Chapter 318
Chapter 318
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 318
Chapter Title: Shadow of the Old Violet Tower
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The bound Hypnosis Detective twisted his body every which way to break free from his restraints, but the chains conjured by metaphor ability weren't about to snap from such feeble struggles.
The kid shot him a glare that was shockingly murderous for his age.
"Just die already, you damn bastard!"
"You meant 'just kill me,' right?"
"No, I said it right. You're the one who should die—why the hell do I have to?!"
"That's got some logic to it... But you've had all your artifacts and magic stones swiped, and now you're restrained. Isn't 'die' a bit too extreme for your situation?"
Arrrrrr.
Once he showed his true colors, his ferocity was almost beagle-like. Somehow he'd kept those emotions bottled up until now. Probably through some self-hypnosis.
Any more misunderstandings would be trouble. Time to clear things up step by step.
"First off, someone I'd like to introduce you to. This lovely beauty right here."
"Ahem, ahem... H-Hello. I'm, well, the Violet Magic Tower—"
"Pfft, a pretty shell means nothing if the inside's rotten. Anyone cooperating with you has to be some spine-chilling villainess. And she's short! Under 170cm, she doesn't even qualify as a woman!"
"......!!"
Yuna, mid-introduction of her identity, got hit with a random personal attack.
Thud.
Yuna staggered for a moment, then looked up at me with the face of a squirrel struck by lightning. It was like she was asking if I really didn't see her as a woman. I sent her an infinite gaze of affection to bolster her spirits.
Even if she was a bit petite, who else in the world matched our Yuna? I loved her.
"I-I'm not short! I'm not! I am a woman...!!"
Emboldened, Yuna glared at the kid and protested.
"Can't hear you from up here, you little runt."
"......!!"
Unable to endure being called a runt by another runt, Yuna's cheeks puffed out in fury as she stepped forward for a Yuna Punch.
I scooped her up from behind and stopped her. The Yuna Punch was a pseudo-headpat only I could receive. Even if it was a kid, I couldn't let some outsider guy have it.
"Whoa, whoa."
"Let go, let me go...! I need to teach that brat the fear of adults...!"
"It's fine. Yuli will show him the fear of adults."
"Isn't that subtly calling me small?!"
Fact is fact.
The second negotiator stepped up: Agent Yuli Lanster. She adjusted her glasses with a flash and exuded an overwhelming air of authority. Having rolled around in field ops for the Word-Slaying Squad for so long, she had an undeniable aura.
The kind of unyielding toughness that said she might lop off a head if provoked.
The brat who yapped freely at chick-like Yuna hesitated before Yuli. He spat venom like a cornered animal.
"Boob monster! Bet you weigh a ton too!"
"That line reveals your ignorance. Soon enough, you'll explore the curves of the female form and human reproduction yourself—and when that day comes, you'll regret those words."
Yeah, ignorant little punk.
When attacks didn't land, Hypnosis Detective rolled his eyes.
"Auntie!"
"There's an error in that term. I am—"
"Auntie, auntie, auntie!"
"......"
A vein bulged on the lone wolf Yuli Lanster's neck. I looked at her in alarm. I'd never seen her get this riled up.
Yuna and I were about the same age, but my guess was Yuli was a tad older. Still, she never seemed to care.
I thought age didn't matter much in relationships, and figured she felt the same. But that reaction was odd.
Age... was she secretly sensitive about it...?
"Aun—"
"Shut it."
Rrrrip! The chains tightened, choking the kid's neck.
"Gack, guh...!"
"H-Hey! Yuli, you'll kill the kid!"
"Some types are too beastly for words. For them, establishing hierarchy through violence is most effective, Mima. But... do I look that old...?"
"Put on a school uniform, and you could enroll in the Academy tomorrow. The kid doesn't know any better—he's scared and frustrated from being caught by his enemy. Calm down."
I patted Yuli and pulled her back. Who knew both heroines would flop so fast? A kid's innocent barbs were brutally effective.
"Y-Yeah! Sis is in her prime! Right!"
"If that's a challenge, I'll accept, Selvia. Pick your battlefield: bed or ring."
Selvia jumped in from the side and fanned the flames higher. True to form for a flame mage, she was a pro at starting fires.
From her vibe, she had no intention of joining the Hypnosis Detective攻略. Makes sense—she was the most hot-blooded here.
One wrong barb like "Sis looks like she'll fail at love," and a fireball might fly straight to the kid's face. So she was holding back.
Guess I had to take charge.
"Hey, young friend. Act like a gentleman. I set this up to clear the misunderstanding, but you're making it impossible to talk."
Goat... Sneaking into the Academy to torment students. No accomplishments in life at your age, your lecturing tone feels fake and childish!"
Whoa.
I held up both hands to calm things. Hypnosis Detective was like a feral pup wary of humans right now. Barking out of pure fear.
So I had to reassure him: it's okay, we're not enemies, this place is safe. I smiled kindly.
"Just relax and hear me out. Give me five minutes, and it'll all make sense. I get wanting to vent before you die, but..."
Then the kid struck my reverse scale.
"—You're just old, weird, and stuck on childish hobbies!"
"...What do you know, you little shit! TRPG is theoretically the perfect hobby—it's influenced famous works, builds social skills and reading comprehension, all backed by ancient texts—"
"Grab him! Yuli, hold him!"
"Mima, snap out of it! He's a child!"
"Professor! What if you get scratched up trying to fix it!"
I got dragged away by Yuna, Yuli, and Selvia grabbing my arms.
Defeat.
Three pathetic adults plus one, scraped raw by a pre-pubescent brat's mouth, sat around the table with gloomy faces and drooped heads.
Then Aisha came by, saw us, and asked.
"What're you doing, Dad? Why are those three like that? Is 'that thing' finally about to escape? You gonna die soon, Dad?"
"...Mulling over our defeat."
I gave her a quick rundown. Aisha burst out laughing at our loss to the kid's pure insults, then rolled up her sleeves and stepped up. Said she'd clear the misunderstanding.
"Humans get hung up on annoyances like age and body type—all illusions, things you can change. So... just scare the misunderstanding away and make him listen nicely?"
"No rough stuff."
"Yeah, yeah, no pulling nails or anything. Dunno why you make it so hard, but respect comes from fear, as they say."
Crack. Craaack.
"Just a little fright oughta do it."
"Even recruiting kids as minions... Goat!"
"Dunno, he said Hypnosis Detective or something. Judging by looks is bad. Pretty flowers hide horrors inside—"
Aisha's form shifted. The genre flipped to horror flick in an instant.
Her pupils split, tongue lolled out, head cracked vertically to reveal gruesome teeth and protrusions from within—
"Ow! Hey!"
I jumped up and smacked the back of Aisha's head. She turned, pouty in her horror creature form.
"What!"
"We're already villains in his eyes—if you show that, he'll peg us as dark wizards no matter what!"
"Clearing misunderstandings matters, right? Just prove you're not Goat. See, Hypnosis Detective? This guy's way greater and stronger than some goat or whatever."
"Really...?"
He tilted his head, skeptical. The Hypnosis Detective kid, face pale from the shocking face of what seemed a peer girl, muttered while rummaging memories.
"...Page 32, line three: Goat obsesses over Illusion Magic. Ignores other magic. Faith near religious. Distinct marker."
"Hm...?"
"He wouldn't touch body mods. Got it—you're a horrific dark wizard, but not Goat. Doesn't change anything, you disgusting bastard. How could you turn people into monsters...!!"
Whoa, misunderstanding cleared!
"How'd I do, Dad?"
Aisha grinned slyly. Thick mischief sparkled in her eyes. No way it wasn't on purpose. Perfect timing for a prank.
"...It still backfired, you brat."
"Didn't lie? Cleared the misunderstanding, deflated his ego."
"Hold it right there!"
"Nyah nyah."
I chased Aisha with 100x sensitivity magic wrapped around me for old times' sake.
Bonus: acting extra playful for Yuna, who'd been subtly down the whole time despite the antics.
But actually, wasn't that body mod more like Illusion Magic? Hypnosis Detective suspected again. Aisha just stirred trouble.
After... long, long persuasion and talk, we lowered his suspicion to "maybe the mad wizard isn't Goat."
Also confirmed Yuna as Violet Magic Tower Master. Keywords lingered in archives only tower masters could see.
Hypnosis Detective's eyes went wide.
"...The rumored Violet Magic Tower Master who purged all the corrupt Violet Tower folks... was a kid like this?"
Yuna bristled briefly, then steeled herself and persuaded the kid.
"Yeah. So believe me. I don't know who this Goat is... but if he's as bad as you say, I would've erased him. That day, I left no one involved."
A chilling certainty settled. Her declaration was resolve, but also desperate prayer. She wanted to believe she'd erased her nightmare.
If she was sure, I believed her. Plus, her Subtraction was super-effective against all Illusion Mages. If she erased him, he was gone.
But Hypnosis Detective shook his head firmly.
"No. Goat's definitely still alive."
"—I erased them all. I said I did. Are you lying now?"
Screeech.
Space whimpered just from her rising emotions. Feeling her wrath's power, the kid shrank. But he didn't back down.
"...S-Still, he's alive. Proof. In my bag..."
"Yuna. Hear him out a bit more."
I hugged her from behind, her oppressive aura chilling even nearby. Her heartbeat thrummed slowly.
Hypnosis Detective sweated bullets and continued.
"Way to spot Goat. Proof he's alive. Same thing. If you're innocent, return everything you took. Then maybe I'll believe you."
"What a bossy little shit. Here."
"...If proven not you, I'll apologize then. Not now."
"Fine, do your worst."
We returned his confiscated items. He grabbed a thick book first—clearly treasured.
Then lifted two... parchments. Intricate, tightly woven scrolls.
"Location detection scroll. Activate, and it shoots light toward Goat for 10 seconds."
"Info fragments inside. I get it—amplifies return-to-original nature."
"How'd you...?"
"Dead, light vanishes anywhere. Alive, it works. Activate it."
"...Can't."
Ah.
Right, no mana in his body.
Magic stone supply? Nah, too complex. Needed skilled mage control. Only me or Aisha here could manage.
"No wonder you suspected wildly first. Can't use it yourself."
"...No results yet—you're still a suspect! Remember that!"
"Prep your apology, Hypnosis Detective. Rip it?"
I tore one scroll to activate.
Fwoosh—!
A light arrow shot through space, piercing the wall and vanishing. Mental map check: headed toward Violet Magic Tower.
Many places en route, couldn't confirm tower exactly.
But somehow, if the beam lasted forever, it'd hit the Violet Tower. Gut feeling.
"...You're really not him."
Hypnosis Detective sighed in relief. Arrow not at me confirmed mad wizard ≠ Goat.
I tightened my tension. Suspected Violet Tower traitor for a while. But not some old tower human Yuna thought dead.
If kid's all true, Goat survived Subtraction somehow. Bump threat level three notches.
Asked the relieved kid.
"So, who the hell is that bastard? What does he do?"
Flip flip.
He flipped the book. Pages crammed with info: deducing culprits, detective manners, hypnosis principles and advanced, fee charts.
One page: vengeful notes in rough script.
"Page 31: Resembles a clown. Extreme fatalist, sometimes worships fate. Eloquent, skilled at stirring human desires. Seems kind, but no pity for suffering. God indifferently granted him innate talent."
"......"
"Naming him risks magic, so I call him Goat. Avoid his name if possible, disciple. Next paragraph has his real name—read silently. It's—"
"Custodian Painkeeper."
Not from Hypnosis Detective—from Yuna.
Groooan.
Space warped, table galloped like a colt, ceiling laughed, sofa hunched and folded four times. Illusions swirled Yuna.
Afterimages flashed. Her unstable emotions projected memories outward.
Prison, young Yuna caged inside.
Man laughing beyond bars. Lips moved silently. Lip-read: Your friends all writhed in agony and died. Project complete—you're last. Prepare words for friends in hell, Yuna Yurensuto.
So that's it.
Knew vaguely Yuna suffered horribly before. Details? None. She said it was over, wouldn't tell.
But... the one who scarred her indelibly lived on somewhere.
Maybe closer than I thought.