Chapter 26 – Sword Art Online (20)
“This is Tokyo…”
Shino murmured.
She originally intended to tell her grandparents that when she graduated middle school, she would like to go somewhere far away to work.
But this time, the opportunity was brought forward.
So I tried… Received an immediate vehement refusal.
Well, I roughly expected it.
However, Shino did not give up and expressed her opinion.
At least a long time ago, she said that Shino had lived with her mother and father as a child, and that she wanted to go to a high school in Tokyo.
Of course, she wanted to go to a place where there were no rumors and curious eyes that always followed her, but more than that, she was also certain that as long as she lived here, the wounds in her heart would never heal.
Of course, Shino’s symptoms were diagnosed as typical PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. She received counseling and took the prescribed medications.
Strangely, however, the words of the doctors, who all smiled similarly, only touched and scratched the surface of Shino’s heart, but did not reach the area where her wounds were.
In a clean examination room, “I understand, was it difficult? It must be painful.” When she heard the word, Shino muttered the same thing over and over again in her mind.
‘Then have you ever shot someone with a gun?’
She is now reflecting that her own attitude has dominated her trust and made her treatment difficult.
Even so, it was still Shino’s candid feelings. Perhaps she just wanted someone to clearly define whether what she had done was good or evil.
She, of course, had no intention of answering.
However, no matter how much memory and seizures he suffered, he never tried to choose his own death. He had no regrets about pointing the gun at the man and pulling the trigger.
When he pointed a gun at his mother, Shino had no choice but to do so. Even if he could go back to the moment of the incident, he would have done the same thing too.
That’s why Shino wanted to become stronger. In that situation, he wanted to be strong enough to say it was natural for him to choose that action. He is like a female warrior who easily kills enemies on the battlefield.
For that reason, Shino reached out to someone more likely to help her than her doctor.
“Long time no see.”
Someone approached Shino, who was looking around the extension.
He was the boy I met during the post office incident. Shino bowed her head.
“Hello.”
When she lifted her head again and saw her boy’s face, she automatically caught her breath.
Now that her memories are fuzzy, only the impression that he was handsome remains, but when he met him again, he was the best of her short life.
“I had a hard time coming. We can’t talk calmly here, so shall we go by car first?”
“Ah yes.”
The boy, Seojun, took the lead.
Shino, who followed behind, saw a long limousine.
It was only then that Shino realized belatedly that this boy was not an ordinary person. There was no way an ordinary boy would ride in a limousine like that.
Boooung.
The limousine carrying the two moved smoothly.
Shino felt her tension ease at the comfort of not being shaken in the slightest.
Looking at Shino like that, Seojun thought.
‘It took quite a while.’
It has already been two months since the post office incident.
The fact that she finally got in touch proves that she has gone through a lot of hardships.
‘I wonder if this will work.’
Seo-joon has brought her potion to heal her.
A potion that has the effect of temporarily increasing mental strength. Drinking this will give you resistance to monsters and traps that interfere with or contaminate your mind.
‘In reality, it was also effective to some extent for PTSD patients.’
However, as temporary as it is, it returns to its original state.
In order to completely heal PTSD, the patient must try to overcome the trauma as much as possible while the mental powers are elevated.
There have been quite a few cases that have actually been cured.
‘It’s a method that can’t be used with Shino’s mother.’
It only boosts mental strength, but has no effect on fixing a broken mind.
Even if Shino’s mother drank it, she wouldn’t have a very good effect.
Well, after thinking about it, Seo-Jun asked her.
“Are you really going to be okay? Even if you stay away from your family.”
“… Ah yes. Does not matter. I originally intended to be independent, and her grandfather and grandmother also said that they might be able to cure their illness, so they let her go without hesitation. Rather than that, may I ask how she intends to fix it?”
“Of course.”
Seojun explained.
He said that he was the deficit of the Yoosung Group, and that the affiliates of the Yoosung Group had developed a drug effective for PTSD.
“Yousung Group…”
It is a conglomerate family that even young Shino knows about.
It is a place that came from Korea, a neighboring country, and has grown into one of Japan’s leading conglomerates in only ten years.
It has numerous subsidiaries in Japan, and that all subsidiaries are so great that they are ranked in the top 5 in their field.
So is it?
This time it gave me hope that it might be fixed.
“Eating doesn’t fix it right away. To the end, medicine is only an aid, the important thing is your will to heal.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Shino’s eyes burned.
She has never given up even once. There was not enough will to overflow.
Seeing that, Seojun smiled.
“Well, if so. Then let’s talk about something else.”
Seojun had a conversation with Shino.
First of all, it’s about her future. Seo-joon has found a house for her where she can stay. It was an empty room in the building he lived in. It was inferior to Seo-jun’s penthouse built on the top floor, but it was never inferior in terms of security or anything like that.
School is next.
And since she had already completed all the transfer procedures, all she had to do was carry her luggage, which would come later by parcel.
He also decided to give money.
The amount is 50,000 yen per month. It was an absurdly large amount of money for her, who was still young, but it was an appropriate price because she handled it in the name of a price for clinical trials of a newly developed PTSD drug.
Well, it won’t be enough.
In the first place, her parents’ family would also send her pocket money.
I’m sorry.
As we chatted, the limousine stopped before we knew it.
Had reached its destination.
“Omg!”
Shino, who got off with Seo-jun, swallowed the wind in the huge skyscraper in front of her.
Even in her hometown, she had never seen such a dazzling luxury building. When Seo-joon smiled at that cute figure, she noticed her belatedly and lowered her head with her face blushing.
‘Eh, he must have looked like a country man, right?’
It was so embarrassing that her face flushed.
Seo-joon took the lead and entered the building. Shino carefully followed suit.
I boarded the elevator exclusively for residents and pressed the number of the floor she moved in.
“Hey, is this my house?”
Eventually, Shino was shocked when she saw the house she had decided to move into.
Because it was much wider than his own family. In terms of square footage, it’s about 50 square feet.
She was too young to live on her own. Feeling the pressure, Shino told Seo-jun.
“Do I really live here alone?”
Seojun nodded.
Shino hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
“… Is this too much of a nuisance?”
“Is it a nuisance?”
“Because there is nothing I can give you to cure me of my illness and let me live in a house like this…”
Shino becomes sullen.
Seo-joon tousled her hair as if telling her not to worry.
“I didn’t ask for anything, so don’t worry about it. Just what… I do it because I want to do it.”
“…”
Shino looked at Seo-joon.
Her only reason could not convince her. But she had the idea that Shino was good that she was good within.
It was because she didn’t seem to have any ill intentions towards her opponent.
In the last two months, she has suffered the heaviest of human malice in her short life. From that experience, what I felt for Seo-joon was rather a stronger feeling of ‘favor’, like her grandparents and mother.
‘… To suspect such a good person.’
She cleared away any doubts. Instead of that, she said, she made a vow inwardly.
She promises to return the undeserved favor she received.
