How much time had passed since I settled down with Aileen to rest in a suitable spot?

Hearing the sound of something being dragged closer, I glanced around and spotted a familiar face in the distance, making me smile.

"Welcome back. Looks like things went well?"

"...Yeah. We won, teacher."

Though she looked utterly battered, Stella had won.

Upon hearing the news, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy.

Not just figuratively—I literally wanted to jump for joy.

If the students weren’t watching, I probably would’ve been bouncing around.

...I’ll have to sneak in a celebratory jump later.

"That’s wonderful news. Congratulations. But, what’s that you’re holding in your hands...?"

"Can’t you tell? It’s Orca."

"Don’t drag me... if you drag me, I’ll—gah, my stomach...!"

"Oh..."

"She got hit in the stomach during the fight, and it seems like the pain’s pretty intense. Her personality keeps shifting. Right now, it’s the demon side."

How much pain does one have to be in for their personality to keep changing?

Curious, I carefully lifted Orca’s shirt to take a peek and was shocked.

Her abdomen was a deep, bruised blue—so much so that it didn’t even look human.

Just looking at it made my own stomach ache in sympathy.

"Goodness... Is this really okay?! And Anastasia...?"

"I’m sorry, teacher... My holy power is completely drained. I can’t help anyone right now. The pain will be severe, but it’s not life-threatening. She should recover with a few days of rest."

"I... see."

To think that something like this would heal after just a few days of rest... Sometimes it really hits me that this is a fantasy world.

...But seriously, with an injury like that, moving should be nearly impossible. Even trying to stand would strain her stomach.

She must’ve been in such bad shape that they couldn’t leave her behind, but too exhausted to carry her, so they dragged her here.

"Ugh... my stomach...!"

"Oh, it’s Orca this time."

"Damn it! I told you not to drag me! It hurts like hell...!"

"We had no choice. Everyone’s a wreck. There’s no one with enough strength left to carry you."

"Damn it, this is unfair..."

"Bear with it."

Watching everyone completely beat up, I couldn’t help but smile.

It was all finally over, and much faster than I had anticipated.

Aileen would now start moving forward again from the spot she had paused at. She might not know much, having stayed still while others moved, but with her talent, she’d catch up quickly.

Anastasia’s shackles—the Pope—were gone.

From now on, she’d be busy acting as the new Pope, but with the cause of her entrapment gone, the church would likely thrive again.

She’d finally be free from the life of constantly running and hiding.

The stigma against demon-possessed individuals remained.

However, unlike in the game, where Orca isolated herself from others, here she was laughing and chatting with friends.

Stella wasn’t the type to forget a favor. Even if Orca found herself in trouble, there would be people willing to help her, ensuring she wouldn’t be lonely.

Stella had won the fight against her greatest competitor.

With no other contenders left, she would naturally ascend to the throne.

Assuming no unforeseen complications arose, the emperor’s death was projected for next spring.

By then, instead of becoming the tyrant she was in the game, Stella, who had learned the importance of cooperation, would be shaping a better world.

And finally, Leo.

Leo’s long-held dream—to become a knight, inspired by Aileen’s father, the Swordmaster—was practically within his grasp.

Stella wasn’t the type to ignore those who helped her in her time of need.

Becoming the knight he had always dreamed of was just a matter of time.

...Speaking of which, where did Leo go?

While I was lost in thought, watching the students, I suddenly realized I couldn’t see Leo anywhere.

If Leo had been seriously injured, the atmosphere wouldn’t be so calm.

"Excuse me, where’s Leo?"

"Oh, um... He seemed really exhausted, so he said he’d take a quick break."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that’s right."

...Suspicious.

For some reason, Stella seemed to be making excuses for why Leo wasn’t around.

She looked a bit flustered, as if she hadn’t expected to need an explanation.

Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.

All the episodes of the game are over now. It should be fine if he’s a bit late.

As I watched the students gathering together without Leo, something strange caught my eye.

"Is that...?"

"What’s wrong?"

"Over there... I think I see something."

"...Smoke? That’s the direction of the academy’s main building."

"What’s going on?"

A bit farther from the academy grounds, near the main building.

Thick, black smoke was rising from there.

Could there have been an accident?

The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.

There’s no way the academy’s instructors would be unable to handle a simple building fire.

Something bigger must have happened.

There’s no other reason for there to be such a massive fire.

"...I have a bad feeling about this."

I silently agreed with Stella’s muttered words.

Could an unexpected event have erupted at the very last moment, just as I thought everything was over?

In all the times I played the game, the academy never burned like this.

A sense of dread settled in my chest, like I had forgotten something important—something I shouldn’t have overlooked.

A mistake I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

...Doesn’t it always seem like bad feelings never miss their mark?

My unease soon revealed itself.

In the worst possible way.

“There you are, Teacher Ophelia. It’s been a while.”

“...Who are you? You don’t seem to be one of the academy staff.”

“Oh, Princess, it’s an honor to meet you. Now, what should I call myself?”

The exhausted students immediately went on high alert at the sudden appearance of a suspicious figure.

But I couldn’t focus on their reactions—I could only stare blankly at the familiar figure in front of me.

“How about this? ...You’d know me as the one behind Ian’s assassination attempt.”

“A terrorist...! How are you here?!”

“Oh, nothing special. I just wanted to say hello.”

Smiling brightly.

That familiar face smiled at me, and all I could do was ask, dumbfounded.

“...Why? Why are you here? You should be...”

“Restricted in my actions? Is that what you want to say? Well, to answer that, yes. I’m still under your control. Still.”

“B-but how...?!”

“Did you never think your hypnosis might be too weak?”

It was him, the leader of the Bright Light Order, who I thought I had completely subdued and then promptly forgotten.

The final boss of the normal ending—Edwin Baldurs.

True to his talkative nature, he laid everything out for me.

And he made sure everyone around us could hear it too, raising his voice so all the students could catch every word.

“On the day everyone was supposed to get their happy ending, a terrorist suddenly attacks. Just as you wanted, Teacher Ophelia. I don’t know exactly what the conditions for a ‘happy ending’ are, but I’m guessing today is that day. Three days ago, my body started moving on its own, planning this attack on the academy. It’s remarkable.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, Princess. I’ll be happy to explain. It’s simple... all of this is because of her.”

“What...? What do you mean...?”

“Didn’t you ever think it was strange?”

“Stop...”

Is this really my voice?

It sounded so shaky as I tried to stop him.

But did he not hear me? Or did he just ignore it?

He continued, completely disregarding my attempts to stop him, responding to Stella’s question with exaggerated gestures like a storyteller.

“You all... seem to be very close to Teacher Ophelia, aren’t you?”

“What does that have to do with anything? Enough with your nonsense, now get lost.”

“Didn’t things around you start to change or go strangely well after she appeared?”

“...What does that have to do with you?”

“So it did happen. Then let me ask, did you ever think it was all just a coincidence?”

“Stop it...”

The students were beginning to pay attention to his words.

No.

If this keeps going, everything will be exposed.

Should I just hypnotize everyone here on the spot?

No, impossible. Even if I could hypnotize everyone here, I wouldn’t be able to undo the damage already done by the fire at the academy.

The smoke was so thick that it was already visible from here. It must have already spread across social media by now.

If even one academy student posts about it on social media, the story will conflict with the hypnosis that "nothing happened," and the hypnosis will break.

And I had no idea how to restore the academy to its original state after it had been scorched by flames.

...There’s no way to recover from this.

“All of this happened because your teacher secretly manipulated everything behind the scenes. With her power... hypnosis.”

“...Hypnosis? Hah, what kind of nonsense is that? That’s something you only see in fiction.”

“I used to think that too—until it happened to me. ...Have you ever felt like things were going too well? Or maybe you suddenly found courage you didn’t think you had?”

“...”

“Didn’t she ever seem to know things she shouldn’t have? Or did things ever proceed without your knowledge?”

“H-how do you know that...?”

“The reason is simple. She used hypnosis on you for her own purposes.”

“Shut your mouth!”

“...”

Unable to control the rage boiling up inside me, I shouted at him.

...And immediately, I realized I had made a mistake.

“...Teacher?”

“A-ah... I, um...”

The figure in front of me, who had been speaking so freely, suddenly went silent, as if obeying me.

As if to prove my hypnotic powers were real.

He smiled at me, no longer the bright grin from earlier, but a twisted, mocking one.

As if he were furious at being controlled, and was now getting back at me in any way he could, while still staying within the limits of the hypnosis.

“Well, I’ll take my leave now. Just as you commanded, I’ll die today for the sake of ‘unity.’”

He left, mocking me to the very end.

Shattering the "happy ending" I had worked for.

The students’ eyes were now full of suspicion as they turned to look at me.