The Hypnosis App Was Fake – Chapter 24

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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“This is a rather small room. Suits you, sunbae.”

That was the first thing she said after I opened the door, glancing around the room.

Her cold voice and tone had a way of making people feel small. But for Lapis Julie, this kind of remark was just a casual greeting. Knowing this, I let her words slide.

“It was the only room available. So, what brings you here?”

“I heard your precious, cheaply bought penthouse was destroyed. I came to see what kind of face you’d be making. Is that a problem?”

“So, what do you think?”

“You look better than I expected. I was hoping to see you staring blankly at the ceiling with dead fish eyes. I’m disappointed.”

Lapis Julie took off her shoes without asking and entered the room. She then casually sat down on my bed.

She ran her hand over the blanket I’d been under just moments ago and added, “Even your blanket suits you, sunbae. Stained and dirty. I almost feel like cleaning it for you.”

Normally, I would have been stressed just by her presence in my room, but knowing she harbored feelings for me allowed me to maintain my composure.

“By the way, sunbae, why are you so relaxed today? Your precious apartment was destroyed, and your team leader is sitting on your bed.”

What the hell? How did she know?

Lapis Julie had instantly detected my subtle change in demeanor.

Well, keen observation and understanding were highly valued traits in the Julie family, so it wasn’t surprising that she’d noticed.

I decided to play dumb. There was no point in giving her ammunition.

“Huh? Me? No, I’m not. I’m the same as always.”

“No, you’re not. You’re usually more guarded, more anxious, more aware of my presence.”

She was right. How closely had she been observing me to notice that I was, for the first time, relaxed in her presence? Did she like me that much?

Even now, it was hard to believe Lapis Julie harbored special feelings for me. We’d known each other for seven years, although there had been a four-year gap in the middle.

As befitting a member of the prestigious Julie family, rivals of the Rate family, Lapis Julie had graduated from the academy. She was a year below me there, and she’d joined Liar’s Trap a year after I did.

I wished she called me “sunbae” out of respect for being a senior, but that wasn’t the case.

Once, when I’d asked her, “Why do you still call me ‘sunbae,’ even though you’re my team leader? You call Scarlet ‘Team Leader Scarlet,’ don’t you?” Lapis Julie had smirked and replied,

“By calling you ‘sunbae,’ even though I’m your superior, it reminds everyone that you, sunbae, were surpassed by your junior. I enjoy that.”

So, even though she was now my team leader and had no reason to call me “sunbae,” she continued to do so, for that incredibly petty reason.

Even so, she was much nicer now compared to when she’d first become the Team 2 leader.

Back then, Lapis Julie had been a real bitch.

So much so that even I, who couldn’t stand Scarlet, had briefly considered that Scarlet might be the lesser of two evils.

And since she was slightly more approachable when we were alone, assuming I wasn’t using the hypnosis app, the current Lapis Julie was the nicest version I’d ever encountered.

“By the way, sunbae, this is the first time I’ve seen you in clothes like… that. You always wear your academy uniform, or that tacky Rate family uniform, or a suit.”

Lapis Julie paused, lifted the blanket, sniffed it, frowned, and asked,

“I’ve been wondering about this. Where’s that suit you treasured so much?”

Lapis Julie, the gentle latte version, was now looking at me with suspicion. It was a follow-up question to her earlier comment about me being ‘different,’ a question laced with suspicion.

“My suit? It… gone with the penthouse. I lost it.”

My suit had been completely incinerated by Scarlet. I didn’t think telling her the truth would be beneficial, so I gave a vague answer.

What kind of clothes? What was she talking about?

I looked down at myself. I was wearing an anime-themed sweatsuit. I must have been so exhausted yesterday that I’d fallen asleep in it.

It was depressing that this shabby sweatsuit was the only clothing I had left.

I needed to buy new clothes. But I had no money. Should I take on some low-level dungeon clearing jobs?

As my thoughts drifted towards mundane financial worries, Lapis Julie’s cold voice interrupted me.

“You bragged to me about your suit’s retrieval function, sunbae. And it had self-repair capabilities and a defense system that could withstand most impacts, even protecting you from B-rank or lower magical disasters. And you’re telling me you lost it, along with your apartment? That custom-made, special suit you loved so much?”

“Uh… W-What?”

The temperature in the room dropped noticeably. It wasn’t my imagination. Lapis Julie’s mana, reacting to her emotions, was literally lowering the temperature.

Frost, like delicate flowers, bloomed on the windows and mirror, and I could see my breath in the air.

What the hell? Wasn’t the atmosphere just fine a moment ago?

Ignoring my bewilderment, Lapis Julie continued to press me, her dark blue eyes, devoid of any warmth, fixed on me.

“You said both your penthouse and your suit gone, right? Come to think of it, the Guild Leader only told me about your penthouse being destroyed, not why. Your penthouse had a state-of-the-art magical defense system that could nullify most attacks. For it to be destroyed, there would have had to be a powerful magical event, something that would have made the news. But there were no reports, no news articles, just a single line about an ‘explosion.’ It makes me think someone used their influence to suppress the information. Don’t you think?”

It felt like an inescapable net tightening around me. The cold intensified, and I started shivering uncontrollably. My previous composure had vanished.

Seeing me shiver and tremble, Lapis Julie smiled faintly. But the cold remained.

It meant she was smiling… mad.

“Now you look more like yourself, sunbae. Since you’re back to normal, let me ask you something. Why does your blanket smell of a woman’s perfume, a perfume you would never wear?”

With that question, a wave of frigid air washed over the room. Her intent was clear: answer truthfully, or become a human ice sculpture.

Nice? I take that back. She’s even worse than before.

I felt like I was about to freeze to death.

But even if I honestly told her, “It’s Ia Aris’s perfume. I was hugging and cuddling her. Haha!” I wouldn’t be able to avoid a tragic ending.

Using Rabbit Burrow to escape was the worst possible option.

I never thought I’d be using it in a situation like this.

As I thought about how I was like a protagonist pulling out a hidden trump card in a moment of crisis, a feeling of indignation washed over me.

It hadn’t even been five minutes since she arrived, and things had already gone to shit. Was that even fair?

I only had one option left, the hypnosis app, which I’d been planning to use anyway, so I didn’t hesitate.

I shoved the phone screen, which I’d been holding since she entered, in her face.

“L-Look at this and calm down.”

“Ugh…”

The alluring mix of purple and pink light captivated Lapis Julie. The intelligence in her eyes vanished, replaced by an unfocused gaze staring into space. The frigid air in the room quickly dissipated, leaving behind a pleasant coolness.

“Huu…”

I let out a sigh of relief, grateful to be alive. I sat down next to Lapis Julie and looked at her. Her sleek, low ponytail, the color of water, was always striking.

Her hair was as smooth as water, the complete opposite of Scarlet’s fiery red hair.

The beauty mark under her right eye, her sculpted features, her cold demeanor… Lapis Julie was a different kind of beauty compared to the fiery Scarlet.

“She’s actually quite pretty.”

Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d looked at Lapis Julie’s face this closely. I’d always been too preoccupied with getting revenge to appreciate her looks, too focused on using the hypnosis app and making her serve me.

Lapis Julie must be wondering what was going on.

Normally, I would have immediately given her a command like, “Haa… Now that you’re hypnotized, you won’t remember anything I say anyway. Just serve me. Like always.” But today, I hadn’t given her any commands, just stared at her face.

“Mm.”

Perhaps embarrassed by my unusual behavior, a faint blush crept up Lapis Julie’s translucent skin. This reaction further solidified my suspicion that she harbored feelings for me.

I guess I’d also be a little embarrassed, but happy, if someone I liked ‘hypnotized’ me and then stared at my face in admiration… maybe?

But that wasn’t important. What mattered was what I was about to do.

I gently tilted Lapis Julie’s chin, turning her face towards me. The faint blush on her cheeks deepened.

“I have a question for you. Answer truthfully.”

“Yes…”

I asked the crucial question, the first step towards flustering Lapis Julie and preventing her from threatening me again.

“Do you like me?”

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Straight to tha face!🤓