39 The One Who Drew…
“I want to check her phone.”
“I think it’s better to ask her directly.”
Ryogo and Madoka’s opinions were divided.
Of course they were.
Even if they looked through her phone, there were many hurdles to overcome. However, if they just asked her, they could end it with ‘orders’. Of course, it was possible that it would lead to trouble later on.
However, Ryogo was bothered by Aimi’s expression.
“Tanuki-kun, should we work together to investigate first?”
“Let’s investigate each separately. We’ll share the information we get later. Of course, there’s also the possibility that Aira’s mother is lying, so we’ll need to verify the accuracy of the information.”
“Hmm, I see…”
Madoka seemed to understand the intention behind this strange proposal.
She showed him her hand, which was clenched into a fist.
“In that case, let’s decide who goes first and who goes second without any hard feelings.”
Was she talking about who would approach Aika?
The person who went first would have an overwhelming advantage.
The first person could approach Aika when she was still off guard.
In fact, they could even solve the problem right then and there.
It was easy for her to say ‘without any hard feelings’. By making the rules clear, she had made it impossible for the other person to interfere.
However, if he didn’t accept this, Ryogo wouldn’t be able to make a move either.
Besides, it’s a risky proposal for Madoka too.
“I’ll go. Rock, paper, scissors…”
Before Ryuugo could agree, Madoka had already started.
“Bam!”
He put his hand out on impulse, but he lost easily as Madoka showed paper to his rock.
Did he use up all his luck in the Old Maid game earlier?
“Then, I’ll go first.”
With a triumphant look on her face, Madoka activated the hypnosis app and walked into the room.
What is she going to do?
If she uses the ‘Attitude’ hypnosis, the chances of arousing suspicion will be greatly reduced. That’s because any actions taken by the subject during hypnosis will be processed as if they were okay.
offline, the accuracy of the information will be questionable.
Attitude is just attitude. Even if you are a slave prostrating yourself before a king, those who lie will lie.
And in the case of ‘Command’, while the accuracy of the information is quite reliable, the chances of arousing suspicion are conversely high.
The major drawback is that the subject may notice their own strange behavior.
Although it has enough usefulness to make up for that, it’s scary to bear the risk that it could have repercussions later on.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Madoka called out to Aimi.
Now, should she target the smartphone or the person herself?
Should she use ‘Attitude’ or ‘Command’?
However, the two of them started talking in such low voices that he couldn’t hear them. He couldn’t just walk into the room either.
“What are you doing?”
“Wha!?”
Suddenly, Ryuugo was startedled and jumped when someone called out to him from behind.
It was the man in the double-breasted suit.
When did he get so close…?
The man in the double-breasted suit looked at the door and then at Ryuugo with a suspicious expression.
“Why are you two together so chummy?”
“Why, you ask…? We’re competing just like you wanted us to.”
“Huh…? Huh? Huh? Wait, competing?”
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Ryuugo explained the situation to the man in the double-breasted suit, who looked more confused than he had ever seen him before.
He told him that Ryuugo had received a request from Aira to “make my mother lose the desire to put me in show business.”
That he had also involved Madoka, and that the winner would be the winner of the Experiments, while the loser would delete the app.
And that he was currently trying to extract information from Aimi.
After listening to the explanation, the man in the double-breasted suit made a face like he had just eaten a pickled plum.
“Oh, that’s not interesting…”
“Excuse me?”
“Why are you doing something so boring that it makes me feel like I’m going to get sick…?”
The man in the double-breasted suit’s face grew paler and paler, and he ended up sitting down on the floor.
“When you both find out each other’s true identities, a fierce battle should start, right…? A hot, final battle…”
“That would happen if they hated each other or desperately wanted to get their hands on the app. But I just want to stop Madoka. Madoka just wants to make me a hero. We both want the other to be unharmed, so this is the way it ended up.”
“Do you really think Enka will do as you say?”
The man in the double-breasted suit smiled meaningfully.
A few seconds of silence.
During that time, Ryugo’s mind was replaying Enka’s actions, and based on that, he deduced several worst-case scenarios.
One thing was clear: she couldn’t be trusted.
“…Well, so?”
Enka in the room seemed to be talking to Aimi about something.
Apparently, she had chosen ‘Attitude’. If it was ‘Command’, the conversation would have been over in a few words.
“Do you think she’ll share the information willingly?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then why did you make this suggestion?”
“There’s no need to talk.”
“You sly dog.”
With that, Enka came out of the room.
“I’m done…wait, why is the man in the double-breasted suit here?”
“I came to offer some criticism because you were doing something stupid.”
“Well, I’m having quite a bit of fun.”
Enka was nonchalant, but it seemed that she had managed to obtain some information.
“Well then, it’s my turn. Oh, and I’ve properly lifted the hypnosis. Let’s examine the information we’ve obtained together later.”
“Okay.”
Ryugo first activated the app’s ‘Command’.
The effect was ‘Ten minutes of sleep’. This way, he would be able to snoop on Aimi’s phone as much as he wanted without her noticing.
But,
‘That command cannot be executed~’
An error message appeared along with an irritating sentence.
It’s a command, so why can’t it be executed?
Ryugo was puzzled. The man in the double-breasted suit peered at the screen from the side and shrugged his shoulders, saying, “Oh well.”
“‘Command’ only makes the other person take action. Since sleep is an abnormality of the brain, it cannot be done by one’s own will.”
“What are you talking about? You can even erase memories, so that should be a piece of cake.”
“That doesn’t completely erase memories. It just puts a strong suggestion not to recall them. If they were really erased, you wouldn’t be able to remember any fragments of the past even if you got your hands on the app, would you?”
Indeed, it had seemed strange that they were erased.
I remember reading on a science news website before that there was a way to erase memories through self-suggestion.
“…I see, I understand. So, the app used an alternative function without giving an error. That’s cheating.”
“The app has the ability to interpret the instructions it receives and execute them in a broader sense. Do you remember when you were attacked by Seiji and you ordered me to ‘help’ you?”
“Yeah.”
“If all I had to do was help, I could have just pushed Seiji away and been done with it. However, the app analyzed the situation and had me restrain Seiji until you were completely safe.”
“…I see. That makes sense.”
“I guess the app judged that the ‘sleep’ you were trying to ‘command’ just now was impossible. It’s impossible for a human to just suddenly lose consciousness without any external interference. Even if it were possible, it would cause some damage to the brain.”
“Then what about ‘Sleep for ten minutes’?”
As soon as he initiated the hypnosis, Aimi began to doze off. She nodded off and placed her phone on the small table.
“Are you not going to sleep soon?”
“There are some people who can fall asleep as soon as they feel like it, and some who can’t. It took quite a while for your memories of Misato to disappear completely. Oh, it was the same with Aira.”
Aimi eventually drooped and began to make faint breathing sounds. It seems she’s completely asleep now.
My level dropped by two and is now ’68’. No hypnosis that I can’t use anymore.
I wonder if the level didn’t drop much because the instructions I gave didn’t harm the subject and weren’t too forceful.
However, there is a risk that Aimi’s hypnotic state will be lifted if she is touched or there is a lot of noise.
“This is good.”
I look at the smartphone that has been left alone. As planned, it’s still on the chat screen.
For now, I can’t stay here and let Aimi notice me.
I go out into the hallway and close the door to the room. With this, I’ll be safe for a while unless a sound like a bomb explodes.
The other party’s name is ‘Bondo Jeames’.
“What’s with this ridiculous name…”
It must be a stage name, but it’s too far-fetched even for that.
When I search for it on my smartphone, a lot of photos of a generic-looking male idol appear.
He’s twenty years old. Since he debuted at seventeen, he has a decent amount of experience in the industry.
He belongs to a seven-member idol group called “007 (Reiwa Seven)”.
“They read the zero as ‘rei’ and the zero that looks like a circle as ‘wa’, so together it’s Reiwa? I wonder how they came up with that. If you didn’t know how to read it, you’d Definitely read it as Double-O Seven.”
I put aside my complaints about the overly misleading group name that’s too similar to a famous series and return to the chat screen.
From what I’ve skimmed so far, it seems like they have an unusually close relationship.
They seem to be avoiding direct expressions to prevent leaks, but there are plenty of phrases that would be considered out of bounds by an outsider.
To put it simply, it’s an affair.
“Did you find anything interesting?”
The man in the double suit tries to peek at the screen, and I quickly move the smartphone away.
“That’s mean. I won’t pass the information on to Madoka, you know?”
“Shut up.”
It seems like he’s been deleting them regularly, so the total amount of text is small. It’s strange to go to such lengths for something so pointless.
I scrolled all the way to the top of the log and found an interesting passage.
‘Did Aira say she’d come to the entertainment industry?’
‘She’s stubborn, so not yet. But she said she broke up with that boyfriend of hers.’
‘Really?’
‘I thought she’d get tired of him eventually.’
‘Definitely bring her along sometime. I want to meet her. She looks just like you, and she’s super pretty.’
“Hey, hey, don’t ignore me.”
“Be quiet or I’ll kill you.”
“That’s awful…”
Ryugo brushed aside the persistent man in the double suit.
He didn’t come here to get in my way, did he? Besides, there’s still one of the double suit’s penalties that we haven’t settled yet. Does he even realize that…?
“Hm?”
No, wait.
If the other party incurs one penalty, we also get one rule that gives us the most advantageous benefit possible.
That means…
A method will arise to easily overturn the current situation and outsmart Madoka.
What’s more, it’s almost certainly within the rules.
“I’ve got a good idea.”