Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Secret Room Bet
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As if time that had been paused for a moment suddenly began to flow again, everything started moving.
"Ah? Why is the examiner here?"
A heavy silence descended. Wahbid and Noah's faces grew paler by the second, as if they'd been poisoned with a deadly toxin.
"Ah! Esty too! What's going on?"
From their perspective, Karen had suddenly forgotten everything and reverted to an innocent state.
How could they not be terrified?
While Noah and Wahbid stood frozen stiff, I gently wrapped my arm around Karen's waist.
"Karen. Listen carefully."
"Yeah, I'm listening."
"We came to this dungeon for the additional exam. Now all that's left is the examiner's fair judgment."
"So everyone... Ah. Wahbid's an examiner too?"
"That's right. They've been watching us to make sure we didn't use any unfair methods.
Now I need to talk with the examiners, so could you wait outside?"
"Okay. Examiner, good luck."
Karen bowed her head politely, and Noah flinched.
"Understood...."
"Will you open the secret room so Karen can leave?"
"......"
"That would be better for you too, wouldn't it?"
Noah turned and manipulated the hidden switch on the wall.
The passageway opened once more.
"Karen. I'll see you outside."
"Yeah, big brother!"
Karen left the room with an utterly innocent expression, oblivious to everything.
"Esty. Could you wait at the inn with Karen?"
"You might be in danger without me, Darling."
"It's fine. You know my specialty."
"Ah......"
Esty smiled brightly.
"Got it. Noah was rude to Darling, so it's unavoidable."
"Unavoidable? A noble elf like you... watching all this and saying that!"
"For an elf, trusting and following the one you love is a sacred act. Noah, I hope you sincerely apologize to Darling."
"You think you can protect yourself from me without the elf's help?"
Noah said to me.
"Of course. You'll help me prove my innocence, right?"
"Innocence? At this point!"
The moment Esty turned her back, Noah lunged.
I casually grabbed her wrist.
"Ah...!?"
"Is this the skill of a Diamond rank?"
"Why... my body...!"
"Not going as planned?"
I leaned in close to Noah's ear and whispered.
"Because you have to help me."
"What have you done to me? Like with the other women, have you turned me into a slave?"
"A slave? Is that how you see it?"
Her vague impression of hypnosis was exactly that.
Blindly turning someone into a slave and making them do whatever you want.
That could be fun sometimes.
"But the deeper my understanding of human psychology grows, the more fun I find hypnosis.
A smart woman like you, who pays attention to every detail, will find gaps in any command through logical reasoning, meticulously building arguments to act against my intentions."
"......"
"But that's precisely why, when I tell a woman like you to help me—for my benefit—she can't resist.
She's constantly thinking about what actions would benefit me, leaving no room to empty her mind."
"Urk, ugh!"
Noah struggled in my grip.
Normally, with her abilities, she could have shaken me off easily.
And not just that—if she had the same power as Esty, she could have overpowered me without issue.
"Help me. Help me prove my innocence."
The strength drained from Noah's body bit by bit.
I gazed at her growing helplessness and smiled faintly.
"I'll save you right now!"
At that moment, Wahbid thrust out his hand.
"Lightning Square!"
"It won't work."
I'd been a little scared when I saw the intense currents flowing from Wahbid's hand.
But those currents merely grazed harmless spots, never coming near me.
"Ahh."
Seeing that, I understood.
"You cast the spell with your mind blank, figuring it didn't matter if you got hit too, right?"
"......Wh-why."
"You can't interfere with me. I set up double safeguards. Even if you try to stop thinking, deep down you know, don't you?
You can't even cast magic unless my safety is absolutely guaranteed."
Noah suddenly shouted.
"Esty! Esty, was it? Your name—help me! You can't let this man have his way. That's not love!
Helping a misguided soul is true devotion."
To Esty, who was behind me.
"Noah's quick on the uptake. She knows she can't help herself."
"Esty!"
Esty ignored Noah's desperate plea and left.
"Noah. Will you help me close the secret room?"
"Ah...!"
Noah couldn't resist. She walked over as I instructed and activated the hidden switch.
The secret room offered just the right sense of coziness—not too spacious, not too cramped.
The dungeon setting evoked a basement, which was nice.
An undisturbed space was quite important. Even better without any noise.
But I'd deliberately kept Wahbid around. Having an audience might make it more enjoyable.
He hadn't directly harmed me, but he wasn't uninvolved either.
"Esty wouldn't have helped you anyway, but that was a mistake.
She hates it when strangers call her name. She doesn't even like it being known.
If you were hoping for the intimacy that comes from knowing each other's names, you were too naive."
"You must have learned the elf's name through hypnosis anyway."
"Correct. So why did I tell you her name?"
"......"
The two fell silent.
"One of you I'll forget anyway, and the other... we're going to get close."
"Get close...? You and me? Not in a million years. Even if you manipulate my feelings, this is my true heart speaking."
She was the type who could say romantic lines like 「You can't defile my true heart」?
I'd thought she was just a cold-blooded examiner, but she had a feminine side after all.
"Want to bet on it?"
"A bet?"
"Without directly manipulating your feelings, I'll get close to you and we'll leave this room together.
If I can't change your heart by the end, I'll let you both go."
"You wouldn't stake your own safety on that. Letting us go means erasing our memories like you did with that red-haired girl just now."
"Exactly. Tempting, right? I just forget about you and move on, and you escape a nightmare."
"How can I trust that?"
"No need to test it. You already know."
Noah knew for sure.
That I wasn't lying. That I was sexually aroused, my cock throbbing on the verge of bursting.
"......Yes. Stupid question. Considering the vile things you've done to women, this fits you perfectly."
"You despised me, didn't you? Calling me Lord Dekal before. Now you won't even say my name.
You think calling someone by name shows intimacy. Right?"
"......."
Noah said nothing, as if I'd hit the nail on the head.
"First step to getting close is using names. Will you call me by mine?"
"No."
"See? You expressed your will freely. Fair starting conditions, right? Just keep that up until we leave this room.
Refuse to even say my name. That's the benchmark."
I waited leisurely for Noah's response.
Back when we were judging based on the Thin Wolf corpse, Noah held the knife. But now it was different.
I was the one cornering Noah.
The thrill of it kept my lips curved upward.
"Promise me."
"Promise?"
"If I play along with your filthy game and win, you'll let Wahbid and me go without any tricks."
"I'll erase your memories and implant a suggestion to stay away. You might approach me again otherwise."
"No!"
Wahbid shouted.
Gone was his usual composure—his shoulders trembled with rage, his breathing ragged.
"Examiner Noah! This is exactly what he wants. Playing his game will just lead to humiliation and abandonment! Didn't you see?
This man can do whatever he wants in this room. Even erase memories and reset everything!
We can't escape until he's satisfied!"
"That's right. Which is why we have no choice."
"Urk...!"
"At the very least, to face this man, we'd have needed a national treasure-level artifact. According to kingdom records, brainwashing magic makes the target as defenseless as if drunk,
forcing them to say what you want or confess secrets. They call it brainwashing for convenience, but it falls short of the true meaning.
But this man's power... it rivals a god's authority."
I nodded as I listened to their conversation.
"Hmm. I didn't even know brainwashing magic existed. If I had, I might have figured out your intentions sooner."
"Then!"
Wahbid cried out in anguish.
"This man—this trash who treats women like toys— you're calling him a god? You!"
"Of course not. But for this game, I believe him. Right?"
"Exactly. Wahbid, you wouldn't get it, but there are many ways to enjoy a game.
Since I promised not to touch you and to let you go, I can savor this situation several times more."
"How could I understand a madman's thoughts?"
I'd explained it plainly enough, but getting labeled insane right away.
No use talking to someone raised so uprightly.
Then again, sympathizing with me right now would be insane itself.
If there were other insane people like that, we could be friends, but none had appeared yet.
"Shall we start then?"
"No time limit?"
Noah added.
"Time limit?"
"Three days and nights. Being trapped here, starved until we die, under constant threats—that won't do."
......An unexpected remark.
"So you're confident you can hold out that long? Oh my......"
How pitifully mistaken.
"Any issue? Executors train to endure torture. I guarantee I can hold out until my vital functions cease."
"How about six hours?"
"Fine. No takebacks."
"Isn't that a bit long?"
Three hours would be impressive.
No woman had lasted over two hours under a powerful suggestion like 「Dizzying Pleasure」.
"......Don't joke. Changing spoken words after a few hours of sex? Even pubescent boys don't think that way.
You've only turned women's hearts by hypnotizing and controlling them, right?"
"Half right. But I prefer indirect guidance.
So if you can really endure, I'm willing to let you go."
"Lady Noah!"
"Wahbid, it'll be fine. Our abilities just weren't enough. Focus on getting out alive.
The odds of this man letting a same-sex like you live are slim."
"Ugh...! If only I weren't so useless!"
Wahbid began berating himself.
"Let's begin."
"Good. I'd like to prove my innocence to you two examiners."
"Innocence? Ah, is that the game's concept? How do you plan to prove it? Have women say they fell for you on their own?"
"Yeah."
I couldn't see her eyes through the blindfold, but a chill hung in the air.
"For some reason, I seem to have an irresistible charm with women."
"......"
"......"
Not funny?
The secret room fell utterly silent, not even a breath to be heard.
"If Noah verifies it herself, won't that prove my innocence? That I'm the kind of guy women fall hard for."
"......Hah. Yes. Shall I undress then? You asked for help, so I will."
"Come closer."
Noah approached step by step.
She talked big like she'd get it over with quick, but deep down she was scared.
Her hesitant gait betrayed her anxiety.
"Don't be tense. How about a hug first? Nice and tender, like lovers."
"......Yes."
Noah spat it out curtly, clearly reluctant, and pressed herself against me.
Ahh. Perfect. Imagining her figure over her nun's habit had been easy enough, but feeling it was a revelation.
A perfectly sculpted body like Esty's. Almost a shame it was all covered up. Or maybe that's what made it so arousing?
Noah stood rigid like a statue in my embrace. I hugged her tight and held still.
Was she thinking she could just stall like this?
Suddenly, Noah's body reacted.
"Eut...!"
"What's wrong?"
As Noah squirmed, I tightened my arms around her.
"Hahk!"
A sweet moan escaped Noah's lips.