Operation: Make Friends
"...Perhaps consulting you was a mistake, Teacher Ophelia."
"What?!"
And here I thought I'd given her excellent advice! Her reaction was completely unexpected, and it caught me off guard. A mistake? Seriously? Did that mean my advice was utterly useless? Had I ended up like those old, out-of-touch bosses at my former company—the ones who cornered juniors to drone on about things only they cared about, the very people I swore I'd never become? I shuddered at the horrifying thought.
"W-was it not helpful...?" I stammered. "I'm so sorry if it was completely useless. I was just trying to quietly..."
"...What on earth are you talking about? Your advice was incredibly helpful. You pointed out a blind spot I hadn't even considered. It's just..."
"Just?"
Stella looked hesitant, as if wondering whether she should even voice her thoughts. I stared back at her intently, urging her to speak. What did she mean? If it was helpful, why was consulting me a mistake? I couldn't wrap my head around it.
"...Teacher Ophelia, you don't secretly harbor desires of world domination, do you?"
"What?!"
"It was a bit chilling, to be honest. I felt as if I were being bewitched."
Stella let out a heavy sigh and slumped back against the sofa. Looking genuinely tense, she glanced around the Counseling Room, grabbed a drink, and chugged it down.
"Are you aware that if things go wrong, the things you just suggested could get us executed for high treason?"
"Yes? Of course I know that."
"And yet you remain so nonchalant..."
"...?"
"No, never mind. If you don't get it, that's fine. Just understand that I was simply a bit taken aback."
What is she even talking about?
"At any rate, thank you. It was far more helpful than I anticipated. I thought I was grasping at a straw, but it turned out to be a sturdy ladder."
"A-a straw..."
"Turning the Academy's students into a faction... It's not a bad idea."
"Right?"
No matter how many Academy students gathered, they couldn't defeat the Imperial Family. But that was only true if you measured their current capabilities on a scale. Right now, the situation was very different.
First of all, the students were still weak, meaning they had immense room for growth. Fortunately, the facilities and instructors to train them were already fully available.
The Imperial Family was also in a state of considerable disarray. Although about ten years had passed since the war ended, looking at it another way, it had only been ten years. Their military power wouldn't have fully recovered yet.
Furthermore, the interior of the Imperial Family was severely fractured by political strife. Far from recovering, they were busy tearing each other apart, and I was certain they were weaker now than they had been back then.
How could I be so sure? Because that was how it went when I played the game.
Of course, I didn't believe the Imperial Family had weakened solely based on that. Stella was an Imperial Princess, so she knew the internal situation best. She wouldn't have reacted this way if she didn't think there was a real possibility. They had definitely grown weaker.
"But... how do I expand my influence within the Academy?"
"It's not that difficult. You just need to make a lot of friends."
"...Friends?"
"Yes, friends."
"And you think that alone will suffice?"
Stella looked at me with deep skepticism in her eyes. Her expression clearly asked: Can simply making friends really build a faction powerful enough to make a difference?
"You don't even have to think of them as a faction, Lady Stella. Everyone else will do that for you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, to be perfectly frank... your personality is a bit on the arrogant side."
"...You dare say that to my face?"
"Why not? It's not like you're the type to retaliate over something like this."
Her arrogance was quite famous. Several people within the Academy had already experienced it firsthand, and rumors had spread that she didn't even treat those who failed to meet her standards as human beings.
If such rumors had already circulated in the Academy after her short time here, imagine how it was back in the Imperial Palace where she had lived her entire life. It was common knowledge that her only real friend was her childhood companion, Charlotte.
"So, what would the Imperial Family think if someone with your personality suddenly started making a ton of friends?"
"They wouldn't see them as friends. They would see them as subordinates. Yes, they might think of it that way."
"Exactly."
In truth, there wasn't much of a difference between friends and a faction anyway. In the inevitable clash between Stella and her siblings, if that battle ever spilled into the Academy, who would the students support? It was human nature to side with someone you were even slightly close to over some stranger whose name and face you barely knew.
Of course, if she wanted the students to help her, there had to be at least a baseline of feasibility.
"Now then... I'm going to give you a homework assignment."
"W-what?! Homework?! Is chess not enough?!"
"Oh, come now. That was homework for your growth. This is homework for your survival. They're completely different."
"..."
Stella's main story had officially begun. So, what did I need to do? It was simple.
"Even if I tell you to make friends, you probably don't even know how, considering you don't have any."
"I-I do have friends!"
"Please, let's not count the companions the Imperial Family assigned to you. Do you have any friends you became close with naturally?"
"..."
"You don't, right? That's why I'm going to set a target for you."
I would subtly slip my own agenda into her friend-making mission.
"Go make friends with Orca."
"...What? That ruffian?"
"Now, now. A ruffian? She might be a little rough around the edges, but she's a good, cute student."
"I will never understand your defense of that wild girl, Teacher Ophelia..."
Well, I couldn't deny that I favored Orca a bit more because she was my main back when I played the game. But it wasn't without reason. Even if there was a touch of personal bias, there was a perfectly logical reason why I wanted the two of them to become friends. Stella would understand soon enough.
"Orca has no friends."
"Naturally. I would be more shocked if she did."
...Even though I was the one who brought it up, hearing her confirm it so bluntly felt a bit strange. But it was fine. Stella was going to become Orca's friend now.
"Think about it, Stella. If you tried to make friends right now, do you think you could?"
"..."
"It would be difficult."
I wasn't bringing up her personality or anything like that. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It had nothing to do with her personality.
"You might feel like a kite with a severed string, but that's an internal matter only the Imperial Family knows, right?"
"...Yes. To the public, I am still an Imperial Princess."
"Most of the Academy's students are commoners. Just striking up a conversation with an Imperial Princess is an immense hurdle for them."
Even if she wanted to make friends, her background prevented anyone from approaching her. A commoner and a princess—two statuses with a massive, undeniable gulf between them. While the education at the Academy was equal for all, that didn't mean interpersonal relationships were suddenly equal as well.
The Academy rules dictated that everyone was equal within its walls, but... not all rules were strictly followed.
It was a rule created to protect commoner students, yet the commoners themselves were the ones who broke it. Even if they were protected inside the Academy, that protection wouldn't follow them once they stepped outside.
The students admitted to the Academy were all renowned geniuses in their respective regions. They understood that level of risk perfectly. A place that proclaimed equality for all, but was in truth anything but—that was the Academy.
Students avoided approaching her because they didn't want to bear the risk of getting on a princess's bad side. ...Well, there were some who approached her to curry favor despite the risk, like those students during the friendly match. But even they had vanished. Stella despised anyone who didn't meet her standards, after all.
"But Stella, imagine if rumors spread that you and Orca became close. What would people think?"
"They would think it's absurd. Me, getting close to that girl? Unbelievable."
"Exactly. An unbelievable event would have occurred."
Even among commoners, those with Devil Possession were shunned and ostracized. Yet such a person had become friends with Stella? What would the other students think then?
"Whether it was by chance or fate... that doesn't matter to the students. The only important fact is that you and Orca became friends."
"...They'll think that if even she could do it, they can too?"
"Bingo."
Orca's public reputation was so low it had practically hit rock bottom. Yet if someone like her was close with the princess? Naturally, more and more people would try to approach Stella, thinking, Maybe I have a chance too?
Of course, having students flock to her would be annoying. But Stella was currently in a position where she needed to expand her network and build her own faction. Such minor inconveniences could easily be overlooked.
"Well, what will you do?"
This wasn't actually a question. If she refused, I was fully prepared to use Hypnosis on her. I absolutely had to see the two of them become friends. Fortunately, Stella nodded her head.