A First Friend
"...You sure can pack it away." Orca stared at Leo, her eyes wide with disbelief. At first, she had seemed highly displeased by the very idea of sharing a meal with him, but that irritation had quickly vanished. The sheer volume of food vanishing into Leo's mouth at a relentless pace seemed to have wiped away any other emotion. Far from being annoyed, she was now watching the spectacle before her with pure, unadulterated fascination.
"Hey, Counselor, can you actually afford this...? You said you were buying, right? No matter how I look at it, that bill is easily going to run into the thousands."
"Don't you worry. Your teacher is much wealthier than she looks."
"...Is that so?"
Orca was actually starting to worry about my wallet, but I remained perfectly confident. I still had a mountain of cash left over from exchanging the jewels the Headmaster had given me. Honestly, spending all that money on myself felt a bit—no, highly—burdensome... but spending it on something like this didn't feel like a waste at all. If I used it to feed my students, surely even the Headmaster wouldn't complain...
"Do you have a bottomless pit in your stomach or something? How can you eat that much?"
"*Gulp.* I suppose I do eat a bit more than the average person."
"A *bit*...?"
Orca stared at the mountain of seafood shells and scraps piled up next to Leo. The staff were constantly coming over to clear them away, but the pile showed absolutely no signs of shrinking.
"Normally, I eat like anyone else... *Phew.* But every now and then, I have to eat like this."
"What do you mean, you 'have to'?"
"It's because of the artifact's power."
I spoke up to satisfy Orca's curiosity. "The artifact he wears demands the user's life force as a sacrifice."
"How do you know that, Counselor Ophelia...?"
Oops. I had answered for Leo without thinking. I knew the lore so well that it had just slipped out... Breaking into a cold sweat, I quickly scrambled for an answer.
"The students' profiles and special circumstances are compiled into documents. When a particularly noteworthy student catches my eye, I tend to memorize their details."
"...I see."
"Yes, indeed..."
Fortunately, Leo didn't seem to doubt my excuse and turned his focus back to his food. Thank goodness my excuse worked... Glancing at him, he didn't seem to want to explain any further. It wasn't out of annoyance, but rather because he simply wanted to eat the food in front of him. He wasn't the type to hide things about his benefactor anyway, so it should be fine if I explained it. Since he was busy eating, I decided to explain the rest to Orca on his behalf.
"According to the set—er, the documents, that armor Leo is wearing was a gift from his benefactor."
The silver armor worn over an Academy uniform that was slightly too big for his body. That armor was an artifact. When Leo was still a young child, his village had been burned down for some reason. A passing knight had saved Leo, who was on the verge of death. To keep Leo alive, the knight had handed over a piece of his own artifact armor, which saved Leo's life. Once everything was resolved, Leo tried to track down the knight to return the armor, but the knight had already vanished. Unable to return it, Leo came to admire the knight and wore the armor constantly. ...That was Leo's backstory.
"Huh..."
"However, artifacts aren't always entirely beneficial. The artifact Leo possesses grants the wearer power, but it demands a price in return."
That price was his life force. This was the reason Leo didn't grow. Most of the nutrients Leo consumed were absorbed by the armor. As a child, Leo had kept wearing the armor out of pure admiration, and eventually, his life force was drained to the point that his physical growth halted. Now, he had reached an age where growing any further was impossible. ...Well, judging by his dialogue in the game, even if Leo had known that fact as a child, he probably wouldn't have taken the armor off anyway. Regardless, because of the armor's effects, Leo had to binge-eat like this periodically. A normal meal simply couldn't replenish all the energy he expended. On the online community, players used to call Leo's eating habits "refueling," comparing him to a car getting gas.
"...So that's why he eats so much?"
"That's about the size of it."
"Phew... Thank you for the meal, Counselor."
"You can eat more if you like. You haven't had enough yet, have you?"
"Even I have a conscience, Counselor. I believe I've already eaten to a rather burdensome degree."
Leo, who had finally stopped eating, bowed his head deeply to me as he spoke. ...Wait, what's with his expression? I haven't even done anything, so why is he looking at me with such admiration?
"Your willingness to bear such a massive expense for the sake of your students... I am truly moved."
"...You certainly have thick skin."
"Do not worry, Orca. I am perfectly capable of paying for the food I consumed."
Uh, wait...? I was planning to pay for the meal, though?
"Um, I'll pay for the..."
"I understand your care for your students, Counselor, but I must insist. A newly appointed counselor's wallet must be quite light. There is no need to overextend yourself."
Leo gave me a grateful smile, but firmly rejected my offer to buy. He was probably worrying about my financial situation. What a good kid. He really knew how to be considerate of others. Even though he was probably regretting his massive appetite now that he realized how expensive the food was, he kept smiling. Did he think showing any weakness would be rude to me? This unnecessary level of consideration was exactly how Leo was portrayed in the game. ...Along with his complete and utter lack of situational awareness. Seriously, kid, your teacher is actually loaded...
"...So? Why did you come here anyway?"
"Pardon?"
"You came because you had something to say, didn't you? I was distracted watching you eat, but you should probably spit it out now."
"Ah, right. I did."
"Did you seriously forget, kid...?"
"Ah, that's right."
"And why did you forget, Counselor...?"
Well, he was just eating so heartily. It was so fascinating that I got completely distracted and forgot our original purpose. Come to think of it, Leo did have something to say. Leo also scratched his head as if he had only just remembered after being reminded, having been entirely focused on his food. With a slightly embarrassed, sheepish grin, he stepped closer and bowed. Not to me, but to Orca.
"I am sorry."
"Wh-What...?!"
"I came to apologize for what happened the other day."
Leo bowed once more to a thoroughly flustered Orca. He looked genuinely apologetic.
"I am sorry for blindly lecturing you without knowing the full story. It must have been incredibly unpleasant for you. I have deeply reflected on my actions."
"C-Counselor...?"
Orca looked back and forth between Leo and me, completely at a loss, but I decided not to intervene. This was a matter between the two of them. It wouldn't be right for me to step in. It was best for them to resolve it themselves. Perhaps I should have excused myself entirely... but I didn't want to. I was too curious to see what these two would talk about. I honestly hadn't expected Leo to come apologize to Orca. Was this because the outcome of the prologue's battle had changed?
"When I heard that you weren't blindly threatening the other students, but rather trying to chase them away because you were tired of them staring at you like some exotic beast, I knew I had to apologize."
"..."
Orca kept shifting her gaze around, clearly uncomfortable with receiving an apology. The very concept of someone apologizing to her must have been utterly foreign. Whenever something bad happened, she was always the one pointed at. Even for things she hadn't done, she was always blamed. Instead of apologies, she was undoubtedly far more accustomed to scoldings and insults.
"Will you... accept my apology?"
"Uh, well..."
In that sense, this situation was actually wonderful. As cute as our Orca was, her social skills were absolute rock bottom... It was hard to even imagine her making friends with anyone. But what about Leo? The boy who dreamed of becoming a knight out of admiration for his childhood savior was as immature as his small stature suggested. He was prone to making hasty generalizations or easily believing lies—he still had a lot of growing up to do. Yet, precisely because of that, he was quick to admit his mistakes and try to correct them. On top of that, he had no negative prejudices against the Devil Possessed, making him the perfect candidate to become Orca's friend. Hang in there, Orca! If you accept his apology here, you two can become friends...!
"...Hmph. It happens all the time, so I don't care."
"I-I see... Did I cause you pain again...?"
"Argh, you're so annoying! I'm saying you don't need to worry about it, kid!"
"Th-Then, does that mean you accept my apology?"
"I'm saying there's nothing to apologize for, you idiot!"
...I slipped out of the restaurant right then. If I watched any longer, I felt like I would let out some weird squeal and ruin the wholesome atmosphere. Honestly, I was so happy right now that I couldn't even control my facial expression. Other people on the street were probably giving me strange looks. As I left the establishment, I spoke to the employee sitting idly at the counter.
"I'd like to pay, please. Put whatever that boy over there ate on my tab as well."
"Understood."
Perhaps because Leo had eaten such an astronomical amount, the total printed on the receipt was beyond belief. ...This is practically the price of a used car. Did Leo really think he could handle this on his own? He probably didn't even have any money. He really was considerate to a fault...
"...You seem to be in a very good mood, customer. Did something good happen?"
The employee, who was staring at the receipt in disbelief as they processed the payment, asked me casually. I guess my joy was written all over my face. I gave the clerk a bright smile and replied.
"I just watched a child I thought would never have a friend in their life make their very first one."
"That must be wonderful."
"Of course it is."