Watcher

I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back.

The situation had gone awry. And quite critically at that.

I should’ve realized when Orca fell asleep right before Anastasia’s eyes.

Visually there seemed to be no issue, so I carelessly let it slide.

···Even though I knew full well she’d never overlook a demon that caused no harm.

“Teacher-nim. I understand you’re close with Orca. ···Please. Where is she?”

“···.”

“I don’t mean any harm. Though I serve the Church, I believe even demons can integrate into society if properly rehabilitated.”

Yes, she truly was someone who’d consider a rehabilitated demon as her friend.

I knew that better than anyone.

While others persecuted Demon Possessors out of disgust, she kept clinging to Orca.

···Which was precisely why I couldn’t let them meet.

It seemed she’d already begun nurturing hope···.

But no more.

I couldn’t allow her to cling to false hope.

“I’m sorry. She doesn’t wish to meet you.”

“···Why?”

“She said you’re bothersome and she doesn’t want to see you.”

A lie.

No such conversation about Orca and the Watcher ever occurred.

But knowing Orca would absolutely say such things, I delivered the falsehood with perfect naturalness.

“You kept pestering her, didn’t you? She said it annoyed her. Asked me not to tell you if you came looking.”

“···.”

“Apologies Watcher-nim, but I can’t disclose her whereabouts. Doesn’t seem you were close friends anyway.”

Cutting off her attempt to speak, I delivered the final blow. Any less decisiveness would invite her stubborn persistence.

Though regrettable, it was necessary.

“···Is there truly no way, Teacher-nim?”

···.

I knew exactly why she wanted to meet Orca-no, Heize.

Which made their meeting impossible.

Under any circumstances.

Showing her this impossible dream would be cruel.

I couldn’t bear watching her drown in futile hope.

“I’m sorry.”

“···I see. My apologies for disturbing you.”

···This should suffice.

I saw her out as she rose.

“Sorry I couldn’t help.”

“No, it’s fine. My apologies for visiting so late.”

“Feel free to visit the counseling room if anything troubles you. It might help?”

“···Yes. Thank you.”

Long after she left, I remained seated.

How much time passed after her departure?

Only when Heize began crawling out from under the bed did I finally release a heavy sigh.

“Phew···.”

“Ugh, damn it···. Cough, cough. So much dust!”

“Good work, Heize. Why’d you hide there of all places···?”

“It was sudden! I’d have picked somewhere better if available!”

It felt like weathering a storm.

Exhausted, Heize and I slumped onto the bed in unison, sighing.

“Damn it, that brat···. Why’s she chasing me? I haven’t done anything yet. No reason for someone of her caliber to pursue me···.”

“You’ve done nothing wrong. The fault lies··· with your kin.”

“···Huh? Why blame me?”

“Not blaming, exactly··· She just wants confirmation. Whether demons friendly to humans truly exist.”

“Why me-oh.”

Heize cut herself off mid-sentence to glare at me.

···Well, technically my fault.

I’d lowered Orca’s guard, carelessly letting her fall asleep there.

“···So? Why bother confirming such nonsense? No demon would be friendly to humans. Waste of time.”

“True. Pointless. Meaningless. But she thinks otherwise.”

“Why?”

“Trapped in the past, you could say.”

Given Anastasia’s status, it might seem odd-but she’d endured an exceptionally tragic childhood.

Like other playable characters with unhappy pasts, her difference lay in one thing:

She never gave up.

While others accepted their misfortunes-wandering lives, dead families, parting with loved ones, viewing family as rivals-she refused to accept hers.

Clutching her happy past, she lived believing greater effort could restore it.

Unable to accept the irreversible, she remained trapped in childhood.

“Her father was possessed by a demon.”

“···Hah. Shocking. The Watcher’s family harboring a Demon Possessor?”

“Yes, precisely.”

“Then why doesn’t anyone know? Did some noble secretly behead him to hide the shame?”

“No. He’s alive. Halfway.”

“···Half?”

She believes her father still lives.

But can that state truly be called alive?

Personally, I wouldn’t consider it living.

Calling a fully possessed Demon Possessor “alive” feels wrong.

This wasn’t like Orca and Heize’s shared body struggle.

Complete usurpation.

No consciousness remains in her father.

She knows this yet denies it.

“She wants to beg the demon to restore her father. Hence seeking you.”

“···Hmph.”

Common sense deems this impossible.

Demons despise humans.

···Yet she witnessed it.

A human seizing a demon’s body, then returning it voluntarily.

“Then make the demon return the body like you controlled me.”

“No. Impossible.”

Controlling demons isn’t easy.

Their mental barriers are formidable.

Cases like Orca and Heize sharing a body allow hypnosis on Orca to partially affect Heize.

Hence the easy hypnosis-preparation through pre-hypnotizing Orca.

But fully possessed humans differ.

Preparations won’t work.

···Even if hypnotized, would the human’s consciousness still survive after prolonged possession?

Doubtful. Game lore suggests they’re effectively dead.

Another obstacle existed:

Physical access itself was impossible.

Because her father was···.

“···A sudden thought has struck me.”

“Hmm?”

“How do you know all this? Were you Church personnel?”

···Oops.

Having a listener made me careless.

Hmm, how to handle this.

···She’s bound by our contract preventing evil deeds anyway.

No need for memory erasure.

Given her nature, she won’t discuss this with others.

“That’s a secret.”

“You-! Don’t leave me hanging!”

“Haha. Feel free to force it out. Not that you can.”

“Grrr···!”

***

“···She was definitely there.”

Watcher Anastasia was certain.

The demon’s scent lingered. No amount of concealment could fool her senses.

The counseling teacher and Orca’s demon were conversing.

About what?

Unclear-she wasn’t present.

Hard to believe, but a human sheltering a demon suggested familiarity.

Demons harbor extreme hostility toward humans.

Only exceptionally patient demons would spare a living human before them.

A non-combatant like the counseling teacher should’ve been torn apart upon meeting one.

···The fact they weren’t meant they were at least amicable enough not to fight.

“What exactly is their relationship?”

Orca began attending classes regularly after counseling. The teacher knew the demon personally.

Even hid the demon.

Could there be no connection?

Unlikely. Too little information.

But the teacher’s sheltering was undeniable.

“You said to visit the counseling room if troubled.”

What trouble could justify a visit?

···Cut off an arm?

She pondered deeply.

Until her guards spotted her.

“Watcher-nim! What were you doing?! We feared you were injured!”

“···Would cutting off an arm count as trouble?”

“Have you lost your mind?!”