From Hatred to Adoration
The next day with Glair Bismunt. The academy boasted an unbelievably peaceful and clear day. The previous day's downpour seemed like a lie as the sky had cleared completely. The sky after a good rain was even more brilliantly blue than usual, and the sunlight dazzled across the academy buildings. The damp earth was gradually drying, releasing a refreshing scent of soil.
In her dormitory room, Glair Bismunt coughed with a slight fever. It was because yesterday, she'd suddenly come to her senses to find herself drenched in the rain, having passed out in a corner of the academy. Thanks to that, she was skipping classes today and resting in the dorm. Or rather, her cold wasn't that severe, so she couldn't suppress her boredom and had opened her notebook to write an article.
Glair tried hard to recall exactly why she'd napped in such a place yesterday. She must have dozed off because the weather was so nice, and then a shower hit without her noticing. She kept sleeping through it, her body chilled, and caught a light cold. "Cough, cough."
Glair found it odd. According to others, yesterday's shower had been a torrent—how had she slept through it without noticing? But she soon dismissed it as her own exhaustion. Lately, since enrolling in the academy, she'd been feeling strangely off more often than not; it was probably that. Still, thanks to the deep nap, despite the lingering cold, she felt extraordinarily refreshed otherwise. It was as if a dark cloud that had been hanging over her mind had lifted.
At that moment, the door opened, and her roommate Riel entered. "Glair! You're resting because of a cold—what are you doing?"
Glair, focused on her article, hadn't noticed Riel returning from class and jumped in surprise. "Oh, you're back? Class is over already?"
"I rushed back right after because I was worried about you. Don't change the subject—you're sick, and you're writing a newspaper article?" Riel scolded her, but her voice was thick with genuine concern for Glair.
"Hmm, I'm feeling better than I thought. It's weird—I have this cold, but I feel more clear-headed than usual. Like the dark cloud in my mind just vanished?" Glair stretched and grinned widely.
Riel laughed in disbelief. "What? So that article you're writing... it's the one about Mr. Allen you mentioned before?"
"Yeeeah... something like that?" Glair affirmed in a subtle tone.
"Can't you reconsider that article? No matter what, I just don't think Mr. Allen is as bad as you say. All the other students like him, and writing a bad article about him without evidence..."
Riel knew, as Glair's roommate, that Glair harbored an inexplicable hostility toward Allen Jest. She even knew Glair was digging traps to tarnish his reputation. No need to hide it—the student who'd told Glair about the "Faceless Reporter" ghost story was Riel herself. She hadn't realized Glair's intent was to trap Allen with it, though.
Riel tried to persuade her once more, as if urging her to think again. Of course, Glair's mind never changed no matter how many times... "Yeah, you're right. It was my mistake. Mr. Allen isn't like that at all."
"Don't say that—think about it one more time... Huh?"
Seeing Riel's dumbfounded expression as she stared back, Glair smiled softly. "I was wrong. Mr. Allen isn't a bad person at all. I'd been misunderstanding him."
"...Yeah. Th-that's... a great realization. But your attitude changed so suddenly?"
"It's not that my attitude changed—it's that I was the weird one until now. After that nap yesterday, my head cleared up. Suddenly, I couldn't understand why I'd hated Mr. Allen so much. Why had I always assumed he was a villain?"
"Don't ask me..."
The reason was clear, in fact. When the ghost story possessing Glair vanished, all memories and thoughts stemming from it—her animosity toward Allen and the actions driven by it—dissolved as well. To be precise, the memories she'd lost were limited to her grudge against Allen and the traps she'd set based on it. The hostility toward Allen and the memory of being killed by him weren't experiences or emotions of Glair Bismunt herself, but of the bizarre entity that had possessed her. Now that its identity had been exorcised, those memories naturally vanished with it.
What filled that void instead was...
"So what article are you writing now?" Riel asked, peering at Glair's notebook.
"Oh, just an article about Mr. Allen's greatness and good qualities!"
"...Huh?"
Riel looked utterly baffled this time. But Glair, oblivious to her expression, jumped up excitedly despite her lingering cold.
"Those traps I prepared to tarnish Mr. Allen's reputation without even knowing the subject! Even I struggled for days to solve those riddles, barely cracking them—and I couldn't touch the final one about the missing art club statue! But Mr. Allen saw them and solved every single one at a glance! That cool expression, that intellectual charisma... You should've seen it!!"
Glair's eyes sparkled. In her heart, the void left by her hostility toward Allen had been filled with... pure fandom.
Though the memory of Allen Jest saving her during the ghost story's erasure had vanished too, the emotions she'd felt for him hadn't. There was no reason they should. This time, the feeling was truly her own—not injected by the ghost story, but Glair Bismunt's genuine emotion.
Riel, unaware of this, could only look flustered and awkward. "S-so...?"
"And that 'Faceless Reporter' story I theorized about? It was completely wrong! Guess what Mr. Allen said..."
Riel thought to herself, 'It's good she's let go of her grudge against Mr. Allen... but maybe she's sicker than I thought?'
In a way, it was fortunate only Riel saw this. If Elaine Astraea had, she'd have been utterly grossed out.
'Turning someone who actually killed her—while possessed by a ghost story—into a total fanboy... Scary gaslighting skills from Mr. Allen. Even choosing Advice, it's this effective. If he'd picked the gaslight effect instead, what would have happened...' Elaine would have shuddered like that.
Afterward, Glair excitedly recounted tales of tailing Allen and his heroic deeds she'd witnessed. It felt a bit stalkerish and unsettling, but Riel, being a good roommate, didn't point it out. Just another peaceful day in the academy dorms.
...
The Paranormal Investigation Club room was filled with peaceful sunlight. No trace of yesterday's rain remained; a clear blue sky stretched beyond the window. The club members gathered, facing one another.
We decided to start with a review of yesterday's ghost story resolution. Recalling yesterday, I let out a sigh of relief. "Phew... Yesterday was really close. We barely saved Glair from death by a hair's breadth."
Rone Yustria asked with a puzzled look. "Sure, we almost got taken out by the ghost story... But is it worth sighing in relief like that? We saved her safely in the end. Even if she'd died, we could've revived her with regression if needed..."
Even if she died, regression would fix it... Rone had fully become a veteran club member. But this time, she was wrong.
"No, that's not what I meant. She was in real danger of dying."
"...?"
Rone still didn't get it, tilting her head. But Elaine Astraea understood the implication, her face stiffening as she asked, "Do you mean... Glair almost couldn't have been revived even with regression?"
The other students finally caught on, faces hardening in shock. "Regression couldn't revive her? Is that possible?" Rozalia Soline asked, startled.
"Yeah. You know exorcised ghost stories don't revive even with regression, right?"
"Of course. We've used that rule plenty of times." Aurora Victoria replied.
"Then what happens if a student dies fully assimilated into the ghost story?"
"Ah...!"
"And what if the death triggers the ghost story resolution at the same time?" I continued.
"My guess is, yesterday's ghost story called 'The Dead You' would have auto-resolved the instant Glair died. It's a ghost story born from her personally, parasitizing her as host. Like a parasite withering without its host's nutrients. But then Glair, assimilated with it, would have died eternally too."
"No way..."
Now the students realized how razor-thin their victory had been, faces tense.
"We got lucky this time, resolving it before a sacrifice. But we need to be careful going forward. Save points could glitch, or someone could get swallowed by a ghost story right as it resolves. We can't predict how until it strikes, but keep this incident in mind. I have a feeling cases this tricky won't happen just once."
"...Understood." Elaine nodded quietly.
"That's seriously bad." Rone's face hardened.
"Ugh, hearing Teacher say that makes me anxious already." Rozalia shivered.
"...Teacher, saying that makes it feel like it'll happen someday." Aurora grumbled, though serious.
They all looked grave, imagining worst-case scenarios. Good enough warning.
Clap! Before the mood got too heavy, I clapped to lighten it. "Alright, club review ends here. Next item."
All eyes turned to me. I felt Elaine and Rone's gazes sparkle with anticipation. Their eager looks made me chuckle despite myself.
Of course, I understood why they looked expectant. Because...
"Alright. Time for that long-awaited Gift strengthening."
Finally, we could strengthen Elaine and Rone's Gifts.