Hypnosis and Mental Fortitude
**Chapter 62: The Price of Hypnosis**
My personal opinion is that among the various things that are important when casting magic, one of the most crucial is undoubtedly mental fortitude. Of course, the caster’s skill, their understanding and knowledge of the spell, and the surrounding environment cannot be completely ignored either. But isn’t mental fortitude the foundation? No matter how powerfully a master can be used, if the caster cannot endure the burden placed on their body while memorizing the incantation or casting it, the magic will not activate—or if it does, it will cause problems. That is why, according to the adventurers’ guild, while mages are precious manpower, new recruits in the mage position are not very well received in parties. Creating and throwing a fire orb is not particularly difficult, yet many mages find themselves unable to unleash their full power when they first witness the blood and corpses of monsters. No matter how strong and threatening the display, who would welcome it if it were directed at allies rather than enemies?
Of course, I couldn’t even maintain a simple lighter’s flame… but since my power level was in an entirely different league, there was no reason for concern. Still, just as one soothes a head that has grown overheated, I rubbed my forehead slightly and opened my eyes to face Selene before me.
Hypnosis magic is a form of magic, after all, so I sometimes feel that sensation of warmth building in my head. ‘No… thinking about it now, it wasn’t often like this…’ As I recalled, Maila and Eloise had never shown this reaction. Normally, when I used hypnosis on other students who received panties as tribute, nothing quite like this burden occurred. Now that I thought about it, Lilina had felt a slight headache as well. ‘Is it because of the target’s magical skill? Or their mental fortitude that causes this backlash?’ In short, if I tried hypnosis on a strong person, my head would ache quite a bit.
“Well… that said, I haven’t failed to place a hypnosis yet.” After all, it was a magic that never betrayed trust.
I slipped closer to Selene, and her tightly closed lips parted as she spoke.
“So… you have no intention of answering, do you?”
At her words, my body gave a sudden jolt and froze.
‘What? Did hypnosis fail?’ From my past experiences, targets under hypnosis had not spoken a word until I asked them to do something or given them an order. But seeing Selene speak first made my body stiffen in an awkward posture.
‘Could it be that something truly bad happened?’ A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind, and in the moment I almost imagined myself being expelled from the academy, I barely steadied my mental state. I swallowed once, then looked back at Selene.
In her previously emotionless, cold eyes, a faint but murky aura had appeared.
‘No, it certainly hurt. It’s just that her mental fortitude outmatched the coercive force of hypnosis.’ If that weren’t the case, she wouldn’t have reacted to the word “hypnosis” at all.
Though I was momentarily taken aback by Selene’s sudden opening of her mouth, the task at hand had not changed. If necessary, I had planned to devour her as well, but I decided she was probably a variable that would need some nurturing. After all, she seemed to have more depth than Lilina.
Still, even as I was thrown off balance, Selene continued watching me and urging me to respond, so I quickly brainstormed a plausible answer.
“U-uh… actually, that kind of act is something that only people with a really good relationship and deep bond do. So, touching and pleasuring Eloise is definitely not wrong, it was merely an opportunity to deepen our connection a little. But for disturbing a class by pleasuring Eloise, I’m truly sorry.”
“Hm…”
I quickly spewed out words that were nothing but nonsense and glanced up at Selene to see her reaction. Since she had no intention of using magic, I worried about what to do if she had, but luckily she didn’t seem inclined to.
Looking at her seemingly troubled face, I desperately added more words.
“P-please, just this once? We’ve only just reconciled after all. If I’m punished like this, I might even ruin my relationship with Eloise again. From now on, I’ll be careful and do any reconciliation in private, just the two of us.”
I continued to insist with the claim that touching and pleasuring Eloise had merely been a way to deepen our bond, packaging the nonsensical “reconciliation method” in a way that seemed believable. Finally, Selene fell silent, lost in thought, then slowly raised the fingers that had been drumming on the desk with a sigh.
“Tsk… you say that act was a reconciliation method? Honestly, I don’t know, but it does seem like your relationship with Eloise has improved. I won’t make a big deal of it. And this matter will be settled within my jurisdiction.”
“T-Thank you…”
Seeing that Selene had accepted it surprisingly easily, I was also taken aback, but good was good. After all, hypnosis had not failed.
“However, disturbing my class cannot be forgiven. I will assign three demerits and a reflection essay. Submit the reflection essay by the next class.”
“Yes! I’ll do my best. Thank you very much!”
With a wave that seemed to say “that’s enough,” Selene dismissed me. I immediately bowed my head and left her office as well.
Three demerits and a reflection essay? That was nothing special. Demerits could easily be compensated for, and since I no longer cared about scores anyway, it wasn’t a fatal blow. As for the reflection essay, I could just write something plausible with a few sentences and be done with it. In truth, it was only mildly bothersome.
Seeing Selene’s last reaction, which still looked somewhat unclear, I realized she accepted hypnosis differently from those I had previously placed it on. Perhaps a trace of doubt lingered in her heart. But that too was no problem. What mattered was that my hypnosis had worked, and that my relationship with Eloise had truly improved.
With a sigh of relief at the clank of the door closing behind me, I smiled and headed toward the lecture hall where Eloise and Chloe were waiting.
***
Watching the student bow quickly and leave the office, Selene stared at her retreating back until she disappeared from sight. Only then, as the door clicked shut, did she exhale a deep sigh.
“That act for deepening our bond and a method of reconciliation…?”
Hm—haah—swish—
She sat down in the comfortable chair and crossed her arms, turning her thoughts over and over. But the question of whether that meaning existed refused to leave her mind.
Perhaps it was simply a custom of humans that she knew nothing about. In that case, it was only natural that Selene knew nothing about it either. After all, the only people she considered close were the principal and her younger sister Lilina.
In human society, one encounters rapidly changing trends. Watching trends that bloomed and faded in less than a year, Selene had once thought, “How fleeting trends really are.”
But… the idea that an act so close to sexual pleasure could mean reconciliation was something she had never heard before.
“No matter how hard I think, it just doesn’t seem right…” At first glance, it was clearly shocking. After all, how could Selene, who maintained her composure while using magic, not have her spell interrupted by shock? Of course, the fact that she had never seen human sexual activity before was at the root of it.
“…Well, performing such an act with someone close is not entirely wrong…”
Still, even so, did women do such things with each other? She had basic knowledge of sexual matters, after all, so the thought refused to fade.
Haah—taptap—taptap—Selene drummed her fingers on the desk as usual and thought, “Should I ask someone about this?” She mentally listed several people, then quickly erased them.
In the end, only two names remained: the principal, Elina, and her younger sister, Lilina. As she had said earlier, the only people she considered close were those two.
While continuing to mull it over, wondering who to ask, Selene eventually erased the principal from her choices. After all, asking a human principal whether “humans have a culture of exchanging pleasure as a way to reconcile” seemed absurd even to her own thinking.
And it was not something she could ask her subordinates.
“Ah. No, wait. There was an easier way after all.”
Just as she was about to send her familiar to Lilina, Selene realized another option remained. It was simple: ask the person who had performed the pleasure—Eloise herself.
“…Yeah. That’s the most reliable and quickest route.”
Since today’s class was not yet over, visiting her right away would be quite rude. So she decided to ask in the evening instead. Nodding to herself, Selene stopped tapping her fingers on the desk.