Grape's Apology
No response. Grape turned her head away from me, maintaining her silence. From talking to her after the hypnosis wore off, I could tell she was sensing the same dissonance I'd anticipated before hypnotizing her—in those moments that just didn't add up.
If sex was also a way for magical girls to recover their magic, it would have been nice if, under hypnosis, she'd automatically rationalize her actions and make sense of them on her own. But apparently, hypnosis didn't work that conveniently.
Do I have to specify and adjust everything one by one... like programming?
Grape stayed quiet for a moment, then her face flushed red and she began to whimper softly. It seemed like self-loathing was setting in; no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't make sense of the situation unless she'd dragged me here and pounced on me herself. Her shoulders started trembling, tears welling up as she bowed her head, unable to meet my eyes, and apologized.
"S-s-sorry... I'm so... sorry...."
Hearing Grape's apology sent a strange chill through me. It wasn't unpleasant or anxious. ...No, this felt oddly good. Seeing her crying face... it made my heart race in a weird way. A sadistic urge was rising.
"What are you sorry for?"
"For... pouncing on you... I'm sorry."
"Pouncing?"
"R-raping you... I'm sorry...."
Hearing her apology again, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I fought to keep my lips from curling into a grin. The base thrill of having hypnotized a magical girl, fucked her, and now receiving her apology instead—it tickled my brain in the most depraved way. I knew it was trashy behavior... but it felt so good....
"...Since you're my team leader, I'll forgive you."
"Huh?"
"Sigh... Anyone else, maybe not, but you've always helped me so much at work... and you're a magical girl I was a fan of who pounced on me... what can I do?"
"Wha? Uh...."
Grape's eyes widened at my words. Her teary eyes sparkled as she looked up at me with admiration, blinking as if a halo were shining behind me. She stared at me like that, face flushed, then suddenly furrowed her brows as if something was off and asked,
"You were a... fan?"
"Siiiigh...."
Feeling that low sadism sprout in my chest again at her question, I replied in a cold voice.
"I'm disappointed."
"Ugh...."
"I respected you as this capable career woman who managed herself impeccably, took good care of her team... distinguished work from personal life perfectly, handled everything cleanly...."
"You looked at me... like that...."
"I became a fan because of how you always gave your all to protect people, never giving up as a magical girl...."
I paused, swallowed hard, then looked down at her with eyes full of genuine disappointment.
"...But you're a rapist."
"Aaaah... Th-that's... um...."
"Still, I'll put up with it... ugh...."
As I teased her, a belated pain shot through my waist, making me double over. Startled, Grape rushed over, grabbed my shoulders, and supported me. Her large breasts pressed softly against my chest, cushioning me.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
"My back... ugh, my stomach...."
"Your back?! Your stomach?"
Grape immediately lifted my shirt, and upon seeing the vivid red mark etched on my lower abdomen, she was speechless. It was in the exact shape of her riding and grinding down on me—a massive V. The back pain was naturally from how hard she'd slammed down.
"No... it's fine... You've always protected me as a magical girl, so I'm alive thanks to you—this is nothing...."
"Uuuugh...."
Grape's face twisted in a mix of guilt and gratitude, closing her eyes with a groan. After clenching her teeth for a moment, she fixed me with the sharp gaze I always saw at work and declared,
"A-Aen... Aenger... ssi, th-this... today was... an accident."
"An accident?"
"Just like you said... pr-probably because of the... aphrodisiac... Ah! And earlier, when Esther and you were talking... maybe this is all her trying to mess with me...!"
Ah, I see. She couldn't accept the reality that she'd done this, so she'd settled on the idea that she'd gotten addicted to the aphrodisiac and caused an accident. She must not have properly heard my conversation with Esther either; she was piecing it together on her own.
"Yeah... that's right. Esther told me to pounce on you...."
"I knew it! It was an accident! You stopped the tentacles because of that conversation!"
No need for more hypnosis—she was rationalizing it perfectly for me. If she thought that way, it was even better for me. The hypnosis that made her have sex could be blamed on the aphrodisiac addiction as an impulse she couldn't control, so yeah, it was an accident.
I nodded to her and said in a cool voice,
"Yes, an accident."
"Yes!"
"A loveless, pure accident fuck. I was just a tool to relieve your aphrodisiac addiction—a living dildo named 'fan'."
"Huh? Y-yes...?"
"Got it, Team Leader."
"Uh...?"
This eliminated any need to risk hypnotizing her again. I'd panicked when it didn't work the first time after it wore off, but it probably wasn't limited to once per magical girl. Otherwise, all those hypnosis videos that came with the app wouldn't make sense. Consecutive hypnosis might be impossible, as I'd confirmed, but re-hypnotizing was likely possible. I just didn't know the cooldown after it wore off.
Hypnotizing her again now could fail, and who knows what might happen. No need to take the risk when she'd already rationalized it herself into something I could live with. I was grateful.
"Team Leader, keeping today's incident a secret would be easiest for you, right?"
"Y-yeah... but...."
"Don't worry. I was your fan as a magical girl, after all."
"Was... a fan...."
"I'll keep your secret. It was an accident."
I spoke flatly and headed to the rooftop door, turning the handle. It was stuck solid—wouldn't open. No way down. With no choice, I turned back to Grape, spread my arms, and said,
"Could you take me down? I need to go."
"Oh? Y-yes...."
Grape carefully scooped me up in a hug and walked to the edge of the rooftop, then jumped right off. I clung to her tightly against the rush of falling, and she shuddered but wrapped her arms around my waist. Just before hitting the ground, she planted her feet on the building wall and ran downward, gradually braking until she landed cat-like and soft on the surface.
She'd aimed for a spot with no people around; hidden by bushes, we touched down eerily quietly, and no one was in sight. After setting me down, she stared blankly, then snapped back to her usual sharp team leader self and said,
"Got it... Aenger-ssi, if you keep it secret... I'll be grateful."
"Don't worry. I'll forget it ever happened."
"Ugh...."
"Back to work tomorrow?"
"No... w-wait a sec...!"
As I turned to head back to the office, Grape urgently called me back. Wondering what it was, I stopped, and she fidgeted as if remembering something and informed me,
"Employees caught in an attack without sheltering... can take a paid day off with no conditions for mental recovery... plus a day of annual leave...."
"Ah."
I'd learned it during onboarding, but it was mentioned so casually I'd forgotten. I turned immediately toward the nearest subway station and said,
"So I can just head home like this?"
"Huh? Y-yes... I'll... write up the early dismissal reason...."
"Thanks, Team Leader."
"G-go carefully...."
I hurried away from Grape like I was fleeing. She waved blankly, but looked somewhat dissatisfied. Still, since I'd covered for her mistake, she made a complicated expression as she walked off. She still seemed confused.
Staying by her side to stir up more confusion wouldn't help. She'd already leaned toward a version convenient for me, so better not to poke it. Just in case, I'd hypnotize her again next time at the office. I'd have to think about what commands to give.
Luckily things worked out... but this incident made it crystal clear. The hypnosis app was far more powerful than I'd imagined. And at the same time, somewhat crude. To hypnotize precisely, I needed way more information.
I couldn't stand the urge to use this app to fuck Rapid... but I didn't want to rush it and die. Not enough intel.
"Huuuuh....!"
Once fully away from Grape, I let out a belated sigh of relief and headed home. I needed to study up on hypnosis. But... were there any manuals or resources on hypnotizing magical girls?
Even as I walked, my thoughts didn't stop.
"Ow ow...."
By the time I rode the subway and slowly walked home, the pain hit again, and I rubbed my waist. Lifting my shirt like Grape had, the vivid red V mark was still there. As the tension and excitement faded, the pain in my back intensified.
...Before thinking about hypnosis, I should buy some pain relief patches first.