20 Irregular
Several days had passed since then.
The world was on the verge of summer vacation, and the students, including Ryugo, were all excitedly discussing their plans.
Even a cursory glance showed a dazzling array of events.
Swimming pools. Summer festivals. Hiking. Sports. The latest movies.
If even someone with Ryugo’s poverty of imagination could come up with that many, there must have been countless more for people who were used to having fun.
Even now, the classroom was abuzz with excitement, the energy almost enough to blow away the heat.
“Volunteer work is…”
Ryugo was doing the exact opposite of everyone else’s high spirits.
His hypnosis app level had now reached ’42’.
The good deeds he had been steadily accumulating over the past few days were clearly paying off.
The hypnosis he had acquired was as follows:
‘Attitude: Slave, Couple, Serious’ ‘Hypnosis Possible on 2 People’
Putting aside the first ‘Attitude’, he could finally hypnotize multiple people. That meant he should have been able to stop both Aira and Makoto at the same time――or so he had thought.
‘Target is already under hypnosis!’
The enemy, whoever it was, was interfering.
And not just with one of them.
Both Aira and Makoto… both of them at the same time.
Just as the mysterious voice had said, they were trying to get in his way.
Thanks to that, he had been able to guess the general situation.
First of all, there was no doubt that they were at a higher level than him.
And their goal was probably to make Aira go wild.
He wouldn’t be able to achieve his goal unless he found the enemy.
As for their identity, to be honest, he had no idea.
Aira’s silencing hypnosis had initially led him to think that it had been done by someone in that room.
Misato or Enka, the owner.
He couldn’t think of any reason why Enka would do such a thing, but he had to assume the worst.
Or so he had thought.
But while he was looking into the effects of the ‘Command’ ability, he had discovered a certain feature.
The timing of the ‘Command’ hypnosis could be intentionally delayed.
If he had hypnotized Aira in advance to “not tell me anything that would be disadvantageous to me,” he could have made it activate automatically when he asked her a question.
The rest would have happened just like yesterday, with the conversation being abruptly cut off.
The reason she had stopped mid-sentence was probably because her brain had judged that “this is information that would be disadvantageous” to her.
But back to the matter at hand.
It seemed that the enemy was completely occupied with Aira and Makoto.
Of course, it was possible that they could hypnotize three or four people, but in that case, they should have been caught before now.
But instead, it was Makoto alone. And then, as if in a panic, they had moved on to Aira.
Most likely, it’s just the two of us.
In reality, it’s nothing more than wishful thinking, but that’s all I can think.
While the enemy restricts my movement, I’ll make some progress.
Right now, Ryūgo is aiming for Misato.
I’ve already thought of a way to confirm that she’s not the holder.
I’ll put her under hypnosis and make her “attitude” and “super love” me.
If she’s against me and I do this, there will be a significant change. I’ll just have to watch for it and then release her.
If there’s no change or it’s unnatural, I can determine that she’s the holder.
She answered my “command” before, so it’s likely that she doesn’t have the app, but I have to consider the possibility that she was acting. It’s better to be overly cautious when it comes to dangerous things. There’s always a way to cross a bridge even after it collapses.
For the time being, I have to make sure Misato doesn’t notice.
That said, I can’t have my classmates see a sudden change in her either. If I’m going to do it, it has to be somewhere out of sight.
“What should I do…”
I search the net for volunteers while I think.
“Hmm… oh well. I’ll do it now.”
I throw away all my previous thoughts and put my plan into action.
No matter how much I worry, a convenient time won’t come along right away. In that case, it’s better to take some risks and move on to the next step.
The holder has already noticed me anyway.
Even if other people get suspicious of me, there shouldn’t be any serious consequences.
I activate “attitude” and “super love.”
I observe Misato’s reaction.
“……………………What?”
She notices my gaze and frowns.
…No visible change.
Her usual languid, uninterested attitude.
It’s not the face of someone who has feelings for me.
It’s probably too early to say for sure, but for the time being, it’s better to assume that Misato is the holder.
If she realizes she’s under hypnosis, she might act.
“Hey, doesn’t your heart race when you look at me?”
“Has this guy finally lost his mind?”
“Then, can I borrow your phone for a sec?”
“What do you mean ‘then’? And why should I lend it to you?”
“Errr……………………I’ll save a photo of myself on it for you.”
“I don’t want it!!”
There’s no doubt about it. She’s not under hypnosis.
No, even if she had realized, it would be a normal reaction since she wouldn’t know what I’d done.
In that case, is Misato really…?
To be honest, I can’t imagine her being the holder. I don’t have any proof, but she doesn’t seem like the type to act.
Half-convinced, half-skeptical. If that’s the case, then it’s time for my last resort.
“Hey, Misato.”
“What is it this time?”
“Wanna come volunteer with me?”
“……???”
“The beach!!”
Ryugo yelled while raising the rake and tongs towards the clear vast ocean. Cumulus clouds could be seen beyond the horizon. It was a breathtaking view.
The sea breeze washed away the sweat on his cheeks, bringing temporary coolness.
In contrast to the beauty of the azure, the beach was a tragic sight.
Empty cans, plastic bottles, and food containers were scattered on the sandy beach.
It was probably the fault of sloppy tourists who came to the beach to enjoy the summer and left their trash behind.
If you went a little further, there was even a place where driftwood that had washed up from the sea was piled up in layers.
That, too, was something that could only be met with a sigh of exasperation.
“Are we really gonna do this……………………”
“Are you kidding me? You’re the one who invited me. Besides, why are you so down? What happened to all that yelling from before? Are you bipolar?”
Misato next to him pouted.
They both let their shoulders slump as they suffered from the summer heat.
Ryugo and Misato were currently volunteering for a beach cleanup.
Misato had been quite reluctant when he invited her, but a few hours later, after school, she suddenly changed her mind.
He didn’t know what her intentions were, but his goal remained the same.
If Misato was the possessor, she would check the level she gained from this cleanup.
If he could just peek at that moment.
And if he couldn’t?
…He’d think about it later.
Was this what they meant by going with the flow?
The trash pickup had already started.
Everyone was removing trash at their own pace and putting it in bags. There was a vast difference in skill between those who were experienced and those who weren’t.
However, everyone was really working on the task at hand.
I have to work hard.
Thinking that, Ryugo looked back at the young man working next to him.
“So, why are you here too?”
“Hello, Tanuki.”
“Haruyoshi Hebisawa….”
He was a boy who always hung out with Makoto. Once, when Makoto tried to take Ryugo’s smartphone, he stepped in.
He had never fought with him and didn’t have much contact with him.
He could probably count the number of times they had talked on one hand.
Even so, he understood what kind of person he was.
If one were to call someone who could calmly laugh in front of someone who was suffering a villain, then this guy was definitely one of them.
This is bad.
He had thought that if he was in a place where there were no people from school, he wouldn’t be interrupted, but an irregularity had occurred.
“Why are you making such a surprised face?”
Haruyoshi looked at him with an expressionless…or rather, vacant look.
He seemed to always have this kind of expression when he wasn’t smiling, as if he didn’t know any other way to express his emotions.
“My hobby is volunteering. I sometimes participate in garbage cleanups like this on my days off.”
“I’m hearing this for the first time.”
When Misato expressed her disbelief, Haruyoshi crossed his arms and groaned.
“Hmm… Didn’t I mention it?”
“I don’t even remember you talking about yourself.”
“Well, I’m not really the type to talk about myself.”
“Now that you mention it…you’ve always been like that…”
It wouldn’t be strange even if Haruyoshi truly possessed a charitable spirit.
However, she couldn’t help but be suspicious.
The reason he was here.
The meaning behind him volunteering with them on the same day.
“Hey, you’ve stopped moving.”
“Oh, yeah.”
He stopped thinking when she pointed it out and started moving his hands again.
The garbage-strewn beach. It was a sickening sight.
The purpose of this volunteer activity seemed to be to clean up the garbage before the summer vacation season, but he found it disheartening to think that it would just get dirty again once summer was over.
Ryugo distanced himself from Haruyoshi as much as possible and whispered to Misato.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“What kind of person is Haruyoshi?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have to know something.”
“Like I said earlier, he hardly ever talks about himself. Besides, he just watches over Makoto from a distance no matter what he does.”
“Has he done anything bad?”
“…I don’t know. At least, not in front of me.”
It would make sense if Haruyoshi were the Holder.
He could leave the bullying to Aira and Makoto and manipulate them from behind the scenes. If so, he wouldn’t lose any points for misconduct.
He could be here volunteering to level up. And if he was keeping an eye on Ryugo, everything would fit together perfectly.
He needed to come up with a plan in case Haruyoshi really was an enemy.
For the time being, he would put him under a hypnotic ‘order’.
The content would be “Respond immediately if Ryugo asks for help.”
The level required was ‘5’.
It would cost him a lot, but it would be too late if something happened.
“By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier.”
“What is it?”
“Your bra is showing through your sweat. It’s also tiny… Sorry, don’t swing that rake at me. I apologize for comparing you to Aira. It’s much bigger than average. Stop. That’s definitely going to hurt. It’s made of iron.”
“I will not. I’ll kill you.”
“I’ll reflect on my lack of tact, so please erase my memory…”
“I will not. I’ll kill you.”
“Help me.”
“Impossible!”
WHACK
The bear claw pierced his head, and Ryugo let out a scream that echoed across the ocean.