Mayuzumi slowly began recounting the tale.
The content of her story was basically the same as what Seiji had heard
from Saki, but since it was from her perspective, there were some
additional details.
Although she was afraid during the literature club's test of courage and
storytelling game, she actually had a lot of fun being together with her
good friend.
She just didn't expect such a thing to come out.
When Mayuzumi started speaking about how some entity seemed to
have been summoned, she shivered intensely, and Saki, who was
sitting next to her, clutched her hand tightly.
Seiji and Natsuya attentively listened to her tale.
Finally, she finished, and she laid weakly against the editor after doing
so.
"Good job, Amami-san," Natusya praised sincerely. "Thanks for your efforts."
"Sensei," Seiji said admiringly, "it was very brave of you to face your fears."
The manga author smiled faintly.
"I understand the entire process of what occurred now. But I have a
question: what happened to the literature club president and the other
female student that also fell ill, just like Amami-san?" Natsuya inquired.
"Like Mayuzumi, they were struck with a long illness and suffered from
nightmares every night. And, similar to Mayuzumi, they also ended up recovering in the end." Saki continued to explain: "That girl later ended up transferring schools, and the club
president graduated one year later; we lost contact with both of
them."
Natsuya remained silent.
Seiji suddenly had a thought.
"What were the names of your club president and that female
student?" he asked.
Saki looked towards him. "The club president was named Hinako Haza,
while the girl's name was... Risa Kobayakawa."
"Oh..." Seiji muttered.
"Why did you ask about this?"
"Because I suddenly thought of a possibility," Seiji replied.
Seiji told them about the result of Mai's investigation at Shouhei Hirai's
residence, as well as how his niece Reo Tachibana seemed to be
missing.
"The fact that Hirai attacked and that Sensei is having nightmares...
while these two may seem unrelated on the surface, could there be
some connection after all? Is it possible that this Hinako Haza or
Risa Kobayakawa have some connection to either Shouhei Hirai or Reo
Tachibana? It's just a sudden thought I had, and it might not even be on
the mark, but... isn't it possible?"
Nobody spoke for a while as they contemplated Seiji's words.
"Indeed," Natsuya agreed. "You should tell Houjou-san about these
two people, and perhaps she'll be able to find something out."
Seiji immediately called Mai with his cell phone.
Mai picked up promptly, and Seiji told her about the new information. After Mai agreed to look into it, she hung up the call.
"Take another rest." Natsuya finished her tea and rose to her feet. "I need to
make some preparations. Let's begin in a bit."
After saying that, she left.
Seiji took another sip of his tea.
"How will the treatment process work?" Saki asked.
Seiji gave her an explanation of the process.
"...And so, that's how it is. Last time, when that girl's soul was damaged, an intermediary was necessary in order to prevent additional damage. This time, there's no damage to Sensei's soul, so a direct examination should be possible. Of course, if it's required, I can be the intermediary again and assist in the investigation just like last time. After we find the root cause in Sensei's soul, we'll think of a way to eliminate it."
Saki nodded in understanding.
After some time passed, Natsuya returned to the living room of the residence, dressed in her shrine maiden attire.
Her outfit astonished Mayuzumi and Saki once again. Mayuzumi was especially astonished; her eyes began sparkling when Natsuya walked into the room.
"It's time to begin; please follow me," Natusya said.
She led Seiji and the others to the room at the end of the second floor.
The Yin-Yang diagram inscribed on the floor, the pentagram drawn on the
ceiling, the lack of windows, white lanterns, and runes and spell
formations etched everywhere... there was no end to the
surprises for Mayuzumi and Saki, although Seiji had been in this room
before.
Natsuya had Mayuzumi lie down on the reclining chair and then cast
her spell.
Just like last time, she shook some bells and uttered an incantation.
Natsuya stood beside the chair and touched Mayuzumi's forehead
before gradually closing her eyes as well.
The room fell utterly silent.
Seiji silently cast [Astral Vision] to see what was going on.
He saw two large spell formations, one above and one below the
room, along with many spell formations all over. Each one was currently
spinning and emitting a soft glow. Several of the runes were also glowing.
The white-colored lanterns now appeared to be many different colors,
with many dots of light flying in and out of them. Although the dots of
light seemed chaotic, there was actually a pattern to their movements, lending the room a beautiful atmosphere.
Natsuya, who was standing in the very center of the room, was covered with many glowing layers of light. Strange emblems were now visible on her shrine maiden outfit. Her hand, which was placed on Mayuzumi's forehead, suddenly flashed a blinding white. The radiance engulfed
Mayuzumi's entire body, and gray waves rippled across the surface of her skin.
After observing for a while, Seiji stopped using [Astral Vision] and decided to quietly wait for the results.
Time passed just like this.
Mayuzumi, still prone on the chair, suddenly moved. Her expression was overcome by pain and she shuddered. "No... er... ahh..." Mayuzumi mumbled.
Her current condition was almost identical to her state on the monorail.
"Mayuzumi!" Saki exclaimed in a concerned voice. She attempted to get
closer, but was stopped by Seiji, who a hand on the editor's shoulder and indicated that she
shouldn't interrupt.
"Ugh... no... it hurts... ahhhh... urk..." Mayuzumi continued to mutter, and her trembling intensified. She was now sweating, and her eyebrows were deeply furrowed. It was
obvious that she was in immense discomfort.
Saki was even more worried now. She kept looking back and forth
between Natsuya and Seiji with a look of panic on her face.
Seiji shook his head at her.
"Mayuzumi is in pain!" Saki shouted. "Why are we continuing!?"
"I don't know, but I believe in the president," Seiji said resolutely.
"She knows when to continue and when to stop, and she won't let
Sensei come to any real harm."
Saki's expression indicated that she was unable to accept this, but Seiji
prevented her from interfering.
She could only watch.
Mayuzumi began panting heavily, and her face was now covered in sweat. Not only was her body violently shaking now, she even began twitching.
This scene made Seiji uncomfortable as well. But he trusted in Natsuya
and stayed where he was without moving while restraining
the editor from taking action.
The student council president also began sweating, and her hand was
now shaking slightly. It was evident that she was doing her best to continue.
This short period was extremely difficult to bear.
Mayuzumi, who was now panting, had a pained expression as if she were suffocating. Her panting grew hoarse and breathy, and it began to sound worse and worse.
"Stop it!" Saki couldn't help but shout loudly. "Mayuzumi can't take anymore!!"
After a while, Natsuya slowly opened her eyes.
Her hand stopped shaking, and she lifted it very slowly, removing it from
Mayuzumi's forehead.
Mayuzumi's pained expression finally started to ease up, and her breathing regained its normal rhythm.
"How is Mayuzumi!?" Saki asked.
"She's alright and hasn't been injured from this," Natsuya answered calmly. "There's no need to worry."
She lightly waved her hand and used a spell to remove all the sweat from the manga author's face. Mayuzumi now looked as if she was sleeping naturally.
The president also wiped off her own sweat. "Let her rest like this for a while."
"How are you, President?" Seiji was concerned about her.
"I'm fine as well... just slightly tired," Natsuya answered while looking
at him.
When he saw the fatigue in the president's expression, Seiji recalled that she had
just left the hospital last week and was still supposed to be resting at
home now.
"You've worked so hard, President," he said sincerely.
Natsuya sighed. "I'm alright... the one who's truly had it hard is Amami-san."