I Became an Academy Counselor

Chapter 4

"Alright then..."

I quietly walked over to where Orca was lying, apparently fast asleep.

Though her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping soundly, I could tell she was pretending.

"I know you're awake, Orca. You can get up now."

"...How did you know?"@@@@

"Well, it's impossible to fall asleep that quickly in such a short amount of time."

Although she was pretty good at pretending to sleep, it was strange to think someone could fall asleep in such a short period.

...Not that this was the only reason I knew she wasn't asleep.

No one else would know, but Orca suffers from severe insomnia.

It's one of the reasons she's always so irritable with everyone.

After all, when someone doesn't get enough sleep, they tend to get easily annoyed.

Moreover, lack of sleep for Orca leads to more problems.

She can't concentrate, so attending classes becomes pointless.

That's why she's wandering around the academy instead of attending classes.

Because attending classes has no meaning when she can't concentrate due to fatigue.

Though she's very tired, she can't fall asleep. She can't focus either.

So, she's always looking for a place where she can sleep comfortably.

When she said she liked the facility, it was probably because there was a soft bed.

"Are you sleeping well? ...Wow, that's a scary look."

Eek.

Scary...

I knew Orca wasn't genuinely looking at me with the intent to kill.

She was just frowning and staring at me, wondering how I knew.

She must be puzzled by my question about her sleep.

On the surface, she doesn't show dark circles or anything like that; she just has a harsh expression.

...But still, it's scary.

Even though I knew she had no malicious intent, I was a bit scared.

She wouldn't suddenly attack me, claiming she wanted my neck, right?

"Did you know about me?"

"Of course, I do. You're famous."

She was famous both within the game and outside of it.

No need to mention the internal reason. Orca is a demon-possessed.

A being with a demon inside her, a harbinger of doom.

There are various settings, but putting them aside...

How would people perceive a demon-possessed person?

Given that, it was easy to understand why Orca was famous.

Even if she slacked off in class, no one except the class president would bother looking for her.

Not even the teacher in charge of guiding Orca.

Only the class president, with her frustratingly stubborn nature, would look for her.

Her classmates probably wished she wouldn't be found.

People at the academy avoid getting involved with her.

Initially, some tried to treat her without prejudice.

It was sometimes depicted in the story.

But as you can see from her wandering alone, everyone eventually gave up on her.

Why?

Because of Orca's behavior.

"But why are you still here?"

"What do you mean by that, student?"

"If you know who I am, get lost. If you don't want to die."

"..."

I made the tea while she watched warily.

I showed her the entire process to assure her I wasn't adding anything suspicious.

After making the tea, I quickly left the counseling room.

"What was with that woman?"

Did she say she was a counselor?

What a strange person.

It had been a while since someone who knew about me reacted that way.

...Should I care?

She'll be gone soon enough.

Everyone has.

"A counseling room, huh..."

The soft atmosphere and subtle fragrance made me feel somewhat stabilized.

This place isn't bad. I might visit often.

I like the atmosphere, the scent, and the bed.

Good. From now on, this is my space.

I'll just kick out that strange woman like I did today.

Tea, huh?

Who would drink that?

Even though she showed me the entire process, I still couldn't trust it.

She could have added something strange to the tea leaves.

"...Why am I so thirsty?"

Strangely, as I stared at the steaming cup, I began to feel an overwhelming thirst.

I was fine a moment ago.

Annoyed by the sudden thirst, I searched the counseling room for something to drink.

But there was nothing.

"What the hell, why is there nothing?"

Strange.

I'm sure there was something to drink in the fridge earlier...

That weird woman didn't even stock the fridge.

As I looked at the only drink on the table, the cup of tea, my thirst grew stronger.

Guess I have no choice.

I really don't want to drink it...

She didn't do anything suspicious except for the tea leaves, so it should be fine.

"...It's well made."

I thought it was just flattery.

But it turned out she wasn't lying about making good drinks.

It didn't taste weird, and it was surprisingly good...

Thud.

After a strange noise, my consciousness faded.

"I didn't expect this..."

Watching Orca through the counseling room window, I was startled and rushed inside.

Who drinks tea standing up?

I assumed she would sit down to drink.

I gently rubbed Orca's forehead, which had reddened from hitting the desk when she fell.

"I hope she doesn't get a bump..."

I felt unnecessarily sorry.

I just wanted her to sleep well.

I didn't mean to hurt her. Sorry...