2: The App’s Effects – The Counterattack Begins
It made no sense.
Well, he understood the words, but his mind refused to comprehend it.
“W-well… I can delete it later, so I’ll just check it out…”
First, he tapped the icon that said ‘Hypnosis.’ The page changed, and several options appeared.
‘Attitude’ ‘Likeability’ ‘Commands’
He selected ‘Attitude,’ and the page changed again.
‘Friend’ ‘Lover’ ‘Crazy in Love’ ‘Hate’
There were a bunch of other items listed as well.
However, everything except ‘Friends’ and ‘Lover’ was darkened.
Nothing happens when I press them.
I see.
So the darkened parts can’t be used yet.
Furthermore, there is a free-entry text box under ‘Command’. It seems that not only can items be selected, but free settings can also be made.
And somehow, my name, which I had never entered, was in the top box, and next to it was ‘Lv.2.
Is this the level that was mentioned earlier?
But what does Level 2 mean?
Normally, doesn’t it start from Level 1?
I don’t understand how it works, but for now, I’ll check the functions first.
“There’s a button.”
On the red apple mark, the words ‘Start Hypnosis’ are displayed. Arrows point to it from all four sides along with the text, “Press here.”
‘Once you have finished the settings, tap while making eye contact with the person you want to hypnotize!’
It’s not like you show them the app or anything, is it?
Well, in that case, the first person to see the app would likely be me, the owner, and if I accidentally looked at it, it would be game over.
This method is safer.
“Little fox~?”
The school nurse came to the front of the bed and peered at my face.
She looked to be in her late twenties, with a somewhat tired face. She had short black hair and wore glasses. Her impression was plain.
Her makeup was light, with only a slight hint of blush.
She gets along well with the female students who use the health room often, but I’ve also heard that she’s rough with male students who she doesn’t see often.
“How are you feeling?”
“Ah, a little better.”
“Well, it’s just a nosebleed.”
“Y-yeah, I guess…”
“Do you think you can go back to class?”
“Can I stay here and sleep until the end of the second period? I’m a little anemic, and right now I’m seeing three of you.”
“I think you should go to the hospital for that. But well, another student might come in… Your symptoms aren’t that severe, and you can’t skip class…”
The teacher lets out a groan.
If I stayed here for two hours, it would be a nuisance, and I would be in the way if a student came in who was really suffering.
But even if I go back, nothing good will come of it.
Ryugo looked down at the hypnosis app in his hand.
This is probably a virus or something that got in there; it must be a scam app.
If I press something, I’ll probably get charged, or it will take over my phone, or something else bad that I can think of will happen.
–What if it’s real?
I felt like I heard a whisper in my head.
Don’t be ridiculous. That’s impossible.
An app that can control people is unrealistic. Keep that stuff in the comics.
That’s what I thought, but I won’t be able to stay in the health room like this anyway.
Then, I’ll confirm this ridiculous fraud, and get out of here.
From Noble mtl dot com
I’ll cut off this pointless longing before I go back to the classroom and feel miserable.
Seriously, that’s how I felt.
Ryugo checked the ‘attitude’ and ‘lover’ boxes and activated the app’s function.
As instructed, he made eye contact with the teacher.
“W-what the…?”
Suddenly, the teacher froze, staring into space.
“……”
After a moment, she snapped back to reality and said,
“Oh, r-right… So, about what you said earlier about ‘wanting to be here,’ if Tanuki-kun insists, then I guess it’s okay.”
As she spoke, she leaned in close, as if to cuddle.
She rested her head on Ryugo’s shoulder and gazed at him with melting eyes.
“T-Teacher…?!”
As Ryugo was grappling with his confusion, she intertwined her fingers with his. With a slightly flushed face, she sensuously caressed his fingers.
Her breath seemed to be a bit warmer than usual.
Her melting gaze never left him.
“Oh, come on… Since there’s no one else here, why don’t you call me by my name?”
“I’ve never even heard it before.”
“Kashiwagi Yuka. Got it?”
“Y-yeah, I got it…”
This is not the time to be talking about this.
Why is she getting so close?
Why is she acting so differently?
“Say it… Yuka…”
“Y-Yuka…”
Faced with her advances, Ryugo felt more terror than excitement.
Could it be that this hypnosis app is actually real?
It’s hard to believe, but if what’s happening right now is any indication, then I have no choice but to believe it.
This change is too sudden. It’s not like she suddenly changed her mind or that she’s always liked Ryugo or anything like that.
Just a moment ago, she didn’t seem interested at all.
There’s no doubt about it, this is the app’s doing.
“Hey, why don’t you come over to my place tonight…?”
“A-are we… in that kind of relationship…? Like, dating…?”
For now, he decided to test the waters.
He wanted to see how Yuka perceived their relationship. How far did the ‘lover’ setting he had inputted go?
Would the hypnosis be lifted if he said something that didn’t fit the setting?
“Huh?”
Yuka looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Teachers and students aren’t supposed to date, are they?”
“Huh?”
“That’s a strange thing to say… well, you can think that if you want.”
Yuka looked at me from the corner of her eye, pouting adorably.
What does she mean?
Could it be that she’s only changed her “demeanor”?
She doesn’t think of me as her boyfriend, but her behavior towards me has become that of a girlfriend?
This is a confusing function.
Her perception has changed, but her assumptions and relationships have not.
This subtle shift was making me increasingly uneasy.
“But anyway. Tanuki-kun… you have a surprisingly handsome face…”
Yuka slipped into bed and lay down next to me.
She looked at me with her usual doe-eyed expression and hugged my arm.
The soft touch of her breasts pressed against my bicep, and the sound of her breath on my neck made my heart race.
“Tanuki-kun, are you a rice person in the morning? Or a bread person?”
“B-bread, I guess…”
“I see. So, are you a rice person for lunch? Or a bread person?”
“Huh? Rice…?”
“So, are you a rice person for dinner? Or a bread person?”
“That’s enough! Why are you asking me about all three meals!?”
“I’m a ramen person.”
“Just answer with one of the options!!”
“What do you wash first when you take a bath?”
“You’re asking too many questions!! Are you a talk show host!?”
I was starting to get out of breath from all the complaining.
Anyway, there’s no doubt that the hypnosis is definitely working.
Yuka and I barely know each other, and we’ve hardly had any conversations, but this level of affection is abnormal.
I’ve acquired an incredible power.
I wonder why I have this app in my possession, but I’ll look into that later.
For now, I want to know more about the effects of hypnosis.
If I have this…
“Hey, Tanuki-kuuun…”
Yuka leaned over me, her face getting closer and closer. Her eyes were glazed over, and her cheeks were flushed.
This is bad.
What if someone comes into the infirmary right now…?
–Knock knock
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Ryugo and I jumped.
“Someone’s here!? They’re here! Hey, sensei! Go! Hurry!”
“Oh no, oh no! Um, welcomeee!!”
That’s not right.
Yuka hurriedly got up and celebrated the visitor.
“Oh, my, Minamoto-san.”
“Good morning, teacher.”
Ryugo peeked out from behind the curtains to check on the person entering the room.
It was a girl with long, really long, black hair.
It reached down to her waist, with an even sheen. It was like a black veil. Her bangs were cut straight across.
Her skin was smooth like whipped cream. Her arms and legs were long and slender like a character from a shoujo manga, and her silhouette was beautiful.
She was tall, too, maybe a little shorter than me.
Her eyes were sad and worried, and her ruby-red eyes sparkled beneath her lashes. She had a small, sharp nose. Her thin pink lips were moist, and the teeth peeking out from between them were as white as a canvas.
“Madoka…?”
She was Madoka Minamoto, my classmate.
The only one who didn’t belong to any group in that class with its rigid caste system.
She was friendly with everyone, but she didn’t get too close to anyone.
And she was a serious girl who was the class president.
Maybe she enjoyed helping people, because she basically never refused a request.
Apparently, if she saw an old lady on the street, she’d help her with her bags, and if she saw someone lost, she’d take them to where they needed to go.
If there were such a thing as a saint, she’d be someone like her.
“Teacher, I’ve come to get Tanuki-kun.”
When Madoka spoke in her delicate, music box-like voice, Yuka’s eyes went wide.
“Eh? Tanuki-kun?”
“Yes. It seems he had some trouble in the classroom, but I managed to smooth things over. I came to tell him he can come back without worrying.”
“Oh, is that right…”
Yuka’s eyes were darting around.
Apparently, Madoka had solved the problem of Ira taking over Ryugo’s seat. After all, even the overbearing Ira would back down when Madoka intervened.
I wondered if it was her mysterious charm that did it.
“Tanuki-kun.”
Madoka gently offered her hand to Ryugo, who was lying in bed.
“Come on. I’ll walk you to class.”
“Ah, yeah…”
We left the infirmary together.
“That must have been hard.”
Madoka, walking beside me, smiled gently like an angel.
Her lovely voice, like the sound of bells, made my heart flutter. I remember feeling like I was dreaming just listening to her read aloud from a textbook.
“I heard you told off Ira-san and the others again. You really shouldn’t overdo it.”
“Thanks. But I couldn’t stand to watch what they were doing anymore. I want them to stop for good.”
“I’ve told them off, too… But I’ll try asking them more forcefully next time.”
“No, you can’t!”
When Ryugo panicked, Madoka looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Why not?”
“Because… They’ll come after you! They might be nice to you, but there’s no telling what they’ll do if you turn against them!”
“Are you worried about me?”
Madoka’s cheeks turned pink, and her face lit up with joy as if a flower had suddenly bloomed.
Her hair fluttered gently, and its sweet scent tickled his nostrils.
He had the illusion that a beautiful, otherworldly glow was scattered around her.
“Thank you, Tanuki-kun.”
As a gust of wind rustled the treetops visible from the window, Ryugo’s heart was also shaken by her.
For a moment, he forgot to breathe.
Who could hate someone who could smile so captivatingly?
She possessed a beauty that made him feel that way.
Even Ira, before this radiance and purity, had to suppress her savagery…
“But I’m okay. If anything happens again, Tanuki-kun, please tell me. I’ll do something about it.”
“If you do that, I’ll feel more secure.”
She was the embodiment of kindness. No one in the classroom, no one in the school, could hate her. Rather, everyone must have liked her.
“It’s okay. Because we’re friends, right?”
“…Friends?”
For some reason, the word didn’t click.
He’t have had such a deep connection with her that he could call her a friend. At most, they shouldn’t have only played together a few times and visited each other’s houses.
At Ryugo’s reply, Enka opened her mouth in surprise and then tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh… um, sorry. Was that strange?”
“Eh? Ah! N-no, not at all!”
“Okay. But I was a little shocked. When you say ‘friends?’ I get really sad…”
Enka lowered her eyebrows sadly and made a gesture to wipe away tears.
It was bad acting, but even this kind of playfulness was cute.
“We’ve played together several times, but we’re not friends…”
“No… that’s…”
That’s right, now that he thought about it.
What was he saying?
If he had visited her house several times, they were definitely friends.
Was he an idiot?
Ryugo hurriedly bowed his head.
“II’m sorry. It was just a joke.”
“Tanuki-kun, did you perhaps hate me?”
“Not at all! There’s no one in this school who hates you.”
“That’s an exaggeration. But I’ll forgive you.”
“hahahaha… thank you very much. Well then, I’m going to help the teacher. Tanuki-kun, can you go back to the classroom first?”
“Okay. Got it. Do your best.”
Enka flipped her skirt and walked towards the staff room.
When he returned to the classroom, Ira was indeed back in her seat.
No one seemed to be saying anything.
Makoto also noticed him, but only clicked his tongue.
As expected, that was the power of Enka, who loved everyone. With a single word, she could stop even an evil spirit.
Homeroom was over, but the first period class had not yet started.
Once this is over, I have to go back to the health room and investigate this app.
How long does it last?
What about memories?
How do I undo it?
How many people can I hypnotize at once?
I need to know these four things for sure.
And if there’s a flaw in any of them, I’m deleting this app.
Ryugo had one ambition.
To destroy the school caste system and avenge his best friend, whom Airan and her clique had framed.
He couldn’t do anything as grand as “correcting the world,” but he could at least punish the evil in his classroom.
But if there was a loophole he hadn’t considered, Airan and her clique could ruin him socially… or even kill him.
So he needed to proceed with extreme caution, like he was walking on eggshells.
Ryugo sat down at his desk by the window, still a little wary.
Misato, sitting next to him, was boredly scrolling through her phone.
For now, he’d get ready for his next class.
“Huh?”
He realized his Japanese textbook wasn’t in his desk.
He needed it soon, since Japanese was his second-period class.
He’d have time to read the text if he had it, but it would be a bit of a problem if he didn’t.
Should he ask Misato next to him?
He’d known her since middle school.
But they’d never had a proper conversation.
He didn’t remember how it was back then, but in high school, she’d been hanging out with Airan and was always getting on his nerves.
Why did he have to rely on this woman of all people?
Swallowing his complaints, he asked, suppressing his disgust.
“Hey, do you know where my textbook is? The Japanese one that was here?”
Misato snorted without looking up from her phone.
“Ugh… can you not talk to me?”
Her attitude was like an icy wall.
“You don’t know, huh?”
“…Yeah.”
Ryugo decided it was impossible to continue the conversation and shut his mouth.
“…Whatever.”
The first period ended without incident.
Today, Airan was supposed to be called on to answer a question, but the teacher chickened out and called on someone else instead.
Nothing else happened.
It was the usual.
He avoided doing anything that would annoy Airan as much as possible.
Because it would just lead to trouble later.
“I need to get to the health room…”
He was worried about not having his Japanese textbook, but it was a minor problem that could be solved as soon as he figured out how to use the hypnosis app.
From Noble mtl dot com
Standing up and trying to leave the classroom with my phone in hand,
“Hold it there, Raccoon.”
Seiji suddenly appeared from the side, blocking my path with an arrogant air.
“Hey, let me borrow your phone.”
…Worst possible timing.
Ryugo started to reach into his pocket――and stopped.
He’d be found out if he revealed where he was hiding his phone.
“C’mon, I just wanna see what’s inside.”
Seiji approached with a grin.
I can’t let him take my phone here.
If he finds the hypnosis app, things will definitely take a turn for the worse.
Why does he want to see my phone in the first place?
Does he know about the app?
No, that’s probably overthinking it.
It’s more likely that this is just a coincidence.
It’s something a piece of trash would do, taking a phone from someone they see as below them and snooping through it.
“What’s going on here?”
A dyed-hair, curly-haired boy came up behind Seiji.
His name was Hebisawa Haruyoshi.
He was also high up in the class hierarchy, but unlike Seiji, he didn’t actively bully others.
However, he didn’t stop Seiji either, just laughed along with him, which made him just as much of a piece of trash.
“Oh? I asked this guy to show me his phone, but he won’t.”
“Why do you want to see it?”
“Why, because…”
How do I get out of this?
Use the app?
No, that’s impossible.
If I try to take it out, he’ll snatch it away immediately.
And I can’t operate it without looking while it’s still in my pocket, and I don’t have the time to try.
That’s right. What about Madoka?
She should be able to help me.
I looked around the classroom, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Did she leave right after class ended?
I’m cornered.
If he finds the hypnosis app, nothing good will come of it.
What should I do?
The moment I took a step back, my heel hit something.
A chair.
A school-issued chair with a wooden seat and metal frame, the kind you can find anywhere. It was light and sturdy. Even I could lift it and swing it around.
…I have no choice.
Ryugo made a quick decision and grabbed a nearby chair.
“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Death Attack!!!!!”
“What kind of crappy skill name is that!?”
He twisted his waist and swung the chair down on Makoto’s head with all his might, like a kesagiri.
“Ugh…!?”
There was a dull sound of bone creaking.
Makoto instinctively used his arm to defend himself, but the impact sent him crashing into his desk.
With a loud bang, Misato’s desk and the textbooks on it flew into the air.
Scattered pens and erasers hit other students, and the commotion grew even louder. The whole classroom was in a panic.
“Kyaaa!!”
Misato narrowly avoided being hit, but she screamed and jumped up. She stared in shock at Makoto, who was groaning and bleeding from his forehead.
“Hey!? What are you doing!? Both of you!?”
He reacted even though it was a surprise attack. That’s some amazing reflexes.
He’s also taking the fall. The wound is shallow. He’ll be up on his feet in no time.
There’s no turning back now anyway.
Even if we’re on the same path, I’ll choose the one with the higher chance of survival.