Hypnosis Play and the Special Family
I really did go to a Level 1 dungeon with Arin. We only hunted a few monsters for the test run, so the earnings weren't much.
"Sofia, look at this." I showed Sofia the Level 1 monster mana stone I'd gotten from the exchange. I wanted her to see how much I'd grown.
"An orc's mana stone, I see."
"Yes. It was about five times bigger than me." I stretched both arms out to either side to show the orc's size, proudly boasting about the huge monster I'd taken down.
I knew it was childish, the kind of thing a kid would do. Still, in front of Sofia, I always ended up acting this way. She gave me far more love than I deserved. What did it matter if I acted like a child around her? To her, everyone in the world probably looked like children anyway.
"How wonderful. Weren't you scared?"
"No. I went with a party." The moment I turned to look at Arin behind me, Levinas burst through the exchange door.
"Shark! Levinas brought Dad!"
"Father?"
"Yeah! Shark is Mom! You two have to be Mom and Dad!" Levinas tugged the sleeve of the clothes she was holding and pulled it forward. A young man stared at us, his pupils trembling.
"Who might you be?"
"W-well, that's..."
Levinas, apparently annoyed by his hesitation, shouted loudly.
"He's the one who's going to marry Sofia!"
"N-no! That's not true!" He waved his hands frantically in every direction. I could hear his heart pounding wildly.
"Oh dear..." Sofia sighed and beckoned Levinas over with a finger. When Levinas came closer, Sofia tapped her on the head with her staff. Thump! Thump! Levinas's bouncy ears flicked the staff away. From the confused look on her face, it didn't seem like she'd meant to block it on purpose.
"Huh?" Levinas looked up. Sofia looked down at her staff. The sight of both of them looking puzzled at the same time was amusing.
"...Your ears are quite elastic."
"Yeah! Horned rabbits have amazing ears!" At Levinas's innocent reply, Sofia let out a soft chuckle. The displeasure she'd shown just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
"Levinas, did you miss your father?"
"Mm...! No! Levinas has lots of family now, so I don't miss him at all!" Levinas shook her head firmly. If her real father had seen that, he might have been shocked.
"Then I suppose we don't really need a father after all."
"Yeah...! But a normal family needs a dad too, right...?!"
A normal family. Levinas's innocent question made my breath catch in my throat. I had no idea what to say to a child who'd lost her father at such a young age. Did Sofia have an answer? I looked at her, still smiling.
"A normal family is nice, but we're a special family, aren't we?"
"Special...!"
"That's right. A very special family."
Special. It was the perfect word to make Levinas's eyes sparkle. My own eyes lit up at Sofia's wise answer.
"That's right! We're the most special family in the whole world...!" Levinas let go of the sleeve she'd been holding. The man who'd been her temporary father for a brief moment let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry. The child lost her parents at a young age, so..."
"I see."
He smiled awkwardly. Even though Levinas had dragged him here against his will, he didn't seem angry.
"I offer my sincere apologies."
"It's fine. It was actually pretty fun."
Hahaha. As he laughed heartily, someone approached from the side. It was the female employee I'd seen often around the exchange.
"You must have been quite startled. Here, have a cup of coffee to calm down."
"C-coffee?"
"Yes. Thank you for being kind to the children even when you were misunderstood."
There was clear fondness in the employee's eyes. He scratched the back of his head, looking a bit awkward.
"They're just kids. They didn't mean any harm."
"Still, it's not easy to stay kind when you're in an unfair situation."
A sweet, romantic atmosphere began to bloom between the two. What was this? Why was there suddenly a romance vibe? I looked up at them with curious eyes. Arin, standing beside me, let out a long sigh.
"A couple was just born..."
Arin's expression was dark. She was showing nothing but negative feelings about something that should have been celebrated. I knew why she was acting that way, but I decided to ignore it. It wasn't a problem I could solve.
**
I returned home with Levinas. Sitting at the table, Levinas pulled out a piece of paper. It was a family relationship chart she'd drawn. So that's why she'd suddenly brought a "dad"—she'd been playing like this. I looked at the chart she'd made. Mom was Sofia. Saebyeok was the oldest, Levinas was the second, and I was the youngest. Why was I the youngest? Shouldn't I be the oldest?
Just as I was about to voice my question, Han Yeoreum walked into the house. Saebyeok was cradled in her arms.
"Kids, big sis is home."
Han Yeoreum smiled and sat down near us. Levinas, startled, grabbed Han Yeoreum's body and pulled her close.
"If you're home, you have to wash your hands and feet first!"
"Huh? Adults are fine, though..."
"Eh...? Really...?!"
"Sorry... I was lying."
After washing her hands and feet with Saebyeok, Han Yeoreum's gaze fixed on the drawing Levinas had made. Han Yeoreum's position was labeled "little mom."
"Big sis is Mom?"
"Yeah!"
She seemed pretty satisfied with her role. Han Yeoreum giggled. Saebyeok looked pleased too. The only one with complaints was me.
"Hey, why am I the youngest?"
"Wang is always the baby! You're the smallest too!"
"Huh...?"
Something felt off, but it was just family roleplay. Han Yeoreum was playing mom too. There was no need to question a child's game too deeply.
"So, you were playing family today?"
"Yeah! And we played hypnosis in the morning too!"
"Hypnosis play...?" Han Yeoreum tilted her head, clearly having no idea what that meant.
"Want me to show you?!" Levinas pulled a coin out of the toy box. It was a hypnosis coin attached to a string.
"It's a coin."
"Yeah! But it's not real hypnosis. It's just pretending to be hypnotized!"
"Ah... So that's why it's called hypnosis play?"
"Yeah! The person who's hypnotized has to do whatever you say!"
Levinas swung the coin in front of Han Yeoreum's eyes. At the same time, she started shouting her request.
"Kiss!"
"Ah! My body is moving on its own!"
Smack— Han Yeoreum kissed each of the kids and me on the cheek. An indescribable joy welled up inside me, and my tail started wagging at an incredible speed. Saebyeok was wagging her tail even faster than I was.
"How was that?!"
"That was really fun!"
"Right!"
Levinas's next target was me. She swung the coin in front of my eyes.
"Wang is... Wang is a baby! Wang becomes a baby!"
"A baby...?" What kind of command was that? I hesitated at the difficult request. Then Han Yeoreum chuckled and patted my head.
"Winter is already a baby, though?"
"Right. How can a baby become a baby again?"
Their reactions were strange. Just as I was about to protest that I wasn't a baby, something happened.
"Uh, yeah...?"
My mind felt hazy. The swinging coin began to take control of my thoughts. Who was I again? What am I? Ah! That's right! I'm...!
**
Levinas's magic activated completely out of nowhere. At the command to become a baby, Winter's subconscious hesitated. There was no data about babies. The youngest person Winter had met in this life was Levinas. There had been babies in the previous life, but babies in this world might be different. I had to pull up the closest data I could find.
As Winter's mind searched, Levinas swinging the coin came into view. Was Levinas a baby? Not perfectly, but her behavior was cute like a baby's. Winter's subconscious decided to become Levinas.
I am the strongest horned rabbit... cat beastkin! The moment I made up my mind to transform, the world looked different. It was thanks to the keywords "overflowing confidence" and "I can do anything" that had been planted in my mind.
Winter looked around. Saebyeok's tail, sprawled across the table, was swaying side to side. There was no reason not to bite the tail of someone I liked. At least, that's what Levinas would do.
Winter grabbed Saebyeok's swaying tail and bit down on it.
Chomp chomp chomp—
"Nyaaak!"
Saebyeok, startled, sprang up like a cat. Having her tail bitten didn't hurt, but it did sting a little. Why had the usually gentle Winter suddenly bitten her tail? Saebyeok wasn't the only one surprised.
"W-Winter?"
"Yeah!"
It wasn't Winter's usual soft, gentle voice. It was energetic, strong, and full of mischief—the voice of a playful child. Could this be...?
Han Yeoreum turned to look at Levinas. Mana was rising from the coin.
"Oh my god."
She'd cast a hypnosis spell. Normally, a spell of that level should have been easy to block, but this was between Levinas and Winter. Since they didn't suspect each other, the hypnosis had taken hold easily.
"It's animal king time!" Winter shouted boldly. It was a sight I'd seen many times before. The way she spoke was exactly like Levinas usually did. So Winter thought a baby was the same as Levinas. Now, how to break the hypnosis? As Han Yeoreum pondered, Winter ran straight into her arms.
"Play the animal king song!"
"Uh, yeah..."
I needed to break the hypnosis. But before that... couldn't I enjoy this just a little? Han Yeoreum seriously considered it.