A Devil's Good Deed

After tucking the soundly asleep Orca into bed, I smiled. I had been agonizing over how to get word-of-mouth going among the students, but her sudden appearance solved all my worries. I never imagined I would make contact with a playable character like this. It was an unexpected windfall.

"It looks like we don't have much time left before the prologue begins." I was certain of it after seeing how the class president treated Orca. Even though he knew she was a Devil Possessed and possessed a terrible personality, he still chased after her out of a sense of duty because they were classmates. It was exactly how he behaved right before the prologue kicked off.

The class president's attitude toward Orca could be divided into three phases. First, the period depicted in flashbacks where he passionately ran around trying to rehabilitate her. That phase had already passed, as the attitude I just witnessed was a far cry from passion.

Next was the present. He was aware that Orca was dangerous, but he hadn't actually witnessed that danger firsthand. While he had cast aside the prejudice that all Devil Possessed were inherently evil, he was beginning to feel that Orca herself was a hazard. He followed her around out of obligation, driven by the fear of what might happen if she were left to her own devices.

...And finally, his state after the prologue. This was the class president players were most familiar with. Having realized exactly why people feared the Devil Possessed, he felt a deep-seated terror toward her, yet he still forced himself to approach her out of sheer duty. Orca would sneer at him, mocking him for being just like the rest, but the fact that he remained one of the few NPCs capable of interacting with her showed just how stubborn he truly was.

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"Now then..." The act of hypnotizing someone felt uncomfortably like manipulating them to my whim, which made me hesitant. That was why I hadn't used Hypnosis on Orca the moment we met. The Orca I loved was the one who overcame her past trauma through her own strength, not one forced into a hollow happiness by my suggestions.

Even if I resolved her issues with Hypnosis, what would happen if the suggestion broke due to some unforeseen incident? In the end, she would be left as a stagnant person, forever trapped in her past. Therefore, I wanted to use Hypnosis merely as a tool to make it easier to approach the students. Nothing more.

But there are always exceptions. There are certain entities whose actions must be restricted through Hypnosis, no matter what.

"It should be coming out about now..." That was why I had placed four hypnotic suggestions on Orca. First, a suggestion that made it so she could see no other beverage except the tea I brewed. Second, a suggestion that intensified her thirst the more she looked at the tea. And third, a suggestion that would plunge her into a deep, tension-free sleep the moment she drank it. As for the fourth suggestion... I'll save that for later.

Fortunately, Orca didn't seem to notice anything amiss with the Hypnosis I cast... but that only made me pity her more. The fact that she didn't find it strange to have blacked out, even briefly, meant she lost consciousness on a regular basis. She really needed to get some proper sleep.

Knowing the reason why she could never let her guard down, I gently stroked the hair of the soundly sleeping girl. Perhaps she felt my touch, because her eyes suddenly fluttered open, meeting mine. But they weren't her usual red eyes—they were pitch black.

"Di—"

"Stop right there."

"?!"

"From this moment on, you cannot move. You will only be able to move... let's see, after I give you permission."

"What is this...! What kind of trick did you play?! Undo this right now! If you don't, I'll kill you!"

"Haha, I'm sorry. That's impossible."

Realizing that her body wouldn't move despite not being bound by anything, she screamed at me to release her immediately. But I did not yield to her threats. In fact, I ignored them entirely.

"Even if I let you go, you're just going to try to kill me anyway, aren't you?"

"Kuuuugh...! Undo it right now!"

"Since you aren't denying it, I must be right."

The reason Orca suffered from severe insomnia was because she hosted a devil within her body. She had to remain constantly vigilant to suppress the devil the moment she felt it trying to manifest, even in her sleep. If she lost control of her body, it would lead to an absolute catastrophe.

...Naturally, the devil inside her wanted nothing more than to destroy and ruin the world. It constantly sought to hijack her body whenever she let her guard down or tried to sleep. The result of this struggle was Orca's chronic insomnia. The devil tried to seize control day and night, and to prevent that, Orca couldn't sleep. She had repeated this grueling cycle for years—so much so that in the game's lore, she was still plagued by insomnia even years after the story's conclusion.

"Good grief. Even if you're a devil, shouldn't you at least let her sleep?"

"Die, die, die, die, die, die...!"

"...Sigh."

She ignored my words, too busy throwing a tantrum and demanding I undo this strange sorcery. If I released the Hypnosis, she would try to slaughter me on the spot. A fragile person like me would never be able to react to her attacks the moment she was freed. If I hadn't set up this trap to paralyze her the second she manifested, I wouldn't have stood a ghost of a chance.

"Very well, I'll undo it."

"Really?! Ha, how splendid! I suppose maintaining such a bizarre spell was too exhausting for you! As a reward, I shall tear your body to shreds in the most agonizing way possible!"

"In exchange, I have one condition."

"...A condition?"

"Yes, a contract. Will you agree to it?"

Devils have two major characteristics: they must always fulfill their contracts, and they cannot lie. Knowing this better than anyone, the devil inhabiting Orca's body instantly calmed its excitement and spoke.

"...What are the terms of this contract?"

"It's nothing too difficult. Once you are freed, you must play a simple game with me. That is all."

"...Is that truly it?"

"Of course."

She looked highly suspicious. Well, it made sense. Anyone would be bewildered if the person who had just completely paralyzed them offered to let them go in exchange for a trivial contract. However, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠realizing she had no other choice, she eventually nodded.

"Fine. The contract is established. What is the wager?"

"Hmm, let's see. How about we take turns performing one good deed and one evil deed, and then decide which one felt better?"

"...Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. Oh, and the loser must obey the winner's commands for the rest of their life."

"What on earth are you plotting? Fine. It is not a difficult task, so I accept."

Having said that, the devil suddenly smashed the laptop on my desk, scattering the pieces across the floor. Then, she meticulously picked up a few shards and tossed them into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the trash can.

"The contract is fulfilled, you fool. You failed to specify the scale of the evil and good deeds. I shall at least grant you some final words."

...My laptop. I had so many games installed on that... Tears of sheer injustice welled up in my eyes. What a bastard. Truly, a devil's cruelty knows no bounds. To soothe my grieving heart, I decided to play a little trick of my own.

"...The contract is not over yet, Haze."

"You... how do you know my name?!"

Shocked that I knew her name, Haze glared at me in utter horror. It was only natural. Even if someone who didn't know a devil's identity killed a Devil Possessed, the devil itself would not die. So, how could one kill a devil? By discovering its true name. If you killed the host after learning the devil's name, the true body would perish along with them.

Naturally, devils were extremely wary of anyone who knew their names. So, having a mere human suddenly call her by her true name must have been terrifying. ...Well, I had absolutely no intention of killing Orca, so her worries were entirely in vain.

"That doesn't matter right now, does it? Just answer the terms of the wager."

"Knowing a devil's name is just 'nothing' to you?! You...! What on earth are you?!"

"If you answer the wager, maybe I'll tell you."

"...The good deed felt better! Happy now?! Now answer my—wait, what?"

Hook, line, and sinker. A victorious smile spread across my face.

"I win."

"W-wait. What was that just now? This is wrong. I clearly felt that the good deed was more...?! Hold on. Something is strange..."

"Devils cannot lie, can they?"

"...!"

Only after seeing my smirk did Haze realize that I had pulled a fast one on her.

"Y-you...! What did you do?!"

"Oh, come now. I didn't do anything to you, Haze."

Indeed, I hadn't done a single thing to Haze. The Hypnosis had been placed solely on Orca. ...The fourth suggestion I had implanted in her was that she would feel an overwhelming sense of euphoria whenever she performed a good deed. Of course, a hypnotic suggestion placed on one person shouldn't affect another... but the story changed when two souls shared a single body. They shared the same brain, after all. It was only natural for the effects to bleed over.

"Now then... shall I exercise my rights as the winner?"

"W-wait a moment. Let's talk about this..."

"From now on, until the day you fade away, how about we ban you from committing any evil deeds for the rest of your life?"

"Y-you bastard...!"

The contract was established. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Exactly as I desired.