"I thought I was going to die..."

"And you weren't even doing anything?"

Orca looked at me incredulously.

...It's true that I wasn't doing anything, but still... I replied to her while slumped on a park bench.

"I felt like I was dying because I wasn't doing anything! It's exhausting!"

"I don't get it."

"It was so boring I thought I would die, and time just wouldn't pass! Plus, I couldn't move because I was worried about the students noticing!"

To be honest, I really hate having nothing to do.

I don't see what's so good about doing nothing.

If you're just going to sit there, why not sleep, or if you're bored, play a game or something?

Like a child, I clung to Orca's waist and whined.

"It was so hard..."

"Ugh, get off me!"

"No! My body feels stiff!"

"What does that have to do with me?!"

Well, it's fun because you react by trying to shake me off...!

Even though she was trying to get me off her, Orca wasn't using her full strength, probably worried she might hurt me.

But even with that much force, it was enough for me to cling to her waist and feel like I was floating in the air, giving me a slight sense of flying.

...This is so much fun!

The stiff feeling I had after doing nothing for so long seemed to vanish with the cool breeze blowing against me.

"Orca, one more time! Do it again, please!"

"No way! Are you crazy?!"

"Oh, come on!"

Orca and I spent our break time playfully bickering with each other.

Eventually, Orca firmly refused to play along anymore, saying she didn't want to do it again, but...

Well, I guess I'll have to be satisfied with just once.

"You're so stubborn..."

"Watch your tone!"

"Sigh... Whatever. The practical exam is about to start, so I'll be going..."

"Wait a moment."

"What now? I told you I'm not doing that again."

"It's not that..."

Hmm, honestly, I'm still a bit conflicted.

Will Orca be able to keep her cool if I do this? What if she suddenly gets really angry?

Oh well, whatever. It'll work out somehow.

I approached Orca, who was looking at me with a dissatisfied expression, and after standing on my tiptoes, I gently patted her head.

Why does she have to be so tall?

Even compared to the other kids, she's exceptionally tall.

Thanks to that, I have to go on tiptoe just to pat her head.

I don't think I'm that short, but whenever I see Orca, I feel intimidated.

"...?"

"Oh, so soft..."

I've never seen her do anything to take care of her hair, but maybe that's just the protagonist's privilege?

Even without any special care, she maintains the status of one of the top beauties in the area.

It was much softer than I had expected.

...Oh right, that's not what I was supposed to do.

"Ahem. Orca, did you do well on the exam?"

"...I don't know. How would I know? I've never done something like this before."

"Oh."

Ah, right...

This is Orca's first time experiencing school life.

It felt like I had just said something I shouldn't have, and I started sweating nervously.

Uh, how should I fix this?

"Uh, well, don't worry! I'm sure you'll see results that match the effort you put in!"

"And what good does that do me? I only did it because I was told to."

"...."

Even if I talk about preparing for the future... she wouldn't understand.

She's a kid who grew up on the streets her whole life.

She didn't come to the academy by her own will; it was the Principal's decision.

...Maybe I need to rethink things.

Orca might not care much about good grades.

In that case...

"I'll give you a reward."

"What?"

"Hmm, what would be good... A shark plushie?"

Orca flinched.

I noticed her body tremble slightly. If I hadn't been paying attention, I might have missed it, but I was watching closely, so I caught it.

She does like shark plushies, after all. I thought so. In the happy ending, she’s holding a shark plushie.

Her name is Orca, she loves seafood, and she likes shark plushies. It really makes me think the developers didn't put much effort into her character, but...

Well, it's cute, so I guess it doesn't matter.

"If your grades are better than I expected, I'll give you a shark plushie."

"...What? But that's so vague."

"That's the fun part. You don't know the criteria, so you'll try your best, won't you?"

I smiled brightly at Orca.

...Even though I said this, I was planning to give her the plushie even if she ranked at the bottom.

But if I told her that, she wouldn't try as hard.

"Well, it looks like it's time. Good luck on your exam! I'll be watching you!"

"Wait, Teacher! Hold on...!"

So, what will happen?

I looked forward to finding out with a smile.

There's nothing more I can do here.

...I just hope no one gets hurt.

I prayed that the five students in the exam room wouldn't get seriously injured.

"Hup!"

"...Amazing. Isn't that sword aura?"

"Hmm, not sure. It seems a bit different somehow..."

"Haah!"

"As expected of the Princess. She's quite impressive."

"...But it would be nice if she could tone down the kicks a bit."

"Yeah, that's true... If she messes up, it could be considered a crime against the royal family..."

"Overseer, can she really fight? I thought she was just a symbol of the Church. Her eyes are even covered with a blindfold..."

"Apparently, that’s not the case. Wow. That's incredible."

"Where does she get that ridiculous amount of divine power from?"

"...Her chest?"

"You're such an idiot."

"...Why isn’t anyone coming out?"

"They forfeited. I guess they didn’t want to do it."

"Whoever it is, they must be out of their minds."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Voices from the people around me drifted into my ears.

Both familiar faces and new ones showed off their strength against the dummy.

Even Leo, the Princess, and that creepy woman were all strong.

Strong enough that you didn’t even need to look at the numbers displayed on the dummy to know.

"Next. Orca. Step forward."

"..."

"Orca? ...The demon-possessed one?"

"Better watch closely. We might have to face her someday."

"Ugh, she gives me the creeps..."

The chatter from the others who had finished their exams and were now watching echoed around me.

Honestly, it was annoying. I wanted to glare at them right then and there.

But the teacher said she would be watching.

So I'll hold back this time.

That woman doesn’t seem to like it when I pick fights with people like them.

"No need to prepare?"

"...I'm fine. This is enough for me."

"Alright. If you've been watching, you should know what to do. Start when the signal sounds."

But, that woman...

Why did she say she’d give me a shark plushie?

I nodded along at the time, but I’ve never even touched a plushie before.

The last one I touched was back in that mansion when I was a kid... damn it.

That memory soured my mood.

To vent my frustration, I summoned the demon within me and channeled its power into my hands.

I could just float it in the air and swing it, but this way feels more satisfying.

Thinking about something I didn’t want to remember put me in a bad mood.

After all, that dummy isn’t even a person.

So it’s okay to smash it to pieces.

Alright, I’ll beat it until it stops working.

Who cares about the time?

Beep!

Like the ones before me, Orca began hitting the dummy with the intent to completely destroy it.

However, despite the countless attacks it had already endured from other students, the dummy showed no signs of damage and remained steadfast, silently absorbing Orca's blows.

...This is really pissing me off.

"Damn it, your face is really pissing me off! Die! Just die already!"

"...Why's she so angry?"

"Beats me."

I hate that stupid face on the dummy. It looks so dumb.

As I paused to catch my breath and raised my fist for another strike, the signal sounded again.

"Stop. That’s enough."

"I'm not done yet!"

"Orca. Don’t cause a scene. The exam is over. If you continue to cause trouble, your grade will be affected."

"Grades? Like I care about that crap..."

...The teacher said she would be watching.

Tsk.

"Fine, whatever."

"...What's with that tone towards a teacher? Show some respect, Orca."

"Why should I care? It doesn't matter to me."

I wasn’t in such a bad mood earlier.

Maybe because I thought about something I didn’t want to. My irritation skyrocketed in an instant.

I wanted to relieve some stress by beating up the dummy, but that didn’t go the way I wanted either.

Why is nothing going right? I should just go to the counseling room and take a nap.

As I grumbled and started to leave the area...

Someone struck Orca's back hard, slamming her into the wall.

"Gah?!"

"T-The dummy?! What is it doing...! Stop immediately! Hey! There’s a malfunction in the system! It shouldn’t have any attack capabilities..."

"Ahhh! What’s going on?!"

"P-Please remain calm, students! You’ll be safe if you follow the protocol!"

"Help! The dummy suddenly...!"

"Someone got pinned down! Where’s a healer?! We need a healer!"

The teacher in charge of supervising the practical exam stood there, looking around in a daze.

He couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

There was no way the dummy should have any attack capabilities.

"Ah, damn it... That hurt like hell..."

"O-Orca! Are you okay?!"

"Shut up, my head's ringing... Damn, my back hurts... What’s with my luck today?"

Ha.

Orca couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

She was definitely trying to hold back.

She was trying to swallow her anger and just take a nap in the counseling room.

But that piece of junk over there went out of its way to pick a fight with me.

"Hey, Teacher... Don’t stop me now. Not until I’ve smashed that thing to bits!"

Orca grinned savagely and charged at the dummy.