Chapter 75, The Psychological Scalpel

Euphemia pointed to a section of the diary.

“Here. When we first entered the Mind Research Society, I gave you a large number of protective charms and kept a few for myself. But later, I denied that and claimed I had lied to you, saying I hadn’t kept a single charm. That’s impossible.”

“First, I wouldn’t lie about something so trivial. Second, giving you most of them while keeping a smaller number for myself was the most reasonable distribution. The current me would make exactly the same choice.”

“So the later version of me was clearly compromised.”

Euphemia continued her analysis.

“Someone probably used a Mind Path ability on me, triggering the charms’ protection. But that person’s Rank was too high and their ability was too powerful. I never even had a chance to escape before all the charms were burned out and I was brought under their control.”

“I don’t know what that person did to me. But after they finished, they clearly altered my memories of the charms and made me believe I hadn’t kept any for myself.”

Freya listened to Euphemia’s logical and well-supported analysis with her mouth slightly open.

“Huh?”

Good grief. What was going on?

Why did it feel as though real-world Euphemia and simulated Euphemia were playing a game of chess against each other across timelines?

Was this not getting a little ridiculous?

“Fortunately, no matter what that person did to me, it only happened inside the [Simulated Future],” Euphemia continued. “It cannot affect reality.”

“At the very least, we can conclude that before entering the Mind Research Society, the simulated version of me was definitely normal.”

Freya thought for a moment.

“I think the most suspicious person is Branch Director Thorn. He had the highest Rank in the entire branch, so he was also the strongest.”

The Mind Research Society had rules. Members could not satisfy their desires outside its controlled facilities, nor could they abuse their abilities to influence ordinary people.

Ordinary members had higher-ranking members supervising them.

But Thorn was already the strongest person in that branch. There was no one above him to restrain or monitor him.

That meant Thorn could have broken the rules for personal gain.

When Euphemia offered an extraordinary item made by a Rank Five [Craftsman], Thorn had accepted the deal with barely any hesitation. If his principles were that flexible in one matter, who could say where he drew the line elsewhere?

Euphemia’s delicate brows furrowed as she considered it. She did not answer immediately.

After a while, she said, “For now, I think keeping our distance from the Mind Research Society would be the safest choice. At the very least, we must never give a Mind Path practitioner a chance to read either of our minds in reality.”

“This secret is far too important.”

Now that Freya had obtained the potions, she and Euphemia could simply leave the Empire and return to the Kingdom.

Neither of them mentioned that option, however.

Their thoughts were the same.

They still wanted to investigate the case.

Once they finished discussing the suspicious parts of the diary, Euphemia finally turned toward Freya with an excited expression. Her eyes practically sparkled.

“So, Faye, you can summon your copies now, right? Hurry up and show me!”

Freya walked into the more spacious part of the room.

With a thought, two figures appeared out of thin air.

They were Life Freya and Mind Freya.

“Wow Wow”

Euphemia immediately moved closer to Life Freya and examined her from every angle.

“Mmph~ You really are adorable. Can I touch you?”

Life Freya looked helpless.

“Please don’t treat me like some cute little animal you found beside the road.”

Euphemia acted as though she had not heard her.

“And you smell so nice too!”

Life Freya said nothing. Instead, she began examining Mind Freya’s potion digestion.

Like the Scholar potion before it, the Mind Path potion had been partially digested in advance. However, the effect was nowhere near as extreme as it had been with the Earth and War Paths.

Mind Freya could safely drink the Rank Two and Rank Three potions immediately.

Rank Four and anything beyond that were out of the question.

While she was at it, Life Freya glanced at Euphemia and discovered, to her surprise, that Euphemia’s Scholar potion had been completely digested.

“Effie, you can drink the Rank Three Scholar potion now.”

Only then did Euphemia tear her attention away from Life Freya.

“Eh? Already?”

Freya’s main body asked, “Come to think of it, I’ve never known how ordinary practitioners tell whether their potion has been fully digested. How do they know whether it’s safe to drink the next one?”

“There’s no reliable method,” Euphemia replied calmly. “You can only judge by how you feel.”

“That’s why some people believe they’ve finished digesting their potion when they actually haven’t. Then they force themselves to drink the next one and lose control.”

“If you want to play it safe, you usually wait longer than necessary. Advancing slowly is still better than losing your life, right?”

“So that’s how it works,” Mind Freya said.

As she spoke, she took out the Rank Two Mind Path potion and drank it in one gulp.

Judging from this alone, the Earth Path’s [Mind Sense] really was incredibly useful.

The corner of Euphemia’s mouth twitched at the sight.

“I previously estimated that I would need several more months to digest my potion. Finishing this quickly was probably because of the Jerome case and because I uncovered the truth behind your mysterious ability.”

She looked thoughtful.

“Apparently, the things I accomplish inside your [Simulated Future] also contribute to my potion digestion. I’ll ask my grandfather for a Rank Three Scholar potion and advance soon.”

While they were talking, Mind Freya completed her advancement.

The ends of her hair turned a faint gold. Her Rank One abilities, [Mind Reading] and [Hypnosis], both became stronger, and she gained a new extraordinary ability.

Mind Freya examined it.

Although Rank Two had granted only one new ability, that ability was absurdly powerful.

It was called [Psychological Scalpel].

This ability allowed her to edit a person’s memories however she wished. She could delete memories, add new ones, alter existing ones, and much more.

It might technically count as a single ability, but it could easily function as many different abilities at once.

Freya herself was stunned when she understood what it could do.

The Mind Path could manipulate memories at Rank Two?

However, she soon discovered that the ability had limitations.

Just as the name [Psychological Scalpel] suggested, using it was like performing surgery with a scalpel. The only difference was that the operation targeted a patient’s memories rather than their body.

To use the ability, the patient had to remain extremely still and calm.

If the target kept struggling, Mind Freya could not perform the operation.

Even after she successfully calmed the patient, operating on memories demanded considerable skill and precision. If her modifications were not perfect, the patient might notice that something was wrong with their memories.

For now, the ability could not be used effectively in direct combat.

It was better suited for covert manipulation or support work away from the battlefield.

The ordinary staff members of the Mind Research Society were an example. Under the effect of this ability, they forgot all negative emotions connected to their work and always faced customers in their best possible state.

It was also worth noting that if someone else had tampered with a person’s memories, Freya could use [Psychological Scalpel] to repair the altered sections and restore them to their original state.

Of course, that required the two “surgeons” to possess roughly comparable skill.

Mind Freya then picked up the Rank Three potion and drank it in one gulp.

A short while later, the golden color spread farther through her hair. Her Rank One and Rank Two abilities were strengthened again, and she gained two new abilities.

They were [Mind Pierce] and [Psychological Invisibility].

[Mind Pierce] could be considered the only direct offensive ability available within the first three Ranks of the Mind Path.

It consumed a large amount of spirituality to strike a target’s mind.

If the target were an ordinary person, the attack might instantly reduce them to a drooling idiot.

Even a strong-willed practitioner would suffer a splitting headache and fall into a dazed state for some time. The exact duration depended on how much spirituality Mind Freya spent and how strong the target’s willpower was.

[Psychological Invisibility] was a more unusual type of concealment ability.

It did not make Mind Freya transparent or cause her body to disappear. Instead, it affected the cognition of everyone around her.

Just as no one paid attention to an unremarkable pebble beside the road, people would instinctively overlook Mind Freya after she activated [Psychological Invisibility].

No matter what she did, others would simply ignore her presence.

After Mind Freya understood the basic functions of all her abilities, she looked toward her main body.

Now that her Mind Path abilities had reached a respectable level, she naturally wanted to test them by examining Freya’s memories for signs of tampering.

Mind Freya sat on the bed with her legs together.

Freya’s main body lay on her side and rested her head on Mind Freya’s thighs, forming a perfect lap pillow.

Mind Freya gently placed both hands on her head and activated the most fundamental ability, [Mind Reading].

Of course, after several enhancements, it was now Rank Three [Mind Reading].

It was no longer limited to surface thoughts. Mind Freya could browse through every memory as easily as flipping through the pages of a book.

At the same time, she activated [Psychological Scalpel] and began checking whether anyone had altered her memories.

Euphemia stood beside them, staring blankly as the two “Freyas” assumed such an intimate position.

“W-wait... Is it really all right for you two to be that close?”

Life Freya tilted her head in confusion.

“What’s strange about it? We’re the same person. It’s no different from touching your own thigh with your own hand. The word ‘intimate’ doesn’t really apply.”

Euphemia’s expression stiffened slightly.

When she put it that way, it really did make sense.

There was nothing strange about touching yourself.

Even so, the scene still looked strange.

Mind Freya’s appearance had already changed enough that she no longer looked exactly like the original Freya. Rather than one person giving herself a lap pillow, it looked more like a pair of twin sisters.

At that thought, Euphemia glanced at Life Freya beside her.

Life Freya had her eyes closed and her small bare feet resting lightly on the floor. Her long hair faded from white into green, making her look even more different from the original Freya.

Did this mean every high-ranking copy Faye created would eventually develop a completely different appearance?

And if all those copies continued behaving so affectionately with one another...

Why did Euphemia suddenly feel a tiny bit jealous?

The Scholar Path was different from the other Paths. As Scholars advanced, their appearance did not change much.

Or perhaps all the changes simply happened inside their brains.

Life Freya “saw” the envy written across Euphemia’s face and thought for a moment.

“Effie, would you like to try a lap pillow too?”

Euphemia froze.

“C-can I?”

Life Freya answered in her soft, soothing voice.

“Of course~”

It was only resting her head on someone’s thighs.

As she spoke, Life Freya sat on the bed as well. She pressed her legs together and lightly patted her thighs with one hand.

Unlike Mind Freya, who was wearing black thigh-high stockings, Life Freya wore a short skirt with her legs bare.

Euphemia drew a deep breath, hurried onto the bed, and gently rested her head in Life Freya’s lap.

A faint, pleasant fragrance reached her nose. The back of her head sank into soft warmth, and a blissful smile appeared on her face.

“Mmph~ Is this heaven?”

She immediately withdrew her earlier jealousy.

So many different versions of Faye, each with a different appearance and personality...

Was that not even better?

...

Author’s Note

Regarding Freya telling Euphemia her secret, Freya was someone whose words, actions, and inner thoughts were fully aligned. She did not say one thing while secretly thinking another.

For example, if a Mind Path practitioner read Freya’s mind while she was speaking, they would discover that her thoughts were usually consistent with her words. She would never praise someone aloud while secretly insulting them in her head.

Therefore, once Euphemia convinced Freya inside the simulation, Freya would definitely honor her promise.

As a small spoiler, the Scholar Path’s other two classes besides [Craftsman] strongly counter the Mind Path’s memory-manipulation abilities.

Although Euphemia had not yet reached that level, she would indeed risk exposing secrets if she faced a high-ranking Mind Path practitioner directly. However, with advance warning, she would do everything possible to prevent such a situation.

Freya had also considered the possibility that someone might read Euphemia’s mind and expose the secret.

But by comparison, Freya herself could also have her mind read. Her only defense against mental abilities was still the protective equipment Euphemia had given her.

Rather than guarding against Euphemia, it made far more sense for the two of them to work together and guard against dangerous Mind Path practitioners.