The Counselor's Study Guide
The counseling room of my dreams. A space that, by all rights, shouldn't exist inside the Academy. I felt it was safe to say this place was now well-known among the students. Just when I was about to forget that this was, in fact, a counseling room, a student would inevitably drop by. So it wasn't exactly wrong to think so. I wasn't sure if I should credit my success to successfully persuading Orca at the very beginning, but... things had gone much smoother than expected. Orca, Leo, Anastasia, Stella. I had already made contact with four of the children. To put it in gaming terms, wouldn't this count as an 80% completion rate for my character codex? ...However, the last child. That child was a headache because there was absolutely no way they would ever walk in here of their own free will. How on earth was I supposed to meet them?
"Hmm..."
"Heh, hehe... This time, victory is mine! What are you doing, Teacher Ophelia? Hurry up and make your move!"
"Ah, yes."
Had I been lost in thought for too long? Stella seemed to think I was agonizing over my next move, her expression growing smugger by the second. ...That wasn't it at all, though. After a quick glance at the board, I slid my piece across the squares and spoke.
"Check."
"?!"
"Now, it is your turn, Princess."
Cold sweat began to bead on her forehead. She clearly hadn't anticipated my move. That was why she had been so confident of her victory. However, as I've mentioned before, I possessed a complete pedigree of the Princess's playstyle. There was no risk of her finding out, either. It was safely locked away in my mind. As long as she didn't abandon her signature tactics, there was absolutely no way for me to lose. It was perfectly fine for me to play with her while letting my mind wander elsewhere.
"Ugh, mmm..."
...Where was I? Damn it. I forgot. Once my train of thought was derailed, my mind went completely blank, and I couldn't remember what I had been pondering. Ah, whatever. It'll come back to me later.
"...Tsk. I cannot go on. I resign."
"Good game. Would you like to play another round?"
"No, I shall pass. I suspect the result would be precisely the same."
"Haha."
To think Stella, of all people, would react like this. It seemed she had finally acknowledged my chess skills. ...I'd better keep it a secret that my prowess only worked against her.
"Do you have any worries lately?"
"...Why are you suddenly being so creepy?"
"Creepy? How harsh... I am a school counselor, you know."
"Ah, right. I forgot."
"..."
How cruel. Did she really just see me as some opponent she had to defeat in chess? I had only asked to catch up on how she was doing, but her unexpected reaction actually hurt my feelings a little.
"Other students tend to have a lot on their minds around this time of year. I was just offering to listen if you had any worries of your own, Princess."
"...Do worries increase around this time?"
"Yes, well. Isn't that only natural?"
It had already been nearly two months since I took up my post at the Academy. I had arrived shortly after the students' entrance ceremony, and yet two months had already flown by. Time really flies...
"Everyone seems to get incredibly tense around this time. They're anxious."
"...Why?"
"Well, because it's exam season, of course."
Indeed. Two months had passed since the students entered the Academy. And when this time of year came around, the dreaded exam season—which every student loathed with a passion—reared its ugly head. There were probably only about two weeks left. Students exhausted from academic stress had been dropping by constantly. ...Though I still didn't quite understand why they chose to vent to me of all people. It wasn't like I could help them study. All I could offer was a bit of comfort. Fortunately, they seemed to appreciate it. I still didn't really get why they kept trying to cling to me, though.
"If that is the case, I am fine."
"Is that so?"
"I have already mastered much of the curriculum beforehand. Unlike the other students, I have very little to study."
"That's a relief."
"So do not worry about me. Why not worry about those two instead? They look to be in quite a miserable state."
Following the Princess's gaze, I looked over at a table in the distance. There sat two living corpses, looking half-dead with their books spread open. It was Orca and Leo. At least Leo was still holding onto his book, but Orca had shut hers entirely. A sigh escaped my lips at the sight. I had expected as much, but still...
"Well then, Teacher Ophelia. I shall take my leave so as not to disturb those two."
"Ah, yes. Goodbye."
"Until next time."
Once Stella left, silence filled the counseling room once more. Orca, having completely abandoned her books, was staring blankly at the ceiling. Leo was trying his best to study, but things didn't seem to be going as well as he hoped. Was it because neither of them had much of an affinity for academics? They both looked incredibly exhausted.
"Here, have a drink while you study."
"...Ah, thank you, Teacher."
"Thanks, Teach..."
"Are you two doing alright?"
The two answered me with their actions rather than words. ...Yes, right. I get it. You both look absolutely miserable.
"Damn it, why do we even have to do this...? Practical exams should be enough..."
"Well, this is an Academy, not a military training camp. Basic theory is necessary. ...Actually, Orca, you have it easy. If you saw what Leo is studying, you'd probably be horrified."
"What? Let me see... Whoa, holy crap."
As if proving my prediction right, Orca took one look at Leo's textbook and recoiled in horror. It must have been filled with material several times more difficult than what she was studying. It was obvious without even looking.
"Orca, you aren't majoring in magic, so it's relatively simple for you, but Leo is double-majoring. ...Are you holding up, Leo?"
"P-please save me... I think I'm going to die..."
"Oh dear."
"Why did I do this to myself...? Why did I do this...?!"
I felt a wave of pity. This was the tragic fate of those who fell into the abyss of double-majoring. Since his study hours were vastly inflated compared to everyone else, exam season must be pure torture. It was just like in the game. Whenever written exams approached while playing other characters, Leo would always disappear. I had suspected this was the reason, but seeing it confirmed before my eyes made me feel truly sorry for him.
"I could help you, you know."
"R-really?!"
"What kind of nonsense is that? There's no way you can help. What, are you going to write our exam papers for us? We'll get caught. Or are you going to tutor us? I doubt you'd be much help."
Well, I suppose that reaction was to be expected. Leo, who was currently half out of his mind, clung to me like a drowning man clutching at a straw, but Orca was highly skeptical. To be fair, Orca's point made perfect sense. The Academy strictly monitored academic dishonesty. If caught, it wouldn't end with a simple scolding; you'd be expelled. I recalled some extra student getting expelled for exactly that... Tutoring them was also out of the question. The two of them assumed I wouldn't be of much help because I was just a counselor, but the truth was even worse: I was the one who needed to learn from them. I still couldn't comprehend why mana was present in the atmosphere... I just accepted it as a given, but if I actually sat down and analyzed it, there were too many things I wanted to dispute. Mana being created by divine power? That made absolutely no sense. It directly contradicted all the scientific knowledge I possessed. If I hadn't known how to use hypnosis, it might have taken me much longer to accept the existence of mana.
"Well, I guess I won't help Orca, then."
"W-wait. I never said I didn't want it."
"...Alright."
However, just because I couldn't tutor them didn't mean I couldn't help. In fact, I was confident that I could assist them more effectively than anyone else.
"...So? How are you going to help us?"
"It's simple."
"Simple?"
I smiled warmly at the two, who tilted their heads in confusion, unable to fathom how I could possibly help. I knew the feeling of finding it harder and harder to sit in a chair, of one's head beginning to throb. I had experienced it countless times myself. Every time I went through that, I had always yearned for a superpower that would make studying easy. Of course, such wishes were utterly useless back then, and I had to force myself to study by consuming massive amounts of coffee and sugar. But now? I possessed the very superpower I had only dreamed of—one that could make studying effortless.
"..."
"W-what? Why are you staring at us like that? It's... creeping me out."
"Orca. Leo."
"Yes..."
As their eyes locked with mine and they froze in place, I whispered into their ears to resolve their worries.
"Geniuses..."
A smart Orca. The mental image of her wearing a sharp suit, clutching a stack of documents under her arm, and pushing up a pair of angular glasses with one hand made a giggle escape my lips. ...I felt a bit bad for thinking it, but it really didn't suit her at all.
After confirming that the hypnosis had taken hold properly, I clapped my hands loudly to snap them out of their trance.
"Alright. Shall we get back to studying?"
"Wh-what?!"
"You've had a good rest, right? Let's get back to it."
"Huh? Did we rest...?"
"Now, no excuses! Chop chop, back to studying!"
"Ugh, please..."
Watching the two of them dive back into their books, I couldn't help but think: I wish I had this kind of ability back when I was a student... If I could have hypnotized myself into finding studying and exercising incredibly fun, self-discipline would have been a breeze. It was a shame that although I now possessed this dream-like ability, I had no real reason to use it on myself anymore.