The Hypnosis App Was Fake – Chapter 33

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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A brilliant golden light enveloped me, warm and comforting like the spring sun. I wanted to bask in it forever.

What was this? A buff? A small welcome gift from the team leader to a new recruit?

Since she’d called me “family,” it seemed Team Leader Silk valued her team members like family. That’s why she was sharing this warm light with me.

And since Taming couldn’t work on humans, this light was solely for me. There was nothing to be worried about.

I’d learned from the head butler, back when I was working for the Rate family after graduating from the academy, that it was a subordinate’s duty to gratefully accept anything offered by a superior. Following that teaching, I decided to relax and enjoy the moment.

“Okay, done. That took a while.”

The light therapy session ended, and the golden light that had filled the room was absorbed into my body.

-Crackle. Sizzle.

I thought I heard a faint crackling sound in my head after the light was absorbed, but it quickly faded.

What was that?

I looked at the team leader, but she just smiled faintly, her expression unreadable, offering no explanation.

Am I just imagined things? Well, it was just a brief sound. I wasn’t hurt. In fact, I felt… refreshed, like my fatigue had vanished. So it wasn’t a bad thing.

I dismissed it as an auditory hallucination caused by the light absorption process.

Normally, I’d be suspicious, wondering if Scarlet had done something to me, but I had more pressing matters to attend to.

My superior had used her ability on me, a new recruit, so I had to express my gratitude. These small gestures were important for maintaining good working relationships.

“How do you feel?”

As if on cue, the team leader prompted me to express my thanks. She was even setting the stage for me. It seemed I’d lucked out and gotten a considerate team leader.

After years of terrible luck with people, ever since meeting Scarlet, I’d finally found a decent human being. Thank you, Guild Leader, for this wonderful opportunity.

I mentally thanked the Guild Leader, who, in my opinion, was a decent person, for arranging this.

I took the team leader’s hand, which was still holding mine, bowed deeply, and said,

“Team Leader, thanks to you, my fatigue has completely vanished. Thank you so much! I’ll work hard!”

“Huh? Was it always like this? It’s been a while since I used it on a human, so I’m not sure. Hmm… Well, he seems fine.”

The team leader muttered something behind me, but I was too excited about the prospect of a normal work life, without Scarlet, to pay attention.

After my greeting, I straightened up and looked at the team leader. She’d seemed quite tall from afar, but she was actually shorter than Scarlet.

It must have been her proportions that made her look taller.

Scarlet was around 5’5”, so the team leader must be around 5’3”. She was even prettier up close. Her eyelashes were so long. She might even be prettier than Scarlet…

“Now that you’re family, there’s something you need to do.”

The team leader’s words interrupted my mental comparison of Scarlet, a fire-breathing dragon, and the team leader, a benevolent angel feeding fish.

“Y-Yes? What can I do for you, Team Leader?”

The team leader’s eyebrows twitched at my question. She gently stroked my cheek, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Holding my gaze with her large amber eyes, she tapped my cheek with her fingertip and whispered in a voice that sent shivers down my spine,

“Before I give you any tasks… let’s change that… uncute title, ‘Team Leader.’ Hmm… Call me ‘senpai.’ Just ‘senpai,’ not ‘senpai-nim.’ ‘Master-nim’ sounds cute, but ‘senpai-nim’ feels… distant. And family shouldn’t be distant.”

“Senpai…?”

“Yes. ‘Team Leader’ makes me sound old. And it’s not cute. I hate being called that.”

Team Leader… no, Senpai Silk Blonde, grimaced, clearly expressing her dislike for the title.

Well, she was only twenty-four, a year older than me, so her aversion to sounding old wasn’t that strange. She seemed to have a rather… unique worldview.

But she seemed like a good person, unlike my previous team leader. So, as her subordinate, I had to comply.

“Now, try calling me that.”

A faint glimmer of anticipation appeared in her eyes. This was my first mission from my new superior, and I couldn’t fail.

It was a simple command. All I had to do was say, “Yes, senpai.” There was nothing to be nervous about. She was a good person.

It was practically my first command since joining Liar’s Trap. Well, technically, my former team leader had ordered me to leave the guild, so this was my second command. Regardless, it was a crucial task, one that would determine my future in the guild.

I had to execute this command perfectly, regardless of its simplicity. Well begun is half done, and the first button determines how the rest will follow.

So, her command to call her ‘senpai’ was, to me, the most important task I had to complete.

It was a trivial thing, but I was more nervous than I’d been since that time at the academy when Scarlet and I found a letter with a heart sticker on it in my locker.

That letter, of course, had been confiscated by Scarlet, read aloud, and then incinerated.

Putting that aside, I took a deep breath and, my voice slightly hoarse, said,

“Uh… Yes, senpai-nim.”

“Hmm. I told you not to add ‘-nim.’ Why did you add it?”

Damn it. It just slipped out. I’d even reminded myself not to! Stupid! That’s why you couldn’t escape Scarlet for thirteen years!

I mentally berated myself, but answering her question was more important.

I put on my most apologetic expression, lowered my head slightly to avoid making her uncomfortable, and said,

“Well… you’re such an amazing Awakened, senpai, that ‘-nim’ just… followed naturally. I won’t make that mistake again. I’m sorry!”

“You failed your first command, such a simple one. You look smart, but I guess appearances can be deceiving.”

“Excuse me? Oh… I apologize.”

It seemed I’d made a bad first impression. Well, even I’d be annoyed if my first subordinate was incompetent and stupid.

I understood why she was slightly displeased.

Ashamed of myself for not even being able to address her properly, I couldn’t meet her eyes.

As I stood there, head bowed, my gaze fixed on the floor, I felt a gentle hand stroking my hair.

“It’s okay. Look up. Everyone makes mistakes. Just don’t make it a habit.”

I looked up. A beautiful woman, even prettier than Scarlet, like an angel, was looking down at me. Her gentle smile and comforting touch, as she stroked my hair, were the epitome of a Tamer.

There were rumors that Silk Blonde could tame humans… Maybe those rumors started because she was so kind and warm.

If I’d been any less independent, I would have thrown myself into her arms and called her “Mama.” Her aura of benevolence was that comforting.

She truly was born to be a Tamer. Who else could do this job?

“Don’t feel bad. Just don’t repeat the same mistake. You were nervous, weren’t you? I understand.”

It had been a long time since I’d been comforted with such kind words and genuine warmth.

It brought back memories of the orphanage director, memories I’d almost forgotten. I was genuinely touched.

“S-Senpai…”

Even though we’d just met, her actions felt sincere.

Having survived the academy, a place rife with schemes and betrayals, thanks to my ability to detect insincerity, I could tell she was being genuine.

I could be loyal to someone like her.

“Okay, that’s enough encouragement. Come here for a moment.”

She stopped stroking my hair and gestured for me to follow her as she walked towards her desk.

“Yes!”

My favorability towards her had skyrocketed, so I resolved to carry out her next command perfectly and followed her.

“This is the most exciting part. Everyone reacts differently the first time.”

She sat down at her desk, saying something I didn’t understand. I stood before her, radiating an aura of ‘Give me any task, and I’ll complete it.’

Sensing my eagerness, she chuckled, amused, and slipped off her slippers.

Huh? Why did she take off her slippers?

Before I could even process the thought, she crossed her legs, her bare feet now pointed towards me.

What was this? Did she want a foot massage? Was this some kind of Team 3 tradition, a test of loyalty? No, that’s not it. She was the only member of Team 3, so there couldn’t be any traditions.

As I stared at her beautiful, bare feet, lost in thought, her languid voice interrupted me.

“Kiss my foot. With sincerity. That’s an order. Don’t mess this up.”

Her command, far exceeding anything I could have imagined, erased all my previous thoughts and questions.

Was this a joke? An S-rank joke from an S-rank Awakened? It had to be a joke. There was no way she was serious.

I looked at her, my ears ringing. She was still looking up at me, a faint smile playing on her lips. It wasn’t the smile of someone joking. She was serious.

Seriously? Kiss her foot? That sounded like something Scarlet would ask… Wait, Scarlet? Like something Scarlet would do?

“No.”

The thought of Scarlet triggered a reflexive rebellion, and I refused without thinking.

I immediately regretted it, thinking, Shit, should I have refused?, but kissing her foot was too much. I’d refuse again, even if she asked again.

Kiss her foot? I thought she was a good person. Was she just… weird?

My briefly lowered guard shot back up. I looked at her suspiciously… and she stared back at me, her eyes wide with surprise.

Her usually languid eyes were now fully open, revealing their surprising size.

Why was she so surprised? Did she really think I was going to kiss her foot? If so, I was working under a very strange person.

I’d learned from the head butler that having a weird superior was worse than having a mean one.

A mean person was just mean. Their actions were predictable. But a weird person’s thought process was so different from yours that they were capable of anything.

It couldn’t be that bad. She was probably just surprised by my refusal. I tried to reassure myself, but Silk Blonde’s next words shattered my denial.

“Why? H-How can you refuse?”

“Excuse me?”

“I tamed you, and you didn’t dodge… How is that possible?”

“What?! T-Tamed? You can’t tame humans! Wait, were you trying to tame me? Are those rumors true? You can tame humans?! Holy shit, that’s terrifying!”

“Uh? Oh, n-no, that’s… it’s a misunderstanding. I can explain. Just… look this way for a second, okay?”

“Huh?”

-Flash!

I instinctively turned my head at her request, and a golden light, emanating from Silk Blonde’s outstretched hand, engulfed me.

-Crackle!

The golden light was absorbed into my body, and I heard that crackling sound in my head again.

The light faded, and my vision returned to normal. Silk Blonde was looking at me expectantly.

The woman who’d seemed even more beautiful than Scarlet now looked like a crazy person shooting mind control beams from her hands. An indescribable fear washed over me.

“Y-You’re tamed now, right? It worked this time? Now, come here and kiss my foo—…”

“Aaaaaaaaagh!”

I turned and ran, ignoring her insane command. Of course, I couldn’t outrun an S-rank Awakened, so I was quickly caught.

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Well it’s stills throwback time~