”
The first consultation began smoothly.
I thought to myself that today would be another busy day…
And then the afternoon came.
“…….”
What’s going on? I muttered to myself as I alternated between gazing at the empty waiting room and the cookie basket that hadn’t diminished at all.
“I guess this can happen.”
Since the one visitor at 9 AM, no one had knocked on the consultation room door. Thanks to that, I was enjoying a rather leisurely afternoon for the first time in a while.
As a result, many of the cookies I’d baked in the morning had dramatically piled up. Looking at those cookies, instead of a troubled expression, I smiled faintly.
I then began to pack the remaining cookies one by one into small plastic bags, tying them up with pretty ribbons.
After finishing all the packaging, I placed them into a large box. Turning away from the red sunset visible through the window, I stepped outside the consultation room.
I wasn’t heading to a flashy guild or a bustling downtown.
[Eden Orphanage]
It was an old but neat orphanage, with a slightly peeling sign.
The phenomenon of transferring is quite unfair. Some outsiders are blessed with excellent abilities, born as new heroes in this world.
But unfortunately, children without any power or ability also helplessly find themselves thrown into this unfamiliar world. Imagining the feelings of those children, who have lost their parents, friends, and everything they knew in this strange land…
I presume that would not be an easy task.
For those children, I made these cookies.
The reason I always make an excess of cookies and treats is also because of this. I hope that the cookies will be plentiful since there are few clients seeking counseling.
Quietly, I opened the door to the orphanage, holding the box.
“… Huh?”
However, the sight that greeted me inside was considerably different from what I had expected. The head nun, who always warmly welcomed me, was absent, and the entrance was empty. Instead, the cheerful and high-pitched laughter of children came from the inner courtyard.
I cautiously made my way towards the courtyard.
In the courtyard, a black rabbit was giving rides to the children.
“Sister! Me too! Let me ride too!”
“Alright~ Just a little slowly~”
The smile on her face held none of the provocative charm I’d seen in the consultation room. It was purely a warm and sincere smile.
It was Alice.
Originally, the children here tended to be shy towards strangers, but she seemed to be perfectly at ease with them.
I stared at the scene in a daze.
Then, our gazes met in the air.
The warm smile on Alice’s face abruptly turned into one of surprise. She didn’t seem to comprehend why I was here.
‘Are you tired?’
Under her eyes, there were faint dark circles.
And it was the shouts of the children that broke that awkward silence.
“Hey! It’s him!”
As soon as the kids spotted me, they tumbled away from Alice and ran straight towards me. I immediately smiled and bent my knees to meet their eye level. I opened the box I was holding and began to distribute the packaged cookies one by one.
“Tell the nun and only eat one at a time, okay?”
“Yes!”
Hearing the children’s lively responses, I suddenly raised my head, feeling a gaze upon me. Alice had silently approached my side.
I extended one of the cookie bags toward her.
“Would you like one?”
At my words, Alice was startled and waved her hands.
“Oh, no… it’s okay… just, give it to the kids…”
So she could refuse too. I respected her wishes and continued to give cookies to the children.
Then the two of us sat on a bench beneath a large tree in the orphanage courtyard, silently watching the kids excitedly munching on their snacks near the head nun.
It was a peaceful scene.
Then Alice broke the silence first.
“… So you’re the teacher.”
“What about?”
“Lately, the nun has mentioned someone she’s always grateful for, someone who brings in snacks for the kids…”
“It’s not that big a deal…”
I smiled awkwardly and opened the last cookie bag that remained after giving cookies to the children. I picked one up but eventually set it back down.
“By the way, Alice, what are you doing here?”
This was the first time I saw Alice at the orphanage. I hadn’t been coming here often because of my preparations to become a counselor, so it seemed she had started visiting during that gap.
“Oh… I just come sometimes for guild volunteer work.”
She answered briefly, not taking her eyes off the children. Observing her, I naturally asked.
“You seem to really like the kids.”
Alice paused for a moment before responding.
“No, I don’t like them.”
“…….”
I looked at her, startled by her unexpected reply, trying to understand the contradiction between her words and the tender gaze she cast upon the children.
At that moment—
“Sister!”
A small girl came running toward us, holding a large crown woven with clovers and dandelions, made with her clumsy hands.
“Here, you wear this!”
Breathless from excitement, she proudly extended the crown to Alice.
“I made this for you, starting a week ago!”
The bittersweet smile vanished from Alice’s face. She slightly closed her eyes and, with the softest smile in the world, bent down to match the child’s height.
The child struggled for a while, not knowing how to place the crown over Alice’s large gray ears. However, Alice didn’t urge the child or tell her what to do. She quietly waited for the child to figure it out on her own.
Eventually, the child successfully placed the crown on Alice’s ears. The child looked up at Alice, who wore the crown, with sparkling eyes and whispered.
“You look like a princess…”
At those words, Alice gently patted the child’s head.
Just then, the head nun called for the child, and the child reluctantly turned back. Silence returned to the courtyard.
This act left me with more questions. It was a warm and kind gesture that someone who disliked children would never make. I quietly gazed at Alice, puzzled.
Seeing my confusion, Alice let out a deeper sigh and said,
“… I can’t do other things.”
She wore a bittersweet smile.
“Throughout the day… I’ll just be a nuisance…”
“…….”
“If it weren’t for volunteering, I really wouldn’t come all the way here…”
Wordlessly, I reached for the cookie I had previously set down and offered it to her.
“Please have one.”
“Give it to the kids…”
Before she could even finish saying she didn’t want it, I brought the cookie close to her lips.
– Sniff sniff.
“…!”
Her red eyes widened in surprise as she instinctively caught the scent.
“Vanilla…? How did you know I liked it since last time…”
“I have a good intuition.”
Alice hesitated for a moment but eventually took a bite out of the cookie in my hand like a young child.
“Yum…”
Watching her like this, I found myself drifting into thought.
I like children.
In the times when everything was strange after crossing into this world, I suffered from severe depression because of my abilities.
“Everything is different inside and out.”
While smiling outwardly, I would resent, envy, and despise others with my true feelings beyond the system windows. That was the human façade I had to face every day.
In reality, such raw emotions were something I was far too inexperienced to confront.
What had been most difficult was having to smile and act as if everything were normal even towards those who really disliked me.
So wandering without knowing what to do… I found this place through an accidental volunteer activity at the guild.
Before long, I began to feel at ease. I realized that there was no calculation or repayment in the smiles and kindness of children.
Like a clear waterway, what is seen on the surface and what is felt within is not different. Those children were my only refuge in a world filled with lies.
I recalled Alice’s transparent gaze as she looked at the children. That gaze likely wasn’t much different from the smile I wore when I looked at children in the past.
I spoke softly.
“I like them too.”
At my unexpected remark, Alice halted her chewing on the cookie and looked up at me, her eyes questioning as if to say, ‘What do you mean?’
I popped a cookie into my mouth, slowly adding as I savored the sweet vanilla flavor.
“Alice.”
At the sound of my call, her eyes widened.
[Alice]
[Main Stance]
[I love the children so much that it’s hard to concentrate on what I need to do. Nevertheless, when tough times arise, I come here. However, I mustn’t let anyone see or discover this side of me. Alice is an S-Class Hunter. The children could be taken hostage for it.]
[She is feeling anxious that her biggest secret and weakness might be exposed.]
Though the surface reveals its transparency like a clear waterway, I spoke towards the loneliness hidden behind her mask.
“There are people, like you, who can’t express what’s inside to someone else.”
Living with the ability to see into people’s insides, I should have lived pretending not to know.
Being in the position of an S-Class Hunter, she couldn’t show her feelings of liking something out of fear that it might become a weakness.
And to alleviate her anxiety, I promised her as a counselor, and as someone who bore a similar secret.
“Don’t worry too much. I will keep it a secret.”
Alice remained still at my words.
“Whew.”
A sound, like air escaping, slipped through her lips.
Soon, with a soft chuckle, she burst into bright laughter that rang out, shaking her shoulders in joy. Tears glistened at the corners of her eyes when her laughter subsided.
Alice wiped the redness around her eyes with her sleeve as she looked at me. The mask she wore had now completely disappeared.
“… I’ve been caught, haven’t I?”
Alice spoke with a refreshing tone.
“Because it’s part of the job.”
I replied gently.
“Well then… was that a confession earlier?”
“That was not.”
At my firm response, Alice’s smile grew even wider.
“Hmm… So, teacher.”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask just one thing?”
I nodded in affirmation.
“A~ I shouldn’t be doing this~”
Mumbling to herself, Alice fiddled with her crown, and with a slightly shy face, looked at me as she spoke.
“Did I really look like a princess?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her pure question, which was unlike her.
“… You did.”
And I slowly nodded my head.
Alice gazed at me with a blank expression for a moment.
“Ahahaha!”
Finally unable to hold it in, she burst into laughter like a child.
It was a clear laughter that I hadn’t heard in a long time.
