315 – The Hypnotic Detective’s Onslaught – 1

Past – The old violet magic tower, a wrinkled old man and a masked man are in confrontation.

“Using people as test subjects for illusion magic… the dignity of the tower has sunk to the very depths.”

The old man, deeply angered by the crumbling state of the violet tower, didn’t hide his hostility, but the masked man simply brushed it off with an aloof air.

Why would he tense or fret at a threat that posed no danger? For a foolish old man with no power and no grasp of the times, there was only one thing to say. The man opened his mouth calmly.

“Is there dignity in pursuing a grand ambition?”

“There is. Of course, there should be. We are human beings before we are magicians. That fool, the tower master, was a dimwit, but at least he kept to a human line. Is this your doing?”

“How could I dare to change a person’s nature? I merely persuaded him. To raise the tower to a position greater than any other, to leave our name in the history books.”

“You damn fool… you’ve gone blind with your craving for empty glory.”

What glory could there be in writing your name with blood and pain?

“My dear home has turned into a sewer infested with rats, so I’ll throw away the old house and look for a new one. I was getting sick of the tower master’s whining anyway, so this worked out quite well.”

“The way out is over there.”

“But don’t think this can last forever. Those who commit such dog-like acts will die like dogs. That’s the way of the world.”

And so, one of the elders of the violet magic tower chose to break away. He left the tower alone and vanished somewhere── having chased away the final obstacle, the man,『Capricorn』, muttered to himself.

“You don’t understand the way of the world…?”

This world is a place where a colossal divine being weaves the threads of a painful fate, and so, poetic justice is but a part of the script written by its black scales.

Therefore, how could there be dignity in this world?

In the lobby of the old violet magic tower, where a righteous man had departed, the traces of pure wizards with dreams were nowhere to be found, only chuckling mockery echoed for a long while.

–

I have no energy.

“Ah…”

After dumping Selvier, my heart was submerged in a slow-churning storm. It was the first time I’d dumped a woman, in both this life and any previous ones. This feeling just doesn’t get any easier.

They say repetition dulls the senses, so if I dump about thirty women, will this clamminess disappear too?

I was melting into the sofa, a shapeless slime just lazing about, when Yuri, wearing a face mask and walking by, stopped dead, taking in my sorry state.

“Still wallowing?”

“Uh…”

“Then why didn’t you just take her back? You don’t even have to love them, you can keep them around as a partner for physical relations or a figure to boost your ego.”

“That…that’s not something a human being would do…”

“You’re right. Here’s your reward.”

Yuri took off her face mask and hairband, neatly arranged her hair, then grabbed my cheeks and performed a straight-up lip-drain. I’ll skip the salacious sounds.

*Mwah.* Finishing with a light bird kiss, Yuri, as always expressionless but with the edges of her ears slightly flushed, blurted out.

“How is it?”

“I feel like I’m getting a little energy, but then this strange depression comes over me, for finding energy by kissing another woman, it’s troublesome. I think it might help if you pretended to be a cat and did some aegyo.”

“Oh dear, then we must move to the next stage. I’ll show you aegyo in a bunny impersonation, in bed. I’ll go wash up and get ready, so wait comfortably…”

“No, no. I’m sorry.”

I’d just suffered my nth defeat of the season.

After finishing our regular WWE matches, which happen about three times a day, I felt a bit more energized. I gathered my melted body and sat up straight. Yuri sat next to me and put an arm around my shoulders. Friend mode.

There’s something about being hugged and hugging, they’re different sensations.

If Yuna provides a sort of plushie-like emotional stability, Yuri is solid. It’s like the kind of buoyant bond you feel when you’re with a close friend, it props up my heart.

Even if I heard that Yuri betrayed me one day, I’d probably think ‘Oh, that’s some kind of undercover operation,’ first.

Yuri Lanster, the type of person who seemed unbreakable under any circumstances, that also contributed to a feeling of reliability. She’d even taken down a Succubus Queen, so it felt like she was in a state of spiritual invincibility.

I asked, without any order,

“Did I make a mistake?”

“I don’t know.”

“⋯⋯Was there another way?”

“Don’t know, that’s not important.”

*Thump, thump.* Yuri patted my shoulder and, as if to convey some kind of enlightenment, solemnly said,

“The point is, we’re still alive and kicking, we can still meet up, and we can move our bodies and mouths as we please. Everything else is secondary.”

“Mm.”

“Mima. You can go meet Selbier, or touch the chest of the person sitting next to you – well, their pecs. Or even set off to put a student in a session. Being able to try is a privilege of the living.”

If you’re troubled, take action. If you want to pick up spilled water, at least bring a bucket. You can move freely, so you can still try. It was a simple, fundamental principle.

Yuri pondered for a moment, then touched her fingers to her chin and said,

“Well… personally, I still think it’s better if your harem grows. Preferably to around 300 people.”

“What the hell?”

Even an ice cream chain menu would have fewer options. As I was stunned by the sheer scale of it, she began explaining her grand plan.

“I’ll use the power of the second wife to put pressure on them. If they want to get closer to Mima, they’ll have to pay me. Then I can force all sorts of beautiful women to wear black stockings.”

“⋯⋯You’re trying to use my harem to satisfy your own desires. But that means more rivals, doesn’t it? The time I get to spend with me will be reduced!”

“You’re jealous… Don’t worry. I’m ready to catch two rabbits. I’ll enjoy the harem, and also maintain my share of Mima. It’s not a difficult task.”

“Why are you the one enjoying *my* harem?”

It wasn’t said to comfort me, or to relieve my burden of guilt, but because Yuri herself actually seemed like she’d enjoy it, and that was terrifying.

That thought must have shown on my face, because Yuri glanced at me and chuckled.

“Mima, don’t just stand there like that, do something. There’s an interesting letter that came for you.”

“Who sent it?”

“Sender unknown. The handwriting’s all twisted up, can’t make heads or tails of it. But it does have a name, someone who’s revealing themselves. Take a look.”

Yuri pulled out a letter from her chest and handed it to me. Sure enough, the handwriting was extremely disguised. Like they’d changed fonts for each letter or something.

And the contents were just as strange.

‘I know your true identity. Your disguise is useless. 『Goat』, who led the Violet Magic Tower down the path of corruption, I will reveal all your sins and bring you to judgment. 『Hypno-Detective』 Baek.’

Who are Goat and Hypno-Detective?

“…This came for *me*? It’s not misdelivered?”

“Yup. It was placed politely in front of your office.”

“Cute little prank. The term Hypno-Detective is kinda imaginative, I like it.”

I dismissed it. I mean, everything I’d done for the Violet Tower was good stuff. Got them subsidies, improved their magic theory, all of it.

So I figured the letter was a prank from some mage at the Tower, or maybe a student from the Great Labyrinth who had a grudge and wanted to mess with me.

That’s what I thought, until I actually saw the 『Hypno』.

–

Knock knock knock.

“Yeah, coming.”

I was engrossed in my magic research, when there was a knock at my lab door. Yuna and Yuri were inside, so this visitor had to be an outsider.

The location of the knock was odd.

I memorized the knock patterns of every visitor I see regularly. The way they knock, where they knock, it’s all different, so I could guess who it was from just that sound.

For example, Bennett tends to knock with forceful, honest tempo, while Selvier’s are quick, light tap-tap-taps.

But this visitor had a knock pattern I’d never heard before, and it was incredibly low too. Assuming they were just reaching out to knock naturally, I’d guess they’re around 140cm tall.

There shouldn’t be anyone that small or young among the Academy students. *Creak*, I opened the door.

“……..”

What I saw was a mushroom-headed kid with purple hair covering their eyes. I crouched down to meet their gaze and spoke gently.

“Hey there, little one, what brings you here? This is a mad wizard’s study, you know.”

But what came back was a stiff, emotionless, and bizarre response.

“I’ve come to give a warning. 『The Goat』.”

“……..?”

“If you readily admit your crimes and turn yourself in, I will reduce your sentence. This is a merciful warning. I hold that a criminal’s self-repentance is the first virtue of investigation.”

Too coherent to brush off as nonsense. Calling me “The Goat” makes me think it’s linked to that letter I got before.

Most of all, it reeks of illusion magic.

I blink. When I form an intent, the magic flows naturally. I filter out the material aspects of the world, and scan only the magical ones. And there, it’s clear as day.

I reached out and brushed the kid’s bangs up.

Whirring. Spirals were spinning in their pupils.

It’s literally hypnosis. This kid is hypnotized, automatically spitting out pre-programmed lines from the caster. A human recording device and messenger, in other words.

I looked for any lines of magic connecting them, but saw none. It’s not a remote control type. It’s a battery type, where magic is implanted in the subject’s body, lasting until it’s completely burned through.

The kid stated solemnly.

“When tomorrow’s dawn breaks, the investigation will commence. I can see you, but you cannot find me. I am the 『Hypno-Detective』.”

“……..Ah, so *that’s* why you’re the 『Hypno-Detective』?”

I get that there’s been a misunderstanding. This guy, this “Hypnotic Detective,” is chasing after some dude called “The Goat” … and he’s mistaking me for him, it seems, and wants to expose every last one of his sins.

Judging by the way he calls himself a detective and his words, he seems to take pride in his actions. Thinks he’s doing something righteous, I guess.

But listen to this.

“To send a warning message to this “Goat” or whatever, you hypnotized some innocent kid and used him like a goddamn cuckoo clock, you heartless b*stard.”

“Sin doesn’t vanish. You will–“

“If you want to challenge me, I’ll play along. Wake up from your sweet dreams, ‘Arise’.”

*Click!*

I flick my finger, drawing the magic lodged inside the kid’s body. His swirling eyes return to normal, and a look of bewilderment and confusion flickers across the mushroom-head kid’s face, like he’s just woken from a dream.

“…Uh, what?”

“Looks like our friend was sleepwalking. He was wandering around up ahead. This old guy’s not suspicious, but how about you come in and have a cup of warm milk before you go?”

“Yeah…?”

–

I gathered Yuna and Yuri and explained the situation.

“So, that’s what happened…”

“So you’re protecting that boy. How did he even get into the Academy?”

“He’s an observer, apparently. That’s what the reception desk was told. But there’s no way a new ‘observer’ system would suddenly appear out of thin air, so I guess even the administrative staff is under hypnosis.”

The Academy is no pushover, but to break in like this, send messages and all, this guy’s got some serious chops.

The structure of his magic is that of someone who’s really learned their stuff. You can’t feel this kind of solid foundation from a mage who’s self-taught in the wilderness.

Yuna looked like she had some idea, and with a troubled expression, she searched her memories and explained,

“Hypnosis… a long time ago, before…before I became the Tower Master. There was someone who used similar magic. They’d manifest it by swinging a coin tied to a string.”

“That, th-that’s the part the Master of the Magic Tower ‘erased’?”

“Uh-uh, no. It’s someone who left before I erased it, before coming into the tower.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t directly related. Yuna always struggled when thinking about the past. Even now, the keyword ‘past’ seemed to have sent her mood plummeting; it was raining above her head.

A traditionalist who was previously affiliated with the tower. A guy with that kind of presence couldn’t be some unknown nobody. Unless he’d been doing secluded training in a mountain valley, there would definitely be rumors.

“『Hypnotic Detective』… never heard of him, right?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Even Agent Yuri Lanster from the All-Direction Bureau didn’t recognize the name. Just in case, I quickly scanned through the list of black mages, but there was no one who seemed like him.

I was already stuck and grumbling at the first hurdle – just who the hell is this guy – when a clue popped up from an unexpected place.

The Roderus couple, who brought ‘Hayangi’ for regular adjustment work, knew the name.

“『Hypnotic Detective』? I heard about him from Ronald! They say he never shows his face, but he solves cases. He helps those wronged, and arrests the villains…”

“Ronald, the 3rd Team Leader of the Capital Knights, mentions him sometimes. His main area of activity is the Kingdom, not the Empire, so if you’re not interested in that kind of hero story, you wouldn’t hear the name.”

The Kingdom.

If he’s a mage active in a faraway neighboring country, it’s understandable that Yuri or I wouldn’t know him. So, to find out information about this 『Hypnotic Detective』, I’d have to travel to that distant Kingdom and search around.

“Should we go?”

“No, no. It’s far, it’ll take too long… and we don’t even need to. Luckily, there’s someone suspiciously trying to gather information about the Kingdom.”

The person who knows about the terrifying ‘Kingdom Alliance’ that will destroy the Empire in 100 years, and who works hard every day for the sake of the Empire’s peaceful future!

If I revealed that the session was fiction, my head would be cut off sooner, so he still believes in the future…!

The communication crystal ball pulsed with light in the night.

“…So, is this why you contacted me in the middle of the night, you crazy mage?”

“Yeah.”

“I was dreaming about meeting Sentra just a moment ago. Now I guess I have something to say to her.”

“Could you give me some information about the ‘Hypno-Detective’?”

“The next support fund for the tower, you will come and collect it directly from me.”

Irid, with his hair a tangled bird’s nest, gritted his teeth at the spectacle of the mad mage who’d sold his conscience.