Chapter 28: Reason
Diva-sensei stared at me intently.
“I’m not questioning you for the purpose of punishment. I understand that, given your circumstances, you would have wanted to handle things discreetly.”
At Diva-sensei’s words, Leaf nodded vigorously.
“However, if you think about it logically, shouldn’t you have taken the girl to the infirmary instead of the chapel? Why the chapel?”
Since I hadn’t explained everything to Leaf at that time, both Diva-sensei and Leaf were looking at me, wanting to know the reason.
“I do have a vague memory regarding that matter…”
I answered. Though it’s called a memory, it wasn’t Rachel’s memory since reincarnation, but rather Reiko’s memory from my previous life.
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That was after I started middle school and had spoken with classmates who could “see” things. Due to my unfortunate tendency to spread misfortune because of “it,” I had been keeping to myself, avoiding interactions with classmates other than my best friend, A-chan.
Looking back now, A-chan’s repeated heartbreaks might be due to my misfortune, but there’s no point in regretting it at this point. In any case, I was trying to live a low-profile school life, avoiding creating unnecessary enemies.
However, there are always people who come up with unnecessary ideas, and there was someone who perceived my behavior as being “pretentious.” These were the top-tier students in the class hierarchy.
These individuals were aware of their top-tier status and acted as if the classroom was their domain, with other classmates trying to gauge their moods. In other words, the classroom was controlled by them.
In such a class environment, my attempt to avoid interactions was seen by them as snobbish and pretentious, leading them to label me as an insolent person. Consequently, one of them decided to teach me a lesson about my place.
This was carried out on my way home after staying late for class committee duties. At that time, since I lived in a somewhat rural area, there were several deserted spots along the way home. Some of the group appeared in such a place, near an old shrine surrounded by large trees and dense undergrowth.
“Hey, you.”
It was one of the girls from the top tier of the class hierarchy.
“What is it?”
I responded, confused, as I was unexpectedly addressed by one of the top students on the dimly lit road home.
“You always have that stuck-up look on your face, what’s with the attitude?”
I don’t actually think I’m making a smug face. I’m simply trying to keep a neutral expression to avoid standing out. Even though I maintain a neutral expression to avoid upsetting them, being told that it appears smug is quite frustrating.
“I’m not trying to act smug. I may look like I’m making a smug face, but I’m just keeping a neutral expression.”
Since I don’t want to get involved with people like them, I explain my neutral expression.
“Huh? Are you mocking me?”
I’m not mocking them, but I do think they’re foolish. I wonder what’s enjoyable about this kind of exchange.
However, the silence during my thoughts was taken as agreement by the other person.
“You’re definitely mocking me!”
The other person, having interpreted my silence as agreement, suddenly became furious and raised their voice.
“I’m not mocking you! I just couldn’t get a word out!”
Though it might be too late, I raise a protest. Then, another male student appears behind me.
“Hey, Kiyomi, let’s just deal with this already. We need to make sure this girl knows her place!”
“That’s right! Even after I’ve said all this, she’s still acting smug. It’s infuriating!”
Given my past experiences, I generally maintain a neutral expression, which appears smug to them. Just as a fish has no fault in being a fish, what’s wrong with someone who naturally has a neutral expression keeping it?
“This face is natural for me, so if it offends you, I apologize…”
Though I’m boiling with anger inside, it would be troublesome if they escalated things and caused actual harm. I don’t want to, but I lower my head.
“Huh? Do you think an apology now will make things right? I’m already pretty pissed off!”
I’m the one who’s angry. They’re the ones who are taking offense at my appearance and complaining. They’re so self-righteous, thinking their feelings are the absolute truth and judging me for hurting them. How can people become so conceited? It’s a mystery how anyone can be this arrogant.
“Kiyomi, did you know? This person used to be a well-off young lady. Maybe that’s why, even though she’s at this countryside school, she still acts like a lady and wears that smug face.”
“Is that for real? That’s so hilarious! So, that’s why she’s got that smug face—acting all high and mighty! Totally infuriating!! Yukio, let’s go ahead and do it.”
Then, the boy called Yukio takes a stun gun out of his pocket.
“You’re going to strip her naked and take a picture, right?”
“Yeah, I’d love to take a picture of a former rich girl who’s fallen so low she has nothing to wear and post it on social media to show her her place.”
The girl said, laughing out loud.
This is bad, this is bad. I didn’t think a middle school student would think that far. Or rather, why should they have to go to such lengths just because they don’t like my face? It’s unbearable!
Feeling in danger, I tried to slip past the girl, who seemed relatively easy to escape from, and escape.
“Don’t mess with me!!”
The girl suddenly swung her school bag around. I immediately braced myself to catch it. But the next moment, a boy behind me pressed a stun gun against me. I lost consciousness in an instant.
“Reiko! Reiko!”
I hear someone calling my name. The voice rouses my consciousness, and I slowly open my eyelids. I can see someone’s face, but it’s dusk, so I can’t make out the details clearly.
“…Who…?”
“It’s me, me! Tomoko!”
This voice belongs to a classmate who can ‘see.’ I slowly sit up.
“Reiko, what exactly is going on here…”
“What do you mean, what’s going on?”
I suddenly recall the situation before I lost consciousness. I’m still fully dressed, and my clothes are intact. I feel relieved, but when I look around, I see that the two people—the boy and the girl—are lying on the ground with their eyes rolled back.
“What!? What’s happening here?”
“No, that’s what I want to know…”
I then explain to Tomoko, who can ‘see,’ the events leading up to this situation.
“…So, it seems like the cause is that “thing” inside you…”
“The cause is that “thing”…? What did “it” do!?”
“I’ll explain as we walk. Could you carry the boy on your back?”
Tomoko starts to carry the girl on her back.
“Where are you taking them?”
“To that big tree area, the shrine in the guardian forest, right? I’m taking them there.”
With that, Tomoko and I start walking towards the shrine, carrying the two.
“Why are we taking them to the shrine?”
I ask Tomoko.
“…These people are quite nasty and deceitful, right?”
“…Well, yes…”
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Given what almost happened to me earlier, there’s no room for denial.
“It’s not just the kind of malice a middle school student would come up with, right? Actually, it’s a sudden thing, but it’s because of the spirit behind you…”
“The spirit behind me!?”
The story is so outlandish that I’m surprised, but when I think about it calmly, what’s attached to me is even more bizarre.
“When you’re a child, you’re weak both physically and spiritually, so a spirit is supposed to protect the child. But not all of these spirits are good-natured…”
“So, just like there are good and bad people among humans, there are good and bad spirits, too…”
“Exactly. That’s why a child’s personality is influenced by the spirit behind them. And around the age of twenty, the child’s soul and the spirit become fused and indistinguishable.”
I didn’t know that the relationship between the soul and the spirit was like that.
“How does this relate to taking them to the shrine?”
“These two are currently without their protective spirits because of “that thing” inside you.”
“What!?”
I exclaim in surprise.
“It’s unclear whether the spirit was scared off by “that thing” or consumed by it, but right now, these two are without a spirit. They’re in a coma due to the shock. It’s not like the soul and the spirit fuse suddenly at twenty; they’ve already started fusing, so they’ve lost part of their soul when the spirit fled or was consumed.”
Since they’ve lost part of their soul, it’s not just that they collapsed or that the spirit is gone; it’s a serious matter.
“So we need to quickly attach a new protective spirit to compensate for the lost part of the soul, but ordinary places are often frequented by malevolent spirits. Because the soul is incomplete, it’s easier to possess. So we need to take them to a sacred place to ensure a good spirit attaches to them.”
Having arrived at the shrine, we lay the two down in front of the main hall’s offering box.
“Well then, we’ll leave now!”
With that, we left the shrine, leaving the two behind. I later heard that their disappearance caused a big commotion late at night, and they were discovered in the early morning. Due to the situation in which they were found, it was judged that they had been involved in something sexual rather than a crime.
Afterward, they regained consciousness but didn’t remember anything from the time they went missing. They seemed to have changed completely, becoming good-natured individuals from their previous delinquent selves.
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This is the memory from the Reiko era and the reason for taking Martina-jou to the chapel.
Now, how should I explain this to Leaf and Diva-sensei…
