Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Hypnosis Experiment: The Case of the Low Self-Esteem College Girl (1)
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After the first hypnosis experiment wrapped up successfully, I got even bolder with my subsequent tests.
First up, my targets were these middle-aged guys who'd just clocked out from the nearby factory and were knocking back drinks at an outdoor bar.
You might wonder why I was hypnotizing dudes instead of women, but being able to hypnotize men was a pretty crucial factor too.
That way, I wouldn't accidentally hit on some other guy's girl and end up getting shanked.
Anyway, these guys were already plastered out of their minds, so they fell under hypnosis super easily. When I asked them to spill their secrets, they confessed everything—from banging someone else's wife to exactly where they'd stashed their emergency cash.
Most of them spilled before I even needed a second hypnosis.
After experimenting on ten of these drunkards like that...
Next came the sober ones.
I approached a guy smoking by bumming a light off him (cigarette procured via hypnosis), then as thanks for the light, I pulled the "let me show you something cool" routine and hit him with hypnosis.
I learned that mentally sharp people had way tighter guards on their secrets than the drunks.
Plus, the secrets of these asshole-looking dudes came out easy, while the friendly ones were tough nuts to crack.
Probably the same principle as when I was balls-deep in Yumiko: mental fortitude and secret depth determine the strength of your mental shield.
Once I finished up with the uncles, I moved on to the neighborhood kids.
Not that I had any shady intentions toward kids or anything. I just wanted to see how hypnosis worked on them since most of my tests had been on adults.
So I tried it on some local brats.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yeees..."
Hmm... what was the difference?
There didn't seem to be any real gap in the hypnosis process compared to adults.
Of course, it wasn't exactly the same.
"Got any secrets you absolutely can't tell anyone else?"
"...I secretly pocketed the change Mom told me to bring back last time..."
Kids' secrets were... well, the bar was ridiculously low.
Out of ten, nine spilled right away when I asked.
The last one caved completely after just two hypnosis sessions.
For the record, that holdout was the most mature-looking kid in the bunch.
In short: the more mentally mature you are, the stronger your resistance to hypnosis.
'Pretty damn significant results.'
Grinning ear to ear with all this prime intel, I was heading home when...
"Sniff... sniff..."
I passed by the nearby playground and caught some weird crying sounds.
'A woman's voice?'
It was a bit distant, so I wasn't sure, but definitely female.
Curiosity piqued, I peeked into the playground and spotted someone bawling on the swings.
It was a girl in an oversized hoodie, probably a college student.
Her top might've been hidden, but those smooth legs below screamed woman.
Seeing her crying gave me two options.
One: head home as is and chow down on Mom's warm dinner.
Two: approach her, find out what's up, and sample her pussy as a bonus.
I'd been wandering a ton today and kinda wanted a break, but honestly, my brain and dick were both voting for option two. So that's what I picked.
Step. Step.
I strode right up to the swing, pulled some tissues from my pocket dimension pouch, and said to the sobbing girl,
"Hey."
"Sniff... sniff... Y-yes?"
"Stop blubbering and take these."
I handed her the tissues as I spoke. She bowed deeply, all apologetic, insisting she couldn't possibly.
"Ah, n-no, I couldn't..."
From her stammering nerd-girl rejection face, I pegged her personality and shoved the tissues into her hand anyway.
"Just take 'em!"
This chick was the classic spineless type.
You know, the kind where faking a pissed-off shove like this...
"O-okay, just don't get mad..."
Boom. That easy. See how simple?
While I internally channeled my inner bomb-headed uncle vibes, she wiped her tears and blew her nose before saying,
"S-sorry... for showing you such an ugly side..."
I brushed it off casually.
"Nah, anyone might cry on a swing now and then."
But my nonchalance only embarrassed her more—her face went beet red as she mumbled,
"...I'm really sorry. I'll be more careful next time..."
I waved it off again and asked,
"So what had you crying?"
She hemmed and hawed, reluctant to spill.
Fine, up to here, I got it. I tried keeping the convo going, but she just kept hemming and hawing without a word.
Her wishy-washy bullshit finally pissed me off for real, and I decided,
'Screw it, my way it is.'
With that, I whipped out my secret weapon (a coin) from the pocket dimension and said,
"Hey, could you check this out for a sec?"
Guiltily aware she'd dragged this out, she stared at the coin without protest. Seconds later, her eyes glazed over.
I was stunned—it usually took at least ten seconds, but this was instant.
Shaking it off, I asked what I was dying to know.
"Name, age, occupation?"
"My name is Kobayashi Honoka... I'm a 20-year-old college student..."
Having to hypnotize her just for basics was such a pain.
'She could've just told me after a quick chat. What a hassle.'
Thinking that, I pressed Honoka further.
"Why were you crying here?"
"I can't adjust to college life..."
Crying over not adjusting to college?
Seriously? That?
I couldn't wrap my head around it.
No one's bullying her there or anything.
Why cry over that?
Not 'cause I'm some thug—I've just never been to college, so I genuinely didn't get it.
So I asked again.
"Why can't you adjust to college life?"
Her answer to that one made perfect sense.
"Because I'm gloomy, stammer a lot, and my style sucks, so kids in my major avoid me..."
Hearing that clicked everything into place.
Her style, though...
'Long straight hair like a rice cake, square horn-rimmed glasses, acne craters on her face, clothes that scream bargain-bin flea market for 1,000 yen.'
You get the picture.
'No wonder they avoid her stammering ass.'
Hell, I felt suffocated just listening.
Still, she was kinda pitiful. And...
'Hmm... come to think of it, I haven't tested command compatibility yet.'
I had more experiments lined up.
Like, for long-term hypnosis commands, do they stick after the effect wears off?
'Might as well do a good deed while I'm at it.'
After a moment's thought, I decided to try some long-lasting hypnosis that could actually change her for the better.
[Honoka believes the man in front of her is her boyfriend. You love your boyfriend deeply, Honoka, so you must grant any wish he has.]
[Afraid of your boyfriend hating you, you begin learning how to dress and groom yourself properly.]
[You want to talk to your boyfriend as much as possible. To that end, you work hard to fix your stammering habit.]
After implanting those three commands...
Honoka snapped out of it, and the way she looked at me had totally changed.
Seconds ago, it was stranger vibes; now it was pure lovestruck gaze.
Basking in her affectionate eyes, I kicked off the lover-boy act smooth as silk.
"Honoka, you okay? You've been out of it all day."
She blinked in surprise, hesitated a beat, then said,
"S-sorry, Takuya... I feel weird today... Yeah, can't focus..."
She apologized by hanging her head low.
'Hmm. Hypnosis is taking hold nicely.'
No weird resistance or off vibes, so it looked super effective.
Plus, up close, she was embarrassed by her own behavior.
Given how well it landed, she'll probably start changing on her own if I leave her be.
'Time for my reward, then.'
I hadn't planned on it at first, but her pre-hypnosis dumpy look had me craving some compensation.
"So, can we head to your place today?"
Honoka looked flustered as she replied,
"Uh, y-yeah? My place? I live alone, so it's fine if you come..."
"Cool. Let's go."
"Ah, y-yeah..."
And just like that, we headed to Honoka's apartment.