It was lunchtime, a week after I had hypnotized the princess.

Suddenly, the headmaster burst into the counseling room as if she had just witnessed something terrifying.

"Hello, Headmaster. What brings you here so suddenly? It would be nice if you could at least knock."

"This is no time for that!"

"Well… it is quite important, actually."

How could she say it wasn't important?

Knocking is crucial for maintaining proper etiquette.

…I almost got caught playing a game.

If not for my childhood experiences of sneaking in gaming sessions without my mom finding out, I'd have been doomed.

Lately, the students have started knocking, so I let my guard down, and now look at this mess.

As I tried to calm my racing heart, the headmaster strode over and grabbed my shoulders, speaking in a frantic tone.

"What did you do to that girl?"

"Excuse me? …Who?"

"That insolent child! The princess!"

"If you're talking about the princess, I just gave her the counseling you asked for."

Oh, so that’s what it was.

For a moment, I thought I had made some grave mistake.

Seeing her rush into the counseling room in such a panic, I wondered if there was a problem, so I got nervous.

But it seems like it wasn't anything serious after all.

"What’s with that reaction? You act like it's nothing."

"Because it is nothing?"

"Nothing?! How can you say that?!"

But something felt off.

The headmaster's reaction was much more intense than I expected.

She looked as if she had witnessed something utterly unbelievable.

As if she couldn't accept what she had seen.

"Stella has been going around, complimenting people lately."

"…Really? That’s great news."

That was unexpected.

It was just a simple assignment, not even one that involved hypnosis.

I didn’t think she’d actually do it.

Maybe she acknowledged me more than I thought.

After all, she tends to soften up to those she respects.

Knowing she was doing the homework I assigned gave me a strange sense of pride.

But it seemed Headmaster Veronica didn’t see it that way.

"It's so creepy… I never thought I'd see her like that, not even if the heavens flipped upside down."

"…"

What kind of reaction was this…?

No matter what, isn't this a bit much?

After all, this was exactly what she had asked me to do.

"You’re the one who requested this, and now you’re reacting like this…"

"I never imagined she’d turn out so creepy!"

"Hmm…"

This was problematic.

The headmaster's reaction was far more severe than I had anticipated.

To think that simply complimenting someone once a day would be considered so disturbing.

What kind of life has Stella lived…?

No, more importantly…

If this keeps up, someone might start to suspect me.

As unfortunate as it is, I might need to re-hypnotize her to reverse the changes…

"But still, as expected of you, Ophelia. Your skills are impressive."

"Pardon?"

"I don’t know how you managed to get through to that self-centered girl, but… truly impressive."

"Uh, thank you."

"Hmm."

…Could it be that the response wasn’t as bad as I thought?

Maybe the initial reaction was just due to unfamiliarity, and with time, she might come to accept it.

"As I thought, my instincts weren't wrong. Rumor has it that you're a very capable counselor, even though you've only been here a short while."

"Th-Thank you…"

"You’re not used to compliments, are you?"

Ugh, did she catch on?

…To be exact, I wasn’t used to receiving praise from superiors.

I’ve never really heard compliments before.

All I ever got was scolding.

The only thing that comforted my weary heart after work was gaming.

…So, I wanted to comfort the students as well.

Just as games gave me joy, I wanted to give them joy too.

"Don’t worry too much. I’m not scolding you. I was just a bit surprised."

"That’s… a relief."

"Please continue to take good care of the students, Ophelia."

"…Yes, leave it to me."

Even if she hadn’t asked, I would’ve done so.

Ever since I realized this world was the game world I loved, my goal had always been the same.

To save the students I cherished.

I had no other purpose.

"By the way, did you have that reaction in front of the princess…?"

"How did you know? I was so shocked I just ran here."

"The princess might feel hurt, so please refrain from doing that…"

"What? Her? No way. Come on, teacher, you’re joking, right?"

…It seems I still have a long way to go.

At the very least, I want to make sure this kind of reaction doesn’t happen before she graduates from the academy.

It's too sad otherwise…

"It looks like I’ll need to teach the headmaster how to handle students properly."

"W-What? There's no need. I’ve been teaching for a long time; I don't need to learn…"

"Quiet. You won’t be able to connect with students using such old-fashioned methods."

"O-Old-fashioned…?"

Is it because she’s old?

I sighed at her insistence on sticking to outdated ways.

Kids are sensitive.

You can’t handle them like that.

"Let’s have a serious talk in your office."

"Uh, alright…"

"Damn, isn’t this too much? That look like she’d seen a ghost…"

Stella muttered as she walked away.

Not having many close friends, she had directed all the compliments from Ophelia's assignment toward her childhood friend.

For the first six times, anyway.

At first, her childhood friend couldn’t understand what was going on, but after receiving compliments once a day, she started looking at Stella like she’d gone crazy.

But Stella didn’t stop.

She couldn’t bring herself to do this with anyone else.

Among those she acknowledged, Charlotte was the closest, so she had no other choice.

…If she hadn’t run out of things to compliment, she probably would’ve kept going.

Complimenting someone was harder than she thought.

Especially when it’s the same person every day.

Finding one or two things to compliment wasn’t so hard, but…

Once it got beyond what she could count on one hand, nothing came to mind.

Stella had struggled for over two hours just to find a single compliment, so she could at least say she had put in the effort.

However, the assignment was only until she met that teacher again.

Thinking it was impossible to keep complimenting her childhood friend, Stella pondered for a long time to find a new target.

She couldn’t just compliment random students she didn’t know.

So she ended up complimenting the old hag she at least acknowledged as competent.

Praising her formidable combat skills with, "You’re amazing."

"Never again will I compliment that old hag…!"

But what was that reaction?

It wasn’t necessary to scream and run away like that.

Stella knew that it would feel awkward to compliment others.

Still, since Charlotte had taken it in stride, she had started to feel a little more confident, despite the awkwardness.

But her confidence had been shattered in an instant.

She had thought she could get by for a few days by complimenting the old hag.

Stella, who had power but few close friends to compliment at the academy, thought to herself.

She had done enough.

Honestly, wasn’t this more than enough?

And so, Stella headed to the counseling room.

The assignment was due by the next meeting.

There was no problem with Stella visiting Ophelia on her own.

After about a week, she could say she had made a minimum effort.

She had been diligently following orders, even taming that demon-possessed girl…

But she couldn't do it anymore.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t bring herself to compliment anyone else.

"Finally here."

At the corner of the third floor of the academy was the counseling room.

A note written in a cute handwriting was stuck on the door, asking people to knock.

Stella arrived at her destination and knocked on the door.

She was here to meet Ophelia.

"…Hmm?"

But there was no response.

Thinking maybe she hadn't knocked loud enough, she tried again, knocking harder, but still, there was no answer.

It seemed Ophelia was out.

She tried turning the door handle, but as expected, it was locked.

No one was home.

…Tsk.

Just my luck for her to be out at a time like this.

Ophelia spends most of her time in the counseling room, so I didn't expect this.

"You are…"

When she turned around, she saw a girl with a sulky expression staring at her.

…Isn't that Orca, the demon-possessed girl?

I heard she was devastated after losing to me.

What’s going on?

Was she trying to enter the counseling room?

"Are you trying to enter the counseling room? The teacher isn’t here. You should come back later…"

"Move aside."

"…"

I offered her some kindness, and this is how she reacts.

Peasants, indeed.

The door was locked anyway, so she’d end up awkwardly leaving…

-Click.

"…Come in. You have business in the counseling room, right?"

"?"

But Stella's expectations were completely off the mark.

The door to the counseling room, which should have been locked, was now open, thanks to Orca.

"You, how did you…"

"What, are you not coming in?"

"…No, I’m coming. Thanks."

"Hmph."

Why on earth does this girl have a key to the counseling room?

Stella wondered but decided not to reject the kindness.

…Maybe she’s a bit nicer than I thought.

Unaware of her own thoughts, Stella stepped into the counseling room.