An Unintended Opening
"What on earth did you do?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about Orca. Surely you aren't going to pretend you don't know."
A few days later. The class president, who had come to the Counseling Room, began to interrogate me.
"Right now, no one can focus on their classes."
"And why is that?"
"Because they're seeing the Orca actually sitting there, quietly paying attention to the lectures. Everyone is completely distracted by her."
I see. I understood what she was trying to say.
Orca, who had always kept to herself as if she were a ghost, was suddenly focusing on her classes. It was only natural that everyone's attention was drawn to her.
"Even the instructors who are supposed to be teaching are spacing out when they see her... Well, I suppose I can't blame them..."
"Even the teachers?"
"Yes. They're forcing themselves to keep teaching, but it's painfully obvious that they can't concentrate."
I hadn't expected that.
Was Orca's reputation really that terrible?
But our Orca is so cute...
Everyone must have been too terrified of her to notice the hidden cuteness beneath her rough exterior. Poor fools. They're missing out on life.
"So, what on earth did you do to her?"
"Well... I just gave her some counseling."
"Counseling...?"
"Yes, counseling."
But this wasn't a bad thing.
Since Orca's reputation was far worse than I had realized, my own stock would rise accordingly. Though it was a bit sad to realize just how lonely she must have been all this time.
Since she wasn't the only person I wanted to help, the Counseling Room needed to build up some prestige. When the time came to help the other children, having the reputation of rehabilitating Orca would be a massive asset.
"If Orca ever says anything mean in the future, please let me know, okay? I'll scold her for you."
"Ah, yes..."
"And, Class President. If you see any students who look like they're struggling with something, I'd appreciate it if you could bring them to the Counseling Room from time to time."
"...Understood."
The class president's face was filled with absolute trust.
Seeing Orca suddenly transform into an exemplary student seemed to have completely won her over. Well, it was only natural. The infamous Orca actually paying attention in class? That was something that had never happened, even in the game.
"Well then, would you mind leaving for today? I have some work to do."
"Ah, yes."
The class president left the Counseling Room, still casting a gaze of overwhelming respect in my direction. She probably thought I was about to do something incredibly important. Well, I suppose it was important in its own way. I had to play video games. Haze had broken my laptop a few days ago, so I'd had to buy a brand-new one.
"Ugh, replaying the parts I already cleared is such a pain..."
Since my save data was completely gone with no way to recover it, I had no choice. I skipped through the tedious story dialogue and thought to myself: Maybe I should have tormented Haze a little more. Was I too nice to her...?
"...Tsk."
What a pain.
Orca glared at the people who kept staring at her. Don't these bastards have anything better to do? It might have been better if they just kept staring. What disgusted her was how they immediately averted their eyes the moment she glared back, pretending they hadn't been looking.
"Ah, f—"
Just as she was about to let out a string of curses in her irritation, the woman's words suddenly flashed through her mind. Didn't she tell me not to use bad language? It wasn't like that woman was around to hear her anyway. Even if she did curse, she could just play dumb and deny it. She was just someone who claimed to care about her, after all. But why had she stopped herself? ...She didn't know. She had been feeling refreshed lately thanks to getting plenty of sleep, but now her mood was souring.
"If you're just going to stand there and stare, get the hell out of my sight. Before I kill you."
Too annoyed to think any further, she spat out a threat. The students turned pale and quickly scrambled away. Much better.
"Stop it."
"...Who the hell are you?"
"Leo. And you're... Orca, right?"
She had stepped outside for a walk because she was in a rare good mood, only for these annoying pests to keep bothering her. She was just about to head back to the Counseling Room because those idiots had ruined her mood, when a small boy with spiky hair that resembled a lion's mane approached her. He still had a lingering air of childish innocence about him. It was irritating. Especially when she saw short kids. It brought back memories of that day, and she couldn't stand it.
"You're scaring people. I'd like you to stop."
"...Ha. Why should I?"
"What do you mean, why? Because those students are terrified. It's not right to go around intimidating people like that. You know what kind of rumors are going around about you, don't you? If you want to put those rumors to rest, you should avoid unnecessary conflict—"
The boy began to lecture her, but his words didn't register. The only thing she felt was an overwhelming urge to punch this annoying brat in the face. ...Ah. She couldn't hold back.
"Hey."
"Huh?"
"Clench your teeth."
"...?!"
Crash!
Unable to suppress her rising irritation, she swung her fist at the small boy in front of her. One punch wasn't enough to satisfy her anger. Two. Three. How many times did she strike him? Feeling the impact against her knuckles, she clicked her tongue and took a step back. Immediately after, a sword slashed through the space where she had just been standing. Seeing that made her mood plummet even further. Did this bastard seriously try to strike me with the flat of his blade instead of the edge? Is he looking down on me?
"...Leo, was it? I'll at least praise your confidence in looking down on me."
"Are you out of your mind?! Causing a scene like this at the Academy...! This will only make the rumors about you worse!"
"Like I give a damn."
What is that sword made of? Why is it so sturdy? She lightly shook out her hand, which was trembling slightly from the impact of her previous blows. It had been a while since she had struck something with the intent to shatter it, only for it to not even show a single crack.
"I was planning on just giving you a light beating and heading back... but I've changed my mind. I'm going to hit you for real."
"..."
"This won't be easy for you."
It was easy to tell that he was stronger than he looked. Most people would have collapsed after a few of her blows, but he was still standing perfectly fine. He was probably exceptionally strong for a student. But what did she care? Right now, she just wanted to vent her frustration, go back to the Counseling Room, and take a nap. To give him a proper beating, she summoned her devil's arm. The boy's eyes widened in sheer shock as the arm materialized amidst an ominous haze.
"...!"
"What, never seen one before?"
"That's..."
"Take a good look while you have the chance. This is a devil's arm. Cool, right? I hear boys go crazy for this kind of stuff."
Those who suffered from Devil Possession were shunned by everyone. This was because no one knew when the devil would completely take over their bodies. Possessed hosts, constantly fighting for control against the devils residing within them, would gradually deteriorate mentally until their bodies were inevitably stolen. However, every cloud has a silver lining. In exchange for the grueling struggle to maintain control, the possessed were able to wield a portion of the devil's power.
In Orca's case, it was her arm. Some could cast magic, and others could wield swords. An arm might have seemed weak in comparison, but Orca actually preferred it. It had a nice punch to it. She wasn't technically hitting them with her own hand, but it gave her the distinct sensation of delivering a physical blow. Was it because she shared her body with a devil?
"Hey, why are you spacing out?"
As the boy stared blankly at the materialized devil's arm, she swung it directly into his flank. He hurriedly raised his sword to block the incoming strike, but his reaction was a split second too slow. Failing to defend properly, he took the full force of the blow to his side and collapsed to the ground.
"Cough...!"
"Sorry. You left yourself so wide open, I just couldn't help myself."
This guy is strong, but he has absolutely no real combat experience. Spacing out right in front of an enemy? Is he insane? She clicked her tongue, disappointed that he had gone down so easily when she had gone to the trouble of materializing her arm to vent her anger.
"...Tsk. And here I thought you were strong."
"I'm... not down yet."
"Oh?"
A spark of interest flickered in Orca's eyes as she watched the boy stumble back to his feet. He's actually standing up after that? That had to hurt like hell.
"Come at me... Orca. I'll keep you company."
"Hey, you... I like you more than I thought I would."
Orca let out a ferocious grin.
"C-Counselor! We have an emergency!"
"Eek?! P-Please, at least knock before you come in!"
"I-I'm sorry! But this is urgent...!"
What a scare...! I thought I was going to get caught... Maybe I should put up a sign on the Counseling Room door telling people to knock. Why does everyone just barge in without knocking? Taking advantage of the moment while the class president caught her breath, I stealthily shut my laptop, took a deep breath, and spoke to her.
"So? What's the matter?"
"O-Orca is in a fight!"
"...With whom?"
"Her opponent is a student from our year named Leo! The area is a complete mess because of their fight...!"
"..."
A fight between Leo and Orca. I forced down the smile that threatened to spread across my face. If I smiled in a situation like this, she would definitely think I was a psychopath. No matter how thrilled I was that the prologue had finally begun, if I showed it openly in front of others, I'd have no choice but to rely on my hypnosis to cover it up. I must endure... I must endure...
"...? Counselor Ophelia?"
"Ahem. Well, alright. What is the situation like?"
"Orca is completely one-sidedly beating Leo to a pulp! We have to stop them right now!"
"...Excuse me?"
"I-It might be really dangerous right now! There's no one else who can stop them but you, Counselor!"
Huh? What? Leo is losing? Not Orca?
"Orca is one-sidedly...?"
"He's being pushed back severely. He's barely holding on, but... there's no time to explain! We have to go quickly!"
W-What on earth is going on? Leo is losing? Seriously? ...Why? In the prologue, Leo was supposed to knock Orca unconscious, which would cause the devil she was suppressing to go wild. Since I had already bound the devil, that accident shouldn't have been able to happen... ...Ah. Come to think of it, didn't I cure Orca's insomnia and make sure she got plenty of deep sleep? I'm pretty sure the prologue mentioned that Orca had stumbled momentarily during the fight due to her severe insomnia. Cold sweat began to pour down my back.