Hypnotic Comfort
In Sofia's world, hypnosis and brainwashing were tools for interrogation. Sofia herself had used them several times on radical beastkin. That was why one of the things that surprised her most after coming to Earth was how hypnosis was used here. Earthlings employed it to heal people's hearts through a form of psychological treatment called hypnotherapy. Hypnosis for healing rather than politics or war. Sofia, who disliked violence, found the Earthlings' approach agreeable. Even a terrifying ability could be good or bad depending on how it was used.
Since things had turned out this way, Sofia decided to make use of Winter's hypnotic state. She wasn't an expert in hypnotherapy, but she possessed adequate knowledge of it.
"Winter."
"Yeah!"
"Come here."
Sofia moved to the living room and perched on the sofa. She patted the seat beside her, inviting Winter to sit. Thud-thud-thud! Winter came running and climbed straight onto Sofia's lap. Pressing her soft body close, she giggled just like Levinas.
"Hmm..."
Sitting on her knee was fine. The hypnosis—the most important part of the treatment—was already in effect, so the exact position hardly mattered.
"Winter, did you almost remember something frightening?"
"Yeah! It was terrifying!"
"I see... But you have your family with you, don't you?"
"Family!"
She drew out the trauma and planted suggestions that it was nothing serious. That was the basics of hypnotherapy. It wouldn't heal everything completely, but it might lessen the despair Winter would feel when she eventually learned the truth.
"If something scares you, share it with your family. Your fear will shrink."
"Got it! If Sofia's scared of anything, tell Winter too!"
"Yes, thank you."
With family around, nothing would be frightening. With family, everything would be all right. Sofia repeated words that could help Winter overcome her trauma until the child fell asleep, hoping they would support her in the future that was sure to come.
**
When she opened her eyes, it was the next morning.
"Huh?"
Where had my day gone? Rubbing my eyes, I stepped into the living room. Sofia sat on the sofa reading a book. From the kitchen came the sounds of Han Yeoreum cooking.
"Sofia..."
As I approached her as usual, something felt off. My brow furrowed at the memories that hovered just out of reach.
"Awake, are you?"
"Yes... But yesterday, I..."
From the shattered fragments of memory, I managed to pick up a few pieces. They were memories of me acting cute toward my family.
"......!"
My face burned. Why had I done something like that? Mortified, I could only open and close my mouth like a goldfish.
"Do you perhaps remember what happened yesterday?"
"N-no... I don't remember, but a few things came back."
"What sort of things?"
Sofia looked tense. Something must have happened to me.
"I... I acted like a little kid toward you and the others... like..."
"So you don't remember exactly."
"No..."
Ugh... A soft whimper escaped me without warning. For some reason, Sofia looked relieved.
"Don't worry too much. It was only because Levinas used hypnosis."
"Hypnosis? Levinas hypnotized me?"
"Yes. She must have used magic without realizing it."
"Ah..."
Levinas was a child with remarkable magical talent, though she couldn't control it well yet. That explained why I had behaved like a child.
"Is hypnosis usually this easy to fall under?"
"Normally it's quite difficult, but if you trust each other, it becomes simple."
"Trust..."
To avoid being hypnotized, I would have to stop trusting Levinas. That was impossible for me. She was such an obedient child. I could just tell her not to do it again. The moment I thought that, Sofia spoke first.
"I've already told Levinas that hypnosis is forbidden."
"I see."
So Sofia had the same idea. We really were in sync. I staggered over and sat on the sofa—only to realize I had sat on Sofia's lap instead.
Huh...?
What was this? I had never been the one to sit like this first. Startled, I quickly climbed off.
"The hypnotic influence must still be lingering."
"I-I guess so..."
Hypnosis really was frightening. I perched on the sofa and wiggled my toes that hung just above the floor.
"Still, I quite enjoyed it. You were so adorable, clinging to me without any distance..."
Chuckle. Sofia laughed behind her hand, as if recalling yesterday's scene.
"It was because it was you, Sofia."
"Because it was me?"
"Yes. Since it's you, I can cling without holding back."
"I-I see. Ahem..."
Sofia cleared her throat. I scratched my cheek for no reason. The atmosphere was awkward, yet it didn't feel unpleasant. In the silence, my tail swayed. Sofia's tail swayed with it. Through our tails, we could feel each other's happiness.
**
That afternoon, the children and I wandered outside the park. Today our goal was adventure, not collecting empty bottles. Without the cart, my hands were light, so Levinas—the horned rabbit beastkin—could run around freely. Saebyeok, for some reason, was riding on my back.
"Your Majesty! There's a terrifying monster over there!"
"A monster?"
Following Levinas's directions, we headed toward the monster. What we found were two large dogs, not monsters. They looked like the fierce breed called pit bulls. When one yawned behind the iron fence, its sharp fangs were visible.
"Look at that! Its teeth are really sharp!"
"They are. It would hurt a lot if it bit you."
"But Your Majesty's are sharper!"
Ahem. Levinas puffed out her chest proudly, boasting about the sharpness of my fangs.
"Uh, yeah..."
Sharper than a fierce dog's? I didn't want to admit it, but it was true, so I could only nod. My teeth were sharper and sturdier than those of most beastkin.
"Monster doggy."
Levinas reached toward the pit bulls. The two dogs, spotting us, barked loudly.
"Eek!"
Levinas bounced like a rabbit and dashed far away—only to come running back, grab my hand, and pull me along.
"We're running away!"
"Okay...!"
She had realized I wasn't with her while fleeing and come back for me. She must have been scared of the pit bulls, yet her courage was impressive. It showed how much she cared about me.
We ran for a long time. Thanks to our beastkin physical abilities, we could keep going without rest.
"Your Majesty! Are the doggies chasing us?"
"No, they're not."
They were behind a fence and on leashes, so they couldn't follow us this far. I knew the truth, but for the sake of the adventure I kept running with her.
"They were really scary doggies...!"
Phew. Just as Levinas caught her breath, Saebyeok, still on my back, pressed my shoulder. The sharp sensation wasn't fingers—it was fangs. She had bitten me.
"What's wrong?"
"Over there."
Saebyeok slid down and pointed. Following her finger, I saw a child smaller than me crying while looking for their mother.
"Oh no...!"
Levinas sprinted toward the child. Tilting her head, she stood in front of them.
"Why are you crying?!"
"Mommy..."
"Mommy?! Did you lose your mommy?!"
Levinas looked at me. Whenever she had something she wanted to do, she always looked my way. This time it was clearly about finding the lost child.
"Your Majesty! It's an emergency! It's a lost child...!"
"Yeah. We have to help."
I approached the crying child. Since they were shorter than me, I knelt to meet their eyes.
"Did you lose your mom?"
"Mm-hmm..."
"Do you remember where you lost her? Do you know your phone number?"
"I don't know..."
They were too young, so they didn't know their phone number either. We would probably have to go to the police station.
"Don't worry. We'll find your mom for you."
"Thank you..."
The child nodded and wiped their tears. They reached out to hold my hand, but grabbed my tail instead. Their left hand held Saebyeok's tail, their right held mine. It wasn't a hand, but anywhere was fine as long as they could hold on.
"Where's the police station?"
"Levinas knows! This way!"
Following Levinas's lead, we headed to the police station. I had hoped to see a familiar officer, but unfortunately only strangers were there.
"Um..."
The station was bustling. Even when we reached the desk with the children, no one turned to look at us.
"Excuse me..."
The desk was quite high; only the tops of our eyes peeked over it.
"Ah! What can I do for you?"
A man who had been hurrying around inside approached us. He was so tall I had to look up.
"There's a lost child."
"A lost child?"
He looked us over, offering a rather gentle smile. The police in this world were all kind.
"They seem to have gotten lost. They don't know their home address or phone number... What should we do?"
"It's all right. I'll help find their house. I know where they live."
"Huh?"
He knew where they lived? Was this child often getting lost? My tail swayed with relief, and the child's hand holding it swayed along with it.
"You're not even crying even though you got lost, little one."
"Y-yes... Because I'm with everyone."
I had cried, but the child had their pride too. No need to mention the tears.
"You weren't scared because you were with your big sisters?"
Pat-pat. He gently tapped my head. It was sudden, but such skinship happened often here. It was common in this world, so I wasn't particularly surprised.
"No. On the way, Levinas sang me a song so I wouldn't cry."
"Wow. Then you weren't scared at all."
He gave me a warm smile. If it had been meant for the lost child, it would have been very reassuring.