The Man with Hypnotic Powers Doesn't Hold Back the Second Time Around-Chapter 253

And...

"Th-that’s..."

"Shut your mouth and follow me!! Now is not the time for excuses!!"

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"What?!"

"———President Morrison has sent an invoice for mana fuel rods!!"

"……What!!?"

She’d sprinted over in a panic to deliver the news:

The President of the United States, Mr. Morrison himself, had sent us a bill.

That’s when it hit me.

Oh, this isn’t the time to be apologizing to my wives.

This is a real emergency.

My face went pale, mirroring hers.

"Wait, wasn’t Sibylla supposed to handle this? Didn’t she say she’d negotiate with the U.S. to reduce the price if we offered them my villain normalization ability?!"

‘I thought it was taken care of since I hadn’t heard back!’

Even if Morrison and I had a cross-national alliance,

astronomical financial support always requires a valid reason.

At first, we’d negotiated for support by offering spoils from the EX-class Gate.

When that proved to be worthless, we offered my villain normalization ability as a bargaining chip.

Since then, there had been no further word, so I assumed it had all worked out…

But now, a bill? From President Morrison?

‘There are two possibilities here.’

The first is betrayal.

We’ve already averted humanity’s extinction.

Now, is this their way of saying, "Pay up"?

Did they determine that offering my villain normalization ability wasn’t worth the cost compared to the investment?

‘…No. That can’t be it.’

It sounds like a very American-style rational decision, but it didn’t add up.

For starters, it would pit them against me.

The world’s #1 S-Class.

The man who singlehandedly swept through the EX-class Gate with extraordinary abilities.

It’s hard to imagine the President of the United States taking on that kind of risk.

Besides, I had already expressed my intention to pay back the debt.

And there had been a mutual agreement to provide support from the start.

Ignoring all that to send a bill made no sense.

‘Then it must mean something else has happened….’

If it’s not betrayal, there’s only one other explanation.

Something must have happened to President Morrison.

Something that made it difficult for him to honor our agreement.

This conclusion was the product of the accelerated thought process brought on by hypnosis.

"I hadn’t realized because I was caught up in things, but apparently the U.S. media has gone wild. They’re saying he sent twenty units, each worth billions, without prior notice."

"Ah."

So something really did happen.

Well, even if he’s the President of the United States,

it’s not like he could spend billions on a foreign country’s crisis without repercussions.

Sure, it’s a small price to pay for saving the world from destruction…

But unlike the first timeline, I managed to resolve the crisis this time.

From the perspective of American citizens, it might seem like an excessive expense.

"Still, isn’t this a bit much? It’s not like I’m running away from my debt—I’m even working like Kkong to pay it off."

"It seems political infighting is involved. The opposition party is trying to use this as an opportunity to make you an American citizen."

"……."

I hadn’t seen that coming.

Using a multi-billion-dollar debt as leverage to make me move to America?

And to undermine Morrison’s administration in the process?

"Ha. I didn’t want to get caught up in political games like this."

"So what will you do? If the U.S. puts pressure on you, even I won’t be able to protect you."

"I’ll deal with it. Cleanly."

There’s no way I’d let my daughters hear something like, "What? America? More like the afterlife!"

I had to resolve this somehow.

This multi-billion-dollar debt.

"Good. I’ve already arranged for a plane. Go and settle this immediately."

"And the interpreter?"

"I’ve assigned Paimon to accompany you. She claims to know twenty languages, so she should suffice."

"Thank you."

Thus, I had no choice but to hasten my steps...

"But, uh, I hate to say this… Do I really have to leave right now?"

"……What?"

"I have some things to discuss with my wives."

But I couldn’t take that step forward.

My original intention—reporting my infidelity and seeking forgiveness from my wives—

hadn’t been addressed yet.

"Are you not even trying to hide it now? Trying to juggle three women at once?"

"You must have figured it out by now—our relationship."

"To be honest, I had my suspicions since that interview…"

"Which is why I’m asking for your understanding. I have to at least explain things to my wives before I leave."

And so, my ultimate move:

Using a family-related excuse to delay my departure to the U.S.

Even the cold-hearted chairwoman couldn’t easily refuse such a reason…

Thwack.

"You scoundrel! Pretending to be a devoted husband after fooling around with your daughters?!"

"……!!!? No, that’s not it. I mean, there’s a reason—"

"You lecherous fool. Enough excuses—get on the plane!"

"……."

I didn’t think her heart still had any pity left.

Well, she was their grandmother, after all.

She must’ve been furious after finding out what I’d done with the two of them.

Furious enough to reject such a simple request to talk to my wives before leaving.

"I still need to prepare a few things! Like Hypnosis-chan, the Saintess, and—"

Of course, leaving without a proper sendoff wasn’t an option.

But just as I was trying to buy more time…

"We’re ready to go, Master~."

[It’s been a while. Hehe.]

"Hypnosis-chan, do you have no sense of timing?!"

I had failed miserably.

Hypnosis-chan, sporting a bright red backpack, and the Saintess, riding piggyback on her, showed up at the worst possible moment.

"Just go already. I’ll handle the entry preparations, so all you have to do is board."

"Please, just give me a moment! I can’t leave without making amends to my wives!"

"They’ll understand. If they can’t understand a billion-dollar debt, they’d have to be crazy."

"But—"

"They’ve already waited long enough! While you were busy screwing around with Haru and Winterer for hours!!"

"……."

I tried my best to stall, but it was no use.

And so, my second official schedule—

A business trip to the United States—was set in motion.

"Oh, right. Wait a moment. I just need to grab my phone from my daughters."

"Your phone? Hmm. I’ll bring it to you. Now, what’s the front door passcode?"

"……I’ll just go without it!"

‘I’ll just use OutStar to contact my wives later.’

And so, I was now without my phone.

***

After arriving at the airport,

I finally understood why the chairwoman had been so adamant about rushing me onto the plane.

"Yujin? Took you long enough. What were you doing?"

"……."

‘Kkong, you’re still in Korea?’

Turns out, the “plane” they arranged was Kkong.

Deploying a Gate Specialist just to send me to the U.S.—no wonder the chairwoman was so impatient.

How much would hiring this external contractor even cost? Geez.

"Anyway, let’s get going. You’ve heard about the situation, right?"

"Yeah. Apparently, the U.S. is in chaos because of you."

"Right. So, about that…"

Without wasting any time, I started discussing the plan with Kkong.

Given the money they’d spent, I wasn’t about to waste this excellent resource just to mess around.

Mutter mutter.

"So, here’s the final plan. What do you think?"

"I’ll check it with my foresight. Let’s see… Hmm. No problems."

"Okay."

The strategy was finalized in no time.

I laid out the draft, and Kkong refined it using his foresight.

Repeating this process two or three times was all it took.

A negotiation involving billions of dollars and my citizenship was at stake.

We were ready.

"I’m counting on you. You’re my only hope, Kkong."

"Come on, this is nothing between friends. Just do me a favor later in return."

"Whatever you need, just say it. I’ll grant as many as you like."

"Pfft. Don’t regret saying that, okay?"

"……."

His unnecessarily cute laugh was oddly irritating, but whatever.

The flight passed uneventfully after that.

"Hey, Paimon. What have you been up to these past few days?"

"Don’t even get me started. That old geezer kept pestering me for an elixir of youth…."

"…You’ve been through a lot, huh."

She served as both our punching bag and mental support,

and also our translator.

"Hypnosis-chan, what’s inside that backpack of yours?"

"Hehe~ It’s a se-cr-et☆"

"My dear soulmate, you have such a knack for making me want to flick your forehead. But, nothing in there’s going to get flagged at customs, right?"

"I’d never get caught with anything like that, Master~."

"Well, then. I’ll respect your privacy, little sister."

I tried to investigate Hypnosis-chan’s suspicious grin while she clutched her red backpack,

but ultimately failed.

[Um… Mir, I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t realize how serious the situation was and acted spoiled.]

[No, it’s me who should apologize. In fact, there are still three more apologies I owe you, so there’s no need to say sorry.]

[Huh? Three more apologies? What does that even mean…?]

Ding.

[The advanced skill ‘Divine Power’ activates.]

[…? Well, anyway, thank you.]

I even made an awkward apology to Mir for my foolishness before regressing.

That’s how I passed the time on the plane.

Right up until we arrived in the United States.

"Yawn… We’ve arrived, Yujin."

"Yeah. Kkong, I’ll leave it to you. Follow the plan."

"Got it."

Following our strategy, we split up,

and not long after, I found myself face-to-face with President Morrison.

"About the four-hundred-million-dollar repayment… we have a solution.

A way to resolve it without you bearing the burden, Yujin."

"Oh? What is it?"

Hesitation.

"———You… you just need to marry me."

"……Excuse me?"

And thus began my time alongside Sibylla.