Prologue
"You've still been having a lot on your mind lately?"
"Yes. Honestly, it's been hard enough that it's wearing me down."
"Hmm..."
As far as I knew, Baek Eun-hwa's worries had been largely resolved of late. She'd been taking on her hero work with a far lighter heart than before, and I'd figured that alone was more than enough to call the matter settled. No—when I'd questioned her inner self previously, she'd even answered that her work-related stress had gone down.
"What do you suppose it is?"
"I'm not really sure myself. And trying to put it into words accurately feels... too difficult."
"Is that so? Then perhaps we should go straight to hypnosis therapy. I'll need to know what the problem is if I'm going to help you, after all."
"I see."
I abandoned the checkboxes I'd been slowly ticking off, one by one. They weren't that necessary anyway. What I did sat at a considerable distance from ordinary counseling.
"Alright then. Please lie down comfortably on the bed. I'll help you again today."
"...Okay."
After we made our way from the living room into Baek Eun-hwa's bedroom, things proceeded much as they always did. She settled onto the bed with genuine ease, and I sat comfortably at her side. We'd already done this any number of times—a method far simpler and easier than dragging a session out through dozens of minutes of high-minded conversation.
"...I always think this, but receiving hypnosis therapy feels a little awkward."
"It does, doesn't it? The word 'hypnosis' itself has such a strong ring to it."
The truth was, I hadn't started out walking into an A-class hero's home—into Baekyeou's home—and sitting in her bedroom talking with her. At first, I helped heroes through ordinary counseling, just like anyone else. But then, somehow... I ended up helping a few of them this way, and the results so far exceeded anyone's expectations that the Association assigned me as the special counselor for certain heroes.
Of course, it wasn't as if the Association had wanted to do that. They'd been forced into it by the heroes I was assigned to. Still, from my perspective, it was convenient work.
And setting the professional side of things aside—getting a look at the private life of such a beautiful nine-tailed fox beastfolk was its own reward. An A-class hero dressed in something she'd never be caught dead in outside: a rumpled training jacket, and shorts so short they didn't just bare her thighs but let a hint of her ass peek out. That was a rare experience. Shouldn't I be the one feeling grateful? Honestly, part of why I looked forward to these hypnosis sessions was how nice they were on the eyes. When you considered that every last hero I was specially assigned to was a beautiful woman, that was definitely a factor.
"Ahem. Then I'll begin."
"Okay."
The nine-tailed fox beastfolk obediently lay down on the bed at my words. I drew a little closer and snapped my fingers.
"From this moment on, Eun-hwa, you're going to sink down into the depths of your own consciousness. But that falling isn't a sudden, painful plunge. You'll drift down softly, slowly. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Just speaking those words, laced with my ability, was enough to make Baek Eun-hwa's eyes slowly grow unfocused. She didn't look asleep, though. Taking that as my cue, I pressed on.
"What has been troubling you lately, Baek Eun-hwa? Is there still leftover stress from work? Have you been feeling the strain of too many call-outs recently?"
"No."
Huh. Then what was it?
In all the time I'd been assigned to Baek Eun-hwa, she'd never named a worry that wasn't this. I couldn't help being puzzled.
"...Then what's been making things hard for you lately, Eun-hwa?"
"Charlotte."
"...That's my name, though?"
"Yes."
...What.
Huh.
Huh...
The idea that I was the source of Baek Eun-hwa's troubles left me genuinely stunned. I mean, come on—how well had I been treating her this whole time? At the Hero Welfare Bureau, I'd been working hard as the special counselor for Baek Eun-hwa and a handful of other heroes, and thanks to that her face had gotten so much brighter lately. She'd even said she didn't collapse onto her bed the moment she got home from work anymore, the way she used to. And now she was blindsiding me like this...?
"...Why is Charlotte making things hard for you, Eun-hwa? Be honest with me."
"...ike you."
"Pardon?"
It was too quiet. I couldn't make out the answer clearly—and I'd used my ability to ask, too. Was she genuinely hesitating that much over the answer? Even if it was faint, she had answered, so drawing it out wouldn't be a real problem.
"This is the inside of your mind, Eun-hwa. A place in the deepest part of your heart where there's no Charlotte, and no one else. You can be completely honest. It won't be a problem at all."
"...Okay."
"So speak honestly, and comfortably. Why does Charlotte—your special welfare counselor—make things hard for you?"
I put a little more power into the question. Even in a trance, if you pushed something that completely contradicted the other person's will and they strongly refused, they could snap awake. But it didn't seem that severe. If I could uncover a worry that even she herself—an A-class hero who consistently held a top rank—didn't clearly understand, that was just a win.
"You turn me on."
"Pardon?"
"Every time you sway your hips in front of me, and you're so careless about how thin your clothes are that whenever you lean forward that scant bit of cleavage shows and it drives me crazy. And you're so much shorter than me that every time you look up at me, your gaze is so cute I just want to scoop you up. Ah—and you get too close. Every time you grab my hand when you're bored, every time you hug me, my heart can't take it. And I love your platinum blonde hair, and I like your green eyes too. I like you."
I stared at her, unable to form a single word.
"If I had my way, I'd keep you locked away in my house and raise you like a pet. But I know that would genuinely hurt you, so I'm holding back."
I still couldn't speak.
"And if I did that, that woman Saran would definitely sneak in and kill me. Plus all the other people who like you would go berserk trying to find you."
...What is this. What is this, seriously...?
The answer was so shocking that my mind went completely, instantly blank.