Chapter 27: Confession
Diva-sensei stares at me without looking away until I answer.
I gasp at the situation.
“I, I…”
I clench my fists in my lap.
“I’m a human… not an evil spirit…”
I speak as best I can, avert my gaze from Diva-sensei, and hang my head.
I don’t think my words will convince Diva-sensei, but that’s all I can say. I don’t understand myself or ‘that guy’.
“Rachel’s not an evil spirit!!”
As I hang my head, Leaf speaks up to the teacher instead.
“Huh, how can you say that, Leaf?”
Diva-sensei turns his gaze to Leaf.
“That’s because… Rachel and I are connected…”
“Connected? Can you explain to me what you mean by connected?”
The teacher not only looks at Leaf, but also turns his face towards her.
“…”
Leaf looked down and remained silent, either carefully choosing her words or troubled.
“I don’t know what you’re troubled by, but if you want to prove Rachel-jou’s innocence, you should just be forthright and speak.”
“…Rachel…”
Leaf began to speak in a low voice.
“…Rachel tried to commit suicide two years ago by hanging herself using the tree that was my main body…”
Diva-sensei’s brow furrowed at Leaf’s words.
“At that time, I entered Rachel’s body and tried to use her body to stop it…”
It was the story of when I was involved in an explosion at a family restaurant and was reincarnated into this world.
“At that time, for some reason, my spirit self became fused with Rachel’s soul, and we are still connected to this day…”
Something rises within my chest.
‘So that’s it… That’s why… The reason Leaf is always so considerate of me, so kind, and has become my one true friend, is because we’re connected by our souls…’
“That’s why I know for sure, because I’m connected to her soul. Rachel is nothing like some evil spirit!”
Leaf looks up and desperately pleads with Diva-sensei.
“Then, why is such a ghastly entity attached to her?”
“That… I don’t know either… Ever since I became connected to Rachel’s soul, there’s been this black fog clinging to her soul. But I thought it was just the negative emotions from when she tried to commit suicide. After that, she lost her memories, and there’s no longer any danger of her trying again. I figured it was just the guilt of what she had attempted…”
I never knew Leaf had been thinking about all this. She must have been keeping it to herself, silently worrying about me all along.
“But two days ago, when Rachel was put to sleep by the magic of that noblewoman and was nearly killed, the fog, which I thought was just a mist, burst out of Rachel all at once, turning into something like a terrifying evil spirit.”
“Hmm… Leaf, do you know anything more? You said you’re connected, after all.” Professor Diba softens her expression slightly as she asks.
“I don’t know… Even though we’re connected, I can only sense what Rachel’s feeling. But… it feels like the black fog has grown larger than before.”
“Is it not invading Rachel’s soul? Are there any signs of it merging with her?” Diva-sensei seems to be asking whether ‘that thing’ might take over my body.
“You mean, is the black fog trying to take over Rachel’s soul? No, it’s not like that. If anything, it feels like it’s sucking something out of her soul and growing because of it.”
Leaf’s words remind me of something one of my classmates from my life as Reiko once said.
“Cordyceps sinensis”
Yes, ‘that thing’ is like a parasitic entity that uses me as its host, continuing to grow. I guess that hasn’t changed, even in this world…
“I see… Then it’s entirely separate from Rachel, isn’t it?”
“Exactly!”
“So the one who put that noblewoman into a coma was the black fog, not Rachel?”
“That’s what I’ve been saying from the start!”
Diva-sensei confirms with Leaf once more, places a finger on his forehead as he thinks for a while, then exhales deeply and sinks into his chair.
“So, regarding Martina-jou’s coma incident, Rachel-kun is involved, but she is not the perpetrator… Understood.”
“In a way, Rachel is a victim too.”
“I’ll apologize for that. From now on, I will treat you as a witness and would like to hear the truth behind the incident.”
“Huh?”
With the tension in the room easing and the situation changing, I let out an involuntary gasp.
“Uh…”
“What is it? Do you have a question?”
Diva-sensei responds from his chair, sitting deeply.
“It seemed like you trusted and made a decision based solely on Leaf’s words…”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“No, um, don’t you think Leaf might be lying for my sake?”
I ask, puzzled by how easily Diva-sensei accepted Leaf’s testimony without any doubt.
“What? You don’t know? Ah, that’s right. You lost your memory two years ago.”
“Huh?”
How is Leaf’s testimony related to my memory?
“Spirits, by their very nature, are beings of the mind. For a spirit, lying about what they’ve seen, heard, or felt is akin to denying their own existence. Therefore, for a spirit to lie is equivalent to committing suicide.”
“But in Leaf’s case, she has a tree as her body, right?”
“Yes, but if she were to lie, Leaf’s existence as a spirit would vanish, and the tree would return to being just an ordinary tree. Eventually, that tree would wither away.”
Humans may tell lies daily without consequence, but for spirits, it’s a matter of life and death. Leaf’s honest personality likely stems from the fact that she physically cannot lie. Considering that, the actions she’s taken to avoid being seen must have been incredibly uncomfortable for her. I’ll have to apologize later.
“So, that’s why you trusted Leaf’s words and made your decision.”
“Indeed. A spirit’s testimony is considered the most reliable. That’s why, when you said that the tree with the spirit in it had been cut down, it was treated as something suspicious, an act that causes others to lose trust in you. Well, in your family’s case, it seems it was done to prevent another suicide, given that you didn’t know about it…”
His words weigh heavily on my conscience.
“Now then, let’s return to the matter at hand.”
“Since Rachel has lost her previous memories, it’s impossible to determine when exactly this evil spirit began attaching itself to her. It’s possible that this was a factor in her considering suicide…”
His tone softens as he speaks.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. More importantly, let’s analyze the incident. Rachel was present at the scene where Martina-jou’s textbooks were slashed, and when Martina-jou was caught in the act, she used magic to put Rachel-kun to sleep. Is that correct?”
Leaf and I nod in agreement.
“And after that, what happened with the evil spirit? Leaf, can you explain?”
Diva-sensei turns to Leaf.
“Yeah… The evil spirit came out of Rachel, but…”
“Came out? What do you mean by ‘came out’? Did it take physical form?”
Diva-sensei’s eyes widen at Leaf’s words.
“No, I think it was more of a spiritual or mental entity… Martina-jou didn’t seem to see it, but this huge, humanoid figure appeared…”
“Just seeing it is horrifying, and you’re saying it became a giant humanoid form? So, what did this ‘humanoid’ do to Martina-jou!?”
Diva-sensei raises his voice in alarm.
“It didn’t do anything. It just watched her from a distance, close enough that its breath could have touched her. Then, from Martina-jou, something like a ghost flew out, screamed, and disappeared.”
“I see… So now I understand why Martina-jou is in her current state…”
Diva-sensei leans back in his chair once again.
“And then? What happened next?”
“After that, Rachel woke up, and after explaining the situation, she suggested we take Martina-jou to the chapel.”
“I see, so Rachel-kun made that suggestion…”
With that, Diva-sensei turns to face me.
“Now, can you explain why you brought her to the chapel?”
