"What do you think? Pathetic, right?"

"···."

"You can despise me if you want. After all, I’m the one who literally wiped out an entire village."

I knew everything. Orca was a playable character.

I had already learned about the tragedy in her past through my gameplay experience.

That’s why I hypnotized her, forcing her to bring up the story she had buried deep within herself.

I wanted to create a situation where she could unload some of the burden from her heart by confessing her secret to me.

Since I already knew about it, I thought it wouldn’t be as shocking...

"I can’t even die because of the demon that’s parasitizing my body. There’s nothing I can do."

But it seems that a few lines of text, merely listing the facts, didn’t convey the emotions Orca truly felt.

The story she told me was filled with so much emotion that even though I already knew her past, I felt a deep sense of melancholy.

The powerlessness of being unable to do anything, the guilt of having killed everyone she cared about, and the despair of knowing that nothing would ever improve.

The emotions Orca carried were so overwhelming that I felt suffocated.

But no matter how much she had given up, I didn’t want to give up on her.

The reason I made her recount the event she didn’t even want to talk about was to help her.

I didn’t want to see Orca live the rest of her life alone, struggling with her loneliness.

"Is that why you push people away?"

"What?"

"Did you think I wouldn’t notice? I may look like this, but I’m a counselor. I’ve seen how students distance themselves from you. I know you deliberately act out."

"...Ha."

The reason Orca’s reputation was so poor was because of her reckless behavior.

Of course, the fact that she’s a demon-possessed person was a big reason.

But that wasn’t the only reason.

Despite only being at the academy for a short time, Orca instilled fear and avoided others because she wanted to.

She caused trouble on purpose, picking fights over small things and attacking others.

She wanted to be feared and didn’t want anyone to get close to her.

That’s why she didn’t care if people ignored her. In fact, she preferred it.

She was like a wounded cat, hissing and threatening anyone who tried to approach her.

She would nitpick and scare people, acting out in ways that would make others despise her. It was her way of protecting herself.

"That’s nonsense. I’ve always been like this."

"···Yeah, sure. Maybe you’ve always acted this way, Orca. Ever since you were young."

The fact that she even had brief conversations with Leo, followed us to the orphanage, and was now talking to me—all of this was unprecedented.

So, how has she managed to live like this until now?

It’s simple. Orca’s insomnia had been somewhat alleviated.

Because of the incidents from her past, she became extremely sensitive to losing control of her body.

She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since the day the village was wiped off the map.

It’s only natural, but when a person doesn’t get enough sleep, they become irritable, even to the point of madness.

Orca’s rough behavior wasn’t just because she didn’t want to be close to people; a lot of it was genuine frustration.

She’d been sleeping better recently, so she’d become a bit more lenient.

"Don’t worry, Orca. You’re not a bad person."

"...What?"

"The demon is the one at fault... right?"

"Teacher, don’t talk nonsense. I’m the one who woke the demon. I’m the cause of all this. Didn’t you hear me? I’ll say it again: I’m the one who suggested going to that mansion, and I’m the one who opened the box because I couldn’t resist my damned curiosity!"

Orca may be a rough person now, but she wasn’t always like this.

She was a sweet, innocent girl, like someone straight out of a fairy tale.

What turned her into what she is now was the impact of her good nature from when she was younger.

She couldn’t shift the blame onto others.

If the other kids had objected, this wouldn’t have happened. If the adults hadn’t opened the door, things would have been fine.

Her inability to rationalize or justify her actions to herself turned her into who she is today.

...Tch. The game’s creators must have been sick psychopaths.

It’s like they were forcing you to watch helplessly as everything spiraled into tragedy.

"No, that’s not how I see it... right, Hayes?"

"Yeah. It’s all my fault."

"?!"

The way Orca suddenly clutched her throat in shock was kind of cute.

She must have been extremely startled. Hearing someone else’s voice coming from her own throat.

"W-What the...?!"

"Demon-possessed people often have a misconception."

"Teacher... you know something."

"Yes, I do."

"Tell me!"

People often think that as long as a demon-possessed person can hold onto their mind, the demon can’t do anything.

...The problem is, that’s just a misconception.

"Orca, demons aren’t something you can block just by staying awake."

"W-What?!"

"The premise itself is wrong."

"...What do you mean?"

"It’s not that demons can only take control of your body when you’re weak."

It’s a simple story.

The demon and the possessed person share a body. But that doesn’t mean they coexist peacefully.

It’s more accurate to say they’re constantly at war, fighting over control of that body.

So, here’s a question: What’s the most basic strategy in any war?

"You wait for the opponent to weaken."

"...And that happens when you’re asleep?"

"Correct."

Most demon-possessed people lose control of their bodies to the demon shortly after their minds break. Their mental defenses weaken.

But no one knows this information. Because demons would rather die than be captured by humans, so very little is known about them.

If I shared the information I have, I could probably win some world-class award.

But verifying it is a whole other story.

"Most demons just act efficiently. They conserve their strength, then strike in one blow!"

"..."

"Humans, on the other hand, can’t stay on guard indefinitely, so they gradually weaken, while demons conserve their strength and wait for the right moment. That’s why demon-possessed people often have seizures at night—because people are more fatigued then."

"It’s true. Most of my kin take control of bodies in that way."

"Then..."

"Yes. Even without conserving strength, the demon can control parts of Orca’s body during the day. Making her speak to convey its intentions is easy."

As soon as she heard that, Orca’s complexion instantly worsened.

...There’s no need to worry that much. If the demon hasn’t been conserving energy, it’s easy to block.

That’s the problem with demon-possessed people.

No one has lived long enough after possession to share their experience, and no one is around to provide guidance.

"So, it’s possible to take control of my body anytime..."

"Don’t worry, Orca. Hayes can’t harm you anymore."

"W-What...?"

"That’s part of our contract."

"Hmph. It’s true."

Seeing that Orca was about to panic, I quickly reassured her that she was safe.

The contract between Hayes and me prohibits Hayes from doing anything evil for the rest of its life.

Obviously, taking over someone’s body falls under the category of evil deeds.

She doesn’t have to worry about losing control of her body.

"Wait a second. I don’t understand. What’s going on? How do you know about the demon inside me, and what’s this contract...?"

"It’s okay if you don’t understand right now. I’ll explain it slowly whenever you’re confused. That’s my role as your teacher."

Just to clarify, while Hayes could have taken control of Orca’s body at any time, it didn’t because...

It found it entertaining.

Watching its host grow increasingly paranoid and exhausted from the fear of losing control amused it.

I really can’t understand the hobbies of demons.

...Well, that’s not possible anymore.

Thanks to my hypnosis, Hayes now finds doing good deeds more enjoyable than doing evil ones.

Hayes is just a nuisance to Orca now.

Honestly, there were times when I thought it might have been better to use hypnosis to banish Hayes from her body entirely—she might have been happier that way...

But I didn’t try it because I was worried about the potential butterfly effects.

"I don’t... I don’t understand. I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"I know. I understand. It’s confusing because it’s all so sudden. But just remember one thing."

I smiled at Orca and said,

"I’m always on your side."