Chapter 40: We Decided To Call It The Killer Smile (3)

A pure, unadorned smile can make others feel good too.

Not a mocking smile, nor a bitter one—just a refreshing smile.

Irina was one of those people who smiled a lot, even in games.

She tended to be positive about everything, and her optimistic nature made her smile often.

That’s why she was quite popular among the main characters.

Though being a traditional female ranged character probably played the biggest role.

“So, Orca. Do you get it now?”

“…I think I do…!”

Is that really true?

Unable to hide my doubt, I opened my mouth.

“Smile.”

Cheese-

Orca smiled.

The moment I saw that smile, every hair on my body stood on end.

She was just smiling, so why did I feel like a herbivore standing in front of a predator?

“Wow, that’s something.”

“It really is something.”

Irina and I locked eyes.

Just that was enough to confirm that we were thinking the same thing.

“This is serious.”

“Isn’t it?”

“I-Is it that serious?”

“Even regular monsters would probably be scared.”

“Ugh…”

Orca sank under Irina’s merciless verbal assault.

Hmm, her gloomy expression now actually looks better.

At least this way, her looks make her seem pitiful.

“Why can’t I smile properly…?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think I know!”

I guess girls just understand each other.

Or maybe it’s because Irina has that animal-like intuition.

I looked up at Irina, who had the lowest intelligence among the main characters.

Irina smiled brightly, her face as refreshing as if she had just popped a mint candy into her mouth.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah! Orca, the problem is you’re putting too much effort into your smile!”

“…Effort?”

Orca tilted her head, clearly not understanding.

“Think about when you’re happy! Memories that make you smile naturally! Like when someone confessed to you…”

“…That’s never happened.”

“Really? Then when you were a kid, with your parents…”

“…When I was around 10, I went bear hunting with them. That’s about it…”

“Bear?”

Were they trying to give her the title of bear hunter at 10 or something?

“What about playing with friends?”

“…I didn’t have any peers around me…”

Orca, you’ve had a tough life.

I listened to Orca’s heartbreaking past, tears welling up, and gently tapped her calf with my paw.

“The past is the past, and now is now. If you want to make friends, you’ll have to fix that intimidating smile of yours.”

“Friends? I’ll be your friend!”

“Th-Thank you.”

“So, join the Hunting Department—”

“Don’t say weird things.”

No matter what, Orca can’t do that.

Orca is destined to be the representative of the Knight Department.

Everything else can change, but not that.

She needs to become the representative of the Knight Department to wield influence and make things easier.

If she switches to the Hunting Department now, she’ll only end up with narrow, deep relationships.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline. As a knight, I can’t abandon the Knight Department.”

“Aww, that’s a shame. If you joined, other students might have followed!”

I chuckled at Irina’s blatant honesty.

That honesty.

That’s Irina’s charm.

She can be a bit oblivious at times, but that’s actually a quality of a protagonist.

If you’re too cautious, you’ll never get anything done.

“Enough joking, let’s start fixing this. Orca, sit down first.”

“…Okay.”

Orca obediently sat down on a nearby rock and slumped her body.

It seemed like the conversation so far had been quite exhausting for her.

But my lesson wasn’t over yet.

In fact, there’s no better situation for teaching than this.

“Alright, Orca. From now on, I’m giving you the right to touch me however you want.”

“Huh?”

Why are you so surprised?

I’m just giving you permission to be a bit more physical than usual.

Looking back at everything that’s happened, this seems like the easiest way.

I confidently sat on Orca’s lap and looked up at her.

…Her chest is blocking my view of her face.

“A-Are you sure this is okay?”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t want to resort to this method, but…

There’s no more effective way to break through a situation like this than animal therapy.

Especially with a cat, widely recognized as a natural antidepressant, maybe we can improve Orca’s smile too.

If we create a naturally happy situation, maybe she’ll smile better.

If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to try something else.

There’s another girl in a situation as serious as Orca’s.

“Just stay still, and do whatever you want.”

“E-Excuse me…”

Orca’s hand, which had only ever lightly petted me, moved toward my belly.

Starting with the belly, huh?

The most sensitive spot for a cat.

Compared to other areas, there’s less fur, making it practically a weak point.

And yet, Orca’s hand boldly invaded that territory.

I have to endure, I have to endure…

The moment her hand touched my belly, I felt chills all over my body.

Or at least, that’s what it felt like.

As a tiger, I had just exposed the most vulnerable part of myself.

In this line of work, you only do that if you’re a well-fed house cat or completely surrendering.

Orca, whether she understood the gravity of the situation or not, kept stroking my belly.

“It’s so soft…”

“Oh… I want to touch it too.”

“No.”

This is already pushing my limits.

Don’t you start coveting my belly too!

Why are humans so obsessed with touching a cat’s belly…

Suddenly, my vision shifted.

The hand stroking my belly pulled me into her embrace.

Arms wrapped around my body.

The soft sensation pressing against my head.

It wasn’t as big as Kazein’s, so my head didn’t sink in completely, but… it was passable as a pillow.

“You’re so warm… and soft.”

My feet left the ground.

Even though I’ve grown bigger, if you cradle me like a baby, my feet naturally leave the ground.

In a position where I should be crying out like a baby, my eyes met Orca’s.

Ah… finally.

I stared blankly up at Orca.

And Orca looked down at me.

“Oh…”

Irina’s gasp tickled my ears.

Of course, because Orca was smiling now.

Not a sharp, sword-like smile, but a soft one.

“That’s it, that’s how you should smile.”

“W-Was I smiling?”

“Yeah. And it was very pretty.”

“I see…”

With a strange sigh, Orca hugged me tighter.

“Haahk?!”

And then, she blew a raspberry on my belly.

It was the most humiliating moment of my cat life.

————

“From now on, we’ll begin sparring! The called students, step forward!”

“Yes, Instructor!”

The sound of rustling paper filled the training ground, drowning out the echoes of enthusiastic voices.

The students of the Knight Department exchanged glances, some chatting quietly, others waiting nervously, occasionally glancing at a girl sitting in the corner.

Orca Linnaeus.

The eldest daughter of the prestigious Linnaeus family, known for their martial prowess, and the top student of the Knight Department.

A genius swordsman who had slain goblins with a sword in hand while others were still learning to walk.

The Ice Princess, with her perpetually cold expression, kept everyone at a distance.

Today, someone would have to spar with her.

‘Please, not me.’

The sparring partners were chosen by drawing lots.

Some students had protested, but the instructor’s response was, “You can’t choose your opponent on the battlefield.”

So, the fresh-faced students of the Knight Department prayed they wouldn’t be today’s sacrificial lamb as they each picked a neatly folded slip of paper.

Finally, even Orca took a slip, and the instructor moved the box aside and called out.

“Number 1! Number 13! Step forward!”

Two students stepped forward.

They glanced at each other and let out a sigh of relief.

‘Hooray! It’s not Lady Linnaeus!’

‘I’m saved!’

Despite being about to face each other with swords, the two shared a moment of camaraderie before stepping onto the training ground.

“The rules are the same! Begin!”

Clash!

Swords wrapped in sweat and passion collided on the training ground.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Four times…

How many times did their swords clash?

One student fell on their backside and raised their hand in surrender.

The winner helped the loser up, and they exchanged compliments before stepping down.

“Next, Number 7 and Number 25!”

I’m alive!

“Number 2 and Number 11!”

“Number 4 and Number 6!”

As the sparring continued, the remaining students grew more tense.

After all, one of them would have to face Orca!

Sparring with Orca, who had no mercy, meant at least one broken bone, if not a trip to the Healing Department for recovery magic.

No matter how important connections were, no one wanted to build them that way, so the remaining students began to pray fervently.

Oh, Solaris in the heavens, please don’t let me spar with Lady Linnaeus.

Please…

Today’s prayers were even more desperate.

Because today, Lady Linnaeus was hanging her head low!

No one thought someone with their head down like that was in a good mood.

“Number 9! Number 27! Step forward!”

The called students closed their eyes tightly and stepped forward, gripping their training swords.

They slowly opened their eyes and stared at their opponent, about twenty paces away.

“…Oh.”

I’m doomed.

Mother back home, I don’t think I’ll make it back alive.

“Begin the sparring!”

God is dead.

The boy, who had just mentally etched a phrase that would summon the Inquisition if the Healing Department heard it, held his sword at an angle and locked eyes with Orca.

The eyes are the window to the soul.

Humans can’t help but synchronize their body movements with their eyes.

‘Just block a few strikes and then surrender. You can do this!’

That’s when it happened.

Orca suddenly smiled.

“Let’s have a good match.”

“Y-Yes, let’s!”

An unexpected, deadly arrow struck the boy’s heart.

The sharp, sword-like girl had unleashed a lovely smile.

The boy’s heart began to race wildly.

‘W-Why is she… smiling?’

The question filled his mind, and as a result, he failed to block Orca’s first strike, taking a hit to his forehead.

“…Good match?”

Orca looked down at the boy, who had fallen in less than ten seconds, with a complicated expression as she sheathed her sword.

It was a day in early spring, after the last of the winter chill had faded.