I Became an Academy Counselor - Chapter 20

Stella’s POV

“I’ll be resting, so just kill time however you want. She’ll probably be here soon.”

…How natural.

She was comfortable as if she was walking around her own home.

Having the key to the counseling room, does she come here often?

She doesn’t seem to care that I’ve entered the room, she pulls out a book and flops down on the bed.

A comic book?

It seems to be something prepared for students who visit the counseling room.

Though she’s just using something that was meant to be used, it looks frivolous because of her background.

I wanted to tell her to mind her manners, but I held back.

This place seems to be somewhere she frequents.

From her perspective, I must be nothing more than an intruder.

If that’s the case, I can understand why she’s treating me, a princess, this way.

Besides, didn’t Teacher Ophelia mention it before?

That she seemed upset after losing to me.

If she’s still harboring those feelings, it’s not unreasonable for her to react like this…

“…?”

Wait.

…Why am I trying to understand her?

Something felt off. There’s no reason why I should be thinking about why she’s being so rude.

Why am I having these thoughts?

It felt somehow different from usual.

Something seems strange…

“What, got nothing to do?”

“Hm?”

“This works out well. I was getting tired of reading the same comics anyway.”

…Well, I guess it’s nothing.

I felt something was very off, but thinking about it again, it seems I was mistaken.

It’s my duty as a princess to look after the citizens.

But perhaps because I was momentarily still due to that unnecessary sense of discomfort? She seemed to have judged that I was standing there blankly out of boredom, as she tossed aside the comic she was reading and approached me.

“That teacher said if someone came while she was away, I should entertain the guest.”

“…And?”

“The problem is… I’ve never entertained guests before, and I don’t know how.”

That was something I could understand without her saying it.

Considering her background, it’s only natural.

Someone who’s always been ostracized wouldn’t have had the chance to entertain guests.

While I’m not particularly afraid of her since someone of my caliber wouldn’t be seriously injured even if her demon went berserk…

Most citizens aren’t like that.

There have been quite frequent incidents caused by demon-possessed individuals, to the point where there’s significant public opinion questioning why they’re even kept alive.

“So, it’s a match.”

“…A match? What, are you trying to fight me again? I don’t mind as a way to kill time, but you should give up any expectations of winning.”

I wondered what she was trying to do.

Does she want to fight me once more?

I could praise her competitive spirit, but with her skills, it’s absolutely impossible.

Unless she goes berserk, there’s no way she can beat me.

It hasn’t even been a month since our last match, could she have grown so rapidly…?

“What, don’t want to? Why are you just standing there?”

“…No. It’s fine. Let’s do it. I should contact the old hag. We’ll need to borrow an open space.”

I felt good about the thought that had suddenly occurred to me.

Her competitive spirit is praiseworthy.

It felt like I had found one more person to compliment, when I had been running short.

Hmm, I suppose there’s no harm in acknowledging someone like her.

Considering that most demon-possessed individuals die by middle school, the very fact that she’s alive at this age is proof of her capability.

Maybe I’ll go a bit easy on her this time.

If I fight while holding back appropriately, then praise her a bit saying she’s grown, I can fulfill my daily compliment quota.

…Perfect plan.

It’s not just for a week.

If I play my cards right with her, I might be able to milk this until the end of the academy.

“Open space? …Why?”

“Hm? Aren’t we going to fight? You wouldn’t want the counseling room to get destroyed either, right?”

“Fight? Me? Why?”

“?”

However, Orca’s reaction was quite different from what I had expected.

I thought for sure she wanted to fight.

…Was I wrong?

“What’s with you? Did you think I was going to jump you?”

“Aren’t you?”

“I know my place. It’s still impossible for me to make your knees touch the ground, so I don’t particularly want to fight.”

“…It seems you’re less of a brute than I thought.”

“If I charge in without thinking, I’ll die quickly.”

“…”

So she has enough intelligence to not challenge someone when she knows there’s a big difference in skill. I thought she was someone without any thoughts at all. My evaluation of this woman, which I thought would never change, shifted a little in my mind.

She’s a bit different from what I thought. It seems I need to reconsider my evaluation of her.

“Then what do you mean by a match?”

“This.”

Orca confidently held something out in front of me.

…It was a wooden object.

An item patterned with black and white tiles, which to put it politely, didn’t look particularly expensive.

It seemed like it could be opened and closed with a hinge.

Is the inside hollow?

I heard something rattling inside as Orca held it out.

“…Chess, I see.”

“Yeah. Let’s have our match with this today. It’s perfect since I was bored. I’ll crush you.”

I wonder if she’s cultured enough for chess. She didn’t seem like the type at all. I looked at her once in surprise and nodded.

Well, it’s not bad for killing time. The only flaw is that the chessboard looks mass-produced…

But expecting more than that in a counseling room would be luxury.

“Very well. Let me see your skills.”

I decided to play with her until Teacher Ophelia arrives.

Ophelia’s POV

“Haah…”

I sighed as I closed the door to the principal’s office.

Did I get too excited?

If the principal had been concerned about authority, I might have to make her drink and hypnotize her again.

No matter how much it was for the students’ sake, I should be more careful from now on.

Even with hypnosis, it’s not omnipotent.

Even if the conditions are easy, there are still conditions for hypnosis, so it’s not good to rely on it too much.

I need to reflect on this.

Sighing, I walked quickly towards the counseling room.

More time had passed than I thought.

Although she’s been behaving better recently, Orca might get bored, so I should be with her…

“…Huh? Leo?”

“Ah, Teacher. Hello.”

“Why aren’t you going in? Is the door locked?”

Maybe because I was walking so quickly.

Leo was lingering in front of the counseling room door, which I had reached earlier than expected.

…What’s going on? Is it locked?

“No, the door isn’t locked. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“It feels a bit awkward to go in…”

“?”

Awkward to go in?

If the counseling room door is open, Orca should be inside, right?

Leo and Orca have known each other for quite a while, so Leo should know that well.

There shouldn’t be any reason to feel awkward…

“Do you want to see for yourself?”

“What on earth…”

What could be happening inside the counseling room to cause such a reaction?

Curious, I peeked through the slightly open door into the counseling room and was surprised.

“A-Again… Let’s do it again…!”

“No, that’s enough. Let’s stop.”

“Why, why?!”

“Are you asking even though you know? You’re terribly bad at chess. A complete amateur.”

What on earth happened while I was away from the counseling room?

I couldn’t understand the scene before my eyes at all.

…Why are those two playing chess?

“They seemed to be having so much fun that it felt a bit awkward to interrupt.”

“…”

Then he could have just come back later.

Could it be that he was lingering in front of the counseling room like that, waiting for them to notice or for their game to end?

Leo’s innocent smile looked a bit pitiful…

“Urghhhh…! T-This can’t be…! I even studied really hard…!”

“That’s not studying, it’s just the basics. At this level… You could easily beat someone who knows nothing about chess.”

“B-But I even beat the teacher recently!”

“Are you sure she wasn’t going easy on you?”

“…”

I felt a bit sorry for Orca as she hung her head like a mute who had eaten honey.

She seemed to have taken a liking to chess recently, so I had been deliberately losing occasionally to build her confidence.

Who would have thought she’d be playing chess with Stella at the moment she gained a bit of confidence…

There’s no way a beginner who just got past the novice stage could beat the princess.

Even nobles learn chess as part of their education.

…To begin with, Stella is a character modeled after chess. Most of her skill names are related to chess, and most of Stella’s mini-games were chess. Even her character illustration shows her wearing mismatched black and white gloves and thigh-high socks. Of course, she’s set up to be good at chess.

…And yet she faced off against such a character.

I had just built up her confidence, but I hope she’s not feeling down about losing to the same person again. Just as I was about to enter the counseling room to quickly separate the two,

Orca, who had been hanging her head, spoke up.

“…Let’s play again.”

“I don’t see why I should…”

“It’s not like you have anything else to do. Since it’s come to this, why don’t you teach me as we play?”

“I’ll praise your shamelessness. Fine. You can go first.”

I stared blankly into the counseling room.

The sight of them bickering yet playing chess together.

That scene looked peaceful and just like children their age.

“…I’m sorry, Leo. Your legs might get tired, but please… Please wait a little longer.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

I watched the scene inside the counseling room for a while.

Until the two noticed that I was watching them.