The Man with Hypnotic Powers Doesn't Hold Back the Second Time Around

Chapter 221

The evolution of my mentor, ordered by the Chairman.

At first, the operation was quite uncertain, but...

"Oppa♡ I did it~♡"

"......"

‘This is working.’

My mentor. Evolution complete.

The fact that she wouldn’t let go of me, hugging me tightly, was enough to tell.

She was trying to break free, but she had me completely pinned down, unable to move an inch.

That was the biggest proof that she had evolved like me.

Squeak. Rub rub.

"Hehe♡ You know? I worked hard for you..."

"......"

‘Saintess. So this is how you felt?’

Though there was a little moment where I belatedly understood the Saintess’s feelings, it was all fine.

Afterward, it was just a simple confirmation task.

Ching!!

"Hmm. In terms of combat ability... I’d lose if I fought head-on, right?"

"Disciple. No, I can’t create things in the air like you, but!"

The result was clear.

First, my mentor’s pure combat ability was higher than mine.

Even before the regression, I couldn’t compete physically, so that made sense.

Second, her application of soul-based techniques was much weaker.

Unlike me, she couldn’t summon a katana out of thin air.

That required techniques dealing with the soul, which was perfectly understandable.

And lastly...

"Mentor, can’t you use the status window?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah. It won’t show up no matter how much I call it."

"I thought so."

The status window was unusable.

...Just like Hypnosis-chan said.

She told me that my status window was practically useless now.

It was probably because of this evolution.

For beings who transcended humanity, the status window, which was based on mortal standards, no longer applied.

I, at least, had Hypnosis-chan to repair mine, but without that, my mentor couldn’t use the status window at all.

"Isn’t it uncomfortable?"

"Not at all. Actually, my body feels super light! It’s like I’ve been wearing sandbags all this time!"

Luckily, not being able to use the status window didn’t seem like a huge limitation for my mentor.

No, perhaps the status window itself was the limitation.

If I were to make a comparison, it was like the training wheels on a bicycle.

For other, ordinary awakened people, it was a useful tool.

But for my mentor, a high-end racing bike, it was more of an obstacle.

Well, that’s just a metaphor.

To truly compare her, even a strategic nuclear weapon would fall short, but... anyway.

I had figured everything out, so...

It was time to do the most important thing.

"Well then, Mentor."

Swallow.

I called out with a tense heart.

She, too, turned her gaze toward me.

"Oppa, so now...♡"

"Yes. Let’s report to the Chairman. Mission accomplished."

"......Eh?"

"Even while we’re doing this, monsters are piling up. We should go clear the front lines and report."

As an awakened—no, as a member of society—reports were never to be skipped.

No matter how serious the situation was, there were things that had to be done.

"And we’ll use this as a practical test for you, Mentor. I’ll be watching, so let’s see you take down a few monsters..."

"What about... making babies? I worked so hard... No reward?"

"......"

It seemed that my mentor was more focused on something else, though.

I unconsciously added a bit of gentleness to my voice.

It was to comfort her.

"You heard my memories, right? The EX-Class Gate could destroy the world. Don’t you think dealing with that should come first?"

"......Hmph!"

"And I’m busy too. Look, I have dozens of missed calls piling up."

"Hmph!! Hmph, hhhmmm!! Huuuh!!!"

Yujin’s full effort to comfort her! The effect was minimal!

Mentor had sulked magnificently!

...Sigh. This wouldn’t work with words.

"Instead, Mentor?"

"Hmph..."

Smack!

"......!!!!?"

Slurp, smack.Sneakily.Glance.Slurp, smack.Boom!!Screech! Bang, bang!!!

"Why are you hitting our local punching bag? Paimon? Now’s not the time for percussion!"

"Listen here. This is because..."

Curious about what happened, I asked, and the Chairman explained.

It was an incident that occurred while I was focused on my mentor’s evolution mission.

After hearing the full story,

I quickly set out to restore order.

"Paimon. Time for some punishment."

"W-wait! At least pull up my pants...!! Ack!!"

Thud.

‘Does she really want to die?’

Paimon truly had a knack for getting herself punished. It was impressive, really.

About 5 minutes later.

"Keep quiet and stay like this for 10 minutes."

Shivering.

I made Paimon write down her mistakes on paper.

Her crime was the embezzlement of mana herbs.

Mana recovery herbs that the Chairman had carefully gathered for emergencies—she ate them all while the Chairman wasn’t looking.

She claimed she did it to secure emergency mana for escape, but...

‘You can’t forgive eating 30 billion worth of mana herbs. Not even close.’

Mana recovery tools were precious.

Not only were they expensive, but the supply was very limited.

To have eaten all that while an EX-Class Gate was looming over us...

It was no surprise the Chairman was furious.

"Sigh. No matter how much mana we have, it’s never enough."

"Alice is negotiating with President Morrison right now. She’s asking for as many mana fuel rods as possible."

"They’ll probably only give us one or two. Or maybe not even that..."

Hmm?

Tilt.

"Yujin. Why do you look like that?"

On the other hand, I wasn’t as angry as the Chairman.

I knew this was a small issue compared to what was to come.

Not 30 billion, but mana fuel rods worth hundreds of billions each.

Mana cheats from the US government.

I was sure President Morrison would give us whatever we needed.

"Actually, I made a secret deal with President Morrison. You should expect something good."

"Oh? So, Sibylla, such a hidden gem suddenly appeared... Seems like you’re full of surprises. When did you do something so admirable?"

"A while back when I went to the US. Hehe."

The Chairman’s expression brightened at my words.

It seemed like some good news in the midst of the national crisis was very welcome.

It was hard to believe that just yesterday, she was the one who had been wearing diapers and whining.

"And... my mentor succeeded in evolving!"

"Oh! I had a feeling! So she did it!!"

"To be honest, she didn’t do much, Aika did most of the work."

"Oh! So it’s really true, Ninomiya. Impressive!"

With this additional good news, the Chairman’s smile grew wider.

It seemed that my report helped her shake off some of her worries.

The atmosphere in the Chairman’s office was warm...

"At this rate, we might really be able to deal with the EX-Class Gate..."

"———It’s impossible."

"...?"

The warm atmosphere shattered.

Our gazes all turned to one place.

We locked eyes with the trembling Paimon.

"Paimon. What do you mean by that?"

"Even if that monstrous woman really reached transcendence, it won’t be enough."

Her eyes were fixed directly on me.

"Maybe against those weaklings, but against the monster hiding inside, there’s only one thing that will work."

"What do you mean by that? No, tell me. What’s going on?"

"I can’t say. In my current state, just speaking about its true name or identity would kill me."

"What do you know...?"

"But I’ll give you as many clues as I can. With where you are now, you’ll understand."

And then Paimon said...

"———Have you never wondered why villains even exist? Or why the gates were created in the first place?"

"......!!!"

She just dropped a bombshell, something that sounded like the final boss speaking.