The Man with Hypnotic Powers Doesn't Hold Back the Second Time Around-Chapter 260

My wives would understand, too.

I couldn’t help but smile.

[Hayeon, how exactly are you going to do it?]

[Stop calling me "Hayeon" so casually. Are you prepared to take responsibility if I start thinking weird things?]

[Shouldn’t you at least humor me when I flatter you? Anyway, even if you’re the Chairwoman, you can’t just change the law. So how are you going to pull it off?]

[I have my ways. You just stay there for three days. Don’t come back early or it might ruin everything. Make sure you stay the full 72 hours.]

‘I don’t know how she plans to pull it off, but...’

If it’s her, it should be possible.

If there’s one thing the Chairwoman is known for, it’s her ability to deliver.

All I had to do was trust and follow her lead.

Yes, that was it.

"...Master? Why the weird expression?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You suddenly looked really uneasy, Master~."

"......"

Still, I couldn’t shake the strange sense of unease in the back of my mind.

It was the same unsettling feeling I’d get whenever the Chairwoman gave me that suspicious smile in the past.

Like a ticking time bomb, counting down to some inevitable disaster.

It felt like the fuse had finally been lit.

Normally, that kind of feeling would make me want to return home immediately.

"It’s fine. I’m not worried."

‘This is just my lack of faith talking. That’s all.’

I forced myself to suppress the unease.

Sure, the Chairwoman might be up to something.

But if there’s one thing I can trust, it’s her sincerity about legalizing the harem.

I could endure anything for that.

So, I decided to just trust her and wait.

In Vietnam. For three whole days.

"Hmm… Yujin? We’re almost there."

"…Alright. Let’s go."

Thus began a three-day trip filled with equal parts anticipation and unease.

When we arrived in Vietnam, it was just three of us:

Me, Kkong, and Hypnosis-chan, who was essential for treating the villains with hypnosis therapy.

What about the others, you ask?

[Oh, Vietnam. Such a fascinating country. It’s been ten years since I last visited…]

[You’re headed to Korea with the Saintess, Paimon.]

[…What? Why? Didn’t you bring me along for my overwhelming linguistic and intellectual prowess?]

[You’ve been useless this whole time. Just make sure the Saintess gets to Korea safely.]

First up, Paimon.

She was tasked with escorting Mir back to Korea.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Dragging Mir around with us any longer would’ve been rude, unnecessary, and...

‘She wanted to return home herself.’

She had something to take care of in Korea.

I couldn’t refuse her request.

Of course, our walking punching bag tried to resist:

[Ha, how absurd. Why would I—]

[Oh, and if you try anything funny during transit, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life crawling on all fours, completely naked.]

[…W-What kind of barbaric punishment is that for a dignified woman like me?]

[You know Master’s transcendent now, right? No matter where you run, I’ll find you. So behave.]

[…Fine. Damn it.]

Putting Paimon in her place? That’s my specialty.

With that, Mir’s comfortable return to Korea was secured.

[And Sibylla?]

[Yes. I’ll report to His Excellency and head to Korea once everything’s sorted.]

[Thanks. Love you.]

Sibylla, on the other hand, stayed in the U.S.—for now.

It made sense.

Someone of her caliber couldn’t just waltz into Korea without jumping through the necessary hoops.

The last thing I needed was President Morrison rushing over in a frenzy like Suguru.

‘So it’s just the two of us left...’

"Kkong. Isn’t it kind of nice, just the two of us?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and placed a hand on Kkong’s shoulder.

Since Hypnosis-chan didn’t count as a woman, Kkong and I were the only real teammates left in Vietnam.

I couldn’t help but smile at the idea of some guy time—drinks, laughs, the works.

"T-Two of us? Nice? What do you mean by that?"

"…Huh?"

What’s with this reaction?

Where’s my old buddy who could read me like a book?

"It’s been a while, you know? Just the two of us, no other women around."

"I’m technically female too, Master~."

"Shut it. Anyway, Kkong, how about it? We’ve got time. Let’s finish work early and party a little."

I nudged Kkong playfully with my elbow, flashing a sly grin.

The kind of grin that said, "Let’s cut loose after work, drink, and have fun."

Surely, even Kkong would catch on after that.

"Uh, w-wait? Party? Like… have fun?"

"Yeah. Let’s have an amazing time."

"…Hold on a sec?"

But then, for some reason, Kkong raised a finger and activated his future-seeing ability.

I crossed my arms, confident.

‘Go ahead, buddy. See how fun it’ll be hanging out with me.’

And then—

-Whoooosh!

"H-H-Huh!?"

"…?"

I heard my male friend let out a startled yelp—unnecessarily cute, like a girl.

My expression darkened.

"Why are you acting weird? It’s creepy."

"I-I was just checking if you’d say something confusing again, and, well, um… there’s that."

"What the hell did you see?"

"……."

Kkong’s face turned even more feminine as he fidgeted, blushing and crossing his legs nervously.

It was disturbingly dainty—more so than most actual women.

In short, it was disgusting.

"Let’s just go to work."

"…Yujin?"

"Don’t. Just don’t. I’m sorry for bringing it up."

I started walking quickly.

Because I had a pretty good idea of what Kkong had seen.

‘He must have seen it with his future vision. A scene of the two of us getting ridiculously drunk... and me witnessing his embarrassing drunken antics.’

Before regression, I had seen enough of Kkong’s drunken behavior to last a lifetime.

All those times he vented his pent-up frustrations and sobbed uncontrollably.

Back then, it had been about mourning our fallen comrades and berating himself.

But now, without any of that?

His complex—his insecurities about his less-than-masculine physique.

He’d probably go on and on about it, lamenting in excruciating detail.

And to me, of all people.

…Just imagining it made me want to die.

Having my only male friend drunkenly whine, “Why am I the only one with such a small…”

Yeah, I’d understand why Kkong would want to avoid that too.

‘Let’s pretend that future doesn’t exist.’

"Alright, alright. Let’s get to work. Since we’re here for three days, I’ll even help with some restoration efforts in Vietnam."

I said it curtly, feigning irritation, like someone sulking because his buddy had bailed on a drinking plan.

Thanks to that, Kkong felt relieved, blissfully unaware that I had guessed his drunken tendencies.

Tadak!

"Y-Yujin. Are you… mad?"

"……?"

Kkong scurried after me, asking cautiously, “Are you mad?” His expression and voice were filled with unease.

…Does he actually think I’m mad?

Sigh. What am I supposed to do with this acting talent of mine?

At this rate, I might need to consider a career in acting.

"I’m not really mad. When I thought about it, I realized you’re still a busy man, Kkong. I shouldn’t have pushed it."

"O-Oh, really?"

"I mean, I’m a little disappointed, but if that’s how you feel, there’s not much I can do."

"……."

Step, step.

Our footsteps echoed through the quiet airport.

I clicked my tongue in frustration over the ruined drinking plans, while Kkong muttered endlessly, clearly feeling guilty.

"Heeheehee. Look, Mom, I can do it all by myself~!"

"……."

‘A rubber band gun? Where the hell did she even get that?’

Trailing behind us, Hypnosis-chan was grinning ear to ear, holding a makeshift rubber band gun crafted from wooden chopsticks.

…This trip was already giving me a headache, and we hadn’t even left the airport yet.

***

After that, we just worked tirelessly.

Of course, the "mission" itself wasn’t all that complicated.

"Yujin!!! Yujin!!! Yujin!!!"

"Kyaaa~! Seo Yujin looked this way!!!"

"The savior of Vietnam… Hngh."

"……."

‘What’s up with that person who fainted over there?’

I got a taste of what it must feel like to be that Heavenly Demon, being revered by the citizens of Vietnam.

"Survived a zombie attack alone and now suffering from PTSD, huh? Jeez… you’ve been through a lot."

"……."

"But hey, life goes on. Come on, take my hand. Let’s have a moment of silence for the victims."

Ding.

[Skill ‘Complete Hypnosis+’ has…]

"Amen."

"Huwaaaaa…!!!"

I provided hypnosis therapy for Awakened ones who were each carrying a mental illness from the necromancer crisis.

"Graaaah!! Kill, I’ll kill them all!! Kill them all!!"

"My soulmate, are you ready?"

"I’m always ready, Master~. Go ahead and smash it whenever!"

"Then let’s do this."

Ding… Crack!!

"I’ll kill… huh? Where am I?"

"Another flawless performance, Hypnosis-chan."

"I’m always perfect, Master~."

I also rehabilitated villains.

Since zombies indiscriminately killed both Awakened and villain alike—and with instant execution being the norm around here—there weren’t many left to work on.

Rehabilitating the last villain took about the same time it takes to prepare instant ramen.

The Awakened nearby cheered.

"Bozziha!! Are you awake? Big sis! Big sis!!"

"Big sis…? Why am I, huh?"

"Seriously, because of you, I just can’t—"

"Why’s it getting so noisy over there?"

"Those two are sisters. When the younger one Awakened as a villain, the older sister, who’s also Awakened, managed to keep her under control."

"An Awakened older sister and a villain younger sister? Yikes. That reminds me of my daughters."

It seemed like they had their fair share of drama, but well…

This wasn’t something I, an outsider, should meddle in.

I turned my gaze away, letting them sort it out themselves.

Instead, I focused on Kkong, who had been acting off all day.

My expression hardened.

"Are we done with the villains now? No one else to rehabilitate?"

"Y-Yeah. Good work. Let’s take a proper rest to—"

"Don’t lie. There’s one more, isn’t there?"

My tone dropped slightly.

I knew the awkward tension from earlier was still lingering, but we were professionals.

I couldn’t tolerate him freezing up before something important.

"—The necromancer. What about her?"

"………."

Silence.

The five syllables that came out of my mouth—necromancer.

The jubilant cheers in the prison instantly died.

Everyone, including Kkong and the Vietnamese Awakened, fell silent.

Not that it mattered to me.

[This is confidential, but the villains were ultimately the result of that final boss’s schemes. She became a killer through no fault of her own.]

"So, you want me to save her?"

"No? Even so, her karma is too heavy. Even if she returns as an Awakened, her life would be hell. In my opinion, it’d be better to let her die."

"……."

"So decide now. If you’re going to kill her, I’ll pretend I didn’t see a thing."

I explained as calmly as I could.

Now that all the facts were revealed, it was clear the villains were the ultimate victims.

Manipulated by outside forces, they had killed their families, friends, and comrades.

But at the same time, their crimes couldn’t simply be ignored.

So, choose.

Save her, or end her life.

Drip.

"…Yujin? You’re bleeding from your mouth."

[By the way, the truth about the villains is classified. Because of ‘logic,’ revealing it is extremely taxing.]

"……Ah."

"So, you have to decide this one on your own."

In Vietnam, only Kkong could make this decision.

As the person who had contributed the most to subduing the necromancer, he had the authority to decide her fate.

And as someone who knew the whole truth, he alone bore the responsibility.

It was exactly one hour later when Kkong finally opened his mouth.

"…Follow me. All of you."

"Kkong?"

"I’ll take you to where the necromancer is being held."

His voice was heavy with conflict.

***

A short while later.

A silence as heavy as death pressed down on us.

The lowest level of the underground prison, reeking of blood.

Below us lay the sealed chamber of the necromancer.

"…Hey, Yujin."

"……."

"What the hell is that?"

"………."

And there, we…

Thump, thump.

"Such a pathetic spider~♡ You’re even weaker than your mommy~♡ So useless~♡ At least Master’s ‘little guy’ is cute, but you? Just gross and completely pointless…."

"……."

‘My soulmate… Was this really your only option? I’m a little embarrassed for you, you know?’

I found myself subjected to a "Hypnosis-chan slander mad movie" in real-time.