The Catgirl Who Resists Hypnosis
"Whew... What an impressive show from that catgirl. Beastkin... was it?"
Kang Minwoo had watched the entire commotion in the inn from start to finish. From the moment that guy named Druk started his drunken rant to when he was completely subdued by the beastkin woman. In the end, Druk screamed his lungs out until his remaining arm snapped too. His buddies tried to pile on her, but when she pulled something from her bosom and showed it to them, their faces drained of color, and they all dropped to their knees in unison.
Beastkin were supposed to face discrimination, or so he'd heard. But this was the exact opposite. Afterward, Druk and his crew were all hauled off by imperial guards, and Minwoo even caught sight of the highest-ranking soldier among them saluting the woman.
Minwoo found himself intrigued by the beastkin woman. Not just her looks or her agile movements—there was something more mysterious about her. A beastkin he'd never seen before, treated not like an outcast but someone extraordinary. She was impossible to ignore.
When curiosity strikes, the natural thing is to approach right away. Minwoo made up his mind, stood from his seat, and headed to the center of the pub. He raised the glow stick high and shouted,
"Everyone, look here!"
A random guy hoisting some weird stick and yelling drew the eyes of every patron, the staff, the guards, and the beastkin woman herself. The noisy pub fell eerily silent, like a lie.
...
Aisha had been there when the previous hero defeated the Demon King—a member of what they called the hero party. People hailed those who fought alongside the hero as heroes themselves. Not quite on the hero's level, but among the strongest on the continent, brimming with a sense of justice.
Aisha was one such hero from the previous generation. Now, her achievements had earned her an unprecedented imperial title for a beastkin. But even she had endured a deeply unfortunate childhood.
About a century ago, born into the rare black cat tribe among beastkin, she was raided by slave hunters and captured. Auctioned off at a slave market, she was bought by a wealthy noble obsessed with immature beastkin girls. He kept girls from various tribes as slaves in his mansion, flaunting his "collection" to other nobles.
That's how Aisha ended up as his slave. But just before he could take her virginity, the hero of that era, Leon, saved her. He cleaved the noble's head clean off in one stroke and took in Aisha along with all the other beastkin slaves the man had held.
It had nothing to do with defeating the Demon King. Outraged nobles protested the unprecedented act, but the empire sided with the hero. Without him, they couldn't topple the Demon King. At least until the Demon King fell and the hero returned to his world, it was best to humor him. Simple logic.
Leon had an inexplicable fondness for beastkin and treated them kindly. He couldn't overhaul the empire's customs of oppressing other races, but he personally escorted the beastkin children he'd saved to the northern lands where their kind lived, ensuring they wouldn't suffer again.
Yet Aisha stubbornly refused to leave his side, no matter the danger. She'd fallen for Leon at first sight, the man who'd rescued her. Unable to win against her determination, Leon allowed her to accompany him.
But Leon never saw Aisha as a woman. Whether misfortune or fortune, he projected his longing for the little sister he'd left in his home world onto her.
Luckily, Aisha had talent. She grew without shortcoming as Leon's companion and helped successfully vanquish the Demon King. But in the end, Leon left her behind and returned to his original world.
Even after his departure, as a hero who'd fought with him, she received great rewards from the empire and an unusually high status for a beastkin—honorary, but still.
Nothing could fill the void of losing Leon, though. To forget her longing, she began wandering the continent. She recklessly charged into labyrinths alone and courted danger many times, but over time, she forged new bonds and matured mentally. Still, the deep-seated ache for Leon never faded.
Nearly a century passed like that. While exploring a labyrinth alone in the barren western continent, watching over rookies, Aisha received an official summons from the imperial capital.
"A new hero has appeared?"
Was it about time for the Demon King to revive? Aisha sank into old memories.
The Demon King revived once every fifty to nearly a hundred years. Rare for short-lived humans to see more than twice in a lifetime, but not so uncommon for beastkin, who lived roughly double that span. And during the last revival, she was still in her growth phase.
A new hero... unrelated to the previous one, she knew. But she couldn't help being curious.
The summons simply requested her presence urgently as the hero's mentor. Aisha found it odd. Heroes transcended classes, able to learn any skill. A martial artist like her could teach him, sure, but the capital teemed with capable knights and mages to instruct the hero. Why call specifically for her?
Whatever the reason, ignoring an imperial summons wasn't an option. Curiosity about the new hero piqued, and she'd grown bored of labyrinth delving anyway. Perfect timing, she thought.
Planning to leave Roswell Village that very day, Aisha crossed paths with Minwoo.
...
"Damn it... Why isn't this working?"
For the first time since arriving in this world, Minwoo hit a real snag.
He'd successfully frozen everyone in the pub, Aisha included. Then he smoothly carried her to the inn room assigned to him on the second floor. Smooth sailing so far.
Next, he indulged in her frozen body for a bit. Whether from her beastkin nature or years of martial training, her physique was muscular yet incredibly soft and springy. Wrapped in rich, voluptuous curves unlike Ernate's enveloping fullness or Siola's fresh, baby-smooth skin—it had its own unique allure.
After savoring her texture thoroughly, Minwoo switched the glow stick to flashing mode. Time for the fun part: deciding what hypnosis to implant.
But that deliberation proved pointless.
"Damn it! Why won't the hypnosis stick?!"
Minwoo scratched his head irritably, venting his frustration. Just days ago, even holding a girl's hand was a pipe dream, but human greed knows no bounds—he wasn't satisfied with mere groping anymore.
"She's definitely in a hypnotic state..."
Like Ernate and Siola before her, Aisha knelt attentively before him. The glow stick was functioning fine.
But unlike them, no matter what command he tried, she wouldn't nod in agreement.
He'd subdued even the Demon King easily—surely a mere beastkin would be child's play. What a miscalculation.
"Maybe... the commands are off? But they're no different from before... Wait, perhaps..."
Thinking back, though unintentional, his hypnosis on Ernate and Siola always framed it around "defeating the hero." That might be key.
It clicked for Minwoo.
"But I know nothing about this catgirl."
She wouldn't respond to questions? Hypnotized subjects were always mute, so he'd never probed that angle.
"Tell me your name."
"...Aisha."
"Whoa?! What, she answers that easily? Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
Minwoo felt deflated. But he'd only ever used hypnosis for behavioral conditioning—no verbal responses needed.
"Aisha, huh... What's most precious to you?"
"..."
Aisha stayed silent for a while. Some questions workable, some not? But then her lips parted.
"Leon..."
"Leon? Who's that?"
"...Hero."
Hero? No current hero named Leon that he knew...
Tilting his head, Minwoo got more from Aisha.
"Previous..."
"Previous? Ah, got it. The previous hero. Hmm... But that was nearly a century ago?"
Straight from Ernate herself—undeniable. A chill ran through him as he blurted,
"Uh, excuse me, but how old are you this year..?"
"...107."
"..."
Silence hung briefly.
"...Well, she's not human, she's beastkin, so who cares! Animals don't show age anyway, even after years. Haha..."
Minwoo rationalized it away. Age meant nothing if she tasted good. The Demon King and Siola had lived hundreds, thousands of years—why fuss now?
"Anyway, I get the gist. Companion of the previous hero, right? This story's getting interesting."
After a moment's thought, Minwoo asked one more.
"Any way to meet that previous hero again?"
"No... As far as I know..."
"Figured... You still love that Leon guy?"
"..."
Aisha nodded silently.
Minwoo let out a soft "Ha."
She'd pined for a man she'd never see again for nearly a century. A tearjerker, sure.
Not that Minwoo cared. He just pondered how to devour Aisha deliciously. Nothing else mattered.
And soon, he found the perfect way.