"Is this the place... but why is no one here?"

Arriving at the location where Leona’s mother had said to meet, I tilted my head in confusion.

Why was there no one around? This had to be the right place, didn’t it?

I was sure she had mentioned this park, but aside from some overweight pigeons waddling around, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

···Something felt off.

I was certain this was the place. Did I come to the wrong spot?

"Ah, haha... Leona, maybe your mom just went to the restroom. Let’s wait a little bit, okay?"

If I told her we were lost, she might start crying.

Trying to avoid that, I smiled and made an excuse to Leona while hurriedly pulling out my phone.

I should call her again to confirm her location.

···But before I could dial, Leona’s voice interrupted me.

"This is the right place."

"Huh?"

"I’m telling you, this is the right park. Phew, I’m glad everything went smoothly."

"···."

The timid, anxious child from a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. As Leona sighed and stretched her neck, I began to feel something was wrong.

···How did she know this was the right park?

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

As soon as we arrived, Leona’s entire demeanor had changed, as if her earlier behavior had been an act.

She went from being an innocent child to someone who seemed...world-weary.

"What’s your game?"

I let out a sigh and fixed my gaze on the girl who called herself Leona.

No matter how I looked at her, she seemed like just a child, but I knew better than to judge based on appearances.

Even the headmistress, Veronica, looked like a child on the outside but was an old woman at heart.

Having grown accustomed to that, I quickly realized that the person in front of me was not just a harmless child.

If the plan had been to kill me, they would’ve struck when no one else was around.

Clearly, they had another purpose—one that required keeping me alive, at least for now.

"You are the purpose."

"···Me? Why me?"

Could it be that this was a minion of some criminal organization that overheard the kids calling me their 'boss'?

But that’s just a title; Jane is the real power behind things!

What should I do?

While I was mulling over my next move, Leona looked at me with exasperation, as if I was missing something obvious.

"Do you really not know?"

"···No. If you’re looking for the 'boss,' it’s a misunderstanding. The real leader is Jane···"

"I don’t care about Jane. We’re looking for Miss Ophelia—you."

"What?"

"It’s been a while, teacher."

Leona’s frame began to shift.

Her voice and legs grew slightly deeper, and her soft skin became more firm.

Her height increased, and her hair began to shorten. As I watched this transformation, my eyes widened in shock.

"L-Leo···?"

"That’s right. It’s me. I have so much to talk to you about, teacher. Let’s take our time and discuss···"

"Don’t move!"

"?!"

Without a second thought, I tried to hypnotize Leo and made a dash to escape the park.

How did he turn into a girl? And how did he even find me?

There were so many questions, but there wasn’t time to ask any of them.

Whoever had posed as his parents was likely a part of this as well, which meant this place was far from safe.

I needed to get to a secure location, fast.

"It’s too late for that."

Clank, clank.

It happened in an instant.

As I tried to leave the park, a large metal bar slammed down, blocking my path.

I stopped in my tracks, realizing that the entire park had transformed into a cage, with no exit in sight.

"W-What is this···?"

"You should give up, Miss Ophelia. That structure is designed so even I can’t break it. Hypnosis won’t work either."

"Leo···"

"I can’t believe you tried to run without any hesitation. ···But this just means we’ll have plenty of time to chat."

"···There are probably more students involved in this."

"You’re right. But they’re not here. They’re waiting in specially designed rooms where their senses have been isolated. If anyone tries to leave under hypnosis, the others will take care of them."

"So...thorough···"

···My hypnosis doesn’t even reach people from far away.

The sheer level of preparation, down to eliminating every possible escape route, was overwhelming.

I had thought they’d been doing well, but apparently, they’d been preparing this elaborate trap for me the whole time.

Sweat trickled down my back.

"···What do you mean, 'specially designed rooms'?"

"We don’t know the exact conditions for your hypnosis. So we’ve each been placed in separate rooms, with our senses cut off. If anyone falls under hypnosis and leaves their room, the others will restrain them."

"How...thorough···"

···My hypnosis can’t even reach that far.

The sheer meticulousness of their preparation, down to blocking every avenue of escape, left me dazed.

I had thought they were doing okay, but they were actively preparing to capture me like this.

I had imagined they were living their lives peacefully, but instead, they had been setting all this up just to trap me.

A cold sweat ran down my spine.

"We missed you, teacher. Not just me, but the others too."

There was something in Leo’s voice—a strange emotion.

···No, I couldn’t be imagining it, could I?

"···If you’re going to kill me, at least make it quick."

"What? Why would we kill you? After all the trouble we went through to find you."

"Huh?"

"It’s okay, teacher. Just explain everything to us. We’ll understand."

I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

After all the effort they went through to capture me, they wanted to talk instead of killing me?

···With this level of determination, it was clear that simply staying quiet for a few days wouldn’t get me out of this.

I couldn’t starve myself to death, so I sighed and resigned myself.

"Fine, I’ll explain everything···"

And so, I had no choice but to tell them everything.

How I ended up at the academy, the hypnosis I used on the students, my connection to the Radiant Light organization.

···And that day.

The day I fled from the students. Why I had to leave.

I explained everything.

Leo, acting on behalf of the others, listened attentively.

"···That’s how it happened."

"I see."

"You...you believe me? Really?"

"Of course. If we can’t trust our teacher, who can we trust?"

"You believe this? Seriously?"

I stared at Leo, bewildered by his response.

"I know you haven’t told us everything. For instance, why did you approach us in the first place? I get it with the princess and the inspector, but the rest of us? We weren’t worth much, were we?"

"That’s···"

"And there’s also the matter of your relationship with the Radiant Light···there’s plenty we’re still curious about."

I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

What was I supposed to tell them? That this was originally a game world and I liked them so much I wanted to guide them to a happy ending?

They’d think I was either insane or some kind of gaming addict.

I couldn’t bring myself to utter something so unrealistic.

"But I won’t ask. It doesn’t matter."

"···."

"What matters is that you don’t hate us."

"As if I could hate you guys!"

"But you said you hated us when you left."

"Th-that was···"

I couldn’t argue.

It was true. Even though I had left for the sake of their futures, it was undeniable that my actions had hurt them.

It was because of that hurt that they had come after me like this.

"Teacher, come back to the academy as our counselor."

"I can’t."

"Why not? Were all those times we spent together a lie?"

"No, but···"

I could feel how much they wanted me to return.

I never imagined they’d go to such lengths just to have a conversation with me.

···But even so, I couldn’t return as their counselor.

"As I mentioned earlier, the leader of the Radiant Light spread rumors that I was the mastermind behind it all. Whether it’s true or not, people will talk. It’s better if we stay apart···"

"Don’t worry about that. The information has been controlled."

"···What?"

"The headmistress handled it. People dismissed the terrorist’s words as the ramblings of a madman. No one even knows what he said."

Controlled information?

Leo smiled as he looked at me, confusion clearly written across my face.

···It was a smile, but there was something twisted about it.

"And did you really think you had a choice?"

"What do you me···"

Clink.

A cold sensation around my wrist made me glance down. At some point, handcuffs had been locked around my wrist.

I stared in shock as Leo dangled the key in front of me, only to toss it outside the bars of the cage.

"Now, teacher. Will you return to the academy as our counselor?"

All I could do was stare at Leo in disbelief.

Where had the pure, kind child gone?

Leo grinned mischievously, looking utterly pleased with himself.

"Or would you rather spend the rest of your life in those handcuffs?"

···There was no choice.

Thanks to the determination of my former students, I returned to the academy as their counselor.

By force.