To Hell with Psychology.

About a week after the incident.

Rumors about what happened at that time had spread throughout the academy, and currently, Dale was considered a disastrous existence to the students and teachers of the academy.

Despite the actual truth being the complete opposite.

“…Why?”

Of course, since they don’t know the truth, I should show some leniency for this question.

“It’s not because that child is a problem child that I’m keeping him with me.”

“But I heard that child broke the academy’s window.”

“What’s so new about that? At your age, you might break a window or two while playing at school.”

“……”

“Well, I suppose that’s a bit different for this academy specifically.”

Damn, why does this academy unnecessarily make windows so strong, making people feel embarrassed.

“But don’t worry too much. If that child really had malicious intent to cause trouble, I wouldn’t have taken him in.”

“Are you saying… that he didn’t commit that incident intentionally?”

“Yes, and in this school, it’s a principle to show some leniency if students make mistakes without malicious intent. As the head of the disciplinary committee, you should know that too, right?”

Explaining the situation in detail probably wouldn’t resonate.

So I tried to compromise by mixing in some lies and exaggerations, but this disciplinary committee head seemed to have a firm philosophy of his own.

“…But having power means that one can change suddenly at any time according to their will.”

Well, it wouldn’t be strange to have such a policy given that they recruit students across borders.

Even those called problem children would be on a different level from other places.

“Are you trying to say that having dangerous power is itself a reason for restraint?”

But to unconditionally sympathize with that, I’ve seen various types of people too.

“Of course. Even if one claims they’re not harmful, others can’t know their inner thoughts. In a group, having power can itself be a reason for caution.”

“I understand that, but I think it’s wrong to argue for forced detention and education as a policy to prevent danger.”

“…It seems you have a different opinion from me, Teacher.”

“In the first place, even the commotion that occurred right after the duel ended was caused by such oppression if you look at the trigger.”

The fact that the ruling class’s groundless sense of superiority provokes backlash from the ruled class was proven by the history of where I lived.

Rather, if Dale hadn’t gone berserk, a bloody guillotine might have unfolded in the near future.

It’s clearly wrong to emphasize oppression as a solution to something committed due to individual mistakes and ignorance, without clear malice, in a situation where both sides should be careful.

“Although it hasn’t been widely known outside, as the disciplinary committee, you must have heard what happened before that child caused trouble, right?”

“……”

Waden, the head of the disciplinary committee, pressed down his service cap at my opinion with such implications.

There might be some unsatisfactory parts, but for now, it means he sympathizes with my opinion.

Well, even a principled person would have to be careful in this position, so his thinking shouldn’t be shallow.

“Just watch for now. Teacher didn’t agree to take charge of that child without any basis for trust.”

“…I understand. I’ll withdraw for now.”

Waden soon bowed his head and prepared to turn his back on me.

It was fortunate that he withdrew so unexpectedly obediently, but there was still something that bothered me a little.

“Wait a moment.”

I immediately called back the head of the disciplinary committee and expressed what I had been concerned about all along.

“You look quite tired, take some rest while working. Don’t collapse from overwork and end up being carried to the infirmary.”

Although it’s hard to see because his hat blocks the light, just looking at his eyes, I could strongly feel that fatigue had accumulated.

Perhaps for the dignity of a disciplinary committee member, he’s straightening his shoulders and back, but it’s just not noticeable, there are subtle spasms occurring all over his body even now.

As a result of suppressing fatigue, his muscles are being strained. He probably isn’t sleeping properly either.

“…Thank you for your advice.”

The head of the disciplinary committee bowed his head at my concern and left his seat.

Watching his straight back as he walked away, I couldn’t help but snort.

“Well, how did this kid turn out to be the exact opposite of his father.”

The Smith guy I saw in the game gave a strong impression of being vile. Should I view this positively or negatively?

No. It’s not good to judge too much from the beginning.

Let’s move on for now and look forward to the next time, I thought, and immediately left the rooftop to head to the infirmary.

To faithfully carry out my duties as a school nurse as always.

“Dale, while teacher was away……”

-Crash!!

…Damn, what’s going on this time?

I immediately looked inside the infirmary at the loud noise that greeted me as soon as I set foot inside.

What I saw was the usual scenery of the infirmary.

What changed were the people inside.

One was a gentle-looking female student wearing the high school uniform.

On the opposite side was a boy hiding his body behind the bed curtain.

“Uh, uuh.”

The young boy, showing only his face, was looking at the female student who came to the infirmary with uneasy eyes.

On the other hand, the female student standing on the opposite side was looking at Dale with a perplexed expression.

“Um, excuse me. I came because I have a headache……”

The female student, belatedly recognizing my presence, stated her business, but even while doing so, she kept glancing at Dale.

Is it because she knows that child is the protagonist of the recent incident?

Is she perplexed because such a child is much smaller and more timid than she thought?

“Let’s take a look at your condition first.”

Whatever it is, what I have to do hasn’t changed.

As always, I returned to my place and gestured to the female student.

---

Feeling reluctant to come to the infirmary when sick…

That was something I had expected to some extent since establishing the infirmary attendance system and deciding to protect Dale in the infirmary.

They would realize he’s not a child to be afraid of when actually facing him, but meanwhile, rumors like he’s hiding his teeth, or there’s a danger he might explode big later like an unexploded bomb, are bound to circulate.

But what I decided to endure was only such an atmosphere.

What I didn’t expect was that the child who endlessly loved people started to fear meeting people after that day.

“I’m going to the library.”

It was when he left his seat to find something to study after marking attendance in the infirmary.

As he’s good at learning and smart, if given enough self-study time, he should easily pass written exams.

I’m not worried about that, but the problem is that he’ll meet many students in the school when going out to find necessary materials.

“…I’m back.”

Although it seemed to be getting a bit better, he often showed a greatly decreased tension after going out of the infirmary and coming back.

Probably because he encountered students whispering about him outside.

“Dale, are you okay?”

“…I’ll continue studying.”

Saying that, he sits at the prepared desk and holds a pen alone.

In that appearance, the bright atmosphere from before could no longer be found.

Even though he was a child who showed curiosity and asked endless questions just by meeting people.

“Teacher, I’m curious about… Ah, no. It’s okay. I’ll try by myself.”

But what worries me most is that he’s become careful even with people who have opened their hearts to him.

The sight of him suppressing even questions and struggling alone, thinking what if he causes trouble for me.

Although that sight looked pitiful, I couldn’t interfere much.

Because carelessly trying to soothe his mind might have the opposite effect.

“…Haah.”

About a week had passed since I kept Dale in the infirmary like this.

As the time was approaching noon, I put down the book I was reading in the infirmary and sighed.

“I never thought I’d end up studying child psychology at this point.”

I’ve done life counseling often when leading subordinates in the military, but the problem this child is facing isn’t about individual values or human relationships, but one that arose from not adapting to the environment.

This kind of problem can’t be solved by throwing a few pieces of advice and inducing realization.

That fact was also written in the psychology book I was reading.

[One shouldn’t think that the state of mentally immature children will improve with just one or two counseling sessions. Rather, due to the short time, if one definitively states what to do or not to do, there’s a risk that children might perceive it as coercion.]

[And being forced in their actions means that mental burden becomes severe. Adults can weigh their circumstances and even calculate gains and losses if necessary, but children, unlike adults, don’t have psychological leeway, so they tend to deal with immediate issues first. Naturally, if burdensome things increase, they will fall into confusion without knowing what to prioritize.]

“…Well, it’s all correct words written in detail”

Of course, if you nag kids about studying, behaving properly, and then say they need to know about politics to live in the world, etc… babbling about different aspects, it’ll only create resistance.

An adult’s emotions are deeply influenced by experiences from childhood.

Fortunately, this book also kindly wrote down solutions for that.

[When taking care of a psychologically unstable child, start by cultivating the surrounding environment rather than building a relationship or teaching. Just having one place where they can stay at ease, like the home or personal room where they spend the most time, can create psychological leeway, and relationships will naturally improve.]

“…Cultivate the environment first, huh.”

After engraving that sentence in my eyes, I looked around the infirmary where I was for a moment.

A place that’s wide for one person but has everything it needs.

There’s no problem with staying overnight as there’s a pantry right next to it, but as it’s a facility periodically visited by other students, it would be difficult to stay at ease.

How to solve such problems in the future…

-Dong~ Dong~

Amidst that, the vibration of metal echoing through the school.

It was the sound of the bell in the school clock tower ringing.

“…It’s lunchtime already.”

Yes, there’s no way an answer will suddenly pop up by sitting and agonizing over an unsolvable problem.

Let’s eat first and then think about it, I thought, and got up from my seat and headed to the corner of the infirmary.

“Dale, if you’re okay… Dale?”

“……”

Dale still staring at the book despite repeated calls.

No, at some point he even let go of the pen in his hand.

Although I could only see his back, his hunched shoulders clearly showed how depressed he was.

But no matter what, should he ignore his guardian’s words?

“You rascal.”

“Eek!?”

Dale was startled and jumped in his seat as soon as I poked his cheek with my finger.

I glared at Dale who turned to look at me with my hands on my waist.

“Shouldn’t you answer when teacher calls you?”

“Ca-Called…?”

“……”

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

Yes, it seems he knows he did wrong.

But he’s much more consumed by guilt than I thought.

Seeing him sobbing with both hands on his chest, it seemed like he was worried I might scold him.

“Uh, uuh…..”

Damn. I didn’t call to torment him.

If this behavior causes harm to this child again…. Ah, forget it.

“Never mind the apology, is there anything you want to eat?”

“…Pardon?”

“From what I’ve seen so far, you seem to be having lunch with leftover bread from breakfast, so I thought it wouldn’t be bad if teacher bought you lunch at least.”

How can studying psychology, which isn’t even my major, through cramming be efficient?

After all, if we’re all human, there exists a sure method.

“Do you like chicken?”

To hell with psychology.

Let’s feed him meat first and think later.