16 Real Name
I moistened my tongue with barley tea from a plastic bottle as I listened to the voice on the phone.
I still couldn’t tell what kind of person this voice belonged to, or what their position was.
One thing I could say was that they didn’t seem to have any frivolous intention of causing trouble after gaining my trust.
However, I couldn’t tell what their true intentions were, since they had gone to the trouble of using a voice changer to contact me.
I should be careful.
“Someone else has the hypnosis app, huh?”
I wasn’t particularly surprised by what the mysterious voice said.
I had already been vaguely considering the possibility.
“So, do you know who it is?”
‘I can’t tell you.’
“Do you know?”
‘Yes. But you shouldn’t look for them yet.’
“Why not? They’re on our side, right?”
‘They are the enemy.’
“Ugh.”
‘And at the very least, they don’t share your goals. You’d be better off not contacting them. They’re not hostile right now, but if you get in their way, they’ll do everything they can to eliminate you.’
The conversation was becoming increasingly ominous, and I started to feel a little anxious.
I already had enough problems with Arisa and Makoto, and I really didn’t need any more trouble.
I felt a heavy weight in my chest, but I let my anger get the better of me and felt into the phone.
“What the hell! You didn’t make this, did you!?”
‘Don’t suddenly start acting like a drag queen. Besides, do you really think a human could create something as unscientific as a hypnosis app?’
“No… I just thought it was something like that…”
‘I don’t know why you can be hypnotized, but the program itself exists. I had you change the UI, text, and layout when I gave it to you, you see.’
“That scammy email-tier, garbage-ass, lame text was your idea!? Did you even pay attention in Japanese class!?”
‘Do you have to be so mean?’
“Also, when did you give it to me?”
‘I can’t say that either. Also, the reason I changed the text was because the original was in English. You’re not good at English, so you wouldn’t have been able to read it, and it probably would have been deleted without you even noticing. That’s why I made the text something you’d be familiar with, but…’
“It just pissed me off.”
‘Ugh… Also, the title was meant to catch your attention. The actual title isn’t hypnosis, so it has other functions too.’
“I, I see…”
…Still, how does this guy know I’m bad at English?
Is he someone I know, or did he just investigate me really thoroughly?
“But you should really do something about your taste.”
‘Shut up.’
“S-sorry…”
Voichen’s voice was so scary that I ended up apologizing.
I think we’ve cleared up a lot just from this, but there are still too many mysteries. I wonder when I’ll know everything.
Where the hypnosis app came from.
When it was given to me.
How it was given to me.
What the app is capable of.
There’s probably a ton of stuff I don’t know.
To think that I’m being controlled and yet I have no choice but to obey. Isn’t that just infuriating?
Speaking of being controlled,
“What if the enemy uses the app to hypnotize me? Isn’t there a way to undo it?”
‘……………………’
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
My conversation partner thought long and hard, as if he really didn’t want to say it, and then answered after a good five seconds.
‘The hypnosis doesn’t work on the person who has the app. It’ll still say “hypnotized,” but the person will be fully conscious. It won’t send any notifications either.’
“Seriously!? I could find them if I tried!”
‘Don’t try to find them! Isn’t there anything else you want to know!? The enemy probably realizes that there’s another person who has the app besides them. I don’t have enough information to tell if they know it’s you , but if they find out, they could delete the app at worst!’
“What happens if they delete it?”
‘You die.’
“W-what!?”
‘Just kidding.’
“Why would you lie like that…”
‘Well, the real problem is that you could end up being hypnotized because you wouldn’t have the app anymore.’
It’s possible that I could end up committing crimes without even realizing it. That’s a terrifying thought.
‘I’ll give you information as I get it. You just do what you need to do. First, level up.’
“Do I still have to level up?”
“There’s a hypnosis that can’t be used unless you spend levels. The more the better.”
Of course, leveling up doesn’t mean you can use it indefinitely.
“I’ll hang up soon, but let me tell you one last thing.”
“What is it? If it’s boring, I’ll hang up right away.”
“It’s interesting. The original title of the hypnosis app before I rewrote it.”
“Why should I care about that?”
“Well, listen up. The title was “experiment(s).”
“You sound like a vocalist announcing a new song at a live concert. What does it mean?”
“Experiment.”
“……………………huh?”
At that moment, a shiver of horror ran through his entire body.
◆
“Hey, Misato~”
Walking beside her, Aira pouted in dissatisfaction.
“Who’s waiting for us behind the gym?”
“That’s a secret until you get there. Okay?”
“I won’t forgive you if it’s not fun.”
Misato felt a chill at her earnest words.
She herself didn’t understand why she had to do this.
“Bring Aira to the back of the school building.”
For “a certain reason,” Misato couldn’t disobey the voice on the phone, and even though she knew it was a trap, she was leading Aira there.
She hoped she wouldn’t offend her.
After all, she would be the one taking the brunt of it.
Misato and Aira left the school building and crossed the athletic field.
Perhaps because it was lunchtime, there were many students around.
Some of them had even brought out balls and were enjoying a game of soccer.
It was incredibly hot and humid, yet they were still able to run around.
“There’s no one here.”
As soon as they arrived behind the gym, Aira glared at her.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Well… this is…”
The space behind the building was damp, dimly lit, and covered in weeds, indicating that people didn’t often come here.
Any noise they made would be drowned out by the other sounds.
And there was nothing here but grass and dirt, not even a single person.
Well, not quite.
There was a metal bat leaning against the wall of the gym, looking out of place.
“Hey, Misato. Are you going to answer me?”
“…………”
It would only make things worse if she tried to lie her way out of it now. Aira’s anger wouldn’t subside until it had burned itself out.
If I were to be burned by that flame, I wouldn’t be safe.
Suddenly, Misato’s smartphone rang.
She immediately answered the call.
“Yes.”
“Wait a minute!”
Aira frowned, but this was a higher priority.
“As promised, did you bring her?”
“Yes. Please tell me what to do.”
“There’s something I need Misato to do. It’s…”
After hearing the details, she immediately felt like running away.
Her hands trembled.
Even if the other person was Aira, she couldn’t do that.
She wanted to refuse, but there was no room for choice.
That’s how it had always been.
This time would be no different.
“Misato?”
Aira looked at her suspiciously.
She had to do it.
Misato steeled himself and picked up the metal bat placed that had been conspicuously there.
It felt much heavier than it looked.
“…What are you going to do?”
Aira’s wariness, or rather hostility, was clear.
It was a natural question.
What was she really doing?
Misato laughed at himself.
“Aira, do you remember what you did to the raccoon dog yesterday?”
“Huh? We walked around town together, I took it home, we ate together…”
“What about today?”
“I got back the handkerchief I lent it. Oh, and I kicked it. It just wouldn’t give it back.”
“Yes. That’s like you, Aira. But apparently, it took offense to that.”
“You?”
“No, not me.”
“Who…?”
Misato swung the bat and let it go.
The gleam of steel flashed in the shadows for a moment.
A gust of wind swept past with a swoosh.
“Gah…!”
The bat dug deep into Aira’s side, tearing it open.
A sickening thud echoed, and her body shook with terror. The slimy sensation of irony spread through the bat and into her fingers.
It was a gruesome, horrifying sensation.
From Noble mtl dot com
“～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～!!”
Hit with a powerful blow, she let out a silent scream and writhed around like a caterpillar.
It must have been excruciatingly painful.
Aira has a model-like waist, slender and elegantly curved. If she were to receive a heavy blow there, it would have critically damaged her internal organs.
Did she not avoid it because she was arrogant enough to think that she would never actually be hit? That a retainer would never defy her, a princess?
It’s a great pity, but there is someone else I must obey.
“It’s not because you kicked me. It’s because you went on a date with the raccoon dog. Because you shared a handkerchief with him. He couldn’t forgive you for that.”
Misato calmly told Aira, who continued to groan in pain with her eyes wide open.
“That’s why I have to keep hitting you until he’s satisfied. You see, a champion of justice shouldn’t befriend a villain.”
“Mi… Misato… Who are you… talking about…!?”
“I won’t tell you.”
Another blow.
She kicked her in the leg.
“Igi… Ah… Ah…!!”
She intended to hold back just enough to avoid breaking any bones, but Aira’s legs were enviably thin, and it was questionable whether they could withstand it.
Besides, Aira must be important to that person, so she couldn’t break them.
“Mi… Misato…”
Aira’s plea tightened her chest.
No matter how much of a piece of trash my opponent is, I don’t want to hit anyone. Watching them suffer doesn’t make anything better.
A blow to the shoulder.
“Guh!! Stop it…!”
Her vision blurred with guilt.
A blow to the arm.
Aira’s limbs swelled painfully.
Bl00d seeped through her porcelain-like skin, mixing with the mud as she writhed in agony.
Misato held back her tears and cried at her smartphone.
“Do I have to keep going!? Isn’t this enough!?”
『Keep going until I tell you to stop.』
Misato continued to beat her in frustration at the merciless reply.
Until Aira’s skin turned blue, Bl00d splattered, and her voice begging her to stop faded away.
『That’s enough.』
A few minutes later, Misato and the others were finally released from the torture.
“I’m… sorry…”
She knelt before the battered Aira and tearfully begged for forgiveness.
She had lost the energy to even speak.
She was in pain, crying.
She lay curled up on the short grass, shielding her wounded body.
“I’m sorry… Aira…”
She had hurt someone with her own hands.
She had beaten an unresisting opponent to a pulp.
There was no room for doubt about the fact, and her heart was pounding with guilt.
A voice that was clearly crying, a groan that was suffering from pain.
A voice that asked for forgiveness for one’s own sins.
It quietly echoed in the dimly lit space.
An emotionless voice that was out of place interrupted.
‘Pass.’
Unable to bear it any longer, Misato threw the bat away violently.
“Pass…? What… passed…? I can’t go to school anymore!? Is that okay!?”
‘Don’t worry.’
The other person snorted and said,
‘I’ll take care of it. Like I did with Ryogo-kun, you see.’
“…Are you going to erase my memory again?”
‘I have enough levels saved up, after all.’
Ryogo best buddy