Chapter 10
‘Grrrroooow…!’
“Sh-, Shadow Ball…!”
“Stay calm, Cha Eun-joo! It’s coming!”
A little later than usual, it was training time after lunch.
Following yesterday’s training, Cha Eun-joo and I were continuing our mock battles against holographic monsters in the training facility.
Today, we were facing a slightly stronger monster rather than weak monsters like yesterday’s goblins.
Since it was common knowledge that the next stage after goblins was, naturally, orcs, the monsters Cha Eun-joo and I had decided to face today were orcs as well.
Each one was a powerful individual, so we had started with one, then moved on to two, and were now facing three orcs.
They were a little too tough to defeat with a single Shadow Ball like goblins, so naturally it took quite a while to bring them down one by one.
Of course, Cha Eun-joo’s potential was quite outstanding even among mages, so it was only natural that her abilities would shine if she received suitable buffs and tactical commands.
“Cha Eun-joo, orcs have tough skin, so you need to use a sharper attack!”
“A-a sharper attack…?”
“Do you have any magic with more penetrating power than Shadow Ball?”
“J-just a moment…. A-a magic with more penetrating power than Shadow Ball….”
Recalling the magic Cha Eun-joo had used in the original story, I guided her into trying a new attack.
Although I had started this training to condition her, there was no harm in improving her combat power along the way.
“D-Dark Spear…!!”
-Squelch!
‘Grrrroooow…!!’
As if inspired by my suggestion to try a sharper attack, Cha Eun-joo created a sharp spear from shadow and pierced the orc’s heart.
By the time we had brought down the third orc, about an hour and a half had passed since Cha Eun-joo and I began training.
“Haaah, haaah, haaaah….”
“Good work, Eun-joo.”
“Ah, u-uh…. Y-you had a harder time than I did, Seonho….”
“I only cast one buff and didn’t do anything else. We were able to defeat three orcs because your magic is so good, Cha Eun-joo.”
“N-no…. I-I couldn’t have done this much without your buff, Seonho. A-and your tactical advice was helpful too….”
Good.
Her becoming increasingly dependent on me like this was a good sign. The more she relied on me when using her power, the less likely she was to refuse or run away no matter what I did to her.
-Stroke, stroke.
“Ugh, ngh.”
As I thought that, I dispelled the Suggestion affecting Cha Eun-joo by stroking her head, then mentioned how much time remained and suggested that we slowly wrap up the training.
“Let’s stop here for today. We were so absorbed in training that I didn’t notice, but an hour and a half has already passed.”
“…Are we doing this tomorrow too?”
“As long as you don’t arrive late, Cha Eun-joo.”
“I-I’m sorry…. I-I’ll never be late tomorrow, I-I really will….”
“I’m joking, I’m joking. You don’t need to look so dejected, so don’t worry about it.”
Actually, I had mentioned it so that she would feel guilty. She needed to feel sorry toward me just before she fell under hypnosis; then, even if I did something strange to her later, she wouldn’t be able to think of it as strange.
If I suddenly kissed her on the cheek or forehead, or touched her buttocks or breasts, she wouldn’t be able to resist, and even after the ‘hypnosis’ ended, her guilt would prevent her from thinking of protesting to me.
In the end, the only thing left in her mind would be the positive feeling of ‘I did it because I liked it too, anyway.’ Making good use of that was the key to my ideal way of conditioning Cha Eun-joo.
“Hey, Cha Eun-joo.”
“Uh, yeah….”
“Would you like to undergo ‘hypnosis’ again today?”
“Huh?! H-hypnosis?! Y-you mean that thing from yesterday?!”
“Yes, that’s right. I think we need to check your condition through hypnosis a few more times to resolve your psychological issues.”
“…I-I see. J-just a moment….”
Cha Eun-joo hesitated, looking troubled when I said that I would hypnotize her again today.
She probably knew that suddenly refusing today after having already given me permission once would seem strange.
It would be the same as indirectly saying that my hypnosis had not worked properly last time, or that she had retained her memories while hypnotized.
Even so, she was probably hesitant because of what had happened last time. Even Cha Eun-joo would have found it difficult to calmly accept being hugged and openly confessed to while she stood there helpless.
…Of course, regardless of how she felt, refusing my proposal was practically not an option.
“Do you…not like it?”
“…N-no! I-I like it! S-Seonho is doing this for me, so, yeah….”
“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to force yourself.”
“I-it’s not like that! L-let’s start quickly! B-before I change my mind, hurry….”
Perhaps she had actually liked the hypnosis she received yesterday. Or perhaps she was simply going along with it today because she felt guilty toward me and could not help it.
Either way, since she showed no particular signs of resisting while I hypnotized her, I continued conditioning her today just as I had yesterday.
「Suggestion: Hypnosis ※ Target: Cha Eun-joo」
…With a suitable excuse today, I should be able to make considerable progress after our lackluster start.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
The second hypnosis Lee Seonho had cast on her.
She couldn’t help being nervous. Even more so when she thought about what had happened to her the last time she had been hypnotized.
Even so, she had accepted his hypnosis solely because she trusted Lee Seonho.
She had willingly accepted because she believed that he would not do anything too extreme to her.
‘If he really does anything strange…I can run away at any time.’
She was only pretending to be hypnotized, after all; she was not actually hypnotized.
Even objectively speaking, she was stronger than him, since his only ability was a mental-type buff. In other words, she could use her power and escape at any time before he did anything suspicious.
With those thoughts underlying everything, Cha Eun-joo accepted the hypnosis again today, just as she had yesterday.
…Above all, she felt far too guilty about what she had done to Seonho today to refuse his request.
‘I made him wait for two hours without even contacting him, but he didn’t get angry at all….’
He had made her buy him lunch as compensation, but that alone couldn’t have settled things. Afterward, Lee Seonho had paid the training facility fee again, leaving her feeling as though she had incurred another debt.
She had said things like, since he had bought her lunch, it was only right for her to pay, but if that was the logic, then she had effectively never paid the price for being late in the first place.
Seonho was simply too kind.
She did not want their relationship to become one in which she kept taking advantage of his feelings like this.
At the very least, she wanted to cheer him up through something she could do, and one of those things was pretending to be hypnotized like this.
“Are you hypnotized, Eun-joo?”
“Ah, yeah…. I-I’m hypnotized….”
“Good. Then stay still from now on.”
Even though it was her second time, acting was not difficult. Simply knowing how to behave made her feel as if the burden on her heart had lessened.
And as soon as she said that she was hypnotized, Lee Seonho immediately pulled her into his arms just as he had yesterday.
-Squeeze.
“Ngh, mmph….”
It was an embrace strong enough to take her breath away.
Perhaps it was only her imagination, but she felt as though he was pulling her close even more tightly than yesterday.
“Eun-joo….”
“……”
“I thought you suddenly hated me…. You didn’t show up for two hours without saying anything, so I really….”
“……”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you….”
…Guilt came flooding over her.
It had been a long time, far too long to call it merely two hours.
How deeply must Lee Seonho’s heart have burned as he waited for her in silence during those two hours?
Why had she overslept on a day like today? Why had she hurt Seonho’s feelings?
While resenting her own foolish behavior, Cha Eun-joo vowed never to make the same mistake again.
“You haven’t come to hate me, have you, Cha Eun-joo?”
“……”
“Answer me honestly. Have you come to hate me?”
“…I don’t hate you.”
“Then do you like me?”
“……”
“Cha Eun-joo…?”
“I…I guess I like you….”
…Liking someone as a friend still counted as liking them.
In truth, Lee Seonho was the first real friend she had ever made, so she was not entirely sure, but if she did not dislike him, then she must like him.
Seonho, anxious at the thought that he might lose her, hugged her tightly, and Cha Eun-joo tried to accept his embrace, stronger than yesterday’s, without letting any emotion show.
-Squeeze.
“Uh, mmph?!”
…Until his hand, which had somehow slipped down past her lower back without a sound, suddenly clamped around one of her buttocks.
‘W-what?! T-that’s too far!’
More importantly, when had he done it? When had Seonho’s hand moved down this far?
This was wrong, so should she resist? No matter what, she and Seonho were not yet close enough to do anything lewd….
“Haa, Eun-joo…. It would be wonderful if I could just keep holding you like this….”
“……”
It was…an accident, right?
Seonho, who was holding her and calling her name so frantically, surely had not deliberately touched her buttock…right?
He probably had not. Seonho was innocent and kind. Even with her standing in front of him while hypnotized, he would not do anything too extreme or lewd.
It was somewhat embarrassing physical contact to call merely an accident, though.
Still, if she simply stayed quiet, she could let this much pass.
‘It’s not as though it feels unpleasant…. It does feel a little strange, though….’
Although a man had touched one of her buttocks, she wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, she even found herself wanting him to touch it a little more.
However, just as she began having those thoughts, Lee Seonho released her from his tight embrace, and his large hand naturally fell away from her buttock.
‘Ah…….’
…He could have kept touching her a little longer.
A strange sense of disappointment welled up inside her.
And for some reason, Cha Eun-joo felt that the embrace had ended a little sooner than yesterday’s.
‘Is this all he’s going to do today…?’
She had expected him to hold her for at least ten more minutes, but perhaps his feelings toward her had diminished over the course of a single day.
Maybe he had lost some of his affection because she had been late today. Even though he had pretended outwardly that nothing was wrong, he must have been fairly disappointed in her inside.
If he had lost his affection for her and began treating her like a stranger once the practical exam was over…perhaps she would lose the first friend she had worked so hard to make at the academy.
A fear so intense it made her feel as if her heart might stop gripped Cha Eun-joo’s mind.
“Cha Eun-joo.”
“…Yeah.”
“You remember that you were late today, right?”
“…………Yeah.”
…So he really was angry.
Of course. Seonho was human too, so there was no way he would not get angry. If the situation had been reversed, she would definitely have been angry too.
Pretending to be hypnotized had not been enough to appease him. But then, what could she possibly do to make him forgive her?
“You said earlier that, since you were late, you would do anything you could for me.”
“……”
“If I had made a strange request, how far could you have gone for me?”
“……”
“If it’s difficult to say, you can show me physically. How far would you have allowed me to go?”
How far could she really go to soothe Seonho’s anger?
Lewd things…were obviously out of the question, but light physical contact, perhaps…
A-and men all liked breasts, didn’t they? Even in middle school and high school, it seemed like all the boys had stared at her breasts with strange looks…
But Seonho wasn’t just any man. He might even be the person fate had destined for her.
…Considering all of that, perhaps this much was within the range of what she could allow…?
-Slide.
Cha Eun-joo carefully extended both hands and took hold of Lee Seonho’s right arm.
She brought the arm she was holding around to the front of her body, and then….
-Squish.
“This far….”
With a voice filled with embarrassment, Cha Eun-joo placed Lee Seonho’s hand on her left breast.