"Ugh, ugh... blech..."

I clutched my throbbing head and churning stomach.

...I should have taken it easy on the gaming.

Eileen and I have similar tastes in games, so we ended up having a great time playing together. We lost track of time, and before I knew it, it was well past 3 AM.

I should have stopped when I checked the clock back then.

But I kept saying, "Just one more," and before I realized it, the night had vanished, and sunlight was brushing against my skin.

I... I’m going to die...

"Teacher, are you alright?"

"No... I think I’m going to die..."

"You should have rested. I’m fine, though."

"I couldn't possibly!"

"Whoa, you startled me."

"This kind of opportunity doesn’t come around often!"

I had many friends who liked gaming.

Growing up, we were the kind of kids who enjoyed online games.

But there weren’t many who enjoyed games that were meant for two to four players.

How many games had I bought because they looked fun, only to leave them untouched, gathering dust?

Opportunities to play games with just one other person were rare. I had to make the most of it now.

Even if it left me in this state.

"Ugh..."

"No matter how fun the game was, this is too much. I have class, so I’ll head out, Teacher."

"Goodbye..."

Ah, youth is wasted on the young.

If I said something like that, I’d probably get an earful from people older than me—especially the principal.

I could already picture the principal jumping up and down, saying, "You’re young too, so what are you talking about?"

But when I see someone still full of energy after an all-nighter, I can’t help but feel that way.

I used to be able to stay up all night without any issues when I was younger...!

I love being in this other world, I love having special abilities, and I love being able to help the kids I care about. But there’s one thing I’m not happy about.

My stamina is lacking...

After an all-nighter, that unique mix of exhilaration and exhaustion makes my brain feel sluggish. I glanced around the room.

Ugh, why is it such a mess?

I guess I made a bit of a mess while gaming, but was it really this bad...?

"Ugh, cleaning... I should..."

"First, you should sleep."

"Oh, Orca... When did you get here...?"

"Last night."

Last night? I didn’t even hear you come in.

I must have really been absorbed in the game.

I felt a pang of guilt realizing that, as a teacher, I had shown her what it looks like to stay up all night just to play a game.

"You really love games, huh?"

"Ah, yes... A little..."

"A little?"

"...Maybe a lot."

This was awkward.

I never thought I’d be bowing my head to Orca like this.

"Enough. I have to go to class, so just go to sleep."

"Oh, I’ll clean up first and then sleep."

"Didn’t you hear me? Go to sleep now."

Before I could respond, Orca picked me up and tossed me onto the bed.

"It’s fine to clean up later. Just sleep first. You can barely keep your eyes open."

"Ah..."

"I’m off. Rest up."

I watched as Orca left the counseling room without looking back, then tried to get up to tidy the room.

I thought it was the right thing to do, after all.

But I quickly realized that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move my body.

It felt like the bed had its own gravity, pulling me down with immense force.

I need to get up. I need to get up.

Even as I thought that, I couldn’t move, and eventually, I gave up and closed my eyes, staring at the ceiling.

Wow... I’m so sleepy...

It was warm.

A blissful feeling, like floating on clouds, enveloped my entire body.

I wanted to stay like this for just a little while longer. My body was so comfortable, but my mind was oddly refreshed.

...Wait, refreshed?

"Hah!"

In a panic, I jumped up from the bed.

There’s no way I should be feeling this refreshed!

"Ack! My leg!"

In my rush, I tripped over some clutter on the floor.

Ugh, if only my chest wasn’t so big...! It’s such a pointless size!

No, that’s not it. What time is it?!

I gritted my teeth against the pain in my leg and looked at the clock.

The clock read 4 PM.

"W-Wait...! Oh no...! Ah."

Come to think of it, I’m already at work, aren’t I?

Technically, I’ve just been sleeping on the job during work hours...

I didn’t stay up all night doing anything important. I was just gaming until 4 PM the next day.

...If I get caught, I’ll get fired!

I rushed out of the counseling room to make sure no one would find out.

"...?"

Then I noticed a sign that said "Out of Office."

...I didn’t put that sign up, did I? Or did I? Hmm, I can’t remember.

I don’t think I did, but now’s not the time to worry about something so trivial.

It’s already past 4 PM.

I hurriedly began tidying up the counseling room.

"Whew..."

Fortunately, it didn’t take too long to clean up.

It was actually much easier than I had expected.

After finishing, I sighed as I looked out at the sky, which was already starting to darken, even though I had just woken up.

"Morning—no, waking up to this mess, what a hassle."

I had been working too hard lately.

I’d been taking care of the kids with Anastasia, giving advice to the princess and the Observer to help them reach the top, and I’d even managed to address Orca’s mental issues.

And, by chance, I ran into Eileen, whom I thought would be the hardest to meet, and we ended up playing games together.

I’ve made quite a lot of progress quickly, haven’t I?

Maybe it’s just the aftereffects, but I’ve been so eager to rest that I played without considering my stamina.

"Hmm, but there’s no other way to keep getting closer to Eileen."

The problem is, there’s not much I can do right now.

The princess and the Observer need to be handled carefully, so nothing major is likely to happen soon. As for Orca... other than the trouble she causes, there’s not much to address.

That leaves Leo and Eileen, but Leo, being the typical protagonist, tends to have events clustered around major incidents.

And since his main quest is linked to Eileen, if I’m going to do anything, it’s best to focus on Eileen.

So, the only thing I can do right now is work on getting closer to Eileen.

...You might think we’re already pretty close, but that’s a mistake.

To her, I’m probably just someone who helps her skip class legally. Nothing more, nothing less.

If you play the game, you’ll notice... she tends not to form deep relationships with others.

If this were a dating sim, Orca would be the character you can’t even talk to unless you meet certain conditions.

And Eileen is the character whose affection meter won’t go up past a certain point unless certain conditions are met.

"Hmm, what to do?"

The situation with the princess and the Observer could turn into a major incident where people get hurt.

So, I’d like to resolve Eileen’s issues before that conflict begins.

She’s tied herself down with her own chains, but she’s incredibly strong.

If she helps the two of them, she’ll be a huge asset.

When she was younger, she was so talented with a sword that people called her a genius.

The developers said that if she had continued practicing her swordsmanship diligently, she would have been one of the strongest in the world by the time the game started.

But such hypotheticals don’t matter.

She only trained for about a year when she was younger and hasn’t touched a sword since.

And yet, people still call her a genius, which makes me wonder just how amazing she must have been back then.

...My mind wandered again.

Eventually, Eileen starts interacting with others and picks up a sword again, but only after meeting certain conditions...

The problem is, those conditions are random.

What do I mean by that?

You have to hear one of Eileen’s backstory lines during a random encounter in battle for her main quest to start.

There’s a bias that ensures it happens by mid-story at the latest.

But even so, some unlucky players never trigger the encounter and end up with the bad ending.

They say the odds are about as slim as winning the lottery. Talk about bad luck.

But this isn’t a game, this is reality.

I can’t just sit around waiting for a main quest to start based on a random encounter.

I could end up like one of those unlucky players and not trigger it for a whole year.

But how do I get around this?

In the game, the dialogue was the trigger for the quest, so I waited for that, but now that it’s reality, forcing her to say the line won’t start the quest.

The important thing wasn’t the line, but the event that prompted her to act.

"Hmm, I can’t just tell her that I know where her father is..."

"...Teacher, what did you just say?"

"Huh?"

A voice I shouldn’t have heard caught my attention, and I dumbly turned to look beside me.

Eileen was standing there, looking at me with the same dumbfounded expression.