Chapter 156

After the meal, Karina and Serena returned to the guest room prepared for them.

“Hahaha. Oh my. We were so engrossed in conversation that we arrived at the room before we knew it.”

“What a shame. I wanted to talk more.”

“Same here. But don’t be too upset. We can continue our conversation tomorrow, right?”

“Tomorrow… Yes, you’re right. Then, I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

“Alright. Thanks for escorting me to the room.”

“You must be tired, Mistress. Please go in and rest.”

*Creak*

The two returned, escorted by the Mistress.

As soon as they entered the room, their expressions changed.

The cold, sharp expressions felt as if the laughter and chatter from earlier had been nothing but a mask.

First, they checked to see if the Mistress was outside the door.

After confirming that no one was within their sensory range, Karina hardened her expression and spoke to Serena.

“…We’ve been completely had.”

“Tell me about it. If we hadn’t snapped out of it during the meal, we’d have been stuck in this mansion for life.”

“I don’t know what she did, but we were completely hypnotized.”

Indeed.

While they pretended to still be under the Mistress’s hypnosis, they had actually snapped out of it.

The trigger was the Mistress’s cooking.

Ironically, the Mistress’s attempt to captivate them with her cooking ended up breaking the hypnosis instead.

It was a kind of flashback.

Eating the delicious food made them unconsciously recall the “best” meal they had ever had.

If it had been just a memory, it would have been buried in the depths of their minds as usual.

But recalling memories isn’t just about reliving the experience; it also brings back the sensations and emotions felt at the time.

What they recalled was the shockingly delicious taste of the “best” meal they had ever eaten.

For them, the memory of the first time they tasted Kurt’s cooking was that impactful.

That shocking recollection of gourmet food instantly awakened their half-dazed consciousness.

“It feels like I was dreaming a foolish dream.”

“At least this is the second time I’ve been hypnotized like this, so I could react quickly.”

Indeed.

This wasn’t the first time they had been hypnotized like this; it was the second.

The first time was in the Shuraig Cave, where they had been affected by hypnotic spores that controlled people’s minds.

Having experienced hypnosis before, they were able to act appropriately even after snapping out of it.

However, even though they had regained their senses, they couldn’t act immediately.

They were deep in the Mistress’s territory, in the heart of the mansion. Karina had changed into the clothes provided by the Mistress and left her Battle Axe and Hand Axe with her. Serena, too, had no wand to cast magic, nor did she have the necessary alcohol to do so.

Thus, without even exchanging words or glances, they naturally reached the same conclusion.

They would continue to play along without arousing the Mistress’s suspicion.

Without certainty that they could overpower the Mistress and escape the mansion, they decided to wait for the right moment while playing along with her act.

“Given how dangerous the Mistress is, we can’t act recklessly. We were hypnotized the moment we entered this mansion without any resistance. Serena, can’t you use magic? There was wine at dinner.”

“No, it’s impossible. Dwarves don’t get drunk on mere wine. Besides, I didn’t drink much because I was wary of the Mistress.”

“It’s a shame we lost all our distilled liquor to that Awakening Species monster. If you can’t get drunk, you can’t use magic…”

As Karina said, the secret to Serena, a Dwarf, being able to use magic lay in alcohol.

In their normal state, Dwarves have a high resistance to mana due to their sensory abnormalities, making it impossible to sense or manipulate mana. By getting drunk, they disrupt their body’s balance, amplifying their ability to sense mana and lowering their resistance to it.

That was how Serena, a Dwarf, could use magic.

In the western part of the Kingdom of Eustia, where Goblins and Orcs live, there are methods to enhance mana manipulation by using drugs or tobacco to induce a trance-like state. Serena’s method was a variation of what Orc Shamans use.

The reason Serena drank constantly during missions wasn’t just because she was a Dwarf who loved alcohol; it was for this purpose.

Karina, who had known Serena for a long time, knew this well and muttered regretfully as she looked at her.

“A mage who can’t use magic is just a burden… This isn’t good.”

“What!? You’re the one who handed over all your weapons to the Mistress! No, you didn’t just hand them over; you gave them willingly!”

“Even without weapons, I can still use aura, so I’m not completely powerless! Unlike you!”

“Even so, you can’t even muster half the strength you’d have with your weapons!”

“I may only have half my strength, but you’re completely useless!”

What started as a minor argument quickly escalated, with the two forgetting they were in enemy territory and raising their voices to criticize each other.

At that moment.

*Knock knock*

“Um… I heard some noise. Is everything alright?”

*Gasp!*

The two, who had been tearing into each other, froze at the sound of knocking on the door, as if struck by lightning.

Of course.

In a mansion with only three people, making a commotion would inevitably alert the Mistress.

The Mistress, knocking on their door, asked in a voice filled with genuine concern, as if worried something had happened to her guests.

Her voice was soft and cautious, tinged with sadness and anguish, as if she had just heard that her closest friend had been hurt.

“Ah, no! We were just stretching in the room and accidentally fell off the bed!”

“Y-Yeah! Adventurers have to stretch every day to maintain their stamina!”

Desperately making excuses, the two tried to reassure the Mistress.

“…Is that so? I was worried something had happened.”

Fortunately, the Mistress didn’t press further and instead sighed in relief from behind the door.

Her sigh sounded genuinely concerned for their well-being, her voice kind and caring.

That kind voice made even the two, who knew the Mistress had hypnotized them, feel momentarily guilty for causing a disturbance.

“Hahaha. Don’t worry, Mistress. Nothing worth your concern has happened.”

“Exactly! Don’t worry and get some rest!”

“Alright. I’ll return to my room then. If anything happens, please call me right away.”

With that, the Mistress seemed convinced and, without further suspicion, announced she would return to her room.

*Click*

*Click*

The sound of her heels echoed as she walked away.

But the two could no longer argue or continue their conversation.

The sound of her heels kept clicking, not moving away from the door.

They realized the sound wasn’t fading; it was as if she was pacing in place right outside their door.

*Click*

*Click*

As if walking in place in front of the door.