Follow-up consultation

"How did you know I was here too?" the "Justice" Lady's voice rang out with a hint of amusement.

Lumian glanced at the seat opposite him, unsure if anyone was sitting there, and replied with a smile, "It won't hurt to say hello."

Susie picked up the conversation:

"Congratulations on taking the first step in your revenge. How about we briefly discuss this matter?"

"No problem." Lumian did not show any obvious emotional fluctuation at the mention of the Vocabulary "revenge."

Of course, this is also partly why he didn't bring the "Torture" gloves with him. After all, this was a follow-up visit mainly for psychological evaluation, and he couldn't add any external influences to avoid misleading the Doctor's judgment.

He began by recounting his experiences over the past two days, starting with finding help and making plans. He briefly touched upon everything except for concealing the secret of the "Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society."

After a brief silence, Susie's gentle voice rang out again:

"Your mental state is quite good. Although you may still overreact in certain situations, this is normal. Psychotherapy is not about making a person lose their emotions or feelings, but about helping you let go of your burdens, learn to reconcile, find your inner strength, and no longer be defeated by Nightmare. Otherwise, according to some unreliable Doctor, simply removing your Frontal Lobe would make you peaceful forever."

"Frontal Lobe Removal?" This was the first time Lumian had ever heard of this treatment method.

Susie's tone carried a hint of disgust:

"This idea has only emerged in the last two or three years. It is impossible for it to achieve its intended purpose; it will only cause serious harm to patients. I can feel obvious malice in this treatment plan. It's as if some Humanity individuals deliberately spread it to see Doctor and patients make fools of themselves."

A prank that disregarded other people's lives? Lumian then said, "Lady. Susie, you haven't even asked how I feel or analyzed my thoughts, yet you assume I'm initially recovered and don't need a follow-up appointment?"

Susie's mood quickly improved, and she said with a smile, "Sometimes, a person's behavior reflects their psychological state better than their Library. What you need to know is that humans are very good at deceiving themselves, always finding a bunch of reasons for some of their behaviors. These reasons are far less true than their actual behavior. To accurately assess a person's psychological state from these complex and contradictory thoughts, you have to do in-depth analysis, which can easily trigger problems. So, I chose to start with your behavior."

"Clearly, whether you like it or not, you have rebuilt your social relationships, have developed a certain level of trust in others, and are willing to be trusted by others."

"Before the capture of Guillaume Béné, you were able to think calmly and prepare carefully. Although you acted impulsively and showed some morbid and Distortion behavior during the operation, this was unavoidable. If you did not act impulsively, you would need to consider whether you had more serious psychological problems. After the event was over, you quickly returned to a relatively normal state, resumed your life, and continued further investigation."

"Based on the above behavioral manifestations, congratulations! You no longer have a strong tendency to self-destruct, and you have truly emerged from the Abyss of Pain."

"Of course, the Pain won't disappear, it will only ease and fade. At some point in the future, it may suddenly resurface and take over your mind again, but don't panic. With this experience, I believe you can cope well. From a psychological perspective, this is a sign of recovery."

Similarly, the Past will inevitably leave its mark on us. Your self-destructive tendencies, extremism, and pathological behaviors are certainly stronger than most people's, but they are all within a reasonable and normal range.

After listening, Lumian slowly exhaled and said, "Actually, I can feel it myself. I am in a completely different state now compared to when I first arrived in Trier."

"Thank you, Lady. Susie, thank you, Lady. ' Justice '."

He could clearly see that, thanks to the treatment from the Two Psychiatrists and his various experiences in the Market District, he had gradually emerged from the initial state of madness where he didn't care about anything, didn't care about anything, and didn't even care if he died. He had transformed from a vengeful Evil Ghost into a more extreme person who wanted revenge, had enough drive to take action.

"This was actually a form of self- Redemption." Susie's tone was noticeably happier than before. "The people you should thank most are yourself and your Older Sister Aurora. If you hadn't held onto a sliver of hope and a will to live, if Miss Aurora hadn't given you nearly six wonderful years to reminisce about and shape your thinking, we wouldn't have been able to bring you back."

Upon hearing this, a series of images suddenly flashed through Lumian's mind:

Aurora uses deep breaths to calm her irritability when teaching; Torrential Rain stormy and sometimes unexpected "attacks" during combat lessons; the two sitting in the Study, each reading different books, enjoying the quiet and the night; herself, as the primary experimental subject, forced to eat her Older Sister's reconstructed Homeland food, whether successfully or unsuccessfully made...

Lumian's expression softened as she recalled a line her Older Sister had written in a novel:

My Past joys and Pain are equal to who I am now.

After a dozen seconds, he sat up straight and asked, "Was my Nightmare last night all because of that King Cake Game?"

The person in charge of responding this time was Lady. "Justice," who said in a soft voice, "Yes, judging from the current situation, you must have been subjected to some form of mental Corruption at the time."

"Mental Corruption? Does that really involve supernatural powers?" Lumian asked curiously.

"Justice" Lady, "Normally, the simple Ritual of sacrificing the King Cake couldn't have succeeded. Otherwise, this game wouldn't have been popular in Intis for hundreds of years, only to be gradually forgotten after the establishment of the Republic, with only a few families remembering it."

"Yes, I thought so too. Puyfer couldn't have succeeded in the sacrifice since he neither used Mysticism language nor recited the full Honorific Name," Lumian agreed.

"But there is one exception: the sacrificer and the sacrificed person are related by blood and have many similarities." Lady. Justice continued, "But there is one exception: the sacrificer and the sacrificed person are related by blood and have many similarities."

"If you frequently participate in Puyfer's King Cake Game and suffer from the mental Corruption brought about by the Ritual time and time again, it won't be resolved by just having a few Nightmare. Before they completely subside, they will gradually Distortion your mind and drive you insane."

"Does the content of those Nightmare have any symbolic meaning?" Lumian hummed in agreement.

"That's likely a combination of some crazy events that happened in the past, projected into your dream through Corruption," the Lady said Justice.

"There really is such a Ancient Castle, and there really are such crazy people..." Lumian nodded thoughtfully.

After chatting with the Two Psychiatrists, "Justice" and "Susie," for a while, he felt that his follow-up appointment for the day was coming to an end.

At this point, the "Justice" Lady spoke up, "Didn't I mention before that I might need your help with something?"

"No problem," Lumian agreed readily.

Consider it payment for psychotherapy!

Moreover, he believed that the "Justice" Lady must have considered her own abilities before Commission, and that it wouldn't be too dangerous.

"Lady. Justice" said with a smile, "If we succeed, I'll give you an extra reward that will meet your needs in some way."

"Changed appearance?" Lumian was overjoyed.

"Almost." Lady Justice's gentle voice held a hint of seriousness. "I want you to go to an Ancient Tomb Chamber on the fourth level of the Trier Fourth Level of the Catacombs and retrieve a bottle of ' Samaritan Woman Spring ' for me."

The Samaritan Woman Spring? Lumian was utterly astonished.

Lady. Hella just mentioned that she came to Trier to search for an item Depths in the Catacombs, and she also inquired about the legend of the "Samaritan Woman Spring"!

Isn't this too much of a coincidence?

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, "Lady. Justice" smiled and said, "Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?"

"Yes, I hope you can help me get some water from That One ' Samaritan Woman Spring ' by taking advantage of Lady. Hella's exploration. If you rely on yourself, the chances are slim."

"Actually, I could 'arrange' you to go in a more covert way, but that would go against my principles and beliefs. These kinds of things need to be discussed with you face to face to get your consent, rather than being passively involved through secret arrangements to achieve my goals."

"To me, being obsessed with manipulating other people's minds is a very dangerous thing."

"Of course, honesty is also an effective way to influence others' hearts."

Lumian's wariness and suspicion dissipated, and he asked in bewilderment, "' Justice ' Lady, since you know the approximate location of the ' Samaritan Woman Spring,' why don't you go and fetch it yourself instead of asking me, Sequence 7 Beyonder, for help?"

The Major Arcana from the "Tarot Club" must be Half-God, many times more powerful than myself!

The "Justice" Lady smiled:

Simply put, in some places, the higher the Sequence, the more dangerous it is.

Are there places where higher Sequence are more dangerous? Lumian felt this was beyond his comprehension.

The "Justice" Lady added, "The higher the Sequence, the closer it is to the Primordial One, the more madness accumulates, and the more easily it is affected by certain Corruption."

"Hella also has advantages in this matter; at least it saves her time, allowing her to narrow down the search area."

Lumian for a moment, then accepted the Commission from the "Justice" Lady, learning from her the approximate location of the "Samaritan Woman Spring":

In an Ancient Tomb Chamber on the westernmost side of the Fourth Level of the Catacombs.

After finishing his follow-up appointment, Lumian returned to the White Coat Street in the Market District, intending to retrieve the "Torture" boxing gloves from the Tinplate cabinet.

As soon as he entered the Safe House, he suddenly had a strange intuition:

Someone came in!

Someone has entered his Safe House!

Lumian's heart tightened, and he strode forward, opening the Tinplate cabinet.

Seeing that Aurora's original Witchcraft Notes and the "Torture" gauntlets were still there, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He then carefully examined the items and discovered that one item was indeed missing:

That Earthblood Ore is missing!