Unless It's a Natural Disaster
"...Whew."
I'd washed my face in the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and stolen a little rest while I was at it. Coming back now, the sight that greeted me was—I had to admit—about as fortunate as I could reasonably hope for.
"Nnngh..."
Batori was just sprawled across the bed. It was a queen-size, plenty big for one person and perfectly capable of sleeping two without any trouble, and yet there she was, starfish-spread, her short arms and legs claiming everything from the dead center all the way to the edge. The sight was so absurd I almost laughed, but at least she was already dead asleep. Shoving her over to one side was easy enough.
"Saran, are you all right? Would you like some water?"
"I'm not drunk. I'm fine."
"Ahaha..."
And on the other side sat Saran, occupying a chair. Her eyes still wouldn't focus, which made it pretty obvious she was too drunk to think straight. Yeah. Calling her drunk was the honest assessment.
"Saran, please drink some water anyway. If you keep going with just alcohol, your stomach's going to hate you tomorrow."
"...Fine."
I offered it with a gentle smile, and Saran didn't refuse all the way. Just a sip of cold water. Since I lived alone in a small place, I didn't have many cups—and washing dishes was a pain—so I just drank from the same glass she'd used. As long as I didn't put my lips on the exact same spot, it was fine. The cool water rinsed out my insides a little, and I finally started to feel better. After all that drinking and meat—alcohol, meat, more alcohol, more meat—this was the first time since coming home that my stomach actually felt cleaned out.
"How was today? Fun, right?"
"More or less."
"Hehe. Glad to hear it. Though... the bed's plenty big when I use it alone, but tonight we're all going to end up sharing it, so I'm a little worried. Should I just sleep on the floor?"
"No. Let's sleep together."
Just as I'd expected, Saran gave me a kind answer. Even drunk, a person's nature didn't change that much, did it...? No, wait. Thinking back on Batori repeatedly slamming her head into tables and utility poles, that theory didn't hold up at all.
"Hmm... would you like to go to sleep right away?"
"...No."
"Ah. Right."
Come to think of it, Saran had no reason to turn in early, did she? My thinking had been a little short. I was a bit drunk myself, apparently, but not so drunk I needed to pass out immediately.
After that, Saran and I kept chatting in low, quiet voices. Everything that had happened today—starting with Batori's mentoring, the time we'd spent eating meat, the whole ordeal of hauling Batori over here just a little while ago. We just talked.
"Charlotte. Have you ever used your hypnosis ability on her?"
"Well, yes? Unlike with you, Saran, Batori's problem was obvious from the start. It was also the easiest, simplest, and most effective method."
"I see."
That was when the conversation turned to my ability. Batori was officially a hero under my care, and we'd clearly had several counseling sessions, so maybe Saran had just been curious?
"What did you do with the hypnosis?"
"Just asked her a few questions, and left a suggestion that it was okay to take things a little easier... that kind of thing. Even a hypnosis ability isn't all-powerful, you know."
"I see."
Saran would ask a question, then give a short reply to my answer, and that was it. If I had to describe it, the alcohol had made her even more in-her-own-world than usual... but well, she was drunk. I cut her a little slack and kept the conversation going, and Saran continued asking question after question about my ability, almost like she was conducting an investigation. How far the commands could go, how long they lasted, and how the whole thing worked. She asked about all of it, and I answered without any particular difficulty...
"Then use it on me too."
"Really?"
"I'm curious."
"Hmm..."
And the result of all that was... using my ability on Saran? It was a pretty sudden request, but putting someone under a light hypnosis wasn't difficult at all. I moved Saran onto the bed and shoved Batori farther to the side to make room.
"Breathe slowly. Nice and easy."
"Okay."
And then I led her through it, the way I always did. I settled her deeper into the comfort of my bed, gradually calming the heart that alcohol had set racing faster than usual, layering one soothing word over another.
"Slowly, slowly... down."
She was already a little hazy from the drinking, so it wasn't hard. I felt Saran's eyes grow steadily more vacant, snapped my fingers, and watched those eyes go even blanker as she slipped fully into a trance.
"Hmm..."
She'd asked to experience the hypnosis, so I'd done it. Now... what should I actually do? Honestly, this much was probably enough, but since I'd gone and put her in a trance, I found myself wanting to use the ability to help her somehow.
"Saran, how was the mentoring session today?"
"Annoying..."
"Eh? Which part, exactly...?"
"She's a rookie who doesn't even have the basics down... teaching her that was frustrating..."
"......"
Oh.
Um.
That's...
"Haha..."
Well, even if Batori seemed talented, she was still just E-Class at the end of the day. Of course she'd look hopelessly inadequate through the eyes of a B-Class hero like Saran. If anything, I should have been impressed that Saran had stuck with it for hours anyway. Yeah. That felt right. If I thought about it from my own perspective—getting sent out on a sudden business trip only to be told to help some brand-new hire at the office—I'd find it annoying too.
"Then do you really think Batori, the one you taught today, will make it to C-Class?"
Saran's first answer had been pretty shocking, so I decided to probe a little deeper for her honest thoughts. It'd be better for the mentoring going forward, after all. Pairing up people who just didn't click was about as counterproductive as it got, so this felt like the right call.
"That... I think it's actually possible."
"Oh ho..."
"She's got talent. She's just not there yet."
"I see. You didn't actually hate teaching her, did you?"
"Charlotte asked me to. So I just did it."
"That's amazing... taking on something so annoying and burdensome like it was nothing."
"...You helped me. That's the only reason I did it."
And yet, listening to each answer that followed, the shock faded and a smile slowly spread across my face. I even felt a little proud of her.
"Saran, what's been on your mind lately?"
Once I'd heard everything about today's mentoring, I naturally asked the familiar question. It was one I used often in counseling sessions, and the results were almost always immediate and excellent—though in Saran's case, she often didn't even know the answer herself.
"...I've got a mission coming up soon. I don't think I'll be able to see Charlotte then."
"Oh my."
What an adorable thing to be worried about. Saran and I hadn't even spent that much time together yet, and the fact that something so small had come out as her concern made me even happier. I never thought she'd actually think like that. That a snake beauty who always wore such a cold, blunt expression would say something like this... I genuinely hadn't seen it coming.
Hearing even that, I started to feel like there was no real reason to keep digging for things she hadn't offered up herself. Still, I slowly asked Saran another question.
"Saran, if Charlotte were to touch your tongue... what would you do?"
"I wouldn't mind."
"Ooooh..."
I didn't need a single question or request more. That answer alone was so perfect I could have called myself completely satisfied, and the corners of my mouth started climbing without limit. And then, as a final touch, the moment the hypnosis was set to end—
"From now on, sleepiness is going to hit you all at once, and you'll fall right to sleep. Just rest, nice and easy."
"Okay..."
I put her under a suggestion that would let her sleep, and just like that, I'd put her out too. The end result was Batori on one side and Saran on the other. I hadn't planned it this way from the start, but... it felt a bit like having a flower in each hand. Cute, beautiful women on both sides. How could I not be happy?
"...Ah."
That said, I had to go to work tomorrow. I was already worried I'd be exhausted from the morning on. I was tired right now, even.
"...lor! ...Counse...lor!"
Some sound I couldn't place. Small, and something rustling over and over. As I slowly opened my eyes and started actually listening to the unidentifiable noise, what I heard was...
"Counselor...!"
"Batori... did you sleep well...?"
It was a little goblin girl. The first thing that came into focus was the face of the small girl looking at me, tapping my shoulder. And from her direction, a scent as sweet as a peach drifted over all at once... Meanwhile, for some reason, the arm on the opposite side from Batori had gone completely numb.
"What's going on...?"
"I-I, why am I, h-here...?"
...Looks like Batori's memory had cut out. She hadn't drunk to a dangerous degree yesterday, but she'd definitely gotten properly drunk, so this reaction was probably to be expected. Waking up so suddenly had left me a little dizzy, too...
"Yesterday you got so drunk it was a problem, so Saran and I just brought you here..."
"A-Ahhh..."
"How far do you remember from last night?"
"I-I'm so sorryyyy...!"
"You don't need to apologize..."
Apparently she remembered the part in the middle where she'd been slamming her head into tables and generally making a mess of herself. That said, Batori had clearly only just woken up herself. Seeing such a cute face first thing in the morning felt strangely novel... and when I turned my head the other way, unlike Batori, an incredibly beautiful Saran was sleeping soundly.
More precisely...
"...What the."
She had one of my arms in a death grip—squeeeeezed tight—and was sleeping with an expression of utter comfort and contentment. It was so unexpected I just stared. So that was why I'd been uncomfortable this whole time. It was a face I didn't usually see on her, either... anyway.
Thanks to the heroes parked on either side of me, I was already getting a little lightheaded first thing in the morning.
"Mmm, there's still... quite a while until I have to go to work... Batori, shall we sleep a little more...? Just lie down next to me and sleep with meee..."
"Eh, y-yes...?!"
Anyway, still half-asleep, I managed to check the clock. There were at least three hours left before I had to be at work. I'd set an alarm on my phone before falling asleep last night... and the only reason I was awake now was because Batori, who'd passed out early yesterday, had woken up early and shaken me. If I just went back to sleep like this, I felt like I could get a really good rest and still wake up in time. That was why I'd said it, and of course Batori was flustered. But... I was just so, so sleepy...
"I'm tired... I, I have to go to work today too... hurry..."
I just reached my remaining arm toward Batori and told her to hurry up and sleep a little more. But in the end, unless it was a natural disaster, an office worker still had to go to work... Sad as it was, that was just how the world worked...