Stigma Effect

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

“Today’s schedule is over. Miss Yuriel, will you come over here for a moment before we leave?”

The experiment was over. Yuriel lightly scratched the monster's jaw and left the laboratory. The monster followed Yuriel until the chain was pulled taut, and when it could no longer come forward, it whined pitifully.

She was worried about the small cry. After all, it was trying to save her and ended up being trapped in a place like this.

After standing still for a while with the door open, an alchemist touched Yuriel's shoulder.

“Is something wrong with it?”

As the alchemist pushed his head inside, the whining monster exposed its teeth.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to see that. When the experiment is over, all teeth must be pulled out.”

“Are you pulling out the teeth?”

“Ah, if Miss Yuriel wants to be safe, of course, we have to pull it out, but then there will be variables. For now, we have to leave it in its original form.”

As Yuriel frowned faintly, the alchemist explained. He looked genuinely sorry for not being able to neutralize the monster right away.

When Yuriel did not straighten her face, he looked at her and asked.

“Should I pull the claws if you’re too nervous?"

"No. Don’t do that.”

It was kind to her, but it was a monster. She knows it's hard to just let it go.

After the experiment was over, of course, they had to kill it, so it was the right thing to do so that it could die as comfortably as possible. However, the alchemists did not seem to want to kill it comfortably even after the experiment was over.

Yuriel shook her head briefly, and the alchemist only shrugged his shoulders. As if he didn't mind the hard expression on her face, he said as he pointed a large syringe in front of Yuriel.

“This is what we have to do. I need Miss Yuriel's blood for the experiment, so I'll draw a little."

He grabbed Yuriel's wrist without even having time to say anything to Yuriel. Lifting her clothes up to her forearm, he skillfully poked the needle.

She could see the large syringe oozing with blood. Yuriel stared at him with her mouth wide open.

He was so skillful that when a thick needle pierced her forearm, it didn't hurt. Contrary to the saying that he would draw a little, he drew a fairly large amount of blood.

Not sure if that was enough, he took out the other syringe he was holding on his waist and held out his hand again.

“I’ll just fill this out. I pulled it from this one, so can you show me the other arm....”

“What are you doing now?”

It was the moment when Yuriel inadvertently stretched out her arm at that natural gesture. Yuriel’s was dragged back with her shoulders wrapped around protruding arms.

“Fuc…. Why are you giving her that?”

"Yes? I need it for an experiment....”

A voice filled with intense emotions was heard. The swear word filled with anger continued in Yuriel's ears.

It sounds like Baraha...?

The voice was familiar. However, the non-stop swearing was unusual.

He wasn't the kind of person who swears in this way. Yuriel had never seen Baraha angry. So were the swear words.

Someone other than Baraha then?

Yuriel thought blankly as she heard the swear words pouring out above her head. The swear words were so harsh that she didn't even think to shake the arm that was pulling her.

When she glanced at his face, she was even more stunned that the person who was swearing was Baraha.

Baraha's swear words gradually increased. Even the alchemist who heard the pouring insults had a crazy face.

“Who are you doing that to? Do you want to die?”

Of the profanity, only sentences for communication were made.

“Come on, wait a minute. Why is the gun... ! Commander Baraha!”

“Baraha, what’s wrong with you!”

“These fucking bastards better just die.”

Yuriel, who was in Baraha's arms, caught her breath as he wrapped himself around her and saw his gun being loaded.

As Baraha loaded his gun, the man in front threw the syringe and screamed. The syringe containing Yuriel's blood also fell to the floor.

Baraha wheezed as the syringe rolled to his feet. He moved his feet, stepping on the syringe. The syringe shattered and blood pooled under his feet.

Seeing all her blood that had been drawn gone to waste, Yuriel grabbed Baraha's arm and said:

“Baraha, really, why? Is there a problem?”

Baraha's arm, which her finger touched, was tight. The way the agitated Baraha continued to step on the syringe was not at all in harmony with his usual appearance.

"I don't know why you're doing this, but let's lower the gun, okay?"

Yuriel said in a cautious tone, stopping Baraha from aiming the gun at the man who was leaving the room as if he was running away.

Baraha, who was about to shoot the departing alchemist’s leg, was led by Yuriel's hand and lowered his arm.

When the man whom Baraha was pouring out his anger on left, his anger turned toward Yuriel.

“Do you know what he did and you made me put down my gun?”

“What are you doing? All he said was that the experiment needed blood.”

“So you know what that means.”

“It means they need my blood, but is there another meaning…? I thought the experiment might need blood....”

She thought it was rude to draw blood all of a sudden, but it wasn't something she couldn't understand.

Yuriel was even more embarrassed to see Baraha's maddening anger.

A person who did not lose his composure even when death was imminent was so angry from barely drawing blood?

Yuriel thought that he could not overcome his fatigue and was venting his anger on the person who was visible.

“I think it’s because you’re tired. That’s why I told you to stop and rest today.”

“Do you think I am doing this because I am tired? You don't even know how many people died from blood drawn like that...!”

Baraha was pouring words out passionately, so Yuriel couldn't understand half of what he was saying.

She could barely hear the cry of whether he was doing this because he was tired, but the voice afterwards was unclear.

Baraha, who spoke more vigorously, released his strength from the arm that wrapped around Yuriel's shoulder.

Baraha looked down at Yuriel's arm. Blood was flowing from the spot where the syringe drew blood.

“… you don’t know anything.”

“What do I not know?”

“If they ask you to draw blood next time, tell them I said no. It's no good to hand over blood to the alchemists. If they try to give you an injection, just kill them.”

Baraha murmured while holding Yuriel's arm with the hem of his robe. He seemed to have returned to his sanity quickly, perhaps thanks to his exhaustion from his angry tirade.

The alchemist who had run away while Baraha stopped the bleeding on Yuriel’s arm, led the others inside.

While receiving the frightened man's gaze, Baraha lifted the hem of his robe and checked Yuriel's arm. When he saw that the bleeding had stopped, he turned around.

As Baraha approached the alchemists, they shouted in confusion.

"Wait. Leave, leave your gun behind!”

“Yes, give it to me. You're a little weird right now. Your eyes are open. You didn't come here on drugs to wake up, did you?"

“I don’t do that….”

He had calmed down, but his face was still hot. Yuriel leaned towards Baraha as she handed him the gun and spread her palms out.

“… But even without this, it is not hard to kill such weaklings.”

She looked at his face, who had muttered in her ear before raising his upper body, strangely.

Fortunately, the alchemists gathered behind them did not seem to have heard Baraha's voice.

If they had heard it, if it was referred to the military court martial, there would be nothing to refute. This is not what a knight who should protect the weak would say.

“I won’t let you go for threatening me!”

The man threatened by Baraha trembled like a trampled earthworm. When Baraha looked at him with sharp eyes, he shut his mouth, but had an unreconciled expression on his face.

It was unfair that he suddenly pulled his gun and was cursed for the rest of his life’s share. Even Yuriel thought that Baraha's reaction was very strange.

Baraha, who had no idea how he became a paladin, left the room with the alchemists. Standing in the center and watching his back as if being dragged out, Yuriel also left the laboratory.

No one paid any attention to the blood gushing out of the broken syringe as they stared at Baraha, who seemed insane.

A monster tied to a chain with a door in between started sniffing its nose.

＊＊＊

That night, Raphlet returned to the room and delivered bad news.

“Commander Baraha was going to be referred to a military court martial. He threatened the alchemist in the lab today, what happened?”

Yuriel, who had brought Raphlet something to change into, sighed deeply and spoke.

“Today Baraha pointed a gun at the alchemist. But I also don't understand why....”

“They said it was because he saw your blood drawn.”

Yuriel, putting down the clothes to change into, said as she unbuttoned Raphlet’s coat. Raphlet seemed to have heard everything, but he didn't seem to understand either.

A sharp gaze scanned Yuriel as if trying to figure out if there were any hidden stories in the middle. He scoured Yuriel's body, who was preoccupied with taking off his clothes, but as he had already been told, there were no wounds on Yuriel.

All that was visible was the needle marks under the short-sleeved pajamas.

Raphlet grabbed the forearm that was left with red marks.

The small marks left on Yuriel's body were annoying.

“It seems that Commander Baraha cares a lot about you.”