Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Crown Hall Hypnosis App Crackdown Operation -5
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Lorelei was a seasoned combat mage who had explored countless dungeons and successfully completed her adventures.
She'd faced zombies lunging out from corners, skeletons grabbing at her ankles from graveyards, and even the moment a wyrm's jaws snapped shut right in front of her face. She had more experience under her belt than most adventurers.
The human mind toughens up with enough knocks, and her nerves, tempered by all sorts of 4D jump scares, let her keep her cool in just about any situation.
So the pink-haired agent warming up beside her wasn't scary at all.
She felt like a tough opponent, though. Judging by that haughty, refined flow of mana, this wasn't some disposable grunt—she was definitely an elite agent.
If Lorelei's suspicions weren't cleared up properly, the agent would probably seize the opening and strike. Close-quarters brawlers weren't a great matchup for her. If it came to a fight, Lorelei figured she'd lose seven times out of ten.
Still, she didn't feel afraid. She knew well that overcoming adversity took courage, not fear.
But...
Ziiiiiing.
"......"
The Magic Tower Master's sparkling eyes staring right at her were utterly terrifying. No surge of courage, no nothing—she might just wet herself if she wasn't careful.
The same mana as the Violet Magic Tower Master's quietly rippled around her.
Lorelei vividly remembered the petite, small-animal-like Violet Tower Master. In most situations, she was as cute as a bunny. Harmless and friendly enough to make you want to tease her sometimes.
That's why this moment—when the Tower Master shot her a gaze full of expectation, saying "I trust you, Lorelei, but you don't know what I'll do if that trust is betrayed"—felt like...
Her pet bunny's head suddenly splitting into four, particle cannon charging in its throat.
No wonder Charlie-senpai had warned her not to take the Tower Master too lightly.
Lorelei's mind raced. From the looks of things, someone had meticulously set this up to frame her.
Base it on her signature Puppet Technique.
Disguise themselves as her, then unleash hypnosis magic.
How could she prove her innocence here? Claiming an alibi wouldn't work—the gaps in her timeline were too big.
The fact that she'd been out and about so much only made it worse. She couldn't explain every single outing record.
As a last resort she didn't want to use, she could dismantle all her mental barriers and let them read her mind... but even that wouldn't prove 100% innocence.
Suspicions like "memories were erased beforehand" or "key memories were stored externally" would linger endlessly.
So then.
"If I catch the real culprit, doesn't that prove I'm innocent?"
"?"
"There's a backdoor hidden in my Puppet Technique. If they copied the base framework, they copied the backdoor too."
The pink-haired agent patted her junior. Being a non-mage, she probably didn't get it and wanted a translation.
Her junior summed it up simply for her.
"She means she deliberately built a vulnerability into her own spell and hid it."
"......Why bother?"
"......To screw over anyone who rips off her spells?"
A perfect explanation, intent included.
Scarface Senior threw herself into helping us enthusiastically. Revealing a vulnerability hidden deep in her own spell made it clear she probably wasn't the culprit. So the Tower Master and I were grinning like idiots. Not only did it clear her name, but we got a detailed rundown on the fun Puppet spell from its creator. Not intentional, but hey, one more spell in the arsenal. Copy complete. Scarface Senior, who'd planted traps in her own spell papers, advised us while inspecting the Big Brother-enchanted statue.
"It's smart to rig something like this when sharing spells or publishing papers. You never know when the arrows might turn back on you."
I'd thought she was big-hearted for making her spells public to anyone in the Violet Tower, but Scarface Senior had a sly side. It kinda made me feel guilty. I'd just stolen her Puppet spell, after all. I'd read her paper before. Now that she mentioned the backdoor, I could guess where it was.
"Oh, so that... rune part was the backdoor? I thought you just liked wasting mana, Senior..."
"Not that part, Junior."
"Ah."
Just a sloppy spot, then. After getting the backdoor details from Scarface Senior, we tested it on Big Brother. And it worked. Backdoor breached. What does a backdoor mean? Think of it like breaking into a house. To rob the house called Big Brother, we'd have had to blast the front door with a breaching charge before. Of course, that makes noise—the residents grab shotguns or hide valuables. But now we had the backdoor key. Slip in quietly with a click, and no one knows. Loot the place without a fuss. I placed my hand on the statue and gently infused mana. Through the backdoor, I ravaged the defenseless spell at will. No chance for resistance—I'd take full control. After fiddling for about 20 minutes, I saw the structure. A bit more tweaking, and we'd sniff out every artifact under Big Brother. I explained as I traced the spell's framework.
"If we link it like this, I think it'd make a radar? It could pick up anything similar."
"......Hmm. Calculating the right values for that... wouldn't that take a day, Junior? My head's already hurting. Want me to fetch a mana engineering calculator?"
"No, no, Lorelei. With just paper and pen, half a day of scribbling..."
"Can't you do it in your head?"
Scarface Senior and the Tower Master scowled at my mental math claim. Unintentional flex, apparently.
"Tch, this is why smartasses are..."
"A kid that smart, why's he such a space cadet everywhere else..."
"Sorry! But what can I do if I'm smart? I can't just not use my brain."
We bickered for 30 minutes while remodeling the spell. Pingbalrez plugged her ears, overwhelmed by the barrage of jargon. Weak with numbers, maybe? And so, after all that hassle, we had our radar. Beep-boop. The tuned mana waves pulsed out, pinpointing resonances. Red dots popped up one by one on the green grid screen.
"Looks like a bunch more statues around."
"What's the detection range?"
"Theoretically, 10km radius. Let's sweep 'em all. Pingbalrez, grab the map. Where's this?"
"So this is..."
We calculated directions and distances, marking them on the Crown Hall map. One in the alley across, one hidden in a brothel. And...
"......Check this one again. It's detecting from here, right?"
"Spot on. No margin for error... What's the spot?"
"Viscount Domefel's mansion. No territory, but he's running a trading company and loan sharking in Crown Hall."
"Viscount? Can't we just bulldoze him?"
Stuck in the tower all the time, I didn't know noble ranks and power levels. Viscount was one step above baron, though. With Yuna's ducal blood and Tower Master title, couldn't she steamroll him? Like a T-Rex vs. raptor— rex wins, right? Pingbalrez nodded but added nuance.
"Viscount Domefel's under Redburn Duke's protection. He's got connections, you could say."
"Oho."
"He's the duke's faction's moneybags—pretty favored, from what we know."
A raptor, but one with a T-Rex backer. I'd heard dukes and Tower Masters were on equal footing power-wise. Not raw strength, but including finances and influence.
"......Tricky."
Nobles involved. Super suspicious, and even Agent Pingbalrez thought it warranted digging. But with a duke in the shadows, it felt different. Botch the grab, and sharp retaliation might come. That's what she seemed to think. I pondered. Viscount Whatever probably knew a lot. Suspicious how a back-alley statue ends up in a noble's mansion.
"Bought it as art by chance, turns out it's hypnosis gear, and I'm controlled too!"
Low odds. Nobles call priestesses for sniffles—if hypnotized, it'd be obvious by now. Viscount's tied to the black curtain. Backing off, briefing Second Prince, prepping under the radar sounded safe. Sounded safe, but... The culprit sent a boy my way like they'd planned, tried framing Scarface Senior. Big board setup, herding us into traps. Scheming villain type. Pissed me off. Felt like a plaything. At least a year's scheming. Where plans ended and traps began? No clue. Maybe even our thoughts were guided.
"They won't act rashly. Duke backer? They'll back off. Play it safe."
Normal thinking keeps us in their script. Smartest way to wreck plans? Turn off brain, go. I asked myself. Asked my pounding heart. What do you want? What's your deep instinct craving? My mouth and tongue moved on their own.
"They sucker-punched me. Time to punch back!"
"......???"
"Crazy wizard, you feeling okay?"
Worried glances about bad food aside, no. My call was right. Escape the web needed bold macho guts. My first TRPG PC... the barbarian. He whispered: Suspicious folk? Punch first, think later. Fallout? Future me's problem. I shot up.
"I'm going to smash that viscount!"
"Goddamn, that lunatic...!!"
I leaped out the window. Crash into the mansion, then think. Not really brainless, though. Second Prince connection shares political risk. Violet Tower runs on imperial funds, not noble sponsors—no biggie if they get pissed. Plus, we're the rushed ones here. If Viscount pulls "Violet Tower hit me with this, I had no idea" smokescreen, we're screwed. They'd frame solid for Scarface Senior too. Strike first, seize evidence. And... ......Worst case, we use the hypnosis app too! Line in the sand.
The pig viscount boldly thrust out a small statue, declaring to Pingbalrez and the Tower Master.
"If you're not hypnotized, I'll do it. Now look here! Kuhuhu... And all become my sex slaves!"
The hand-sized statue flashed patterns, blasting strong hypnosis waves. We took a direct hit from the hypnosis app. Pingbalrez flushed red, face blank and entranced. The Tower Master squirmed, twirling her twintails. A sleazy grin spread across the pig viscount's face.