Stigma Effect

Translator: Skye  Editor: thursdays  PR: sj_myself

Raphlet raised himself up carefully while holding an unconscious Yuriel in his arms.

He had forcibly knocked her out, unable to watch her cry to the point her breathing became erratic. It was clear that she would have fainted due to the lack of air if he let her be.

His heart ached when he saw that her tremors after a dream were more severe than they were in the past.

This place was full of things that posed a threat to Yuriel: monsters that appeared frequently, Raphlet himself, and not to mention Helio, who was showing interest towards her.

Helio’s interest was particularly unwelcome.

Raphlet breathed a heavy sigh and moved Yuriel to his tent. After carefully brushing aside the hair that clung to her wet cheeks, he lit several candles so that she wouldn’t wake up to a dark tent.

As the artificial light of the magic stone-embedded lamp wouldn’t help calm her nerves, Raphlet had chosen to light the candles instead.

He swept his hand through her hair roughly, then gently rubbed her forehead with his thumb. He only stood up once he saw her wake, an embarrassed expression on her face.

It seemed his decision to light the candles had been the right choice, as Yuriel scratched her cheek sheepishly, glancing around the candlelit room before giving him a bright smile.

Just the sight of her relaxed expression almost made him inadvertently smile, but he quickly caught himself.

This incident only convinced him further that he needed to send Yuriel away.

Yuriel’s head cleared after waking up from a sleep in which she didn’t have a single dream. Every time someone gently swept her hair, her breathing evened.

Taking slow breaths, Yuriel scratched her cheeks bashfully when she found a pair of golden pupils observing her.

She recalled that she had been crying in Raphlet’s embrace before she had passed out and the memory of him comforting her.

She always thought the most terrible thing would be to hear about Raphlet getting injured. But she was embarrassed and ashamed for showing him such a state-quivering in fear due to something that was only a dream.

“Sleep in my tent tonight. You’ll also feel more at ease if you sleep here,” Raphlet said with a worn-out face. His tone was a cold contrast to the warm touch of his hand that had stroked her hair.

“But…”

“If you appear restless like that in front of the knights, you’ll only intensify their nerves. If you want to help, please stay in my tent today.”

“Yes… I’m sorry, Raphlet.”

Although she wanted to stay outside to make use of her ability more accurately, she couldn’t refuse him. Recalling how Raphlet had been comforting her, Yuriel became sullen and apologized.

At the sight of her drooping shoulders, Raphlet’s hand flinched-as if he wanted to reach out to her-but soon sank, unable to approach Yuriel when she was awake.

With her shoulders still slumped, Yuriel pulled out her watch.

“Oh, it’s already five o’clock. Raphlet, it was six o’clock when I met a monster in my dream. We’d better move fast.”

“It’s fine. Don’t you think it would be better for you to rest a little more?”

Yuriel shook her head and got out of bed.

“No, I’m fine now,” she answered sincerely. She genuinely felt all right to the point where she was surprised at how okay she felt.

It almost felt like a lie how she had shuddered so much before passing out. It was most likely because of the touch of his hand.

Yuriel thought so, frowning as she lowered her gaze to stare at Raphlet’s fingers.

She had been able to calm down as soon as his hand had touched her.

Yuriel continued to stare at Raphlet’s fingers as they moved to the tent where Helio was waiting for them.

When Raphlet-who noticed the intense gaze directed towards his hand-clenched his fist, Yuriel regrettably lost her focus.

Raphlet pulled up the cloth of the tent with his hand, waiting until Yuriel passed under his arm before lowering the cloth back down behind him.

Confirming that there was no one else other than Helio around, he stepped forward into the center. This tent was specifically set up for planning strategies and was thus equipped with maps of the hunting grounds, large tables, and small flags to mark the locations of the monsters.

Helio stood before the map of the hunting grounds and welcomed them.

“I’m not sure if you were able to get a good night’s sleep, but I’ve been waiting to hear some good news. Do you have any to share?”

Unlike how he talked to Yuriel when she first came here, Helio didn’t have a playful expression. Instead, he pressed her with an expectant look.

He looked at her as if he believed their whole situation would change based on what she had to share.

Yuriel recounted her dream to Raphlet and Helio. The map was still hard to read, so she explained by drawing the path on a piece of paper that was on the large table.

As she fumbled to the location where she first encountered the fiend, Helio-who had been listening quietly-raised his hand and stopped her.

“What were some of the features or characteristics of the monster?” he asked sharply.

“Its body was thick, and its toenails were rather blunt. Its eyes bulged out, while its body was covered with fur… Oh, it also seemed to be quite sensitive to sound.”

“I see. The monster you encountered is a monster that nests underground. Its eyes developed that way to collect as much light as possible while living underground. It makes a nest by digging a hole in the ground, similar to a mole. The creature isn’t hard to deal with as long as we’re able to find the entrance to its den,” Helio explained, nodding his head. Identifying the shape and form of a monster was the first thing to do in a subjugation.

“In fact, while you were asleep, we sent a couple of knights to check for tracks. We ended up getting the same response from them.”

She wasn’t disappointed, as it was what she had expected. Yuriel had yet to figure out how to utilize her abilities herself, so using her ability as a reference while letting the knights handle it as they’ve always done was advantageous for Yuriel as well.

If the knights hadn’t gone out and found traces of the same monster she had seen, she would have been a little hesitant while making her claim.

But because Helio confirmed that the knights had seen the same indications, Yuriel was convinced that she had seen correctly.

It was reassuring to hear that the traces the knights had found were similar to those she had seen in her dream.

Yuriel gained confidence and continued. She knew the location of the nest entrance that Helio mentioned. She began to feel that there was a benefit in having to endure the experience of getting ripped apart by the monster’s offspring.

“I also confirmed the location of the den’s entrance in my dream. Sir Helio, were the knights also able to find the entrance?”

Seeing Yuriel say so with her chin proudly raised, the ends of Helio’s mouth curved upwards.

She looked confident, as if she was sure she could prove her use. The look of confidence was quite good to see.

Helio shook his head slowly. The nest was the place the monsters wanted to hide the most to protect their young from humans.

It was their greatest weakness.

They would have made the entrance of their nests difficult to find in order to shelter themselves from the eyes of humans.

In truth, it wasn’t difficult to track the entrance of this specific monster, but Helio didn’t interrupt because he needed to confirm Yuriel’s ability.

“No, they couldn’t find it. Could you guide us, Miss Yuriel?”

“Yes, of course.”

Yuriel nodded confidently. Yuriel smiled and turned to walk out of the tent, saying that she would guide them. But Raphlet, who was sitting next to her, grabbed her wrist the moment she was about to brush past him.

“Isn’t it enough to figure out the nature of the beast?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s more than enough for you to remember and write down what you saw as you did just now. Please stay back here in the barracks with the other knights.”

“No, I have to go with…”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“Commander Raphlet, we need to confirm Miss Yuriel’s abilities. What’s the point if she doesn’t show us the way herself?”

“To start with, it’s wrong to use Yuriel’s dreams for our advantage. Our knights aren’t so weak that we need help from a civilian. Finding the entrance to the cave isn’t a difficult task, either. What I’m saying is that we don’t need Yuriel’s help.”

The ends of Yuriel’s lips sank when she heard his matter-of-fact explanation.

“Rather, it’s more of a hindrance. If she has a fit like that after every dream, it would only make the knights feel uneasy.”

“A hindrance…” Yuriel repeated Raphlet’s words with a pale face.

“Are you going to cry that way every time you find out where the monster is? While hoping for someone to calm you down?”

Unaware that she had a breakdown, Helio looked over Yuriel attentively and said, “First of all, why don’t we check if Miss Yuriel’s dream is correct and then discuss more afterward? The majority of monsters that burrow and hide themselves carry out attacks at night. It’ll most likely attack tonight because we’ve plowed through the forest, so it would be best if we find its den and dispose of it beforehand.”

Helio pulled out Yuriel’s hand from Raphlet’s grasp.

“It’ll be too late by the time the knights find the entrance. Please lead us there directly, Miss Yuriel.”

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