Regression and the Secret of Reincarnation
The now-familiar sensation of regression washed over him. As his mind snapped back into place, the first emotion Allen felt was...
"Ha!"
Absurdity. Why the hell had he died? Just as a surge of injustice welled up inside him, a warm embrace wrapped around his waist.
"Teaaacher! I missed you so much!"
"We were so lost without you... Sob. Sob."
Rone and Rozalia wailed as they clung to him, while Elaine held onto his waist in silence, slowly savoring the warmth. It might have been his imagination, but he could feel a dampness where her face was buried.
The very girls who had just killed him were now sobbing in his arms. Words of joyful reunion and complaints about how hard it had been without him poured from their lips. He couldn't make sense of it—only more questions piled up.
"What's going on? You guys just killed me. Well, 'just' from my perspective, anyway."
His bewildered attitude made them pause their tears, and one by one, they began explaining what had happened.
They had attacked him because they thought he'd been possessed by the ghost story. No matter how they looked at it, his detailed knowledge of the elevator and apartment—completely alien structures in this world—was too suspicious. Dropped into a space that didn't belong to their reality, he hadn't panicked at all. Instead, he'd moved through it with eerie familiarity. And then he'd effortlessly unlocked a doorlock none of them could even comprehend.
To them, his actions screamed "possessed by the ghost story, luring us into a trap."
"..."
Hearing their account, Allen involuntarily bowed his head. He'd thought he'd regained his cool... but hearing them describe him from their perspective, he realized how utterly shady he'd looked. Normally, he'd have hidden the source of his knowledge or pretended to be unfamiliar with it to avoid suspicion.
His mistake. Regaining his composure had been an illusion—he'd still acted irrationally.
"Phew. Actually, it worked out for the best. Regression gave my head a reset."
The resentment drain hurt like hell, but what could he do? The moment they'd judged him possessed, they'd swung weapons at their teacher without hesitation. With resolve like that, they wouldn't hesitate if a real possessed club member showed up later.
With that light self-reflection done, he corrected one fact for the students still eyeing him curiously.
"So, Teacher... when exactly did the ghost story get you?"
"I'd say the moment you stepped into that iron box."
"Or maybe when you came out of it."
They were already treating his possession as a given. Shaking his head, Allen spoke up.
"No. I wasn't taken by the ghost story."
"?"
"?"
"?"
The students shot him puzzled looks, as if he'd spouted nonsense. Their reaction made him realize it was finally time to reveal the secret he'd kept hidden.
He hadn't wanted to admit it out of sheer embarrassment...
Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself. "Truth is, I have memories from a previous life. I was born in a different world from this one."
Their eyes widened in shock. Amazement, confusion, and disbelief mixed on their faces.
Yeah, I figured you wouldn't buy it easily.
But Elaine's response was utterly unexpected.
"Rone. Rozalia. Grab him."
Her voice was coldly ruthless as she commanded the other two.
"..."
"..."
Without a word of protest, they seized him immediately.
"Still possessed, I see."
Elaine's tone was so icy it made ice feel warm by comparison. With merciless eyes, she advanced toward him step by step.
"Wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait!!"
He shouted desperately to stop her, but her gaze didn't waver.
"No excuses. You monster. Wearing Teacher's face and still trying to deceive us. A thousand deaths wouldn't atone for that."
"Wait! Stop! I can explain everything! For real...!"
He screamed for his life, but Elaine's approach showed no sign of halting. At last, her hand shot toward him.
That was when it happened.
"Hold on a moment."
A voice intervened, stopping Elaine. It was Aurora, who had stayed behind in the Paranormal Investigation Club room as the regression anchor, silently observing until now. Having not joined the ghost story resolution, she naturally had no idea what they'd endured.
"Like Teacher said, we should stop first."
"...That's not Teacher. It's the ghost story."
"The body is still Teacher's, at least. Only club members can regress. If he's regressed while still possessed, killing him won't solve anything, right? Whether this Teacher is real or fake, we need more information to resolve it."
Aurora's logic was impeccable. Silence fell briefly. Elaine sat down calmly, somewhat composed, and Rone and Rozalia released their grip.
"I told you, I'm not possessed..."
Rubbing his sore spots, Allen grumbled before spilling his secret.
"...So, let's hear about Teacher's past life. Was it a world of magic, dragons, and monster hunts?"
Elaine's probing tone dripped with cynicism, her usual mystique replaced by overwhelming pressure. So she really does image-craft that aloof persona around others.
Meanwhile, Rone's eyes sparkled at the mention of dragons and magic.
"As if. That sounds more like the world I imagined when I was reborn here. The world I lived in... was almost exactly like yours. Except no gifts or magic."
He gauged their reactions as he continued. They listened intently, but suspicion and doubt lingered.
"...A world without gifts. Must have been barren."
"Can't even imagine it. Probably stagnated horribly."
"Oh dear... You must have suffered terribly. Suddenly, Teacher seems so pitiful, milord."
...Rone and Rozalia now gazed at him with pity. It was good they were engaged, but it stung anyway.
"Nah, it wasn't that bad. My past world had far more advanced technology than here. The elevator we took, the apartment we fell into... That's why I handled them so casually—they're everyday civilization from my old life. By past-life standards, their tech was centuries ahead of Hipnia."
Elaine's eyebrow twitched.
"Centuries? Isn't that a bit exaggerated? You're not puffing it up just because you think we're dismissing your past life, are you?"
Indignant, he shot back.
"Exaggerated? Look at the elevator! No stairs needed—it zips up dozens of floors in seconds. And the doorlock I opened before dying? Unlocks with a code, no key required."
Pausing for breath, he pressed on.
"That's not all. The voice from the elevator? Not a ghost story—just a machine playing pre-recorded audio. And not just sound: we had tech to transmit live video too. Watch distant landscapes or people in real-time, talk face-to-face over vast distances without letters or messengers."
Their faces shifted from skepticism to wide-eyed shock and bewilderment. It meant they were starting to take him seriously.
Finally, Elaine—about 80% thawed—asked cautiously.
"...Can you prove it?"
He hesitated. The real reason he'd kept his past life secret: pride. He didn't want to admit he wasn't some genius inventor.
But now wasn't the time. To earn their trust, he had to swallow it.
"The inventions from Allen Trading Company I built here. They're attempts to recreate past-life tech. Even those are botched knockoffs, nowhere near the originals."
That's why he'd hidden it. Exposing that he wasn't a prodigy embarrassed him. Truth was, he was just a con artist using old knowledge: starting a trading company from nothing, fending off nobles and royals trying to devour it, promoting communism to empower commoners and weaken elites, then wielding it to strip aristocrats of privileges, protect the masses' rights, and end up idolized despite being nothing special.
"Take the alarm clock. Common as dirt back then, and ours is just a shoddy 'failure' barely mimicking it."
The students gasped. Allen Trading Company's products were cutting-edge by this world's standards—generations ahead.
Yet they were mere failed recreations? Shock and confusion filled their eyes.
At last, they nodded. But relief was short-lived; resentment flickered on their faces.
"Teacher! Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"
Rone demanded, voice quivering.
"I told you guys! You wouldn't believe me!"
"...Ah."
"S-Sorry."
"We're, we're sorry."
"No, it's fine. Your suspicion was reasonable..."
He accepted their apologies, and they fidgeted, mortified at having doubted the real him.
An awkward silence followed.
"Anyway, my theory: the elevator linking the academy to the apartment appeared because I missed my old world's stuff. My longing manifested it."
"...Ah. Wait."
Elaine spoke up as if struck by realization.
"Then that picture frame trapping souls...?"
"...Picture frame? What're you talking about?"
"After you... changed, we kept searching on our own."
Only then did it click. Right—he'd regressed instantly upon death, but they'd continued without him.
Elaine was describing their solo exploration. Rone piped up too, memory triggered.
"We found a rectangular frame on the wall! People were moving and talking inside!"
Frame...? Oh!
"You're talking about a wall-mounted TV. Probably not a ghost story. That's the real-time video machine I mentioned."
Drawing on past memories, he cleared their misunderstanding.
"What about the thing spewing boiling water?"
"Boiling water? Water purifier. Dispenses clean hot or cold water anytime."
"And the one suddenly blasting flames?"
"...Furniture spewing fire in a home? Gas stove. Kitchen tool—twist a knob, instant fire for cooking."
Relieved yet deflated, they murmured.
"So... not a ghost story after all."
Rone slumped, energy drained.
"All our struggles without Teacher feel so foolish now, milord."
Rozalia muttered emptily.
"We overreacted pointlessly."
Even Elaine relaxed fully, sighing softly.
Allen chuckled lightly at their reactions.
"Know the use and method, and they're just everyday furniture. You just misunderstood unfamiliar tech."
They'd clearly suffered without him encountering his old world's relics. Still, it seemed manageable—no real ghost story danger, just culture shock. He relaxed.
Then they added more.
"So the 'television' swallowing Rozalia was our misuse too."
"Huh?"
Wait, what?
"That boiling water like a waterfall? Teacher's past world stuff is dangerous! Rone got swept away and fell out of the apartment."
"Ugh, I can still feel it."
"Huh...?"
"And I nearly burned to death in that gas stove flame at the end. Regression saved me before I roasted alive..."
"What?!"
Soon, all three shook their heads at him.
"Even so, Teacher's past world seems too dangerous. Machines that kill with one mistake? Progress isn't all good."
...Right?
Allen realized he'd badly misjudged. This ghost story was far more perilous than he'd thought.