"Alright then..."

I quietly walked over to where Orca was lying, apparently fast asleep.

Though her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping soundly, I could tell she was pretending.

"I know you're awake, Orca. You can get up now."

"…How did you know?"

"Well, it's impossible to fall asleep that quickly in such a short amount of time."

Although she was pretty good at pretending to sleep, it was strange to think someone could fall asleep in such a short period.

…Not that this was the only reason I knew she wasn't asleep.

No one else would know, but Orca suffers from severe insomnia.

It's one of the reasons she's always so irritable with everyone.

After all, when someone doesn't get enough sleep, they tend to get easily annoyed.

Moreover, lack of sleep for Orca leads to more problems.

She can't concentrate, so attending classes becomes pointless.

That's why she's wandering around the academy instead of attending classes.

Because attending classes has no meaning when she can't concentrate due to fatigue.

Though she's very tired, she can't fall asleep. She can't focus either.

So, she's always looking for a place where she can sleep comfortably.

When she said she liked the facility, it was probably because there was a soft bed.

"Are you sleeping well? …Wow, that's a scary look."

Eek.

Scary…

I knew Orca wasn't genuinely looking at me with the intent to kill.

She was just frowning and staring at me, wondering how I knew.

She must be puzzled by my question about her sleep.

On the surface, she doesn't show dark circles or anything like that; she just has a harsh expression.

…But still, it's scary.

Even though I knew she had no malicious intent, I was a bit scared.

She wouldn't suddenly attack me, claiming she wanted my neck, right?

"Did you know about me?"

"Of course, I do. You're famous."

She was famous both within the game and outside of it.

No need to mention the internal reason. Orca is a demon-possessed.

A being with a demon inside her, a harbinger of doom.

There are various settings, but putting them aside...

How would people perceive a demon-possessed person?

Given that, it was easy to understand why Orca was famous.

Even if she slacked off in class, no one except the class president would bother looking for her.

Not even the teacher in charge of guiding Orca.

Only the class president, with her frustratingly stubborn nature, would look for her.

Her classmates probably wished she wouldn't be found.

People at the academy avoid getting involved with her.

Initially, some tried to treat her without prejudice.

It was sometimes depicted in the story.

But as you can see from her wandering alone, everyone eventually gave up on her.

Why?

Because of Orca's behavior.

"But why are you still here?"

"What do you mean by that, student?"

"If you know who I am, get lost. If you don't want to die."

See?

Orca rejects anyone who approaches her.

No matter how kindly they try to treat her, if this is the response they get, they would naturally get tired.

Especially if the person they're trying to help is a demon-possessed with severe issues.

People probably thought, "A demon-possessed person would do that," and distanced themselves.

This was also why she was famous outside the game.

An NPC that couldn't interact with most characters.

That was Orca.

Of course, if you got to the later stages of the game, you could interact with her...

But by then, interacting with her was meaningless, making it a practically useless system.

Naturally, because she couldn't use the systems other characters could, Orca was a character mainly enjoyed by seasoned players.

Other than that... there were occasional newbies who started with Orca because her appearance and personality matched their preferences, not knowing her notoriety.

It was a regular occurrence for those newbies to complain about the game's difficulty in the community.

And it was equally common for them to be mocked.

"You shouldn't speak so harshly, Orca. You won't make friends."

"Friends? I don't need such things."

"Hmm..."

I examined her face as I gently chided her.

She still looked tired, showing no reaction to me.

…She didn't seem to notice the hypnosis.

Pretending to sleep, covered by the bed's curtain, she hadn't seen us.

She could have heard us, but it seemed my low voice had prevented her from catching the conversation with the class president.

"Think you can avoid consequences if you don't leave now?"

"This is my counseling room..."

"Don't care."

She growled like a wary beast, and I sighed.

While it was nice to see the familiar look from the game...

It also meant she had experienced exactly what was depicted in the game.

I felt sorry for her, seeing someone so young with so many scars.

Her hostile demeanor, claiming she didn't need friends, was a defense mechanism for her wounded heart.

"Leave quickly. I'll give you three seconds."

"Hmm, you look tired. How about a cup of tea to help with fatigue?"

"Don't need it. Leave."

"I'm good at making drinks."

"Don't need it!"

Wow, she's tough…

Her familiar demeanor made me smile.

Initially, her rough attitude was a bit scary, seeing her in person rather than in the game...

But as I got used to it, the fear subsided, replaced entirely by sympathy.

"Orca, while I respect your desire not to hurt others... it's not good to hurt yourself."

"What nonsense?"

"Don't use such harsh words. I'll scold you if you use bad language."

"..."

She looked at me as if she had seen a crazy person, but I didn't mind.

How should I put this...?

It felt like watching a feral cat hissing with dirty fur.

It was threatening, but it was a reaction born from past experiences.

I knew she wasn't inherently a bad person.

"Alright, alright. I'll just make tea. Just drink it, and I'll leave."

"..."

I made the tea while she watched warily.

I showed her the entire process to assure her I wasn't adding anything suspicious.

After making the tea, I quickly left the counseling room.

"What was with that woman?"

Did she say she was a counselor?

What a strange person.

It had been a while since someone who knew about me reacted that way.

…Should I care?

She'll be gone soon enough.

Everyone has.

"A counseling room, huh..."

The soft atmosphere and subtle fragrance made me feel somewhat stabilized.

This place isn't bad. I might visit often.

I like the atmosphere, the scent, and the bed.

Good. From now on, this is my space.

I'll just kick out that strange woman like I did today.

Tea, huh?

Who would drink that?

Even though she showed me the entire process, I still couldn't trust it.

She could have added something strange to the tea leaves.

"…Why am I so thirsty?"

Strangely, as I stared at the steaming cup, I began to feel an overwhelming thirst.

I was fine a moment ago.

Annoyed by the sudden thirst, I searched the counseling room for something to drink.

But there was nothing.

"What the hell, why is there nothing?"

Strange.

I'm sure there was something to drink in the fridge earlier...

That weird woman didn't even stock the fridge.

As I looked at the only drink on the table, the cup of tea, my thirst grew stronger.

Guess I have no choice.

I really don't want to drink it...

She didn't do anything suspicious except for the tea leaves, so it should be fine.

"…It's well made."

I thought it was just flattery.

But it turned out she wasn't lying about making good drinks.

It didn't taste weird, and it was surprisingly good...

Thud.

After a strange noise, my consciousness faded.

"I didn't expect this..."

Watching Orca through the counseling room window, I was startled and rushed inside.

Who drinks tea standing up?

I assumed she would sit down to drink.

I gently rubbed Orca's forehead, which had reddened from hitting the desk when she fell.

"I hope she doesn't get a bump..."

I felt unnecessarily sorry.

I just wanted her to sleep well.

I didn't mean to hurt her. Sorry...