I Became an Academy Counselor - Chapter 21

Ophelia’s POV

It didn’t take long for the two of them to notice me.

I’ve never experienced combat unlike other students, so I’m not sure…

But it seems they already sensed my presence.

Leo was able to hide his presence well, but I couldn’t.

“If you’re here, say something.”

“Well, you two seemed to be enjoying yourselves so much…

“What?! I wasn’t enjoying it at all!”

‘Liar.’

She was clearly having a great time.

She might be able to fool others, but not my eyes.

Her gruff demeanor hadn’t changed, but I could tell.

But if I say this, Orca will probably change the subject out of embarrassment.

Maybe I should just pretend to accept it and move on.

“Alright, if you say so. If that’s not the case, there’s nothing we can do.”

“…Something feels off about this.”

“So? Why is Stella here?”

Ignoring Orca’s mumbling, I turned to look at Stella.

I could understand why Leo and Orca were here.

She comes every day, and he visits frequently.

But not Stella.

We’ve met before, but is her situation dire enough to visit the counseling room?

That can’t be right.

Most academy students have strong pride.

After all, this is a gathering place for those who are always called geniuses, where they live.

And if you ask who has the strongest pride in the academy, everyone would point to Stella.

Because she’s the princess.

And inevitably, students with strong pride tend to avoid counseling.

Of course, if they’re pushed to a point where they can’t handle it themselves, and that’s a different story…

But considering the timing of Stella’s main quest, her crisis shouldn’t happen until much later.

The emperor is still alive.

She shouldn’t be having any mental struggles yet, right?

“I came to see Teacher Ophelia”

“…Me? Why?”

“Homework.”

“?”

“…Don’t tell me you forgot? The homework you gave me.”

“No, I remember that, but…”

Of course, I remembered giving her homework.

After all, the principal just rushed in here earlier saying it was creepy.

I’m not stupid enough to forget something that happened less than a day ago.

…But why?

As I tilted my head, unable to grasp what Stella was saying, she sighed.

“You really forgot. The deadline for the homework you gave, isn’t it too vague? ‘Until we meet again,’ you said.”

“…Ah.”

“I heard you’re always in the counseling room, so I made time to come here.”

Now that she mentions it, I did say that.

I gave out the homework without much thought, so I set the deadline carelessly too.

Did she come because she thought it would be too much to do for a lifetime?

That was my mistake.

“Homework?”

“You don’t need to know. …Teacher Ophelia?”

“Yes, yes. I understand. Well, why don’t you two play chess together? I need to do some counseling now.”

I felt a bit sorry for Leo.

After making him wait like this, it feels like I’m kicking him out of the counseling room.

…I’m not sure if it’s fortunate, but Leo didn’t seem to mind much.

“I haven’t played much chess. …But seeing you two play made me want to try! How about you, Orca?”

“…Fine. I’ll take out my frustrations on you.”

“Haha, please go easy on me.”

Fortunately, even Orca, who had been thoroughly beaten by Stella, seemed enthusiastic. Her tone was still sharp, but I smiled at her appearance.

Orca, who was destined to wander alone for life without friends.

It seems she’s gradually starting to realize the joy of doing something with others.

“This is a good opportunity. How about it, Teacher Ophelia? Shall we talk while playing chess?”

“Sure. That sounds good.”

***

“Checkmate.”

“…I see, you were going easy on that woman?”

“I wonder. I was always serious.”

“Ha, what a lie.”

It’s the truth.

But Stella didn’t seem to believe it at all.

Well, I suppose it’s not unreasonable for her to think that way. Someone who lost to Orca just thoroughly beat her.

“Shall we play another round?”

“…Alright. This time I’ll definitely win.”

Of course, it’s not like I never went easy on Orca.

It’s true that my chess skills are better than hers.

But it’s also true that I really did lose sometimes.

After all, I’ve never played chess with a real person before…

I liked it, but there was no one around me who liked such things, so my daily routine was getting thoroughly beaten by the computer.

Then how was I able to beat Stella?

That’s simple.

I have a playbook.

Occasionally, when meeting Stella as another playable character, chess would start as a mini-game.

The rewards for winning weren’t great, but gamers are creatures who didn’t want to miss even small rewards.

As a result of countless gamers playing chess with her and accumulating numerous strategies…

It was discovered.

Stella’s playbook.

I casually moved my queen forward.

A position where the opponent’s knight could move to take the queen.

I wonder what judgment she’ll make seeing this.

“…”

Perhaps because she’s experienced this a few times?

Stella started to ponder for a while as if she had missed something.

But soon she seemed to make up her mind and captured the queen with her knight.

…Yes, she captured it.

She moved the knight that shouldn’t have been moved.

“Now, checkmate.”

“Ah, aah…?!”

“Shall we play more?”

“…No. I’ve lost.”

As soon as the knight protecting the main pieces moved away, the other pieces started to collapse one after another.

Is it because she’s become a person instead of a game program?

I felt like her habits were manifesting even more extreme.

“Alright. I’ve decided.”

“What?”

“The homework I’ll give you this time.”

“W-What? The homework is over…”

“As a student, shouldn’t you accept the homework given by your teacher?”

“Ugh…”

Of course, she’s good at chess.

I’m not sure exactly how good she is. I’m not that knowledgeable about chess.

One thing for sure is that it was unnecessarily difficult for a mini-game.

That’s why strategies and playbooks were created for what was just a mini-game.

If it weren’t for the numerous strategies experienced while playing chess with her, someone like me would have no way of winning.

Conversely, this means her play style is standardized enough for playbooks to be created.

Unlike the AI in typical chess games that make judgments based on the situation, she was bound by certain patterns, almost like a person.

Stella is fixated on strong pieces. Mainly the queen.

If given a choice between the queen and the bishop, she invariably moves the queen.

The reason is simple.

Because it’s the strongest piece. Because the queen is stronger than the bishop.

Many users liked to say that her personality was revealed even in her chess play style.

I was one of those people.

“At least twice a week. Come to the counseling room and play chess with me at least twice. I won’t set specific dates and times.”

“…Hm?”

“Do you dislike it?”

If her personality is revealed in chess, then the moment we change her chess play style, it means her values might change a little.

It might sound absurd, but…

Personality is formed by the accumulation of small things.

Even just changing the play style of the chess game she enjoys could change her small perceptions.

“…Fine. You’d better be prepared. Next time we play, it won’t be as easy as today.”

“That’s good to hear.”

She has strong pride.

Having lost several times in chess, which she was confident in, her pride must be hurt.

She’ll be grinding her teeth, determined to win next time.

But what if she keeps losing despite that?

She’ll realize. That her way of playing chess is wrong.

That if she keeps playing like this, she’ll never win.

…If she ever comes to think that way, then she will no longer fall for the strategies of gamers.

Her values will change.

Whether it’s a big change or a small one, I’m not sure…

Well. At least a small change has already occurred.

I already saw her praising Orca from beyond the door.

“Oh, and I’ll reduce the compliments to once every two days.”

“W-What…?!”

“You seemed to be struggling a bit, so I’m making it easier for you. Don’t think too hard about it.”

“That homework isn’t going away…?!”

“I never said anything like that.”

“T-This is bad. I have no more ways to compliment the old hag or Charlotte…”

“Have you only been complimenting those two until now?”

“W-What else could I do! How could a princess compliment people she doesn’t know…”

…Well. I’m not sure if I should call this clever or misguided.

Well, it’s not bad.

Complimenting people you know can be surprisingly difficult.

It’s surprisingly hard to praise someone you’re familiar with.

Should I consider it growth that she managed to do that?

“In that case, Princess Stella, you can compliment the children who come here. You were just praising Orca earlier. Since you’ve already done it, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“…I gave a compliment? Really?”

“Of course. Leo heard it too.”

Only after Princess Stella nodded slightly did the chess game disguised as counseling for the two come to an end.