The Man with Hypnotic Powers Doesn’t Hold Back the Second Time Around

Chapter 218

The fight between the wives, with no husband present, had entered a temporary ceasefire.
Thanks to Shia.

"Let’s sit down and talk calmly, you two."
"Yes... Ninomiya-san, let’s sit down first, shall we?"
"Y-Yes, let’s! You too, sit down quickly!"
"Yes!"

Under the guidance of a seasoned mediator,
the two who had been bickering just moments ago settled down into their seats.
The couples from before the regression gathered together.

Once again, it was Shia who spoke first.

"Let’s summarize. First..."

• Scratch scratch.

She then began explaining while taking notes.

First, all three women present here had recalled "memories that shouldn’t exist" after kissing me.

Second, the scope of those memories: Alice and Shia recalled one year’s worth, while my mentor recalled two years.

Third, the starting point of those memories...

"First year, when I met Yujin."
"I remember it from the entrance exam..."
"It was the year after that for me. I went to watch because my student was amazing."

Alice and Shia’s memories were from their first year, while my mentor’s were from the second.
They barely missed overlapping.

What does this mean?

"Then, you two wouldn’t have my mentor in your memories?"
"That’s right."
"On the other hand, my mentor does."
"There are memories of the two of them fighting over Yujin."
"Ah, so Ninomiya-san…"

Alice let out an exclamation of realization.
The cause of the fight. The difference in memories between them.
It seemed she had just figured it out.

• Mutter mutter.

"What the hell happened during those two years for you to behave so disgracefully…?"

Though Alice had realized something she shouldn’t have,
her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she glanced at my mentor.

At that moment, my mentor tried to speak in a hurry but...

"Well, um..."

• Thud.

[Yujin, it’s your turn now.]
"...Ahem. Wait. Let me speak this time."

I interrupted first,
thanks to Shia poking me in the side, urging me to go ahead.

Everyone’s gaze shifted to me.

"My student?"
"First, the memories the three of you recalled were all real events."
"...?"
"These are memories from before the world was destroyed, part of the first round."

I calmly continued explaining.
The me who was once untrustworthy, and the three of them who were with me at that time.
Our past. The story from the first round.

"So, after meeting my mentor, graduating from the academy, and then getting married the four of us..."
"Wait, married?!"
"Married? What the hell is this?"
"I’ll explain. Actually, at that time..."

My recollection of the past soon moved to parts even my mentor couldn’t remember.

I had hesitated and fumbled, unable to choose the harem.
Shia and Alice had fought over me.
It was my mentor who, seeing the situation, had suggested the harem idea to mediate.

The four of us had agreed on the harem.
I couldn’t do without the three of them, and neither could they without me.
We all believed it was the best choice.

"So, we were heavily criticized by the public. They said just because you’re strong, you think you can stand above the law?"
"That..."
"But despite that, it was a happy married life."

Although we received a lot of criticism, it was still a pretty decent life.

Each of us was a prominent Awakened in our field, and my mentor and I were ranked S-Class 1 and 2.
We were materially wealthy beyond measure.
And, more than anything, we were full of love for each other.
Our marriage was pure happiness. Like an endless curtain call. A happy ending.

"—Until those things showed up."
"Those things, no way."
"Yeah. The EX-Class Gate. The disaster that destroyed the world."

This happy story ended in tragedy.

The expressions of my mentor and Alice grew serious.

"So that’s why my student was so afraid?"
"Right. If Yujin hadn’t taken care of it, the world might’ve really been destroyed. Their attacks didn’t work."
"Yes. Back then…"

I, too, became somber.
Just thinking about the time when we couldn’t do anything back then made me feel down...

• Swipe. Thud.

"...!!!!!?"
[Our little loser, stop whining, okay?]

I almost sank into my mood again.
But under the desk, Shia’s hand secretly moved toward my lower body.
Using her abilities, she made sure I didn’t notice.

With her hand slipping into my pants, I had no room to feel sad.

[W-What are you doing? They’re both watching.]
[If you keep whining, want me to start playing with you~?]
[I’m not whining, I mean, uh...]
[Enough. Just keep explaining. So what happened? Why do you remember it?]

"....Ah."

Thanks to that, I snapped out of my gloom.
Right, now is not the time to be sad.
First, I need to tell my wives the truth.
It’s my duty as their husband to do that, after all.

[Yeah, thanks, Shia. You can stop now.]
[You snapped out of it quickly. Should I give you a pat as a reward?]
[Please, later. I’m not in the mood right now.]
[Just kidding, kidding~.]

• Swish.

Finally, Shia removed her hand.
She even gave me a sweet smile, which was an added bonus.

• Sniff sniff.

"Huh? Shia, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"
"Sorry for interrupting the serious mood, but I’m a bit hungry. Ahh, I want sausages."
"……."
'Shia, I’m so scared...

Despite my heart sinking from the sniffing sound,
anyway, thanks to Shia, the atmosphere lightened up, and now it was time to get to the point.
I put on my best serious face.
I was about to reveal the truth I had been hiding.

"Ahem. Anyway, here’s the thing. This world... it’s been destroyed once. No, it was destroyed."
"Was destroyed?"
"Yeah. It was undone. Time got reversed."
"……?"

My mentor’s eyes widened.
Unlike Shia and Alice, who seemed to have an inkling of what was going on,
it seemed my mentor hadn’t noticed at all.

I decided to explain quickly.

"I don’t know why, but when I opened my eyes, it was the past. Two weeks before I enrolled. The Winterer’s first terror attack was all over the news."
"Yujin. What are you saying?"
"Yeah, Alice, you’re right... Ahem."

• Drip.

At that moment, a bitter metallic taste filled my mouth.
It was probably the side effect of defying "ichi."
Revealing this truth was clearly going against the natural order.

But, it’s fine. I can endure it.
For the sake of telling my wives the truth,
this little pain was nothing—barely a scratch compared to the anguish that would pierce my soul.

Without showing it, I continued.

"———I’m a returnee. I came back from a future where this world was destroyed by an EX-class Gate, 15 years from now."

• Smile.

"Sorry for hiding it until now."

The truth I had hidden.
I was a returnee from the future.
I couldn’t protect you before, but I came back to protect you this time.

At my declaration, all three were stunned...

"Well, no. You don’t have to apologize."
"Huh?"
"As soon as I recalled my memories, I talked to Shia about it. I was wondering if Yujin might be a returnee."
"You didn’t think we’d notice?"
"…Ah."

I thought they’d be shocked,
but there was barely any reaction.
...This is a bit anticlimactic.
I had braced myself for this moment, but is this really how it’s going to go?

"Wow. 15 years..."

• Shudder.

'At least my mentor is shocked!'

Just as I expected,
my mentor’s voice trembled, clearly taken aback by the shocking truth that I was a returnee.

"So, that means you’re 35 years old in your mind?"
"...Huh? Oh, well, mentally..."
"So, I’m three years younger than you!!? I’m three years younger than my student?"
"……."

I thought she’d be shocked,
but was it because of the age gap complex?

Our expressions became awkward.
For my mentor to worry about being younger than me as a returnee... it was just... well, let’s say it was funny in its own way.

"That’s right. My mentor is three years younger than me."
"Heh~ Who cares about a three-year age difference?"
"No, Ninomiya-san. No matter what, the body..."
"On the outside, you and I both look in our 20s, right? The important thing is the inner self! Mentally, I’m 35, so I’m three years older than you!"
"......Wow."

Even Alice was left speechless.

For a moment, her stunned gaze was fixed on me.
Her eyes seemed to say, Is this really okay?

• Stare.

[Yujin? Honestly, I don’t think a woman like that is right for you. How could someone who’s 32 be with a 20-year-old?]
[Don’t look at me like that. She’s cute in her own way.]
[If she’s cute, does that mean the chairman is cute too?]
[Well... no, the chairman definitely isn't the same level.]
[At least she doesn't act like a fool... Oh, but she was wearing diapers until yesterday morning.]
[Right? No way she’s on that level.]
[Yeah. Age regression is one thing... but infantilism... ]
[Huh? That’s a bit of a tough term. What’s that?]
[Don’t worry about it, Yujin.]

But, after a brief exchange,
Alice’s disgruntled expression started to fade.
Thanks to the chairman, who had been wearing diapers until yesterday morning, Alice seemed to have calmed down.

Compared to that old lady, Soyeon is quite a beautiful lady.
Thank you always, Chairman.

"Ahem, ahem. Let’s stop talking about mental age for now, and go back to your memories..."

Anyway, to ease the awkwardness,
I shifted the topic.
The memories they recalled from the first round.
The incomplete memories, unlike mine.
As a returnee who remembers everything, I had a duty to answer their questions.

"So, if you have any questions, feel free to ask..."

• Pause.

"———Wait, then. Student. What about children?"
"Huh?"
"What about the babies we had? There’s no guarantee that the same children will be born if we have them again, right?"

Perfectly timed, my mentor asked a question.

I smiled brightly.
I was happy to ease my mentor’s worries.

"Don’t worry! We didn’t have any kids!"
"...What?"
"Neither Shia nor Alice, and not even with you, mentor! We didn’t have a single child, so don’t worry about that!"

There were no children between us.
A piece of good news that would put everyone’s minds at ease.

The reactions from my three wives were, of course, relieved smiles...

"Yujin? That doesn’t make sense."
"Huh?"

What? Why are they all looking at me like that?
I tilted my head, confused.
I didn’t understand why they were all so shocked.

"Why doesn’t it make sense?"
"15 years from now, I’d be 37, right? And you didn’t have any children by then?"
"Well, that’s not too late, 37 isn’t..."
"What about Ninomiya-san?"
"...Huh?"

Wait. Something’s off here.
My mentor is the oldest among us, right?
Alice and Shia, I get, but when I regressed, my mentor’s age was...

'She’s 32 now, so 15 years later...'

• Bang! Bang!

"Y-Yujin!! Do you seriously mean you never wanted to have kids!? Was it all a lie when you said you wanted to have three kids with me?!!"
"Huh?"
"Answer me, quickly!!"

I couldn’t think any further.
It was because my mentor’s urgent questioning interrupted me.

"No, I do want to have children..."
"Then why didn’t we have any by that age!?!"
"...Well, it just happened that way?"
"What?! Just happened!? This is a huge issue!!"
"Yeah, Yujin. Think carefully. There must be a reason."

Then Alice joined in,
and the two of them started grilling me, leaving me completely overwhelmed.

'...Well, I have no choice. I have to explain.'

"Alright, alright. Here’s the reason we didn’t have children..."

I quickly opened my mouth.
The rational reason why we didn’t have children.
The reason we all agreed on.

"Well, um..."

• Tilted head.

"....Wait. What was it again?"

I couldn’t come up with a good answer.
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t remember why.
I know we postponed having children for some reason, and the three of them accepted it,
but for some reason, I just couldn’t remember why...

• Smirk.

"It seems like you don’t remember everything, huh?"

At that moment, Shia interrupted.
Her eyes were fixed on me,
with a mischievous smile, as if she was saying "How cute."

I felt a little bit guilty.

"No, that can’t be true. Unlike you guys, I don’t have sealed memories..."
"So why didn’t we have children?"
"Well... I mean, I’m a returnee. I could tell you exactly when the Gate happens, but..."
"Why didn’t we have kids~?"
"That’s... well."

I didn’t even have time to express my frustration.
Shia poked my cheek and mischievously asked the question.

I tried to resist until the end, but...

"Well, I’m a returnee. I remember everything... unlike you guys..."
"My student. No matter how I think about it, your memory seems the most incomplete."
"......"

• Sigh.

With my mentor’s final blow, my face slumped down.

"...Yes. I’m a returnee, and I’m a fool with incomplete memories."
"Pfft. Our little loser, you’re cute because you’re so honest~."

• Pat pat.

Shia patted me, but I didn’t feel all that happy.

No, actually, I just sighed.
Is this really what a returnee is? The second round hypnosis Breeding Uncle?
Forget it. I’m just a pathetic mat for this.

***

After my incomplete memories were exposed,
the suffocating special operation began to take a different turn.

"So, my student? I guess the only option now is to have a baby until your memories come back?"
"Well... there’s no choice. It’s a bit much for my first time to be an Fffm foursome, but it’s all for the sake of this world..."
"......"

[Shia, help me!! Please!!!]
"Heh~ I don’t really care."
[Shiaaaaaaaaa!!!]

Though I was called a pathetic mat and all,
I wasn’t prepared for becoming the endless utility of this public service operation.