Orca's daily routine was as simple as it could be.

She spent her days in boredom, half-listening to classes that had nothing to do with her, and then relaxing on the soft bed in the counseling room.

That was Orca's usual routine.

Occasionally, some teachers would get frustrated and tell her to pay attention in class, but Orca would just listen half-heartedly and let it pass.

What could she do? The content was of no help to her.

Whether it was about mana or social structures, it didn't resonate with Orca.

The demon that parasitized her body took care of the mana, so she didn’t know how to use it, and she had no interest in social structures.

She attended classes only to keep the promise she made to the counselor.

...She thought today would be another one of those boring days.

"What on earth is that woman doing over there?"

People’s stares were constant.

Of course, she was used to people looking at her with disgusted expressions or frowning faces.

But the gazes fixed on her now were different.

They didn’t look disgusted or repulsed; they looked as if they were seeing something fascinating.

It was a fresh reaction, and while it caught Orca’s attention, it wasn’t what was really bothering her.

"···"

As she turned her head, the arrogant woman she had seen before quickly hid herself in a manner that reminded Orca of a cockroach.

...If she realized I thought of her that way, she might get angry, but whatever.

The way she was hiding herself so poorly while drawing so much attention was uncanny.

Since this morning, Orca had been noticing her face more often, and after lunch, her behavior had become more assertive, as if she had gained some confidence.

If she had a grudge and wanted to pick a fight, she wouldn’t be acting like that.

What’s her deal?

"...Ah, there you are. Hello."

"Huh? Oh, it’s you, kid."

Orca looked at the small figure who fearlessly approached her with a greeting.

A short guy, but ridiculously strong, and he ate like a horse.

He had been frequenting the counseling room lately, so she was familiar with his face.

"Um, could you stop calling me a kid? We’re the same age, you know."

"What are you talking about, kid? Do you know how big the height difference between us is?"

"..."

Leo’s mouth shut. He must have run out of things to say.

To Orca, Leo was no different from a child.

It was hard to believe they were the same age when there was a height difference of over 20 centimeters.

Deciding it wasn’t worth continuing the conversation, Leo sighed.

"Sigh..."

"So? What’s up?"

"Nothing, really. I just saw a lot of people staring at you, and I wondered if you caused some trouble again."

"...I don’t cause trouble every day, you know."

"Maybe not every day, but often enough."

"..."

This time, Orca’s mouth closed.

It was true that she often caused trouble.

"What was it last time? You lost your temper during combat practice and hit a student..."

"That’s because that guy started it!"

"But you were the one who apologized first."

"Th-that’s because..."

What else could I do?

The teacher who came to see me kept bowing their head as if they were at fault.

Seeing someone apologize for something that wasn’t their fault made me feel like I had done something wrong.

"This time, I really didn’t do anything."

"Then why..."

"Look behind you."

"Behind? ...Oh, what’s going on there?"

Leo turned his head, pretending to continue their conversation as naturally as possible.

"Did you see?"

"...Yes. What’s the princess doing over there?"

"I have no idea. She’s been following me around all of a sudden."

For some reason, even though Orca hadn’t done anything, the princess had started following her.

Wearing dark sunglasses and a brown coat—did she get the idea from a spy movie or something?

She actually stood out more by wearing that inside the Academy.

Not to mention, she was already a well-known figure, so her bizarre behavior made her even more conspicuous.

There’s no way she didn’t notice the attention she was drawing.

"Hmm, okay. I’ll go ask her!"

"Wait! Hey! Don’t..."

"Hello, Princess. Nice weather today!"

"Y-yes, the weather is quite nice."

Before Orca could stop him, Leo approached the princess, and the people watching around them were taken aback.

Nobody knew what was going on, but the fact that Leo walked right up to Princess Stella, who was awkwardly trying to hide herself, surprised everyone.

Everyone thought he was sure to get scolded.

"Aren’t you hot? You seem to be sweating. Let me hold your coat for you."

"...Thank you. It was getting warm."

But what people expected didn’t happen.

Instead of getting angry or reacting negatively, the princess quickly handed over her coat and sunglasses to Leo as if she had been waiting for him to offer.

"Ahem... Nice to meet you. How have you been?"

Orca stared at the princess, who began speaking casually the moment she took off the coat.

...Was she just too shy to start a conversation and didn’t know how to approach me?

No way. A princess wouldn’t be so clumsy about something so trivial...

But the more Orca thought about it, the more it seemed to fit the situation.

As Orca watched her suspiciously, the princess’s face began to turn slightly red.

This girl...

"..."

"A-ahem! How have you been?!"

"I’ve been fine. Not bad. ...Why?"

"Huh?"

"I said, why? You came all this way to see me, dressed like that, so you must have something to say, right?"

"N-no... I was just trying to set the mood..."

"..."

"What’s with that expression?!"

What do you think? It’s the look of despair, realizing I’ve been outwitted by someone like you.

Trying to set the mood and ended up like this?

You’re a lot more clumsy than I expected for a princess.

"So? You said you had something to say."

"A-ah... Right. Since you dislike beating around the bush, I’ll get straight to the point."

"That’s good."

"Would you like to be my friend?"

"...What?"

Everyone’s thoughts came to a halt.

Those who had been speculating about why the princess was dressed oddly and following Orca around were now hearing something completely unexpected.

Asking to be friends? No one had expected that.

"Hmm, what do you think? If you agree, I’ll even offer you the special princess dessert course."

"R-really?! I’m so jealous..."

"If you’re interested, why don’t you join too? Opportunities to gain favor with a princess are rare, you know."

"Really?! I’m in!"

"You... You..."

This was ridiculous.

I thought she had some ulterior motive for approaching me, but what?

Offering me the chance to be friends?

Sure, people can ask to be friends.

But she’s a princess. Could her strange behavior in front of everyone really be just to ask me to be friends?

And not just with anyone, but with a demon-possessed like me?

"...Why me?"

"Hmm?"

"I hate to admit it, but I have a bad reputation."

"That’s simple. Because you intrigued me."

"...You’re curious about me?"

"Is that not enough? I think it’s reason enough."

That’s not possible.

Even Orca, who had no interest in the internal workings of the Academy or the royal family, knew that this wasn’t just a trivial matter.

This would generate a lot of rumors.

It was obvious things would get even more troublesome than they already were.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t..."

Just as Orca was about to refuse.

She suddenly recalled what the teacher had always nagged her about.

Make some friends. I don’t want to see you fighting all the time without any friends... things like that.

She had always dismissed it as nagging, but...

...Maybe this was a good opportunity.

"Alright."

"Oh, that’s great. Not a bad choice, Orca. How about we go have some dessert right now to celebrate our new friendship..."

"No, let’s do that another time. There are too many people around right now, and it’s a bit annoying."

"...That’s true. Alright, let’s meet up another time then."

Seeing the princess quickly turn and leave after her seemingly genuine invitation to be friends, Orca sighed.

She was even stranger than Orca had thought.

"Phew, it worked."

Stella waved her hand through the air, trying to cool her flushed face.

She had anticipated this outcome, but it was still difficult to suppress her embarrassment.

"Clowns must endure this kind of embarrassment in their work... If I become emperor, I’ll have to increase their pay."

Everything had gone according to plan.

Ophelia-sensei had told her that Orca would accept a friendship request if it was made in a straightforward manner.

Wearing an attention-grabbing outfit, getting noticed by Orca and the students, and then asking to be friends in front of everyone.

It was an embarrassing act, but it was the best way to spread the rumor that the two of them, who had no prior connection, had become friends.

As a bonus, it also helped reduce Orca’s hostility.

Even if she had been rejected, that would have been fine too.

Following her around would have just spread the rumors even more.

This news would soon reach the royal family.

They would be left wondering what on earth she was thinking.

They might even think she had gone mad after being exiled.

Let them keep watching, not understanding my true intentions.

This is the beginning of the wave that will overturn the royal family.

"Oh, Princess. What about your coat and sunglasses..."

"You can keep them."

"Pardon? But..."

"Take them!"

But there was no getting rid of the embarrassment.

Stella’s flushed face showed no signs of cooling down.