Laying the Groundwork
"..."
"Counselor..."
"Yes? What is it?"
"What on earth did you do this time...?"
The class president spoke to me with a look of utter bewilderment.
I didn't even need to look to know what she was talking about. She was undoubtedly referring to the two students studying behind me.
"You shouldn't react like that just because they're studying. You'll hurt their feelings."
"...No! I have to say something! I can understand Leo, but Orca? Looking like that?! What on earth did you do to her?!"
"Hey, you done running your mouth?"
"Ugh."
I figured she'd react this way. I wondered briefly if I had dialed up the intensity of the hypnosis a bit too much.
It was certainly an unnatural sight to see a student who had absolutely nothing to do with academics suddenly sitting down to study. Even more so when that student was Orca, who was notorious for being a wild, delinquent-like figure.
...But still, it wasn't like I didn't have an excuse. It just felt wrong to hear people calling Orca stupid. I mean, how could I stand by and let our Orca be called an idiot? It wasn't like I slapped another layer of hypnosis on her just because I heard some other students laughing and saying they wouldn't place last as long as "that bitch" was around. Seriously.
I was just thinking of my student's future. Yes, that was it. Orca would have to live her own life someday. Right now, she still seemed to have a self-destructive, "whatever happens, happens" attitude, but... someday. I wanted to make sure she could do whatever she truly wanted when the time came.
Even if she didn't know what she wanted to do yet, raising her grades to prepare for the future was a piece of advice I'd heard countless times back in my old world. It definitely wasn't because I wanted to stick it to those arrogant punks.
...I should probably lower the depth of her hypnosis a bit in secret. It would be bad if she ended up taking first place. A middle-of-the-pack score would be fine, but if Orca—who had been at the absolute rock bottom during the entrance exams—suddenly ranked near the top, it would cause a massive headache. She'd easily be suspected of cheating.
"I can study too, you know!"
"Ah, yes. Of course."
"What's with that face?! Do you really want to go a round with me and fucking—"
"Now, now, Orca. Gentle words."
"...fight?!"
Project "Model Student Orca" couldn't be rushed. Like a gentle drizzle soaking through clothes, it had to be done slowly. Very slowly. She might feel a strong aversion to it now, but I would gradually dye her in these new colors.
If I succeeded, Orca would eventually be able to blend in with others. Perhaps I would even get to see her enjoying the ordinary daily life she had always dreamed of... alongside friends.
Of course, it wouldn't be without great hardships. But since there was no way to solve everything right this second, I just had to do what I could. To bring a child who had lived in the wild indoors, you first had to get them used to the house. That was the stage we were currently in.
"Well, alright. It's nice to see you working hard. Are you preparing well for the practical exam?"
"Huh? Practical?"
"...Don't tell me you forgot? You've been attending the classes, haven't you?"
Beads of sweat began to form on Orca's forehead. What, she really didn't know? In the game, Orca never attended classes. Naturally, the player had no way of knowing when the practical exams started either. ...But she should be attending classes now. I didn't think Orca was foolish enough to not understand what would happen if she broke her promise to me. She was simply uneducated, not stupid.
"Uh, well..."
"...You did promise to attend classes, right?"
"I-I did! I really did! He saw me too!"
Her pupils were shaking suspiciously as she desperately looked around for a witness. I could easily guess what had happened. She slept through it. Even if she sat in the classroom, she probably couldn't understand a word, so she either tuned it out or dozed off. That was why she hadn't heard a thing about the practical exam. Sigh. I couldn't really blame her. I used to sleep like a log back in my school days, too. Still, you could have listened to just a little bit of it... Your teacher is so sad...
"The practical exam is simple," the class president explained. "You just have to inflict a certain amount of cumulative damage on the training dummy within the time limit. That's all."
"Oh, you're well-informed, Counselor."
"Yes, well. I heard about it from a fellow teacher. I know at least that much."
To put it simply, it was a damage-testing dummy. It was designed to let players chain various combos within a set time limit to check how much they had grown their characters in the early game. This was an event every player had to go through, regardless of which character they chose, as it served as a benchmark for growth. Back in my world, the game's community forums were always flooded with screenshots of players boasting about their scores. Though, as with any game involving numbers, it eventually just became a playground for the hardcore veterans.
"So there's nothing to worry about. Just show them what you've trained so far."
...However, as was typical for this game, this event—which only occurred four times in the entire storyline—never went smoothly. Without fail, a major incident always broke out during this period. The first semester's midterm exam... What was it again? Ah, right. I remember.
"Orca."
"Yeah?"
"You shouldn't get too close to the other teachers, okay?"
"...?"
Well, I knew she wasn't the type to willingly approach anyone first anyway... but it was a safety measure. There was no harm in giving her a heads-up, right? The main event of the first semester's midterms wasn't just beating up a training dummy. The dummy was merely a warm-up tool to measure attack power. Once that measurement was complete, the second event—the actual main event of this period—would trigger immediately.
The "Find the Culprit" event.
"...So, you expect me to believe that, Counselor Ophelia?"
"You don't have to believe me, Principal. I only know for a fact that such an incident will occur."
"..."
The "Find the Culprit" event. As the name suggested, this event involved tracking down a culprit who had caused an incident and then gone into hiding. The incident in question was... the rampage of the training dummies.
Normally, a training dummy made of holograms couldn't attack, let alone be attacked by anyone. After all, they didn't possess physical bodies. They were made of nothing but light.
However, for a mere hologram to withstand the students' attacks, it required a physical vessel that could actually be struck. The Academy solved this problem by overlaying a magically constructed body onto the hologram. A physical dummy created by the world's finest mages. The students would attack this dummy, and the hologram would calculate and display the impact force. It was a simple test, nothing more. Naturally, there was no way for the dummy to attack a student.
Yes. That was the logical way to think about it. Anyone would think so.
...After all, who would ever suspect that there was a traitor among the Academy's faculty? No one would expect the training dummies to suddenly move with the intent to kill students. It was a perfect surprise attack.
Once the dummies gained physical form and went out of control, they wouldn't stop until they were completely destroyed. Trying to sever the connection was useless. As a safety precaution for emergencies, the dummies were designed to remain active as long as even a single connection remained. Naturally, the traitor had no intention of severing the connection, leaving destruction as the only option.
The problem was that the dummies were ridiculously durable, having been built to withstand the onslaught of students. On top of that, the traitor had secretly equipped them with weapons. It would have been a flawless ambush.
If not for me, that is.
"An anti-establishment group attacking the Academy... Their motive?"
"It's simple. There are two symbols of the current establishment here, aren't there?"
"The Watcher and that arrogant brat... That is indeed logical."
To be more precise, it was an act of terror. A terrorist attack targeting Anastasia and Stella. For those aiming to overthrow the empire, they were prime targets. High-ranking figures who would normally live under strict security and surveillance were gathered in one place: the Academy. To those rebels, it must look like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"...And how exactly did you find out about this?"
"Well, could we perhaps agree not to ask about that?"
"I have no idea why everyone brings up these kinds of things whenever they ask to meet me in secret..."
Probably because you're the type who can't say no when asked? Plus, she held a high position and possessed outstanding abilities.
...At this point, the option for Veronica to do nothing had already vanished. When weighing the options of preparing versus not preparing, the aftermath of an unprepared disaster was simply too disastrous to clean up. Since she genuinely cared for the students, the moment she heard they might get hurt, her course of action was set in stone.
As if acknowledging this reality, the Principal let out a deep sigh.
"You are far more cunning than I thought, Counselor. This is practically an ultimatum."
"Ahaha..."
"Fine. I won't ask how you know. However, I must ask this. ...Why did you warn me about the incident beforehand, yet tell me not to stop it?"
"Because it will help the students grow."
I stated firmly. This was the right path.
"I judged that this would be a better path for the students' growth."
"..."
"We can keep a close eye on things to prepare for any emergencies, but wouldn't it be a great experience for the students to resolve the incident themselves?"
"Hmm."
Everything was experience. It was inevitable that those who had lived through something would know more than those who hadn't. This was a sentiment she would surely agree with. If it were an unpredictable disaster, she would try to prevent it at all costs, but we had already mapped out the entire situation before it even began. We held the safety switch to end the incident at any moment. Under such circumstances, I knew Veronica wouldn't pass up an opportunity for the students to gain real-world combat experience.
As if proving my prediction correct, she eventually let out a sigh and nodded.
"Very well. However, I plan to be away on the day of the incident you mentioned, Counselor Ophelia."
"I am aware."
"...If any of the students are severely injured, you will have to take responsibility."
"Don't worry. I may not look it, but I'm actually quite competent."
Resolving the incident was entirely up to the students. Therefore, I would orchestrate the events I knew of to be as safely dangerous as possible. It was a contradictory phrase, but... that was the only way the students could grow without getting hurt.
I offered a bright smile to the Principal to express my gratitude.
"You look incredibly suspicious when you smile like that... I'm sorry, but I think I'll take back what I just said—"
"Ah, what?! That's so mean! Is there something wrong with my smile?!"
"It looked genuinely sinister just now. If you look in a mirror and smile the exact same way, even you would be horrified, Counselor Ophelia."
"T-There's no way..."