***
The first attempt with the brainwashing device was a success. Ellie became a subordinate who perfectly obeyed my will. When I ordered her to kill Cecil as a test, the expression on her face was chilling. Her eyes looked as if she could commit murder without a second thought.
Seeing that, I realized the power of this device was even greater than I had anticipated. It was comparable to the app. No, in some aspects, it surpassed the app.
What was surprising was that Ellie didn't believe she had been brainwashed. To be precise, she seemed to believe that following me was purely her own will, with no external interference whatsoever. She thought this despite knowing more than anyone about the device's existence, purpose, and power. This, too, seemed to be an effect of the brainwashing.
In other words, anyone brainwashed by this machine could never perceive that they had been brainwashed, no matter how great the logical contradiction or sense of incongruity.
“I think it would be better to slightly reduce the values related to hormone activity here. At these levels, sexual desire would become too strong, making daily life difficult due to constant arousal.”
Ellie said this after reviewing the parameters I had coded. With her help, I improved the brainwashing device.
For reference, Ellie was currently sitting naked on my lap. When I added the condition that I would 'reward' her if she diligently performed and achieved good results, she became much more proactive in assisting me. Perhaps it was because she was brainwashed with an algorithm modeled after Yustia's thought patterns, but this girl also seemed very interested in having sex with me. In fact, I could tell just by how readily she stripped.
“Really? Wouldn't that be a problem for you too? I'll have to re-brainwash you with the revised settings then.” “No, there's no need for that.”
Ellie refused outright.
“I can easily suppress arousal with my reason. The fact that your penis is right before my eyes, yet I'm perfectly obeying the command to refrain from impulsively inserting it, is proof of that. Furthermore, as I've repeatedly stated, this brainwashing device has no effect on me. I am following you purely of my own free will.”
Despite her words, her lower half was so wet it soaked my crotch. Not only that, but she occasionally lifted her hips, subtly rubbing her clitoris and vagina against my glans. Did she think I wouldn't notice? She even resembled Yustia in this aspect: pretending to be meticulous while actually being quite foolish.
“Is that so?”
I replied vaguely and yawned. I was incredibly sleepy. Come to think of it, I hadn't had a proper sleep since being kidnapped by Cecil. By my reckoning, I had been awake for over 36 hours. Although I'd dozed off briefly, it was too short to call it sleep.
“Would you like to rest if you're sleepy? I can finish the rest of the work.” “Can you do it? You said you couldn't code.” “It's fine, Master, since you've shown me the ropes. I'll organize the revised details after I'm done and inform you, so you can review them then.” “That doesn't sound bad. I'll leave it to you then.”
I stood up. As I was about to leave, Ellie blushed and spoke hesitantly.
“After you sleep, later... I'll be able to receive the promised reward, right?” “Yeah. If you do it perfectly without any mistakes.” “Yes! Of course, Master.”
Ellie's face brightened considerably, and she nodded vigorously. Go, blonde Yustia. I cheered her on inwardly and went to the inner room where the bed was.
Perhaps because I was so exhausted, I fell asleep the moment I lay down and closed my eyes. When I woke up, the bright outside had already turned dark. It seemed I had slept for at least 10 hours. The man I possessed seemed to have rarely slept properly, as overtime was his norm. Perhaps because of that, I felt incredibly refreshed after a long-awaited deep sleep.
As I tried to get up, something was in the way beside me. I turned to see Yustia, who had somehow come to lie beside me, sleeping with her arm draped over my shoulder. I had felt something rustling nearby while I was asleep, and it must have been Yustia.
She's sleeping so soundly, despite doing nothing. It annoyed me a bit, but then again, she did serve as a guinea pig.
The moment I turned to face forward, lost in such thoughts, I was met with a gun barrel pointed at me.
“You... what did you do to me?”
Cecil stood before me, her face pale. Her expression was a mix of tension, fear, and rage. The pistol clutched tightly in both hands was aimed at me, her finger firmly on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment.
I'm screwed. I belatedly remembered. The 'Authority of Vampirism' I had cast on her only lasted for 24 hours. That meant it would be wearing off around now.
I should have renewed it before sleeping. But it was too late for regrets now. If I so much as twitched a finger, she looked ready to shoot immediately. At this rate, I couldn't even wake Yustia, who was sleeping beside me.
“Answer me!”
Cecil shouted in a rage. At her shout, Yustia stirred, making a soft 'Mmm?' sound, and woke up. Then she gasped in surprise, looking between Cecil and me.
“D-Darling?! What's wrong with her?” “Calm down. If you react, she'll probably shoot me immediately. Just observe the situation for now.”
I said in a low voice. Yustia nodded with a bewildered expression.
Analyzing it calmly, the best option here would be to use Yustia as a meat shield and then counterattack. Yustia was bound to the app anyway, so even if she sustained a fatal injury, she wouldn't die. The problem was the gun's power. Guns in this world possessed power incomparable to those in reality. I had experienced that firsthand before. Meaning, it might penetrate through her and kill me too.
This is troublesome.
As my thoughts deepened, the door opened, and a third person entered. It was Ellie.
“Cecil?! What on earth is going on?!”
Ellie asked, aghast.
“Ellie. No time to explain. Bring me something to tie him up with. I need to stop him from doing anything foolish.”
Cecil said this without turning around. That was her fatal mistake. If she had turned, she might have noticed that her comrade, with whom she had shared joys and sorrows for so long, was somehow different from before.
“Understood.”
Ellie left the room and returned a short while later. Then she approached Cecil, pretending to hand her something.
“Here you go.” “Oh, thank you—”
Cecil, still keeping her eyes on me, reached out to take the item Ellie was supposedly handing her. However, there was no item being handed over. Instead, a stun gun was pressed against Cecil's neck.
“Gaaah?!”
The stun gun, set to maximum output, delivered a tremendous electric shock that was visibly clear to the eye. Black smoke and a burning smell stung my nose. Cecil, directly hit by the shock, immediately lost consciousness and collapsed.
She's not dead, is she? Well, if she is, it can't be helped.
“Are you alright, Master?”
Ellie completely disregarded her fallen former comrade's well-being, rushing past her to my side and checking my body. Hey, why are your hands going down there? There's no need to check if *that* part is safe or not.
“You're erect. That's a relief.” “That's not the point.” “...And you seem safe otherwise.”
I let out a sigh of relief. Still, it was a relief that she appeared just in time.
“Anyway, thank you. You were a great help.”
I said, stroking Ellie's head. Ellie's face flushed bright red, and she spoke, not knowing what to do with her delight.
“Th-That's too much praise. I would gladly throw myself into a pit of fire for you, Master. So... if you truly wish to commend me, then as a reward, how about a rich and intense 16-hour continuous vaginal ejaculation, pregnancy-guaranteed copulation starting now...!” “Let's put that aside for later. First, we need to deal with her.”
I brushed off Ellie's nonsense and gestured with my head towards the collapsed Cecil.
“Then, should I take advantage of her defenseless state and just kill her?”
Ellie's expression quickly turned cold as she asked. She seemed utterly indifferent to her former comrade's life or death. No, she even seemed angrier than that. She probably thought Cecil had ruined a good opportunity.
“No. That won't be necessary.”
There's a better way. If I make her a subordinate, I can use her effectively for a long time.
“Yustia, help Ellie take her to the brainwashing device and seat her there.” “Okay, Darling.” “Darling...? Is this person your lover, Master?”
Ellie asked, seemingly bothered.
“Not exactly, but I'm just letting her call me that.” “I see...”
Ellie seemed to have something more to say. I had a feeling what it was, but I didn't bother mentioning it. Having this annoying girl use the cheesy nickname 'Darling' was enough.
Honestly, I didn't dislike the stiff title of 'Master'. It wasn't because I was an authoritarian person. It simply gave me a sense of relief. A feeling that this girl was truly in my grasp.
I tend to be suspicious about everything. That's why I prefer to have clear evidence that leaves no room for doubt.
And that's why this girl, Cecil, was even less tolerable. Technically, it was my mistake, but the fact that she tried to kill me was incredibly annoying. And not just once, but multiple times.
Therefore, I resolved to utterly break her this time.