Ska Rate (5): The Fake App's Desperate Reveal
‘Wouldn’t it be okay?’ Even knowing it was a lie, I couldn’t bring myself to say it was good outright, so that was the answer I pulled out.
From childhood until now, Ska Rate had relentlessly tormented me—she was a nightmare of an existence in the truest sense. Sure, when she was pretending to be under the Hypnosis App’s spell, she’d seemed a little cute, but now that I knew it was all an act, she was just a total bitch.
The fact that she liked me didn’t obligate me to like her back, and claiming affection sure as hell wasn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card. But being brutally honest with “I hate you. You’ve always bullied me” wasn’t an option either. It was too embarrassing to say as an adult, and besides, hearing that would probably make Ska Rate burn the whole house down in a fiery rampage.
So I went with ‘Wouldn’t it be okay?’
But she wasn’t satisfied with my vague response and furrowed her brows.
“What the hell is that? If it’s good, say good. If it’s bad, say bad. Be clear. Do you like fucking me or not?!”
Be clear, she says. I didn’t want to clearly say it was good. No matter what, I wasn’t spineless.
So I mustered my courage and countered her question with one of my own.
“Wh-why do you even care? Do you want to fuck me or something?”
“What?”
Seeing Ska Rate’s flustered face gave me a surge of boldness. Come to think of it, I was one of the few people who’d ever put her in her place. Something you could beat wasn’t a disaster. Disasters were called disasters precisely because you couldn’t beat them.
The thing in front of me wasn’t a disaster—it was just a person like a disaster.
···What’s the difference? Whatever. Point is, Ska Rate was human, just like me. Yeah.
“You know I’m right. Even if Ia Ris said something like that to you, why would it piss you off? Whether I want to fuck you or hate it, why do you care?”
“Wh-what? You··· you heard everything I said this morning and now··· ugh!”
Ska Rate started to respond in her excitement but suddenly clamped her mouth shut as realization dawned. Her face flushed beet red, and she plunged into confusion.
···Perfect. She took the bait.
I was grateful for the exact reaction I’d hoped for. Being childhood friends had its perks in moments like this—I knew her inside out. I could even guide what words she’d spit out next.
The reason Ska Rate had shut her mouth midway was because, back when she’d confessed her feelings to me, she’d been pretending to be hypnotized. Everything that happened after falling under hypnosis wasn’t supposed to be remembered. That had been the setup from the first time I used the fake Hypnosis App.
She’d probably added that convenient rule just for herself—to enjoy everything with me while “hypnotized,” then wake up and look down on me from her high horse like always.
But right now, that convenience was biting her in the ass. She’d openly admitted she liked me, but it might as well have never happened. Or more precisely, only I knew about it.
Realizing that, Ska Rate was at a loss for words, letting out frustrated “Ughhh!” grunts to vent her frustration.
But gaining the upper hand in this verbal spar didn’t mean I’d won. Not by a long shot. This was where it really mattered.
What I was about to pull was the biggest gamble of Paster’s life, only possible because I knew Ska Rate liked me. If it worked, I’d never have to fear her again. If it failed··· well, I didn’t even want to imagine the fallout.
So I decided not to think about failure. When you’re on the fence, you usually go for it—and that’s often the right call.
With my resolve set, I snatched up the phone from the floor. At the same moment, Ska Rate—out of patience—burst out with her mouth finally open.
“Arghhh! Screw it! I’ll just do whatever I want!”
Her beefy hands lunged for my clothes, ready to rip them to shreds. She had to know that’d give me an excuse to use my ability and bolt, but her head was too overheated for rational thought.
Makes sense—she’d already been verbally thrashed by Ia Ris, and now I was pretending her confession never happened. No wonder her short fuse had snapped.
As those thoughts raced through my mind, I uttered the magic words to stop Ska Rate in her tracks.
“Ska! W-wait, hold on! I have a confession to make!”
The magic words? Her plain name, without the “Rate.”
When I’d “hypnotized” her and made her my servant, she’d insisted I call her just “Ska.” Looking back now, that was her own twisted way of showing affection. Every time I called her that, she’d grin like an idiot—cutely, even.
Ah, no, not cute. It seemed cute back then, but··· yeah.
Anyway. Ska loved being called by her first name alone. And every time I did, we’d dive into some seriously lewd shit.
We didn’t have full sex, but··· collaring her and making her crawl around the room, petting her head like a dog, training her like a pup, spanking her ass while riding her back, using her as a body pillow for naps···
·····All stuff she begged for. I just got swept up in the moment.
Thrilled at the idea of dominating Ska Rate, I’d gone along with all the embarrassing play.
So calling her by name alone was basically flipping her lewd switch.
“Eh, u-ugh? D-did you just call me Ska? While I’m fully conscious?!”
As expected, she froze with wide eyes, totally thrown off. Slipping out “fully conscious” like that showed just how rattled she was—no need to spell it out.
“Wh-what? Why··· call me by name?”
The shock in her eyes shifted to anticipation—lewd, lust-filled anticipation.
Good. Let’s do this. Just in case, I took out insurance.
Cautiously, I placed my left hand on her waist. If this backfired, I could spark her into instant orgasm and save my skin.
But lust-clouded Ska didn’t suspect a thing, just smirking with a “Heh heh” as her lips twitched. She thought I was touching her waist to start something naughty. Massive misunderstanding, but hey, if it helps.
Thankful for the small mercy, I showed her the phone in my right hand. The home screen, with no Hypnosis App open—just the icon.
“Ah··· huh? Wh-what the hell is this?”
At first, showing her the phone made her eyes glaze over like she was hypnotized, but she quickly realized it was just the normal screen and dove deeper into confusion.
“Ska, the truth is···”
Now was the moment. I summoned my courage for the miracle play that’d flip this whole situation.
“I’ve been hypnotizing you this whole time! With this Hypnosis App right here!”
“Wh-what? What did you say?”
“See? The pink icon labeled Hypnosis App. I’ve been controlling you with this.”
The screen I showed her clearly had the app icon. Ska stared at it, unable to grasp what was happening, sinking into even greater chaos.
“N-no, huh? Uweh?”
She’d never imagined I’d reveal the app’s “truth.” As expected, she was so flustered she spat out incoherent noises.
I’d never seen her this thrown off. Kinda··· cute? Ah, no—what the hell was I thinking? Not the time for dumb thoughts.
With Ska reeling, I drove the wedge home.
“I’m really sorry. I used this shitty app to get revenge for all the crap you put me through. But the more I used it, the more I realized—controlling you with something like this doesn’t fix a damn thing.”
Half of that was sincere. At first, believing the app was real had been a thrill, but over time, it just felt empty.
Sensing the gravity in my voice, Ska looked at me with wide, shocked eyes.
“···Paster?”
“I won’t use this crap again. You probably hate the sight of me, so I’ll do my best to stay out of your way. Thinking some loser like me controlled you probably makes you want to kill me··· but you’ve been rough with me too. So··· let’s end this here.”
“Huh?”
Before anger could flare, Ska’s face drained of color, doubting her own ears.
She liked me way more than I’d thought. Hearing “sorry” from someone you love, followed by “I won’t show up again,” would sink anyone’s heart before rage kicked in—even for me.
No matter how arrogant Ska was, it’d make her think, How can I keep Paster with me?
“Sorry, Ska. Just hold out until the S-rank dungeon raid in three months—I can pay off the house loan then. Please, I’m begging you.”
With that, I scooped up her limp body and set her down beside me. She didn’t resist my hands on her waist at all. Her eyes were vacant—must’ve hit her hard.
Thinking back, she’d had that same look two years ago when I got fired from the guild.
·····Wait. Isn’t that dangerous?
Memories of that inferno flashed by. Fuck, not again.
If a pissed-off Ska in that state lashed out with fire, it was game over. I had to guide her actions.
Cornered emotionally, she started muttering dangerously ominous words.
“N-no. I don’t wanna be apart from Paster. What do I do? How can I stay with him? Should I burn everything? If I scorch the whole world so he has nowhere to run, he’ll come back to me, right? Sounds good. Yeah, let’s do th···.”
“Gahhh! Ska! Stop! No negative, extreme ideas!”
The mad shit spilling from her lips was all stuff the world’s #2 Awakener could actually pull off.
Plan was to use her feelings to make her cling to me, get an apology for years of bullying, and a promise to stop—but with her spiraling into insanity, the whole plan was scrapped.
“S-Ska. Let’s talk it out. Sit down and have a real heart-to-heart about what went wrong. Okay?”
I grabbed her small shoulders and locked eyes. Finally, light returned to her gaze.
“Paster···? If we talk··· you won’t run away··· right?”
Asking that, she looked as unstable as she had two years ago, in front of the blazing Liar’s Trap headquarters.